September 2002 — Applications
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North Carolina School District Streamlines Its Special Education Management System
Besides data management issues, WS/FCS had problems with the paperwork and compliance issues around IEP meetings. These meetings could take almost two hours because of the enormous complexity of the subject matter and process issues. With the current state and national shortage of trained and qualified special education teachers, most districts have to deal with a less experienced staff. This increases the likelihood of process and paperwork errors for which the district incurs financial responsibility. Both SETS and EZ Compliance Forms were configured to guide our teachers internally through the meetings and forms. We now have new teachers who can create error-free, compliant IEPs after only four hours of training. We have also seen the average length of IEP meetings decrease.
In addition, the SETS database gives school administrators access to other information that they need to make informed, data-driven decisions, such as IEP and grade history, as well as assessment scores. This data helps our administrators manage time lines better, along with IEP goals and objectives, related services, graduation requirements for the curriculum, and assessments of student achievement. With appropriate data input at the school level, SETS also helps us better manage the time-consuming process of tracking service provider identification, management and change, plus the critically important development of transitional plans and services.
The Future
WS/FCS is well on its way to meeting our goals. The database is now running, and live real-time forms have lightened the paperwork - reducing the procedural burden on the special education teachers for the first time. Future challenges include support for low-average, low-achieving students and inappropriate referrals to special education. In the future, we expect to transition fully to electronic forms for student records, including psychological evaluations, live data transfer from meetings, and tracking and monitoring IEP objectives in correlation to the regular education curriculum, as part of the program. When fully developed and implemented, this system has the potential to deliver the real promise of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Sam Dempsey, Ph.D.
Director for Exceptional
Children's Programs, WS/FCS
Contact Information
4GL School Solutions
Towson, MD
(800) 490-84GL
www.4glschools.com
