Read the formulations first; they are the terms.
The Index documents publication from primary sources and does not evaluate any program. Using it means using it as that: a dated, versioned record of what states and their institutions published, with a correction route for every body named in it.
The boundary of every claim
Every state file and every cross-state table on this site records what a state, an agency, a school, or a district published on a stated date, with the source and the retrieval date. A coverage code is a statement about publication. A figure is a published figure with its year and source. An absence is a statement that nothing was found where the file says it looked. Interpretation is marked as interpretation. A reader who relies on the Index for a conclusion about the quality of any program, or about whether any body complies with any law, has drawn that conclusion; the Index has not.
NONE FOUND is a statement about publication, not about service delivery.
Obligations under IDEA are not evidence of a program.
What you may do
The state page is free to read for everyone. The file is licensed: use with attribution, no redistribution, and commercial use under the commercial product of the national license.
Cite
Use the citation line on every state page, with the versioned URL and the DOI. Versions are permanent; the current-version URL changes.
Quote
Quote the Index's own words with attribution; do not present a coverage code, a figure, or an absence as an evaluation of any program or as a statement that a body complies or fails to comply with anything.
Do not rank
No table or export may be republished as a ranking, a score, a grade, a badge, or a seal. The comparison rules are part of the terms.
Correct
If you are named in a state file, the correction and comment routes are yours on the same terms as everyone else, and nothing you pay changes that or a figure.
License
Redistribution of the files and any commercial use require the license issued on request; licensees receive no editorial input.
Retraction
A materially wrong version is never deleted; it carries a retraction notice at its URL beside the corrected version.
Novara Consulting Group LLC
The site is published by Novara Consulting Group LLC, Minnesota. The Index is not a government publication and is not affiliated with any agency, school, or district it documents. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota.