The School District of Lee County continues to see an increase in students who have an identified disability — an uneven rise in students they serve.

Student Services Executive Director Dr. Jessica Duncan said the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is for students 3 to 21. Unlike the 504 plan, IDEA includes an individualized education plan, or IEP, which provide for the specialized instruction and support a student requires in an education environment.

Exceptional Student Education Assistant Director Scott Kozlowski said there has been a 4.3% increase of students with disabilities. As of last October, there are 11,905 students with disabilities who are served under IDEA.

“We are seeing an uneven rise in our students that we serve,” Kozlowski said, adding that 14.7% of the total are students who are on the autism spectrum.

There has been an 8% increase in the number of students who have other health impairments; a 49.7% increase in the number of students who have developmental disabilities and a 16.9% increase in the number of student with speech impairments.

The district has also seen eligibility areas with increasing populations, one of which is students who have developmental delays, which went from 819 in the fall of 2022 to 1,174 in the fall of 2023.

Duncan said two things are happening. Last year, legislation passed which allows students to keep their eligibility until they are 9; previously it was 6 years old.

“We really appreciate the extra years in that area,” Duncan said, adding that it does not account for the entire increase. “Additionally, a number of students in pre-K make up the majority and those numbers continue to grow.”

The areas in which the district saw a small decrease are students with specific learning disability, language impaired, emotional/behavioral disability eligibilities, deaf or hard of hearing and orthopedically impaired.

There have also been other eligibilities that have not increased, or decreased by more than 10 students, which include hospital homebound, intellectual disability, dual-sensory impairment, traumatic brain injury and visually impaired.

Kozlowski also touched upon students who have disabilities scoring 3 or higher on state assessments for grades 3 to 10. He said prior to 2022-2023 school year different standards were used for the general and modified assessment.

“The gap between the percentage of 3 or above are also decreasing. We are closing that gap with students with and without disabilities scoring a 3 or above,” Kozlowski said.

Duncan said two years ago the focus was on student support. A new math and reading intervention program was given for teachers, which includes technology to assess student gaps.

Duncan said 338 students are in supplemental reading and 113 students in math. With 27 weeks, she said, has allowed 113 students in reading and 45 students in the math program to increase their skill by one or more grade level.

Kozlowski said what he is most excited about is the gap being closed on the graduation rate between students with and without an identified disability. He said there are two paths that can be taken for graduation, the general and traditional path, and the modified path, a path determined by the IEP team.

“Both paths do lead to a standard diploma,” Kozlowski said.

One path includes standard curriculum, standard courses and participates in FAST, compared to the other path that includes a modified curriculum, ACCESS courses and participation in FAA.

Kozlowski said the Florida ACCESS points takes the general standard and modifies it to the basic components and gives the teachers a little more flexibility to make sure students have access to standards. He said they have access to standards, the same courses, but are modified to their level.