The Office of Special Education

Office of Special Education Phone: 573-751-5739

The Office of Special Education monitors the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by local education agencies to ensure that all children with disabilities have access to a free and appropriate public education.

These pages include information on requirements, supports, and resources that are important to students who experience disabilities as well as parents, families, guardians, and those who support them.

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The following areas in the Office of Special Education and DESE assist with the work of improving the outcomes of students who experience disabilities.

Compliance- Monitors programs, approves private agencies and oversees child complaints.

The Compliance Section within the Office of Special Education supports the mission of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Vision of the Division of Learning Services by providing leadership in establishing standards which promote improved outcomes for students with disabilities as well as consistency in the procedures public agencies implement for meeting compliance with state and federal regulations.

The Compliance Section is responsible for ensuring local educational agencies (LEAs) implement all laws and regulations related to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This is done through monitoring special education programs for students with disabilities ages 3-21, in all public schools, providing technical assistance and investigating child complaints.

Section Staff:  

  • Samantha Ryan, Director
  • Pam Blagden, Assistant Director
  • Connie Roth, Assistant Director
  • Steve Adair, Supervisor
  • Sarah Hazlett, Supervisor
  • Terri Hovey, Supervisor
  • Candy Treat, Supervisor
  • Jennifer Moreland, Supervisor
  • Holly Higgins, Supervisor
  • Madison Bockover, Program Analyst
  • Cody Tillmann, Legal Assistant

Phone: (573) 751-0699
Fax: (573) 751-3910
Email: secompliance@dese.mo.gov   

Data- Coordinates the collection, analysis and reporting data.

The Special Education Data Section within the Office of Special Education supports the mission of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Vision of the Division of Learning Services by providing training, support, and guidance in reporting and utilizing special education data. The Special Education Section also assists in setting state IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) Indicator targets, meeting state and federal reporting requirements, as well as creating and distributing state and LEA (local educational agencies) profiles.

For information on MOSIS (including file template, code sets and the MOSIS Reference Manual) see Core Data/MOSIS

 
Contact Information
Phone
 Tori Chance, Coordinator (573) 751-8165
 Seunghee Han, Research Analyst(573) 526-4995
Divya Manikonda, Research Analyst(573) 522-0071
 Karris Bouslaugh, Data Specialist(573) 751-7848

Email:   speddata@dese.mo.gov

Effective Practices- Works to improve special education services for students with disabilities.

The Effective Practices section works with school districts to identify effective research and data-driven monitoring, accountability and assessment of instructional practices in areas of literacy, positive academic and behavior interventions, supportive, personalized and relevant special education instruction, technical assistance and professional development that encourages parent/district/community involvement working together to develop a clear and common focus for students with disabilities.

Effective Practices Staff 

James Bouslaugh, Director
Phone: 573-751-0625
James.Bouslaugh@dese.mo.gov

Sandra Murphy, Administrative Assistant
Phone: 573-751-0187
Sandra.Murphy@dese.mo.gov

Marsha Campe, Assistant Director
Postsecondary Transition/Career Education Special Needs (CESN)
Phone: 573-751-2512
marsha.campe@dese.mo.gov

Kristin Funk, Assistant Director
Achievement/Accessible Educational Materials (AEM)
Phone: 573-751-7661
Kristin.Funk@dese.mo.gov

Finance- Calculates and distributes IDEA/Special Education funding to LEAs.

The Special Education Finance Section is responsible for calculating and distributing IDEA Special Education Part B (611 & 619), Early Childhood Special Education, High Need Fund, Public Placement Fund, Readers for the Blind Program, and various other grant payments to local school districts and charters schools throughout Missouri.  The Section provides technical assistance to local school district and charter school officials on topics pertaining to federal finance regulations such as the calculation of IDEA Maintenance of Effort (MOE) and determining Proportionate Share obligations.  Special Education Finance also conducts onsite, desk monitoring, and desk audit reviews on an annual basis. 

See more about Special Education Finance here.

Initiatives- Information on improvement initiates that are supported by OSE.

Below is some information on initiatives that support improved outcomes for students with disabilities.

Office of Childhood

Office of Childhood provides programs related to childcare, home visiting, early learning, early initiative and after school programs for school-age children. 

Find out more about the Office of Childhood here. 

Sheltered Workshops- Provides employment for individuals with disabilities through public-private non-profit partnerships. 

Extended Employment Sheltered Workshops (EESW) provide employment via a public-private non-profit partnership in a controlled, safe, and highly supervised work environment. This partnership is designed toward enabling individuals with disabilities to progress toward normal living and to develop, as far as possible, his or her capacity, performance, and relationship with other persons.

Extended Employment Sheltered Workshops, so far as possible, provide work experiences sufficiently diverse to accommodate the needs of each enrolled individual with a disability.

Extended Employment Sheltered Workshops also coordinate and integrate its services with all community agencies for the benefit of its employees, and whenever practicable, make use of the services available from these agencies.