On September 11, 2013, OCR and the Iowa City Community School District (District) reached an agreement regarding the overrepresentation of students of color in special education.  The agreement, entered into prior to the conclusion of OCR’s investigation, resolved OCR’s compliance review.  The District agreed to: hire an expert with expertise in addressing overrepresentation of students of color in special education and to make recommendations to ensure the District is making appropriate determinations and addressing the root causes; develop and implement a plan to expand its universal early screening process; ensure that every school has a systematic, team-based means of providing intervention strategies;  review, revise and distribute broadly its materials regarding intervention strategies; increase staff awareness of the overrepresentation and emphasize the purpose and significance of placement in special education; train staff on the intervention purpose, procedures, and strategies; review specific special education records of students and take appropriate action in response to any inappropriate evaluation or  placement decisions; and maintain and use information gathered during the implementation of the agreement to annually evaluate the effectiveness of its screening, intervention, evaluation, and placement processes and analyze data related to teacher referral and team-prescribed interventions, to determine whether students of all races were treated equitably.

Read the Press Release. Read the Resolution Letter PDF (93K). Read the Resolution Agreement PDF (96K).