Continuous Improvement Monitoring System

The Special Education Continuous Improvement Monitoring System (CIMS) in Idaho includes various monitoring activities that happen either on a 5 year cycle or annually. Each district or LEA is assigned to one of the years on the 5 year cycle. Districts are also required to participate in some of the monitoring activities that happen annually, when identified as a need. There are two main special education monitoring activities – Self Assessment Monitoring and Focused Monitoring.

The Self Assessment Monitoring (SAM) occurs in the first and second year of the 5 year cycle and is a continuous improvement process. SAM is a self assessment done mainly by the district with technical support from the Idaho State Department of Education. The purpose of Self Assessment is for the district to analyze their own data and identify needs and the appropriate resulting improvement activities for increased compliance and performance.

The Focused Monitoring Process (FM) occurs annually and is directly tied to the Determination Levels that have been recently established by IDEA 2004 and the Federal Regulations. FM is mainly carried out by the Idaho State Department of Education with the cooperation of the district. The purpose of Focused Monitoring is to help address identified needs in a focused manner for increased compliance and performance in that monitoring area.