The number of special education state complaints has continued its year-over-year climb nationwide, jumping 7% between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years alone, according to an analysis released this month by the Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education, a federally funded technical assistance center. Between 2014 and 2024, the tally skyrocketed by 1123%.
Formally called "written state complaints," they often trigger state-led investigations into special education-related concerns brought forward by anyone. Some 10,610 written state complaints were filed during the 2024-25 school year, up from 9,927 the year before.
Just three states — Texas, Massachusetts and California — accounted for 26% of the nation’s written state complaints in 2024-25. CADRE’s analysis is based on data collected by the U.S. Department of Education and also from data CADRE collected directly from states.
Written state complaints are just one course of action in a continuum of special education dispute procedures and practices, according to CADRE. Other potential practices under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act include due process complaints and mediation. CADRE's continuum also includes dispute prevention approaches such as family engagement.
The recent CADRE data analysis doesn’t explore the causes for trends in dispute activities. However, CADRE Director Melanie Reese said in an Oct. 21 email that the 2024-25 data shows families and schools are using IDEA dispute resolution "more than ever."
Special education state complaints continue to increase
Increases in family-school disputes
CADRE's finding that written state complaints are increasing aligns with trends seen by the Council for Exceptional Children and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education through state surveys.
CEC and NASDSE, for example, found that survey responses from 35 states administered this year showed a 56% increase in special education written state complaints between the 2023-24 and 2025-26 school years.
While CEC and NASDSE stress that there is no single reason for this increase, they said many families have reported a lack of faith that the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights will resolve their concerns. The Education Department significantly reduced OCR's workforce last year — after which it did begin rehiring some staff. Earlier this year, the agency began outsourcing some OCR functions to the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the Trump administration's broader effort to wind down the Education Department.
OCR has had 100 K-12 resolution agreements for disability discrimination complaints so far this year, according to its online resolution database.
Between March and September 2025, OCR resolved 7,072 of more than 9,000 complaints received of all types, mostly by dismissing 90% of them, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report released in January. As with written state complaints, anyone can file an OCR complaint at no cost.
States are required to address special education written state complaints within 60 days of receiving them. More than three-quarters — 78% — of the 2024-25 complaints were resolved within that time frame, according to the CADRE analysis. However, that was down from the 92% average between 2014-15 and 2022-23.
According to CEC and NASDSE, state and local special education staff shortages and turnover are making it extremely difficult to provide timely resolutions.
Additionally, the number of students qualifying for services under IDEA has increased in recent years. About 15% of the student population in 2023-24, qualified for IDEA services, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education.
Another special education dispute activity tracked by CADRE is due process complaints, which are requests by parents of students with disabilities or school districts that their case be heard by an administrative hearing officer.
Whereas written state complaints ask a state agency to investigate a violation of special education law, due process complaints initiate a formal administrative hearing to resolve disputes over an individual student's identification, evaluation, placement or free and appropriate public education.
CADRE's analysis shows there were 23,656 due process complaints filed in 2024-25, a 40% drop compared to the year before. But, excluding New York's data, the analysis shows a 7% year-over-year increase in these complaints.
CADRE explained that in 2024-25, New York revised its procedures by establishing a separate Enhanced Rate Equitable Services unit and shifting certain cases out of the state’s IDEA due process system. That led to a decline of 16,389 reported due process filings in the state between 2023-24 and 2024-25, according to CADRE.
Still, New York, California and Puerto Rico made up more than 72% of the due process complaints filed nationally, CADRE said.
The value of early dispute resolution
Another data point that CADRE points to — as a positive trend — is a continued increase in mediation requests to resolve special education disputes. The 2024-25 school year saw the highest number of mediation requests — 13,197 — to date. The 2024-25 school year also saw the highest number of mediations held at 7,336.
Mediation may be used anytime a family and a district disagree over special education services, including if there is a due process complaint. A school district official or a family can request mediation and the activity is voluntary for both parties.
Although the number of times such mediation requests successfully led to agreements slipped in 2024-25, mediations not tied to due process complaints reached agreement about two-thirds of the time. That "underscores the value of investing in early, collaborative approaches that help families and schools resolve concerns before they escalate," Reese said.
Special education dispute resolution experts point out that while conflict is natural, it can lead to negative impacts for students when it goes unresolved.
CADRE promotes other preventative and early dispute resolution approaches. For instance, it encourages schools to use facilitators at individualized education program meetings, if there is conflict, and to engage and partner with families of students with disabilities.
