UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
March , 2011
«Salutation» «FirstName» «LastName»
«Title»
«Address1»
«Address2»
«City», «Abbr» «ZipCode»-«PlusFour»
Dear «Salutation» «LastName»:
We are writing to inform you that schools in your state have been selected to be included in the U.S. Department of Education’s School Improvement Status and Outcomes for Students with Disabilities Study. This study, sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences, is part of a congressionally mandated National Assessment of how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) is achieving its objectives. The purpose of the study is to provide policy-relevant information about the education of students with disabilities (SWDs). The study will collect data on elementary and middle school practices that may relate to the educational outcomes of SWDs in selected states.
The participation of schools in your state will enable the study to provide policymakers with accurate and thorough information. To minimize the burden on schools, data for addressing research questions about school practices related to SWDs will come primarily from a principal survey and a special education designee survey (both web-based), to be administered in spring 2011 to a sample of schools serving students with disabilities. The survey will focus on school practices that occurred during the 2010–11 school year and will inform the final study report. The data collected will be used only for statistical purposes. The results from the surveys will not be presented in a way that permits association with a specific school or individual, and survey data will be released to third-party researchers only with strict restricted-use license provisions prohibiting disclosure of schools and individuals.
We have made every effort to reduce the burden on participating schools by requesting information from only two staff members from each school: the principal and a special education designee. We expect the principal and the special education designee surveys to take 15 and 30 minutes to complete, respectively. As a token of appreciation, we will send the special education designee a $20 gift certificate upon completion of the web survey.
The study is being conducted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and NORC at the University of Chicago under contract to the Institute of Education Sciences at the U. S. Department of Education. If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact the research team at *** xxx@norc.org*** or by calling our study toll-free number at ***800-xxx-xxxx***. You may also contact the Institute of Education Sciences project officer for this study, Jonathan Jacobson, at (202) 208-3876, or jonathan.jacobson@ed.gov.
We thank you and other educators in your state for providing the expertise and time needed for the success of this study.
Sincerely,
[Name, Title] [Name, Title]
National Center for Education Evaluation Office of Special Education Programs
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION |
| File Modified | 2011-03-16 |
| File Created | 2011-03-16 |