States get dismal report cards on special ed

The U.S. Department of Education has graded the states on how well they are educating children with physical and mental disabilities. Nine are complying with the law, five need "intervention," and the rest "need assistance." See the Department of Education release here, story on stateline.org here. The grades are based on public information submitted by the states for the 2005-2006 school year.

The states that met the requirements for children aged 3 to 21 were: Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Wyoming.

Those listed as "needing intervention" were: Colorado, Indiana, North Carolina, North Dakota and Washington.

So let's get this straight: it's been 32 years since Congress passed the law mandating public education for students with disabilities, and only nine states are in compliance?