June 6, 2008

Honorable Jim Rex

State Superintendent of Education

South Carolina Department of Education

1006 Rutledge Building

1429 Senate Street

Columbia, SC 29201

Dear Commissioner Rex:

Thank you for the timely submission of South Carolina's FFY 2006 Annual
Performance Report (APR) and revised State Performance Plan (SPP) under
Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as
amended in 2004. We also acknowledge the revisions to South Carolina's
APR received on April 14, 2008. We appreciate the State's efforts in
preparing these documents.

The Department has determined that, under IDEA section 616(d), South
Carolina needs assistance in meeting the requirements of Part B of the
IDEA. The Department's determination is based on the totality of the
State's data and information including the State's FFY 2006 APR and
revised SPP, other State-reported data, and other publicly available
information. See the enclosure entitled "How the Department Made
Determinations under Section 616(d) of the IDEA in 2008" for further
details.

Specific factors affecting OSEP's determination of needs assistance for
South Carolina included that the State: (1) reported 71% compliance for
Indicator 15, with slippage from 98.2%, (2) reported 87.18% compliance
for Indicator 16, with slippage from 97.96%, (3) reported 89.32%
compliance for Indicator 11, with progress from 83% and did not
demonstrate correction, (4) reported 87% compliance for Indicator 12
with progress from 78% and did not demonstrate correction, (5) in
Indicator 4A, did not complete the review required by 34 CFR §300.170(b)
for all districts identified in FFY 2005 with significant discrepancies,
and (6) did not report valid and reliable data for Indicators 5 and 7.
For these reasons, we were unable to determine that South Carolina met
requirements under section 616(d). OSEP notes that there were other
areas reflecting a high level of performance, including Indicators 9,
13, and 17. We hope that the State will be able to demonstrate that it
meets requirements in its next APR.

The enclosed table provides OSEP's analysis of the State's FFY 2006 APR
and revised SPP and identifies, by indicator, OSEP's review of any
revisions made by the State to its targets, improvement activities
(timelines and resources) and baseline data in the State's SPP. It also
identifies, by indicator, the State's status in meeting its targets,
whether the State's data reflect progress or slippage, and whether the
State corrected noncompliance and provided valid and reliable data.

The State's determination for the FFY 2005 APR also was needs
assistance. In accordance with section 616(e) of the IDEA and 34 CFR
§300.604, if a State is determined to need assistance for two
consecutive years, the Secretary must take one or more of the following
actions: (1) Advise the State of available sources of technical
assistance that may help the State address the areas in which the State
needs assistance; (2) Direct the use of State-level funds on the area or
areas in which the State needs assistance; or (3) Identify the State as
a high-risk grantee and impose special conditions on the State's Part B
grant award. Pursuant to these requirements, the Secretary is advising
the State of available sources of technical assistance related to
Indicator 4A (suspension and expulsion), Indicator 5 (LRE placement),
Indicator 7 (preschool outcomes), Indicator 11 (timely initial
evaluations), Indicator 12 (early childhood transition), Indicator 15
(timely correction of noncompliance), and Indicator 16 (complaint
timelines). A list of sources of technical assistance related to the
SPP/APR indicators is available by clicking on the "Technical Assistance
Related to Determinations" box on the opening page of the SPP/APR
Planning Calendar website at <http://spp-apr-calendar.rrfcnetwork.org/>.
You will be directed to a list of indicators. Click on specific
indicators for a list of centers, documents, web seminars and other
sources of relevant technical assistance for that indicator. For the
indicators listed above, your State must report with its FFY 2007 APR
submission (due February 1, 2009) on: (1) the technical assistance
sources from which the State received assistance and (2) what actions
the State took as a result of that technical assistance. The extent to
which your State takes advantage of available technical assistance for
these indicators may affect the actions we take under section 616 should
your State not be identified as meets requirements next year. We
encourage States to take advantage of available sources of technical
assistance in other areas as well, particularly if the State is
reporting low compliance data for an indicator.

As required by section 616(e)(7) and 34 CFR §300.606, the State must
notify the public that the Secretary of Education has taken the above
enforcement action. This notification must be sufficient to notify the
public within the State and may include such mechanisms as posting on
the agency's website, distribution through the media and distribution
through public agencies.

As you know, your State must report annually to the public on the
performance of each local educational agency (LEA) located in the State
on the targets in the SPP under IDEA section 616(b)(2)(C)(ii)(l). In
addition, your State must review LEA performance against targets in the
State's SPP, determine if each LEA meets the requirements of the IDEA
and inform each LEA of its determination. For further information
regarding these requirements, see the SPP/APR Calendar at
<http://spp-apr-calendar.rrfcnetwork.org/>. Finally, if you included
revisions to baseline, targets or improvement activities in your APR
submission, and OSEP accepted those revisions, please ensure that you
update your SPP accordingly and that the updated SPP is made available
to the public.

OSEP is committed to supporting South Carolina's efforts to improve
results for children with disabilities and looks forward to working with
your State over the next year. If you have any questions, would like to
discuss this further, or want to request technical assistance, please do
not hesitate to call Perry Williams, your OSEP State Contact, at
202-245-7575.

 

Sincerely,

 

  /s/ William W. Knudsen

 

William W. Knudsen

Acting Director

> Office of Special Education Programs

 

Enclosures

 

cc: State Director of Special Education