Two Pieces of a Puzzle - The 95% Participation Requirement in State Plans and States’ Opt-out Policies

Oct 15, 2026

Analyzes how U.S. states incorporate the ESEA/ESSA 95% participation requirement for students with disabilities into statewide accountability systems, including the calculation method for participation rates and the use of alternate assessments under AA-AAAS limits. Reviews which content areas are covered by the 95% rule and how parental opt-out policies affect reaching required participation levels. Finds all states addressed the requirement, but only 28 included consequences and most states used specific approaches to incorporate participation into proficiency.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages95

Reading Time3 h 59 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

95% Participation Requirement in ESEA/ESSA and IDEA

Alternate Assessments and Waiver Criteria (AA-AAAS)

Parental Opt-out and State Policy Variation

Key Findings on Consequences and Accountability Calculations

Content Areas Covered by the 95% Requirement

Review of Opt-out Policy Approaches

NCEO Report 443 Two Pieces of a Puzzle: The 95% Participation Requirement in State Plans and States’ Opt-out Policies NCEO Report 443 Two Pieces of a Puzzle: The 95% Participation Requirement in State Plans and States’ Opt-out Policies Mari Quanbeck, Sheryl S. Lazarus, and Andrew R. Hinkle June 2024 All rights reserved. Any or all portions ofthis document may be reproduced and distributed without prior permission, provided the source is cited as: Quanbeck, M., Lazarus, S. S., & Hinkle, A. R. (2024) . Two pieces of a puzzle: The 95% participation requirement in state plans and states’opt-out policies (NCEO Report 443) . National Center on Educational Outcomes. The Center is supported through a Cooperative Agreement (\#H326G210002) with the Research to Practice Division, Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education. The Center is affiliated with the Institute on Community Integration at the College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota. Consistent with EDGAR §75.62, the contents of this report were developed under the Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department of Education, but do not necessarily represent the policy or opinions of the U.S. Department of Education or Offices within it. Readers should not assume endorsement by the federal government. Project Officer: David Egnor In collaboration with: NCEO Core Staff Sheryl S. Lazarus, Director Jessica Bowman Gail Ghere Linda Goldstone Andrew R. Hinkle Kristi K. Liu Charity Funfe Tatah Mentan Michael L. Moore Darrell Peterson Mari Quanbeck Virginia A. Ressa Christopher M. Rogers Jennifer Sommerness Kathy Strunk Martha L. Thurlow Yi-Chen Wu National Center on Educational Outcomes University of Minnesota 2025 East River Parkway, Room 1-330 • Minneapolis, MN 55414 Phone 612/626-1530 [http://www.nceo.info](http://www.nceo.info) The University of Minnesota shall provide equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. This document is available in alternative formats upon request. ~~Executive Summary ~~ The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), commonly known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), requires the participation of students with disabilities in state assessments used for accountability. Additionally, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires the participation of all students with disabilities in all statewide assessment administrations. ESEA also requires that states test at least 95% of all students, as well as 95% of each student subgroup, including students with disabilities, on the reading and mathematics assessments that are used for accountability purposes. In their consolidated state plans, states must address how they factor the 95% participation requirement into their statewide accountability systems, including a method for calculating the percentage of students who participate in statewide assessments. The 2015 reauthorization of ESEA also limits participation in the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS) to 1.0% of a state’s tested population. The AA-AAAS is designed for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. States may submit a waiver request to the U.S. Department of Education if they anticipate exceeding 1% limit. One eligibility criterion for the waiver requires states to show that at least 95% of all students, as well as 95% of students with disabilities, participated in the required state assessments used for accountability. Some parents choose to withdraw their children from statewide testing. Parental opt-out occurs for a variety of reasons and poses an additional challenge for states to reach the required 95% participation rate. Th

FAQs

What does the 95% participation requirement apply to in state accountability systems?

It applies to students with disabilities participating in state assessments used for accountability, including reading and mathematics for all states, with some states potentially adding additional content areas.

How do states handle parental opt-out when meeting the 95% participation rate?

States vary in response to opt-out, with some prohibiting opt-out and others allowing it or addressing it without specifying consequences, impacting how participation targets are achieved.

What consequences did states include for failing to meet the participation requirement?

Although all states addressed the requirement, only 28 states included consequences such as improvement plans, penalties like lowering a grade level, and monitoring or audits, with escalation over multiple years for some.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jordan Avery