Mass Effect: Supporting LEA Determinations in Massachusetts
Episode 72
Release Date: February 12, 2026
Guests: Jamie Camacho, State Director of Special Education from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; Greg Tobey, IDEA Data Supervisor; and David Lowe, SPED Strategies
Massachusetts is a state of firsts. The first public library in the United States. The first university. Even the first public park. It should come as no surprise then that Massachusetts is leading the charge in pioneering ways to support districts in meeting the requirements related to LEA Determinations. On this episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman sits down with Jamie Camacho, the State Director of Special Education, Greg Tobey, IDEA Data Supervisor, and David Lowe from SPED Strategies to discuss the tools and resources the Bay State makes available to districts as they implement each step in the process.
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Episode Transcript
00:00:04.25 >> For the IDEA Data Center, I'm Amy Bitterman, and this is A Date with Data. Every month I sit down with data-quality influencers from around the country to share their stories about special education data and the work they do to improve outcomes for children with disabilities. Hello and welcome to A Date with Data. Joining me today are Greg Tobey, IDEA Data Supervisor, and Jamie Camacho, who is the State Director of Special Education from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. And we also have David Lowe from SPED Strategies. Together they're going to be sharing a tool and process they've developed to support districts with LEA determinations. We're going to explore what these planning templates and this portal looks like, how they're used, and also the impact that they're having across the state. Thank you so much for being on.
00:00:55.73 >> Thanks for having us today.
00:00:56.68 >> Yeah, thanks for having us on.
00:00:58.83 >> So to get started, if each of you could just share a little bit about who you are, your role in the state, that sort of thing. Jamie, do you want to go first?
00:27:23.60 >> A Date with Data is produced by the IDEA Data Center, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Have a story about special education data that you'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you. Reach out to us at ideadata@westat.com. To learn more about our center and our work, visit us at ideadata.org.