Special Education Special Education Data Management Specialist

State of Maryland•Baltimore City, MD

8h•Onsite

About The Position

The Maryland State Department of Education is dedicated to supporting a world-class educational system that prepares all students for college and career success in the 21st century. With excellent stewardship from our divisions, we oversee State and federal programs that support the needs of a diverse population – students, teachers, principals, and other educators throughout Maryland. GRADE State Salary Grade 21 Salary Range: $91,761 - $142,914 State Salary Guidelines apply for current State employees. LOCATION OF POSITION Nancy S. Grasmick Education Building 200 West Baltimore Street Baltimore, MD 21201 Main Purpose of Job This position ensures accurate collection, management, analysis, and reporting of special education data for students served under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The data manager is responsible for overseeing the collection of data from Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and Public Agencies (PAs), validating data and resolving issues through coordination with LEAs/PAs maintaining data privacy and compliance, providing ongoing technical assistance to local data managers, using statistical software to fulfill data requests and state- and federal-reporting requirements, and coordinating the development, implementation, and maintenance of data systems, including those related to child count and exit count (Special Services Information System), LEA data collection for Individual Education Plans (IEPs), the MD Online IEP System (MOIEP), the MD State Performance Plan (SPP) and Annual Performance Report (APR), Federal data collection, and special education linkage with the Unique Student Identification System (USIS) at the MSDE. This position is also responsible for providing new user training for these systems, facilitating ongoing technical assistance to local data managers, providing quantitative and qualitative analyses of data to be used for programmatic improvement and professional learning, and coordinating data submissions (including resolutions to data discrepancies, system repairs/edits, and data tracking) to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and EdFacts, IDEA Data Center (IDC) and other federal agencies, outside state and local government agencies, other divisions within the MSDE, Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) researchers, and vendors.

Requirements

EDUCATION: A Master’s Degree or equivalent 36 post baccalaureate credit hours of course work in Education, Special Education or a related field.
EXPERIENCE: Four (4) years of professional administrative or teaching experience in, or affiliated with, an education program and with education data research or data analysis.
Experience within special education is strongly preferred
One year of experience in Special Education data analysis.
Applicants must consent to State and FBI (CJIS) background check as a routine procedure for all employees.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with special education data collection systems, data manipulation, appending, sorting, and transposing datasets.
Experience with using of SAS, Stata, and/or SPSS.
Experience in data management/analysis and in creating data collection systems.
Experience interpreting/summarizing research findings and providing technical guidance
Experience with analyzing complex program issues and recommending solutions.

Responsibilities

Leads statewide IDEA Part B data governance by overseeing the collection, validation, analysis, reporting, and quality assurance of special education data systems, while providing technical guidance, training, and support to LEAs and MSDE to ensure accurate, timely, and compliant data that informs program improvement, accountability, and policy decision-making.
Leads the collection, validation, analysis, and reporting of IDEA Part B data (e.g., child count, special education personnel, State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report, etc.); identify, investigate, and resolve data discrepancies to ensure accuracy and compliance with federal and state requirements.
Analyzes and monitors trend data to be used by division staff toward program improvement and professional development.
Provides technical assistance and troubleshooting support to LEAs’ Part B data managers to ensure accurate and timely data submissions. Develop guidance and training materials for local Part B data managers on data submission requirements, timelines, and best practices.
Monitors and conducts record reviews of LEA data submissions for accuracy, completeness, and timeliness; communicate feedback and support corrective actions as needed.
Develops, reviews, analyzes, and implements quality assurance standards and editing procedures to enhance quality assurance, timely processing of data included in the Special Services Information System (SSIS), integration with the Maryland Online IEP (MOIEP), and other data collection applications.
Prepares technical specifications for special services data collection systems.
Advises technical programmer analysts in the design, development and testing of new and existing application systems.
Ensures that the Division of Special Education data collection applications meet the data reporting requirements of federal, State, and department needs for special population groups.
Develops, modifies, and reviews data processing policies, procedures standards. and report procedures to ensure accurate and timely delivery of department products and services.