400 MARYLAND AVE., S.W. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20202-2600

www.ed.gov

The Department of Education’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparedness for global competiveness by 

fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES

June 8, 2018

Honorable Christopher Ruszkowski 

Secretary of Education

New Mexico Public Education Department 

300 Don Gaspar Avenue 

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501-2786

Dear Secretary Ruszkowski:

The purpose of this correspondence is to provide a summary of the monitoring and support 

activities conducted by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) for the New Mexico 

Public Education Department (NMPED) during the July 10 and 11, 2017 on-site visit. In 2016, 

OSEP began providing differentiated monitoring and support (DMS) to States as part of its 

Results Driven Accountability (RDA) framework. Under RDA, OSEP made a shift from 

monitoring based solely on compliance to monitoring and support focused on both compliance 

and improving results for students with disabilities. OSEP differentiates its approach for each 

State based on the State’s unique strengths, progress, challenges, and needs.

With the DMS process, OSEP conducts an organizational assessment (OA) of risk factors to 

identify States’ progress in meeting performance standards and compliance with the legal 

requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Education Department 

General Administrative Regulations and the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost 

Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. OSEP uses the information from the 

OA and an Engagement Decision Tree to make designations of universal, targeted, or intensive 

monitoring and support (DMS) for the fiscal year. The 2016 DMS areas were: 1) results; 2) 

compliance; 3) State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP); 4) dispute resolution (special focus 

area); and 5) fiscal.

On October 19, 2016, OSEP sent Denise Koscielniak, New Mexico’s Federal Programs Director,

the DMS notice for New Mexico. That notice provided a designation of universal, targeted, or 

intensive engagement in each of five areas: results, compliance, SSIP, dispute resolution, and 

fiscal. The information in the notice was based on FFY 2015 data in the five areas, along with 

information about the factors contributing to elevated needs, the support your State has accessed, 

your State’s capacity to improve results and compliance, and additional contextual information. 

We have attached a copy of the DMS notice for your convenience.

As part of the engagement, OSEP discussed issues related to fiscal requirements. Attached is a 

summary, for the fiscal area of the engagement provided by OSEP during the monitoring and 

support activity. If OSEP identified findings of noncompliance with IDEA requirements, you 

will find specific instructions, within the attachments for each DMS area, regarding corrective 

actions the State must take to address the noncompliance. 
Page 2 – Honorable Christopher Ruszkowski

We appreciate your efforts to improve results for students with disabilities. If you have any 

questions, please contact Marion Crayton, your OSEP State Lead, at (202) 245-6474. 

Sincerely,

/s/

Ruth E. Ryder

Acting Director

Office of Special Education Programs 

cc: State Director of Special Education 

Attachments