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Department of Public Instruction adds accreditation‑vendor process and aligns special education terminology with statute
Summary
DPI proposed rules to implement Senate Bill 2362 by creating a process to add nationally recognized accreditation organizations to a state‑approved list and updated special education terminology to align with recent statute.
The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction presented two sets of proposed rule amendments: procedures to allow additional nationally recognized accreditation organizations to be added to a state‑approved list, and updates to special education definitions to align with recent statute.
Assistant Director Jim Uphgren told the Administrative Rules Committee the accreditation changes implement Senate Bill 2362, which requires DPI to contract with an accreditation organization to offer a no‑cost accreditation option to districts; districts may select other organizations from a state‑approved list at their own expense. The proposed rules establish minimum qualifications for organizations to be added to the list, require a demonstration of nationally recognized accreditation standards (including measurable outcomes for student achievement, educator qualifications, leadership and continuous improvement), and set a 30‑day review period for DPI to act on applications to be added.
Arlene Wolf, director in DPI’s Office of School Approval and Opportunity, said most public schools historically have pursued accreditation and that districts are seeking ‘‘different options’’ and flexible tools for continuous improvement. Uphgren and Wolf said the department held a May 22 public hearing on the rule changes and received no public comments during the hearing or in the subsequent 10‑day comment period; the department reported publication costs of $2,191.67.
On special education, Uphgren said the proposed amendments align administrative code with House Bill 1164 by updating wording in the definition of a child with a disability: replacing ‘‘hearing impairment, including deafness’’ with ‘‘deaf and hard of hearing’’ and ‘‘emotional disturbance’’ with ‘‘emotional disability.’’ The rules also replace ‘‘multiple disabilities’’ with ‘‘noncategorical delay’’ to reflect terminology used internally at DPI.
Why it matters: the accreditation amendments create a transparent procedure for districts to rely on additional nationally recognized accreditation organizations and allow local districts to pay for alternative accreditation choices; the special‑education language change aligns administrative code with statute to minimize confusion in eligibility and services.
DPI said the changes are not expected to create fiscal impacts above statutory thresholds and that sponsors of the implementing bills were notified of the proposed rules.
