(Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act) and IDEA Review (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act) and Gifted Education Review

Comprehensive Monitoring System

ON-SITE REVIEW SELECTION OEC works in partnership with the Office of Federal Program’s Program Audit Compliance Tracking System (PACTS). LEAs are selected randomly, based on the PACTS cohort system.

LEA Team Required Membership Suggested Membership General education staff Special education staff Curriculum supervisors or coordinators Gifted coordinator EMIS coordinator Superintendent Treasurer CCIP Coordinator State Support Team (SST) representative ODE representative Suggested Membership Related service providers School psychologists

The focus of the IDEA Review is to examine the LEA’s: Decision-making process for making least restrictive environment (LRE) decisions, as documented in an IEP; Child Find process; Delivery of services and alignment with IEPs; Evaluation and placement process for children with disabilities transitioning from preschool to kindergarten; Accuracy of data reported to ODE including Dec. 1 Child Count; Compliance with statutory requirements for Individual Education Programs (IEPs) and Evaluation Team Reports (ETRs); Fulfillment of IDEA Part B fiscal requirements; and. Other issues as identified through analysis of the district’s data.

Gifted Education Review Ensure that LEAs are compliant with Am. Sub. HB1, and the statutory regulations regarding gifted education in Ohio Focuses on: Gifted education budget and expenditures Review of Written Education Plans (WEPs) and Written Acceleration Plans (WAPs) Provision of equitable services across the district Student contact time associated with services Assignment and qualifications of gifted staff and Professional development for regular education teachers providing gifted services

PREPARING FOR REVIEW Designate a lead contact person Designate a LEA contact for special education, gifted education, and fiscal and preschool components of the review

Parent Meetings Identify a location for public and individual meetings with parents. Mail parent public meeting notice to all LEA’s parents/guardians of students with disabilities Retain a copy of the public notice to the parent in the student’s special education file. Post parent public meeting notice on LEA’s website at least two weeks before the parent public meeting

Documents and Student Records Review Secure a room for OEC team to conduct on-site activities Notify team leader of document and record review location Assemble all required documents according to the OEC Documents Required for On-site Review Submit to review team leader OEC Documents Required Prior to On-site and Ensure that all Required On-site Documents are available to review team on the first day of the review

Interviews with LEA personnel With the OEC team leader: Select LEA personnel who will participate in the interviews Determine the district/building-level administrative personnel who will participate in the interview sessions. Secure a location and schedule time for the two interview sessions. (Each interview will take approximately 2 ½ hours) Notify OEC team leader of location and time the interviews will be conducted

Parent Public Meeting and Individual Meetings with Parents ON-SITE ACTIVITIES Parent Public Meeting and Individual Meetings with Parents A parent public meeting will be facilitated by OEC where parents will have the opportunity to express support or concerns for special education services in the LEA. There also will be time scheduled for individual meetings with parents if requested. LEA will: Have a representative at the parent public meeting, who will introduce the review team and be available at the end of the parent public meeting for closing remarks. LEA representative will not be present during the parent meeting. Provide copies of Whose Idea is This? at the parent meeting.

Student Record and Document Review A sample of student special education records will be selected to review, based on OEC review team’s analysis of the LEA’s current SPP Indicator data and other related LEA data. OEC’s record selection may be random across grade levels, disability categories, buildings or may be targeted. LEA will: Make available all OEC requested student records on Day 1 of the review. Provide additional documentation or evidence of policies, procedures or practices, as requested by the review team. Verify and/or update student addresses, only if individual cases of non-compliance are identified by the ODE team.

Interviews with LEA Personnel Interviews will be conducted separately with: Team(s) of special education teachers, regular education teachers and related service providers who are providing services to those students whose records were reviewed on-site. A team of LEA administrators LEA will: Identify LEA personnel with assistance from the OEC team leader who will participate in the review interviews Provide additional documentation or evidence of policies, procedures or practices as requested by OEC to substantiate interview responses Allow up to 2 ½ hours for each interview Identify a location for the interviews that allows OEC use of laptop computers

REVIEW EXIT MEETING OEC will conduct an exit meeting with the LEA administrative team including LEA special education contact, superintendent, and other representatives identified by OEC. The group will discuss expectations for corrective action process, timelines, and the SST‟s role in providing professional development and technical assistance to the LEA. A representative from the SST is required to attend the LEA’s Exit Meeting.

POST-ON-SITE ACTIVITIES Summary Report OEC will send the LEA the on-site summary report within 90 days of the on-site review: Findings of non-compliance in the LEA. (any compliance level less than 100 percent in student records, data verification, document reviews and interviews The root cause(s) of the non-compliance in the LEA Parent Notification of Findings OEC will mail written notification to parents/guardians if findings of non-compliance are identified for individual students during the record review Copies of the parent notification letter(s) will be sent to the LEA via email

Corrective Action The LEA must demonstrate two separate parts of a “two pronged test”: Evidence of Correction of Individual Cases of non-compliance Evidence of Systemic Correction that indicates that the changes in the system have yielded significantly improved outcomes for children and students with disabilities in the focused area The LEA must: Develop a corrective action plan (CAP) Within 30 school days from the date of the LEA summary report Correct all identified non-compliance

The Corrective Action Plan Examine the root cause of non-compliance to assist with developing and implementing policies, procedures and practices to ensure 100 percent compliance and ongoing compliance. Address all findings of LEA non-compliance using the template provided for the CAP Review and revise LEA policies, procedures, practices or forms to ensure 100 percent compliance which may include: establishing internal controls to ensure ongoing compliance, staff training, increased supervision; changing staff assignments or adding staff and other resources Work with OEC staff and a SST representative in developing a CAP Submit a signed, electronic version of the CAP to OEC Lead Consultant for approval within 30 days from the date of the LEA Summary Report

Implementation of OEC Approved Corrective Action Plan Begin implementation of the approved CAP immediately in order to meet the regulatory requirements of IDEA of 100 percent compliance Verification of Correction and Implementation of Regulatory Requirements After LEA implementation of the CAP, OEC will: Review a sample of records to verify that the LEA is now correctly implementing the specific regulatory requirements Retain an open finding of non-compliance in the LEA, if the sample record review detects continued non-compliance Review another sample of records to verify correction of the continued non-compliance Factor continued and ongoing non-compliance after one year into the annual LEA Determination Ongoing non-compliance could result in consequences under OEC‟s policy for progressive sanctions