Special Education Review and Audit Policy
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to identify and address potential discriminatory practices occurring against students with disabilities. This policy lists flags that may trigger audits of submitted data.
Policy
[Insert name of authorizing entity] will review special education practices and data on a periodic basis [may insert more specificity, such as the renewal cycle] to determine whether practices are in line with the charter school’s responsibilities to students with disabilities. Data will be submitted by the charter school and reviewed by [insert name of authorizing entity]. The following criteria may trigger a secondary review or audit:
- Enrollment of students with disabilities, as measured by the percent of students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP), is under ___%1 in K-12 programs
Expulsion Rate of students with disabilities (relative to IEP enrollment) is higher than the Expulsion Rate of their non-disabled peers (relative to non-IEP enrollment) - Out of School Suspension Rate of students with disabilities (relative to IEP enrollment) is higher than the Out of School Suspension rate of their non-disabled peers (relative to non-IEP enrollment)
- Number of Exclusionary Incidences of students with disabilities are higher than number of Exclusionary Incidences of their non-disabled peers
- Disproportionality of a singular disability classification (i.e. Specific Learning Disability, Emotional Disturbance, etc.), as measured by any one disability classification that comprises 75% or more of the total population of students with disabilities in K-12 programs
- Disproportionality of special education levels of need (Levels 1-4), as measured by any specific level of need that comprises 75% or more of the total population of students with disabilities in K-12 programs
- Underrepresentation of special education Level 3 and Level 4 students, where the combined total is 0 students in K-12 programs
- The rate of transfers of students with disabilities is higher than the rate of their nondisabled peers
- The rate of mid-year withdrawals of students with disabilities is higher than the rate of their non-disabled peers
- [insert appropriate state entity]’s compliance finding(s) issued for IEP timeliness (ie. Concern with Initial Eligibility, Reevaluation)
- [insert appropriate state entity]’s compliance finding(s) and/or parent complaint logs identify manifestation determination hearings have not been held for all students for whom they are legally required before expulsions or suspensions are implemented
Procedures Following Identified Concern
If one of the preceding triggers indicates a potential problem, [insert name of authorizing entity] will begin collecting and reviewing the relevant data points on a monthly basis and may undertake a secondary review or full audit, depending on the circumstances. The secondary review could include any one, or a combination of, the following:
- Comparison of accuracy of special education data between a school’s student information system and data
- Communication between [insert name of authorizing entity] and [insert appropriate state entity] to determine whether the identified trigger has resulted in [insert appropriate state entity] resolving the concern
- Interviews with a school’s Special Education data manager or other persons responsible for student data
- Special Education Desk Audits
- Request of the school team to complete a Special Education Quality Assurance Review (part of Special Education Performance Management Tool)
- Special education site visit and/or observations
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1The authorizer should develop an enrollment rate below which the enrollment of students with disabilities should raise concern. This rate may be based on the enrollment rate for the district of comparison or other factors, depending on the state and the authorizer. For instance, DC Public Charter School Board has set their percentage rate at seven percent.