FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, DECEMBER 3, 2007

For More Information Contact:

Jonathan Burman, Tom Dunn or Alan Ray at (518)474-1201

Internet:  http://www.nysed.gov

State Education Department Releases

School District Special Education Data Profiles

The State Education Department (SED) today released special education data profiles for every school district in New York, as required by the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These profiles detail individual school district performance in meeting targets established by the State.

By law, states must develop State Performance Plans (SPPs) to evaluate their efforts in meeting the requirements and purposes of the IDEA, which governs special education rights and responsibilities. New York’s SPP includes 20 separate performance indicators. States must report their performance in an Annual Performance Report (APR) and on the performance of each school district against a number of the State's targets. New York's SPP and the APR that describes these indicators are available at http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/spp/home.html.

The data profiles released today detail the performance of every school district against the State’s targets on fourteen indicators during the 2005-2006 school year. Individual district profiles are available at http://eservices.nysed.gov/sepubrep/:  

Statewide performance data on many of these indicators were released earlier this year.

State Education Commissioner Richard Mills said, “Having the facts before us will help improve performance. The data profiles released today will allow us to identify those areas where we must do more to ensure that students with disabilities get all of the services they’re entitled to and the outcomes we expect for them.”

Following are the fourteen indicators used to evaluate district performance:

• Graduation Rate
• Drop-Out Rate
• State Assessments
• Suspensions/Expulsions
• School-Age Least Restrictive Environment
• Pre-School Least Restrictive Environment
• Pre-School Outcomes
• Parental Involvement
• Disproportionality in Identification for Special Education
• Disproportionality in Specific Disability Categories
• Disproportionality in Special Education Placements
• Timely Evaluations
• Early Childhood Transition
• Secondary Transition
• Post-School Outcomes

SED will soon revise the profiles to add trend data for some of the indicators. Additionally, the profiles will be updated with 2006-2007 school year data in the spring of 2008.

The Department is taking action to address those districts that have not met their performance targets. Districts, including New York City, that fell significantly below the State’s baseline average for the performance of students with disabilities in the areas of graduation, dropout, and performance on selected State assessments, have been identified and announced.

Through a new regional planning effort, the Department’s Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID) is focusing its monitoring and technical assistance resources primarily on schools and districts that did not meet their targets. We have, for example, developed and implemented a quality assurance review process to identify districts’ policies, procedures and practices relating to the requirements that are most directly connected to improved instructional practices. And to ensure that instructional programs with districts are research-based, consistent and effective, SED has directed technical assistance resources to school improvements in literacy, behavioral supports and quality delivery of special education services.  This includes a process for each designated district to set improvement goals, identify specific improvement activities and evaluate performance and progress in core instructional areas.

SED is also acting to address those districts that did not meet their targets for providing students with Individual Education Programs (IEPs) that include coordinated, measurable, annual goals and transition services. To address this deficiency, we have taken the following steps, among others:

• Each District in NYC, including District 75, is required to submit a District Educational Comprehensive Plan (DCEP) for state approval.  As part of the plan, the districts must provide a description of the transition services provided to students with disabilities in grades 7 and 8; a description of how transition planning responsibilities are performed at secondary-level schools; a description of the training provided to individuals responsible for addressing the transition needs of students with disabilities; and a description of supports and interventions implemented to reduce the number of discharges/dropouts for students with disabilities and strategies proposed to increase high school completion.

• VESID, in collaboration with the NYC Department of Education (NYCDOE), provided joint funding for career and technical education training experiences for over-age and under-credited students preparing to transition from the school system into employment.

• The Model Transition Project is funding 60 projects that include 140 private and public high schools to develop school wide plans to facilitate the transition of students with disabilities to post secondary placements.  Several of these schools are in NYC.

• NYCDOE, in collaboration with VESID, implemented three new vocational training programs sponsored by the Educational Training Institute for over-age and under-credited students during the 2006-2007 school year. Additional programs are being planned for 2007-2008. In addition, NYCDOE expanded transition services by developing new internships and training opportunity programs for students with disabilities.     

• NYCDOE held its first annual College/Career Fair in May 2007.  The event was attended by more than 800 students with disabilities and their families and provided extensive transition information.  NYCDOE plans to complete a transition manual by December 2007 and will disseminate it to school district personnel, parents, students and the general public. 

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