Racial Equity in Special Education

Dear District Administrators and CESA Administrators,

The purpose of this email is to inform you of the release of the “Racial Equity in Special Education” report now available in the Secure Access File Exchange. For every local education agency, the report (1) analyzes Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) data related to racial equity in special education identification, discipline, and placement and (2) identifies actions, if any, required under federal law.

This information should be reviewed with other data, including previous notifications for IDEA and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) received on February 5, and then used in your continuous improvement efforts. Our goal is to make joint notifications around both ESSA and IDEA an opportunity for districts to reflect on data and build on successful improvement efforts already being implemented; to make it easier for districts, we will release ESSA notifications, IDEA LEA Determinations, and IDEA - Racial Equity in Special Education in one package beginning in the 2019-20 school year.

For questions about the data and/or information in your “Racial Equity in Special Education” report, please contact Jessica Moe at jessica.moe@dpi.wi.gov. Please follow this link for additional resources.