The Special Education Observatory · South Atlantic · South
Special education in Maryland
Students with IEPs in Maryland, where they spend the school day, and all 25 districts, from 2024–25 federal data.
- 109,652school-age students with IEPs1.5% of the national total
- 12.3%of enrolled students have an IEP3.1 points below the nation (15.3%) · 49th of 51
- 73.4%in general education 80% or more of the day5.6 points above the nation (67.9%) · 21st of 51
- 11.0%in general education less than 40% of the day2.0 points below the nation (13.0%) · 23rd of 51
- 25districts reporting a countNone withheld for privacy
Maryland, district by district
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Loading the Maryland district map.
Where students learn
Every setting the federal educational environments file reports for school-age students with IEPs in Maryland, beside the national share.
- In general education 80% or more of the day73.4%
- In general education 40% to 79% of the day9.2%
- In general education less than 40% of the day11.0%
- Separate school4.8%
- Residential facilityLess than 0.1%
- Homebound or hospital0.3%
- Correctional facilityLess than 0.1%
- Parentally placed in private school1.2%
| Setting | Students | Share | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| In general education 80% or more of the day | 80,335 | 73.4% | 67.9% |
| In general education 40% to 79% of the day | 10,070 | 9.2% | 15.2% |
| In general education less than 40% of the day | 12,099 | 11.0% | 13.0% |
| Separate school | 5,232 | 4.8% | 2.5% |
| Residential facility | 12 | Less than 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Homebound or hospital | 222 | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Correctional facility | 16 | Less than 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Parentally placed in private school | 1,163 | 1.2% | 1.8% |
What may be driving it
Where Maryland sits among the 50 states and DC on five measures, beside the nation.
- Identification rate12.3%49th highest of 51
- In general education 80% or more of the day73.4%21st highest of 51
- In separate settings4.3%11th highest of 51
- Spending per student$20,20815th highest of 51
- School-age poverty (estimate)10.3%44th highest of 51
Questions worth asking
- 12.3% of Maryland's students have an IEP, 3.1 points below the nation (15.3%). How do referral, evaluation and eligibility practices shape that share?[1][3]
- 73.4% of students with IEPs spend 80% or more of the day in general education, against 67.9% for the nation. What makes inclusion work where it does, and what limits it elsewhere?[2]
- 4.3% of students with IEPs learn in separate settings, against 2.8% for the nation. What share of special education spending follows those placements?[2]
- An estimated 10.3% of school-age residents live in poverty, against 14.4% for the nation. How do poverty-related needs show up in referrals and services?[5]
Every district in Maryland
Search by name or city, filter by kind of agency, and select a column heading to sort. Not published always sorts last.
Showing 25 of 25
| Allegany County Public SchoolsCumberland · Regular school district | 8,113 | 1,280 | 15.8% | 85.7% | 8.0% | 20.1% | $19,329 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anne Arundel County Public SchoolsAnnapolis · Regular school district | 85,029 | 10,023 | 11.8% | 76.1% | 7.6% | 7.2% | $19,124 |
| Baltimore City Public SchoolsBaltimore · Regular school district | 76,807 | 10,755 | 14.0% | 63.2% | 16.3% | 22.2% | $24,053 |
| Baltimore County Public SchoolsTowson · Regular school district | 110,024 | 14,968 | 13.6% | 68.5% | 9.5% | 10.3% | $19,356 |
| Calvert County Public SchoolsPrince Frederick · Regular school district | 14,849 | 1,488 | 10.0% | 79.6% | 8.0% | 5.6% | $20,920 |
| Caroline County Public SchoolsDenton · Regular school district | 5,648 | 519 | 9.2% | 80.5% | 9.6% | 15.9% | $20,202 |
| Carroll County Public SchoolsWestminster · Regular school district | 26,141 | 3,149 | 12.0% | 79.9% | 5.9% | 4.4% | $16,773 |
| Cecil County Public SchoolsElkton · Regular school district | 14,853 | 2,377 | 16.0% | 86.9% | 4.8% | 10.8% | $18,306 |
| Charles County Public SchoolsLa Plata · Regular school district | 28,162 | 2,985 | 10.6% | 60.8% | 12.9% | 7.3% | $18,598 |
| Dorchester County Public SchoolsCambridge · Regular school district | 4,586 | 414 | 9.0% | 81.2% | 6.0% | 21.3% | $26,317 |
| Frederick County Public SchoolsFrederick · Regular school district | 48,054 | 5,592 | 11.6% | 83.4% | 8.5% | 4.7% | $17,172 |
| Garrett County Public SchoolsOakland · Regular school district | 3,405 | 349 | 10.2% | 87.1% | 4.9% | 13.7% | $28,991 |
| Harford County Public SchoolsBel Air · Regular school district | 37,771 | 5,717 | 15.1% | 82.9% | 4.5% | 7.2% | $17,479 |
| Howard County Public SchoolsEllicott City · Regular school district | 57,565 | 6,185 | 10.7% | 73.2% | 2.3% | 5.4% | $20,296 |
| Kent County Public SchoolsRock Hall · Regular school district | 1,694 | 205 | 12.1% | Not published | 12.7% | 18.3% | $54,576 |
| Montgomery County Public SchoolsRockville · Regular school district | 159,181 | 21,169 | 13.3% | 71.0% | 15.0% | 8.4% | $20,107 |
| Prince George's County Public SchoolsUpper Marlboro · Regular school district | 132,123 | 13,897 | 10.5% | 72.5% | 16.5% | 11.9% | $21,592 |
| Queen Anne's County Public SchoolsCentreville · Regular school district | 7,478 | 749 | 10.0% | 81.6% | 10.0% | 6.4% | $31,712 |
| SEED School of MarylandBaltimore · State operated agency | 395 | 48 | 12.2% | Not published | 0.0% | Not published | Not published |
| Somerset County Public SchoolsWestover · Regular school district | 2,901 | 392 | 13.5% | 82.7% | 6.9% | 26.7% | $28,108 |
| St. Mary's County Public SchoolsLeonardtown · Regular school district | 16,905 | 2,036 | 12.0% | 77.4% | 9.3% | 9.3% | $18,215 |
| Talbot County Public SchoolsEaston · Regular school district | 4,485 | 444 | 9.9% | 82.0% | 10.8% | 12.7% | $17,384 |
| Washington County Public SchoolsHagerstown · Regular school district | 22,772 | 2,620 | 11.5% | 80.5% | 11.1% | 13.3% | $17,516 |
| Wicomico County Public SchoolsSalisbury · Regular school district | 15,582 | 1,560 | 10.0% | 81.9% | 8.8% | 19.3% | $19,183 |
| Worcester County Public SchoolsNewark · Regular school district | 7,002 | 731 | 10.4% | 84.8% | 3.6% | 13.8% | $24,221 |
Maryland in the South Atlantic division
The U.S. Census Bureau groups Maryland with these states in the South Atlantic division of the South.
| State | Identification rate | 80% or more | Under 40% | School-age poverty | Spending per student |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | 18.5% | 64.4% | 15.3% | 13.1% | $22,201 |
| District of Columbia | 16.2% | 62.9% | 18.5% | 24.6% | $31,529 |
| Florida | 14.9% | 78.4% | 14.3% | 14.5% | $12,692 |
| Georgia | 13.2% | 60.7% | 18.5% | 16.2% | $15,763 |
| Maryland | 12.3% | 73.4% | 11.0% | 10.3% | $20,208 |
| North Carolina | 13.1% | 71.0% | 11.2% | 15.6% | $12,995 |
| South Carolina | 13.5% | 64.7% | 15.6% | 17.0% | $15,010 |
| Virginia | 14.0% | 70.8% | 9.8% | 11.1% | $17,104 |
| West Virginia | 19.0% | 62.1% | 7.7% | 18.9% | $15,490 |
How these figures are built
Both parts. Rates use only the districts that reported both parts of the fraction. A district missing either part is left out of that rate, never counted as zero.
Not published. Not published means the publisher suppressed the figure to protect student privacy, did not report it, or the count is fewer than 10 students. It is never zero.
- Students with IEPs, school age
- Students with IEPs ages 5 (in kindergarten) through 21 served under IDEA Part B on the state’s child count date.Who is counted: Students with IEPs ages 5 (in kindergarten) through 21.Source: IDEA Section 618 Part B Child Count (file specification 002), district level, 2024–25 school year.
- Identification rate
- School-age students with IEPs as a share of all students enrolled in the same districts. A district that sends students to another district’s schools can count residents with IEPs it does not enroll, so its rate can run high.Who is counted: School-age students with IEPs, over all students enrolled prekindergarten through grade 12.Source: IDEA Section 618 Part B Child Count (file specification 002), district level, 2024–25 school year.Both parts: School-age students with IEPs (IDEA child count), over Students enrolled (Common Core of Data membership).
- In general education 80% or more of the day
- Share of school-age students with IEPs inside the regular class 80% or more of the school day.Who is counted: Students with IEPs ages 5 (in kindergarten) through 21.Source: IDEA Section 618 Part B Educational Environments (file specification 089), district level, 2024–25 school year.Both parts: Students in this setting, over All school-age students with IEPs in the environments file.
- In general education less than 40% of the day
- Share of school-age students with IEPs inside the regular class less than 40% of the school day.Who is counted: Students with IEPs ages 5 (in kindergarten) through 21.Source: IDEA Section 618 Part B Educational Environments (file specification 089), district level, 2024–25 school year.Both parts: Students in this setting, over All school-age students with IEPs in the environments file.
- In separate settings
- Share of school-age students with IEPs in a separate school, a residential facility, at home or in a hospital, or in a correctional facility, taken together. Counted only where all four are published.Who is counted: Students with IEPs ages 5 (in kindergarten) through 21.Source: IDEA Section 618 Part B Educational Environments (file specification 089), district level, 2024–25 school year.Both parts: Students in the four separate settings, over All school-age students with IEPs in the environments file.
- School-age poverty (estimate)
- Estimated share of related residents ages 5 to 17 living in families in poverty, within the district’s boundaries. A model-based estimate with a margin of error.Who is counted: Related residents ages 5 to 17 living within the district’s boundaries.Source: SAIPE school district estimates, Income year 2024.Both parts: Residents ages 5 to 17 in families in poverty, over Related residents ages 5 to 17.
- Spending per student
- Current spending on elementary-secondary education per pupil, as the Census Bureau publishes it: spending for students outside the system’s fall membership, capital outlay and debt service are excluded.Who is counted: All students enrolled in the school system (Census fall membership).Source: Public elementary-secondary education finance data, per-pupil spending by school system (table elsec24t), Fiscal year 2024 (the 2023–24 school year).Both parts: Current elementary-secondary spending, over Fall membership.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. IDEA Section 618 Part B Child Count (file specification 002), district level, 2024–25 school year. data.ed.gov. Public domain. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. IDEA Section 618 Part B Educational Environments (file specification 089), district level, 2024–25 school year. data.ed.gov. Licensed CC BY. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Common Core of Data, district membership (final), 2024–25 school year. nces.ed.gov. Public domain. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Common Core of Data, district directory (final), 2024–25 school year. nces.ed.gov. Public domain. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. SAIPE school district estimates, Income year 2024. www.census.gov. Public domain. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances (F-33). Public elementary-secondary education finance data, per-pupil spending by school system (table elsec24t), Fiscal year 2024 (the 2023–24 school year). www.census.gov. Public domain. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, EDGE program. School district boundaries (composite), simplified for display, 2024–25 school year. nces.ed.gov. Public domain.
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