District/School Administration  Information Services  Data Collection  SIMS 
Indicator 6 Data Training: Preschool Educational Environments and SIMS Codes

IDEA 2004 requires that states report the number and percentage of children with disabilities who are receiving a free appropriate public education (FAPE), who are participating in regular education, and if they are in separate classes, separate schools or facilities, or public or private residential facilities. Consistent with section 618(a)(1)(A), categories for reporting the number and percentage of preschool-aged children with disabilities by educational environment have been revised to more accurately reflect the extent of the children's participation in regular education. Thus, the primary focus of the preschool educational environments data collection has shifted from an emphasis on where the child receives special education and related services to a broader emphasis on the amount of time the child spends in an environment with typically-developing, same-age peers, both in special education and general education.

In March 2007, the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) and the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Offices of Special Education Planning and Policy Development (SEPP) and Data Collection worked in collaboration to provide training to districts on:

• the new SIMS codes that were developed in response to the change in data collection,
• how to collect the new, necessary information, and
• how to use this information to determine the educational placement code for students age 3–5 years old.

Training Materials:

		Preschool Educational Environments and SIMS Codes Presentation Help for Viewing PowerPoint Presentation
		Handout 1 — New Data Elements (See Changes to SIMS for 2007-08 School Year)
		Handout 2 — Decision Tree
		Handout 3 — Case Studies

Coming Soon! A Q&A document is being produced that will include questions asked in all of the training events.