Subject
On December 19, 2016, the United States Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services released updated regulations to the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) governing the calculation of significant disproportionality (34 CFR §§300.646 and 300.647). To comply with the change in regulation, The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) is providing the opportunity for public view and commentary on the department’s proposed changes to its methodology in determining significant disproportionality within a local educational agency (LEA).
FDOE is seeking to change the following areas of the significant disproportionality methodology:
•The Cell and N-sizes used to determine when a risk ratio calculation is made;
•The risk ratio threshold an LEA would have to meet or exceed to be designated as having significant disproportionality;
•Determine an LEA to have significant disproportionality after meeting or exceeding the risk ratio for three consecutive years; and
•Remove the designation of significant disproportionality after the LEA has made reasonable progress in each of the prior consecutive years even if the LEA is still at or has exceeded the risk ratio threshold.