Family & Community Special Communities
Special Education

Determination of Need for Special Education Technical Assistance or Intervention
(2008-9)1

In accordance with federal requirements, Massachusetts has submitted a State Performance Plan for Special Education (SPP) to the U.S. Department of Education that outlines Massachusetts' expectations and performance targets across 20 key education and special education indicators, including, among others, graduation, dropout, and performance on statewide assessments.2 The U.S. Department of Education also requires Massachusetts to determine which districts3 have specific needs for technical assistance or intervention in the area of special education based on five levels of need:

For 2008-2009, ESE is determining the level of each district's need for special education technical assistance or intervention based on compliance and performance with emphasis on the latter.

Compliance: We are required to incorporate special education compliance into our determination process. Therefore, we first consider the district's standing in the area of special education compliance. We review four factors: (1) a school district's performance on all SPP/APR compliance indicators; (2) whether an LEA submitted valid, reliable and timely data for each indicator; (3) LEA specific audit findings; and (4) any uncorrected noncompliance from other sources. All districts must meet state and federal special education requirements and, if any specific areas of non-compliance with special education requirements are identified, the district is expected to engage in corrective action(s), regardless of the level of determination. If, at any time, ESE finds that a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) for children in the district is jeopardized by significant non-compliance in one or more key special education requirements, we will make the determination that the district "needs substantial intervention" and is placed at Level 5. Level 5 is solely related to significant special education compliance issues.

Performance Outcomes: Subsequently to considering compliance, we make determinations based on performance outcomes for students in the district as reported in the SPP under Indicator 3: Assessment,4 with particular reference to English Language Arts (ELA) performance. We will provide assistance and interventions appropriate to each level in ways that coordinate the work of multiple ESE offices, when appropriate.5

Level #1: Meets Requirements (320 districts in 2008-2009). A district is considered to be at Level 1 when outcomes for the district as a whole or for its students with disabilities give a general indication that positive performance outcomes are either currently happening or likely to happen without specific technical assistance or intervention from ESE. Specifically, we are assigning Level 1 status when one or more of the following conditions exist:

• The number of students in the special education subgroup is less than 100;
• The special education subgroup made AYP for ELA at the lowest grade level for which there is such a subgroup;
• The Composite Performance Index (CPI) for the special education subgroup equals or exceeds the state performance target for ELA (85.4);
• The CPI for the special education subgroup shows growth from the previous year; and/or,
• The district's aggregate CPI is at 90 or greater (all grades and subgroups combined).

ESE does not plan to engage in direct technical assistance or intervention with the 320 districts at Level 1, except in relation to specific areas of special education non-compliance.

Level #2: Meets Requirements - At Risk (31 districts). A district is at Level 2 when it does not meet the criteria for Level 1, but does have an aggregate CPI (all grades and subgroups combined) of at least the level of the state performance target for ELA (e.g., 85.4-89.9). Districts at Level 2 are considered to be making progress, but are "at risk" for not meeting the needs of students with disabilities as effectively as needed to make progress in closing the achievement gap.

ESE will notify the 31 districts of their Level 2 status and encourage them to review the performance of their students with disabilities and make specific efforts to improve their performance going forward. We will not engage in direct technical assistance or intervention except in relation to specific areas of special education non-compliance.

Level #3: Needs technical assistance (25 districts). A district is at Level 3 when the district does not meet the criteria for "meets requirements" or "at risk." At this point, the criterion focuses on the special education subgroup in its performance on ELA. If the district's special education subgroup CPI is greater than 53.00 (indicating a gap in performance below the target CPI of no more than 32.5 points), then the district is designated Level 3. Districts in this designation have a special education ELA CPI performance range of 53.30 to 63.20 and a gap range of 32.10 to 22.20. Four (4) districts are receiving this determination level for the second year in a row.

ESE will provide notice to the 25 districts at Level 3, providing information on technical assistance that is available. ESE's Office of Special Education Planning and Policy Development will review the district's recent performance across other indicators of the SPP and offer targeted assistance related to identified areas of need. Targeted assistance may include:

• Directing the district's use of funds made available under fund code 240, and/or other grant programs administered by ESE, as appropriate;
• Requiring participation in specified technical assistance activities; and/or,
• Requiring a review of the data submitted by the district in one or more areas of special education to ensure information is valid, reliable, and submitted to the Department on a timely basis.

ESE will also provide other special education technical assistance or intervention based on specific findings as a result of compliance monitoring activity.

Level #4: Needs intervention (15 districts). If a district does not meet criteria for Level 3 (meaning the district has a special education subgroup ELA CPI performance of below 53.0, indicating a gap of 33.0 or more below the target of 85.4), it is placed at Level 4. Districts in this designation have a special education subgroup ELA CPI performance range of 46.3 to 52.4 and a gap range of 39.1 to 33.0.

This year 11 of the 15 districts at Level 4 have been identified as "needing intervention" for the second year in a row. We will provide information on technical assistance that is available and determine actions that may be required as outlined below.

Staff from ESE's Office of Special Education Planning and Policy Development will review each district's recent performance across other indicators of the SPP, identify targeted interventions related to areas of need, and may incorporate interventions in the district's required corrective action plan under NCLB, if applicable. Targeted assistance activities will include information on technical assistance that is available and may also include technical assistance outlined under Level 3 above, as well as:

• Withholding a percentage the district's funds made available under fund code 240, and/or other grant programs administered by ESE, as appropriate;
• Scheduling the district for a coordinated program review or other evaluation activity;
• Requiring progress reports on district corrective action activities; and/or,
• Requiring adoption of specific policies, procedures, or curriculum improvement activities.

ESE will also provide other special education technical assistance or intervention based on specific findings as a result of monitoring activity.

Level #5: Needs substantial intervention (0 districts in 2008-2009). As described above, ESE is reserving placement at Level 5 to districts with significant special education noncompliance issues that put students with disabilities in the district in jeopardy of not receiving FAPE. In such cases, we will withhold, in whole or in part, any federal special education funds under fund code 240 that we deem necessary and will take any other enforcement activity we determine is required, including all activities identified for other Levels and/or the following:

• Recovering state or federal special education funds, as appropriate;
• Conducting a review of the district's fiscal effort according to the Maintenance of Effort requirements of the law;
• Denying the district's participation in discretionary grant programs until specific improvements are completed; and/or,
• Requiring specific personnel assignment under ESE's direction.

We're pleased that no district has been assigned to Level 5 in the 2008-2009 school year.

Thank you for your patience as we begin to coordinate these accountability determinations for special education with the work underway to redesign the entire statewide accountability and assistance framework. Our Office of Special Education Planning and Policy Development will be notifying each district of the level to which it has been assigned this year for special education accountability very shortly.

1 As required by federal Section 616(b)(1)(A) and 642 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA-2004), and for internal use.

2 At: http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/spp/

3 The term "district" includes districts composed of single schools such as charter or regional vocational high schools.

4 At: http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/spp/full.doc - i3

5 For all determination levels, the Department reserves the right to engage in technical assistance or intervention if non-compliance exists in any area of special education.