Special Education Methodology Updates and Target Setting
What are special education methodology updates and target setting?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) established a series of special education “indicators” to measure services and results for students with disabilities. The Department of Education and Workforce (the Department) regularly engages stakeholders to review and revise methodology for these special education indicators to ensure the Department is appropriately analyzing local implementation of these measures. The Department recently engaged stakeholders in revising methodology and targets for the following equity measures:
- Significant Discrepancy in Long-Term Suspensions/Expulsions (Indicator 4a) | Fact Book
- Significant Discrepancy in Long-Term Suspensions/Expulsions by Race/Ethnicity (Indicator 4b) | Fact Book
- Disproportionate Representation of Racial/Ethnic Groups Identified with Disabilities (Indicator 9) and Specific Disability Categories (Indicator 10) | Fact Book
For each of these measures, the Department will now consider two years of data rather than three years of data in each calculation. Further details are provided in the indicator fact books.
Additionally, the Department established new targets for these two indicators based on new baselines:
- Graduation (Indicator 1) | Fact Book
- Dropout (Indicator 2) | Fact Book
New targets for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years can be found in the fact books for these indicators.
Finalized methodological and target choices are detailed
here as well as in the individual indicator fact books linked above.
How are the final methodology and targets determined?
The Department first requested public comment on the proposed methodology for significant discrepancy in long-term suspensions/expulsions (Indicator 4) and disproportionate representation in racial/ethnic groups identified with disabilities (Indicators 9 and 10), and target options for graduation (Indicator 1) and dropout (Indicator 2) in August 2024. The Department then convened a virtual stakeholder group for a series of meetings in August and September 2024. The Department invited stakeholders who expressed interest in participating via the public comment period as well as individuals who participate in other special education stakeholder groups with the Department. Finally, the Department held a second public comment period in addition to an open office hour in October 2024 to address any questions from stakeholders. A summary of this stakeholder engagement process is available here.
What are the targets for the other special education indicators?
As required by the
IDEA Annual Performance Report package, the Department sets targets with stakeholders across indicators through the 2025-2026 school year. The Department set targets in 2021 for the indicators listed below.
A summary of the indicator target setting process, including final targets, is available here.
Exiting Indicators:
Statewide Math & Reading Assessments Indicators:
Discipline & School-Age Environments Indicators:
- 5: School-age Least Restrictive Environments (18 total targets) | Fact Book | Video
Preschool Environments & Outcomes Indicators:
Family Involvement Indicators:
Dispute Resolution Indicators:
What happens if Ohio does not meet the targets?
Ohio's performance on each special education indicator is compared to the targets for annual federal reporting. Each February, the Department reports Ohio’s performance to the U.S. Department of Education. If the state does not meet the target for the reporting year, the Department must include in this report a description of likely reasons why the state missed the target and improvement strategies designed to make progress on the indicator. Additionally, states must publicly report the performance of each district in the state in comparison to the targets.
Additional Resources
Questions can be sent to
specialedtargets@education.ohio.gov.
Last Modified: 11/6/2024 3:17:02 PM