State Education Logo THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT/ THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK/ALBANY, NY 12234
ASSISSTANT COMMISSIONER
Policy and Strategic Planning, P-16

To:

District Superintendents, Superintendents of Public Schools and Charter School Principals

From:

Assistant Commissioner Alan Ray Alan Ray's Signature

Subject:

July 31, 2009 deadline for the verification of 2008-09 accountability and other data

Date:

May 10, 2009

I am writing to ask for your cooperation in meeting new federal deadlines for verifying and announcing school accountability decisions.

Changes in federal rules (Part 200 of the Regulations of the U.S. Department of Education) now require New York State to report on the accountability status of schools and districts no later than 14 days prior to the start of the school year.

For the 2009-10 school year, all accountability status determinations must be reported publicly by the State Education Department no later than August 26, 2009.

In order to help all school districts meet the new schedule for reporting, we are making verification reports available beginning June 2. We are also providing reporting tools that will supplement the reports available on nySTART.

We greatly appreciate your attention to this new situation and your help and cooperation to ensure that New York will meet the new federal reporting requirements.

Below we have outlined in detail the changes in reporting requirements and the schedule for reporting and verification. This guidance directly addresses three sets of issues:

  1. How schools and school districts will collect, report, and verify all required data for the 2008-09 school year, including data related to accountability status determinations;

  2. How accountability status determinations will be reported to schools and school districts, as well as the federal government; and

  3. How this verification and reporting timeline affects the collection and reporting of end-of-year special education data.

Please share this memorandum with other staff in your district or school who need this information and keep it for future reference.

Timing

Implementation of these reporting requirements will apply to data reported to the Student Information Repository System (SIRS) for the 2008-09 school year.

Most required data elements (e.g., student demographics including cohort year, enrollments, program services, assessments, end-of-year special education snapshot) can be reported now and verified via exports from your student management and special education systems, verification reports provided by your local Regional Information Center (RIC) or data center, and the reports currently available on the New York State Testing and Accountability Reporting Tool (nySTART). Some data elements (e.g., June Regents exam results; enrollment, credentials, and post-graduate plans for June graduates, NYSESLAT test score results) cannot be reported and verified until the end of the school year.

The attached Appendix I contains a complete timeline for submitting data to the New York State Repository. The attached Appendix II contains a complete description of all required data sets.

Please work with your RIC or local data center (i.e., Level 1) to determine the processes necessary to collect, report, review, and, if necessary, make corrections to the data elements related to accountability and other 2008-09 school year data. In addition, please determine the timelines required by your RIC or local data center to allow for processing to meet New York State (Level 2) deadlines.

Important highlights related to accountability status determinations and end-of-year special education reporting are listed below.

Schedule of Accountability and Special Education Verification Reports:

Timeline Event
June 2, 2009 Data Verification Reports release1:
  • Grades 3-8 Accountability Verification Reports
  • Secondary-Level Accountability Verification Reports
Accountability Verification Reports will be available on nySTART and refreshed each Tuesday through August 4, 2009

  • Special Education Verification Reports (VR 10-15)
Special education Verification Reports will be available on the PD Data System and refreshed each Wednesday through the relevant certification date
July 2, 2009 Accountability Overview Reports (preview) releases:
  • Grades 3-8 Accountability Overview Report
  • Secondary-Level Accountability Overview Report
Accountability overview reports will be available on nySTART and refreshed each Thursday through August 6, 2009
July 31, 2009*







*School districts will receive a deadline from their local data center that will be prior to July 31, 2009, in order to allow sufficient processing time
Data collection/certification deadline2:
  • Final deadline for Level 1 data centers to load data or make corrections for 2008-09 school year data, including data related to accountability status determinations and Total Cohort
  • School and district certification of all 2008-09 data related to 2009-10 accountability status determinations and Total Cohort. The certification form must be signed by the superintendent or charter school principal and returned to the local Regional Information Center or Level 1 data center.
  • Final deadline for Level 1 data centers to load student demographics, enrollments and program services data for all preschool and school-age students who will need to be included in special education Verification Reports 10-15.
August 4-6, 2009 Reports releases / Certification deadlines:
  • Finalized Accountability Verification Reports
  • Finalized Accountability Overview Reports
  • Certification deadline for special education VR-10 report
August 26, 2009 2009-10 Accountability status determinations publicly available and reported to the federal government
November 4, 2009 Deadline for certification of special education Verification Reports 11-15

1Scheduled Maintenance and Releases:
nySTART: https://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/nystart/scheduled-maintenance.html
PD System: https://www.p12.nysed.gov/sedcar/data.htm#sirs

2Verification and Accountability Timelines:
https://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/accountability/timeline.html

Additional Accountability Reporting Resources

In order to assist districts with accountability verification efforts, the Department is working in collaboration with the Regional Information Centers and other local data centers to provide reporting tools that will supplement the reports available on nySTART. Additional details will follow as these reports are made available.

The Department has provided additional supports to help school district personnel complete verification tasks. The number of weeks that verification reports will be available has increased from four to nine. Preview Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status determinations will be available during the verification window through Accountability Overview Reports. Additional work has been contracted to improve the stability and performance of the nySTART application. State-wide reports have been distributed to Level 1 data centers to assist districts in identifying students with an incorrect dropout status.

A document (Using Verification Reports To Calculate Accountability Participation and Performance) to assist school and district personnel in computing accountability calculations can be found at https://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/nystart/reportguides.html.

Summer Verification Issues

The Department recognizes that districts will need to make resources available to accomplish data verification tasks during the summer months. This timeline is necessitated by federal requirements.

Some data elements (e.g., June Regents exam results; enrollment, credentials, and post-graduate plans for June graduates, NYSESLAT and science test score results) may not be available in Accountability Verification Reports, nor reflected in Accountability Overview Reports, until July 2009. Schools and districts will need to plan verification efforts accordingly so that the appropriate personnel can verify these data elements as they are reported and incorporated into refreshed verification reports.

In particular, please note these common data reporting errors. In order to be considered a graduate, students need the appropriate end enrollment code, credential type, and post-graduate plan. Students eligible to take the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT) in lieu of the ELA must be properly coded with the appropriate program service records and have a valid NYSESLAT test score.

End-of-Year Special Education Reporting

In order to assist districts with end-of-year special education reporting, the Department is developing lists that contain students who are projected to be included in special education Verification Reports 11-15 based on the demographic, enrollment and program services records that have been loaded in the repository. These students will not appear in the special education Verification Reports 11-15 until the required end-of-year Special Education Snapshot, Special Education Events, and Assessment Fact template with data for the Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF) are submitted.

Schools and school districts will need to certify special education report VR-10 (type of credential, post-graduate plans, and reasons for ending enrollment or disability) on the PD Data System by August 4, 2009. Schools and school districts will need to certify special education reports VR 11-15 (compliance with timelines for evaluation of preschool and school-age students for special education eligibility determination; preschool special education services and outcomes), by November 4, 2009. All students who will need to be included in special education Verification Reports 11-15 must have State (NYSSIS) ID's, enrollment, demographic, and disability program service records submitted to the repository by July 31, 2009.

Please see https://www.p12.nysed.gov/sedcar/data.htm for a complete description of special education Verification Reports 10-15.

What Your School District or Charter School Should Do

  1. Communicate the critical nature of this timeline to all appropriate school district personnel and devote sufficient resources to meeting all deadlines.

  2. Ensure all students have State ID's from the NYSSIS system and ensure that you have valid location codes for all preschool and school age students.

  3. If not already completed, load and review all 2008-09 data that are available. Load additional data (e.g., June Regents exam results; enrollment, credentials, and post-graduate plans for June graduates, NYSESLAT and science test score results) as soon as possible after the close of the 2008-09 school year.

  4. Assign appropriate school personnel to begin weekly reviews of Accountability Verification Reports, during the period June 2 through July 28, 2009. In particular, staff should be prepared to verify data (e.g., June Regents exam results; enrollment, credentials, and post-graduate plans for June graduates, NYSESLAT and science test score results) that may not be available in verification reports until July 2009.

  5. Assign appropriate school personnel to ensure that demographic, enrollment, and program service data for preschool and school-age special education students who received services during the 2008-09 school year or for all preschool and school-age students who were referred to the CPSE or CSE for determination of eligibility for special education are loaded correctly in the warehouse by July 31, 2009.

  6. Establish and/or review internal district procedures to ensure that data are reviewed, corrected, and certified by the appropriate district personnel prior to final superintendent certification.

  7. Complete and submit the superintendent certification for accountability and Total Cohort data by July 31, 2009.

  8. Complete the certification of special education data by August 5, 2009 for the VR-10 report and by November 4, 2009 for the VR 11-15 reports.

We greatly appreciate your cooperation in this major effort.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact the Office of Information and Reporting Services at (518) 474-7965. Thank you for your continued cooperation as we all work to ensure that data reported to the federal government and to New York State taxpayers are complete and accurate.

cc:

Regional Information Centers
Big 5 Data Coordinators
Data Warehouse Project Managers

Appendix 1: 2008-09 Assessment and Reporting Timeline

Timeline for Submitting Data to the Level 2 Repository
(Level 1 Repositories may establish earlier deadlines for submitting data to them.)

Certification, Deadline, or Target Date Category
Certification of VR1-6, 8 special education reports by January 6, 2009 Special Education snapshot data (Data Sets G and G1) for all school-age and preschool children classified as disabled by the CSE or CPSE and receiving special education services on October 1, 2008. These data also include students with disabilities who are parentally placed in nonpublic schools, even if they are not receiving special education services on October 1, 2008.
Target: January 15, 2009 Student demographic and enrollment data (Data Sets B and C) for students in preschool, preK-12, and ungraded students enrolled on or before BEDS day of the current year. Each student must have a unique identifier (NYSSIS ID).
Deadline for inclusion in press release on graduation rate: February 6, 2009 August 2008 credentials awarded (Data Set B).
Deadline: February 13, 2009 Scanned student records for grades 3-5 ELA initial file (Data Set F).
Deadline: February 20, 2009 Scanned student records for grades 6-8 ELA initial file (Data Set F).
Deadline: March 6, 2009 Straggler file of scanned student records for grades 3-8 ELA (Data Set F).
Target: March 31, 2009
  • Remaining student demographic, enrollment, and program service data (Data Sets B, C, and D).
  • Program service data are needed for disability, LEP eligibility and services, poverty, and free- or reduced-price lunch eligibility for all preschool, preK-12, and ungraded students (with and without disabilities).
  • Grade 5 social studies test scores (Data Set E).
  • August 2008 and January 2009 secondary-level examination results (Data Set E) and January 2009 credentials awarded (Data Set B).
Deadline: April 3, 2009 Scanned student records for grades 3-5 mathematics initial file (Data Set F).
Deadline: April 13, 2009 Scanned student records for grades 6-8 mathematics initial file (Data Set F).
Deadline: April 24, 2009 Straggler file of scanned student records for grades 3-8 mathematics (Data Set F).
Deadline: June 5, 2009 Scanned student records for the NYSAA (Data Set F).
Deadline: June 23, 2009 NYSESLAT student response records (Data Set F).
Target: June 30, 2009
Deadline: July 31, 2009
Grades 4 and 8 science test scores (Data Set E).
Deadline: July 31, 2009


Certification of VR10 special education report by July 31, 2009


All enrollment, demographic, and disability program service records required for the VR11-VR15 special education reports must be submitted by July 31, 2009
The following types of data must be provided for ALL students, including preschool, pre-K, and school-age students with disabilities for whom a school district or another educational program has CPSE or CSE responsibility.
  • Remaining Program Service data (Data Set D) for all preschool, preK-12, and ungraded students, including Poverty Status, Migrant Status, and Program Service records for all federally funded programs under which the student was served.
  • Reasons for ending disability Programs Fact records during the school year must be submitted for all preschool and school-age students.
  • Student demographic and enrollment data (Data Sets B, C, and D) for preschool, preK-12, and ungraded students not already in the repository system (new enrollees).
  • Enrollment data (Data Set B) with Reason for Ending Enrollment and end enrollment date for students discharged during the school year.
  • Grade 8 social studies test scores (Data Set E).
  • Remaining secondary-examination results (Data Set E).
  • Approved alternative assessment scores used to meet graduation requirements (Data Set E) for the 2008-09 school year.
  • June 2009 credentials awarded and postgraduate plans (Data Set B).
  • All test scores not previously reported for students in the 2003 or later cohorts must be reported (Data Set E).
  • Reading First assessment scores for participating schools (Data Set E). A list of schools participating in Reading First can be found at: https://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/sirs/.
Deadline: September 2, 2009

Certification of VR11-VR15 special education reports by: November 4, 2009
The following special education data for students with disabilities (Data Sets G and G2):
  • Preschool special education services, primary service provider, and snapshot date for preschool students with disabilities who received special education services anytime during the 2008-09 school year (Special Education Snapshot data template);
  • Special education services to parentally placed students in nonpublic schools (Special Education Events data template);
  • Preschool outcomes data for State Performance Plan Indicator 7 (Child Outcomes Summary Form data using Assessment Fact data template);
  • Evaluation of preschool and school-age students for special education eligibility (Special Education Events data template); and
  • Transition of children from Early Intervention to preschool special education (Special Education Events data template).
NOTE: All preschool and school-age students with disabilities for whom these data must be provided must have their enrollment, demographic, and program services records in the L2 repository by July 31, 2009, as described in the row above.

Appendix 2: Data Sets

Data Sets

Data elements with the same "code" when combined serve a particular purpose. For instance, all data elements with an "A" code are used to create a unique student identifier. The table below explains the use or purpose of each data set.

Code Data Set
A Student Identification (NYSSIS): This set of data elements contains biographic and demographic information that is used to establish the unique student identifier under NYSSIS. One set of these data elements is needed for each student to obtain a unique student identifier from NYSSIS.
B Student Demographic Data: This set contains data elements that pertain to every student and information that, once established, is not expected to change over time (e.g., name, date of birth, race, gender, date of first entry into 9th grade). A Student Demographic Data Set must be submitted annually prior to submitting the student's enrollment, assessment, program service, or special education data. If different education institutions are responsible for reporting academic records and special education records, each institution must provide Student Demographic Data for the student. One set of these data elements is needed for each student reported for that academic year.
C Student Enrollment Data: This set identifies the responsible LEA and the school responsible for providing education services for each student; that is, the school the student attends for the majority of the day. These records identify the beginning and ending dates of enrollment and the student's grade level. The LEA may be a public school district, a charter school, a child-care institution with an affiliated school that provides educational services pursuant to Article 81, a State agency that operates an educational program, the New York State School for the Blind, the New York State School for the Deaf, or a nonpublic school. In the case of charter schools and nonpublic schools, the responsible LEA and school are the same. If the student changes grades in the same building during the same school year, provide a second enrollment record. Provide a new enrollment record each time a student changes buildings. Each student should have as many enrollment records as necessary. This data set is also used to indicate the LEA that has CSE responsibility for a student. If a district has CSE or CSPE responsibility for a student for whom it does not provide all educational services, it must submit this data set with appropriate enrollment codes for this student before it submits the student's special education records. At least one enrollment record for each student for each year is needed.
D Program Service Data: This set contains information about the student that is durational in nature and has a discrete beginning and ending date. For each student, include as many program service records as necessary to provide all required information for the student. Information such as poverty status must be updated annually. Program Service records identify the program services that apply to a student. If a program service does not apply to a student, no program service record should be reported. For example, there are no program service records to identify students as English proficient or not economically disadvantaged. Students are assumed to be in these categories, unless a program service record identifies them as LEP or economically disadvantaged. If an education institution is only responsible for reporting special education records for a student, it must provide program service records, if appropriate, indicating that the student is LEP and/or economically disadvantaged. Program service data for LEP Eligibility and LEP Programs, Type of Disability, and Poverty must be submitted with the special education snapshot information. (See G1 below.) All other program service data must be submitted by June 30 of each school year.
E Student Assessment Data: This set contains data elements that pertain to assessments and the scores on those assessments. Each student must have one record for every State assessment taken, including assessments that were repeated. For assessments with State-required scannable answer documents (NYSTP ELA and math, NYSAA, and NYSESLAT), the scan center will provide the required item data to the SIRS. The scale score and performance level will be calculated and added to the Level 2 Repository. Districts must provide assessment scores for the grades 4 and 8 science examinations, the grades 5 and 8 social studies examinations, the Regents examinations, the RCTs, and approved alternative assessments taken to fulfill graduation requirements. One record for each assessment for each student must be provided.
F Student Assessment Item Data: This set contains data elements that pertain to item data for selected assessments and the scores on those assessments. Each student must have one record for every assessment item taken, including items to which the student did not respond. The scanning center will provide the required item data for the NYSTP assessments in ELA and math, NYSAA, and NYSESLAT. Item data are not required for the remaining assessments. One record for each student for every assessment item must be provided.
G Special Education Data Set: Data in this set are divided into two groups: G1) October 1, 2008 snapshot data that must be certified by December 24, 2008, and G2) data elements that must be provided at the end of the 2008-09 school year, some that must be certified by September 30, 2009 and the rest that must be certified by November 4, 2009. See the schedule of the school year(s) for which school districts must submit or re-submit data on State Performance Plan Indicators 7, 11, and 12, which are available at https://www.p12.nysed.gov/sedcar/sppschedule.html and https://www.p12.nysed.gov/sedcar/resubschedule.html.
G1 Special Education Data Set - Snapshot:
Data as of October 1, 2008.
This data set provides information on students with disabilities who are receiving special education services according to State standards and the least restrictive environment setting in which they are enrolled on October 1, 2008. (The only students who may have Special Education Snapshot data elements in the SIRS but who do not receive special education services as of October 1 are the parentally placed students with disabilities in nonpublic schools.) This data set also identifies students with disabilities as either day or residential placements and as court/State agency or school district placements. These data are reported by all districts (including Special Act school districts), child-care institutions with affiliated schools, the NYS School for the Blind, or the NYS School for the Deaf, and State agencies that operate educational programs for all students for whom they have CPSE or CSE responsibility.
G2 Special Education Data Set - Full School Year:
Data for the full school year.

To be certified by September 30, 2009:
Data sets B, C and D. These sets will be used to collect exiting data on students with disabilities, which includes reasons for ending enrollment, type of credential, and post-graduate plans of students with disabilities who are enrolled during the 2008-09 school year and ended their enrollment sometime during the same school year. Declassification data will be taken from the reason for ending disability program service from the program service records. These data must be submitted by the school districts (including Special Act school districts), child-care institutions with affiliated schools, the NYS School for the Blind, or the NYS School for the Deaf, and State agencies that operate educational programs for all students for whom they have CPSE or CSE responsibility.

To be certified November 4, 2009:
  • End of the Year Special Education Snapshot: This data set includes records for all students who received preschool special education services anytime during the 2008-09 school year. The required data elements are the Primary Service Code, Primary Service Provider, and the Snapshot Date (July 1, 2008). These data elements must be submitted by all districts that have CPSE responsibility by using the Special Education Snapshot template.

  • Special Education Services to Parentally Placed Students in Nonpublic Schools Located in the School District: This data set requires records for all parentally placed students in nonpublic schools who are referred to the CSE for initial determination of eligibility for special education services between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. These data must be submitted by all districts that have CSE responsibility by using the Special Education Events template. The required data elements include date of referral to the CSE, date written parent consent to evaluate the student was received, the date of the CSE meeting to discuss evaluation results, the outcome of the CSE meeting, and the date the IEP or IESP or SP was implemented.

  • Preschool outcomes: School districts that are responsible for reporting data on State Performance Plan (SPP) Indicator 7 for the 2008-09 school year must report the performance score on the Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF) upon entry into preschool special education and at exit from preschool special education for preschool students with disabilities who were evaluated on or after March 1, 2006 and who left preschool special education between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009 after receiving special education services for at least 6 months. The Assessment Fact template is used to submit these data. The COSF is defined as a Test Group. An Assessment Score is reported for each child in three early childhood outcome areas upon entry and at exit from preschool special education.

  • Timely Evaluation of Preschool and School-Age Students for Special Education Eligibility: This data set is submitted by only those school districts that are assigned to submit or re-submit data on SPP Indicator 11 for the 2008-09 school year. The Special Education Events template is used to report these data. Report information on all preschool and school-age students for whom parent consent to evaluate was received between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. This includes all preschool students who were referred to the CPSE for an initial evaluation, including children referred from the Early Intervention Program and all school-age students referred to the CSE for an initial evaluation, including parentally placed in nonpublic schools. (See definition of "initial evaluation for special education services" in the glossary.) Report the status of the information requested as of August 31, 2009. Specific dates are required, such as the date of receipt of written referral to the CPSE or CSE, date of receipt of written parental consent to evaluate, date of CPSE or CSE meeting at which evaluation results are discussed, and the number of school days (for preschool students) and the number of calendar days (for school-age students) between date of receipt of written parental consent to evaluate and the date of the CPSE or CSE meeting at which evaluation results are discussed. This data set also includes whether the student is found eligible for special education and requires a reason for not completing the evaluations by the State established deadlines.

  • Timely Transition of Children from Early Intervention (EI) to Preschool Special Education: This data set is submitted by only those school districts that are assigned to submit or re-submit data on SPP Indicator 12 for the 2008-09 school year. The Special Education Events template is used to report these data. Report information on students who were participating in EI programs and who were referred to the CPSE between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. Report the status of the information requested as of August 31, 2009. Specific dates are required, such as the date of receipt of written referral, date of receipt of written parental consent to evaluate, date of meeting at which eligibility determination is made, date of full implementation of IEP, and the number of calendar days past the child's 3rd birthday when the IEP was fully implemented. This data set also includes an indication of whether the child is found eligible for preschool special education and requires a reason for exceeding the State established deadline for determining eligibility for children who are found not eligible for preschool special education and a reason for implementing the child's IEP past the child's third birthday for children found eligible for preschool special education.

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