Welcome Back

Welcome Back SC Public Charter School District Special Education Coordinators

August 13, 2014

Agenda

Welcome and Introductions

Comprehensive Program Review

Policy and Procedures

School-level Procedures

Compliance within the IEP process

Transfers

PLOP

Annual Goals

Progress Monitoring

FAPE Continuum

Child Find

Restraint and Time Out

Disciplining SWD Importance of PowerSchool

Enrich

Conversion data

Evaluations/Reevaluations

Potpourri Confidentiality/FERPA

Exiting

Medicaid

Budgeting

EFA Coding in PowerSchool

Data

Dates

Closing/Questions

Introductions

Who we are – Robbie Compton, Ph.D.

Director of Federal Programs and School Safety

803-734-8067; 803-230-9593 (cell)

Beckie Davis

Director of Special Services

803-734-8050; 803-312-2491 (cell)

Kendall Stewart

Student Information Coordinator (Enrich/data)

In addition to PowerSchool

803-734-0164

Vamshi Rudrapati (Mr. V)

Assistant Director of Federal Programs

In addition to Title I, Title III, and homeless

803-734-1105; 803-603-6433 (cell)

Who we are – District Special Education Coordinators

Mariann Carter

803-230-9593 (cell)

[email protected]

Nichole Adams

803-603-6590 (cell)

[email protected]

Mary C. Scott

803-603-8424 (cell)

[email protected]

Look Back

Accomplishments and Milestones

The District was cleared of all findings from the OSES on-site monitoring visit

Board approved 8 new charters and 1 transfer of a charter into the District

CPR was rolled out

Regional coordinator model was rolled out

7 new schools opened for the 2013-14 school year

Enrich was rolled out*

Challenges 4 Complaints with Office for Civil Rights alleging discrimination by schools

1 request for Due Process Hearing

DPH officer determined no merit but only after

Day-long attempt at resolution

Countless hours of preparation, meetings, telephone calls, emails, …

Approximately $$$$ in legal fees

1 State complaint

Withdrawn after school convened IEP meeting to address issues to parent’s satisfaction

1 Revocation of a school’s charter

1 Nonrenewal of a school’s charter

Changes in school administrators

Changes in school-level special education coordinators in mid-year

33 schools located literally in every corner of the state

Enrich was rolled out*

Comprehensive Program Review

Support Triangle

Low Risk Schools Adequate scores on CPR

Returning schools with no warnings/findings

No findings or reasons for concern

High Risk Schools New schools

Informal warnings

Letters of caution

Letters of noncompliance

Revocation

District/State/OCR findings

Support Triangle

Low risk schools

Modified CPR

Transfer IEPs

IEPs

Reevaluations

Initial evaluations

Run-of-the-mill questions

Support TriangleHigh risk schools New schools/new coordinators/informal

warnings/letters of caution Full CPR Corrective action plan developed with sp ed coordinator Targeted technical assistance via sp ed coordinator

Letter of noncompliance District involvement (Robbie or Beckie)

Revocation Legal involvement

Special Education Compliance is a big deal

The most recent revocation was related primarily to systemic, persistent special education noncompliance that had not been corrected within a year

A neighboring school district revoked the charter of a school for failure to issue progress reports

The Comprehensive Program Review (CPR) is a transparent and collaborative process used by the South Carolina Public Charter School District (District) to monitor schools' compliance with the various rules and regulations governing the education of students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004. The CPR will consist of the following:

Onsite visits to the school or telephone/video conference;

Review of documentation: records, resources, materials, policy/procedures; and

Consultation with staff

Comprehensive Program Review (CPR)

The CPR occurs annually during the Fall semester. District staff and/or Regional Coordinators will schedule the CPR with each assigned school.

How:

School Procedures:

Complete the Self-Assessment rating

0-Does not meet - No evidence of any degree of implementation or compliance

1-Partially meets - Partial plan in place to meet legal requirements

2-Meets - Plan is 100% in place and meets legal requirements

Prepare and describe evidence for the various compliance requirements to be reviewed by District staff and/or Regional Coordinators

District Procedures:

Examine the school's ratings and evidence for each rating

Provide justification for each rating of 0 or 1

Determine the level of priority:

Low and Medium levels require an Improvement Plan (IP)* developed in conjunction with the Regional Coordinator

High level requires an Action Plan (AP) developed in conjunction with District staff

Comprehensive Program Review (CPR)

CPR

Returning schools will have a modified version of the CPR

Resources regarding the CPR will be on The Bookshelf Including examples of possible evidence for

indicators

1. The school has district-approved policies and procedures.2. Special Education and related service staff are in place and are

highly qualified, appropriately certified.3. Special education related providers (school psychologist, OT PT, RN)

are on staff or on contract are appropriately credentialed.4. The total number of identified students are appropriately

proportionate to hired special education staff so that all identified students are able to receive a FAPE.

5. Special education staff, other related service providers, and/or other school staff have engaged in professional development as to special education and RTI procedures, process and practice.

6. School files are kept confidential, locked, up to date, accessible, and organized with appropriate information stored for the required length of time.

7. The school maintains an up-to-date, confidential, and accurate database of students with IEPs.

8. All required information is marked complete and attached in Enrich in a timely manner.

9. All IEPs are compliant as demonstrated by a review of 5 IEPs (transfer, annual, initial evaluation, and/or reevaluations).

10.All active IEPs are reviewed annually.

11.All reevaluations have been conducted within appropriate timelines.12.All active IEPs have documentation of progress monitoring at

intervals described in the IEP.13.Students receive services in accordance with their IEPs.14.Evaluations for initial eligibility are comprehensive, are conducted

by a multidisciplinary team, and contain evidence of previous research-based interventions.

15.Comparable services meetings occur within the first 5 school days after enrollment and services that are similar or equivalent to those that were described in the previous IEP are provided.

16.Transfer IEP meetings are conducted within 30 calendar days of enrollment.

17.The school has a means to track the removal of students for disciplinary reasons and to alert school staff when a student is approaching 10 days OSS.

18.All disciplinary removals of students with IEPs were done so in accordance with IDEA requirements and have been appropriately documented in Incident Management in PowerSchool.

19.The school has a means to document the provision of all accommodations and modifications required in IEPs.

20. All parents have been notified of their Procedural Safeguards at least annually.

21.Notices and other IDEA-required information have been presented to parents in understandable language (written language understandable by the general public and in the native language of the parent or other mode of communication used by the parent).

22.IDEA funds are used solely for district-approved IDEA related activities.

23.The school maintains an inventory of all equipment, materials, etc. purchased with special education funds throughout the life of the equipment.

24.The school submits timely and accurate data as required by Federal, State, and District reporting.

25.The school uses all forms required by the District.

SharePoint aka “The Bookshelf”

SharePoint

http://sccharter-public.sharepoint.com/

We’ve migrated from SharePoint to The Bookshelf

All policies and resources are on The Bookshelf

Enrich resources

Samples

Other guidance and resources



Let’s Talk Policies

Policies and Procedures As previously discussed, this year’s policies also include a section for the

insertion of school-level procedures.

Schools must adopt our policies.

July 2014: changes indicated by orange font

The areas that schools need to address are: Cover page (including school logo) Assurances (p. 4) Child Find (p. 12) Procedural Safeguards (p. 15) Monitoring of Suspensions (p. 21) IAES (p. 22) Serving students aged 21 (p. 35) Sending Paperwork (p. 35) LEA Designee (p. 36) Meeting Notices (p. 37) Transfers (p. 43)

School’s must submit your signed copies of their Policies and Procedures to your district coordinator by Friday, September 5th.

Putting the “I” in IEP

Transfers into the District

IEPs (Transfers)

VI (F)

Regardless of how the parent completes the enrollment information regarding previous special education services, it is the responsibility of the new school to verify whether or not the student received special education and related services in the previous district.

Since this is a transfer of educational records from the child’s previous LEA to the South Carolina Public Charter School District, no consent for release of documents is required.

Written, school-level procedures

How do you identify newly-enrolled students who have IEPs?

How/who requests records?Where do you request records from –

school versus district office?What happens if you don’t get records

within 5 days?Once you get records, what happens?

School Requirements Verify the student’s special education status with the previous school

district – even if the parent “marks no” Make this verification call to the former school

If you find out that the child has an IEP: Request full records:

At a minimum:

Current IEP

Most current evaluation/reevaluation report

Make request to the former district’s director of special education, not the school (contact list located in SharePoint)

If, after a few attempts and reasonable amount time, you do not receive IEP records, contact Robbie for assistance

New this year

Expired IEPs

ISPs

Comparable services meetings

Expired IEPs – this is a change

For IEPs expired within the past 6 months, provide comparable services May or may not need to initiate a reevaluation

For IEPs expired more than 6 months, provide comparable services and initiate a reevaluation to gather additional information to determine educational needs

ISPs(3) TRANSFERS WITH AN INDIVIDUAL SERVICES PLAN

IDEA requires that LEAs must develop and implement an Individual Services Plan (ISP) for each parentally-placed private school child with a disability who has been designated by the LEA in which the private school is located to receive special education and related services. (34 CFR § 300.132) The services plan must describe the specific special education and related services that the LEA will provide to the child in light of the services that the LEA has determined through the consultation process described below that it will make available to its population of parentally-placed private school children with disabilities. The services plan must, to the extent appropriate meet the requirements for IEPs and be developed, reviewed, and revised consistent with the same process for IEPs. The following applies to a child with a disability who transfers to the South Carolina Public Charter School District with an ISP:

Within five school days of enrollment for a child with a disability who transfers to the South Carolina Public Charter School District with an ISP from another district in South Carolina, the South Carolina Public Charter School District, in consultation with the parents, will provide a FAPE to the child, including services comparable to those described in the child’s ISP from the previous district. Because the previous LEA is responsible for providing equitable services and not a FAPE, the child’s newly designated IEP team in the South Carolina Public Charter School District would conduct a reevaluation planning meeting at the same time as the comparable services meeting to review existing information, including but not limited to, the most recent evaluation/reevaluation from the previous district, any draft IEP developed by the previous district, and the ISP, to determine what additional information, if any, was needed in order to develop and implement a new IEP. The team would obtain parent consent to gather any additional information determined to be needed.

Within thirty calendar days from the date of enrollment the South Carolina Public Charter School District will complete the reevaluation process and develop and implement a new IEP. When a child transfers with an ISP, eligibility has already been established in the previous district.

Comparable Services An IEP team determines comparable services through a meeting (not

the previous comparable services form) It involves two things:

Transfer IEP Parental Input

There are two meeting options: Full IEP meeting Agreement to amend IEP without a meeting

Comparable services meeting must take place within 5 days of enrollment

Comparable Services

Comparable services

Not going from 1950 minutes of special education services to 60 minutes

Not dropping the behavior/counseling goal because “we don’t do that here”

Not dropping the fine motor goal because “we don’t have an OT”

How do you determine comparable services?

http://sccharter-web.sharepoint.com/Documents/SPED%20Comparable%20Services%20Meeting.pdf

Between Comparable Services to 30-day meeting

Gather data . . . . .

Monitor/adjust . . . .

Try interventions . . . . .

Monitor/adjust . . . .

Gather Data . . . .

30-day IEP meeting

Team can only make changes if there are new data to support

making changes

IEPs (Transfers) VI (F)(1)

Within thirty calendar days from the date of enrollment the South Carolina Public Charter School District will:

adopt the child’s IEP from the previous LEA,

amend the child’s IEP from the previous LEA, or

develop and implement a new IEP.

Prior Written Noticesans meeting minutes

NEWS FLASH

No more minutes/meeting summary

So you will live and die by your PWN

The purpose of providing prior written notice to a parent is to:

provide comprehensive documentation of the proposed and refused actions made;

make sure the LEA and the parents are “on the same page” about a child’s educational program;

provide the parents with an opportunity to voice any concerns or suggestions;

provide sufficient information to ensure that the parent understands the rationale behind an LEA’s decision making regarding a particular proposed or refused action;

ensure that informed parental consent is obtained, as necessary;

assist the parent in determining the basis for any disagreement(s) with the proposed and/or refused actions addressed in the prior written notice and whether to seek resolution of any dispute through local dispute resolution procedures, a state complaint, mediation or a due process hearing.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) stated that the purpose for providing prior written notice is:

to ensure that a parent understands the special education and related services which an LEA has proposed or refused to provide to a student. If a parent does not understand the services being proposed, it follows that the parent could not have agreed to the proposed services.

Letter to Boswell, 49 IDELR 196, (OSEP 2007)

Regulatory Requirements Regarding theProvision of Prior Written NoticePWN shall be given to the parent(s) of a child with a disability within a reasonable time before the LEA proposes or refuses:

to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement (including graduation with a standard or advanced diploma) of the child;

or

the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for the child.

Examples of When Prior Written Notice Is Required

Evaluation/reevaluation Consent for evaluation

Student is found to be ineligible

Refusal to evaluate

Refusal to provide an independent educational evaluation (IEE)


Identification Initial categorical identification

Change in categorical identification

Termination of categorical identification


Placement Initial placement determination

Change in least restrictive environment along the continuum of placement alternatives

Refusal to change placement as requested by the parent

Change in placement due to parental placement of a student with a disability in a residential facility for non-educational reasons

When the brick and mortar placement location is in dispute

Change in placement due to disciplinary reasons


Provision of FAPE

After IEP has been proposed by the LEA

After IEP addendum without a meeting

Refusal to provide a specific instructional methodology requested by the parent

Change in services

Change in accommodations/modifications

Changes in transportation arrangements that are required for provision of FAPE

Change of testing to any alternative assessment method

Provision of “comparable services” when a student transfers into an LEA

Graduation with Standard or Advanced Diploma

Termination of services


Other Refusal to convene IEP team meeting after parental request

Revocation of parental consent

Refusal to provide services to a student who is parentally placed in a private school when the parent requests services that are not provided under what the LEA previously determined to be the “equitable services” that would be provided to such students

Transfer of rights at age of majority

Mandated Requirements of Prior Written Notice

1. a description of the action proposed or refused by the LEA .

2. an explanation of why the LEA proposes or refuses to take action.

3. a description of any other options the IEP team considered and the reasons for the rejection of those options.

4. a description of each evaluation procedure, assessment, record or report the LEA used as a basis for the proposed or refused action.

5. a description of any other factors that are relevant to the LEA ’s proposal or refusal.

6. a statement that the parent(s) of a child with a disability have protection under the procedural safeguards.

7. sources for the parent to contact in order to obtain assistance in understanding the provisions of the notice requirements.

Generally the PWN must:

be comprehensive enough to address each of the LEA ’s proposed and/or refused actions. The PWN should eliminate all doubts and/or misunderstandings.

provide support for decisions communicated within the notice.

specify the reasoning behind any proposed and/ or refused action.

include and describe the facts of the meeting in a neutral tone and should be void of emotional, judgmental, or speculative statements.

avoid the use of acronyms, such as, IDEA, LRE, and IEE, without proper explanation.

1. A description of the action proposed or refused by the LEA.

This mandated requirement appears to imply that a separate notice be completed for each proposed or refused action – however, there is nothing in the federal and or state special education laws and regulations which would prohibit an LEA from including all of its proposed and refused actions into a single prior written notice, as long as there is a description of each action that was proposed or refused.

The description provided should be written as a statement that is factually grounded or informative, rather than being written in a vague, generic, and normative format.

2. An explanation of why the LEA proposes orrefuses to take action.

This section of the prior written notice is where the LEA will detail its rationale for its proposed and/ or refused actions. It is from this section that the parent should understand how the LEA reached its decision on a specific action.

The prior written notice document must specify the reasoning behind the school’s decision to reject the opinions of individuals or providers outside of the school.

Ex: Alerting parents that the child’s IEP team has decided not to adopt the parent’s private provider’s recommendations may not be enough to guard the school division in a due process hearing.

Additionally, if there was more than one reason for each decision, the IEP team should include each reason why it is proposing and/or refusing a specific action.

3. A description of any other options the IEP team considered and the reasons for the rejection of those options.

In this section the school must describe in detail any other options which were considered and why they were rejected.

There may be instances in which no other options were considered, if so, avoid using the phrases “no other options considered,” “none,” or “not applicable” without an explanation.

4. A description of each evaluation procedure, assessment, record or report the LEA used as a basis for the proposed or refused action.

PWN must identify each evaluation procedure, assessment, record or report used as a basis for the proposed or refused action. If all of these are not identified the school is excluding critical information that the parents need in order to form the basis for providing their consent for a proposed action requiring their consent and/or filing a complaint, seeking mediation and/or a due process hearing to dispute the rationale for the proposed and/or refused action.

5. A description of any other factors that arerelevant to the LEA’s proposal or refusal.

In this section the school must describe in detail any other relevant factors that were used by the IEP team, in formulating its decision to propose and/or refuse an action.

Other factors that may affect an LEA’s proposed and/or refused action include, but are not limited to, language and/or cultural issues, communication concerns, health concerns, behavior concerns, consideration of the harmful effects of the program or placement proposed and/or refused, and assistive technology.

There may be instances, however, in which no other factors were relevant to the proposed and/ refused action that were not already addressed in the other elements of the prior written notice. If so, avoid simply writing “not applicable.”

Use of a complete statement will provide the parent with strong documentation that this question was reviewed in completing the PWN and, if there were no other relevant factors considered, remove any doubt.

6. A statement that the parent(s) of a child with a disability have protection under the procedural safeguards.

You will need to add at statement to meet this requirement (meets numbers 6 & 7):

Students with disabilities and their parents have protection under the procedural safeguards of IDEA. A copy of these procedural safeguards and, if needed, assistance in understanding the provisions of the procedural safeguards may be obtained, by contacting the student's special educator, building administrator, SC Public Charter School District’s Office of Special Education at 803-734-8067, the SC Department of Education, Office of Special Education Services, Ombudsman at 803-734-2833, or PRO-Parents 652 Bush River Rd # 203, Columbia, SC 29210-7573 (803) 772-5688.

7. Sources for the parent to contact in order to obtain assistance in understanding the provisions of the notice requirements.

This section of the PWN explicitly requires that the school division identify specific sources for the parent to contact should they need assistance. Therefore, the names of the individuals and/or the office within the school division that is most appropriate for the parent to contact should be clearly identified.

We have created auto-texts for this in Enrich.

Timeliness of Prior Written Notice -Generally

PWN shall be given to the parent(s) of a child with a disability within a reasonable time before the LEA proposes or refuses an action related to the identification, evaluation, educational placement, or provision of FAPE to a child with a disability.

Such notice must be given to parents a reasonable time before the agency implements that action, but after the agency’s decision on the proposal or refusal has been made.

Federal and/or state special education laws and regulations do not define what would be deemed as a reasonable time.

Means of Providing Prior Written Notice

The PWN form is provided in Enrich. You must use the PWN in Enrich.

The following formats for delivery of the PWN to the parent are permissible: (i) formal letter through the USPS; (ii) hand delivered at the meeting; or (iii) e-mail.

Parental Disagreement With the Contents of the PWN

The PWN is completed by the LEA, not the parents. It is based on the information which was provided by the parent, along with other members of the team, orally and/or written, during the decision making processes associated with the evaluation, identification, placement, and provision of FAPE for their child.

Parents do not have the right to require that something be included in the PWN. Neither do the parent(s) have an overriding veto regarding what the school has chosen to include in the PWN.

In plain language, parents cannot require an LEA to add, subtract, or otherwise include information in the PWN if the LEA does not deem it necessary.

Changes in an IEP cannot be implemented until the parent has received the

PWN

PWNs

THE IEP: Present Levels

There must be a link throughout the complete IEP. The link begins with the present level and it expands to all areas:

Accommodations

Services

Annual Goals

LRE

PSGs

. . .

The Link

PLAAFP

Foundation of the IEP

All the rest of the IEP is built on these

Must include an individualized statement of how the disability affects the child’s progress in the general education setting

Can’t just be a statement that says, “John’s learning disability adversely impacts his access and progress in the general curriculum”

Must be

Current

Data-based

Descriptive

Understandable

Annual Goals

Annual Goals Annual goals, or objectives, CANNOT have a mastery statement that says:

As evidenced by an increase on MAP by 5 points

As evidenced by passing the PASS (or HSAP)

As measured by a passing grade in Math.

As measured by a final grade of 83% in English IV

As shown by a standard score increase of 5 points on the Woodcock-Johnson.

By meeting 4 out of the 5 short-term objectives.

For all the measurements above - MAP, PASS, HSAP, grades in class, and Woodcock-Johnson, the score reflects a global score and not a specific skill deficit. A RIT score cannot tell you if the child can tell time on a clock.

The MAP, PASS, HSAP, and Woodcock Johnson are not meant to be given 4 times a year which is at least how often we need to be measuring progress and sending home progress reports.

For passing a class . . . This is EVERY KID’s goal . . . There is nothing “special” about that education.

Which objective is not important?

Individual Student Progress Monitoring and Progress Reports

Probes or Assessments in IEPs

A baseline, or starting point, is a requirement (meaning not optional) in all findings for all areas of need in IEPs.

Probes establish the present level and monitor student progress.

Best practice is to triangulate the data using at least three sources of data to establish an area of need. At least one probe indicating a weakness is required.

Different Assessments/Evaluations

Summative (systems)

PASS

HSAP

EOC

Discipline

Unit Test

Formative

(probes/progress monitoring) CBM

CBA

Direct Observations

Common Assessments

Purpose

“When the cook tastes the soup, that formative; when the guests taste the soup,

that’s summative.”Robert Stake

“As the cook, or teacher, we need to stop and taste the soup before we move forward with instruction. We need to design instruction so students can press the reset button and go back to learn what they missed the first time. We can use many techniques to assess student achievement and understanding.”

What Are Differences Between Traditional Assessments and Student Progress Monitoring? Traditional Assessments:

Tests typically are lengthy.

Tests are administered on an infrequent basis.

Teachers do not receive immediate feedback, and feedback may not inform instructional planning.

Student scores are based on national scores and averages.

Defining Student Progress Monitoring

Progress monitoring involves ongoing data collection on skills that are important to student success

to estimate student rates of improvement and to identify students who are not demonstrating

adequate progress

in order to alter instructional variables to better meet the needs of individual students.

Teachers should use progress monitoring (probes), to design more effective, individualized instructional programs for struggling learners.

Data-Based Decision Making: Progress Monitoring

Progress Monitoring involves individual (or class-wide/school-wide) assessment:

Used to demonstrate student/class rate of improvement in the curriculum and to identify students whose growth is inadequate

Aids teachers in determining when instructional modifications may be necessary

Samples skills in the year-long curriculum OR encompasses global behavior that predicts proficiency in the curriculum

Administration schedule may vary by student/class, depending on perceived need--from twice weekly to once monthly

Why Is Progress Monitoring Important?

Research has demonstrated that when teachers use progress monitoring for instructional decision-making purposes:

students achieve more teacher decision making improves

students tend to be more aware of their performance

(e.g., see Fuchs, Deno, Mirkin, 1984; L. S. Fuchs, Fuchs, Hamlett, & Ferguson, 1992; L. S. Fuchs, Fuchs, Hamlett, & Stecker, 1991; Stecker, Fuchs, & Fuchs,

2005)

Curriculum-Based Measurement: A Specific Form of Progress Monitoring

CBM is a scientifically validated form of student progress monitoring that incorporates standard methods for test development, administration, scoring, and data utilization

CBM has nearly 30 years of research to support its effectiveness

Several computerized or Web-based versions of progress monitoring are based on principles of CBM

Using CBM to Write IEPs

Eliminates focus on short-term “mastery” objectives and directs attention to monitoring student progress toward long-term goal

Improves special education accountability and effectiveness

Typical CBM IEP Monitors student performance with respect to

the year-end goal

Tests remain the same--of equivalent difficulty

Technical advantages for quantifying progress with CBM: automatically indexes maintenance (and

generalization) of skills research demonstrates strong reliability and validity scores are “equivalent” units so rate of progress

can be determined IEP is manageable and incorporates ambitious goal

that stimulates better achievement

Writing IEP Goals (and Objectives) with CBM Data

Time “In 30 weeks…”

Condition “… given 25 problems representing the

second grade curriculum, …” Learner

“..Jose’…” Behavior

“… will write …” Criterion

“…37 correct digits in 2 minutes.”

Setting Appropriate Goals

1. Consider normative data for typical growth rates across the year.

2. Consider level of performance appropriate for grade level.

3. CBM decision rule helps teachers know when goals should be raised.

Using an Aimline

Moira, Grade 3

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Trendline Shows the general “trend” or trajectory of the

student’s data so far Web-based programs typically use an Ordinary Least Squares

regression line

AIMSweb, DIBELS data system, Excel

Need approx. 7 to 9 data points

Trendlines on few data points or on highly variable data are NOT reliable!!!

Christ, T. (2006). Short term estimates of growth using CBM ORF: Estimating Standard Error of Slope to construct confidence intervals. School Psychology Review, 35(1) 128-133.

Moira, Grade 3

y = -0.8x + 64.6

R2 = 0.0623

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TRENDLINE

Trendline and Aimline

How Much Progress is “Enough”? What is “adequate” progress?

Criterion referenced

Will student meet goal? In reasonable amount of time?

Growth is at or above “target” growth rate

Norm referenced

Growth is at or above growth of grade level peers

Individually referenced

Growth is better than before

“Intervention”/research referenced

Growth is similar to what was seen in research on this intervention (with similar population)

Standard Decision Rules

Draw trend line of student progress (e.g., Tukey method) for 7-8 data points and compare to the student’s goal line Trend is not as steep as the goal line, make a teaching

change Trend is steeper than the goal line, raise the goal

May use “four-point rule” if at least three weeks of instruction have occurred and the last four scores collected all fall above or below the goal line Four most recent scores all fall below the goal line,

make a teaching change Four most recent scores all fall above the total line,

raise the goal

84

Remember: Garbage IN…. Garbage OUT….

Make sure your data have integrity or they won’t be good fer nuthin…

Training

Integrity checks/refreshers

Well chosen measures and materials

IEPs (Progress Reports)

The South Carolina Public Charter School District will report to the parents the child’s progress towards each annual goal at a frequency defined by the IEP, but in no case less than progress is reported to the child’s non-disabled peers. The reporting may be carried out in writing or through a meeting with the parents (including documentation of information shared at the meeting)

Must be every 9 weeks (at a minimum)

Must be based on data; can’t just have a general statement that says “progressing” or “may meet annual goal by end of the year” without data to support.

Accommodations

Accommodations

If it’s listed as a testing accommodation, it MUST be listed as an instructional accommodation and used by the student during typical instruction.

Must have a method of documenting the provision of accommodations from the IEPHow are you going to answer a parent, district

staff, SDE staff, OCR, … when we ask, “How do I know the student received the accommodations?”

Oral Administration ReminderCriteria that the IEP team must consider when recommending oral/signed administration as an accommodation for SCPASS: The accommodation is necessary to provide access to the

assessment due to the student’s disability (e.g., the student has a specific disability that severely limits or prevents the student from reading text at any level of difficulty even after varied and repeated attempts to teach the student to do so);

The student is a non-reader and not simply reading below grade level; and

The student uses oral administration through a reader or electronic format routinely for instruction and assessment or receives signed administration presented through a sign language interpreter for routine instruction and assessment

Oral Administration Reminder

This is NOT NEW Revisit during annual reviews

Documentation

Services Logs in Enrich – The added value

relating to IEPs

Service Logs

Common way of tracking contracted services like Speech, OT, PT, etc.

Keeps an active account of each time a child is seen and what is reviewed, taught or keeps track of student performance.

Services rendered – an easy way to prove that a child received services related to their IEP Service Area. (State Audit, OCR, Complaints)

What Are Essential Steps that must be completed to LOG Services?

Services must have a provider assigned to them Services must be marked as NON-Billable Services must have one or more of the three options defined

Treatment (OT, PT, Nurse)

Progress (any)

Goals (if applicable, can be linked)

Let’s go in to ENRICH and LOOK!

Watch the process carefully

Think about contracted staff

Realize the potential this has to alleviate any concerns regarding service provision

Take note of process and what it creates (LOG)

FAPE Continuum

Every “eligible child” under IDEA is entitled to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) through the services of his/her IEP.

Charter schools are expected to provide a continuum of services and placement options. Not a FULL continuum in every school, but a

continuum.

Continuum of Services

Continuum of Services The district has the responsibility to provide a full continuum

of services.

This is a IEP team decision that involves district office staff.

These are handled case-by-case.

Contact Robbie immediately when you have had a child enroll and been accepted to your school who is coming with intensive services and supports.

Referral Process (Child Find)

Child Find Procedures

In accordance with federal law, the South Carolina Public Charter School District assumes responsibility for the location, identification and evaluation of all children age 3 and 21 who are enrolled in any of the schools chartered with the South Carolina Public Charter School District and who reside within the State of South Carolina and who require special education and related services. This includes children who are suspected of having a disability even though they are advancing from grade to grade (34 C.F.R. § 300.111(a)(c)).

Child Find Must be publicized Easiest way to do this is on your school’s website

See district-provided sample

Could send this out in the school newsletter Post on bulletin boards at school Must include information about how parents and

staff refer a child for an evaluation if there is a reason to suspect the child may have a disability under IDEA (contact name, contact information)

Must also include contact information for the school district in which your school is located or a link to the OEC coordinators’ list

Child Find Regardless of whether the parent supports the

referral or not, school staff is required by state and federal laws to refer the child for an evaluation This means gathering the referral information

Scheduling an evaluation planning meeting

Requesting consent to evaluate

The parent has the right to deny consent to evaluate Typically this stops the process*

Initial Evaluations

Student Name: Grade: Teacher:

Referral Packet Checklist I tems Needed Included

in Packet Referral Form: Parent Request (required if parent makes the request; optional if the school is making the request)

Referral Form: Teacher Request (required for all referrals)

SIT (RTI ) I nformation, including progress monitoring data

Developmental History Vision Screening Hearing Screening Other Relevant info (previous I EP, 504 Plan, outside evaluation reports, MAP or PASS Scores, etc.)

Student Grade Report Attendance I nformation Discipline Referrals* Behavioral I nterventions and progress monitoring data* Additional * if the referral concerns social/emotional issues, then these are required.

Student’s Name:

Submitted by:

My name above indicates that I certify that I have reviewed the information in the attached forms to ensure that all required information is included.

Referral Packets These are to be sent to your District Special Education

Coordinator Packets must be complete Referral information must be gathered promptly when

there is reason to suspect the child may have a disability A referral cannot be delayed to implement RtI process if

there is a reason to suspect the child may have a disability

If the child has not been through the RtI/SIT process prior to referral, you’ll have to run the RtI process during the evaluation process The RtI progress monitoring data become part of the evaluation

process

Initial Evaluation Review existing information (special education

referral/evaluation planning meeting) Determine whether additional information, if any, is

needed If yes, get Parent Consent to Evaluate and give PWN Gather additional information within 60 calendar days Review all information and determine eligibility/need

within 15 days of completing the evaluation Get Parent Consent for Initial Provision of Special

Education Services Develop an IEP within 30 days of eligibility determination Implement IEP as soon as possible, but must be after

PWN is provided

Permission to Evaluate

If the team determines that additional information must be collected in order to determine eligibility, the team must get informed written consent to evaluate before gathering this additional information

YOU CANNOT GET CONSENT TO EVALUATE UNTIL THE EVALUATION PLANNING TEAM HAS

MET AND DETERMINED WHAT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THE TEAM NEEDS; UNTIL THE

TEAM MAKES THESE DECISIONS, THE PARENT DOES NOT KNOW WHAT HE/SHE IS GIVING

CONSENT FOR

Permission to Evaluate If you do not get consent to evaluate signed at the

special education referral/evaluation planning meeting, document the date you received the consent

Your receipt of the consent starts the 60-day evaluation timeline

If the parent REFUSES consent to evaluate, contact Beckie

If you make reasonable efforts to obtain consent to evaluate (and document these attempts) and the parent does not respond, contact Beckie to discuss how to proceed These attempts should be made within the 3 weeks following

the evaluation planning meeting

DO NOT let this drag out for more than 3 weeks

Reevaluations

Questions to be answered by a reevaluation

Does the student continue to have a disability or to have an additional disability?

Does the student continue to need sp ed?

What are the student’s present levels of education need?

Do any changes need to be made to the IEP?

Reevaluations

Same process as initial evaluation:Review existing dataDetermine whether additional info is neededGet consent if need additional infoReview all info and determine continued

eligibility/needSign the report

Revise IEP, if needed

Permission to Reevaluate If the team determines that additional information

must be collected in order to answer the reevaluation questions, the team must get informed written consent to reevaluate before gathering this additional information

If the parent REFUSES consent to reevaluate, contact Beckie

If the team makes reasonable efforts to obtain consent to reevaluate (and documents these attempts) and the parent does not respond, the team can go ahead and gather the additional information without parent consent

If the team suspects the child may be eligible under an additional disability

category, involve your school psychologist and/or speech-language therapist during the initial reevaluation planning meeting

ResponsibilitiesResponsibilities

Gathering additional information

The school special education coordinator is responsible for coordinating all initial evaluations and reevaluations and ensuring that the evaluations and reevaluations are completed within time lines This means coordinating any outside assessment the team has

requested (OT, speech, doctor’s documentation for OHI, school psychologist)

You must have a school psychologist present for all initial evaluation planning and eligibility meetings (except for speech-only evaluations where you must have an SLT)

Staff assigned to gather additional information as part of initial evaluations and reevaluations are responsible for notifying you as soon as he/she has gathered his/her assigned information

Role as Special Education Coordinator

To complete the gathering of additional information within the specified time line, this may mean you’ve got to

NAG, NAG, NAG

Evaluations/Reevaluations

As the special education coordinator, you are

responsible for ensuring the completion of the evaluation within 60

calendar days regardless of when these days fall (winter break, spring break, summer,…)

Signatures

Make sure to note anyone who attended via phone conference

Disciplining Students with Disabilities

DISCIPLINE AND SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES


School administrators are given authority to discipline students. Each school has a Code of Conduct that informs students of school rules and discipline procedures.

The Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and South Carolina law tell the school administrators what steps must be taken when disciplining a student with a disability.

If a student has an Individual Education Program (IEP) or a 504 plan, then there are special procedures that the school district must follow when disciplining that student.


Students with disabilities can be suspended for up to 10 days like any other students. However, students with disabilities have special rights if the school wants to suspend them for more than 10 days or expel them. Expulsion and suspensions over 10 days have such an effect on a special education student that they are considered a change in placement.

School services for a child in special education must be decided by the student’s whole IEP team. The IEP team includes the child’s parent as well as school members. So, a school cannot just decide on its own to change a student’s placement.

MANIFESTATION MEETING

If a school wants to expel or suspend a student over 10 days, it must call a meeting of the IEP team. This meeting is known as a “manifestation meeting,” and it must be held within 10 school days of the school’s notice of suspension over 10 days or expulsion. This meeting is to determine if the behavior was caused by, or had a direct and substantial relationship to the child’s disability. The IEP team should also look to see if the child’s IEP was being followed.

****FBA/BIP, Accommodations, Parental Contact, Documentation

If the IEP team decides that the behavior was a manifestation of the student’s disability, the district cannot expel the student or suspend them for over 10 days. If the behavior was NOT a manifestation, the district CAN expel or suspend the student for over 10 days. The student will still be entitled to educational services while suspended or expelled.

Discipline of students with disabilities is the most litigious area of special education.

This area of IDEA is poorly defined and clear as mud.

Schools should develop an internal process to alert administrators to the fact that it’s a child with a disability and the number of days of ISS and OSS.

Any changes of placement because of behavior involves a member of the district office staff.

When in doubt, call.

Reminders

Restraint and Time Out

2 state workers charged with breaking youth’s arm

Two state Department of Juvenile Justice employees were arrested and charged with breaking a juvenile’s arm while restraining him, State Law Enforcement Division officials said.

Roy E. Alston, 47, of Gaston and Conrad Jacob Pearson, 32, of Irmo were each charged Tuesday with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.

According to warrants, a juvenile asked for medicine on June 16,2004, and was ignored by the employees. As punishment, they took him to a room and told him to follow additional orders, but he refused. The employees restrained him, causing the injury, the warrants stated.

The State : 07/22/2005

Remember:

An incident moves to a whole new level when a staff member puts his/her hands on a student!

Procedures

Physical restraint should only be used when the student is posing immediate physical danger to self or others. (Not when he is obnoxious, noncompliant, or destroying objects).

Only staff members holding current CPI

certification should restrain students and they should use CPI techniques.

News Flash!!!!

The District will support you only if you use CPI approved techniques when you are restraining a student.

Warning: A lot of our schools have cameras . . . So be aware.

CYA

Following a physical restraint, the student must be examined by the school nurse (or administrator) before going home. The nurse should document the exam.

Documentation

Administrators and parents should be verbally informed of the restraint the day it occurs.

Call mom before she hears the student’s version of the story.

Within 24 Hours, written description of the incident should be given to the administrator and to the parent.

In Addition:

When there is a recurring need to restrain a student, it must be included in the IEP (FBA/BIP).

Nothing in the procedure prevents a staff member from using reasonable force to protect a student or staff member from imminent serious harm.

Time Out Procedures

Time Out is a technique that moves a student from a highly rewarding environment to a less reinforcing situation.

It works because the student wants to return to the class he finds rewarding.

FLASH !!!!

Time Out will backfire if the student finds the classroom boring or negative.

The student may even do things to get put in Time Out to escape the class!

Time Out Continuum

Remains in the group but can only observe.

Removed from group, still in the room.

Removed from room.Placed in Seclusion Time Out.Placed in a Locked Time Out

Seclusion Time Out:

Places the student in a room away from others.

Must be in the IEP ( FBA/BIP).

Should be done by someone with CPI training.

Rules For Seclusion Time Out

The Room must:Be well VentilatedFree of Objects Allow for continuous staff

monitoringBe of sufficient space and heightWindow made of safety glass, not

wire glass.

A student can be placed in locked Time Out only if:

The lock is electromagnetic and automatically disengages during a fire alarm.

OR

A staff member continually holds the mechanism locking the door.

ORThe door is secured by a latch and the

staff member is continually holding the latch.

Warning: Don’t get in a tug of war with a student when using a latched door. The door could slam on the student’s or your hand causing injury.

Documentation

The administrator and parent need to be informed of a seclusion time out.

A log should be kept of how often Time Out is used.

The IEP Team should review the practice if Time Out is frequently needed.

For more information

See S/R document from South Carolina Department of Education.

http://ed.sc.gov/agency/programs-services/173/documents/8-3-2012SeclusionRestraint.pdf

Potpourri

Confidentiality

Confidentiality/FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act) and

IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)

A Legal Protection of Privacy

A child’s educational records often contain private personal information about the child and the family

Confidentiality of Records

In the course of determining a child’s eligibility for special education services and designing a program to meet the child’s needs, schools may acquire a good bit of information about a child.

This information includes social and medical history. As well as medical and other personal information about the student and other members of the family

FERPA (Confidentiality)

Family Education Rights and Privacy Act

Key Legal Terms “Need to Know”

those with “legitimate educational interest” This is considered to be those who act in the student’s educational interest, including faculty, administrators, clerical and professional employees, and other persons who manage student record information.

“Personally Identifiable Information”

anything that identifies a specific child.

Example: If there is only one blond boy in the school and you say, “that blond kid in my class did this,” you have violated the FERPA.

“Educational Record”

Must be connected in some way to personally identifiable information and must be shared with another school district employee or placed in an filing system owned by the district. Beware, even sometimes, personal notes may be subpoenaed.

Viewing Student Records

Must have a need to know in order to view student records

The superintendent cannot look at student files unless he or she has a need to know, even though they are the highest ranking official of the district.

When in doubt, don’t!

It’s okay to ask for help and support.

Sharing Student Records

Use the “need to know” standard

Some people do not need permission Examples of people who do not need permission:

School Districts in which a student is seeking to enroll. Biological parents Adoptive parents Legal guardian

Individual acting as a parent in the absence of a natural parent or guardian

DSS, when reporting abuse or neglect.

Some people need written permission Examples of people who do need permission:

Outside private agencies Family members not meeting the definition of a parent. Physicians

When in doubt, don’t!

FERPA Examples

Casual conversation in the teacher’s lounge, hall, etc.

Sharing with your friends or family members

Sharing with the student’s friends or non-guardian family members

Can’t talk to grandma, aunt, etc. unless they are acting as the custodial parent or guardian

The South Carolina Public Charter School District keeps a record of parties obtaining access to education records collected, maintained or used under Part B of the IDEA (except access by parents and authorized employees of the participating agency), including the name of the party, the date access was given and the purpose for which the party is authorized to use the records. The South Carolina Public Charter School District, including each school within, maintains a list of authorized employees who have access to educational records.

Each school needs to maintain a list of “authorized employees”

For everyone else who is not “authorized” they will need to sign showing access to the file.

The samples can be found on SharePoint.

Sample School File “Check out” Procedures

Complete the orange “check out” sheet included in every active district file by providing… The date the file was removed

The name of the person removing and keeping the file

The reason the file was removed

Place the orange card in the student’s empty hanging file

To return files… Provide the date

cross out the entire line

Return the orange “check out” card to the front of the file

Place the file in the student’s hanging file

A Sample Form is included on SharePoint

FERPA

Additional FERPA training and resources will be discussed and made available during the monthly coordinator meetings.

Exiting from Enrich

Exiting

Here are the only options for exiting a child with an IEP:

No Longer Eligible for Services

ONLY done through a reevaluation

Certain services (SLP/OT/PT) can be ceased through reevaluation

No consent required to exit a child

Graduates with a high school diploma

Moved know to be continuing (transferred to another district)

Reached maximum age (21)

Drops Out

Dies

Revokes consent for ALL SERVICES under IDEA (District handles this one – send your signed revocation form to Mr. V.)

No such thing as revoking certain services

Medicaid

Medicaid

Following the on-site SDE visit, we no longer bill for Medicaid.

If you have questions about Medicaid, please contact Robbie.

EFA Coding and PowerSchool

EFA Coding for Students with Disabilities

South Carolina Education Finance Act of 1977

What does this mean? In order to enter into PowerSchool an EFA Disability-Related

code (a code that carries a higher weight than the base EL, MS, and HS codes), the child must:

Have a current IEP

Match the EFA Disability-Related Code on the cover page of the IEP*

Meet the minimum number of minutes of instructional time per week as decided upon by the IEP based on the unique needs of the child

*not necessary the primary disability, but the highest weighted disability.

EFA Weights

EFA Coding for Students with Disabilities IDEA does not say that all children must have an IEP that has at least 250

minutes a week in order to qualify for special education.

IDEA does not say that all children who attend a particular program/school have “carbon-copied” IEPs.

IDEA does not define the services based on the disability category.

IDEA does not define a ratio of direct to indirect services.

IDEA does say that an individualized plan must be developed in order for the child to:

Have access to the general curriculum

Be instructed in the general curriculum

Progress through the general curriculum

EFA Coding for Students with Disabilities With this said:

The only students who can have disability-related EFA codes listed in PowerSchool are the ones with:

current IEPs

AND

Meet the minimum number of special education services per week (250 minutes per week for all categories, except speech which is a minimum of 50 minutes per week of speech services)

This is something that is checked during the District’s monitoring.

Understand that we will check your documentation of indirect services

EFA

A school leader or special education coordinator CANNOT under any circumstances require that IEPs be changed to increase the number of minutes in order to receive EFA funds.

As with all decisions on IEPs, the number of minutes each student receives MUST be made by the team and be based on data and nothing else – not parent request, administrative convenience, funding, …. Both state and district staff will be monitoring this as part of the

compliance review

Data for all decisions made by an IEP team must be readily available to support decisions made

IDEA Funds

IDEA Funds

Mostly same process as last year:

October (receive allocation)

School’s develop budget

One amendment (end of March)

NO EQUIPMENT may be purchased with Fund 203 without prior approval from the district (Director of Student Services)

Changes:

Principal will sign assurances

District will monitor use of IDEA Fund

Data Reports

What to Expect

Tables 1 & 3 (December 1 Count): October/November

Table 2 (personnel): February

Table 6 (Assessment): March, April, and May

ESY: June 2013

Table 5 (discipline): June 2013

Indicator 7 (COSF): June 2013

Indicator 11 (60-day timeline): July 2013

Table 4 (Exit): July 2013

The yearly calendar is found on SharePoint

Monthly Coordinator Web Meetings

It is expected that schools’ special education coordinators are in attendance.

The calendar is found on SharePoint.

The meetings are on the 2nd Monday of the month at 2:30pm

Monthly Web Coordinator Meetings

Questions?

If we don’t know the answer, we’ll be glad to make it up!