Audit/Compliance
The principal of each school is responsible for ensuring that all students served in exceptional programs are appropriately placed. This means that correct placement procedures must be followed, parents must be given their due process rights, parents must be invited to any meeting in which decisions are made regarding their child’s placement, timelines must be followed, and IEP’s must be appropriately written. Principals require each teacher and therapist to maintain folders in a compliant manner. It is the responsibility of the IEP team to check for compliance at the initial placement or reevaluation meeting. For initial placements and reevaluations involving psychological testing, psychologists are responsible for ensuring appropriate (compliant) placement procedures are followed.
Rockingham County Schools uses EasyIEP as a tool to ensure compliance. All required forms including IEPs are to be completed on EasyIEP; there are many guides and compliance checks in the system.
There is no substitute for following correct procedures and timelines when students are initially placed in programs. Errors in the placement process can be very difficult to correct later. In addition, IEP’s must be completed on or before their expiration date and reevaluations must be completed within 3 years of placement or prior reevaluation. EasyIEP includes flags and indicators to help with timelines; however, teachers, psychologists, and therapists are responsible for timely completing of required actions and forms.
NC Policies should always be consulted for details. The required initial placement components table included in this section shows the required evaluation components required for initial placement into each disability area. The suggested components table for reevaluations should be used for the first reevaluation of the same category (a change to a new category will required everything as required at initial placement (see also Initial placement and Reevaluation sections under Procedures and Placement). The compliance checklistand accompanying directions for use are to be used to check folders for compliance. Also be sure to complete the NSTTAC Indicator 13 Checklist Form Bfor folders in which a transition plan is included as part of the IEP.
In order to check for system-wide compliance, Rockingham County Schools has developed a local compliance monitoring system. After every initial placement or reevaluation, the EC teacher or therapist must review the file and complete thecompliance checklist. If psychological testing was involved, the psychologist must also review the file and sign the audit sheet. The folder, the completed compliance checklist, and the appropriate CECAS form are sent together to the data manager at the Central Office EC Department. These need to be sent soon after the eligibility meetings in order to keep the databases current. If files are not received within 30 days of initial placement or reevaluation, Central Office will request the file from the teacher/therapist and if the folder still is not sent, the principal will be notified. An exception to this procedure can occur when there is a need to get accurate information entered readily on CECAS due to an approaching headcount date. If this occurs, the CECAS form should be sent and accompanied by a note (or phone call and note) to explain the absence of the folder. The folder should then be audited and sent to CO as soon as possible for review.
Once received, the folder is reviewed at Central Office; members of the audit team are scheduled weekly to ensure folders are returned quickly. The audit team checks for the presence of all required items listed on the compliance checklist. The team also looks at the quality of the information. For example, suggestions on improvement may be made. Feedback is given to the EC teacher/therapist/psychologist as well as directions, if needed, to correct any problems. When there are significant compliance problems, the file must be resubmitted after making appropriate corrections.
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