What Do We Need to Know about the State Performance Plan? By: Catherine Benitz, Program Specialist, MPRRC With the regulations available for special educators to fully and appropriately implement the Individuals with Disabilities Implementation Education Act of 2004 (IDEA), there is another area of special interest in statewide special education services. A part of the IDEA 2004 enactment required that in one year (by December 3, 2005), State Education Departments Lead Agencies would need to submit a State Performance Plan (SPP) to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), which is part of the U.S. Department of Education. This SPP must provide a plan for implementing the areas of State data collection and reporting, special education monitoring systems, and school improvement efforts for the next six years. OSEP has identified three monitoring priorities and 20 indicators relating to those priority areas. Each State must develop measurable and rigorous targets for improvement over the six-year period, including improvement strategies or mechanisms for measuring the accomplishments. For many States, new methods of data collection will be required or additional monitoring activities put in place to ensure the progress the State has outlined. Each State has submitted an SPP and made revisions according to the requirements and approvals of OSEP. Broad stakeholder input was required in the process to ensure the public was involved in setting the targets for State improvement. Posting of the plan on the State website and other methods of distribution of the Plan will ensure ongoing involvement in the progress of the State. It may be helpful for teachers, parents, and agencies collaborating with special education to understand the strategies that are being implemented for progress. An Annual Performance Report (APR) will be prepared and submitted each year starting in 2007 to demonstrate the steps toward progress. The priorities and indicators each State is working on in the SPP involve local data collection responsibilities for several areas. New measurements in this federal requirement are starred, and schools will be collecting and reporting data in these areas. The following indictors are included for Part B services. Part C indicators are found on page 12. Priority: Free Appropriate Public Education in the Least Restrictive Environment 1. Percent of youth with Individual Education Programs (IEPs) graduating from high school with a regular diploma compared to percent of all youth in the State graduating with a regular diploma
2. Percent of youth with IEPs dropping out of high school compared to the percent of all youth in the State dropping out of high school
3. Participation and performance of children with disabilities on statewide assessments
4. Rates of suspension and expulsion
5. Percent of children with IEPs ages 6 through 21 who are
a. Removed from regular class less than 21 percent of the day;
b. Removed from regular class greater than 60 percent of the day; or
c. Served in either public/private separate schools or in residential placements
6. Percent of preschool children with IEPs who receive special education and related services in settings with typically developing peers (e.g., early childhood settings, home, and part-time early childhood/part-time early childhood special education settings)
7. Percent of preschool children with IEPs who demonstrate improved
a. Positive social-emotional skills (including social relationships);
b. Acquisition and use of knowledge and skills (including early language/communication and early literacy); and
c. Use of appropriate behaviors to meet their needs
8. Percent of parents with a child receiving special education services who report that schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for children with disabilities
Priority: Disproportionality 9. Percent of districts identified with disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services that is the result of inappropriate identification
10. Percent of districts with disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in specific disability categories that is the result of inappropriate identification
Priority: Effective General Supervision Part B Child Find 11. Percent of children with parental consent to evaluate who were evaluated and eligibility determined within 60 days
Effective Transitions 12. Percent of children referred by Part C (Early Intervention Services) prior to age three (3), who are found eligible for Part B, and who have an IEP developed and implemented by their third birthdays
13. Percent of youth aged 16 and above with an IEP that includes coordinated, measurable, annual IEP goals and transition services that will reasonably enable the student to meet the postsecondary goals
14. Percent of youth who had IEPs, who are no longer in secondary school, and who have been competitively employed, enrolled in some type of postsecondary school, or both within one year of leaving high school.
General Supervision For the following indicators, the State must report data on its progress toward meeting the targets but is not required to report on the local educational agency’s (LEA’s) progress. 15. General supervision system (including monitoring, complaints, hearings, etc.) identifies and corrects noncompliance as soon as possible but in no case later than one year from identification.
16. Percent of signed written complaints with reports issued that were resolved within 60-day timeline or a timeline extended for exceptional circumstances with respect to a particular complaint
17. Percent of due process hearing requests that were fully adjudicated within the 45-day timeline or a timeline that is properly extended by the hearing officer at the request of either party
18. Percent of hearing requests that went to resolution sessions that were resolved through resolution session settlement agreements
19. Percent of mediations held that resulted in mediation agreements
20. State-reported data (618) and State Performance Plan and Annual Performance Report are timely and accurate.
As regular and special educators are working to meet the regulations of IDEA, collaborating to ensure effective services, and measuring student success, additional measurements will help to identify progress and change across the State. Additional information about the requirements of the SPP can be found through the U.S. Department of Education website at http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/bapr/index.html.
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