William S. Hart Union High School District — Santa Clarita, California

At a glance

• Setting: Large California public high school district, multi-site
• PAES in place since: TBC with district
• Primary users: School psychologists, transition coordinators, IEP teams
• Outcome markers: IEP defensibility, transition plan evidence quality, parent confidence in the process

The challenge

As a school psychologist working across multiple high schools in Hart, Laura Ramirez had seen every flavour of vocational assessment. Most produced a score and a profile that looked clean on paper but did not hold up when students arrived at actual work placements, or when parents asked what the data meant.

California IEPs carry real weight. They are subject to district review, parent due process, and state audit. The assessment evidence they rest on has to survive scrutiny. For students with complex profiles, the students Laura often picked up on her caseload, standard tools did not produce defensible data.

The implementation

The outcome

For students: [A named anonymized example is required here from Laura's caseload: a student whose plan or placement changed because of PAES data, and what the outcome was.]

For supervisors: Laura's positioning of PAES as "the most data-driven assessment of student work potential, strengths and needs" available speaks to a shift in assessment practice. PAES produces data that feeds IEP decisions and holds up in due process.

For the district: [District-level outcomes to confirm: IEP compliance rates, transition plan quality measures, parent satisfaction, California-specific funding alignment with WorkAbility I, TPP, and LCFF.]

What's next

[To confirm with the district: plans for expansion across Hart, integration with other California districts through the TPP cooperative, and any California state-level work.]