State determines MCPS "Needs Intervention" re: performance under IDEA

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Maryland State Department of Education is required to make a determination annually on the performance of each local school system and assign the school system to one of four categories: Meets Requirements, Needs Assistance, Needs Intervention, and Needs Substantial Intervention.

Assistant State Superintendent Carol Ann Heath notified MCPS Superintendent Jerry
Weast by letter dated May 18, 2010 that Montgomery County Public Schools has
been determined to be Needs Intervention, Year Three, based on federal fiscal
year 2008 data, as well as information obtained through monitoring and complaint
investigations.


The determination is that MCPS is in the category of "Needs Intervention, Year Three" regarding its performance under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is based on targets for 20 indicators such as graduation rate, dropout rate, participation and performance on assessments, meeting evaluation timelines, and ensuring that complaints and hearings are resolved within required timelines. 


According to this report, one of the major ways MCPS is failing is that only 67.23% of students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are graduating with regular diplomas, and Maryland's expectations are that 85.5% of students with IEPs will graduate with a regular diploma. 


The full text of the letter is at the link below:  
MSDEMay182010