Job Description

The Manager of Special Education Assessment serves as a critical leader within Special Populations, providing strategic oversight, operational leadership, and accountability for high-quality evaluation practices across KIPP Texas. This role collaborates closely with regional leaders, campus teams, compliance, legal, and talent partners to ensure that all assessment practices result in timely, legally sound, culturally responsive, and instructionally meaningful outcomes for students with disabilities.

This role is responsible for strengthening systems that ensure compliance with IDEA and Texas Education Code while advancing equitable identification practices and improving student outcomes. By leading statewide evaluators and building strong systems for quality assurance, coaching, and data monitoring, the Manager of Special Education Assessment supports KIPP Texas’s mission to ensure every student has access to the supports and services necessary to thrive.

_ Position Summary_

The Manager of Special Education Assessment leads the statewide implementation of special education evaluation systems across all KIPP Texas regions (Austin, DFW, Houston, San Antonio). This role directly supervises Educational Diagnosticians and School Psychologists, ensuring consistency, compliance, and quality across all Full and Individual Evaluations (FIEs), REEDs, and re-evaluations.

The position is responsible for monitoring timelines, managing caseloads, addressing escalations, improving systems, and building evaluator capacity. The role partners cross-functionally to ensure that assessment practices meaningfully inform instruction, programming, placement, and student support.

_ General Role Description_

• ** Strategy: **Supports the strategic vision for Special Populations by developing and strengthening assessment systems that promote compliance, equity, and high-quality evaluation practices. Executes, monitors, and refines systems aligned to departmental goals and network priorities.

• ** Communication: **Ensures clear, proactive communication across regional teams, campus leaders, evaluators, and cross-functional partners. Provides responsive support and escalation management to resolve complex evaluation concerns.

• ** Legal Framework & Compliance: **Demonstrates deep knowledge of IDEA, Texas Education Code, TEA guidance, procedural safeguards, and best practices related to evaluation, eligibility, and re-evaluation. Ensures systems promote legally defensible and student-centered practices.

Duties and Responsibilities

_ Leadership & Management_

• Manage and directly supervise a statewide team of 10-month Educational Diagnosticians and School Psychologists across four regions.

• Provide ongoing coaching and professional development to build evaluator capacity in compliance, collaboration, culturally responsive practices, and high-quality reporting.

• Lead regular one-on-ones, team meetings, calibration sessions, and professional learning experiences.

• Ensure evaluators are appropriately resourced, trained, and supported to meet both quality and timeline expectations.

• Monitor workload distribution and adjust staffing, coverage, and supports to mitigate risk and promote sustainability.

• Support onboarding and performance management for new and existing evaluators.

_ Assessment Coordination & Oversight_

• Monitor the completion, quality, and timeliness of all Full and Individual Evaluations (FIEs), REEDs, and re-evaluations to ensure alignment with TEA timelines and legal requirements.

• Serve as a point of contact for complex cases involving eligibility concerns, procedural safeguards, parent disputes, or evaluation delays.

• Partner with regional leaders, ARD facilitators, and campus teams to resolve barriers impacting evaluation timelines.

• Support consistency in evaluation practices across regions, including initial evaluations, transfers, reevaluations, and complex eligibility determinations.

• Provide guidance on evaluation decision-making to ensure assessments lead to meaningful instructional and programmatic recommendations.

_ Data, Systems & Compliance Monitoring_

• Track evaluation timelines, completion status, and compliance metrics using internal dashboards and monitoring systems.

• Analyze trends in evaluation data to identify risks, gaps, and system-level improvement opportunities.

• Collaborate with Compliance and Legal teams to ensure evaluation practices meet federal, state, and organizational standards.

• Coordinate quality assurance reviews of evaluation reports, eligibility determinations, and documentation (including Prior Written Notice and REEDs).

• Use data to drive continuous improvement across evaluator practices and systems.

_ Training & Professional Learning_

• Co-facilitate Professional development for evaluators, campus teams, and regional leaders related to:

  • Evaluation processes

  • Disability categories

  • Eligibility decision-making

  • Data interpretation

  • Procedural safeguards

  • Culturally responsive assessment practices

• Provide onboarding training for new evaluators to ensure consistency in expectations, systems, and practices.

• Coach evaluators on effective participation in ARD meetings, including communicating results clearly and partnering with families.

• Develop tools, guidance documents, and resources that support high-quality assessment practices statewide.

_ Cross-Functional Collaboration_

• Partner with ARD Facilitators and campus leaders to improve evaluation timelines and strengthen service recommendations.

• Collaborate with teams to ensure findings from audits and monitoring activities inform training and system improvements.

• Support Legal, Compliance, and Leadership with data, documentation, and guidance related to complex cases or external inquiries.

_ Other Duties_

• Perform all other tasks and duties as assigned

Qualifications

_ Education/Experience_

• Master’s degree from an accredited institution

• Current Texas certification as an Educational Diagnostician or School Psychologist

• Minimum of two years of successful experience conducting special education evaluations

• Strong knowledge of IDEA, Texas Education Code, and TEA evaluation guidance

• Experience in campus and/or district-level leadership roles

• Demonstrated proficient knowledge of computer operations such as Microsoft Office, Google Suite, and Outlook email

• Demonstrated success in meeting evaluation timelines and maintaining compliance

• Strong organizational systems and data analysis skills

Additional Information

_ EEO:_

KIPP Texas is an Equal Opportunity Employer. KIPP Texas ensures equal employment opportunities regardless of race, creed, gender, color, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, or disability. Any individual needing assistance in making an application for any opening should contact the Talent Team.

Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or to perform your job duties. Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.