Opinion Approving Settlement - Public Interest Law Center of ...

Case 2:94-cv-04048-ER Document 330 Filed 09/19/2005 Page 25 of 51regular classroom with supplementary aids and services. (Id. at59.) Accordingly, for this policy to be implemented, the IEPteams must be aware of the research-based practices that allowchildren with disabilities to learn in a general educationclassroom. (Id. at 58-59.) Additionally, because the SettlementAgreement will require PDE and the Bureau of Special Education toprovide parents of special needs children with information aboutsupplementary aids and services, both the parents and the IEPteams will start “on the same page.” (Fairness Hr’g Tr.,06/24/2005, at 60.)Second, under the Settlement Agreement, professionaldevelopment needs will be assessed throughout the Commonwealth,whereby actual practice will be contrasted with research- andevidence-based “best practices” in the special education field.(Id. at 61-62.)Third, the LRE Monitoring created under the SettlementAgreement, which requires the ranking of school districtsaccording to data factors that measure how well children withdisabilities are being included in regular classrooms, willprovide an objective mode for determining the impact of training.(Id. at 62-67.) According to Dr. McGregor, tiered monitoring andcorrective action create accountability. (Id.) And although theLRE Index Scores will be based on data factors that have not yetbeen determined by the parties, Dr. McGregor testified that the25