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August 15, 2023
Corrective Action Plan Approved
On May 17, 2023, Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Commissioner Willie Jett received a letter from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs stating, “the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has identified a finding of noncompliance under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).” As a result, MDE was to respond to OSEP within 60 days from the date of the letter with a corrective action plan (CAP) that includes a timeline of “revised policies that ensure that teachers participating in the alternate route to special education certification assume functions as a teacher for a period not to exceed three years, as required under IDEA section 612(a)(14) and 34 C.F.R. § 300.156(c)(2)(i)(C).”
That plan was submitted Monday, July 17, 2023, and OSEP has approved the plan as submitted on Monday, August 14, 2023. View more information about the CAP on the MDE website.
With the acceptance of this plan, MDE will proceed with notifying Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) that special education teachers holding a Tier 1 license for more than three years can continue to teach in a special education classroom for the 2023-24 school year. However, those teachers will be ineligible to return to the previous role as Tier 1 licensed special education teacher for the 2024-25 school year. MDE will be working with the impacted charter schools and districts to help them utilize the newly expanded Grow Your Own teacher recruitment and retention funding as well as the Minnesota teacher mentorship program to provide the opportunity for the seventeen (17) teachers impacted by this change to move to Tier 2 or higher.
MDE is currently working to develop a legislative policy proposal for the 2024 legislative session to ensure Minnesota statutes and rules are in full compliance with federal regulations.
Special Education Program Monitoring Training Updates
Just in time for staff development season, the special education program monitoring team is pleased to announce a new training webpage: Training: Program Monitoring.
New Program Monitoring Training
Two new trainings are now available to support special education service providers.
Periodic Review – Recorded Presentation helps early childhood special education service providers with periodic reviews, emphasizing child and family outcomes.
Progress Reporting – Recorded Presentation helps special education service providers navigate progress reporting. This training includes clarification, examples and Progress Reporting – Guiding Questions for IEP Teams to consider when making decisions about progress reporting components.
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