OSE News and Updates

What is ListServ (SELs/SELs2)?

February 2000, the Office of Special Education created the Special Education Listserv (SELS).  It has been and continues to be a limited e-mail group (with listserv being a misnomer since it really isn’t a listserv) available to only one contact person per school district/responsible public agency. It is used by the Office to disseminate important special education information concerning funding, compliance, data collection, professional development, etc. 

The Office has created a second e-mail group called SELs2.  This e-mail group is open to anyone wanting to subscribe (principals, teachers, parents, etc.). It will allow subscribers to receive the EXACT same messages as subscribers to SELs. By creating this second e-mail group, all constituents interested in special education will have the opportunity to receive the Office’s e-mail messages, not just one contact per school district/responsible public agency. It also allows DESE to maintain the ability to make sure that every district has at least one contact person per district receiving these messages. Messages are from DESE only and may only be posted by the manager (Lina Browner, Office of Special Education). Members may not post messages to either SELs or SELs2.

How Do I Subscribe?

Those interested in subscribing to SELs2 can do so by going to the following the links below. 

Questions or Problems Subscribing to SELs and/or needing to change SELs information, contact Lina Browner, Executive Assistant, Office of Special Education at (573) 751-5739 or via email at Lina.Browner@dese.mo.gov

SELs

SELs2

SELs Archives

Graduate and Dropout Follow-up Data Collection

Source: Tori Chance, Coordinator, Special Education Data

Intended Audience: Special Education Directors/Administrators

Date: January 16, 2026

Local education agencies (LEAs) must submit follow-up data for students with disabilities who dropped out from grades 9-12 as well as graduated during 2024-25. Follow-up on dropouts is only required if the student had an individualized education program (IEP) at the time of dropping out. The follow-up data is reported using the MOSIS Graduate Follow-up and is due February 15, 2026.

Follow-up data are required for the State Performance Plan Indicator 14 and are included in the public reporting of data at the LEA level as required by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).

Click here for further information on follow-up requirements for special education.

The Special Education Data Coordination Section is hosting a February Data Cycle: Graduation and Dropout Follow-up question-and-answer session on January 22 at 2:00 p.m. via Zoom. There will be a short overview of the reporting requirements and then a question-and-answer forum.

If you have questions regarding the special education aspects of this collection, please contact the Special Education Data Coordination Section at 573-751-7848 or speddata@dese.mo.gov.

Blind Literacy Survey 2026

Source: Seunghee Han, Research Analyst, Special Education Data

Intended Audience: Superintendents, Directors, Principals, and Program Managers of Public or Private (Non-Profit) Schools, Charter Schools, or Agencies Serving Blind/Visually Impaired Students

Date: January 5, 2026

The Department is mandated to report to the Missouri Legislature the educational status of blind students. The Blind Literacy Survey is used to collect this information. To complete the Blind Literacy Survey, click on this link and follow the instructions.

Districts/agencies received information about this survey from the Missouri School for the Blind as part of the annual Federal Quota Registration for American Printing House, Inc. Please only submit the survey once and no later than January 31, 2026.

To complete the survey, you will need the following information regarding blind students ages 3 through 21 reported on the Federal Quota Registration (enrollment as of January 5, 2026).

The number of students who

1) Receive materials in Braille and Braille-related services,

2) Receive materials in Braille and Braille-related services BUT no longer receive Braille instruction, and

3) Use a slate and stylus or other Braille writing device.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the Special Education Data Section at 573-751-7848 or email speddata@dese.mo.gov.

Families First Program, Early Intervention 

Source: Missouri School for the Deaf, Outreach Services

Intended Audience: SPOE Directors, Service Coordinators, Service Providers as well as School Districts Administration including Special Education Directors and their Special Education Staff Members.

Date: January 5, 2026

Families First is a free early intervention program serving families of deaf and hard of hearing children from birth through age 8 who live anywhere in Missouri.

Families enrolled in the program are assigned a Families First Parent Advisor who visits the home on a routine basis to coach parents on a variety of issues unique to children with various degrees of decreased hearing levels. Utilizing a nationally recognized SKI-HI curriculum, the educational topics are designed to strengthen the parents’ knowledge of developmental stages of children, various communication modes and modalities, amplification devices and technologies, understanding their child’s audiograms, literacy, as well as strategies and techniques to implement in the natural environment to support their child’s developmental growth, etc. The parent advisors also assist the family in making the transition from early intervention to the child’s school district. 

For additional information about the Families First program and how we can help families in your region or school district, please contact Lindi Wood at Lindi.Wood@msd.dese.mo.gov or visit the MSD website. 

FY 26 Time and Effort Documentation

Source: Special Education Finance Section

Intended Audience: Special Education Directors, Financial Administrators, Superintendents

Date: January 9, 2026

REMINDER: Districts should ensure time and effort documentation for staff paid with federal funds during the first funding period (July 1, 2025-December 31, 2025) of the 2025-26 school year has been completed. The documentation should be maintained by the district and does not have to be submitted to DESE.

All employees, including teachers, paraprofessionals, therapists, administrators, and other staff whose salary and/or benefits are paid with any portion of federal funds, must document the time and effort spent within the program through time distribution records. The documentation must be completed after the fact to certify/verify that the employee's work was performed during that funding period. This rule applies to all special education federal funds including Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B federal funds, early childhood special education (ECSE) 611 federal funds, ECSE 619 federal funds, and High Need Fund (HNF) federal funds.

Time and effort documentation must be recorded using one of the following methods:

* Semi-Annual Certification forms

* Semi-Annual Certification (Alternative) forms

* Time and Effort Logs/Personnel Activity Reports (PARs)

* Substitute System Employee Certification forms

Additional information regarding the requirements for completing time and effort documentation can be found in the Time and Effort section of the Special Education Fiscal Monitoring Guide found at Fiscal Monitoring Guide. Time and effort forms can be found at General Federal Guidance. A time and effort flowchart to assist districts in determining which form, if any, must be completed, can be found at Time and Effort Flowchart. Contact the Special Education Finance section with specific time and effort questions at 573-751-0622 or spedfunding@dese.mo.gov. 

Reminder for the 2026 Federal Quota Registration of Blind or Visually Impaired Students, Federal DeafBlind Census, and Blind Literacy Survey 

Source: Outreach/Missouri School for the Blind

Intended Audience: Local education agencies (LEAs) and state education agencies (SEAs) serving students who are blind, visually impaired, or deafblind

Date: January 8, 2026

A reminder that the deadline to complete and return the Federal Quota Registration and DeafBlind Census is February 2, 2026. 

Registration packets containing the 2026 Federal Quota Registration of Blind or Visually Impaired Students, DeafBlind Census, and Blind Literacy Survey were mailed during December to the program director, special education director, or other designated individual at your school or agency.

If a student has any combined vision and hearing loss, regardless of severity or primary disability, this student should be included on the DeafBlind Census.

To continue receiving Federal Quota funds, all students must be re-registered annually. For additional information, please review resources and instructions at Outreach Services. 

For the Federal Quota Registration, should you have questions, contact Gabrielle Borders at 314-663-1551 or Gabrielle.Borders@msb.dese.mo.gov.

For the DeafBlind Census, should you have questions, contact Ashley Foley at 314-633-1587 or ashley.foley@msb.dese.mo.gov.

For the Blind Literacy Survey, should you have questions, please contact the Office of Special Education, Data Coordination at 573-526-4995 or email Seunghee.Han@dese.mo.gov.  

Special Education Finance Monthly Webinar - January 6

Source: Special Education Finance

Intended Audience: Special Education Directors, Financial Administrators, ECSE Directors

Date: December 31, 2025

The Special Education Finance Section will be hosting the regularly scheduled monthly training webinar Tuesday, January 6 at 9:00 a.m. Topics will include ECSE Reimbursement, Coding Special Education Expenditures, Time and Effort, and Determining Federally Paid Staff.

This webinar will be recorded and available on the Special Education Finance Training webpage. 

To attend the monthly fiscal webinar, please go to WebEx or dial 650-479-3207 to join by phone.

Meeting Number: 2632 745 5627
Meeting Password: M3MuchByJ75

These webinars are scheduled the first Tuesday of every month at 9:00 a.m. The call-in information will be the same as what is listed above for each call. If you have any questions, please email the Special Education Finance Section at spedfunding@dese.mo.gov.

Children’s Vision Summit 2026–REGISTRATION FORM 

Source: Gwen Deimeke, IDEA Coordinator, OSE

Intended Audience: Classroom Teachers, Teachers of the Visually Impaired, Students with Blindness and Low Vision and their Families, Orientation & Mobility Specialists, and others interested in the education of children who are blind or visually impaired

Date: December 30, 2025

The 2026 Children’s Vision Summit, sponsored by the Task Force on Blind Student Academic and Vocational Performance (abbreviated as Blind Task Force (BTF)), will be held Saturday, April 18, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Missouri School for the Blind, 3815 Magnolia Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri. The theme of this year’s summit is “Jumping Ahead: Triumphant Transitions for Youth of All Ages.” This summit will provide informational sessions covering a wide range of topics and hands-on opportunities that will help to identify resources and equipment currently available to meet students’ needs and assist parents and teachers in their goal to encourage their children to live independently and achieve academic and vocational success. This summit is free, but registration is required. Additional information related to hotel reservations, registration deadline, and contact information will be available soon.   

For additional information, please contact Samantha Rohr, Rehabilitation Services for the Blind at Samantha.Rohr@dss.mo.gov.

Special Education Related Services Personnel – Staff Assignment Report 

Source: Tori Chance, Special Education Data

Intended Audience: Special Education Administrators, Core Data/MOSIS personnel

Date: December 12, 2025

The Special Education Data team is actively working on processing licenses for special education related services personnel (physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech/language pathologists, audiologists, social workers, psychologists, and behavior analysts) to ensure all staff with the correct license show as appropriately certified. Due to a system issue, we are currently not able to upload the information to clear these staff members of the “not appropriately certified” status. We recommend districts continue to send licenses to us so your licensed staff members can be cleared as soon as we can.

If you have sent us information to clear your licensed staff, we have it on file to be uploaded when our system is back up. 

Questions can be directed to the Office of Special Education Data Coordination at speddata@dese.mo.gov. 

REMINDER 2025 Missouri State Plan for Special Education and Required Local Compliance Plan Approval

Source: Samantha Ryan, Director, Special Education Compliance

Intended Audience: Superintendents and Administrators of Special Education

Date: December 10, 2025

The below message serves as a reminder that the Office of Special Education is requiring the adoption of a local compliance plan consistent with the 2025 Missouri State Plan for Special Education - Part B that went into effect on September 30, 2025.

Federal regulations implementing Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) require responsible local education agencies (LEAs), providing for the education of children with disabilities within their jurisdiction, to have in effect policies, procedures, and programs that are consistent with the state policies established under applicable federal regulations 34 C.F.R. § 300.201.

The 2025 Missouri State Plan for Special Education - Part B went into effect on September 30, 2025. LEAs must adopt a local compliance plan consistent with the state policies. Local compliance plans with board approval prior to September 30, 2025, are inconsistent with the current State Plan for Special Education-Part B. The local compliance plan certification statement is due to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (DESE's) Office of Special Education by January 1, 2026.

DESE's Local Compliance Plan webpage includes instructions for how to proceed with the adoption of a local plan and board approval, as well as how to submit the local compliance plan certification statement to DESE's Office of Special Education. If you have questions or need additional information about adopting a local compliance plan, please contact the Special Education Compliance Section at 573-751-0699 or secompliance@dese.mo.gov.

Braille Challenge 2026 Registration Now Open

Source:  Outreach at Missouri School for the Blind (MSB)/Missouri DeafBlind Project

Intended Audience: Local Education Agencies (LEAs) serving students with visual impairments who are learning braille

Date: December 10, 2025

We are happy to announce that the Braille Challenge 2026 Registration is open! Contestants, volunteers, and chaperones can now register to participate in this exciting celebration of braille literacy!

We plan to host our 2026 St. Louis Regional Braille Challenge on February 18, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. on the MSB campus at 3815 Magnolia Avenue in St. Louis.

If you are unfamiliar with the Braille Challenge, it is a national braille contest created and sponsored by the Braille Institute of America. Designed to support and enrich the reading and writing of braille, the Braille Challenge is an exciting competition for all students! Here at MSB, we host a preliminary challenge for students in our region who read and write in braille.

We invite students of all braille reading/writing levels to join us!

We are always in need of volunteers who know UEB code to help us score tests! Please consider volunteering!

Please coordinate registration with your student’s family, as this event is in-person and requires parent/guardian permission.

We look forward to meeting you soon! If you have any questions, please contact dena.molen@msb.dese.mo.gov.

2026 Federal Quota Registration of Blind or Visually Impaired Students, Federal DeafBlind Census, and Blind Literacy Survey

Source: Outreach at Missouri School for the Blind

Intended Audience: Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and State Education Agencies (SEAs) serving students who are blind, visually impaired, or deafblind

Date: December 10, 2025 

Registration packets containing the 2026 Federal Quota Registration of Blind or Visually Impaired Students, DeafBlind Census, and Blind Literacy Survey will be mailed during the week of December 15 to the program director, special education director, or other designated individual at your school or agency. 

The deadline to complete and return the Federal Quota Registration and DeafBlind Census is February 2, 2026.

Eligibility guidelines have changed for the Federal Quota Registration, please see those changes in the instructions page and under the “Add New Students to the Registry” heading in the 2026 registration instructions. Students only need to be considered visually impaired and not solely legally blind to be reported. See this page for more information regarding these new changes.

If a student has any combined vision and hearing loss, regardless of severity or primary diagnosis, this student should be included on the DeafBlind Census.

To continue receiving Federal Quota funds, all students must be re-registered annually.

For questions regarding the DeafBlind Census, contact Ashley Foley at 314-633-1587 or ashley.foley@msb.dese.mo.gov. 

For questions regarding the Blind Literacy Survey, contact the Office of Special Education, Data Coordination at 573-526-4995 or email Seunghee.Han@dese.mo.gov.

New VLP Modules 

Source: Office of Special Education

Intended Audience: Special Education Directors, Special Education Teachers, Regular Education Teachers

Date: November 20, 2025

Do you want to increase the effectiveness of your teaching and decrease problem behaviors? Check out our new evidence-based modules developed by local Regional Professional Development Center (RPDC) consultants on the High Leverage Practices of Using Explicit Instruction and Establishing a Consistent, Organized, and Responsive Learning Environment! These modules have everything you need to complete the course independently or you may choose to present the course to faculty using the facilitator materials during a professional development day. You can find these modules and corresponding resources on DESE's Virtual Learning Platform (VLP) under the Professional Learning Modules tab. The VLP is free to all Missouri educators and can be used to support Career Ladder requirements. For additional assistance, for training on these topics by your local consultant, or for follow-up coaching after module completion, please contact your local RPDC consultants.

Local Determinations/Data Criteria

Source: Mark Wheatley, Assistant Commissioner

Intended Audience: Special Education Administrators and Superintendents

Date: November 6, 2025

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires states to issue each local education agency (LEA) an annual determination category regarding their implementation of Part B of the IDEA. As part of the determination criteria, states must evaluate the timeliness and accuracy of LEA-reported data. 

The following criteria will be used to assess points for the timeliness and accuracy of data reported for the 2025-26 school year:

Timeliness of data will be based on the first certified dates of MOSIS data submissions. Each timely submission will earn the LEA one credit, for a total of four possible credits.  

*The October Educator and Assignment files must be certified by January 10.

*The December Student Core must be certified by January 10. 

*The June Student Core and Student Enrollment and Attendance files must be certified by August 1.

*The June Discipline Incidents file must be certified by August 1. 

Accuracy of data will be based on LEAs satisfactorily addressing any errors or inquiries from DESE about the data for each of the four data collections listed above. Inquiries are generally based on large year-to-year changes or other significant data anomalies. Data Coordination staff will work with LEAs to address any of the errors or inquiries. Each of the four data collections will earn the LEA one credit for accuracy, unless the LEA fails to address any areas of concern.

A total of eight credits can be attained for each LEA - four for timeliness and four for accuracy. These credits will then be translated to the four-point scale used in the determination process. Seven or eight credits will translate to four points. Five or six credits will translate to three points. Three or four credits will translate to two points and fewer than three credits will translate to one point. 

Questions about the criteria should be directed to speddata@dese.mo.gov. 

Early Childhood Outcomes - Module 8 now available 

Source: Beth Loethen, Office of Childhood

Intended Audience: Special Education Administrators 

Date: November 4, 2025

Early Childhood Outcomes (ECO) Training Module 8: Promoting and Using High Quality ECO Data for Administrators is now available. This module focuses on ECO data and how administrators can utilize this information for continued improvement. Please take note of the addition of the ECO Calculator as this is a helpful tool when looking to complete district-level ECO data analysis.  

ECO Module 8 and the additional resources can be found here: Early Childhood Outcomes.

For additional resources, you can visit our website for Early Childhood Special Education.   

Questions can be directed to Beth Loethen, Part B 619 Coordinator in the Office of Childhood at beth.loethen@dese.mo.gov.  

Missouri Special Education Update

Source: Mark Wheatley, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Special Education

Intended Audience: All Stakeholders

Date: October 16, 2025

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has received no formal communication regarding potential changes to the U.S. Department of Education and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services currently being reported through media. Regardless of that information, Missouri is still responsible for, and committed to, ensuring students with disabilities have access to a free and appropriate public education as required by federal law and outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Missouri is still able to access the federal funds associated with IDEA and will continue to provide the necessary support, monitoring, and supervision for Missouri’s local educational agencies (LEAs) and the students with disabilities they serve throughout Missouri. LEAs should continue to provide special education services as they would under normal circumstances. DESE will continue to closely monitor the situation.

2024-25 Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Final Expenditure Report (FER) Now Open

Source: Special Education Finance

Intended Audience: Superintendents, Special Education Directors, Financial Administrators, ECSE Directors

Date: October 1, 2025

The Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Final Expenditure Report (FER) for claiming reimbursement on 2024-25 expenditures is available for data entry and is due on or before October 31, 2025.

Expenditure data will autofill into the ECSE FER from the last submitted 2024-25 Annual Secretary of the Board Report (ASBR). All ECSE expenditures paid with ECSE 611, ECSE 619, state, county, and local funds must have the correct combination of source and project codes in the 2024-25 general ledger and the 2024-25 ASBR in order for the expenditures to pull over to the ECSE FER grid and supporting data pages. Refer to the list below for the correct combination of source and project codes (source-project) for ECSE expenditures.

Federally Paid ECSE Expenditures:

4-44200 ECSE 611 Expenditures
4-44201 ECSE 619 Expenditures

 

State Paid ECSE Expenditures:

3-12810 State ECSE Expenditures

 

County Paid ECSE Expenditures:

2-12810 County ECSE Expenditures

 

Local Paid ECSE Expenditures:

1-12810 Local ECSE Expenditures

 

Any revisions to the 2024-25 ASBR impacting ECSE expenditures may require the LEA to complete a 2024-25 IDEA Part B FER revision. LEAs should contact the district's Special Education Finance Technical Assistant to determine if a 2024-25 IDEA Part B FER revision is necessary.

In addition, personnel data must be properly coded in the 2024-25 Missouri Student Information System (MOSIS) files in order for the data to display in the ECSE FER. If updates to personnel data are necessary, changes must be made and certified through the MOSIS system. It is not necessary to update caseload information to reflect end-of-year caseloads in the MOSIS educator files. All ASBR expenditure and MOSIS personnel data errors must be resolved before the LEA can submit the ECSE FER.

LEAs should ensure that both the ECSE expenditures and the ECSE personnel are coded accurately prior to submitting the ECSE FER to ensure full reimbursement. 

Additional information and step-by-step instructions for completing the ECSE FER are available in the ECSE FER Instructions. The ECSE Expenditure Guide is also available.

If you have any questions, please email the Special Education Finance Section at spedfunding@dese.mo.gov.