Annual Determinations

Contact Information

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 requires states to issue annual determinations to all districts regarding their implementation of Part B of the IDEA.

IDEA Section 616(a), CFR 300.600 & 300.602, and WAC 392-172A-07012

Determination Levels

The four levels of determination are:

  1. Meets Requirements
  2. Needs Assistance
  3. Needs Intervention
  4. Needs Substantial Intervention

Determination Criteria

Washington uses the federally required criteria for calculating district determinations:

  1. Audit results - Did the Local Education Agency (LEA)/Educational Service Agency (ESA) resolve all special education audit findings?
  2. Timely correction of non-compliance - Did the LEA/ESA correct all issues of non-compliance as soon as possible but no later than one year from identification? Note: the correction of non-compliance is completed by the LEA/ESA through iGrants Form Package 442, verified by the local Educational Service District (ESD), and validated (approved) by OSPI.
  3. Timely submission of data reports - Did the LEA/ESA submit all of the required special education reports timely and accurately?
  4. Performance on the State Performance Plan (SPP) compliance indicators - Did the LEA/ESA demonstrate substantial compliance on Indicators B-4B (Suspension/Expulsion Rates by Race/Ethnicity), B-9 (Disproportionate Identification in Special Education), B-10 (Disproportionate Identification in Specific Disability Categories), B-11 (Timely Initial Evaluations), B-12 (Timely Part C to Part B Transition), and B-13 (Secondary Transition IEP Components)?
  5. Performance on the SPP results indicators - Did the LEA/ESA demonstrate substantial performance on Indicator B-14C (Postsecondary Engagement Rates)?
  6. Significant Disproportionality - Did the LEA/ESA receive a designation of Significant Disproportionality?

Notification

Local Education Agencies (LEAs) receive preliminary notification of their determination level on or around November 1st of each year and have until November 30th to request a reconsideration if they believe their level is incorrect due to OSPI error. Determinations become final in December and will be posted to this page at that time. More information about the process for annual determinations is found below:

IDEA requires the U.S. Department of Education to make annual "determinations" as to the overall compliance of each State with the requirements of Part B of the IDEA. States are likewise required to make "determinations" as to the level of overall compliance of each district within the State. OSPI is making this information available to the public pursuant to WAC 392-172A-07025.