MSDE work group refines guidance on restrictive placements and asks state to craft a plan to reduce disproportionality

Maryland's special education work group on Sept. 1 reviewed a revised recommendation aimed at tightening how teams document and justify placements in more restrictive educational settings and proposed that the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) develop a detailed plan to reduce significant disproportionality across identification, eligibility, placement and discipline.

Liz (speaker 4), who led the meeting, said the revised language adds "enhanced standards and guidance for documenting, justifying, and monitoring students being recommended for more restrictive environments, particularly the most restrictive environments." She said the change reflects prior concerns that added paperwork had stalled earlier drafts.

Participants praised Maryland's rigorous methodology for identifying disproportionality but raised concerns about lagging data, pandemic-related staffing shortages and inconsistent supports for local education agencies (LEAs). "We heard that there was an identification of LEAs as significantly disproportionate, but not a lot of supports for those LEAs," Liz summarized.

The group asked MSDE to prepare a "plan for a plan" that would set specific tasks and timelines, review Maryland's methodology (including data timeliness and flexibility for LEAs with decreasing risk ratios), develop standardized eligibility-determination checklists for disability categories, and recommend models for innovative use of Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CCEIS) funds. The draft also calls for stakeholder feedback, technical assistance, professional development and monitoring tied to clear governance.

David (speaker 5) told the group the earlier hold-up was a requirement that added documentation and paperwork; the revised phrasing is intended to avoid creating procedures that conflict with efforts to reduce administrative burden on teachers.

The work group took public feedback from meeting participants and members of the field who said implementation must include support for private and community-based providers as well as LEAs. MSDE staff affirmed they would fold this implementation guidance into the prioritized plan and follow up with stakeholders.

Next steps: MSDE will incorporate the work group's priorities into a draft report, circulate drafts in October and submit a final report to the AIB by Dec. 1; the agency has agreed with AIB to continue meeting past that date and will provide quarterly implementation updates through 2026.