The Bureau of Special Education (BSE) monitors all school districts and charter schools in the state to ensure that they are complying with federal and state special education regulations and are improving performance outcomes of students with disabilities. 

All programs are monitored at least once over a six year cycle. Monitoring is conducted onsite by a team of trained personnel. Following the onsite monitoring, the BSE sends a report of findings to the school district or charter school. If noncompliance has been found, it must be corrected as soon as possible but no later than one year from the report. School districts and charter schools may also be required to engage in improvement planning to address substantive changes over time, e.g. improvement in graduation rates. Improvement plans may require more than one year from initiation to completion. The BSE works with the local program to ensure that resources are in place to assist the local education agency, and verifies completion of all corrective action and improvement plans.

There is some variation in the monitoring document used for school districts vs. charter schools due to different regulatory requirements governing each type of entity. However, the major components of cyclical monitoring are the same and are as follows:

The Facilitated Self Assessment- to evaluate the school district or charter school’s compliance with required policies and procedures and assess program outcomes

• School District FSA (PDF)
• Charter School FSA (PDF)

Parent and Teacher Interviews- to determine how the school district or charter school involves parents and professionals in required processes, e.g. development of IEPs, and assess whether effective programs and training are being provided

• Parent Interview (PDF)
• General Education Teacher Interview (PDF)
• Special Education Teacher Interview (PDF)

Classroom Observations- to observe implementation of programs and services

• Classroom Observations (PDF)

Student, Parent and Teacher Surveys- to gather feedback from a broad number of respondents to inform the monitoring team and the school district or charter school about perceived strengths and improvement needs

• Parent Survey (PDF)
• Teacher Survey (PDF)
• Student Survey (PDF)

Administrative Interview- to provide the monitoring team with a general understanding of local program operations

• Administrative Interview (PDF)

File Reviews- to ensure compliance with requirements for evaluation, IEPs, placement, secondary transition and procedural safeguards

• Initial Evaluation Only File Review (PDF)
• Re-evaluation Only File Review (PDF)
• Re-evaluation Waiver Only File Review (PDF)

The monitoring document is reviewed and revised annually as needed.

Note that new charter schools open at various times during a six year monitoring cycle and may not have been monitored yet. Therefore, no reports are posted for those schools.

The documents posted on this website are the cover letter sent with the monitoring report to the superintendent or charter school chief executive officer, an Executive Summary that describes overall findings, and the Corrective Action Verification Plan (CAVP) that includes detailed findings by topical areas. When all corrective action is completed by the school district or charter school, the BSE issues a closure letter; if applicable, that letter is also posted here.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has the responsibility to ensure that all Local Education Agencies (LEA) providing services, whether directly, or by contractual arrangements, administer special education services and programs that are in compliance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations.

In order to fulfill this responsibility, the Bureau of Special Education (BSE) has established administrative procedures for monitoring of program implementation, including evaluating the appropriateness, effectiveness and accountability of special education services and programs.

2023-2024 Cyclical Monitoring Schedule