(FRANKFORT, KY) – The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) submitted its Annual Performance Report (APR) to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), as required under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The APR is an annual document where states describe how they are progressing toward meeting self-defined targets established in their State Performance Plan (SPP). The SPP is a six-year plan that sets annual targets in each of 17 compliance or results indicators specific to special education programs in the state. States are measured on whether or not they met their targets across these indicators.

The OSEP uses the APR to make its annual determinations for each state as to whether that state is meeting special education requirements or needs assistance, intervention or substantial intervention. Over the past several years, Kentucky has received a Meets Requirements, which is the highest determination level that OSEP gives. In turn, Kentucky reviews local school districts to determine how they are performing against these same indicators as part of its process for making similar annual determinations for local districts in the state.

The indicators address graduation rates, dropouts, participation and performance on statewide assessment, disciplinary removals, placements of students in the least restrictive environments, outcomes for preschool children with disabilities, parent involvement, disproportionate representation of students receiving special education based on racial or ethnic sub-group, timeline for the determining initial eligibility for children and students located in its child find activities, transition of children from the IDEA’s Part C program for infants and toddlers to services for children under Part B of the IDEA by the child’s third birthday, secondary transition, post-secondary outcomes, dispute resolutions and mediations, and results from the state’s systemic improvement plan.