Where Specialized Student Needs Are Growing Fastest in America

The needs showing up in America’s classrooms are changing. More students are receiving special education and related services than they were a decade ago. In the 2022–23 school year, 7.5 million students ages 3–21 were served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), representing 15% of public school students. A decade earlier, 6.4 million students were served, or roughly 13% of enrollment.

But that growth is not happening evenly across the country.

To identify where specialized student needs appear to be growing most quickly, BlazerWorks created the 2026 Specialized Student Needs Growth Index, analyzing data from reputable public data sources such as the U.S. Department of Education, the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

The index looks beyond the number of students receiving special education services alone. It combines changes in the prevalence of students served under IDEA with the current share of children who have special health care needs and changes in the overall size of each state’s public school population.

The results reveal a complicated picture: some states are seeing rapid growth in identified special education needs, others have particularly high concentrations of children requiring additional health or developmental support, and several are experiencing both at the same time.

Growing Student Needs: Key Findings

• Delaware ranks No. 1 in America, with an index score of 89.4. Its IDEA service rate increased from 9.0% to 12.4% between 2013 and 2022—the largest percentage-point increase of any state analyzed.
• Texas recorded the fastest relative growth in IDEA services, with its rate climbing 44.9%, from 6.4% to 9.3%. Public school enrollment also grew 7.4%, adding another layer of service demand.
• Louisiana and Arkansas rank No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Both combine fast growth in IDEA identification with some of the highest current rates of children with special health care needs.
• 49 of the 50 states experienced an increase in the IDEA service rate over the period analyzed. Tennessee was the only state in the dataset where the rate declined.
• Current need and growth are not the same thing. Kentucky has the highest share of children with special health care needs in the index, at 32.5%, but ranks No. 16 overall because its other growth indicators are less extreme.
• Population growth alone does not determine the ranking. North Dakota recorded the largest increase in public school enrollment, at 14.5%, but ranks No. 18 because its specialized-needs growth indicators are closer to the middle of the pack.
• Enrollment declines do not necessarily mean declining specialized needs. Maine ranks No. 7 despite a 6.2% decline in public school enrollment because its IDEA service rate grew substantially and 31.9% of children meet the NSCH definition of having special health care needs.

Growth Looks Different From State to State

One of the clearest findings from the index is that there is no single way specialized student needs are changing.

Texas and Delaware stand out for rapid increases in IDEA identification alongside strong enrollment growth. Louisiana and Arkansas, on the other hand, have relatively stable student populations but much stronger signals of increasing need within those populations.

Then there are states like Maine, which ranks seventh overall despite declining enrollment. Maine has one of the highest current concentrations of children with special health care needs in the country, at 31.9%, while its IDEA service rate increased from 11.4% to 13.4%.

That distinction matters for workforce planning. A district does not necessarily need a larger student population to experience increasing demand for school psychologists, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, special education teachers, behavioral professionals, nurses, or other specialized staff.

The States Where Specialized Student Needs Are Growing Fastest

1. Delaware — 89.4

No state showed a stronger overall combination of rising specialized needs and growing student volume than Delaware. The share of school-age residents served under IDEA increased from 9.0% in 2013 to 12.4% in 2022, a jump of 3.4 percentage points and approximately 37.9%. That was the largest absolute increase among all 50 states.

At the same time, 28.8% of Delaware children meet the National Survey of Children’s Health criteria for having special health care needs, while public school enrollment grew 7.7% between 2013 and 2023.

Together, those trends suggest Delaware districts are not simply serving more students because the population is growing. Specialized support needs are also becoming more prevalent within that population.

2. Louisiana — 86.9

Louisiana ranks second, driven by both rapid growth in IDEA identification and a particularly high current concentration of children with additional health care needs. Its IDEA service rate climbed from 6.9% to 9.3%, an increase of 33.9%. Meanwhile, 31.4% of children in Louisiana have special health care needs, the sixth-highest share among the states analyzed.

Louisiana’s public school enrollment remained comparatively stable, declining just 0.5%. That makes the state’s ranking particularly notable: the growth is being driven much more by changing needs within the student population than by overall population growth.

3. Arkansas — 83.4

Arkansas follows at No. 3 with an index score of 83.4. Its IDEA service rate rose from 8.3% in 2013 to 10.5% in 2022, representing a 27.0% increase. Arkansas also has one of the nation’s highest current rates of children with special health care needs, at 30.5%.

Public school enrollment decreased slightly, by 1.0%, over the decade analyzed. Like Louisiana, Arkansas shows why simply tracking enrollment can miss an important part of the picture: districts can face growing specialized service demands even when the total number of students they serve is relatively flat.

4. Montana — 81.6

Montana ranks fourth, combining growth across all three major areas measured by the index. The state’s IDEA service rate increased from 7.2% to 8.9%, a 22.9% relative increase. About 30.5% of Montana children have special health care needs, while public school enrollment grew 3.6%.

Montana’s results point to a challenge districts in growing or geographically dispersed states may increasingly face: meeting more complex student needs across a school system that is also expanding.

5. Texas — 77.7

Few states illustrate the scale of the shift as clearly as Texas. Texas recorded the largest relative increase in its IDEA service rate of any state, climbing 44.9% from 6.4% in 2013 to 9.3% in 2022. Its 2.9-percentage-point increase was second only to Delaware.

Texas schools are also serving a rapidly expanding student population. Public school enrollment grew 7.4% between 2013 and 2023, one of the largest increases nationally.

The state ranks fifth rather than higher because its current share of children with special health care needs, at 26.2%, is below many of the other highest-ranking states. Still, the combination of rapid identification growth and an expanding student population could translate into significant increases in the absolute number of students requiring specialized services.

States Seeing Lower Growth

Ranking near the bottom of the index does not mean a state has little need for special education or related services. Rather, these states showed the weakest combined signals of growth and pressure across the specific measures included in the analysis.

46. Illinois

The state’s IDEA service rate increased from 9.2% to 10.1%, which is substantially slower than in the states at the top of the ranking. About 26.1% of Illinois children have special health care needs, while public school enrollment declined 10.7% between 2013 and 2023.

47. Michigan

In Michigan, IDEA service rate increased modestly from 8.5% to 9.0%, and approximately 28.1% of children have special health care needs, close to the midpoint among states. Public school enrollment fell 7.9% over the decade, reducing the population-volume pressure captured by the index.

48. Wisconsin

Between 2013 and 2022, the state’s IDEA service rate moved from 8.7% to 9.2%. About 26.9% of children have special health care needs, while public school enrollment declined by 6.9%. Together, suggesting considerably slower overall growth than seen among the highest-ranking states.

49. Tennessee

Tennessee is the only state in the analysis where the IDEA service rate declined over the period studied, falling from 8.7% in 2013 to 8.4% in 2022. About 26.8% of Tennessee children currently meet the special health care needs measure, and public school enrollment did increase slightly, by 1.1%, keeping Tennessee above Hawaii in the final ranking.

50. Hawaii

Its IDEA service rate rose slightly, from 6.2% to 6.5%. Hawaii also has the lowest current rate of children with special health care needs in the index, at 20.9%. Meanwhile, public school enrollment declined 9.4% between 2013 and 2023. Together, those three measures give Hawaii the weakest overall growth-and-pressure signal of any state analyzed.

The Full Ranking: Growing Students Needs Across the U.S.

Why Growing Student Needs Matter for School Districts

Increasing specialized student needs can affect much more than special education enrollment. Students served under IDEA may require individualized instruction and related services provided by professionals across numerous specialties. Nationally, speech or language impairments, other health impairments, autism, emotional disturbances, developmental delays, and other disability classifications all represent meaningful portions of the students receiving IDEA services.

As needs change, districts may need to reconsider not only how many professionals they employ, but also which specialties they need, where those professionals are deployed, how caseloads are structured, and how quickly staffing models can respond to changing student populations.

Preparing for the Next Generation of Student Needs

The student population schools serve today does not look exactly like the one they served a decade ago, and the services students need will continue to evolve. For district leaders, understanding those changes early can make workforce planning more proactive.

As the only Managed Service Provider (MSP) built exclusively for education, BlazerWorks supports school districts with customizable education staffing solutions, connecting them to the largest network of vetted national, regional, and local education staffing partners.

As specialized student needs continue to change, building a workforce that can change with them may become just as important as filling the positions schools need today.

Learn more about staffing solutions for your district and see how BlazerWorks works to ensure your critical roles are filled so students receive the consistent, high-quality services they deserve.