Project Description:
The Indiana Institute on Disability and Communitys Center on Education and Lifelong Learning (CELL) at Indiana University is under a yearly contract with the Indiana Department of Education to assist in the yearly monitoring of school corporations for:
Significant Disproportionality and Indicators 4a, 4b (Significant Discrepancy) & Indicators 9, and 10 (Disproportionate Representation).
The monitoring is a federal requirement under the Individuals with Disability Education Act of 2004 (IDEA 04).
The work herein is in response to the Indiana Department of Educations request for assistance with the monitoring process for Indicators 4, 9, and 10, and offer technical assistance through its center, the Indiana Disproportionality Resource Center (IDRC), to assist LEAs in addressing issues of disproportionality in special education.
IDRC conducts data analysis (Calculations), coordinates monitoring activities, and provides technical assistance associated with Significant Disproportionality, and Significant Discrepancy & Disproportionate Representation (i.e. Indicators 4a, 4b, 9, and 10). The IDRC also posts all the yearly data analyzed to the Equity in Indiana website for each LEA to access through a private, password-protected site.
Technical assistance includes providing support to LEAs in tiers. Tier 1 and 2 are offered support through regional meetings, virtual and telephone check-ins, and feedback on their RDA tools, which require LEAs to create targeted action plans. Tier 3 LEAs, those found out of compliance three years in a row, receive one on one support to their teams, virtual and telephone check-ins, and feedback on their Targeted action plans.
The work and activities of the IDRC function as a close collaboration between CELL staff members, Dr. Renee Azziz from Virtuoso Education (a subcontract vendor of the grant) who supports in technical assistance, Dr. Leah Nellis (subcontracted vendor of the grant) who is the file review coordinator and technical assistance consultant and together work closely with IDOE staff in the disproportionality process.
