On October 28, 2013, OCR and Sun Prairie Area School District (District) reached an agreement regarding the overrepresentation of students of color in special education.  The agreement, entered into prior to the conclusion of OCR’s investigation, resolved OCR’s compliance review.  The District agreed to retain an expert with expertise in addressing the overrepresentation of students of color in special education to review the district's procedures and make recommendations as to what measures the district should take to ensure that it is making appropriate determinations and address the root causes of the overrepresentation of students of color in special education; develop and implement a plan for a universal screening process to identify students in need of extra assistance as early as possible; ensure that every school in the district has implemented a systematic, team-based means of providing intervention strategies in the classroom for students experiencing academic or behavior difficulties; provide additional professional development to teachers and staff , including training on the intervention process and on intervention strategies for students; review specific special education records for current students in certain special education categories to assess whether eligibility decisions were appropriate, and take appropriate action in response; maintain and analyze data and other information to annually evaluate the effectiveness of its screening, intervention, evaluation, and placement processes and analyze data related to teacher referral and the provision of team-prescribed interventions, to determine whether students of all races and national origins were treated equitably.

Read the Press Release | Read the Resolution Letter MS WORD (95K) PDF (127K) | Read the Resolution Agreement MS WORD (75K) PDF (137K)