State of Oregon

Part B Annual Performance Report

Status of Program Performance/November 2005

Cluster Area I: General Supervision

Question:Is effective general supervision of the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ensured through the State education agency’s (SEA) utilization of mechanisms that result in all eligible children with disabilities having an opportunity to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE)?
GS.IIIComplaint investigations, mediations, and due process hearings and reviews are completed in a timely manner.
OSEP-Directed Target: Complaint investigations will be completed 100% of the time within 60 days, unless an extension is necessary based on exceptional circumstances related to the complaint.
In direct response to OSEP’s findings through review of Oregon’s 2002 APR and the OSEP verification visit in July 2004, ODE is submitting the following plan related to ensuring the timely completion of complaint resolution “within a reasonable period of time not to exceed a year.” ODE will report on progress to OSEP on June 30, 2005, and November 30, 2005.
Improvement Plan for Complaint Resolution
Strategy / Activity/Timeline / Evidence of Change
Strategy 1: ODE will consider an extension of time for complaint resolution for mediation, local resolution, or settlement negotiations only on a case-by-case basis after a written request from the complainant and the district. / Activity 1: ODE will revise the complaint Q & A to provide notice to complaint participants of OSEP’s policy clarification
Timeline: By May 30, 2005.
Activity 2: ODE will provide training to complaint investigators and staff to ensure understanding of OSEP’s policy clarification.
Timeline: By May 30, 2005
Activity 3: ODE will share policy implications of OSEP’s APR response letters with Dispute Resolution Committee to obtain stakeholder input on correction.
Timeline: By May 30, 2005 / All final orders that include an extension of time for mediation, local resolution, or for settlement negotiations will be based on a written request by both parties and a case-by-case review, and the final orders will include a statement to this effect.
ODE will maintain supporting documentation in database and case file.
Strategy 2: ODE will treat the filing of new allegations in a pending complaint as the initiation of a new complaint, unless the new allegations can be investigated as part of the pending complaint without an extension of the timeline. / Activity 1: ODE will revise the complaint Q & A to provide notice to complaint participants of OSEP’s policy clarification.
Timeline: By May 30, 2005.
Activity 2: ODE will provide training to complaint investigators and staff to ensure understanding of OSEP’s policy clarification.
Timeline: By May 30, 2005
Activity 3: ODE will share policy implications of OSEP’s APR response letters with Dispute Resolution Committee to obtain stakeholder input on correction.
Timeline: By May 30, 2005 / Data for 2005 will demonstrate that each new allegation filed after the original complaint will be treated as a separate complaint unless the new allegation can be investigated as part of the pending complaint without an extension of the 60-day timeline.
Strategy 3: On a case-by-case basis, ODE will monitor extensions for exceptional circumstances, and consider other options, such as dismissal without prejudice (with permission to refile), as a response to complaints that are incomplete. / Activity 1: ODE will revise the complaint Q & A to provide notice to complaint participants of this policy clarification.
Timeline: By May 30, 2005.
Activity 2: ODE will provide training to complaint investigators, ODE staff, district administrators, and parents on this policy guidance.
Timeline: By November 30, 2005
Activity 3: ODE will share policy implications of OSEP’s APR response letters with Dispute Resolution Committee to obtain stakeholder input on correction.
Timeline: By May 30, 2005 / Data on 2005 complaints will show an increase in the percentage of complaints completed within 60 days.
Strategy 4: ODE will review complaint procedures to increase timeliness of complaint resolution. / Activity 1: ODE will review complaint resolution procedures with the Dispute Resolution Committee to obtain stakeholder input on strategies for improving the timeliness of complaint resolution.
Timeline: By May 30, 2005 / Data on 2005 complaints will show an increase to 100 percent timely in the percentage of timely complaints.
03/31/05 Status:
Data for 2004 show a significant improvement in the percentage of timely complaints from 2002 (29%) to 2004 (88%). ODE acknowledges that a significant number of these timely complaints are timely within an extended timeline, and will address this issue in the corrective actions in this plan.
06/30/05 Status:
Significant evidence of change is documented by 2005 data. These data demonstrate that 100% of the complaints investigated were resolved within 60 calendar days, with no extensions for exceptional circumstances. Specifically, ODE did not extend the timeline for exceptional circumstances due to mediation, settlement, or local resolution, or due to the filing of new allegations to a pending complaint.
ODE expedited the complaint investigation process by notifying complainants within the first ten days of missing or incomplete information. ODE continued to implement the strategies and activities submitted in the 2003 APR Improvement Plan.
To obtain the stakeholder input identified in Strategies 1-4, ODE shared its complaint resolution procedures and the policy implications of OSEP’s APR response letters with the Dispute Resolution Committee. The Committee completed a review of ODE’s complaint resolution procedures and timelines and recommended continuation of present procedures, as they have resulted in the desired evidence of change shown in the table below.
The table below shows data updated since the submission of the 2003 APR. Complaint timeliness data submitted in the 2003 APR on March 30, 2005, included five pending complaints for 2004. Of these five, three were dismissed and two were investigated; these data are included in the table below. The table also displays new data as of May 24, 2005. All of the complaints filed to date in 2005 are Part B complaints.
Timeliness of Complaint Resolution
Year / Number investigated / Number resolved within 60 calendar days / Percent resolved within 60 calendar days / Number timely (within extension) / Percent timely (within extension) / Total number timely / Total percent timely / Number pending / Percent pending
2002 / 38 / 4 / 11% / 7 / 18% / 11 / 29% / 2 / 4%
2003 / 24 / 6 / 25% / 8 / 33% / 14 / 58% / 0 / 0%
2004 / 36 / 16 / 44% / 16 / 44% / 32 / 89% / 0 / 0%
2005 / 4 / 4 / 100% / 0 / 0% / 4 / 100% / 4 / 22%
Note: Numbers in bold indicate data updated since submission of the 2003 APR.
11/30/05 Status:
Part B Timeliness of Complaint Resolution
January 1 – October 31, 2005
Year / Number investigated / Number resolved within 60 calendar days / Percent resolved within 60 calendar days / Number timely (within extension) / Percent timely (within extension) / Total number timely / Total percent timely / Number pending
2005 / 18 / 11 / 61% / 7 / 39% / 18 / 100% / 6
This data shows that all Part B complaints have been completed either within 60 days or are timely within an extension for exceptional circumstances. The number of complaints competed within 60 days increased from 44% in 2004 to 61% to date in 2005. . The number of timely complaints within an extension decreased from 44 % to 39%. Of the 7 complaints with an extension for exceptional circumstances, 6 were due to unavailability of district staff during the summer break. The other extension was at the request of a parent who speaks English as a second language; this parent asked ODE to consider additional information after the timeline for submitting additional information.
ODE anticipates that the total for the year will show an increase in the number completed within 60 days. ODE will submit a Final Report to OSEP, including data and analysis demonstrating compliance, no later than October 8, 2006, in accordance with OSEP’s September 8, 2005 Part B APR letter.

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