About Significant Disproportionality

Significant disproportionality is a term used to describe a pattern where students of a particular race or ethnicity are significantly more likely than students in other racial/ethnic groups to be:

• Identified as a student with a disability;
• Identified with a particular disability category (e.g. Autism, Intellectual Disability);
• Placed in a particular educational setting (e.g. separate classroom), or;
• Experience suspension or expulsion as a disciplinary measure.

34 CFR § 300.646 requires States Education Agencies (SEAs) to collect and examine data to determine if significant disproportionality based on race or ethnicity is occurring in the Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) in the areas of identification, placement, and discipline.

Identification Methods and Criteria

New Jersey calculates significant disproportionality using a risk ratio. This method assesses whether certain student groups are disproportionally affected in identification, placement, and discipline compared to other groups of students within the same LEA.

In New Jersey, LEAs are cited for significant disproportionality if they exhibit a risk ratio of 3.0 or more for three consecutive years. This means that students from particular groups are three times or more likely than their peers from other groups to experience their identified disproportionality.

The calculation analyzes seven racial or ethnic groups across 14 categories related to identification for special education, placement in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), and discipline. LEA-level data submitted to the NJDOE during the October 15th NJSMART snapshot and Student Safety Data System (SSDS) submission are used for the calculation.

The 14 Categories of Significant Disproportionality

The 7 Racial or Ethnic Groups Included

1. Hispanic/Latino
2. American Indian or Alaska Native
3. Asian
4. Black or African American
5. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
6. White
7. Two or more races

To gain a deeper understanding of significant disproportionality and its calculation through risk ratio, please refer to our Significant Disproportionality Information and Resource Guide.

Once an LEA has been identified with significant disproportionality, there are key obligations that must be fulfilled, which include:

• Identify factors contributing to significant disproportionality;
• Conduct a review of policies, practices and procedures (PPP);
• Create a Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervention Services (CCEIS) action plan and submit it to the NJDOE;
• Reserve 15% of IDEA funds for CCEIS; and
• Attend NJDOE Training Sessions on significant disproportionality.

Timeline of Key Obligations:

• May/June:
  • Identification of Significant Disproportionality: LEAs are notified via an Identification letter and the IDEA Part B Grant application.
• June-August:
  • Technical Assistance Offered by NJDOE: NJDOE will offer identified LEAs technical assistance to support them in understanding what their identification means and their key obligations moving forward.
• Fall/Winter:
  • Training Series: 1st-year LEAs and Early Warning LEAs attend a training series on significant disproportionality hosted by the Rutgers University Disproportionality and Equity Lab led by Dr. Fergus. Sessions may occur monthly throughout this period.
  • Conducting a Root Cause Analysis: LEAs begin the process of identifying factors contributing to significant disproportionality and conducting a comprehensive review of their Policies, Practices, and Procedures (PPP). This review occurs throughout the training series and continues during the academic year.
• By the 1st Friday in June:
  • Create a Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervention Services (CCEIS) Action Plan: LEAs develop a CCEIS action plan based on their findings from the root cause analysis. This plan must be completed and submitted to the NJDOE by this deadline. The CCEIS Plan Template and Rubric can be found under the next tab.
• Your Next IDEA Grant Application:
  • Reserve 15% of IDEA Funds for CCEIS: LEAs allocate and reserve 15% of their IDEA funds for Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervention Services (CCEIS) as outlined in their action plan.

Under 34 C.F.R. § 300.646(d), any LEA identified with significant disproportionality is required to reserve 15% of its IDEA Part B funds to provide CCEIS to address factors contributing to the significant disproportionality. These services are for children from age 3 through grade 12, particularly, but not exclusively, children in those groups that were significantly overidentified, who need additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in a general education environment, and children with disabilities. An LEA may not limit CCEIS only to children with disabilities.

Each identified LEA is required to submit a CCEIS Plan, a strategic document designed to address the root causes and the action steps the LEA will take to address their significant disproportionality.

In implementing CCEIS, an LEA:

• May include professional development and educational and behavioral evaluations, services, and supports.
• Must identify and address the factors contributing to the significant disproportionality, which may include, among other identified factors:
• • a lack of access to scientifically based instruction;
  • economic, cultural, or linguistic barriers to appropriate identification or placement in particular educational settings;
  • inappropriate use of disciplinary removals;
  • lack of access to appropriate diagnostic screenings;
  • differences in academic achievement levels; and
  • policies, practices, or procedures that contribute to the significant disproportionality.
• Must address a policy, practice, or procedure it identifies as contributing to the significant disproportionality, including a policy, practice or procedure that results in a failure to identify, or the inappropriate identification of, a racial or ethnic group(s).

The CCEIS Plan includes the following components:

• Root Cause Analysis Process: Identify and describe the programmatic self-assessment conducted and/or data review process used. Describe the team that participated in the root cause analysis, the frequency of meetings, and the data reviewed.
• Summary of Root Causes: Summarize the results of the programmatic self-assessment and/or data review process used. Describe the factors within the LEAs control or influence impacting significant disproportionality, including inequities related to district and/or school resources; consistent implementation of system policies, procedures, and practices at the district, school, or classroom level; and environmental factors such as trauma, poverty, or access to health and human services.
• Identify Focus or Target Schools: Identify individual schools and/or feeder patterns contributing to significant disproportionality.
• Action Plan: Describe the solutions that address the issues identified in the root cause analysis. Provide a detailed outline of policy, practice, and procedural improvements. The detailed outline shows monthly actions, quarterly progress monitoring actions, and policy, practice, procedural, and student outcome benchmarks
• Budget Alignment: Describe the budget and its alignment with root causes and solutions.

Explore the NJDOE CCEIS Plan Template and Rubric as valuable resources to guide your LEA in creating effective Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services plans.

• NJDOE CCEIS Plan Template (coming soon)
• NJDOE CCEIS Plan Rubric (coming soon)

Resources

• Success Gap Toolkit:(IDC)- The Success Gaps Toolkit helps teams in schools or LEAs tackle success gaps. It provides materials and resources to identify why these gaps exist and create plans to reduce them.
• Leading by Convening: (Serving on Groups)- A Blueprint for Authentic Engagement is a guide to effective leadership through collaboration. It offers practical habits for bringing people together, ensuring everyone participates, and working towards shared goals.

Under 34 C.F.R. § 300.646(d), any LEA identified with significant disproportionality is required to reserve 15% of its IDEA Part B funds to provide CCEIS to address factors contributing to the significant disproportionality.

The 15% of IDEA Part B funds are to be directly aligned with the action steps outlined in the CCEIS Plan the LEA has developed. The funds must be allocated in the next available IDEA Part B Application and used within 27 months. For example, those identified in Cohort 2024, the 27-month period is from July 1, 2024, through September 30, 2026.

Collaboration with the School Business Administrator during this phase is crucial, as providing an accurate description of how the LEA intends to use the CCEIS funds is necessary for the approval of the IDEA grant.

To access your CCEIS allocation from your IDEA Grant, you can view your LEA's IDEA Grant through the public access link on the EWEG website, accessible via NJ Homeroom.

Additional guidance on use of CCEIS funds:

• Maintenance of Effort (MOE): You will not be able to reduce your local MOE in your IDEA Part B allocation due to setting aside 15% of your funds for CCEIS (34 C.F.R. § 300.205(d)).
• Supplement not supplant: CCEIS funds should only be used to supplement, and not supplant, activities funded with, and implemented utilizing, Part B funds or other federal funds (Title 34, Code of Federal Regulations Section 300.266[e]). (Refer to the IDEA Part B Regulations, Questions and Answers, Question C-3-7, Page 21 of 28).
• Professional development: CCEIS professional development events are for personnel who are responsible for students age three through grade twelve who need additional academic and behavioral supports to succeed in the general education environment (Refer to the IDEA Part B Regulations, Questions and Answers, Questions C-3-8, page 22).

Resources:

• Navigating Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) Frequently Asked Questions: (IDC)-This FAQ document focuses on helping SEAs and LEAs understand CEIS and its reporting requirements.
• Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) Resources: Step by Step: (CIFR-WestEd) - Step by Step is a resource to guide state and local educational agencies through planning, providing, and tracking comprehensive or voluntary CEIS. This interactive organizer offers links to TA Centers, tools, and resources for each step, aiding users in understanding and implementing the process.

The NJDOE Office of Special Education (OSE) recognizes that LEAs often become aware of disproportionality issues only upon formal identification. To address this, the OSE has implemented an early warning system that provides earlier access to your data. This system allows LEAs to review their risk ratio data for the previous two school years if their data shows trends toward significant disproportionality.

It's important to note that receiving an early warning notification does not necessarily mean an LEA will be identified with significant disproportionality, as data from the most recent school year has not been included in the calculation. Instead, this early access to data enables LEAs to identify trends and develop proactive strategies to address areas that have reached the 3.0 risk ratio threshold.

LEAs receiving early warning notifications will be provided with the following:

• An Early Warning Notification letter indicating trending data towards significant disproportionality in one or more categories.
• An Early Warning Notification Data Sheet detailing the LEA's trending determinations.

To support the development of meaningful strategies to address significant disproportionality, Early Warning LEAs will be invited to participate in ongoing trainings hosted by the Rutgers University Disproportionality and Equity Lab in partnership with the NJDOE on topics such as disproportionality in special education and discipline. These trainings are designed to help LEAs:

• Conduct root cause analysis;
• Develop implementation plans to address root causes; and,
• Develop equity literacy to address cultural issues tied to significant disproportionality.

Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS)

As per IDEA 2004 regulations (34 CFR § 300.646(b)(2) and 34 CFR § 300.647), LEAs identified as significantly disproportionate must allocate 15% of their IDEA Basic and Preschool funds for CCEIS. CCEIS aims to support students before they are referred for special education services.

LEAs that have not been identified with significant disproportionality may voluntarily implement Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) using funds from their IDEA Part B Grant. These funds can support specific groups of at-risk students not currently identified as needing special education or related services. For more information on CEIS, LEAs are encouraged to refer to the guidance provided by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).

Resources

• Voluntary CEIS Plan: (IDC)- This website focuses on helping SEAs and LEAs understand voluntary CEIS and its reporting requirements.
• Success Gap Toolkit: (IDC)- The Success Gaps Toolkit helps teams in schools or LEAs tackle success gaps. It provides materials and resources to identify why these gaps exist and create plans to reduce them.