Updated Data Collection Schedule and District Cohort Assignments for the Massachusetts State Performance Plan for Special Education (MA SPP) Activities
| To: | Administrators of Special Education |
| From: | Marcia Mittnacht, State Director of Special Education |
| Date: | July 23rd, 2009 |
The purpose of this notice is to inform school districts of the updated data collection schedule and district cohort assignments for activities conducted as part of the Massachusetts State Performance Plan (MA SPP). As you are aware, IDEA-2004 requires states to develop a six-year strategic State Performance Plan (SPP) that evaluates each state's efforts to implement the requirements and purposes of IDEA. In the SPP, each state is required to provide baseline data, establish performance targets, and outline improvement activities that respond to 20 Indicators identified by the Federal Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). In addition, for each Indicator, the state is required to publicly report data at both the state and district levels.
Thanks to your efforts, Massachusetts has completed its first four-year cycle of data collection for the MA SPP. Now that this initial cycle is completed, the Department has revised the district cohort assignment list and data collection schedule for the next four-year period (2009-2010 through 2012-2013). The data collection schedule has been revised to include Indicator #12: Early Childhood Transition. These data have previously been collected through the Fund Code 262 grant application. Data collection activities for this indicator will be managed by the Department of Early Education and Care. In almost all cases, the district cohort assignments remain unchanged. A small number of districts have been reassigned to a different cohort to better align them with their regional affiliations.
The six indicator areas for which the Department will collect data through the cohort schedule are:
- Indicator #7 - Early Childhood Outcomes: Percent of preschool children with IEPs who demonstrate improved a) positive social-emotional skills; b) acquisition and use of knowledge and skills; and c) use of appropriate behaviors to meet their needs;
- Indicator #8 - Parent Involvement: Percent of parents with a child receiving special education services who report that schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for children with disabilities;
- Indicator #11 - Initial Evaluation Timelines: Percent of children with parental consent for initial evaluation, who were evaluated and eligibility determined within 45 days;
- Indicator #12: Early Childhood Transition: Percent of children referred by Early Intervention (Part C) prior to age 3, who are found eligible for special education (Part B) service, and who have an IEP developed and implemented by their third birthdays;
- Indicator #13 - Secondary Transition Planning: Percent of youth aged 16 and above with transition planning that includes coordinated annual goals and transition services that will reasonably enable the student to meet his/her post-secondary goals in the identified areas; and
- Indicator #14 - Post-School Outcomes: Percent of youth who had IEPs, are no longer in secondary school, and who have been competitively employed, enrolled in some type of postsecondary school, or both, within one year of leaving high school.
In order to view the full MA SPP and APR and read the specific requirements for each of these indicators, go to http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/spp/. Because of the nature of these six indicators, local data collection activity through the cohort schedule is necessary. For the other 14 indicators, data is already available through SIMS or other existing data collection activities.
Attached is the District Cohort Assignment list, the Data Collection Schedule for the indicators identified above, and an Activity Overview by Cohort. Districts will receive information in the fall providing more detailed information on the data collection requirements for the indicator areas to which the district is assigned during the 2009-2010 school year. If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact the Special Education Planning and Policy Development Office at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (781-338-3375).
last updated: December 22, 2011
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