Advisory Panel

In accord with CFR 300.650, of the Individuals With Disabilities Act (IDEA), Montana has established the Special Education Advisory Panel. The responsibilities of this state advisory panel are to:

• Advise the OPI of unmet needs within the state in the education of children with disabilities;
• Comment publicly on any rules or regulations proposed by the state regarding the education of children with disabilities;
• Advise the OPI in developing evaluations and reporting on data to the Secretary under Section 618 of IDEA;
• Advise the OPI in developing corrective action plans to address findings identified in federal monitoring reports under Part B of IDEA;
• Advise the OPI in developing and implementing policies relating to the coordination of services for children with disabilities; and
• Advise on the education of eligible students with disabilities who have been convicted as adults and incarcerated in adult prisons.

In addition to the above, the advisory panel serves as the steering/advisory committee for Montana's planning for improving outcomes for students with disabilities. In this capacity, the advisory panel, on a continuing basis, reviews statewide outcome data on key indicators for students with disabilities, advises the OPI on improvement strategies for improved outcomes and reviews progress on the key indicators on no less than an annual basis.