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Office of Special Education Program's Results Driven Accountability Home Page

icon: Results Driven Accountability (RDA). Improving Results for Children with Disabilities


ABOUT

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has revised its accountability system to shift the balance from a system focused primarily on compliance to one that puts more emphasis on results.

RDA's Three Components

  • State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Reports (SPP/APR), which measures results and compliance. States are currently developing State Systematic Improvement Plans (SSIPs), designed to improve outcomes in targeted areas.
  • Determinations, which reflect state performance on results, as well as compliance.
  • Differentiated monitoring and support for all states, but especially low performing states.

RDA's Core Principles

The following Core Principles underlie and will guide OSEP’s RDA work:

  • Principle 1: Partnership with stakeholders
  • Principle 2: Transparent and understandable to educators and families
  • Principle 3: Drives improved results
  • Principle 4: Protects children and families
  • Principle 5: Differentiated incentives and supports to states
  • Principle 6: Encourages states to target resources and reduces burden
  • Principle 7: Responsive to needs

RESOURCES

OSEP and its grantees have created and compiled a collection of resource materials to provide information related to RDA.

  • The National Center for Systemic Improvement
    The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) recently funded the National Center for Systemic Improvement (NCSI) to help states transform their systems to improve outcomes for infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities. NCSI provides states with technical assistance to support their school districts and local early intervention service programs in improving educational results and functional outcomes for children with disabilities. Launched in October 2014, this multiyear center will play a major role in helping states achieve a national vision of Results-Driven Accountability for special education and early intervention programs.
     
  • The Center for IDEA Fiscal Reporting
    The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires states to collect and report special education fiscal data. OSEP has funded a new center, the Center for IDEA Fiscal Reporting (CIFR), to provide technical assistance to state educational agencies (SEAs) to help them meet this federal obligation. The specific reporting requirements supported by the CIFR are: state maintenance of financial support (MFS) and local education agency (LEA) maintenance of effort (MOE) reduction and coordinated early intervening service (CEIS) provisions.
     
  • Slides to Explain Results Driven Accountability (RDA) 
    State Directors of Special Education and Part C Coordinators can use these slide decks to explain RDA to their stakeholders in both Part B and Part C programs. 

      Part B (MS Powerpoint) (54KB) | Part C (MS Powerpoint) (54KB) 

 

  • OSEP Communities360° 
    OSEP's Communities360° is a site where you can find highlighted SPP/APR resources, other OSEP material on the Highlighted Resources page, information about grants, an SSIP Overview and Tools, and an events calendar with important dates to remember. Communities360° is also the platform for states to submit the IDEA Part B and Part C State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) electronically.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)
Page Last Reviewed:
September 23, 2024