In our work across the country with State Offices of Special Education, we see that data is consistently used to understand the general contours of the landscape in which special needs students learn. Robust systems streamline the collection special education data and enable state monitoring of IDEA compliance and student outcomes. IEP, 504 planning and Medicaid Reimbursement applications are pervasive in schools. Despite this kind of effort and good intention, 23 states failed to meet IDEA compliance for two consecutive years as of 2021. What more can be done? Quite a bit, it turns out, starting with improving the system in which all this work occurs! Automating processes to define timelines, configure workflows, assign tasks, and facilitate coordination around the foundation provided by compliance allows us to redirect our energies toward improving the system and student outcomes. Letting technology provide visibility into the educational benefit of program participation or into best practices can enable educators to replicate successful approaches and improve service delivery. Follow the link to my recent article in District Administration. https://districtadministration.com/how-to-more-effectively-monitor-idea-while-data-drives-improvements/