Staying Intentional: Advancing Integration Strategies for Students with Dis/abilities at the Intersection of Race, Sex, National Origin, and Religion - Tool Purpose and Instructions

Oct 15, 2026

A state education agency self-assessment tool supports teams in evaluating how their people, policies, and practices align with U.S. Department of Education guiding principles for safe, inclusive, supportive, and fair school climates. It emphasizes the safety of children with disabilities alongside other marginalized identities within public schools. The resource advances integration strategies by guiding structured reflection and idea generation on systemic conditions and exclusionary discipline practices, using quantitative indicator ratings and overall guiding-principle scoring.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction to Tool

Tool Purpose

Instructions

Step 1: Rate Indicators

Step 2: Determine Overall Ratings

Step 3: Identify Focus Areas

Advancing Integration Strategies for Students with Dis/abilities at the Intersection of Race, Sex, National Origin, and Religion Staying Intentional MAP CENTER STATE EDUCATION AGENCY SELF-ASSESSMENT AND PRE PLANNING TOOL MAP CENTER STATE EDUCATION AGENCY SELF-ASSESSMENT AND PREPLANNING TOOL Staying Intentional: Advancing Integration Strategies for Students with Dis/abilities at the Intersection of Race, Sex, National Origin, and Religion INTRODUCTION TO TOOL The MAP Center State Education Agency Self-Assessment and Preplanning Tool was created as a joint venture between national and regional TA Centers, educational thought leaders, and an extensive convening of stakeholders from the Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center (MAP) 13 state region. The purpose of the tool is to advance integration strategies for students with disabilities at the intersection of race, sex, national origin, and religion. This tool is specifically designed for use by State Education Agencies (SEAs), though it may also be utilized by Local Education Agencies (LEAs), building level staff, and community stakeholders. This tool provides a quantitative assist to understand the extent of civil rights protections in educational organizations and provides space for beginning or furthering the redressing of exclusionary discipline practices for students with disabilities at the intersections. The MAP Center State Education Agency Self-Assessment and Preplanning Tool consists of two parts, a recording of the MAP Center’s 2023 Technical Assistance Center Equity Advisory and Service Networks Convening, and the SEA Self-Assessment and Preplanning Worksheet. APROJECT OF Copyright © 2023 by Great Lakes Equity Center-The contents of this document were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education (S004D220003) . However, the content does not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and endorsement by the Federal Government should not be assumed. Additionally, this document and its contents are provided to public school personnel, students enrolled in public schools, parents/caregivers of those students, community organizations and other community members. We ask that this resource is cited if research, ideas, or information from this document are used in any produced works. No part of this document may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means for commerce media or commercial purposes without permission in writing from the Great Lakes Equity Center. MAP CENTER STATE EDUCATION AGENCY SELF-ASSESSMENT AND PREPLANNING TOOL Staying Intentional: Advancing Integration Strategies for Students with Dis/abilities at the Intersection of Race, Sex, National Origin, and Religion Organization Name/Department/Team Name Date TOOL PURPOSE The purpose of this state education agency self-assessment tool is to support state departments of education in examining to what extent their systemic level conditions regarding people, policies, and practices align to the USDOE’s Guiding Principles for Creating Safe, Inclusive, Supportive, and Fair School Climates. The tool is designed to place emphasis on the safety of children with disabilities with other marginalized identities in public schools. The intended outcome of tool us is advancing state department of education teams in their reflection on and generation of ideas that directly affect the safety or integration of students with disabilities who embody other marginalized identities. INSTRUCTIONS Step 1 Rate individual indicator under each of the five GUIDING PRINCIPLES. Circle the number that best represents your level of confidence that the indicator is present on a scale of 0-10 for each, where 0 means not at all confident, and 10 means mostly or very confident. Circle only one number per indicator. Step 2 Determine overall rating for each of the five GUIDING PRINCIPLES. Informed by indicator ratings of each, determine what best describes

FAQs

Who is this self-assessment and preplanning tool designed to be used by?

It is designed primarily for State Education Agencies (SEAs), and it may also be used by Local Education Agencies (LEAs), building-level staff, and community stakeholders.

How does Step 1 work in the self-assessment?

Rate each individual indicator under the five guiding principles by circling one number on a 0–10 scale for confidence that the indicator is present.

How are overall ratings determined in Step 2?

Using the indicator ratings, choose what best describes the agency’s systemic conditions, then record the rating in the orange box for each guiding principle (At Standard, Developing, or Beginning).

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Sophia Brooks