In July 2025, Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) assigned to this year’s reporting cohort will submit their data for Special Education Table 8A, Report of Children with Disabilities Evaluated July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. Below is a list of all LEAs required to submit Table 8A this July. If an LEA does not appear on this list, the LEA is not required to submit Table 8A data in July 2025.

Table 8A data is collected on a cyclical basis. Those LEAs that are to submit Table 8A to the Bureau of Special Education (BSE) will be informed of such in June this year. Regardless of their reporting status, all LEAs in the state must continue to collect and maintain data regarding timely evaluations so that the LEA can assess its ongoing compliance and program effectiveness and be prepared to report data to the state when notified to do so.

Table 8A is used for two purposes:

1.         To calculate and report to the federal Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) an annual state rate of compliance with timelines for completing initial evaluations of students to determine their eligibility for special education under the State Performance Plan; and
2.         To report to the public on the performance of LEAs in the commonwealth in complying with the required timelines.

Data collected over the past several years on compliance with timelines for initial evaluations show that while many LEAs have achieved full compliance, others have not. When LEAs do not comply and improve performance, the overall state rate reported to OSEP is negatively affected. Further, any LEA that reports less than 100 percent compliance with timelines will be required to engage in quarterly reporting to the BSE to document correction of noncompliance. Therefore, it is imperative that all LEAs be as accurate as possible in collecting and reporting Table 8A data.

OSEP has advised that states should factor out from their Table 8A calculation those students whose evaluation timelines are affected by two exceptions in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act regulations. Specifically, Section 300.301(d) allows that the 60-day timeline for completing initial evaluations does not apply to a public agency if (1) the parent of a child repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the child for the evaluation, or (2) a child enrolls in a school of another agency after the timeline has begun and prior to a determination by the prior agency as to whether the child is a child with a disability. This second exception applies only if the subsequent public agency is making sufficient progress to ensure prompt completion of the evaluation, and the parent and subsequent agency agree to a specific time to complete the evaluation. To ensure accurate reporting, it is critical that when a delay in meeting timelines occurs, LEAs must correctly code the reasons for the delay under the exceptions above.

The Table 8A Template for the July 2025 submission is available on the Special Education Data Reporting website, under the Data Management tab in the 2024-2025 section; scroll down to Table 8A Template.

Please submit your Table 8A to your Intermediate Unit Data Manager before July 11, 2025. Failure to submit your Table 8A by July 11, 2025, may impact the BSE’s assessment of your LEA’s ability to meet the requirements of IDEA.

Questions regarding the completion and submission of Table 8A should be referred to the Intermediate Unit Data Manager.

Questions regarding this PDE Bulletin may be referred to Jodi Rissinger in the BSE at jrissinger@pa.gov.