Giving Compass' Take:

• A recent assessment showed that 29 states and the District of Columbia are not complying with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Both Michigan and D.C. earned the rating of 'needs intervention' from the U.S. Department of Education. 

•  What are the next steps for the states that are severely lacking services for students with disabilities? How will funding change in order to accommodate states that need expensive assistive technology?

• Read about how different states want to either integrate or separate students with disabilities in classrooms. 

A recent U.S. Department of Education assessment of states' compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act shows that 29 states and the District of Columbia fell into either the “needs assistance” or “needs intervention” determination.

These categories call for responses from the Office of Special Education Programs ranging from technical assistance to greater oversight on how funds are spent, Education Week reports.

Michigan and the District of Columbia received the lowest ratings this year with a determination classification of "needs intervention" while no state fell into the lowest “needs substantial intervention” category.

States are currently facing a number of challenges to meeting federal IDEA requirements. One challenge is the sheer number of students affected. According to a 2016 Ed Circuit article, “Every day, approximately 50 million students between the ages of 3 and 21 attend public schools in the United States.  Around 13% of these students rely on free specialized services. The majority have a learning disability (35%), speech or language impairment (21%) or fall within the expanded autism spectrum (13%).”

Another obstacle that faces many states and districts finding enough special education teachers in shortage conditions. Rural districts often face additional challenges in providing special education services.

Assistive technology is often a necessary and expensive aspect of providing special education services. Because of the wide range of needs and conditions that exist on the special needs spectrum, providing these resources free of charge is a challenging undertaking.

Read the full article about special education services by Amelia Harper at Education Dive