Significant Developmental Delay
Definition in State Rule: Significant Developmental Delay
Significant developmental delay means children, ages 3 through 9 years of age, who are experiencing significant delays in the areas of physical, cognition, communication, social-emotional, or adaptive development. PI 11.36 (11)(a), Wis. Admin. Code
Incidence and Disproportionality
Incidence
For the 2024-25 school year, 11,119 students (1.38%) of total public school enrollment (805,881) were identified as having a significant developmental delay. The 11,119 students with a significant developmental delay made up 8.77% of all students with IEPs (126,830). In Wisconsin, IEP teams are not required to identify secondary or tertiary impairment areas and are only required to submit a “reporting” disability and may also report an “other” disability category. Thus the number of students identified as having an “other” disability category of significant developmental delay is not reflected in this data. To view additional data including district level information, go to the WI DPI public WISEdash portal.
Disproportionality
In Wisconsin, like many other states, we see district data demonstrating race-based patterns of identification for some disability criteria areas compared to others. Although districts rarely demonstrate these patterns in the area of significant developmental delay, as an equity issue, we strongly encourage all districts to disaggregate their special education data to ensure evaluation practices and procedures are culturally responsive and address bias when conducting and analyzing assessments used to make eligibility decisions. Go to the DPI Culturally Responsive Problem Solving web page for more information.
Significant Developmental Delay Criteria
Significant Developmental Delay Criteria
§300.304 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) outlines two purpose of special education evaluations (i) Whether the child is a child with a disability; and (ii) The content of the child’s IEP, including information related to enabling the child to be involved in and progress in the general education curriculum (or for a preschool child, to participate in appropriate activities). The disability category criteria IEP forms only assist IEP teams with (i) and are not sufficient in completing an evaluation and developing a student’s IEP. To ensure compliance with implementing a full, individual, and comprehensive evaluation, go to the Wisconsin DPI Comprehensive Special Education Evaluation web page.
Worksheets and Guidelines
Other Special Education Resources
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