february 2009 APR - Indicator 5

See Overview of the Development of the Annual Performance Report (APR) in the Introduction section, page 1.

Indicator 5: Percent of children with individualized education programs (IEPs) aged 6 through 21:

The statewide percent of students with disabilities, ages 6-21, removed from regular class less than 21 percent of the day was 54.2 percent.

The statewide percent of students with disabilities, ages 6-21, removed from regular class greater than 60 percent of the day was 24.1 percent.

The statewide percent of students with disabilities, ages 6-21, served in public or private separate schools, residential placements, or homebound or hospital placements was 6.5 percent.

Statewide Trend Data: LRE for School-Age Students with Disabilities
School Year	Number of Students Ages 6-21, on December 1 of the School year	Percent of Day Students are Removed from Regular Classes			Percent of Students in Separate Settings	Percent of Students in Other Specific Settings*
School Year		Less than 21%	21% to 60%	Greater than 60%	Percent of Students in Separate Settings	Percent of Students in Other Specific Settings*
1997-98	372,716	43.2%	12.9%	34.8%	9.1%
1998-99	381,342	44.7%	12.9%	33.5%	8.9%
1999-00	384,352	47.6%	13.2%	30.7%	8.5%
2000-01	389,668	49.5%	12.9%	29.8%	7.7%
2001-02	387,014	51.1%	12.9%	28.6%	7.4%
2002-03	386,082	51.8%	13.9%	27.0%	7.4%
2003-04	387,633	53.4%	12.4%	27.0%	7.3%
2004-05 (Baseline Year for APR)	391,595	53.6%	12.0%	27.3%	7.0%
2005-06	389,125	54.5%	13.1%	25.5%	6.9%
2006-07	391,773	53.1%	12.9%	24.6%	6.8%	2.6%
2007-08	390,550	54.2%	12.4%	24.1%	6.5%	2.7%
*Other specific settings include students who are home-schooled, parentally placed in nonpublic schools or incarcerated.

Big Five Cities’ Combined Trend Data: LRE for School-Age Students with Disabilities
School Year	Number of Students Ages 6-21, on December 1 of the School year	Percent of Day Students Removed from Regular Classes			Percent of Students in Separate Settings	Percent of Students in Other Specific Settings*
School Year		Less than 21%	21% to 60%	Greater than 60%	Percent of Students in Separate Settings	Percent of Students in Other Specific Settings*
2002-03	160,410	47.9%	5.4%	38.1%	8.6%
2003-04	161,347	49.5%	2.5%	39.0%	9.0%
2004-05	165,795	49.9%	2.1%	39.3%	8.8%
2005-06	164,462	51.3%	4.8%	35.2%	8.7%
2006-07	169,394	49.7%	4.8%	33.5%	9.0%	3.1%
2007-08	172,979	51.5%	4.5%	31.9%	8.5%	3.6%
*Other specific settings include students who are home-schooled, parentally placed in nonpublic schools or incarcerated.

2007-08 LRE Data for Students with Disabilities by Need Resource Capacity Category of School Districts
Need Resource Capacity	Number of Students Ages 6-21, on December 1 of the School year	Percent of Day Students are Removed from Regular Classes			Percent of Students in Separate Settings	Percent of Students in Other Specific Settings*
Need Resource Capacity		Less than 21%	21% to 60%	Greater than 60%	Percent of Students in Separate Settings	Percent of Students in Other Specific Settings*
NYC	151,287	50.9%	3.8%	32.6%	8.9%	3.9%
Large 4 Cities	21,692	55.7%	9.4%	27.2%	6.1%	1.5%
Urban-Suburban High Need School Districts	31,054	47.6%	16.4%	27.0%	6.3%	2.7%
Rural High Need School Districts	24,289	54.2%	22.7%	21.1%	1.7%	0.4%
Average Need School Districts	109,620	56.9%	19.8%	17.7%	3.9%	1.7%
Low Need School Districts	48,941	63.9%	17.1%	11.9%	4.8%	2.3%
*Other specific settings include students who are home-schooled, parentally placed in nonpublic schools or incarcerated.

2007-08 LRE Data by Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) Regions for Separate Settings:

Color coded map of New York State reflecting students with disabilities (ages 4-21) in separate settings by BOCES region and New York City

Discussion of Improvement Activities Completed and Explanation of Progress or Slippage that occurred for FFY 2007:

Explanation of Progress or Slippage

NYS met its targets in all three settings:

The percentage of students with disabilities who are removed from regular classes for less than 21 percent of the day increased from 53.1 percent in the 2006-07 school year to 54.2 percent in the 2007-08 school year. The State target was to increase this percentage to more than 53.1 percent.
The percent of students with disabilities who are removed from regular classes for more than 60 percent of the day decreased from 24.6 percent in 2006-07 to 24.1 percent in 2007-08. The State met its target, which was to be below 24.6 percent in 2007-08.
The percent of students with disabilities who are educated in separate settings decreased from 6.8 percent in 2006-07 to 6.5 percent in 2007-08. The State met its target, which was to be below 6.8 percent in 2007-08.
New York City (NYC) reduced the percentage of students who are removed from regular classes for more than 60 percent of the day from 34.5 to 32.6 percent.
NYC reduced the percentage of students in separate settings from 9.4 to 8.9 percent, however, it continues to place more students in these settings compared to other need/resource categories of school districts.
The high need school districts tend to use the removed from regular classes for more than 60 percent of the day setting for significantly greater percentages of students with disabilities compared to average or low-need school districts.

Improvement Activities Completed in 2007-08

The Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID) accessed technical assistance information and resources to inform its policy development of integrated co-teaching (see activities completed #4 below) through the USED-funded Access Center: Improving Outcomes for All Students K-8.

Also see technical assistance information identified in indicator 1.

Activities Completed:

In the 2007-08 school year focused reviews using the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and/or the Effective Instruction Protocols were conducted to review policies, procedures and practices in school districts whose data showed LRE data below the State's targets and who were also designated as having data for graduation rate, suspensions, or Adequate Yearly Progress significantly below NY’s State Performance Plan (SPP) targets.
In 2007-08, the regional space plans were reviewed to assure availability of space for students with disabilities to be educated in age-appropriate settings and to the maximum extent possible with students who are not disabled. NYS required documentation of regional needs prior to expansion and/or approval of new private school programs to serve students with disabilities in separate settings.
In 2007-08, regional space plans were analyzed to determine if the percentage of students in separate settings was below the national average of 4.2 percent. Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) District Superintendents were required to formulate a plan to reduce the percentage below 3.8 percent by the end of this cycle of the APR.
NYS regulations were amended, effective October 4, 2007, to add options to the continuum of special education services to promote the delivery of specially designed instruction in a general education classroom by adding integrated co-teaching services and the combination of resource room and consultant teacher services to meet the minimum level of service requirements. Field guidance was issued in April 2008 – “Continuum of Special Education Services for School-Age Students with Disabilities”. This memorandum can be found at https://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/policy/schoolagecontinuum.html.
Field guidance was issued in September 2008 – “Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) Under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA..)” See https://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/policy/ceis908.htm. The CEIS application process is described in this document and the funding application can be found at www.acces.nysed.gov/vr/spedfin.
In 2007-08, the Nondistrict Unit (NDU) provided technical assistance to school districts that sought to place students in approved private schools, both in-State and out-of-State, to facilitate placements of students in the least restrictive environment.
Through enhanced oversight of out-of-state residential placements of students with disabilities and the implementation of an interagency plan for in-state residential development, the number of students served out-of-state during the 2007-08 school year (655) shows a reduction of 38 percent from the number served during the 2005-06 school year (1,050).
In 2007-08, VESID identified school districts with effective instructional practices for students with disabilities. One of the factors considered included evidence that effective schools have practices that have reduced the numbers of students receiving services in separate sites.
In 2007-08, VESID funded the New York University (NYU) Metro Center Technical Assistance Center on Disproportionality (TAC-D) to provide technical assistance to 13 targeted districts and 7 regions (for a total of 78 sessions). The majority of districts showed variable reductions in disproportionate rates in the special education placements of students with disabilities by race/ethnicity.
VESID conducted regular meetings with the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) special education central office administration to monitor NYCDOE's implementation of its school improvement plan relating to special education. To address issues of LRE placements, NYC expanded the collaborative team teaching model (integrated co-teaching) for the 2007-08 school year by more than 300 classrooms to increase access to the general education curriculum and improve instruction for students with disabilities.

Revisions, with Justification, to Proposed Targets / Improvement Activities / Timelines / Resources for FFY 2007 [If applicable]

None.