Special Education Monitoring System
States have a responsibility under federal law to establish a system of general supervision to monitor the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 by educational agencies.
As part of the Ohio’s system of general supervision, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Office for Exceptional Children developed a comprehensive monitoring system for implementation of IDEA and continuous improvement. The overall goal of the Department’s IDEA monitoring system is to provide educational agencies the support and resources to improve outcomes for students with disabilities.
The monitoring system includes three tiers of support:
Each review involves a different level of support and resources from the Department and regional state support teams. All educational agencies are reviewed every year through the Tier 1: Compliance and Performance Indicator Reviews. Educational agencies may also be selected for a Tier 2 or Tier 3 review for one or more of the following reasons:
- Risk analysis based upon multiple factors and measures associated with compliance and performance indicator data
- Education Management Information System (EMIS) and other data that suggest irregularities in the educational agency’s special education process
- Patterns of repeated and/or systemic complaints and due process hearing requests regarding special education services
- Referral from other agencies or entities, such as the Ohio Auditor of State’s office, the office of the Ohio Attorney General or Department internal offices
Compliance and Performance Indicator Reviews (Tier 1)
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce annually monitors the performance of all educational agencies on the following State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report indicators:
- Indicator 1 – Graduation
- Indicator 2 – Dropout
- Indicator 3 – Performance on State Assessments
- Indicator 4 – Suspension/Expulsion
- Indicator 5 – School-age Educational Environments
- Indicator 6 – Preschool Educational Environments
- Indicator 7 – Preschool Outcomes
- Indicator 8 – Facilitated Parent Involvement
- Indicator 9 – Disproportionality (all categories)
- Indicator 10 – Disproportionality (specific categories)
- Indicator 11 – Child Find (timely completion of initial evaluations)
- Indicator 12 – Early Childhood Transition
- Indicator 13 – Secondary Transition
- Indicator 14 – Postsecondary Outcomes
- Indicator 20 – Timely and Accurate Data Reporting.
For more information on Tier 1 Compliance and Performance Indicator Reviews, please see Ohio’s Special Education Profiles webpage.
IDEA Guided Desk-Review Process (Tier 2)
The intent of the Tier 2 Guided IDEA Desk-Review Process is to provide educational agencies with the desk-review resources and tools that will result in better academic, social and post-secondary outcomes for students with disabilities and to meet regulatory compliance requirements. The educational agency’s self-review efforts, coupled with resulting continuous improvement priorities, will result in positive growth and development for personnel and education systems and will, in turn, produce higher achievement for all students.
IDEA Onsite Monitoring Review Process (Tier 3)
The intent of the IDEA Onsite Monitoring Review Process is to maximize the use of resources that will result in better academic, social and postsecondary outcomes for students with disabilities and to implement federal and state requirements. The IDEA Onsite Monitoring Review Process focuses on individual educational agency needs while leveraging the educational agency’s strengths to address opportunities for improvement. This multi-year process is closely linked and integrated into the Ohio Improvement Process, utilizing existing leadership structures and procedures for data analysis, planning, implementation and monitoring of strategies and actions designed to address improved outcomes for students with disabilities. The state support team serves as the primary source for technical assistance and professional development during implementation of improvement strategies and activities and supporting sustained improvement.
Click here for more information regarding the Tier 2 Guided IDEA Desk-Review Process and Tier 3 IDEA Onsite Monitoring Review Process.
Last Modified: 8/15/2024 7:11:01 AM