Stepwell helps California Department of Education and school districts stay in compliance by collecting, analyzing, and reporting Special Education data
Okemos, Mich; For Immediate Release – As the 2020-21 school year begins, the state of California Department of Education (CDE) Special Education Division now has a better way to manage and take action to support school districts in sharing and reporting on the special education data required.
Stepwell, a web-based collaborative workspace for monitoring students’ special education data at the state, regional and local levels, is launching statewide in California this year, after a two-year pilot with CDE to fulfill its “corrective action plan” for special education monitoring issued in 2014 by the U.S. District Court of Northern California in San Francisco. With Stepwell, there is now a single database for CDE to use with LEAs to monitor compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), making the process easily visible to all stakeholders as well as more streamlined and efficient.
With Stepwell, created by Red Cedar Solutions Group, compliance is monitored through an easy-to-use, centralized system. This allows California to stop investing time and money in ineffective punitive measures, and accelerate into using Stepwell’s workflow processes to improve monitoring and inform how to improve results for special education students.
Stepwell began as a pilot program in California public schools in 2018. The need for Stepwell has only increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted inequities special education students face, with many LEAs struggling to provide special education services. Stepwell helps state and local monitors better access data to make real-time decisions that will positively impact student outcomes.
“The old way of managing critical special education compliance monitoring data is not going to cut it anymore,” said Andrew Henry, the founder and president of Red Cedar Solutions Group. “By replacing these antiquated systems with Stepwell, everyone involved in a compliance review can now access and analyze what was once disparate information all in one place.”
“Stepwell has enabled us to accelerate a move to results-driven accountability that will really make an impact on student outcomes,” said Shiyloh Duncan, Data Manager for the special education division of the California Department of Education. “Having access to that data allows for quick thinking and acting and will improve the quality of special education service in California.”
About Red Cedar Solutions Group
Red Cedar Solutions Group is a technology company founded and led by experienced educators. Designed to improve special education outcomes, Red Cedar’s Stepwell solution is a collaborative web-based platform for managing all aspects of Parts B and C compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Stepwell provides visibility for all aspects of special education compliance and monitoring at the district, regional and state levels. With in-depth analysis and reporting tools, state education leaders are able to see the complete picture of all special education initiatives. For more information, visit stepwelled.com.
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