Teri Chapman is currently the Director of the Office of Special Education for the Michigan Department of Education (MDE). Teri was a teacher of students with disabilities for nearly 20 years as well as a special education monitor and Director of Special Education for one of Michigan's 56 Intermediate School Districts. Since coming to the State of Michigan five years ago, Teri and her team have been working to create balance between meeting the requirements of state and federal laws governing the effective implementation of special education programs and services with the need to improve outcomes for students. The MDE is currently using the State Systemic Improvement Plan requirements to design an effective system to support this new vision