Launching this fall for the 2025–26 school year, Central Rivers AEA is excited to roll out a new service to support special education teams: Special Education Program Review.
Special education evaluations help schools understand what’s going well, where there’s room to grow, and how to better support students with disabilities. They also make sure schools are following important laws like IDEA, using their resources wisely, and spotting any gaps in services or staff training. These evaluations give schools useful, easy-to-understand information that helps leaders make smart decisions, build trust with families, and make sure every student gets the support they need. The process looks at seven key areas, with district and AEA teams working together to focus on the priorities that matter most to each school.
Evaluation Areas
A comprehensive evaluation of the special education program will address each of the evaluation areas listed below. The program evaluation process will address all areas, but higher priority will be given to areas identified by the district and through the initial data collection phase.
Equitable Representation & Access
Reviews whether students from diverse backgrounds are being identified appropriately for special education services and whether they have fair and equal access to the resources and support they need to succeed.
Compliance with IDEA
Ensures that the district is meeting legal requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), including writing compliant IEPs and implementing IEPs as written.
Student Performance & Post-Secondary Achievement
Information on how well students with disabilities are progressing academically, socially, and behaviorally. Additionally, it examines how well students are being prepared for post-secondary opportunities, including college, career, and independent living, ensuring they have the skills needed for life beyond school.
Continuum & Delivery of Services & Programs
Reviews the range of special education services available to students, ensuring they have access to the appropriate level of support in the least restrictive environment. It may also include a review of areas of growth to decrease the need for out-of-district placements and the use of paraprofessionals to support various student needs.
Professional Learning & Teaching Capacity
Information on the training and professional development opportunities provided to educators and staff will be reviewed to ensure they are well-equipped to meet the diverse needs of students with disabilities. Review the implementation of high-leverage practices from professional development offerings.
Family, Student, & Community Engagement
Examines how well families, students, and the community are involved in the special education process, including communication, collaboration, and access to resources. Gains information from family and student perspective on their experiences with the special education services provided by the school district.
General Supervision & Leadership
Information on how school and district leadership oversee special education programs, including decision-making processes, resource allocation (finances, materials, and staffing), and support for staff and students.
Anticipated Timeline
When initially discussing the Special Education Program Review process with a district, it is important to provide them with an anticipated* timeline. The example below allows teams to have an initial meeting, time off-site to gather information and complete IEP reviews, time on-site to conduct focus groups, interviews, and observations, and time on-site to provide results and recommendations. Depending on the size of the district and the number of special programs included in their continuum of services, the timeline may need to be adjusted. AEA teams should work together to determine timelines for each district. *May need to be adjusted depending on the size of the district and the focus/goals established.
| Evaluation Stage | Estimated Time Needed | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1: Kick-off meeting | Half day | Onsite or Zoom |
| Step 2: Preparing for the PESE (Phase 1 data collection) | Three days | Off site |
| Step 3: Program Observations (Phase 2 data collection) | One day | Onsite |
| Step 4: Interviews & Focus Groups | One day | Onsite |
| Step 5: Data Analysis & Review (Phase 3 data collection) | Two days | Offsite |
| Step 6: Recommendations Development & Discussion | Half day | Onsite or Zoom |
| Step 7: Action Planning* *AEA support can be added for an additional fee. | –– | –– |
| –– | Estimated Days: 9 total days | –– |
Recommended Team Members
Special education evaluations are a team effort. AEA staff, district leaders and school staff come together to take a close look at how things are going and where support is needed. Everyone brings their own expertise to the table, which helps make the evaluation fair, thoughtful and useful.
Working as a team also helps build trust, keeps everyone on the same page and leads to better support for students with disabilities. Some team roles are essential, while others can be added to give even more helpful insights during the process.
Area Education Agency (AEA) Team
- Regional Administrator
- Data Lead
- AEA Staff familiar with the SEPE process
District Leadership Team
- Building Principals/Assistant Principals
- District-level administration (i.e., curriculum)
- Superintendents
Contributing Staff
These staff members will contribute feedback and data for the evaluation process as applicable.
- AEA Support Service Providers
- AEA School Psychologists, Special Education Consultants, and/or School Social Workers serving the district
- Instructional Coach
- Itinerant Teachers
- Special Education Support Staff
- Special Education Teachers
- School Counselors
Evaluation Steps
There are seven steps to completing this process. The chart below outlines the tasks that need to be completed during each evaluation step by AEA and LEA team members. While each step is outlined in greater detail further in the guide, this provides a general overview of the responsibilities for the AEA and the LEA team members to complete the process. Depending on the interview, focus group, and observation schedules, the team may find that steps three and four may occur simultaneously or in reverse order.
General Process Outline
Step 1: Initial Preparation Meeting
AEA Responsibilities:
- Introduce evaluation team
- Share an overview of the process
- Provide access to communication toolkit
- Gather information on district goals for the evaluation using the structured interview template
- Complete a timeline for the process
LEA Responsibilities:
- Be prepared to discuss the goals of the program evaluation
- Support the development of a timeline for the process
Step 2: Preparing for the SE Program Evaluation (Phase 1 data collection)
AEA Responsibilities:
- Collect available district data
- Develop & distribute surveys to identified groups
- Schedule on-site observations and a family focus group
- Create a schedule for on-site focus groups
- Gather teacher schedules and complete a time audit
- Select a random sample of IEPs utilizing the compliance rubric
- Complete review of IEP’s utilizing compliance form
LEA Responsibilities:
- Send out communication to staff and families
- Assist with scheduling on-site dates
- Invite families to a focus group
- Prepare observation and focus group schedules
- Plan coverage for interviews with selected staff
- Provide teacher schedules and paraeducator schedules
Step 3: Program Observations* (Phase 2 data collection)
*Steps 3 and 4 may occur in a different order, or a mix of observations and interviews may occur depending on the district schedule.
AEA Responsibilities:
- Complete observations of SDI, inclusion practices, instructional practices, specialized programs, and student engagement
- Review alignment between specially designed instruction to student IEP’s
LEA Responsibilities:
- Communicate observation schedule with staff
- Administration will pair with AEA staff to conduct observations in a building other than their own
- Review observation tool
- Participate in debriefing conversations following observations
Step 4: Interviews & Focus Groups
AEA Responsibilities:
- Complete follow-up focus groups with selected staff (district selection)
- Complete family focus group
- Complete building administrator focus group
- Complete School Board focus group or individual interview (dependent on district request)
- Complete individual interview with Superintendent
- Prepared to share a brief summary of on-site days
LEA Responsibilities:
- Communicate with focus group participants
- Ensure coverage for focus groups with selected staff
- Provide space for family focus group
- LEA participation in focus group
- Be prepared to discuss the DDSP
- Share all policies and current practices related to special education
- LEA administrators join a brief summary for on-site days
Step 5: Data Analysis & Review (Phase 3 data)
AEA Responsibilities:
- Analyze student outcome data
- Identify trends in the data collected
- Assess for disproportionality in identification, placement, and discipline practices
- Synthesize information utilizing a report template
- Develop a list of recommendations for improvement
- Schedule a meeting with the district to share information
LEA Responsibilities:
- Determine who you want present to hear the results of the evaluation
Step 6: Recommendations
AEA Responsibilities:
- Share program evaluation results
LEA Responsibilities:
- Share results with stakeholders (may include families, staff, school-board, community)
- Sharing considerations:
- Create family family-friendly one-page summary to be published on the school website or newsletter
- Include key findings during professional learning sessions
- Develop a summary presentation to share at a school board meeting
Step 7: Action Planning
AEA Responsibilities:
- AEA support can be added for an additional fee.
LEA Responsibilities:
Suggested next steps for action planning:
- Use information from the program evaluation to develop an action plan for program improvement based upon identified priorities
- Create goals and a monitoring plan for implementation
- Develop a timeline and determine what professional learning is needed
- Collaborate with AEA to secure additional support as needed