According to survey data collected by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDE), during the 2024-25 school year there were 7,907 written state complaints and that number rose to 11,523 in the 2025-26 school year. The 46% jump in the number of written state complaints in special education during the 2025-26 school year compared to the year before is in accordance to new survey responses from 31 states.
According to CEC and NASDE, reasons for the surge are likely due to reduced capacity at the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) as many families have reported a lack of faith in OCR’s to resolving their concerns. In fact, a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report in February 2026 found that between March 2025 and September 2025, OCR received more than 9,000 complaints and resolved 7,072 of those complaints, mainly by dismissing 90% of them. In addition, the continued underfunding of special education and personnel shortages are seen as leading to the increase.
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