Indicator 8 Special Education Family Survey

The Special Education Family Survey is an annual survey conducted by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, Office of Accountability, in collaboration with The Ohio State University’s Center on Education and Training for Employment and the Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center. It is designed to gather feedback from families of students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) to inform family engagement efforts across Ohio’s schools, districts, state support teams, and the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. 

Federal Requirement 

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), districts must collect parent involvement data for students with IEPs at least once every six years as part of Indicator 8 (20 U.S.C. 1416(a)(3)(B)). This data is used to measure the percentage of parents with children receiving special education services who report that schools facilitated parent involvement to improve services and outcomes for children with disabilities. 

Survey Administration 

  • The survey is short, mobile-friendly, and available in multiple languages including English, Spanish, Somali, Nepali, Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese. 
  • The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete.  
  • Districts are responsible for:  

    • Disseminating the survey invitation via existing communication channels (email, social media, recorded voice messages, paper invitations, district websites, etc.). 

    • Completing a short dissemination inventory to document outreach efforts. 
    • Submitting the inventory to the OSU team as verification of participation. 

Cohort Structure 

Each year, a cohort of districts is selected to participate, ensuring a representative sample of Ohio’s student population. Participation satisfies the district’s Indicator 8 requirement for the next six-year cycle. Districts are notified of their participation requirements via the Special Education Profile (Phase 1), released each December.  

In 2024, Cohort 5 included 141 districts and community schools. Survey responses were collected from March 5 to May 7, 2024. The Cohort-5-Special-Education-Family-Survey-Report-final-with-accessibility.pdf includes key findings, results, and recommendations from the survey responses collected in 2024. 

Support and Contact 

Districts selected for participation may direct questions to the OSU survey team at: 
📧 ohiofamilysurvey@osu.edu 


This survey is a collaboration among:

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osu center on education and training for employment logo
DEW logo 

 

Last Modified: 12/12/2025 10:22:46 AM