Special Education


State Performance Plan (SPP) for 2005-2012- Revised February 2011 - Indicator 9

Overview of the State Performance Plan Development

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

Monitoring Priority: Disproportionality

Indicator 9:  Percent of districts with disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services that is the result of inappropriate identification.
(20 U.S.C. 1416(a)(3)(C))

Measurement:

Percent = [(# of districts with disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services that is the result of inappropriate identification) divided by the (# of districts in the State)] times 100.

New York State’s (NYS) Measurement:

Step One:

NYS compares the percent of total enrollment of each race/ethnic group in special education with the percent of total enrollment of all other race/ethnic groups in special education combined.  For notifications of school districts since the 2005-06 school year, the State used the following definition of “disproportionate representation” and in subsequent years may revise the definition by lowering the relative risk ratio, weighted relative risk ratio, as well as the minimum numbers of students. (Clarified in February 2008 that the State’s definition of significant disproportion is the same as the definition of disproportion.)

NYS uses the relative risk and weighted relative risk ratios, with minimum “n” sizes to identify school districts whose data indicate disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education. See the definition of “Disproportionate Representation and Methodology” described below.

Step Two:

The State provides for the review of policies, procedures and practices each year a school district’s data shows a disproportionate representation based on race/ethnicity  as follows: 

  • The first year a district’s data indicates disproportionality, the State requires the district to complete a State-developed self-review monitoring protocol, which requires the review of specific policies, practices and procedures.  The monitoring protocol for this review is available at https://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/spp/9selfreviewethnic0910rev.htm.  A report of the results of this review is submitted by the district to the State.  At the time of submission, school districts that identify issues of noncompliance are immediately notified that they must correct all issues of noncompliance as soon as possible, but not later than 12 months. 
  • For subsequent years in which a school district’s data indicates significant discrepancies, the State conducts the monitoring review of the district’s policies, procedures and practices as identified above. 

Step Three: 

When calculating the results for this indicator, the State divides the number of school districts with significant disproportionality and inappropriate policies, procedures and/or practices by the total number of school districts in the State.

Data Source:

Data on students’ race/ethnicity and special education classification are collected through the Student Information Repository System (SIRS) at an individual student level.  Results of monitoring reviews submitted are entered into the PD web-based data collection system.

NYS uses data collected and reported to the United States Education Department (USED) in the annual 618 report on Table 1 of Information Collection 1820-0043 (Report of Children with Disabilities Receiving Special Education Under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), As Amended) and the State’s analysis to determine if the disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services was the result of inappropriate identification.  These data are also provided to USED in the corresponding EDFacts files. 

Definition of Disproportionate Representation and Methodology (title added 1/10)

NYS uses the relative risk and weighted relative risk ratios, with minimum “n” sizes to identify school districts whose data indicate disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education.  The minimum “n” size requirement used to compute disproportionate representation does not exclude school districts from the denominator when calculating results for this indicator, but only districts that meet the minimum “n” size are included in the numerator.

Disproportionate Over-representation in Special Education (title added in 2/09):

  • At least 75 students with disabilities enrolled on the first Wednesday in October;
  • A minimum of 30 students (disabled and nondisabled) of particular race/ethnicity enrolled on first Wednesday in October;
  • At least 75 students (disabled and nondisabled) of all other race/ethnicities enrolled on first Wednesday in October;
  • At least 10 students with disabilities of particular race/ethnicity enrolled in district on the first Wednesday in October; and
  • Either:
    • Both the relative risk ratio and weighted relative risk ratio for any race/ethnic  group is 2.5 or higher; or
    • All students with disabilities in special education are of only one race/ethnic group regardless of the size of the relative risk ratio and weighted relative risk ratio.

Disproportionate Under-representation in Special Education: (category added 2/09)
The district must meet the following criteria for three consecutive years:

  • At least 75 students with disabilities enrolled in the district on the first Wednesday in October;
  • Both the relative risk ratio and weighted relative risk ratio is less than or equal to 0.25;
  • ([District enrollment of race] times [Risk of Other Races]) divided by 2.5 is greater than or equal to 10;
  • Minimum district enrollment of other races is 75; and
  • A district’s risk of race is less than 50% of the Statewide risk of race.

Overview of Issue/Description of System or Process
IDEA section 618(d) requires States to collect and examine data to determine if significant disproportionality based on race and ethnicity is occurring in the State and the local educational agencies (LEAs) of the State with respect to:

  • the identification of children as children with disabilities, including the identification of children by particular disabilities;
  • the placement in particular educational settings of such children; and
  • the incidence, duration, and type of disciplinary actions, including suspensions and expulsions.

In the case of a determination of significant disproportionality with respect to the identification of children as children with disabilities, or the placement in particular educational settings of such children, the State shall:

  • provide for the review and if appropriate revision of the policies, procedures, and practices used in such identification or placement to ensure that such policies, procedures, and practices comply with the requirements of IDEA;
  • require any LEA identified to reserve fifteen percent of funds under section 613(f) to provide comprehensive coordinated early intervening services to serve children in the local education agency, particularly children in those groups that were significantly over identified; and
  • require the LEA to publicly report on the revision of policies, practices, and procedures related to disproportionality.

Furthermore, IDEA section 616(a)(3) requires the Secretary to monitor states and the State to monitor LEAs using quantifiable and qualitative indicators to measure disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services, to the extent the representation is the result of inappropriate identification.

As a result of the passage of NYS legislation in 1999 (Chapter 405 of the Laws of 1999), the State has been identifying school districts for disproportionality based on race and ethnicity issues among other special education issues since the 2000-01 school year.  It has conducted three such notifications, in 2000-01, 2002-03 and 2004-05 school years. Identified school districts were assigned to one of three levels of technical assistance: “self-review,” “regional review” and “targeted.”

  • School districts assigned to “targeted” form of technical assistance received extensive technical assistance through the Department’s staff and funded networks. They were required to receive approval of their Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) plans, which contained improvement strategies.  The CSPD development and review/approval process included a review of the identified school district policies, procedures and practices used in the identification and placement of students.
  • School districts assigned to “regional-review” form of assistance were required to address resolution of their problems in their CSPD plan and participate in regional training programs sponsored by the Department or through local sources.
  • “Self-review” school districts addressed the resolution of their issues in their CSPD plans with local and regional resources and documented their annual updates to the CSPD plan with support of the SETRC representative.

In the first two notifications (2000-01 and 2002-03), NYS used the chi-square formula with the addition of some minimum numbers of students in the total enrollment and in each expected value cell of the chi-square formula.  In the third notification, after review of our methodology, we revised how the chi-square statistic was calculated and added the relative risk ratio calculation to our methodology to identify school districts that had significant disproportion. Only school districts with significant chi-square results, relative risk ratios of 1.2 or higher (or 0.5 or lower for the "removed from regular classes for less than 20 percent of the day placement category") and minimum numbers of enrollment were identified for significant disproportion.

Because of the requirement to establish a baseline that identifies disproportionality that is the result of inappropriate policies, practices and procedures, NYS will revise its methodology for addressing disproportionality as described below.

Plan to collect baseline data

By February 2006, NYS analyzed data and send notifications to school districts whose data indicate "significant disproportion," providing them with a State developed "Disproportionality Self-Review” monitoring protocol.  The notifications will also trigger a re-direct of 15 percent of the school district's IDEA funds to support early intervening services.

By May 2006, these school districts were required to submit their completed self-review monitoring protocols of relevant school district policies, practices and procedures to the Department.  The district must include community representatives from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in the review of the policies, procedures and practices. 

Based on this self-review, if a school district determines that one or more of its policies, procedures and/or practices requires revision, it must revise them and publicly post such revisions and report the corrective action to the Department.

If the State determines that the school district's policies, procedures and practices are in compliance with federal and State requirements, the school district will not be required to complete another review of its policies, procedures or practices during the remaining period of the SPP. However, IDEA funds will continue to be redirected if data indicates discrepancy, based on the State’s definition. Furthermore, if school district’s data do not improve, the State may conduct another review of school district’s policies, practices and procedures.

School districts that are found to have inappropriate policies, procedures and/or practices through the self-reviews or Department verification reviews will be reported in the baseline data for the 2005-06 school year.

Baseline Data for FFY 2005 (2005-06)

Six out of ten school districts (or 0.9 percent of all school districts in the State) reported having significant disproportionate representation of minorities in special education that is the result of inappropriate policies, practices and procedures. This baseline data may be modified upon completion of verification reviews in four school districts.

Discussion of Baseline Data

  • Ten (10) school district’s data for the 2004-05 school year indicated significant disproportionate representation of students based on race/ethnicity in special education using measurements described in the measurement section of this indicator.
  • All 10 school districts completed a comprehensive self-review monitoring protocol during the 2005-06 school year and six of the 10 school districts reported that their policies, practices and procedures related to the identification of students for special education were less than 100 percent compliant and four school districts reported they were 100 percent in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
  • During the 2006-07 school year, the State will verify the results of the four school districts that reported 100 percent compliance.
  • The six school districts that reported having some inappropriate policies, practices and procedures will be required to self-correct, publicly report the correction, and provide documentation of correction to the State within one year from notification of noncompliance.
  • NYS’ baseline data (before completion of the verification procedures in four school districts that reported 100 percent compliance) is that six out of 684 school districts (0.9%) have significant disproportionate representation that is the result of inappropriate policies, practices and procedures.

Measurable and Rigorous Targets

FFY Measurable and Rigorous Target
2005
(2005-06)		 The percent of districts with disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services that is the result of inappropriate identification will be 0.
2006
(2006-07)		 The percent of districts with disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services that is the result of inappropriate identification will be 0.
2007
(2007-08)		 The percent of districts with disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services that is the result of inappropriate identification will be 0.
2008
(2008-09)		 The percent of districts with disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services that is the result of inappropriate identification will be 0.
2009
(2009-10)		 The percent of districts with disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services that is the result of inappropriate identification will be 0.
2010
(2010-11)		 The percent of districts with disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services that is the result of inappropriate identification will be 0.
2011
(2011-12)*		 The percent of districts with disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services that is the result of inappropriate identification will be 0.
2012
(2012-13)*		 The percent of districts with disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services that is the result of inappropriate identification will be 0.
* 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 Timelines Resources
Develop self-review monitoring protocols for review of policies, procedures and practices that may lead to disproportionate rates of identification for special education by race/ethnicity. 2006
Completed
(See SPP 6/07)		 SED staff; consultation with NYU Metro Center
Require districts identified by SED as having significant disproportionality based on race/ethnicity in the identification of students with disabilities to either: 1) conduct a self review of its policies, procedures and practices and submit the results, or 2) if identified for consecutive years, participate in an on-site review of policies, procedures and practices conducted by SED special education monitoring staff.  SED will direct the school district to revise its policies, practices and/or procedures as soon as possible, but not later than within one year.  Staff from SED funded technical assistance networks available to facilitate the self-review and provide on-site technical assistance to districts to address identified inappropriate policies, procedures and practices. 2006-12* SED staff;
RSE-TASC professional development specialists (rev. 1/10)
Conduct regional meetings to which districts identified by SED as having significant disproportionality based on race/ethnicity in the identification of students with disabilities must attend to review the monitoring protocol and learn about resources for technical assistance. 2007-12* SED staff;
RSE-TASC professional development specialists; Bilingual RSE-TASC network (rev. 1/10);
TAC-D at NYU Metro Center
Provide technical assistance to school districts identified with disproportionate classification rates by race/ethnicity

 2005-12* Bilingual RSE-TASC network
(rev 1/10);
TAC-D at NYU Metro Center
Technical Assistance Center on Disproportionality (TAC-Dexternal link) at the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education at NYU has a contract with OSE to develop, implement, and assess the provision of comprehensive technical assistance and professional development to New York State School districts that are addressing issues of disproportionality.  The project's work includes building the capacity of regions and districts in understanding the root cause and systemically addressing the disproportionate assignment of various subgroups in special education.  This entails providing professional development trainings, coaching, training follow-ups, materials and resources.  The resources include a Web-Based Clearinghouse and a Disproportionality Data Repository 2005-12* IDEA Part B discretionary funds
TAC-D at NYU Metro Center
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/tacdexternal link
Develop and disseminate information on effective practices relating to culturally responsive curriculum and instruction, student engagement, home school connections, assessment and leadership as they relate to disproportionate representation in special education by race/ethnicity. 2007-12* TAC-D at NYU Metro Center
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/tacd/services/trainingexternal link
Support preservice and in-service staff development programs to enhance the availability of bilingual related service providers
In 2009, expand number of bilingual special education specialists in Regional Special Education Technical Assistance Support Centers (RSE-TASC).  (added 1/10)		 2005-12* IDEA Part B Discretionary Funds to support the following projects:
Bilingual Paraprofessional Certification/Inter- agency Council of NYC
Bilingual Personnel Development Center
Bilingual School Psychology Center
Intensive Teacher Institute – Bilingual
Seek technical assistance from NCCRESt to assist us with meaningful data analysis and reporting for under-representation in special education by race/ethnicity. (rev. APR 2/08) 2008 NCCRESt
*Note: Extended the end dates to 2012 coinciding with extended dates of the SPP (rev. 2/11).
Last Updated:

 

February 28, 2011 ate -->