49 out of 50 US states marked an increase in IDEA service rates.

When it comes to filling teaching positions, teachers for students with special needs are consistently difficult to hire and retain. A new report helps track where the needs for special education and related services are growing.

BlazerWorks, a business that helps schools with staffing needs, has created a report that shows which states are best and worst for special education support. They find that Vermont, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Maine are the top, while Nevada ranks last for special education support.

The use of a broad set of data creates a more detailed picture than simply counting up the numbers of students and teachers. BlazerWorks assembles data from the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the U.S. Department of Labor, and the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), selecting data that looks at ten factors including extracurricular inclusion, academic success, peer relationships, therapy access, and early intervention.

But beyond the strength of each state's offerings, BlazerWorks also considers how needs are growimg. In 2022-23, 7.5 million students ages 3-21 were served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); that was up from 6.4 million a decade earlier.

The highest growth for special needs students is in Delaware, where the share of students served under IDEA jumped from 9.0% to 12.4% of the total resident population 6-21. More recent reporting by DEEdTribune shows that the percentage of special ed students in the state has risen steadily; in 2025, 22% of students receive special education services.

BlazerWorks finds that Louisiana, Arkansas, Montana and Texas also rank high in the Growth Index. Texas shows the fastest relative growth in IDEA services, which can be explained by Texas's unique issues with IDEA students. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Education sued the state for illegally capping the number of students receiving special education supports. Texas was fined $33.3 million for failing to comply with IDEA by denying access to special education services for many students. Since then, Texas has seen a steady uptick in students given special education services, from 8.5% of students in 2014 up to 14% of all students in 2024.

States showing the lowest growth are Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Hawaii. . . .