Memorandum — PulsePoint & OUSD Special Education

1. Purpose

This memorandum introduces PulsePoint and requests direction on district process for review of instructional and assistive technology in special education, and authorization to pursue a structured, time-limited pilot consistent with OUSD policies on student data privacy, equitable access, and procurement.

2. Background

Special education teams rely on multiple systems and informal workflows to track goals, assignments, grades and progress reports, behavior and intervention plans, related service documentation, and communication among providers. PulsePoint was developed from classroom and case-management practice to reduce fragmentation by consolidating key workflows into a staff-governed technical environment.

3. Scope of capability (summary)

4. Alignment with district interests

PulsePoint is presented with explicit recognition of FERPA, equitable access, IDEA / Section 504 documentation that supports FAPE, and district procurement and data protection. No district-wide deployment or mandatory student use is proposed absent central office review and written approval.

5. IEP documentation

IEP language should describe student needs and supports using district-approved terminology. Product-specific mandates should not appear in IEP documents until the district has completed privacy, accessibility, and procurement review. Request: written guidance or a template from Special Education leadership (with Legal and IT as appropriate) for acceptable phrasing on district-approved digital platforms.

6. Requests

1. A meeting (approximately 30 minutes) with the Director or designee to review OUSD’s standard process for evaluation of instructional/assistive technology in special education.
2. Authorization to prepare a formal pilot proposal (scope, duration, metrics, privacy safeguards, parent notification, exit criteria).
3. Referral to IT, Legal, and Privacy for any required DPA, vendor questionnaire, or pilot MOU.

7. Disclosure

The author is both an OUSD employee and the developer of PulsePoint. Any conflict-of-interest or outside-work requirements under OUSD policy or the applicable collective bargaining agreement will be satisfied.

8. Closing

PulsePoint is offered in support of Oakland Unified students and staff, with intent to comply with district governance and student safeguards. Direction is welcomed on aligning the project with central office standards prior to any expansion beyond an approved pilot.

Appendix A — Data gathered by PulsePoint (aggregate view)

This appendix describes categories of information the system can store and report. It does not embed student-level records on this page. When opened from a running PulsePoint server, document counts only load from the API for director-level volume context.

Loading aggregate counts…

MongoDB collections (document counts)

Appendix B — Educational & response data domains (inventory)

The platform is designed to aggregate the following types of data (exact fields evolve with IEP team practice):

• Roster / SEIS-aligned demographics: students — name, grade, services, accommodations, case manager, eligibility-related fields where captured, points, login counts, assignment completion tallies.
• IEP goals: student_goals — goal text, categories, progress notes, AI-assisted drafts (human-reviewed), measurement where configured.
• Course grades & marks: grades — per-student subject or assignment-type performance as entered by staff.
• Formal progress reports: progress_reports — reporting period artifacts tied to students.
• Assignments catalog: assignments — titles, due dates, status, links to student-facing work.
• Assignment attempts & scores: student_progress — student responses, scores, completion status, timestamps (primary store for “did the student respond / how did they do?”).
• Alternate progress bulk store: progress — used for certain bulk or legacy progress writes.
• Accommodations & modifications: student_assignment_supports — per-student assignment support profiles.
• Behavior incidents & strikes: behavior_incidents, behavior_strikes — logs and strike tallies for BIP-aligned workflows.
• Interventions: interventions — intervention plans, notes, next steps, effectiveness tracking.
• Related services: therapy_minutes — service type, minutes, therapist identifier, date, notes.
• Engagement & messaging: activity_log (logins, points events, system activity), messages where used.
• Staff accounts (optional JWT path): teachers — registered staff authentication records.
• Health / wearable integration (optional): fitbit_connections, fitbit_daily, student_vitals — connection metadata and daily summary vitals when families/staff opt in.

AI-generated text (goal notes, intervention suggestions, digests, etc.) is stored or displayed only as an aid; professional staff remain responsible for accuracy and appropriateness in the educational record.