The DRDP is helpful for everyone involved in supporting young children’s learning. For example:
- Teachers and early intervention staff track how children are developing, determine what each child needs next, and use that information to guide instruction and share progress with families.
- Families get a clearer picture of how their child is developing and how they can support learning at home.
- Program leaders utilize DRDP data to determine strengths and areas of need in programs and make programmatic decisions and policies geared towards improvements.
In addition to these benefits, the DRDP enables California to comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004). Implementing the DRDP assures that the California Department of Education’s (CDE) Special Education Division (SED) and Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPAs) comply with requirements of PL 108-446, IDEA 2004. The component of IDEA (2004) that led to the use of the DRDP is:
Every state reports annually on how well they are meeting IDEA requirements through a State Performance Plan (SPP) and an Annual Performance Report (APR). Indicator 7 measures outcomes for children ages 3–5 served under Part B, and Indicator 3 does the same for infants and toddlers (birth to age three) served under Part C. Both Indicators track children’s progress in three key outcome areas to understand how well services are supporting development. Only CDE funded programs for Part C use the DRDP for Indicator 3.
Both Indicators address the following outcomes:
The percent of children with IFSPs or IEPs who demonstrate improved:
- Positive social-emotional skills (including social relationships)
- Acquisition and use of knowledge and skills (including early language/communication and early literacy)
- Use of appropriate behaviors to meet their needs
The DRDP assessment is used to meet this federal requirement. CDE uses the DRDP assessment for the APRs because the DRDP enables reporting progress toward these three child outcomes for for both infants and toddlers with IFSPs and children age 3-5 with IEPs.
In addition, the DRDP is used for Indicator 3 with infants and toddlers served in CDE funded programs for Part C. The Department of Developmental Services (DDS), California’s lead agency for services to infants and toddlers with IFSPs, submits the Part C APR as part of the Part C SPP to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).
References
CDE has broad authority under IDEA and California Education Code to collect the information that is needed to evaluate pupil and program performance results for the SPP/APR.
- IDEA 34 CFR 300.600, requires the inclusion of children with disabilities in any state or district-wide assessments for accountability purposes. Therefore, preschool-age children with IEPs need to be included in the DRDP assessment.
- In accordance with IDEA 34 CFR 300.600:
- Each State must have in place a Part B State Performance Plan, a six-year plan that evaluates the State’s efforts to implement the requirements and purposes of Part B of IDEA and describe how the State will improve such implementation.
- The State shall report annually to the public on the performance of each local educational agency located in the State on the targets in the State’s performance plan. In California, CDE will report on this performance by SELPA.
- The State also shall report annually to the U.S. Secretary of Education on the performance of the State under the State’s Performance Plan. This report is called the Part B Annual Performance Report.
For more information
Web: DRAccess.org
Email: info@draccess.org
Phone: 1-800-673-9220