LEA DETERMINATIONS

1
LEA DETERMINATIONS
AND WHAT THEY MEAN FOR LOCAL DISTRICTS
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS

• LEA Determinations and Considerations for Making
  Determinations
• Illinois State Performance Plan and Stakeholder
  Involvement In the Determinations Process
• 2008-2009 LEA Determinations Criteria and
  Resources
• Needs Assistance 2 Districts
• Appeals Process
• Public Reporting

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What Are Determinations?

• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
  of 2004 (IDEA 2004), Section 616 requires each
  State to make determinations on the performance
  of each local district.
• The U.S. Department of Education through the
  Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is
  also required to engage in making a Determination
  for every State and U.S. Territory.
• Determinations are a way of designating the
  status of each LEA program in relation to one of
  the four following categories
• Meets Requirements
• Needs Assistance
• Needs Intervention
• Needs Substantial Intervention

4
Considerations For Making Determinations

• ISBE has submitted a six-year State Performance
  Plan (SPP), as well as the corresponding Annual
  Performance Reports (APRs), to OSEP as required
  by IDEA. The SPP contains 20 data-based
  indicators, which are used to evaluate a states
  performance and progress. These indicators are
  separated into two categories by the federal
  government
• (1) Compliance Indicators measure compliance
  within the district compared with IDEA
  regulations.
• (2) Results Indicators measure the performance
  of students with disabilities within the district.

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SPP Indicators

• Compliance Indicators
• Disproportionality (9 10)
• Child Find (11)
• Early Childhood Transition (12)
• Secondary Transition Plans (13)
• General Supervision (15)
• Complaints (16)
• Due Process (17)
• Timely, Valid and Reliable Data (20)

• Results Indicators
• Graduation (1)
• Dropout (2)
• Assessment (3)
• Discipline (4)
• EE Ages 6-21 (5)
• EE Ages 3-5 (6)
• Early Childhood Outcomes (7)
• Parent Involvement (8)
• Post-School Outcomes (14)
• Resolution Sessions (18)
• Mediation Agreements (19)

Note For more information, please visit
http//www.isbe.net/spec-ed/pdfs/state_performance
.pdf.
6
2008-2009 Illinois LEA Determination Indicator
Requirements

• Each State may choose whether to consider results
  indicators when making determinations.
• All States are required to consider the following
  data when making determinations based on the
  2008-2009 school year data
• Indicators 9 Disproportionate Representation in
  Special Education
• Indicator 10 Disproportionate Representation in
  Specific Disability Categories
• Indicator 11 Child Find
• Indicator 12 Early Intervention to Early
  Childhood Transition
• Indicator 13 Secondary Transition
• Indicator 15 General Supervision, Uncorrected
  Noncompliance
• Indicator 20 Timely, Valid and Reliable data
  submissions
• IDEA Part B Audit Findings

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Stakeholder Involvement in Determination Process

• ISBE convened a small stakeholder group comprised
  of
• representatives from
• Regional Offices of Education (ROEs)
• Illinois Association of School Administrators
  (IASA)
• Illinois State Advisory Council for Children
  with Disabilities (ISAC)
• Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special
  Education (IAASE)
• Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT)
• Illinois Education Association (IEA)

8
Changes to the Process

• The US Department of Education, Office of Special
  Education Programs (OSEP) notified States of a
  change in the Indicator 13 measurement for the
  2008-2009 school year. As such, States were
  informed that due to this change in measurement,
  these data are not required to be publically
  reported or used in LEA Determinations for FFY08
  (2008-2009 school year data). These data will be
  required to be reported for FFY09 (2009-2010
  school year data). Districts reported Indicator
  13 data (2009-2010 school year data) will be
  included in the 2009-2010 LEA Determinations
  cycle.
• ISBE was notified through OSEP that States must
  make findings of noncompliance based on data
  reported by the LEAs through State Data
  System(s). Therefore, ISBE is required to make
  findings for any single instance of noncompliance
  found within a district regardless of the
  districts LEA Determination. Further, these
  findings must be made outside of LEA
  Determinations process.

9
2008-2009 LEA Determinations Criteria and
Resources
10
Indicator 9 Criteria
11
Indicator 10 Criteria
12
Indicators 9 10 Resources

• The following tools and resources may be accessed
  from the LEA
• Determinations link found at www.isbe.net/spec-ed
• Illinois Process for Determining and Addressing
  Disproportionality in Special Education
• Weighted and Alternate Risk Ratios
• District Self-Assessment
• District Status Report
• Disproportionality PowerPoint Presentation
• Methods for Assessing Racial/Ethnic
  Disproportionality in Special Education A
  Technical Assistance Guide
• October 2, 2008 Conference Call Audio Cast
• Special Education Disproportionality FAQ
• Use of IDEA Part B Funds for Early Intervening
  Services

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Indicator 11 Criteria
14
Indicator 12 Criteria
15
Indicators 11 12 Resources

• The following resources may be accessed from the
  LEA Determinations
• link found at www.isbe.net/spec-ed
• Indicator 11
• Special Education Funding and Child Tracking
  System Instructions
• Illinois School Code (Section 105 ILCS 5/14-8.02)
• State Performance Plan Indicator 11 Resource
  Guide
• http//www.isbe.net/spec-ed/pdfs/indicator_11_res
  _guide.pdf
• Indicator 12
• Designing and Implementing Effective Early
  Childhood Transition Processes
• Overview of IDEA/SPP Early Childhood Transition
  Requirements
• When Im 3, Where Will I Be? A Familys
  Transition Workbook
• Early Intervention to Early Childhood Tracking
  Form Video Training
• Early Intervention to Early Childhood Transition
  FAQ
• Early Intervention to Early Childhood Tracking
  Form
• Statewide Collaborative Transition Training
  Presentation
• Early Intervention to Early Childhood Federal
  Register Citations
• Extended School Year Services for Students with
  Disabilities

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Indicator 13 Criteria
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Indicator 13 Resources

• The following resources may be accessed from the
  LEA Determinations
• link found at www.isbe.net/spec-ed
• FACTS Manual Instructions for Entry of Indicator
  13 Data
• Illinois SPP Indicator 13 Checklist
• Harrisburg Training Resources for FACTS Indicator
  13 Data Entry
• Training Video
• New User Basics Document
• Building a Better IEP Understanding Indicator 13
  and the Transition Plan Requirements- a
  PowerPoint Training
• Transition Plan Sample
• Transition Outreach Training for Adult Living
  (TOTAL) Training Videos
• National Secondary Transition Technical
  Assistance Center (NSTTAC) Indicator 13 FAQ
• NSTTAC Web-based Examples and Non-Examples for
  SPP Indicator 13
• NSTTAC Evidence Based Secondary Transition
  Practices
• Age-Appropriate Transition Assessment Resources
• NSTTAC Age Appropriate Transition Assessment
  Guide
• National Collaborative on Workforce and
  Disability for Youth (NCWDY) Career Planning
  Begins with Assessment

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Indicator 13 Whats New?

• The following resources for Indicator 13 and
  transition plan development
• are accessible from the Secondary Transition page
  at
• http//www.isbe.state.il.us/spec-ed/html/total.htm
  
• 2009 PEATC Transition Webinar Series
• PEATC and VCU RRTC bring six 30 minute webinars
  Next Steps Transition for students with
  disabilities. This is a FREE opportunity for
  students, families, educators, adult service
  providers and others interested in Transition.
  FREE, but registration is required. To register,
  please link to http//www.peatc.org/newsmanager/ne
  ws_article.cgi?sess8ee7992460bb0064160079671f724c
  0anews_id66
• Proyecto Visión
• This bilingual web site is a project to connect
  Latinos with disabilities to employment
  opportunities. It provides information on
  education, employment, and independent living
  resources and lists hundreds of job, scholarship,
  internship, grant, award, and other educational
  opportunities of interest to Latinos and students
  with disabilities

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Indicator 15 Criteria
20
Indicator 20 Criteria
21
Audit Finding Criteria
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Indicator 15, Indicator 20 and Audit Resources

• Indicator 15 September 3, 2008 OSEP FAQ
  Regarding Identification and Correction of
  Noncompliance and Reporting on Correction in the
  SPP/APR at http//spp-apr-calendar.rrfcnetwork.or
  g/explorer/view/id/530
• Indicator 20 Forum Guide to Building a Culture
  of Quality Data A School District Resource
• Audits IDEA Part B Grants link on the ISBE
  website http//www.isbe.net/spec-ed/html/idea_par
  t-b.htm

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Overall LEA Determination Criteria
24
NA2District Improvement Plan Requirements
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NA2 Districts

• For districts designated as NA2, ISBE, in
  accordance with Section 616(e) of IDEA and 34 CFR
  300.604, must take one or more enforcement
  actions. Such actions include
• advising districts of available sources of
  technical assistance that may help them address
  the area(s) in which they need assistance
• directing the use of funds on the area or areas
  in which the district needs assistance or
• identifying the district as a high-risk grantee
  and imposing special conditions on the districts
  IDEA Part B grant award.
• ISBE has chosen to advise districts of available
  sources of technical assistance that may help
  them address the Indicator area(s) in which they
  need assistance.

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NA2 Districts

• If your districts LEA Determination letter
  indicates a designation of NA2 your district is
  required to add an objective regarding technical
  assistance resources under Section II Action
  Plan in the District Improvement Plan (DIP) found
  on the Illinois Interactive Report Card (IIRC)
  website.
• Strategies and activities related to special
  education must be incorporated into the existing
  DIP to ensure alignment with current district
  initiatives.
• Districts are encouraged to access technical
  resources for their specific SPP Indicators.

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IIRC District Improvement Plan

• District Improvement Plans (DIPs) for districts
  designated as Needs Assistance
• For Two Consecutive Years (NA2) must be
  submitted via the Illinois Interactive
• Report Card e-Plans by June 1, 2010.
• The DIP template is found at http//iirc.niu.edu//
  . The school district superintendent
• may access the template by entering the district
  username and password already
• provided to the district.
• Usernames and passwords can be obtained by
  e-mailing gwilliam_at_isbe.net
• please identify your region-county-district code.
  If the school district has an existing
• DIP, strategies and activities related to special
  Education must be incorporated into the existing
  plan to ensure alignment with current district
  initiatives. This can be accomplished by
  revising existing strategies and activities or
  adding new ones or by creating strategies and
  activities for a new objective.
• Districts without an existing DIP only need to
  complete Section II of the DIP
• template.

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IIRC District Improvement Plan

• Once districts have accessed their 2009 DIP they
  will select Manage Objectives under Section II
  to add an objective related to technical
  assistance resources. Districts must complete
  only Part A under Section II by developing the
  objective itself, and then describing the
  objective by addressing 1) the technical
  assistance sources from which they received, or
  will receive assistance and 2) what actions they
  took or plan to take in the immediate future as a
  result of the technical assistance.
• Districts are encouraged to access the technical
  assistance resources for their specific SPP
  Indicators on the ISBE Special Education webpage
  found at www.isbe.net/spec-ed.html/lea_determinati
  ons.htm. Additional resources are located on the
  Regional Resource Federal Center Network
  website at http//spp-apr-calendar.rrfcnetwork.org
  /.
• Please note DIPs must be submitted to the ISBE
  consultant outlined in your LEA Determinations
  letter no later than June 1, 2010, via the IIRC
  e-Plans website. Districts will need to notify
  their ISBE consultant via e-mail once they have
  completed their plan. The consultant will then
  access the plan and review it for approval.

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IIRC District Improvement Plan Website
Click District then enter your district name
and click Go
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IIRC District Improvement Plan Website
Log in to e-Plans for your district.
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IIRC District Improvement Plan Website
After entering your districts username and
password, click Submit
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IIRC District Improvement Plan Website
Select Edit to modify your Improvement Plan.
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IIRC District Improvement Plan Required Sections
Select Manage Objectives to add an Objective to
Section II
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IIRC District Improvement Plan Required Sections
Select Add More Objectives
35
IIRC District Improvement Plan Required Sections
Insert a title, such as NA2 Requirement
List specific technical assistance resources
accessed and the actions taken as a result of
accessing those resources.
36
Appeals Process

• Districts wishing to appeal their determination
  must submit a written appeal
• and supporting documentation by April 30, 2010 to
  the ISBE consultant
• identified in the last paragraph of the LEA
  Determination letter.
• Per Indicator 20 of the Illinois State
  Performance Plan, appeals cannot be based on
  instances in which inaccurate district data was
  submitted to ISBE. Appeals based on inaccurate
  district submitted data will not be accepted.
• ISBE must use federal reporting guidelines to
  calculate each LEAs performance in relation to
  the SPP Indicators. Therefore, appeals based on
  disputes with the prescribed measurement, will
  not be accepted.
• Each appeal will be reviewed on a case-by-case
  basis by ISBE staff.
• Districts are encouraged to discuss their intent
  to appeal with their ISBE
• Consultant before formally submitting a written
  appeal with supporting
• documentation.

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Public Reporting
ISBE will direct any inquires regarding local
district determinations to the district. ISBE
encourages districts to develop a plan regarding
how to share determination information with their
stakeholders. Furthermore, districts are
encouraged to share local determination
information with the local union leadership.