District Part B Administrator Survey

Appendix E

District Part B Survey

IDEA National Assessment Implementation Study (IDEA-NAIS)

U.S. Department of Education

National Center for Education Statistics

O.M.B approved

No.: xxxx-xxxx

Expiration Date: xx/xxxx

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

This survey is part of the IDEA National Assessment Implementation Study (IDEA-NAIS), a new study that is occurring as part of the congressionally mandated National Assessment of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004). The IDEA NAIS is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The purpose of the study is to determine how state and local government agencies are implementing early intervention and special education programs supported under IDEA 2004. The IDEA-NAIS has important implications for the education of students with disabilities as it will provide critical information to the U.S. Department of Education and Congress and inform the next reauthorization of IDEA.

We are requesting you and other district special education directors complete this questionnaire because you and your staff have the most knowledge about special education policies and practices in your district. With your contribution, ED and Congress will gain a more accurate and complete understanding of how IDEA 2004 is being implemented in districts across the country. All information that would permit identification of the individual respondent will be held in strict confidence, will be used only by persons engaged in and for the purposes of the survey, and will not be disclosed or released to others for any purpose except as required by law. Thank you for joining us in our effort to understand the implementation of IDEA 2004. We appreciate your time and cooperation.

Please see the next page for definitions and instructions for completing this survey.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1800-0011. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average two hours (or 120 minutes) per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202-4537. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: Lauren Angelo, U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, 555 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Suite 502H, Washington, D.C. 20208.

If you have any questions, contact:

Martha Wilaby, 1-888-463-1892

e-mail: IDEA-NAIS@westat.com

Before you answer the questions, please carefully read the instructions and definitions below: 

• Throughout this questionnaire “students with disabilities” means preschool- and school aged-students having mental retardation; hearing impairment, including deafness; speech or language impairment; visual impairment, including blindness; serious emotional disturbance (hereafter referred to as emotional disturbance); orthopedic impairment; autism; traumatic brain injury developmental delay; other health impairment; specific learning disability; deaf-blindness; or multiple disabilities and who, by reason thereof, receive special education and related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) according to an Individualized Education Program (IEP), Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP), or service plan (including preschool services provided under Section 619).

• Items on this survey cover topics such as Early Intervening Services, Response to Intervention, Parent/Guardian Involvement, Academic Standards, Personnel and Staffing and Disputes and Mediation. In addition, we will ask for the number of students evaluated and identified for special education.

• All items request information pertaining to the 2008-2009 school year unless otherwise specified.

• For the purpose of this survey, school levels are defined as follows:

• Elementary schools are schools for which the lowest grade is 3 or lower, and the highest grade is 8 or lower

• Middle schools are schools for which the lowest grade is between 4 and 7, and the highest grade is between 4 and 9

• High schools are schools for which the lowest grade is 7 or higher and the highest grade is 12.

• Other schools are all other grade configurations, including schools that are completely ungraded.

• Certain questions may require the help of other district staff, such as the director of pupil/student services, and staff from human resources, finance, and general education. You may either share your login and password with these individuals, which will give them full access to the survey, or you may wish to print off specific questions and fill in the responses yourself.

• In addition, for some items within the Personnel and Staffing sections, you will see two columns – one labeled “Related to school age students (6 through 21) for information specific to Part B and another column labeled “Related to pre-school age children (3 through 5)” for information specific to Section 619. If there is another administrator who is more familiar with Section 619, please ask him or her to complete the survey questions related to preschool aged students with disabilities.

Early Intervening Services (EIS)

According to IDEA 2004 and the accompanying regulations, a district may choose to use up to 15% of Part B funds for EIS. If a district is identified as having significant disproportionality in identification, placement, or discipline, it is required to reserve 15% of its Part B funds to provide EIS to students in the district.

1. During the current school year (2008–2009), is your district required to use 15% of your Part B funds to provide EIS due to significant disproportionality?

Yes
No		 Skip to Question 4

2. In what areas was your district identified as having significant disproportionality? Check all that apply.

Identification
Placement
Discipline

3. In your district, how are EIS activities or resources generally being utilized for the
   2008-2009 school year? Check one.

EIS activities or resources target only schools with evidence of significant disproportionality
EIS activities or resources focus on all schools, regardless of whether they show significant disproportionality
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

4. During the current school year (2008–2009), is your district electing to use any portion of Part B funds to provide EIS?

Yes
No		 Skip to Question 9

5. a. What amount (in dollars) of your federal Part B funds for the 2008-2009 school year are being allocated for EIS activities in your district?

$

b. Please enter the total amount (in dollars) received from federal Part B funding for the 2008-2009 school year. Include both the Part B basic grant and Part B preschool grant.

$

6. At which school levels are you conducting EIS activities within your district during the
   2008-2009 school year? Check all that apply.

For the purpose of this survey, school levels are defined as follows:

• Elementary schools are schools for which the lowest grade is 3 or lower, and the highest grade is 8 or lower

• Middle schools are schools for which the lowest grade is between 4 and 7, and the highest grade is between 4 and 9

• High schools are schools for which the lowest grade is 7 or higher and the highest grade is 12.

• Other schools are all other grade configurations, including schools that are completely ungraded.

Elementary schools
Middle schools
High schools
Other schools

7. Has your district undertaken any of the following professional development activities using Part B funds for EIS? Provide a response for each line.

	Yes	No	Don’t know	If yes, was this a new initiative this year?
Professional development in:				Yes	No
Literacy instruction
Math instruction
Other instruction
Behavioral interventions
Adaptive and instructional software
Response to Intervention (RtI)
Educational evaluations
Behavioral evaluations
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

8. Have Part B funds been used to provide instruction, direct services, or evaluations for EIS, or to purchase materials for EIS? Provide a response for each line

	Yes	No	Don’t know	If yes, was this a new initiative this year?
Funds used to provide:				Yes	No
Literacy instruction
Math instruction
Other instruction (please specify)
Behavioral interventions
Adaptive and instructional software
Response to Intervention (RtI)
Educational evaluations
Behavioral evaluations
Funds used to purchase:
Literacy curriculum or materials
Math curriculum or materials
Other curriculum or materials (please specify)

If “other”, please describe below:

Response to Intervention

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a multi-step approach to providing early and progressively intensive intervention and monitoring within the general education setting. In principle, RtI begins with research-based instruction and behavioral support provided to students in the general education classroom, followed by screening of all students to identify those who may need systematic progress monitoring, intervention, or support. Students who are not responding to the general education curriculum and instruction are provided with increasingly intense interventions through a “tiered” system, and they are frequently monitored to assess their progress and inform the choice of future interventions, including possibly special education for students determined to have a disability. Below we refer to this method as RtI, although this method may be called something different in your district. Please respond to these questions if your program fits the general description above, even if it is not called RtI.

District Implementation of RtI

9. Please indicate whether RtI is being used in at least one school in your district. Include schools even if RtI is used in only one grade or some classes within a grade. If there are Reading First schools in your district and they fit the general description of RtI above, please include these schools in your response below.

Is RtI being used in at least one school in your district?

Yes
No		 Skip to Question 11

10. In your district, which best characterizes the leadership of RtI implementation? Check one.

RtI is primarily a general education initiative
RtI is primarily a special education initiative
RtI is an initiative shared relatively equally between general education and special education

11. In what ways has your district provided support to schools that are using or planning to use RtI for the 2008-2009 school year? Check all that apply.

District staff conducted training related to implementation of RtI
Your district supported training for district or school staff that was provided by non-district staff
District staff provided technical assistance (specialized advice and customized support) to schools.
Your district provided resources or funding to implement RtI.
No support has been provided from your district to schools to implement RtI for the 2008-2009 school year
Other.

If “other”, please describe below:

12. In your district, which staff have received professional development or training in any component of RtI? Check all that apply.

Principals
School administrative officials
Special education staff
General education staff
Reading specialists
Math specialists
Paraprofessional or Instructional learning assistants
School counselors
School psychologists
School or district nurses
Speech and language therapists
No staff have received training
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

13. In your district, how is training and implementation of RtI currently being funded? Check all that apply.

NCLB Title I-A School-wide or Targeted Assistance funds
NCLB Title I-B Reading First funds
NCLB Title II-A funds
NCLB Title III funds
NCLB Title V grants for innovation
IDEA Early Intervening Services (EIS) funds
IDEA Part B flow-through funds, other than funds used for EIS
IDEA district discretionary funds, other than funds used for EIS
IDEA state discretionary funds
District General funds
State Improvement Grant (SIG) or State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG)
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

14. The sources of RtI funding you checked in the previous question are listed below. Which one of these funding sources provides the most support for the training and implementation of RtI in your district? Check one.

NCLB Title I-A School-wide or Targeted Assistance funds
NCLB Title I-B Reading First funds
NCLB Title II-A funds
NCLB Title III funds
NCLB Title V grants for innovation
IDEA Early Intervening Services (EIS) funds
IDEA Part B flow-through funds, other than funds used for EIS
IDEA district discretionary funds, other than funds used for EIS
IDEA state discretionary funds
District General funds
State Improvement Grant (SIG) or State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG)
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

15. For the 2008-2009 school year, has your district made information available to parents/guardians on the following aspects of RtI? Provide a response for each line.

	Made written materials available		Offered workshops or discussion/ support groups		Distributed information in other ways		Information not distributed on this topic
Understanding IDEA requirements relevant to RtI
Understanding how RtI is being implemented in your district
Other aspect of RtI

If “other”aspect of RtI, please describe below:

16. At the beginning of this section, you indicated that RtI is used in at least one school. Please indicate the number of elementary, middle, and high schools in your district in which any level of implementation of RtI has occurred. Include schools even if RtI is used in only one grade or some classes within a grade. If you consider Reading First schools in your district to be an implementation of RtI, please include these schools in your response below. Enter ‘0’ if no schools are using RtI. Then, enter the total number of elementary, middle, high schools, and other schools in your district.

For the purpose of this survey, school levels are defined as follows:

• Elementary schools are schools for which the lowest grade is 3 or lower, and the highest grade is 8 or lower

• Middle schools are schools for which the lowest grade is between 4 and 7, and the highest grade is between 4 and 9

• High schools are schools for which the lowest grade is 7 or higher and the highest grade is 12.

• Other schools are all other grade configurations, including schools that are completely ungraded.

		Number of schools using RtI		Total number of schools in district
Elementary schools:
Middle schools:
High schools:
Other schools:

17. For what areas is RtI currently used in your district? Check all that apply.

	Reading/ Language Arts	Math	Behavior	Writing	Other
Elementary schools
Middle schools
High schools
Other schools

If “other” please specify school level and area below:

18. Does your district promote a specific model of RtI for use in elementary schools?

Yes
No		 Skip to Question 20

19. How many elementary schools in your district follow the district-promoted model of RtI?

Number of elementary schools:

General Approach to Implementation of RtI in Elementary Schools

The remaining questions on RtI focus on use in elementary schools.

20. How many “tiers” or levels of intervention are most common among elementary schools implementing RtI in your district? Check one.

Two tiers
Three tiers
Four tiers
Varies too much across schools to characterize
Don’t know
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

21. Which RtI tier, if any, is most commonly synonymous with placement in special education in elementary schools in your district? Check one.

Tier three
Tier four
Higher tier
No tier is synonymous with placement in special education
Don’t know

22. Below are two descriptions of how RtI can be used.

Description 1:

Once a student is identified as not progressing, school personnel work as a team and use their collective experience to develop and implement a plan to address the identified issue, and evaluate the plan’s effectiveness. The team may choose from a list of district intervention options for each student or may identify or design interventions specifically for each student. This could result in children struggling in the same academic and behavior area receiving different interventions. This is sometimes called a problem-solving approach.

Description 2:

Once a student is identified as not progressing, school personnel implement the standard treatment protocol that corresponds to the student’s academic or behavioral challenge. Using this approach, the protocol specifies interventions that are targeted to remediate specific skills in a given domain, and children who are struggling with the same academic or behavioral challenges receive the same intervention. This is sometimes called a standard treatment protocol.

Which of these best describes RtI, for Tier 2, as it is most commonly implemented within elementary schools in your district? Check one.

Description 1
Description 2
A “hybrid” of Descriptions 1 and 2
Varies too much across schools to characterize
Don’t know
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

23. Below are the same two descriptions of how RtI can be used.

Description 1:

Once a student is identified as not progressing, school personnel work as a team and use their collective experience to develop and implement a plan to address the identified issue, and evaluate the plan’s effectiveness. The team may choose from a list of district intervention options for each student or may identify or design interventions specifically for each student. This could result in children struggling in the same academic and behavior area receiving different interventions. This is sometimes called a problem-solving approach.

Description 2:

Once a student is identified as not progressing, school personnel implement the standard treatment protocol that corresponds to the student’s academic or behavioral challenge. Using this approach, the protocol specifies interventions that are targeted to remediate specific skills in a given domain, and children who are struggling with the same academic or behavioral challenges receive the same intervention. This is sometimes called a standard treatment protocol.

The previous question asked about RtI at Tier 2. Which of these best describes RtI, for Tier 3, as it is most commonly implemented within elementary schools in your district?

Description 1
Description 2
A “hybrid” of Descriptions 1 and 2
Varies too much across schools to characterize
Don’t know
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

24. At what level or levels are decisions made about each of the aspects of RtI implementation in elementary schools? Check one or more box in each row.

	Level or levels where decision is made
	Staff at SEA decide	Staff at LEA decide	Staff at school decide	Not applicable	Don’t know
The research-based curricula to use in general education
The cut scores for determining risk status
The criteria for determining a student’s responsiveness to intervention
The frequency and duration of progress monitoring
The choice of the interventions to use for students determined to be at risk
The number of intervention sessions required prior to referral for special education
The decision rules for a referral for a special education evaluation
How to document intervention fidelity

RtI Interventions and Progress Monitoring for At-risk Students in Elementary Schools

25. When determining if an elementary student should receive a Tier 2 intervention, what factors are typically considered? Check all that apply.

Student academic performance relative to curriculum-based cut-points determined at the classroom level
Student academic performance relative to curriculum-based cut-points determined at the school level
Student academic performance relative to curriculum-based cut-points determined at the district level
Student academic performance relative to classroom norms
Student academic performance relative to school norms
Student academic performance relative to district norms
Student academic performance relative to state norms
Student academic performance relative to national norms
Professional judgment of school or district staff
Judgment of the student’s parent or guardian
Student behavior
Don’t know
Other

26. Among elementary schools in your district that use RtI, how frequently does screening for Tier 2 typically occur? Check one.

Once a year
Twice a year
Three times a year
More than three times a year
Varies too much across schools to characterize
Don’t know

27. Who in your district is typically responsible for administering Tier 2 interventions to elementary students? Check all that apply.

General education classroom teacher
Special education teacher
School psychologist
School counselor
Reading specialist
Math specialist
Title I teacher
Paraprofessional or instructional learning assistant
Community volunteer
Don’t know
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

28. In what ways are services typically provided to students in Tier 2 interventions in elementary schools in your district? Check all that apply.

Individual instruction within the general education classroom
Individual instruction outside the general education classroom
Small group instruction within the general education classroom
Small group instruction outside the general education classroom
Don’t know
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

29. Who in your district is typically responsible for administering interventions to elementary students in Tier 3 and above? Check all that apply.

General education classroom teacher
Special education teacher
School psychologist
School counselor
Reading specialist
Math specialist
Title I teacher
Paraprofessional or instructional learning assistant
Community volunteer
Don’t know
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

Use of RtI in determination of Specific Learning Disabilities

30. In your district, which of the following are considered in determining special education eligibility for elementary students with learning disabilities? This list is not intended to include all factors your district may use, such as observation or parental input. Check all that apply.

Data and other information from the RtI process
Data based on cognitive and academic assessments that demonstrate a discrepancy between expected and actual performance (such as an IQ-achievement discrepancy)
Data from other, research-based procedures
None of the above

Identification

31. How many students were evaluated for special education during the 2007-2008 school year, by grade? How many of these students were found eligible for special education services? Please do not include students who transferred into your district already eligible for special education.

	2007-2008 School Year
Grade level	Number of students evaluated		Number of students found eligible
Preschool and prekindergarten
Kindergarten
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th

Parent/Guardian Involvement

32. For the 2008-2009 school year, has your district made available written materials, or offered any workshops, discussion or support groups specifically for parents/guardians of children with IEPs or IFSPs on any of the following topics? Check all that apply.

	Made written materials available		Offered workshops or discussion/ support groups
Understanding their child’s disability
Understanding the law and their legal rights under IDEA
Participating in state- or district-wide assessments (e.g. using accommodations and alternate assessments)
Using interventions for children with behavioral challenges
Developing and implementing a standards-based IEP
Using strategies for making a successful transition from preschool to school
Using alternate dispute resolution procedures
None of the above

33. During the past school year (2007-2008) how often did your district use resources from a statewide or federally-supported technical assistance center on Parent Involvement? Check one.

Never
Once or twice
Three to five times
More than five times

34. In what ways does your district assess the extent to which parents are satisfied with the special education services received by their child? Check all that apply.

Formal mail or telephone survey of parents
Informal discussions with parents
Other
If “other” please describe below

Academic Standards

Alignment of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) with State Standards

Standards-based IEPs are those that align goals for students with disabilities with the content and academic achievement standards that form the basis of each state’s general education curriculum.

Content standards describe what students should know and be able to do in the core academic subjects.

Academic achievement standards gauge the proficiency with which content standards have been attained by individuals or groups of students.

35. For the 2008-2009 school year is your district using any of the following? Check all that apply.

A standards-based IEP mandated by the state
A standards-based IEP suggested by the state
A standards-based IEP developed by district staff
Use of standards-based IEPs varies by school
Type of standards-based IEP varies by school
Our district does not use a standards-based IEP		 Skip to Question 37

36. At which school levels is a standards-based IEP being used for the 2008-2009 school year? Check all that apply.

For the purpose of this survey, school levels are defined as follows:

• Elementary schools are schools for which the lowest grade is 3 or lower, and the highest grade is 8 or lower

• Middle schools are schools for which the lowest grade is between 4 and 7, and the highest grade is between 4 and 9

• High schools are schools for which the lowest grade is 7 or higher and the highest grade is 12.

• Other schools are all other grade configurations, including schools that are completely ungraded.

Elementary schools
Middle schools
High schools
Other schools

37. Does your district have formal written policies regarding development of standards-based IEPs?

Yes
No		 Skip to Question 41

38. Who was primarily responsible for developing the formal policies on standards-based IEPs? Check one.

District staff
The state education agency
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

39. During the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 school years, have personnel in your district received any training or professional development on the development of standards-based IEPs?

Yes
No		 Skip to Question 41

40. Who was the target audience for the training or professional development on the development of standards-based IEPs? Check all that apply.

Principals
School administrative officials
Special education staff
General education staff
Reading specialists
Math specialists
Paraprofessional or instructional learning assistants
School counselors
School psychologists
School or district nurse
Speech and language therapists
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

Use of Testing Accommodations

41. For the 2008-2009 school year, does your district have formal written policies that specify a list of allowable/permissible testing accommodations?

Yes
No		 Skip to Question 44

42. Who was primarily responsible for developing the formal policies on the use of testing accommodations? Check one.
    
    

District staff
The state education agency
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

43. Please indicate when the testing guidelines or policies being implemented in the district first became effective. Check one.

a. 2008-2009
b. 2007-2008
c. 2006-2007
d. 2005-2006
e. Other

If “other”, please note below:

Personnel and Staffing

44. Please indicate the types of special education teachers for whom you have routinely had difficulty finding qualified applicants during the current (2008-2009) or preceding two school years (2006-2007 and 2007-2008). Check all that apply.

Our district has not routinely had difficulty finding qualified applicants over the past three years, as defined above  (click “Save & Continue”)
Special education teachers who serve children in:
Preschool
Elementary school
Middle school
High school
Vocational or alternative school
Special Education teachers who primarily serve children with:
Developmental delays
Learning disabilities
Emotional disturbance/behavior disorders
Mental retardation
Autism
Sensory impairments (hearing/vision)
Other low-incidence disabilities (e.g., other health impairments, orthopedic impairments, multiple disabilities)
Other
If “other,” please describe below:
Secondary school special education teachers of:
English/language arts
Mathematics
Science
Social Studies (including history, civics, geography and economics)
Other subjects

45. Which supports or incentives did your district use to recruit new special education teachers for the 2008-2009 school year? Check all that apply.

A signing bonus
A bonus supplement to regular compensation
A permanent salary augmentation or adjustment to normal base salary
Placement of a teacher on a higher step of the salary schedule
Relocation assistance
Payoff of student loans
Finder’s fee to existing staff for new teacher referrals
Mentoring or induction programs
None of the above
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

46. Does your district use any pay incentives (such as cash bonuses, salary increases, or advancement to higher steps on the salary schedule) to encourage retention of current district special education teachers who have the following characteristics?

	Yes		No
Attained National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification
Demonstrate excellence in teaching
Teach in hard-to-staff schools
Teach students with certain disabilities
Teach certain academic subjects

This question and the next three questions ask about children ages 3 through 5 and ages 6 through 21. If there is another administrator who is more familiar with services for children ages 3 through 5, please ask him or her to provide input on these two questions. You may also wish to consult with your Human Resources department.

47. For the 2007-2008 school year, how many special education teacher positions were funded in your district (through all sources) to serve children with disabilities ages 3 through 21? Please indicate the number in full-time equivalents (FTE).

	Ages 3 through 5		Ages 6 through 21
Number of FTE funded positions

48. For the 2007-2008 school year, how many funded positions for special education teachers were left vacant or were filled throughout the school year by a long-term substitute? Please indicate the number of vacancies in full-time equivalents (FTE).

	Ages 3 through 5		Ages 6 through 21
Number of FTE positions left vacant

49. Following the 2007-2008 school year, how many special education teachers serving children with disabilities ages 3 through 21 left your district? Please indicate the number in full-time equivalents (FTE).

	Ages 3 through 5		Ages 6 through 21
Number of FTEs who left district

50. At the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, how many persons were newly employed by your district as special education teachers to serve children with disabilities ages 3 through 21? Include persons already employed in your district who moved into these positions. Please indicate the number in full-time equivalents (FTE).

	Ages 3 through 5		Ages 6 through 21
Number of FTEs newly employed

51. Of special education teachers who left your district following the 2007-2008 school year, what were the top three reasons? Please write in the space provided a “1” for the most common reason for leaving, a “2” for the next most common reasons, and a “3” for the third most common reason that special education teachers left your district.

Retired
Left for personal reasons (e.g., relocating, child rearing, caring for ill spouse or parent)
Accepted a general education teaching position in your district
Accepted a teaching position in another district
Accepted an administrative position in your or another district
Changed professions
Left for multiple reasons
Don’t know
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

52. During the current (2008-2009) and prior (2007-2008) school years, what strategies has your district routinely used to increase the proportion of special education teachers who meet the highly qualified teacher (HQT) requirements of IDEA and NCLB? Check all that apply.

Pay for tutoring to prepare teachers for certifications tests/licensure exams
Provide time or funding for teachers to participate in professional development opportunities (e.g., IHE tuition, workshop fees)
Pay fees for tests/licensure exams
Provide free or subsidized training for highly qualified secondary school teachers to obtain special education credentials
Provide free or subsidized training for special education teachers to obtain content area credentials
None of the above
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

Disputes and Mediation

53. During the past 12 months, did your district participate in any formal or informal dispute resolution procedures with parents/guardians regarding special education and related services?

Yes
No		 If no, skip to end of survey

54. How many cases did your district conduct or participate in that used each of the following dispute resolution procedures? Cases should be counted more than once if they involve more than one procedure.

	Number of cases
Informal dispute resolution procedures (e.g., mediation without a due process request, IEP facilitation, conflict resolution)
Resolution meetings
Mediation following a due process request
Impartial due process hearing
State administrative review of hearing decision
State/Federal court review of hearing decision
Litigation

55. In the previous question, you indicated the number of cases in your district that used dispute resolution procedures during the past 12 months. Of these cases, please indicate the number of cases by school level, at the time the case was initiated. If a case used more than one procedure, count the case once for each procedure used.

For the purpose of this survey, school levels are defined as follows:

• Elementary schools are schools for which the lowest grade is 3 or lower, and the highest grade is 8 or lower

• Middle schools are schools for which the lowest grade is between 4 and 7, and the highest grade is between 4 and 9

• High schools are schools for which the lowest grade is 7 or higher and the highest grade is 12.

• Other schools are all other grade configurations, including schools that are completely ungraded.

	Number of Cases
	Elementary Schools		Middle Schools		High Schools		Other Schools
Informal dispute resolution procedures (e.g., mediation without a due process request, IEP facilitation, conflict resolution)
Resolution meetings
Mediation following a due process request
Impartial due process hearing
State administrative review of hearing decision
State/Federal court review of hearing decision
Litigation

56. Of the cases identified in Item 54a, what were the three most common issues for which informal dispute resolution procedures were conducted? Place a “1” beside the top issue, a “2” beside the second issue, and a “3” beside the third issue for each age range. Rank only three.

	Ranking (1,2,3)
Evaluation of students for special education services
Eligibility of students for special education services
Student’s educational program (e.g., academic, functional, and life skills) as set forth in the IEP
Educational placement
Discipline (including suspension or expulsion)
Procedural safeguards (e.g., prior written notice, confidentiality)
Related services (e.g., transportation, speech therapy, counseling)
Tuition reimbursement (e.g., private school)
Other

57. Of the issues for which informal dispute resolution procedures were conducted in the past 12 months, please check the most common school level for each issue.

For the purpose of this survey, school levels are defined as follows:

• Elementary schools are schools for which the lowest grade is 3 or lower, and the highest grade is 8 or lower

• Middle schools are schools for which the lowest grade is between 4 and 7, and the highest grade is between 4 and 9

• High schools are schools for which the lowest grade is 7 or higher and the highest grade is 12.

• Other schools are all other grade configurations, including schools that are completely ungraded.

	Elementary Schools		Middle Schools		High Schools		Other schools		Not applicable
Evaluation of students for special education services
Eligibility of students for special education services
Student’s educational program (e.g., academic, functional, and life skills) as set forth in the IEP
Educational placement
Discipline (including suspension or expulsion)
Procedural safeguards (e.g., prior written notice, confidentiality)
Related services (e.g., transportation, speech therapy, counseling)
Tuition reimbursement (e.g., private school)
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

58. How many of the formal mediations identified in Item 54c resulted from the following:

	Number of mediations
District requests for impartial due process
Parent/guardian requests for impartial due process

59. Of the mediations following a due process request reported in Item 54c, how many concerned the following issues? Count mediations more than once if they involved more than one issue.

	Number of mediations
Evaluation of students for special education services
Eligibility of students for special education services
Student’s educational program (e.g., academic, functional, and life skills) as set forth in the IEP
Educational placement
Discipline (including suspension or expulsion)
Procedural safeguards (e.g., prior written notice, confidentiality)
Related services (e.g., transportation, speech therapy, counseling)
Tuition reimbursement (e.g., private school)
Other

If “other”, please describe below:

60. Of the mediations reported in Item 54c, how many resulted in a mediation agreement?

Number of cases

61. Of the number of impartial due process hearings reported in Item 54d, how many were completed:

After unsuccessful mediation
After an unsuccessful resolution meeting

62. Of the number of impartial due process hearings reported in Item 54e, how many concerned each of the following issues? Count hearings more than once if they involved more than one issue.

Evaluation of students for special education services
Eligibility of students for special education services
Student’s educational program (e.g., academic, functional, and life skills) as set forth in the IEP
Educational placement
Discipline (including suspension or expulsion)
Procedural safeguards (e.g., prior written notice, confidentiality)
Related services (e.g., transportation, speech therapy, counseling)
Tuition reimbursement (e.g., private school)
Other

Please use this space to add any comments you have.

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LEA Questionnaire 11/21/08