Of all of the US jurisdictions in the Pacific Islands, the RMI is the only so-called “non-State” to be rated as meeting the expectations for Special Education compliance.
“In fact,” said RMI Education Commissioner Dr. Natalie Nimmer, “we are the only one in the Pacific, even if you count Hawaii, Guam, etc.”
A US Department of Education 2026 fact sheet shows that only 20 of the 50 US states along with the Marshall Islands meet the standards for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) program, which provides multi-million dollar grants to special education services in both public and private schools in the RMI.
“Our team worked really hard to achieve this and I thought it would be good to share the good news with our community via the Marshall Islands Journal,” she said.
The Education Commissioner said: “This kind of achievement is only possible with the collaboration of Special Education staff, principals, teachers, Special Education teachers, families, and students. All of those entities are involved in the annual ‘individualized education program’ process, so it really does require the whole support system around the student.”
Even though the RMI has qualified for the IDEA program, Nimmer said “there is always room for improvement, which is why we offer trainings all summer.”
She noted that this week, a PSS training was focused on autism. The month of July will see a focus on individualized education program formulation and other skills for special education staff, she said.