Special Programs Participation Tracking

Effective 03/02/2020, SameGoal is introducing Special Programs participation tracking. Special Programs participation tracking determines whether (and key info about how) a student "participates" in a given program at any given time (eg Special Education, Section 504, Advanced Learners, K-4 Literacy/TGRG) based on dates and content of completed documentation for any given student.

There are three main areas of the application enhanced by Special Programs participation tracking:

• Programs Tab - A new "Programs" tab appears when you visit a student. This "Programs" tab shows a summary of the programs this student currently participates in. To see a full timeline, users may click the "Show full timeline" link. The timeline includes:

  • As Of - The date that the way the student participates in a given program changed. If the student has participated in the same key ways since the specified date, no additional events or documents will appear afterwards.
  • Program - The program the student changes are related to.
  • Change - A key change in the way the student participates in a given program (eg LRE, disability for special education).
  • Description - The description of the change in the program (eg LRE - IE13).
  • Document and relevant fields - The document and document fields associated with this program change. If the user has access to the relevant document, they can click the dropdown arrow and the link(s) to the document the change was pulled from. If the user does not have access to the relevant document, the dropdown arrow will be disabled.
  • Note: The timeline includes invalid/missing data in documents so that it can be easily corrected. This page also lists any incomplete documents which would otherwise be used to calculate program participation, if any.

• Program Participation icon - A program participation icon will now display throughout the application next to any student when they currently participate in a given program (as determined from the "Programs" tab). This helps staff immediately identify students participating in certain programs. On hover, the icon shows basic information about the student's participation.

• Reports - All students no longer participating in a given program are now not included in administrative reports by default (except for EMIS/historical reports). For example, students that have exited Special Education are no longer included in Special Education reports by default. To include these students in a given report, click the Advanced link.

This feature will first be introduced in Ohio, then added to additional states.

• Ohio-specific program participation tracking guidance:
  • Special Education
  • Section 504
  • Advanced Learners
  • K-4 Literacy