The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 requires all states to develop a State Performance Plan (SPP) that describes how the state is improving educational outcomes for students with disabilities and complying with the IDEA. Pennsylvania stakeholder groups give input on the targets set for each indicator.
SPP Indicator 8 - School Facilitated Parent Involvement
Parent involvement, or family engagement, is one item tracked by the federal government because it knows how important families are in their children’s special educational experience. The Pennsylvania State Performance Plan (SPP) parent survey, also called “SPP Indicator 8 Survey,” shows how families of school-age children
feel their schools make it easier for them to share in their children’s education. This is known as “School Facilitated Parent Involvement.” Parent survey results help our education system improve the opportunities for success of PA students with disabilities.
What you should know about the PA SPP Parent Survey:
- The survey was created with input from a large group of PA stakeholders, including families.
- The parent survey is completely anonymous--no one will know who filled it out. The survey is sent by an organization called Leader Services, not your local educational agency (LEA). It is important that parents know they can share their feelings honestly.
- Not all families of a student with a disability will receive the survey. However, if you do receive it, it is important that you complete it. Each year, one-fifth (1/5) of all PA schools and intermediate units are surveyed. This means that your LEA is surveyed every six years. Leader Services randomly sends the survey to some families in the LEAs chosen for that year.
- In the survey, parents are asked to answer questions with choices ranging from “very strongly agree” to “very strongly disagree.” Because your time is valuable, there are no open-ended or short-answer questions. There are three sections of questions in the survey. These questions ask about your specific experiences during
- Individualized Education Program (IEP) planning meetings
- what teachers and administration do to help you be involved in your child’s schooling, and
- how the school system supports your involvement in your child’s education
- All results are reported to the federal government, and those results are also shared publicly. For the results of your school’s State Performance Plan, please visit the Penn Data website.
CURRENT PENNSYLVANIA RESULTS MAY BE FOUND IN
THE STATE PERFORMANCE PLAN / ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT (SPP/APR): PART B for STATE FORMULA GRANT PROGRAMS under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. FOR PARENT INVOLVEMENT PERFORMANCE REPORT, SEE PGS. 49-53.
Questions on the Parent Survey may be directed to
Barbara Mozina, BSE Special Education Adviser and SPP/APR State Lead.
If you’d like to learn more about the Pennsylvania State Performance Plan, please visit
https://penndata.hbg.psu.edu/Public-Reporting/State-Performance-Plan-Narrative.
Remember, your opinion counts!!!!