Resource Library

This TA guide addresses the more common methods for calculating racial/ethnic disproportionality in special education. IDC revised the guide, which the Data Accountability Center (DAC) originally published in October 2011, because of a change in SPP/APR Indicators 9 and 10 to remove underrepresentation from the measure.

Significant disproportionality with regard to identifying children as children with disabilities or as children with specific disabilities is, by definition, overrepresentation. This resource defines overrepresentation and three related terms: over-identification, under-identification, and underrepresentation. States can use this resource, in conjunction with the Success Gaps Toolkit to help identify and address the factors contributing to significant disproportionality (i.e., overrepresentation) within school districts.

The FFY 2020–25 Part B SPP/APR Changes at a Glance resource is a quick overview for tracking updates to indicators in the new FFY 2020–25 SPP/APR package. For each of the 17 SPP/APR indicators, the table denotes whether there will be no changes, minor changes and/or clarifications, changes to response rates and representativeness, changes to data sources, and new components.  

The Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) Fiscal and Student Data Tracker is a set of four tools SEAs can use with their districts, schools, and providers to assist them in tracking the finances, services, and student data associated with CEIS. IDC and CIFR produced the CEIS Tracker. The resource also includes an instructions document or user's guide for more information about when and how to use the CEIS Tracker.

This rubric allows a team of users from a district or school to systematically examine the root causes of success gaps among groups of students by focusing on equity, inclusion, and opportunity. The recently updated rubric now includes considerations for children as young as preschool age. A complementary white paper provided the research-based background that supported development of the rubric.

This resource compares the three equity requirements in IDEA (disproportionate representation, significant discrepancy, and significant disproportionality) across various elements to explain the similarities and the differences among the requirements.

The Success Gaps Toolkit presents a process for using data and the Success Gap Rubric to identify root causes of gaps between groups of children in districts or schools. These success gaps occur when the education system is not meeting the needs of all groups of children and outcomes for some groups are different than outcomes for most groups. The toolkit, with its process and materials, provides a manageable and defined way for districts or schools to identify success gaps that are present and their root causes and then make a plan for addressing the gaps. The success gaps may be the graduation rate of students who are English learners compared to the rate of all other children, the out-of-school suspension rate of children who are Black compared to the rate of all other children, the identification of children who are Hispanic as children with specific learning disabilities compared to the identification of all other children, and other gaps.