Special Education


State Performance Plan (SPP) for 2005-2012 - Revised February 2011 - Indicator 20

Overview of the State Performance Plan Development

See Overview of the State Performance Plan Development preceding Indicator 1.

Monitoring Priority: Effective General Supervision Part B / General Supervision

Indicator 20:  State reported data (618 and State Performance Plan (SPP) and Annual Performance Report (APR)) are timely and accurate.
(20 U.S.C. 1416(a)(3)(B))

Measurement:

State reported data, including 618 data, SPP, and Annual Performance Reports (APRs), are:

  1. Submitted on or before due dates (February 1 for child count, including race and ethnicity, placement; November 1 for exiting, discipline, personnel and dispute resolution; and February 1 for APRs and assessment); and
  2. Accurate, including covering the correct year and following the correct measurement

States are required to use the “Indicator 20 Scoring Rubric” for reporting data for this Indicator.

Data Source:

New York State (NYS) will use state selected data sources, including data from State data system and SPP/APR.

Overview of Issue/Description of System or Process

The State Education Department (SED) maintains various systems to collect, edit, verify and report valid, reliable and accurate data to meet all State and federal data collection requirements for accountability and program improvement. The federal reporting requirements include the SPP, APR, and United States Education Department (USED) data collection requirements in section 618 of IDEA which include data on Child Count, LRE, Exiting, Discipline, Personnel, State Assessments and Due Process.

Beginning in the 2005-06 school year, the SPP has significantly added to the need for data collection by requiring data from the State on 20 federal “indicators.”  The areas requiring collection and analysis of new types of data include:

  • Disproportionality in long-term (more than 10 days) out-of-school suspensions based on race and ethnicity.
  • Outcomes for children who receive preschool special education programs and/or services.
  • Parents who report that schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for children with disabilities.
  • School districts with inappropriate policies, practices and procedures related to identification of children for special education or their identification by particular disabilities.
  • Timely evaluation of preschool and school-age children for special education services.
  • Timely evaluation and services for preschool children who transition from eligibility under Part C of IDEA to Part B of IDEA.
  • Reviews of IEPs of youth, aged 15 and above, related to IEP goals and transition services.
  • Post high school outcomes for students with disabilities one year after leaving high school.
  • Due process hearings that went to resolution sessions and were resolved through resolution session settlement agreements.
  • Mediations that are related to due process proceedings.

NYS maintains the following systems for collecting data required under section 618 of IDEA and for the SPP:

  • The PD System collects data on child count, LRE, exiting, discipline and personnel for students with disabilities. This system is a web-based system that allows school districts to submit, review and revise data according to established timelines. Data undergo many edit checks that are integrated into the PD data submission system to ensure their internal consistency and accuracy. Reasonability checks are also conducted annually before data are finalized to further enhance data accuracy. Data reliability is ensured by maintaining consistent definitions and formats for data collection and providing consistent technical assistance and training. Data validity is ensured by designing the aggregate data collection forms consistent with federal requirements and guidelines and maintaining knowledge of changes at the national level.  NYS is developing a Student Information Repository System (SIRS), which is an individual student record system that will collect all data required by State and federal laws and regulations at the individual student level with a unique State student identifier. This will make it possible to track a student's performance over the years and across schools and districts within NYS. Most of the data currently collected via the PD system will be collected through this new system.  It is anticipated that special education data will be added to the repository beginning in 2007-08 school year. Any remaining student type data that is not added to the repository in 2007-08 will be added in the subsequent year.
  • The Local Education Agency Program (LEAP) and System for Tracking Education Performance (STEP) systems collect data on State assessments for all students.  The LEAP system collects assessment, program services and some demographic data for students in elementary and middle schools and the STEP system collects similar data for high school students. During the 2005-06 school year, LEAP will be phased out and replaced by SIRS. It is planned that the STEP system will be replaced by SIRS during the 2006-07 school year. LEAP, STEP and SIRS are supported by the Regional Information Centers (RICs).  RICs provide data collection, analysis, reporting, technical assistance and training services to all participating school districts. The State has developed and published an initial listing of standardized definitions and data formats in a data dictionary for SIRS. Individual student level data from all school districts will be housed in a single statewide data warehouse, and all the required State level reports and analysis will be conducted based on these data.
  • IHRS collects data on due process proceedings.  Section 200.5(i)(3)(xiv) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education requires each BOE to report information relating to an impartial hearing in a format and interval prescribed by the Commissioner.  The IHRS is a web-based data collection system designed to record information about the impartial hearing process at critical points, beginning with the initial written request for a hearing and ending with the implementation of decisions rendered in the hearing. School districts are required to report data regarding the impartial hearing process, including IHO appointments, time lines, extensions, and closures through the IHRS. The IHRS provides real time information that SED uses to monitor timeliness of hearings and NYS’ due process system to ensure that impartial hearings are completed within the time periods required by federal and State law and regulation. For more information on due process hearings, please refer to Indicator 17.
  • QAIS is an Access system used to maintain information about 60-day complaints and quality assurance monitoring reviews. The system is being replaced by CSEIS, which is a web-based system that will provide the State enhanced capacity to manage many special education business processes. Implementation of CSEIS is expected to occur in the spring of 2006.  CSEIS will assist the State to track school districts’ compliance with issues identified during reviews, record and resolve complaints within required timelines, and communicate with school districts throughout the review time period until all compliance issues are resolved.

The following SED processes contribute to the timeliness, quality and accuracy of State reported data:

  • NYS follows a strict protocol in order to ensure timely PD, LEAP, STEP, and SIRS data. All forms and materials pertaining to these data collection systems and forms are posted on the Department’s websites:
  • Due dates are established for forms and dunning procedures are completed for missing data within a short time frame following the due dates.  Each year timelines and work plans are developed to ensure that different parts of these projects are completed and reviewed for timely submissions.
  • NYS has procedures in place to ensure the accuracy and quality of data.  NYS completes error identification and correction procedures. These are followed by reasonability checks and completion of verification procedures.  In addition, to the extent staff resources allow, SED staff:
    • conduct training sessions and provides technical assistance through telephone, e-mail, and websites. Technical assistance is also provided through the NYS SEQA offices, RICs, Regional Special Education Technical Assistance Support Centers (RSE-TASC) and other funded networks. 
    • attend national training and information sessions and
    • participate with general education staff to collaboratively develop manuals, memos and provide technical assistance to school districts. 
  • IHRS uses similar processes to ensure that impartial hearing cases are timely.  It contains accurate data on all phases of the hearing from the initial written request to the implementation of decisions rendered by IHOs. The system initially generates an e-mail if there is a late appointment of a hearing officer or a decision is late. After the initial e-mails, a series of phone calls and written contact is made until the decision is rendered.  The system also generates an error notice if there is an error made during data entry.

Baseline Data for FFY 2004 (School Year 2004-05)

All required reports were submitted by their due dates. Revisions were made in response to USED request for verification of December 1, 2004 data and final data was provided for the Annual Congressional Report. Several reports required revisions to correct data reporting errors.

Type of Data Due Date Submitted
Child Count, including race and ethnicity, and LRE (December 1, 2004 data) February 1, 2005 February 1, 2005
Revised on April 15, 2005 upon request for verification from USDOE.
Revised on July 14, 2005 for publication in the Annual Congressional Report.
Exiting (2003-04 data) November 1, 2004 November 1, 2004
Revised on July 14, 2005 for publication in the Annual Congressional Report.
Revised August 18, 2005 to correct errors identified by WESTAT.
Discipline (2003-04 data) November 1, 2004 November 1, 2004
Revised on July 14, 2005 for publication in the Annual Congressional Report. Revised August 18, 2005 to correct errors identified by WESTAT.
Personnel (December 1, 2003 data) November 1, 2005 November 1, 2004
Revised on July 14, 2005 for publication in the Annual Congressional Report.
Revised on January 11, 2006 to correct a data compiling error.
APR (including due process & state assessment data for school year 2003-04) March 31, 2005 March 31, 2005
SPP (including due process data for 2004-05 school year) December 2, 2005 December 2, 2005
Due Process data revised in December 2006 to correct reporting errors.

Discussion of Baseline Data

All required reports were submitted by their due dates and revised by the deadline date established by WESTAT in order to get the data into the Annual Congressional report. NYS took the opportunity to revise the 12/1/04 child count and LRE data by July 15, 2005 and plans to submit revised exiting, personnel and discipline data for 2004-05 school year by July 1, 2006. The additional time between November 1, 2005 and July 1, 2006 allows NYS time to complete error corrections and reasonability checks before data are finalized for publication in the Annual Congressional Report. The Department anticipates that with the full implementation of SIRS data system, the timeline for finalizing section 618 data will be shortened.

FFY Measurable and Rigorous Target
2005
(2005-06)		 100 percent of State reported data, including 618 data and annual performance reports, are submitted on or before due dates and are accurate.
2006
(2006-07)		 100 percent of State reported data, including 618 data and annual performance reports, are submitted on or before due dates and are accurate.
2007
(2007-08)		 100 percent of State reported data, including 618 data and annual performance reports, are submitted on or before due dates and are accurate.
2008
(2008-09)		 100 percent of State reported data, including 618 data and annual performance reports, are submitted on or before due dates and are accurate.
2009
(2009-10)		 100 percent of State reported data, including 618 data and annual performance reports, are submitted on or before due dates and are accurate.
2010
(2010-11)		 100 percent of State reported data, including 618 data and annual performance reports, are submitted on or before due dates and are accurate.
2011*
(2011-12)		 100 percent of State reported data, including 618 data and annual performance reports, are submitted on or before due dates and are accurate.
2012*
(2012-13)		 100 percent of State reported data, including 618 data and annual performance reports, are submitted on or before due dates and are accurate.
*In FFY 2009, USED requested states to add two additional years to the SPP, including adding two additional years of targets

Improvement Activities/Timelines/Resources

Activity Timeline Resources
All appropriate processes and procedures to ensure timeliness, accuracy and quality of data listed under the Overview of Issue/Description of System or Process section will continue throughout the eight year cycle of the SPP. (rev. 2/11) 2005-12* SEDCAR
NYS will begin to phase in SIRS with unique student identifiers beginning in the 2005-06 school year and continuing throughout the eight-year cycle of the SPP until all student specific data are collected through the single statewide system.  (rev. 2/11) 2005-12* SEDCAR
Continue to train staff on all processes and requirements related to preparing federal reports. 2005-12* SEDCAR
Increase number of staff to do data collection, analysis and reporting activities. 2007-08 SEDCAR
Continue to conduct error identification and correction procedures, followed by reasonability checks and completion of verification procedures. 2005-12* SEDCAR
Continue to conduct training sessions and provide technical assistance through telephone, e-mail, and websites. Technical assistance is also provided through the NYS SEQA offices, RICs, RSE-TASC and other funded networks.  (rev. 2/11) 2005-12* SEDCAR
Attend national training and information sessions.  2005-12* SEDCAR
Work with EMSC to collaboratively develop manuals, memos and provide technical assistance to school districts. 2005-12* SEDCAR
*Note: Extended the end dates to 2012 coinciding with extended dates of the SPP (rev. 2/11).
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