State Releases 2007-08 Special Education Report Cards for School Districts, Early Intervention/Early Childhood Programs

For immediate release
contact Susanne Smith, (503) 947-5637

April 1, 2009

State Releases 2007-08 Special Education Report Cards for School Districts, Early Intervention/Early Childhood Programs

SALEM – State Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo released the third annual report cards for Oregon Special Education and Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education. The report cards are required under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

“Oregon’s commitment to providing the highest quality education for all Oregon students is helped by the Special Education and Early Childhood Special Education Report Cards because they provide important information about our successes and areas where we need improvement,” Castillo said. “Our state is recognized as a national leader in the use of Response to Intervention and Positive Behavior Supports—two programs producing positive results for special education students. I encourage school districts to take advantage of the recent stimulus funding to scale up their work in these proven school-wide programs.”

Since 1975, the federal government has required that all children with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education and special services to meet their education needs. The Special Education report cards give parents of students with Individualized Education Programs (IEP) information about their school district and EI/ECSE programs. There are 72,846 Oregon school-age students in special education programs, about 13% of the school-age population in the state. District special education programs will provide copies of their report card to parents of students receiving special education services. Early childhood special education programs will provide copies of their report card to parents of children receiving Early Intervention (EI) and Early Childhood Special Education (ESCE) services in their county.

The 2007-08 school district Special Education Report Cards include the following information:
• Graduation rates for students with IEPs
• High school dropout rates
• Academic achievement in math and English/language arts
• Participation in state assessment
• Adequate yearly progress
• And more

The 2007-08 Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education Report Cards include the following information by program:
• Percentage of infants and toddlers with Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP)
• Results of parent surveys
• Resources for parents
• And more

Special Education and Early Childhood report cards (in English and Spanish) are online at: http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?=1831

For more information on the Oregon state performance plan for Special Education, please visit: http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=1813

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Susan Castillo, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Gene Evans, Communications Director, Telephone (503) 947-5737
http://www.ode.state.or.us

Oregon Department of Education News Releases contain information that was originally released to the press as an official release. Refer to each News Release for the details.