Special Education 101

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Special Education 101

• Nori Cuellar Mora, Ed.D.
• ESC2
• Nori.mora_at_esc2.us
• Associate Director of Instructional Services
• 361-561-8501
• December 7, 2007

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Introduction
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Agenda

• IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
• Disabilities Identification
• The Principal as ARD Chair
• State Performance Plan Indicators
• Final Thoughts

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Objectives

• Understand the premise of IDEA Individuals with
  Disabilities Education Act
• Become familiar with the process for identifying
  disabilities in order to make appropriate
  decisions for referring students to special
  education
• Practice chairing an Admission, Review and
  Dismissal (ARD) Committee Principal as ARD Chair
• Become familiar with the State Performance Plan
  Indicators as to how they relate to the campus
  plan
• Think of what you will share at your next staff
  meeting

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Change . . .
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Acronym Activity
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• Sometimes it is all in how you
• read something

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Administrative Expectations
What will you be doing???? Here are some
assignments as reported by principals currently
in the field.
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Survey done of 200 principals across the state of
Texas reported on how much of a typical day is
spent on special education issuesAmount of
time/day Up to 25 24.3 26
50 21.3 51 74 13.5 75 or more 38.3
Dr. Debra Bravenecs Study for Dissertation
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IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Special Education The Child-Centered Process
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Definition of Special Education
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Special Education

• Specially designed instruction,
• At no cost to the parents,
• To meet the unique needs of the student

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Specially Designed Instruction

• Adapting as appropriate, to the needs of an
  eligible child, the content, methodology or
  delivery of instruction
• To address the unique needs of the child that
  result from the disability
• To ensure access of the child to the general
  curriculum to meet the standards that apply to
  all children

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CFR 300.26

• This definition and the laws governing special
  education in the nations schools are outlined by
  the Federal government.

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Special Education

• it is personnel
• curriculum
• methodology

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Special Education

• is not a place.

• Its a SERVICE!!

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IDEIA says that a school must

• find and identify students who may have a
  disability
• make sure parents participate in decision making
• evaluate students in a nondiscriminatory way
• develop an individualized education plan for each
  student

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• decide what special instruction and related
  services the school district will provide
• make placement decisions
• develop a transition plan for adult activities,
  including job opportunities
• maintain education records/files and
• have hearings/appeals for complaints and
  grievances.

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Pre-referral
Referral
Special Ed.
G E N E R A L
FIE / Yearly evaluation
Implementation
ARD
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Principles of IDEA
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Principles of IDEA

• Identification
• FAPE free appropriate public education
• Due Process
• Nondiscriminatory evaluation
• Individualized education program
• Least restrictive environment
• Parent/Guardian Surrogate Consultation
• Personnel Development, Inservice
• Confidentiality

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IDEA Recognized Disabilities
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Disability categories in Texas(your students may
carry one or more of these labels)

• MD
• DB
• TBI
• OI
• SI
• Deaf
• NCEC (Texas only)

• MR
• OHI
• AI
• VI / Blind
• AU
• LD
• ED

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Students served in Texas public schools by
disability

• Learning Disabilities 57.9---- 46.81 (2007)
• Speech Impairments 15.5---19.34 (2007)
• Mental Retardation 5.6----5.74 (2007)
• Emotional Disturbance 7.9---7.16 (2007)
• Other Health Impaired 7.8----11.71 (2007)
• Multiple Disabilities 1-----1.03 (2007)
• Autism 1-----3.88 (2007)
• Hearing Impaired 1----1.49 (2007)
• Orthopedically Impaired 1 ----0.98 (2007)
• Traumatic Brain Injury Less than 1
  (.0018)----0.27 (2007)
• Visually Impaired Less than 1
  (.005)----0.72(2007)
• Deaf/Blind Less than 1 (.00016) 0.02 (2007)

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What is happening in Special Education?
http//www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/data/
http//www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/
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Do I really HAVE to do this?
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Child-Centered Process
How do we get from general education to special
education?
Reflect on your campus process for referring
students to special education. What does that
look like? Write the major steps down.
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Appropriate Curriculum

• What is the curriculum for Texas schools?

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Research tells us that if we intervene at the
beginning point of difficulty with intensive,
appropriate instruction special education
referrals would be reduced by 50.
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Pre-referral
504
Referral to Special Ed.
G E N E R A L
FIE / Yearly evaluation
Implementation
ARD
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Pre-referral Process (Early Intervention Process)

• Who?
• What?
• Where?
• When?
• How long?
• Response to Intervention Model

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A Sense of Urgency

• A student in the 10th percentile reads about
  60,000 words a year in 5th grade
• A student at the 50th percentile reads about
  900,000 words in a year in 5th grade
• Average students receive about 15 times as much
  practice in a year
• Growth in fluency requires a lot of accurate
  practice

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So, Youre The ARD Chair?
What kind of Chair are you?
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Think, Share, Pair
What statements should you ALWAYS hear at an
ARD?

• What statements
• should you NEVER
• hear at an ARD?

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IEPIndividual Educational Program
Background information to strengthen the
administrators role at ARD meetings!
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Who is on the IEP team?

• Parent(s)
• Regular Education teacher
• Special Education teacher
• Administrator
• Evaluation personnel
• Student
• Others

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What would you do?

• Superintendent calls you to meet with him at
  1000 a.m.
• You have had a scheduled ARD for over a week on
  your calendar for the same time.
• It is 945 a.m. and your sped teacher is asking
  for you to come to the meeting room.

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Individualized Educational Program
Appropriate Education
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What does the IEP have to have?

• PLAFP (Present Levels of Academic and Functional
  Performance)
• Measurable annual goals
• Special education related services
• Accommodations

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• Level of state assessment
• Dates services are to be provided
• Participation
• School activities
• Transition
• Progress
• Age of Majority

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What would you do?

• The ARD meeting is in full swing, and the special
  education teacher does not review the annual
  goals for the child and says she will create them
  later.

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Least Restrictive Environment
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LRELeast Restrictive Environment

• Each state shall establish
• procedures to assure that, to the maximum extent
  appropriate, children with disabilities are
  educated with children who are not disabled,

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• and that special classes, separate schooling, or
  other removal of children with disabilities from
  the regular educational environment occurs
• only when the nature or severity of the
  disability is such that education in regular
  classes
• with the use of supplementary aids and services
• cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

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What would you do?

• The ARD committee begins the meeting by stating
  that little Joey will be served in the resource
  room for math because they have a great teacher
  to meet his needs.

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To ensure LRE, the State...

• Uses a system of placement neutral funding
• Performance Based Monitoring and SPP for LRE
  compliance
• Clearer definition for supplementary aids and
  services
• Emphasizes the participation of students with
  disabilities in the general curriculum

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• May use funds to pay for the costs of special
  education and related services and supplementary
  aids and services provided in a regular classroom
  or other education-related setting
• Students with disabilities be included in
  statewide assessment (including a statement as to
  what modifications will be necessary in order for
  the student to participate).
• Performance goals which are consistent with goals
  and standards for other children

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Most Important part.

• Provide students with disabilities an appropriate
  education. This law has a clear preference for
  educating them in general education classrooms
  with their non-disabled peers and removing them
  from this setting only when an appropriate
  education there cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

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Special education is not services based upon
administrative convenience. Build for the
individual students needs you shouldnt try to
squash the child into an existing program!
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Legal Framework

• . . . The answer to most of your questions!!

http//fw.esc18.net/frameworkdisplayportlet/
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State Performance Plan

• Part of the Accountability System--- why every
  decision a principal has to make is so important!

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Overview of SPP

• Six year plan submitted to OSEP.
• Evaluates the states efforts to implement IDEA
• Illustrates how the state will continuously
  improve
• Annual Performance Report (APR) shows progress on
  measurable and rigorous targets and improvement
  activities

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OSEP Determinations for Texas

• Meets Requirements
• Needs Assistance Texas
• Needs Intervention
• Needs Substantial Intervention

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• TEAs Determination Criteria for LEAs
• Performance on SPP compliance indicators (2008)
• Whether data submitted by LEAs is valid,
  reliable, and timely
• Uncorrected noncompliance from other sources
  (complaints resolution, due process, and
  monitoring
• Any audit findings.

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5 Monitoring Priorities20 Indicators
(Performance and Compliance)

• FAPE in the LRE
• Disproportionality
• Child Find
• Transition
• General Supervision

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TEA Public Reporting

• 1. Graduation2. Dropout3A-C. Adequate Yearly
  Progress4A-B. Suspension/Expulsion5A-C.
  Educational Environment, Ages 6-216. Educational
  Environment, Ages 3-57A-C. Early Childhood
  Outcomes8. Parent Participation9.
  Disproportionality in the sped program10.
  Disproportionality by specific disability11.
  Child Find12. Early Childhood Transition13.
  Secondary Transition14. Post-School Outcomes

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Why should general education staff be concerned
about the SPP?

• Monitoring will be based on district data
• Students with disabilities make up a districts
  overall student population

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Consider Indicator 1 2 Graduation Dropout

• Students with disabilities graduate with the same
  diploma as their non-disabled peers

SO more sped dropout students means higher
dropout rate for district and lower grad rate!
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Consider Indicators 9, 10, 11
General education teachers are the first staff
members to indicate if students should be
referred to special education,

• SO if inappropriate referrals are made---
• Child Find numbers may create OVERidentification
  disproportionality issues

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Disproportionality in Region 2

• 25 school districts out of 48 were identified as
  being disproportionate
• 05-06 data

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Baseline Data and Targets

• We must meet or exceed State Targets for EACH
  indicator.
• GENERAL EDUCATION communication is the key to
  improved results.
• Referrals
• Key members at ARDs
• Inclusion
• State Assessment knowledge

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• State targets

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What are your districts targets and how do you
compare to the state?
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Suggestions

• Talk with your special education director
• Have principals well informed about the
  implications of their ARD Decision-Making
• Inform all general education staff

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Keep Your Eye on Data

• SPEARS http//hancock.tea.state.tx.us/tea.spears
  .web/

a. Child Count b. Instructional Setting c.
Disproportionality d. Exit e. Disciplinary
Action f. Extended School Year
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Final Thoughts

• What will you take back to your staff meeting?
• Fill out a Next Steps form.

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Questions?