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    Special Education

    The State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report and State Systemic Improvement Plan

    The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) imposed new requirements on states for monitoring and enforcement. These requirements are detailed in the IDEA Federal Regulations at 34 CFR Part 300.600. Under these regulations each state is required to submit a State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). 

    The SPP, first submitted in 2005, and now expanded to 2018, is a multi-year plan to guide improvement in special education programs. It is built around federally mandated indicators of performance and compliance and includes baseline data and measurable and rigorous targets for each indicator. States must report data annually to OSEP on the state's performance in meeting the established targets. IDEA 2004 also requires states to report annually to the public on the performance of each LEA in the state on the targets in the SPP. Data reported in the SPP/APR are used by OSEP to determine the extent to which a state is complying with IDEA.

    Beginning in 2015, all states were required to incorporate a State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) into their SPP/APR. This new requirement is part of OSEP's implementation of a revised accountability system under the IDEA. The SSIP is a comprehensive, ambitious, multi-year plan for improving results for students with disabilities. The Bureau of Special Education collaborated with multiple stakeholders to select a focus for its SSIP. This focus area is called a State Identified Measurable Result (SIMR). Pennsylvania will be working to increase the graduation rate for students with disabilities as its SIMR. The SSIP is designated as an indicator within the SPP/APR. Therefore states must also report annually to OSEP and the public on their performance in meeting targets in the SSIP.

    On June 21, 2024, the department was notified by OSEP that Pennsylvania meets the requirements and purposes of Part B of the IDEA. This determination is based on the totality of the State’s data and information, including the federal fiscal year (FFY) 2020 State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR), other State-reported data, and other publicly available information.