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Some have suggested that RDA and the shift from a focus on compliance to a focus on improving results for children with disabilities appears to have relegated compliance data to the back of the bus. Presenters from the U.S. Department of Education, OSEP highlighted the crucial role that section 616 and section 618 compliance data still play in RDA. Additionally, presenters shared ideas on how these data can be used not only for compliance but also to improve results for children and students with disabilities.

Presenters revisited the connections (improvement strategies, data sets, program evaluation) across several of the IDEA Part B Indicators–the gist of RDA–with a particular focus on the indicators most closely related to secondary students.

Staff beginning a data integration effort within their state must first establish a clear purpose for integration. Focusing on the first step of integration during this session, CIID staff helped participants refine the purpose and use case for integrating their data. Also, participants used the CIID Data Integration Toolkit to develop a plan to ensure key stakeholder understanding of the purpose for, and improve their support of, data integration efforts in the state.

Panel participants included staff from the DQC and the Georgia Department of Education. DQC staff discussed the role of education data and the opportunity to go beyond compliance, the need for focusing on policy priorities, and new opportunities the Every Student Succeeds Act presents. Georgia Department of Education staff shared their story about how the state has built a culture of data use from state-level infrastructure development to getting the data into the hands of teachers who are using the data to have a positive impact on improving student results.