Special Education

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Indicator 6: Preschool Environments for Students with IEPs (Ages 3 – 5)

What Is Indicator 6?

Indicator 6 looks at children who have IEPs and receive most of their services and support in:

  1. Regular preschool setting
  2. Separate special education setting
  3. Home-based education setting (new)

Why Is Indicator 6 Important?

As much as possible, children of all abilities should be taught in the same classroom (IDEA, 2004). According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, this opportunity:

  • Helps children develop compassion
  • Helps with children's social skills and language

The table below shows the percent of students in each educational setting.

Sub-Indicator2017-2018 School Year2018-2019 School Year2019-2020 School Year2020-2021 School Year2021-2022 School Year
6A: regular preschool setting53.7%54.5%54.6%52.8%50.45%
6B: special education setting17.9%16.6%18.2%19.5%19.95%
6C: home setting0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%0.13%

Changes to Indicator 6

For the new FFY2020–FFY2025 State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report, two changes were made to Indicator 6. First, a new sub-indicator was added. The new sub-indicator, 6C, looks at the percentage of preschool children whose educational environment is the home.

The second change is that states can set targets for each age OR states can set a single target (for the whole group of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds in preschool) for each sub-indicator. For 6C, states can also set a discrete target or identify a target range.

Because of the changes to Indicator 6, Massachusetts identified new baselines and targets.

New Baselines for FFY2020–FFY2025
Sub-indicatorBaselines
6A: regular preschool setting52.31%
6B: separate special education setting19.36%
6C: home setting0.13%
New Targets for FFY2020–FFY2021
Sub-indicatorTargets
FFY2020-20212021-20222022-20232023-20242024-20252025-2026
6A52.31%52.31%52.31%52.31%53.36%54.41%
6B19.36%19.36%19.36%19.36%18.02%16.68%
6C0.11%–0.13%0.11%–0.13%0.11%–0.13%0.11%–0.13%0.10%–0.12%0.09%–0.11%

Additional Information:

Learn More about Indicator # 6:

Last Updated: March 21, 2023