Current through September 21, 2024
(a) Pursuant to its
general supervisory responsibility, WDE shall ensure that the requirements of
the IDEA and federal regulations are carried out and that each school district
or public agency implements programs that meet the standards of Wyoming,
consistent with
34 C.F.R. §
300.149 and any formally adopted Wyoming
policy or procedure.
(b) In
accordance with W.S. §§
21-2-701(a)(1) and 21-2-763
the Department of Health, Developmental Disabilities Division (Division), is
assigned responsibility for ensuring the provision of FAPE to preschool
children with disabilities. Pursuant to W.S. §
21-2-702, the Division shall be deemed an
intermediate educational unit, and as such, shall function as an educational
service agency consistent with
34 C.F.R. §
300.12(c). [See
34 C.F.R. §
300.12 and W.S. §§
21-2-701 through
21-2-703.]
(c) Monitoring focus. WDE shall enforce the
requirements of the IDEA and monitor the implementation of these rules by
school districts and public agencies in accordance with
34 C.F.R. §§
300.600 through 300.608 (including the 2008
Amendment and any subsequent amendments). The primary focus of the monitoring
activities shall be on:
(i) Improving
educational results and functional outcomes for all children with disabilities;
and
(ii) Ensuring that the school
districts or public agencies meet the program requirements under Part B of the
IDEA, with a particular emphasis on those requirements that are most closely
related to improving educational results for children with
disabilities.
(d)
Priority areas. Consistent with
34 C.F.R. §
300.600(d), WDE shall
monitor school districts and public agencies using quantifiable indicators in
each of the following priority areas, and using such qualitative indicators as
are needed to adequately measure the performance in those areas:
(i) Provision of FARE in the least
restrictive environment;
(ii)
Wyoming exercise of general supervision, including child find, effective
monitoring, the use of resolution meetings, mediation, and a system of
transition services defined in
34 C.F.R. §§
300.43 and 300.124.
(iii) Disproportionate representation of
racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services, to the
extent the representation involves inappropriate identification, pursuant to
data collected in accordance with
34 C.F.R. §
300.646.
(e) Wyoming use of targets. WDE shall use the
targets established in Wyoming's performance plan under
34 C.F.R. §
300.601 and the priority areas described in
34 C.F.R. §
300.600(d) to analyze the
performance of each school district or public agency.
(f) Public reporting and privacy. Consistent
with
34 C.F.R. §
300.602 (including the 2008 Amendment and any
subsequent amendments) WDE shall:
(i) Make
Wyoming's performance plan, under
34 C.F.R. §
300.601(a) available through
public means.
(ii) Make Wyoming's
annual performance report under
34 C.F.R. §
300.602(b)(2) available
through public means.
(iii) Report
annually to the public on the performance of each school district or public
agency in Wyoming under
34 C.F.R. §
300.602(b)(1)(i)(A).
(g) Determinations. Based on the
information provided by school district or public agencies, information
obtained through monitoring visits, and any other public information made
available, WDE shall determine if the school district or public agency:
(i) Meets the requirements and purposes of
Part B of the IDEA;
(ii) Needs
assistance in implementing the requirements of Part B of the IDEA;
(iii) Needs intervention in implementing the
requirements of Part B of the IDEA; or
(iv) Needs substantial intervention in
implementing the requirements of Part B of the IDEA.
(h) Enforcement. WDE shall enforce the
requirements of the IDEA using appropriate enforcement mechanisms consistent
with
34 C.F.R. §§
300.600 through 300.606 (including the 2008
Amendment and any subsequent amendments):
(i)
Needs assistance. If WDE determines, for two (2) consecutive years, that a
school district or public agency needs assistance requirements of Part B of the
IDEA, WDE shall take one (1) or more of the following actions:
(A) Advise the school district or public
agency of available sources of technical assistance that may help the school
district or public agency address the areas in which it needs assistance. Such
technical assistance may include:
(I) The
provision of advice by experts to address the areas in which the school
district or public agency needs assistance, including explicit plans for
addressing the area for concern within a specified period of time;
(II) Assistance in identifying and
implementing professional development, instructional strategies, and methods of
instruction that are based on scientifically based research;
(III) Designating and using distinguished
superintendents, principals, special education administrators, special
education teachers, and other teachers to provide advice, technical assistance,
and support; and
(IV) Devising
additional approaches to providing technical assistance, such as collaborating
with institutions of higher education, educational service agencies, national
centers of technical assistance, and private providers of scientifically based
technical assistance.
(B) Direct the use of school district or
public agency Part B funds on the area or areas in which it needs
assistance.
(C) Identify the school
district or public agency as a high-risk grantee, and impose special conditions
on the use of Part B funds by the school district or public agency.
(ii) Needs intervention. If WDE
determines, for three (3) or more consecutive years, that a school district or
public agency needs intervention in implementing the requirements of Part B of
the IDEA, the following shall apply:
(A) WDE
may take any of the actions described in paragraph (i) above.
(B) WDE shall take one (1) or more of the
following actions:
(I) Require the school
district or public agency to prepare a corrective action plan or improvement
plan if WDE determines that the school district or public agency should be able
to correct the problem within one (1) year.
(II) Require the school district or public
agency to enter into a compliance agreement if WDE has reason to believe that
the school district or public agency cannot correct the problem within one (1)
year.
(III) For each year of the
determination, withhold not less than 20% and not more than 50% of the school
district's or public agency's IDEA Part B funds until WDE determines that the
school district or public agency has sufficiently addressed the areas in which
it needs intervention.
(IV) Seek to
recover funds paid to the school district or public agency under Part B of the
IDEA consistent with
34
C.F.R. §
300.604(b)(2)(iv).
(V) Withhold, in whole or in part, any
further payments to the school district or public agency made under Part B of
the IDEA.
(VI) Refer the matter for
appropriate enforcement action, which may include a referral to the Office of
the Wyoming Attorney General or the United States Department of
Justice.
(iii) Needs substantial intervention.
Notwithstanding paragraphs (i) and (ii) above, at any time WDE determines that
a school district or public agency needs substantial intervention in
implementing the requirements of Part B of the IDEA or that there is a
substantial failure to comply with any condition of the school district's or
public agency's eligibility under Part B of the IDEA, WDE shall take one (1) or
more of the following actions:
(A) Recover
IDEA Part B funds consistent with
34
C.F.R. §
300.604(c).
(B) Withhold, in whole or in part, any
further payments to the school district or public agency under Part B of the
IDEA.
(C) Refer the matter for
appropriate enforcement action, which may include a referral to the Office of
the Wyoming Attorney General or the United States Department of
Justice.
(iv) In
exercising its monitoring responsibilities under this section, WDE shall ensure
that when it identifies noncompliance with the requirements of IDEA by a school
district or public agency, the noncompliance is corrected as soon as possible,
and in no case later than one (1) year after WDE's identification of the
noncompliance in accordance with 34 G.F.R. § 300.600(e) (including the
2008 Amendment and any subsequent amendments).
(v) Findings of noncompliance; For the
purpose of this section, a finding of noncompliance is a written notification
that includes the citation of the statute, regulation, or rule and a
description of the quantitative and/or qualitative data supporting the
conclusion that there is noncompliance.
(vi) Correction of noncompliance: WDE must
address all noncompliance, whether collected through the on-site monitoring
system, other monitoring processes such as self-assessment or desk review of
records, Wyoming complaint or due process hearing decisions, or data systems,
in an effort to correct noncompliance, WDE may request that the State
superintendent take appropriate administrative action with the state board,
including but not limited to the changing of accreditation status against any
school district or public agency failing to comply with any applicable laws;
[See W.S. §§ 21 - 2.202(0) ]
(vii) Opportunity for hearing. Prior to
withholding any funds under Part B of the IDEA, WDE shall provide reasonable
notice and an opportunity for hearing in accordance with
34 C.F.R. §§
300.155, 300.221 and 300.222.
