Case Study
EvalCamp
Transforming special education evaluation management with purpose-built workflow software for K-12 schools.
Industry
K-12 Education Technology
Engagement
Internal Product
Status
Pilot Launch 2026
The Challenge
Texas school districts serve over 856,000 students in special education programs, and that number has grown 89% in the past decade. Each student requiring evaluation triggers a complex, time-sensitive workflow governed by strict federal and state compliance requirements.
Yet despite high stakes (missing deadlines means compliance citations and potential legal consequences), even large, tech-savvy districts manage evaluations through fragmented spreadsheets and manual processes.
Core Pain Points We Discovered
- •No centralized view: Admins track deadlines across spreadsheets, emails, and memory, causing constant mental stress.
- •Manual notification emails: Diagnosticians write the same "I finished X, now you can do Y" emails repeatedly.
- •No automatic deadline calculation: Directors manually count school days for every evaluation.
- •Repetitive form sending: Copy-pasting form links and tracking responses manually.
"If you can solve the form tracking problem, that alone would be worth paying for."
— Diagnostician during discovery research
Our Approach
Before writing a single line of code, we conducted comprehensive market analysis and stakeholder interviews. We discovered a critical gap: no existing software adequately addresses the pre-IEP evaluation workflow.
Rather than building another IEP platform, we positioned EvalCamp as the workflow orchestration layer that sits upstream of existing systems, complementing (not competing with) what districts already use.
MVP
- •Districtwide evaluation pipeline dashboard
- •Task management with completion notifications
- •Form tracking with one-click email sending and reminders
- •Role-based access control (FERPA-compliant)
- •Basic compliance reporting
Market Opportunity
Underserved
Market opportunity
856,651
Texas special ed students
~800
Texas school districts
89.7%
Enrollment growth in decade
Analysis revealed EvalCamp could be first-mover in a validated, underserved market segment. No direct competitor addresses admin-level evaluation tracking. Existing solutions focus on IEP management, not evaluation workflow.
Current Status
EvalCamp is entering pilot phase in early 2026, targeting Austin-area school districts.
What We've Accomplished
- •Production-ready MVP built
- •Validated problem-solution fit through 10+ stakeholder interviews
- •Confirmed no direct competitor in evaluation workflow space
- •Established warm relationships with pilot-ready districts
Tech Stack
Backend
Ruby on Rails 8.1
Frontend
Hotwire (Turbo + Stimulus)
Styling
Tailwind CSS
Database
PostgreSQL
Background Jobs
Solid Queue
Resend API
