The Special Education Observatory · Territory
Special education in Puerto Rico
Students with IEPs in Puerto Rico, where they spend the school day, and all 1 districts, from 2024–25 federal data.
- 87,234school-age students with IEPsSet apart from the national total
- 37.0%of enrolled students have an IEP21.6 points above the nation (15.3%)
- 69.6%in general education 80% or more of the day1.7 points above the nation (67.9%)
- 15.7%in general education less than 40% of the day2.7 points above the nation (13.0%)
- 1districts reporting a countNone withheld for privacy
Puerto Rico reports as one territory-wide school district, so its territory and district figures are the same. Puerto Rico is shown with its own figures and set apart from the color bands and ranks, which compare the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Puerto Rico, district by district
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Loading the Puerto Rico district map.
Where students learn
Every setting the federal educational environments file reports for school-age students with IEPs in Puerto Rico, beside the national share.
- In general education 80% or more of the day69.6%
- In general education 40% to 79% of the day4.3%
- In general education less than 40% of the day15.7%
- Separate school1.2%
- Residential facilityLess than 0.1%
- Homebound or hospital0.4%
- Correctional facilityLess than 0.1%
- Parentally placed in private school8.8%
| Setting | Students | Share | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| In general education 80% or more of the day | 60,712 | 69.6% | 67.9% |
| In general education 40% to 79% of the day | 3,744 | 4.3% | 15.2% |
| In general education less than 40% of the day | 13,699 | 15.7% | 13.0% |
| Separate school | 1,077 | 1.2% | 2.5% |
| Residential facility | 4 | Less than 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Homebound or hospital | 325 | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| Correctional facility | 16 | Less than 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Parentally placed in private school | 7,657 | 8.8% | 1.8% |
What may be driving it
Where Puerto Rico sits among the 50 states and DC on five measures, beside the nation.
- Identification rate37.0%51 with a figure
- In general education 80% or more of the day69.6%51 with a figure
- In separate settings1.6%51 with a figure
- Spending per studentNot published51 with a figure
- School-age poverty (estimate)49.9%51 with a figure
Questions worth asking
- 37.0% of Puerto Rico's students have an IEP, 21.6 points above the nation (15.3%). How do referral, evaluation and eligibility practices shape that share?[1][3]
- 1.6% 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 49.9% 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 Puerto Rico
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Showing 1 of 1
| PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONHato Rey · Regular school district | 235,819 | 87,234 | 37.0% | 69.6% | 15.7% | 49.9% | Not published |
|---|
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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