SCHOOL MONITORING
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Did you know, each year, the LEAs that are going to go through the Bureau of Special Education cyclical monitoring (Special Ed. Audit), need to attend a cyclical monitoring training to prepare them for that upcoming audit for both school districts and charter schools? It's a comprehensive training that includes many of the services for children with special needs.
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Download a PDF of the School District/Charter School Compliance Monitoring System School District Facilitated Self-Assessment
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​What is a comprehensive plan? A comprehensive plan is submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Education by each school district to maintain compliance with the state and federal mandate. It should include details about how a school district will meet the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The following link is the website school professionals use as a guide to create the Comprehensive Plan. The following is a link to the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Click on the link to access the national percentage of students with disabilities that receive education in the regular classroom setting in accordance to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
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IMPORTANT: Another reason comprehensive plans are important for parents to read is when you are switching school districts. These plans can help guide you in making the best decision of which district will meet the educational needs of your children..both special ed and reg ed.
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Click here to find out when your school is up for parent monitoring.​
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​To find the comprehensive plan in your school district, simply click on the name.
*Many of the plans are expiring in 2019-2022 so they should be in the revising process.
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Allentown School District
Bangor School District
Bethlehem School District
East Penn School District
Easton Area School District
Nazareth School District
Northampton School District
Northern Lehigh School District
Northwestern Lehigh School District
Parkland School District
Penn Argyl School District
Pleasant Valley School District
Salisbury School District
Saucon Valley School District
Southern Lehigh School District
Whitehall-Coplay School District
Wilson Area School District
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What is the State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) requires every state to develop a State Performance Plan (SPP). The SPP describes how states are improving educational outcomes for students with disabilities and complying with the IDEA. Pennsylvania’s first Part B SPP (applicable to students ages 3-21) was approved by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in March 2006. Originally designed as a six-year plan, states have expanded their plans through Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2019. The SPP is based upon federally mandated indicators of compliance and performance. Consistent with OSEP’s new Results Driven Accountability system, in 2015 states added a State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) to their SPP. Pennsylvania's SSIP is focusing significant resources on improving graduation rates for students with disabilities. This is important because you can see graduation rates, inclusion rates/educational placement, suspension/expulsion rates, school facilitated parent involvement and disproportionate representation by race/ethnicity. It's important when moving to a different school district, it's important if you notice unusually high discipline actions, concerned about inclusion rates, etc.
For more detailed information, click here.
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The State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report and State Systemic Improvement Plan-The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) imposed new requirements on states for monitoring and enforcement. These requirements are detailed in the IDEA Federal Regulations at 34 CFR Part 300.600. Under these regulations each state is required to submit a State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). To read the specific phases of this plan, click here.
**You can use the drop down menu to find the results that your home school district submitted since 2007-2008.Click here to access comprehensive reports for the entire state of PA and you can even download your own copy.