SPP/APR Indicators and Data Reporting

SPP/APR Indicators and Data Reporting

Each state reports its special education performance to the U.S. Department of Education through the State Performance Plan / Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR), a fixed set of indicators measuring both compliance and results. The LEA's data is the foundation of that report — which makes timely, accurate data entry a compliance responsibility, not a clerical task.

Legal Citations

• IDEA — SPP/APR and reporting requirements (Sections 616(b) and 612(a)(16))

• 34 CFR Part 300 — performance plans and reports (300.601–300.602); data collection (300.602)

• Alabama Administrative Code, Chapter 290-8-9

Practical Guidance

Alabama uses the IDEA compliance indicators — including Indicators 4B, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 — to assess each LEA's performance. These cover discipline disparities by race and ethnicity (4B), disproportionality in identification and placement (9 and 10), timely initial evaluations (11), transition from Early Intervention to preschool services (12), and secondary transition in the IEP (13).

Because the same indicators feed the risk assessment, errors in the student information system surface twice: as inaccurate reporting now, and as elevated monitoring risk later. Data integrity is scored directly in the LEA's risk assessment.

Establish a reporting calendar that maps every submission — child count, discipline data, exiting data, and indicator-specific collections — against the ALSDE due dates, and assign each collection a named owner. [Confirm the current reporting calendar with your Regional Specialist.]

Reconcile before you submit: cross-check discipline removal counts against IEP documentation, verify exit codes, and confirm that every student reported as served appears in the child count. Corrections made before submission cost nothing; corrections after reporting become findings.

Common Errors Identified Through Monitoring

• Removal, discipline, or exiting data that does not reconcile with student records

• Indicator 11 timelines reported as compliant when underlying records show late evaluations

• Child count errors from duplicate or missing student records

• Late or unverified data submissions

Alabama State Department of Education — Special Education Services (SES)

Materials are provided for technical assistance purposes and do not constitute legal advice.