For the complete 2007 Coordinated Program
Review Final Report, CLICK HERE >>
According to the Department of Education
website, As only one part of its accountability system, the
Department of Education oversees local compliance with education
requirements through the Coordinated Program Review (CPR). All
reviews cover selected requirements in the following areas:
Special Education
* Selected requirements from the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA-2004), M.G.L. c.
71B (Chapter 766 of the Acts of 1972), and the Massachusetts Board
of Education's Special Education regulations (603 CMR 28.00), as
amended effective July 1, 2005. Federal requirements selected for
the 2006-2007 reviews include, among others, the requirements
specified by the federal Office for Special Education Programs (OSEP)
and the requirements revised by IDEA-2004 and described in the
Department's Special Education Advisories. Please be aware that
based on the recent issuance of the federal special education
regulations, which took effect October 13, 2006, we will be
modifying the special education instrument in the near future and
will publish any changes at that time.
Civil Rights Methods of Administration and Other General
Education Requirements (MOA)
* Selected federal civil rights requirements under Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Educational Opportunities Act
of 1974, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title II of the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990, together with selected state
requirements under M.G.L. c. 76, Section 5 (Chapter 622 of the
Acts of 1971) and other Massachusetts General Laws.
* Selected requirements from the Massachusetts Board of
Education's Physical Restraint regulations (603 CMR 46.00).
* Selected requirements from the Massachusetts Board of
Education's Student Learning Time regulations (603 CMR 27.00).
English Learner Education (ELE) in Public Schools
* Selected requirements from M.G.L. c. 71A, the state law that
governs the provision of education to limited English proficient
students, and 603 CMR 14.00, as well as the No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. All
districts that enroll limited English proficient students will be
reviewed using a combination of updated standards and a
self-assessment instrument overseen by the Department's Office of
Language Acquisition and Academic Achievement (OLAAA) during the
2006-2007 school year. Districts and charter schools will receive
under separate cover an appendix to the English Learner Education
Information Package that will include a request for information
regarding ELE programs and staff qualifications.
Coordinated Program Review Elements
Team:
Depending upon the size of a school district and the number of
programs to be reviewed, a team of two to eight Department staff
members, together with any necessary outside consultants, conducts
a Coordinated Program Review over two to ten days in a school
district or charter school.
Timing:
Each school district and charter school in the Commonwealth is
scheduled to receive a Coordinated Program Review every six years
and a mid-cycle special education follow-up visit three years
after the Coordinated Program Review; about sixty-five school
districts and charter schools are scheduled for Coordinated
Program Reviews in 2006-2007. The Department's 2006-2007 schedule
of Coordinated Program Reviews is posted on the Department's web
site at
http://www.doe.mass.edu/pqa/review/cpr/schedule.html . The
statewide six-year Program Review cycle together with the
Department's Mid-cycle follow-up monitoring schedule is posted at
http://www.doe.mass.edu/pqa/review/cpr/6yrcycle.html .
Criteria:
The Program Review criteria for each program encompass the
requirements that have been selected for review. The requirements
selected for review in all of the regulated programs are those
that are most closely aligned with the goals of the Massachusetts
Education Reform Act of 1993 to promote student achievement and
high standards for all students.
Methods:
Methods used in reviewing programs include:
* Review of documentation about the operation of the charter
school or district's programs.
* Interviews of administrative, instructional, and support staff
across all grade levels.
* Interviews of parent advisory council (PAC) representatives and
other interviews as requested by other parents or members of the
general public.
* Review of student records for special education (and for student
accommodation plans under Section 504), English learner education,
and career/vocational technical education. The Department selects
a representative sample of student records for the onsite team to
review, using standard Department procedures, to determine whether
procedural and programmatic requirements have been implemented.
* Surveys of parents of students with disabilities and parents of
English learners. Parents of students with disabilities whose
files are selected for the record review, as well as the parents
of an equal number of other students with disabilities, are sent a
survey that solicits information regarding their experiences with
the district's implementation of special education programs,
related services, and procedural requirements; parents of English
learners whose files are selected for the record review are sent a
survey of their experiences with the district's implementation of
the English learner education program and related procedural
requirements.
* Observation of classrooms and other facilities. The onsite team
visits a sample of classrooms and other school facilities used in
the delivery of programs and services to determine general levels
of compliance with program requirements.
Note on collaborative programs and services. Where the
district is a member of a collaborative approved by the Department
of Education and is a site for programs or services operated by
the collaborative, interviews, student record review, and
observation of classrooms are conducted for the collaborative.
Report:
Preparation:
At the end of the onsite visit, the onsite team will hold an
informal exit meeting to summarize its preliminary findings for
the Superintendent or Charter School Leader and anyone else he or
she chooses. Within approximately 45 business days of the onsite
visit, the Onsite Chairperson will forward to the Superintendent
or Charter School Leader (and Collaborative Director where
applicable) a Draft Report containing specific findings from the
Program Review. The district (and collaborative) will then have 10
business days to review the report for factual accuracy before the
publication of a Final Report. The Final Report will be issued
within approximately 60 business days of the conclusion of the
onsite visit and posted on the Department's website at
http://www.doe.mass.edu/pqa/review/cpr/reports/ .
Content:
Ratings. The onsite team gives a rating for each compliance
criterion it reviews; those ratings are "Commendable,"
"Implemented" (meaning at least substantially implemented),
"Implementation in Progress," "Partially Implemented," "Not
Implemented" (meaning at least substantially not implemented), and
"Not Applicable or Not Rated." "Implementation in Progress," used
for criteria containing new legal requirements, means that the
district has implemented any old requirements contained in the
criterion and is training staff or beginning to implement the new
requirements in such a way that the onsite team anticipates that
the new requirements will be implemented by the end of the school
year.
Findings. The onsite team includes a finding for each
criterion that it rates "Commendable," "Partially Implemented," or
"Not Implemented," explaining the basis for the rating. It may
also include findings for other criteria.
Executive Summary. Organized by the report components
listed on the next page, the Executive Summary summarizes the
report's major findings for all of the programs reviewed.
Response:
Where criteria are found "Partially Implemented or "Not
Implemented," the district or charter school must propose
corrective action to bring those areas into compliance with the
relevant statutes and regulations. This corrective action plan
will be due to the Department within 30 business days after the
issuance of the Final Report and is subject to the Department's
review and approval.
As the school or district is implementing the approved corrective
action, Department staff will provide ongoing technical
assistance. To assist in the implementation of corrective action
related to the area of special education, schools and districts
may apply for limited special education technical assistance
funds. School districts and charter schools must demonstrate
effective resolution of noncompliance identified by the Department
as soon as possible but in no case later than one year from the
issuance of the Department's Final Program Review Report.
The Department of Education and the Uxbridge Public School
District believes that the Coordinated Program Review is a
positive experience and that the Final Report is helpful in
planning for the continued improvement of programs and services.
For the complete 2007 Coordinated Program
Review Final Report, CLICK HERE >>
