Manager of ARD Compliance

Job Description

Job Description

Company Description

About KIPP Texas Public Schools

KIPP Texas Public Schools is a free, public charter school network with more than 45 Pre-K - 12 schools across Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. With over 30 years in Texas, we work together with our families and communities to prepare students for college, career, and beyond! Our schools provide a high-quality, well-rounded education built on academic success and personal growth, where all students learn and thrive in a productive, safe, and joyful way!

As one of the earliest charter networks in Texas—founded in Houston in 1994 and operating as KIPP Texas since 2018—we hire dynamic, collaborative, and dedicated individuals with an unyielding belief that every child will succeed. Join a Team and Family with an unwavering commitment to creating classrooms, offices, and communities rooted in academic success and joy. If you are passionate about joining a mission-driven community that wants every child to "run to school," the KIPP Texas Team and Family is for you!

KIPP Public Schools is a national network of public charter schools that prepares students with the skills and confidence to create the future they want for themselves, their communities, and us all. We are a network of 278 schools with nearly 16,500 educators and 190,000 students and alumni.

Job Description

The Manager of Special Education Compliance serves as a critical support to special populations, faculty and school leaders, providing guidance in the areas of IEP development, 504 plans, and compliance. This role collaborates closely with other school-based personnel to ensure the development and delivery of high-quality, individualized educational programs for students with diverse learning needs. By ensuring adherence to legal standards, and ensuring compliance with IDEA and Texas State Education Law & Regulations, Section 504 Law & Regulations,  the ARD Facilitator helps advance the mission of KIPP Texas Public Schools, ensuring that every student has the tools and supportive environment necessary to thrive.

The Manager of Special Education Compliance provides leadership, coaching, and oversight to ARD Facilitators to ensure the delivery of high-quality, compliant ARD processes and student-centered IEP development. This role partners closely with campus and regional teams to strengthen procedural fidelity, promote consistency in ARD practices, and support accurate documentation aligned with federal and state regulations. By building facilitator capacity, monitoring compliance indicators, and reinforcing strong collaboration across teams, the Manager of Special Education Compliance helps ensure that students with disabilities receive the services and support necessary to meet their individual needs and thrive within KIPP Texas Public Schools.

• Strategy: Support the strategic vision to ensure that KTX school and regional teams implement the Special Education Strategic Plan and provide comprehensive improvement of school performance using a collaborative approach to clear and specific performance targets aligned to the Special Education Strategic Plan and execute, monitor, edit  strategic plans, annual goals and quarterly benchmarking for departmental improvement.

• Communication: Assists the Director of ARD Facilitator in ensuring KTX special populations teams are provided excellent communication, customer service and well-coordinated support. 

• Legal Framework & Compliance : Possess experience and knowledge of IDEA and Texas State Education Law & Regulations, Section 504 Law & Regulations  and understanding of the essential elements of compliance.

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES: 

Compliance and Documentation:

• Oversees and supports ARD Facilitators by ensuring that procedural elements are completed accurately and in alignment with legal requirements.

• Monitors federal and state compliance timelines, providing coaching and corrective guidance to ARD Facilitators to ensure all evaluation requests, ARD decisions, and required actions are completed within mandated windows.

• Reviews and provides actionable feedback on ARD documentation to ensure it meets the highest standards of accuracy, completeness, and best-practice implementation within all established departmental timelines.

• Ensures ARD Facilitators complete all required special education documentation, reports, and supplemental forms (such as transportation requests, ESY documentation, and state reporting requirements) by guiding them on expectations and monitoring progress toward completion.

• Supports ARD Facilitators in collecting, analyzing, and documenting required data for ARD supplements including, but not limited to, ESY regression/recoupment, BIPs, and specialized programming in the least restrictive environment.

• Guides ARD Facilitators through state-mandated compliance and operating procedures such as state reporting requirements

• Ensures that IEPs, ARD documents, and all associated paperwork meet federal, state, and district compliance standards through ongoing coaching, quality checks, and targeted professional development.

• Participates in ARD meetings, parent conferences, and other stakeholder meetings as needed to provide support, ensure compliance, and model high-quality facilitation and communication practices.

Support and Communication:

• Ensures clear, proactive, and consistent communication with families and school leaders regarding ARD decisions, IEP expectations, student accommodations, and instructional progress, supporting transparency and informed decision-making.

• Builds and sustains strong, professional relationships with families and school leaders to foster trust, collaboration, and a shared commitment to achieving high-quality outcomes for students with disabilities.

• Provides targeted coaching and guidance to school leaders and special education managers on effective family engagement, ARD facilitation, and compliance expectations to strengthen leadership capacity and student support.

• Supports school leaders and families in navigating Special Populations compliance, ensuring policies and procedures are followed with fidelity while promoting equity, responsiveness, and student-centered practices.

Data Analysis and Improvement:

• Analyzes regional-level data, including 504 and ARD compliance metrics, to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities for targeted support and continuous improvement.

• Maintains accurate and up-to-date assessment rosters, referral documentation, and related service data, ensuring seamless communication between assessment teams, ARD Facilitators, and service providers.

• Uses data to set clear performance goals, guide decision-making, and support the educational and compliance needs of Special Populations students across the network.

• Leverages data insights to drive system-wide improvements, monitor adherence to federal, state, and district compliance requirements, and strengthen consistent implementation of high-quality ARD and 504 practices.

• Ensures accurate state reporting related to IDEA funding and compliance performance, providing oversight and verification of data submissions to maintain accountability and secure appropriate resources for Special Populations programs.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Cultivate the trust of all key stakeholders, including teachers, parents, and administrators, to support student success.

• Maintain productive working relationships with other internal departments and lead troubleshooting efforts when issues arise with special populations.

• Serve as the Special Populations team Liaison, ensuring effective communication and collaboration between teams.

Professional Development:

• Support/provide monthly PD, newsletter input, communication, to provide ongoing coaching and guidance to the ARD Facilitator Cohorts.

• Facilitate training on organization structures, processes, and procedures necessary to support effective compliance.

• Collaborate with the Director of ARD Facilitation, ARD Facilitators, and school staff to resolve TEA complaints.

Other Duties:

 Perform all other tasks and duties as assigned by the Senior Director of Special Populations

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree required

• Special Education Certification

• 3+ years experience teaching with a focus on special education services

COMPETENCY AND SKILLS:

• Knowledge of 504, and the 13 eligibility categories under IDEA

Physical Requirements: 

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• The person in this position needs to be able to move about inside and outside the school throughout the workday.

• The candidate is expected to attend conferences, meetings and training sessions both virtually and in person within the Region. 

Additional Requirements:

• Reliable transportation is needed for travel between campuses

• Ability to maintain emotional control under stress.

• Work with frequent interruptions.

Work Environment: 

Hybrid work - Reports to the central office or schools three days a week

Travel Requirements: 

Minimal travel: May travel to other school sites or regional offices for professional learning, meetings and other work related activities.

Additional Information

What We Bring to the Table: 

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans with coverage options for employees and their families. 

• Competitive vacation and flexible paid time off (PTO) policies.

• Paid family leave.

• Flexible spending account or high-yield HSA.

• Employee assistance programs. 

• KIPP also offers the following employee-paid benefits: legal plans, LifeLock identity protection, life insurance and disability insurance.

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.