Notification of Participation
Based on the five-year self-assessment cycle, the department notifies Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) in the spring when they are required to conduct the self-assessment in the upcoming school year. This notification starts the RDA: PCSA process.
Utilize Your Resources
There are many resources available to assist you through the self-assessment process. Your Regional Special Education Network Director (RSN) is available to support you and any training needs you may have. Reach out to them and learn about the opportunities they have planned for your CESA.
Dig into the resources embedded throughout this website including information about CCR IEPs and common errors. Talk with your colleagues. Share information with each other. And know that we are here to help. A DPI staff member will be assigned to your LEA and is happy to assist you throughout the process at any time. If you have any questions about the self-assessment process, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Make Sure Your Data Is Ready
To lessen the burden on LEAs, DPI pulls as much data from WISEData to develop the self-assessment samples as possible. Because of that, it is really important that the special education data submitted to WISEData for the year immediately before your self-assessment year is accurate, so the correct students are included in the sample.Clean up any outstanding WISEData errors, including those related to special education enrollment, reporting disability, and environment code as you prepare. This step will save you time later as you create your samples from the pool in the application.
DPI does not collect the data to pull the student records into WISEData and create the pool for shortened day. LEA staff will need to enter the applicable student names and ensure that the proper students are included in the self-assessment. As you prepare, make sure you know the students with IEPs who are attending school less than a full day.
Establish An Ad Hoc Committee
The department recommends using an ad hoc committee of parents and school staff to plan the self-assessment. An LEA may develop local procedures for appointing an ad hoc committee.
The department recommends a team of LEA staff conduct the self-assessment. The team may include LEA staff from the committee. Parents do not participate in reviewing student records and other confidential student information.
Training Your Staff
Prior to conducting the self-assessment, LEA staff assigned to review student records must complete the RDA:PCSA Training and Certification eCourse. The training is designed to develop an understanding of how to assess each monitoring standard.
Once staff has completed the training and the Director has verified that all staff reviewing student records has completed the eCourse (Certification of Completion), the district will have access to the online reporting tool through the Special Education Portal. This tool is used to enter results and identify corrective actions.
DPI Resources To Assist You
DPI has developed guidance on writing IEPs called College and Career Ready IEPs: Improving Outcomes for Students Ages 3-21. Utilizing these resources and training will assist districts in maintaining compliance during the self-assessment process. LEAs are encouraged to learn about and implement the 5 Beliefs and 5-Step process of CCR IEP development. The 5-Steps are aligned with the I-4 Linking Form. CCR IEP training and technical assistance supports compliance with procedural requirements and improved outcomes for students with disabilities.
A CCR IEP Checklist has been developed for use as a resource when reviewing IEPs during CCR IEP training and technical assistance. The CCR IEP Checklist is aligned with the I-4 Linking Form and includes additional prompts for consideration. LEAs are encouraged to use the checklist when training staff, parents and students to develop IEPs that promote improved outcomes for students. LEAs will also benefit from reviewing IEPs using the CCR IEP Checklist in preparation for participation in the self-assessment. Please visit the CCR IEP webpage for more information about CCR IEPs.
DPI has also created a Common Error Items document following a review of common errors identified by districts during the most recent 5-year self-assessment cycle. The document identifies common error items from the self-assessment updated with the 2022-27 item numbers, a list of reasons for noncompliance reported by districts in the Special Education Web Portal, and suggestions to help avoid these types of errors