Significant Disproportionality
What is Significant Disproportionality?
Significant Disproportionality Guidance and Procedures
Significant Disproportionality: Definitions, Methodology, and Support [PDF]
This document overviews the definitions and methodology used to identify significant disproportionality based on race and ethnicity with respect to special education identification, placement, and disciplinary action. Additional information is also provided, including a Q&A and weblink resources.
Significant Disproportionality: Timeline of Analysis and Determination [PDF]
This document contains the timeline of analysis and determination for significant disproportionality for school years 2021-2022 through 2025-2026.
Additional Resources
Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS)
Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) Resources: Step by Step
The Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) Resources: Step by Step is designed to help state and local educational agencies navigate the steps associated with planning for, providing, and tracking comprehensive or voluntary CEIS.
CEIS Practice Guide
The CEIS Practice Guide provides two scenarios each for voluntary CEIS and comprehensive CEIS. Each scenario describes an LEA’s implementation of voluntary or comprehensive CEIS and how the LEA or state could track the amount LEAs reserved for voluntary or comprehensive CEIS, the activities conducted using IDEA funds for voluntary or comprehensive CEIS, the target group of students, and ongoing student-level data about special education services.
Data Analysis and Decision-Making Tools for LEAs
Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Overview [PDF}
This document discusses the importance of Root Cause Analysis (RCA) in addressing significant disproportionality in education for students with disabilities. It outlines various RCA methods, emphasizes the need for a diverse team and comprehensive data, and suggests updating problem statements and targeting improvement strategies after identifying root causes.
Data Meeting Toolkit
The Data Meeting Toolkit is a suite of tools that groups can use to guide conversation around data and support data-based decision making. The toolkit provides resources to support success before, during, and after data meetings.
Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) Fiscal and Student Data Tracker
The Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) Fiscal and Student Data Tracker is a set of four Excel tools that state education agencies (SEAs) can use with their local education agencies (LEAs), schools, and providers to assist them in tracking finances, services, and student data associated with CEIS. The resource also includes an instructions document or user’s guide for more information about when and how to use the CEIS Tracker.
OSEP-Funded National Technical Assistance Centers
Center for IDEA Fiscal Reporting (CIFR)
The Center for IDEA Fiscal Reporting (CIFR) is a technical assistance (TA) center funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Department of Education that helps states improve the quality and use of their IDEA Part C and Part B fiscal data and implement the IDEA fiscal requirements.
IDEA Data Center (IDC)
Funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), the IDEA Data Center (IDC) supports states as they work to improve the collection and reporting of their IDEA data and as they analyze and use these data to make programmatic improvements.
Data Center for Addressing Significant Disproportionality (DCASD)
The Data Center for Addressing Significant Disproportionality (DCASD) is a U.S. Department of Education-supported center dedicated to working with state and local education agencies to help build their capacity to identify and address significant disproportionality by more accurately collecting, reporting, analyzing, and using their IDEA data.