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According to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), all states must set targets for the State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) indicators through FFY 2019. During this webinar, an IDC TA provider first detailed the requirements for SPP/APR targets. Then, the TA provider described specific methods states can use to set their targets.  The webinar concluded with a discussion among state participants about strategies they have used to involve stakeholders in the target setting process.

This webinar helped states and local education agencies (LEAs) learn how to use root cause analysis to analyze their 616 and 618 data and use the results to improve student outcomes. States and LEAs should conduct a root cause analysis when these data show that some groups of students are succeeding at lower rates than other groups are. Presenters discussed how to perform a successful root cause analysis in order to identify why performance or achievement gaps are happening and prevent them from reoccurring. Staff from the South Carolina Department of Education presented on the state’s use of the IDC Success Gaps Toolkit for root cause analysis with LEAs and the solutions the LEAs implemented as a result of their analyses. 

IDC presented Blueprint for Success: Using Your Theory of Action to Guide SSIP Implementation and Evaluation. State Systemic Improvement Plans (SSIPs) are multi-year efforts to improve results for children and youth with disabilities. This webinar emphasized the role of the SSIP theory of action in guiding implementation and evaluation activities throughout the cycle of the SSIP. Participants learned how to review their SSIP activities and theory of action to ensure continued alignment and improve the likelihood of positive results. Presenters shared key IDC resources available to support states in their SSIP evaluation work. Intended audiences include SSIP Coordinators, State Directors of Special Education, and other relevant state staff.

During this IDC webinar, participants learned about federal requirements for LEA determinations of performance. They also learned about national trends for issuing LEA determinations, including information on the data elements and calculation methodologies states use in making their LEA determinations. Additionally, two states shared their current LEA determination processes and the impact of these processes on local special education programs.