Final Determinations

1
Final Determinations
2
Secretarys Determinations

• Secretary annually reviews the APR and, based on
  the information provided in the report,
  information obtained through monitoring visits,
  and any other public information available, the
  Secretary determines if the state
• Meets requirements
• Needs assistance
• Needs intervention
• Needs substantial intervention

3
What did OSEP consider in making the
Determinations?

• OSEP considered all information available at the
  time of the determinations including
• History, nature and length of time of any
  reported noncompliance
• Evidence of correction, including progress toward
  full compliance
• Information regarding valid and reliable data
• Other information
• Special conditions
• Compliance agreements
• Audit findings
• OSEPs verification or focused monitoring
  findings

4
Are States required to make Determinations?

• States are required to make Determinations
  under 616(d)
• ODE will make the Determinations August 2007
  based on district/program performance on the
  targets in the SPP

5
What do states consider in making their
Determinations?

• MUST consider
• Performance on compliance indicators
• Valid, reliable, and timely data
• Audit findings
• Uncorrected noncompliance from other sources
• COULD consider
• Performance on outcomes indicators
• Others?

6
General Supervision Timeline

• February 2007 ODE submitted APR (based on
  2005-2006 PCR and KPI data) to OSEP
• March 2007 ODE publicly reported
  district/program performance on SPP through
  special education report card
• April 2007 Districts/programs submitted PCR data
  on new files selected by ODE
• Targeted file review consisted of 11 standards of
  general supervision, and areas of previously
  identified noncompliance from 2004-2005
  comprehensive file review
• Districts also submitted analysis worksheets on
  KPI that were not met

7
General Supervision Timeline contd

• May June 2007 ODE SPRI team and county
  contacts worked with districts
• to verify corrections of previously identified
  noncompliance, and any corrections of newly
  identified noncompliance that could be addressed
• Findings were then summarized using the
  district/program determinations summary sheet
  (see handout)
• July August 2007 ODE SPRI team and county
  contacts developed and applied district/program
  final determination status
• Letter serves as official notice of previous
  noncompliance (2005-2006) that was corrected or
  is now second year noncompliance and identifies
  any new compliance identified through files
  reviews (2006-2007) or other means

8
Determination Packets

• ODE Guidance
• Determinations Rubric
• Notifications and Standards Identification
• District Summary Sheet
• Standards Citations Key

9
Factors ODE considered for meets requirements

• SPRI Procedural Compliance
• No previously identified procedural
  noncompliance or,
• 95 or greater of previous year identified
  noncompliance was corrected within the one year
  timeline.
• Data timely and accurate
• District/program data submissions were both
  completed within the designated windows for
  reporting and identified as accurate No edits
  and/or error reports were generated for the
  district/program for the collections informing
  this process after the designated windows for
  correction.
• District/program data was either submitted after
  the designated window for reporting but was
  accurate, or was submitted within the designated
  windows for reporting, but identified as
  inaccurate and required correction by
  districts/programs.

10
Meets Requirements-Enforcement Actions(Each
year ODE determines that a district/program Meets
Requirements it will consider taking one or more
of the following actions)

• ODE determines district/program has met all
  requirements and no further action is required
• ODE offers technical assistance at the request of
  the district/program or
• ODE identifies district/program as in need of
  support in implementing the requirements within
  the timelines, which may include, but is not
  limited to, focused monitoring activities.
• ODE is not restricted from utilizing any other
  authority available to it to monitor and enforce
  the requirements of Part B

11
Factors ODE considered for needs assistance

• SPRI Procedural Compliance
• Between 50 and 94 of previous noncompliance was
  corrected within the one year.
• Data timely and accurate
• District/program data submissions were not
  completed within the designated windows for
  reporting and
• District/program data has been identified as
  inaccurate Edits and/or error reports were
  generated for the district/program for the
  collections informing this process after the
  designated windows for correction.

12
Needs Assistance-Enforcement Actions(After 2
consecutive years the ODE may take one or more of
the following enforcement actions)

• Advises the district/program of available
  technical assistance to address the areas in
  which it needs assistance
• Direct the use of district/program - level funds
  under section 611(e) of the Act on the area or
  areas in which the State needs assistance.
• Prohibit the district/program from reducing the
  districts/programs maintenance of effort under
  34 CFR 300.203 for any fiscal year
• Identify the district/program as a high-risk
  grantee and impose special conditions on the
  districts/programs grant under Part B of the
  Act. 34 CFR 300.604(a) 20 U.S.C. 1416(e)(1)
• ODE is not restricted from utilizing any other
  authority available to it to monitor and enforce
  the requirements of Part B

13
Factors ODE considered for needs intervention

• SPRI Procedural Compliance
• Less than 50 of previous identified
  noncompliance not corrected within the one year
• Data verification by ODE indicates need for
  comprehensive review
• Data timely and accurate
• District/program data submissions were not
  completed within the designated windows for
  reporting and
• District/program data has been identified as
  inaccurate Frequent edits and/or error reports
  were generated for the district for the
  collections informing this process after the
  designated windows for correction.

14
Needs Intervention-Enforcement Actions(After 3
consecutive years the ODE may take one or more of
the following enforcement actions)

• The ODE may take any of the actions described in
  34 CFR 300.604(a) (Needs Assistance).
• Requires the district/program to prepare a
  corrective action plan or improvement plan.
• For each year of the determination, withhold not
  less than 20 percent and not more than 50 percent
  of the districts/programs funds under section
  611(e) of the Act, until the ODE determines the
  district/program has sufficiently addressed the
  areas in which the district/program needs
  intervention.
• Seek to recover funds under section 452 of GEPA.
• Withhold, in whole or in part, any further
  payments to the district/program under Part B of
  the Act. 34 CFR 300.604(b) 20 U.S.C.
  1416(e)(2)
• ODE is not restricted from utilizing any other
  authority available to it to monitor and enforce
  the requirements of Part B

15
Factors ODE considered for needs substantial
intervention

• ODE reserves the right to identify a
  district/program as Needs Substantial
  Intervention if its substantial failure to comply
  significantly affected the core requirements of
  the program, such as the delivery of services to
  children with disabilities or the
  districts/programs exercise of general
  supervision, or if the district/program informed
  the ODE it was unwilling to comply.

16
Needs Substantial Intervention- Enforcement
Actions (Any time that the ODE determines that a
district/program needs substantial intervention
or that there is a substantial failure to comply
with any condition of an districts/programs
eligibility under Part B, the Secretary takes one
or more of the following actions)

• Recover funds under section 452 of GEPA.
• Withholds, in whole or in part, any further
  payments to the district/program under Part B of
  the Act.
• Refers the case to the Office of the Inspector
  General at the Department of Education.
• Refers the matter for appropriate enforcement
  action, which may include referral to the
  Department of Justice. 34 CFR 300.604(c) 20
  U.S.C. 1416(e)(3)
• ODE is not restricted from utilizing any other
  authority available to it to monitor and enforce
  the requirements of Part B

17
Timing of enforcements actions

• Are enforcement actions sequential?
• No, the enforcement actions are not sequential.
• Must ODE wait two (needs assistance) or three
  (needs intervention) years before taking
  enforcement action?
• Under section 616(g) of the Act, the ODE may at
  any time utilize any authority under the General
  Education Provisions Act (GEPA) to monitor and
  enforce the requirements of IDEA, regardless of
  the determinations made of the districts/program
  s status under section 616(d) of the Act.

18
Maintenance of Effort (MOE)

• If an SEA determines that an LEA is not meeting
  the requirements of Part B of the Act, including
  the targets in the SPP, the SEA must prohibit the
  LEA from reducing the LEAs maintenance of effort
  under 34 CFR 300.203 for any fiscal year

19
Determination Distribution

• 10 districts
• 5
• 71 districts
• 35
• 119 districts
• 60

20
What are ODEs expectations for districts?

• Develop and sustain a system that allows you to
• Identify noncompliance
• Correct noncompliance at individual and systemic
  levels
• Improve the process and system to ensure desired
  outcomes

21
Expectations of districts (cont.)

• Identification
• Components to identify noncompliance may include
• Self-assessments (file reviews)
• Database with unique identifiers (SPRI)
• Focus on priorities (Set by OSEP and ODE)
• Dispute resolution

22
Expectations of districts (cont.)

• Correction
• When is it corrected?
• When a CAP is submitted? NO
• When a CAP is approved? NO
• When the CAP activities are completed? Maybe
• When new policies and/or procedures are approved?
  Maybe
• When the district/program has documentation that
  practice has changed and has notified the State?
  YES!!
• Improvement
• Attend annual SPRI trainings
• Utilize SPRI system and improvement plan
• Conduct individual file corrections and
  professional development for local staff

23
How do we measure the one year timeline for
correction?

• From timely identification of noncompliance
  i.e., when the ODE notifies the district/program
  in writing of the noncompliance
• To state closure of the noncompliance i.e., when
  the ODE notifies the district/program and
  documents in writing that the noncompliance is
  corrected

24
ODE On-going Oversight

• Will continue to focus on performance and
  compliance
• Will primarily identify districts/programs for
  focused monitoring by looking at continued
  noncompliance and performance against the targets
• Other data sources such as rank orders and audits
  may also be used

25
Take aways

• Identification of noncompliance through SPRI is
  not what determines your status
• Lack of documented and verified evidence of
  correction of noncompliance is what contributes
  to determination status
• Future determinations may include a comprehensive
  review of compliance and performance indicators
  as well as timely and accurate submission of data

26
Its about Better Results