Developing Implementation Capacity of a State Education Agency to Improve Outcomes for Students With Disabilities

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs has adopted a Results Driven Accountability (RDA) framework to support state education agencies (SEAs) in improving results for students with disabilities. RDA directed SEAs to focus on measurable outcomes. A leadership team in a large Midwestern state in the United States partnered with an institute of higher education implementation science purveyor team to systematically apply a particular approach, the Active Implementation Frameworks (AIFs), to build capacity, effectively implement, and scale an evidence-based program, Check & Connect, to improve statewide graduation rates for Black and American Indian students with disabilities. The presented case example illustrates how the SEA partners with local education agencies’ district teams to continuously measure and manage changes in (a) system capacity and (b) practice fidelity to improve graduation rate outcomes. Application of the AIFs in education, measured implementation progress and preliminary outcome data, and implications for policy for individuals with disabilities are discussed.