USDOE Report Indicates Program Still "Needs Assistance"
BATON ROUGE, La.— Louisiana is making progress in its efforts to support special students with disabilities. From spring 2008 to spring 2009, the number of students scoring Basic or above on statewide assessments increased by 1% in English Language Arts (ELA) and 2.3% in math. The number of students suspended or expelled for more than ten days also improved, declining from 29.2% to 18.8%, based on 2008 and 2009 figures. The gains however, did not raise Louisiana’s overall ranking by the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE).
“Our vision is provide all our students with a world class education, and this most recent report confirms we are making progress in our effort to support students with special needs,” State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek said. “Some gaps remain, but this kind of evaluation provides us with one more tool to measure and benchmark our improvement in these identified areas.”
For the third consecutive year, the state received a rating of Needs Assistance. There are four determinations a state can receive: Meets Requirements, Needs Assistance, Needs Intervention and Needs Substantial Intervention. The annual evaluation measures and analyzes the effectiveness of states in educating students with disabilities, in accordance with Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Louisiana achieved a 100 percent compliance rating for the indicator that measures whether due process hearings, or meetings to dissolve disputes between parents and schools, are held within the allotted 45-day time frame. Additionally, regulations require states to evaluate students within a 60-day time frame when they are suspected of having a disability, and the state achieved nearly 100 percent compliance on that measure. The report also found that none of the state’s school districts has an overrepresentation of students from any particular ethnic group in a disability category.
States are evaluated on a total of 20 factors. These measurements include the number of students with disabilities who earn a high school diploma, drop out of school and participate in statewide assessments as well as the districts’ suspension and expulsion rates. Other performance indicators used to rate the state include the educational and social outcomes for preschool-aged children, disproportionate representation in special education as a result of over identification of special education students and whether students enter competitive employment or post-secondary school.
The annual evaluation provides the Louisiana Department of Education with guidance in analyzing and improving educational outcomes for students with disabilities. The Needs Assistance determination will also provide the state with access to valuable resources, such as a list of centers, documents, web seminars, and other technical resources that address those areas identified by the report as needing improvement.
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