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MSDE presentation details early intervention services and data, flags KRA replacement
Summary
MSDE staff outlined the Maryland Infants and Toddlers Program (Part C), noted enrollment and service-setting statistics, and announced the kindergarten readiness assessment (KRA) will be replaced this year due to bias concerns.
Molly Connor, branch chief for performance support and technical assistance at MSDE, provided an overview of Maryland's early intervention and preschool special education programs during the special education work group meeting.
Connor explained the Maryland Infants and Toddlers Program is the state's Part C response under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and serves children birth–age 3 with developmental delays or disabilities. The program is administered through 24 local programs (one in each jurisdiction); in 20 of 24 jurisdictions the local school system serves as the lead agency. Each jurisdiction receives allocations of federal IDEA funds, state general funds, and local budget support; health-related services for eligible children may be reimbursed through medical assistance.
On counts and settings, Connor said approximately 20,000 referrals are made to the Part C program each year; roughly 70 percent of those referrals result in evaluations and about 80 percent of evaluated children are determined eligible for services. On the October 2023 child count, about 11 percent of children ages 3–5 who received services were on an extended IFSP. For preschool special education under Part B, Connor said nearly 11,000 children ages 3–5 (not in kindergarten) received services in the 2023–24 school year.
Connor described placement patterns: roughly half of preschoolers receive services in regular early childhood settings, 8 percent attend regular settings but are pulled out for most services, and about 20 percent attend separate classes without access to typical peers — with substantial variability across LEAs (12 of 24 LEAs had no children in separate classes last year).
Connor also announced that MSDE is replacing the kindergarten readiness assessment (KRA) with a new instrument designed to reduce cultural and linguistic bias; no KRA will be administered this school year and past KRA data should be interpreted with caution while the state transitions.
She closed by flagging outstanding implementation questions for full-day mixed-delivery pre-K under the blueprint, including how children with disabilities will be prioritized within tiering rules tied to income, how late enrollments will be accommodated, and how services for children with extended IFSPs or IEPs in private provider settings will be funded and delivered.
MSDE staff told the group they are working on those implementation details and will incorporate feedback from today's breakout discussions into upcoming drafts and the final report.
