The author conducted a policy analysis of the impact of the special education student population [referred to as exceptional student education (ESE) in Florida’s A+ Plan, and as students with disabilities (SWD) under the No Child Left Behind Act] in selected Florida high schools regarding adequate yearly progress (AYP) as measured by the policies set forth in the No Child Left Behind Act. The major laws involved in this examination were the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and Florida’s A+ Plan. Florida was chosen because of the quality and clarity of the education policy in the state’s A+ Plan. This policy mandated that students must pass the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) in order to graduate from high school. Scores and participation in this statewide test were the foundation of Florida’s A+ Plan, and were used to measure adequate yearly progress at both the school and district levels.

The state and Federal policies were examined to determine if special education students had an impact on adequate yearly progress under either No Child Left Behind or Florida’s A+ Plan.

Data were gathered from the official Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) web site. All of the highest and lowest scoring districts, as measured by Florida’s A+ Plan, were examined. Within these districts data from all the highest and lowest scoring high schools were gathered. A comparison was then made between the school grade under Florida’s A+ Plan, and if the school made adequate yearly progress under the No Child Left Behind Act. Data from schools that made adequate yearly progress were examined to determine if and how students with disabilities impacted the calculations under both No Child Left Behind and Florida’s A+ Plan,.

Thirty-seven school districts and 109 high schools in Florida were examined in this study. Of the fifteen high schools that did make adequate yearly progress only two of them did so without dismissing the students with disabilities category due to small group size.