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District rolls out weekly progress monitoring for special education IEP goals
Summary
Director of Student Services Dina Hagan briefed the board on a new progress‑monitoring system requiring weekly data points for students with IEPs, with biweekly data entry into district systems; administrators said the change will increase early instructional adjustments but create additional paperwork up front.
Dina Hagan, director of student services, told the board the district has launched a districtwide expectation that special education staff collect a data point on each student IEP goal weekly and enter the data into a system every two weeks. The requirement is intended to give teams earlier signals about whether students are meeting IEP goals and to allow instructional adjustments sooner than waiting for quarter or semester report cards.
“Federal special education law requires that we monitor and report progress on IEP goals to parents,” Hagan said, adding that the law is specific about reporting but not prescriptive about the monitoring method. Hagan told the board staff may use existing tools — EduCLIMBER, SpendForms (the district IEP system), FastBridge, or even Excel — so buildings could use the system already familiar to them. The goal is a visual graph of progress that teachers, case managers and families can use to inform instruction.
Hagan acknowledged the change increases paperwork and data entry for case managers, but said that teaching staff have responded positively once routines were established and that special education coaches are providing support. Kristi Rochiti, the special education coach, was cited as a resource for staff. Hagan said the district is in an implementation phase: staff are learning the systems, entering data and will next analyze the impact of the routine on instruction and outcomes.
Board members asked about data transfer across buildings. Hagan said not all district systems are interoperable and emphasized the need for a plan to ensure information accompanies students as they transition between schools. The district will continue to train staff and provide support days and paperwork nights where needed.
Why it matters
Federal law requires reporting of IEP progress to parents; this operational change seeks to make that reporting more accurate and actionable by increasing the frequency and visibility of progress data. The move aims to improve instructional responsiveness for students with disabilities, though it raises short‑term workload and systems‑integration issues for staff.
