Case Study: Special Education Management 

The Client:
School District of Philadelphia (SDP), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
District Type: Large Urban
Total SPED Students: 24,000

The Project:
Special Education Best Practices Review, EasyIEP™ Implementation, and Medicaid Services Processing

The Challenges:
Before the implementation of Public Consulting Group’s (PCG’s) EasyIEP™ web-based special education management system, the process for responding to a government official’s request for a student placement decision was disjointed, time consuming, and often inaccurate.

“I would hope and pray we had the information, and that it was current. From start to finish, responding took at least a day or so, assuming the student’s records could be retrieved.”

Brenda Taylor
Associate Superintendent
School District of Philadelphia

When the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) began to investigate a full service special education management and solution provider, it was clear that improved district-wide processes and procedures, as well as compliance monitoring and timely access to data, were critical issues. Another important consideration was finding a web-based system that was flexible and user-friendly. The District needed a system that was full-featured, customized, and aligned to District best practices – and that could easily guide 2,800 educators through the complex process of completing a compliant Individualized Education Plan (IEP). These 2,800 educators had been writing all of their IEPs by hand – roughly 24,000 IEPs each year – without the benefit of a system to ensure district-wide consistency and compliance.

The PCG Approach:
In March 2003, SDP selected PCG to conduct a thorough special education review and gap analysis, as well as provide best practice organizational recommendations. The introduction of the new system gave the District an opportunity to reevaluate all of its current special education processes. PCG conducted a complete special education business process review that resulted in a set of standard process workflows. These workflows, in turn, were incorporated into EasyIEP™’s flexible Process Wizard interface, producing a district-wide ‘best practice’ special education system with high levels of consistency and IEP compliance. It was through federal, state, and district-identified best practices that the SDP EasyIEP™ system was customized and aligned. PCG facilitated and delivered the professional development training that married the new District best practices for special education with a single technology platform.

With EasyIEP™, student information is stored online and made available in real time through a security encrypted and password protected website. Users are guided through the process in a step-by-step manner, which automatically adjusts to the particular circumstances and needs of each student. The information and documents are saved historically from year to year so current placement information can be compared to that of past years, and there’s never any question about whether the information being reviewed is current.

The Result:
PCG drew from successful experience with consulting methodologies in large scale implementations to ensure that all of SDP’s project deliverables were met on time. The first SDP IEPs were written with EasyIEP™ in the Fall of 2004. On December 1, 2005, the District completed full integration of EasyIEP™ into its Full Electronic Document framework. Now 100 percent of the District’s IEPs are written using EasyIEP™.

“PCG staff heard our needs, responded to what we said, and were there whenever we needed them.”

Brenda Taylor