Best Practices Special Education

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Best Practices Special Education

• Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance
  Network (PaTTAN)
• February 2009

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Pennsylvanias Commitment to Least Restrictive
Environment (LRE) Recognizing that the placement
decision is an Individualized Education Program
(IEP) team decision, our goal for each child is
to ensure IEP teams begin with the general
education setting with the use of Supplementary
Aids and Services before considering a more
restrictive environment.
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Best Practices

• Special Education

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Agenda

• State Performance Plan
• Least Restrictive Environment Educational
  Placement
• Evaluation/Reevaluation Process and Timelines
• Specific Learning Disability - Guidelines
• Secondary Transition

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State Performance Plan
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SPP

• Framework for improvement in the education of
  students with disabilities.
• Six year plan submitted by each state to the
  Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)
• 20 Federally required indicators of compliance
  and performance.
• States set measurable and rigorous targets for
  each indicator, and they set forth improvement
  activities to reach the targets.
• States report annually on how their performance
  in meeting the SPP targets on each indicator in
  an Annual Performance Report (APR)

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SPP

• Indicators 1 8 Free and Appropriate Public
  Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive
  Environment (LRE)
• Indicators 9 - 10 Disproportionality
• Indicator 11 General Supervision Child Find
• Indicator 12 14 General Supervision
  Effective Transition
• Indicator 15 20 General Supervision

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Least Restrictive Environment
Educational Placement
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SPP Connection

• Indicator 5 Percent of children with IEPs aged 6
  through 21
• Removed from regular class less than 21 of the
  day
• B. Removed from regular class greater than 60 of
  the day or
• C. Served in public or private separate schools,
  residential placements, or homebound or hospital
  placements.

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LRE

• Students with disabilities must be educated in
  the least restrictive environment.
• Each school entity must ensure that to the
  maximum extent appropriate, and as provided in
  the IEP, the student with a disability is
  educated with non-disabled peers

14.145
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LRE

• Special classes, separate schooling or other
  removal of a student with a disability from the
  regular education class occurs only when the
  nature or severity of the disability is such that
  education in the regular education class with the
  use of appropriate supplementary aids and
  services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

14.145
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Full Continuum

• School entities must be required to provide
  access to a full continuum of placement options

14.145
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LRE

• So what does all that really mean?

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Least Restrictive Environment
Everyone Starts as Part of the Whole
Everyone Is Welcome
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LRE General Premise
Start here then move along the continuum,
based upon the students individual need
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LRE Time with Nondisabled Peers

• Inside the regular classroom 80 or more of the
  day.
• Inside the regular classroom 40-79 of the day.
• Inside the regular classroom less than 40 of the
  day.

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LRE Continuum of Services
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LRE Calculation

• Formula
• Hours inside a regular class
• Hours in a school day.

multiply by 100 to get a
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LRE General Premise
Start here then move along the continuum,
based upon the students individual need
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LRE Calculation Example
Brenda spends 1 hour a day in a learning support
room. The school day is 6 hours long. So She
spends 5 hours a day in regular education. 5
6 83 in the LRE
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IEP
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LRE Educational Placement

• LRE
• Refers to having the child participate in general
  education to the maximum extent possible with
  nondisabled peers.

• Educational Placement
• Refers to the type of special education
  service(s) the student receives, regardless of
  whether it is with general education or
  nondisabled peers.

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Educational Placement

• Refers to 3 parts
• Type of Support ( level of support)
• Type of Service ( program )
• Location of Service ( where)

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1. Type of Support (time)

• Itinerant special education services for less
  than 20 of the day.
• Supplemental special education services for 20
  - 80 of the day. (think of this as resource or
  part-time)
• Full Time special education services for more
  than 80 of the day.

• Placement is concerned with the amount of time
  special education services are delivered, this
  can be in general education or special education
  classrooms.

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2. Type of Support ( service)

• This denotes the type of support service for the
  student.
• Examples
• Autistic Support
• Emotional Support
• Learning Support
• Life Skills Support
• Physical Support

It doesnt matter what label a student has, any
type of support can be designed for the student.
It is individualized based upon the students
need.
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3. Location of Service

• This is the actual place where the child
  receives their program.
• Examples
• Neighborhood School
• School in district, but not neighborhood school
• School in a nearby district
• Other Settings

Start with the neighborhood school first!
Consider Supplemental Aids and Services. Then
move to other options. It is based upon a
students needs.
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IEP
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LRE Educational Placement

• LRE
• Refers to having the child participate in general
  education to the maximum extent possible with
  nondisabled peers.

• Educational Placement
• Refers to the type of special education
  service(s) the student receives, regardless of
  whether it is with general education or
  nondisabled peers.

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Activity
LRE Calculation
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SPP Connection

• Best Practice Activities
• Conduct an LRE needs assessment
• Effective instruction/access to general
  curriculum
• Supplementary aids and services in regular
  classrooms- Toolkit

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Evaluations Reevaluations
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SPP Connection
Indicator 9 Percent of districts with
disproportionate representation of racial and
ethnic groups in special education and related
services that is the result of inappropriate
identification.
Indicator 10 Percent of districts with
disproportionate representation of racial and
ethnic groups in specific disability categories
that is the result of inappropriate
identification.
Indicator 11 Percent of children with parental
consent to evaluate, who were evaluated within 60
days (or State established timeline).
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Evaluation

• The oral request for evaluation must be made to
  any professional employee or administrator of the
  school entity

14.123 (c)
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Evaluation

• The school entity must provide a Permission to
  Evaluate form to parents within 10 calendar days
  of the oral request for evaluation

14.123 (c)
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Evaluation

• If the LEA/school refuses to conduct the
  evaluation, it must give the parent written
  notice of the refusal within a reasonable time

14.123 (c)
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Reevaluations

• In Pennsylvania, reevaluations must occur every 3
  years, unless the parent and the school agree
  that a reevaluation is unnecessary.
• However, students with mental retardation must be
  reevaluated every 2 years. This cannot be
  waived.

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Timeline for Reevaluation

• Reevaluation timeline will be 60 calendar days,
  not counting the calendar days from the day after
  the last day of spring term to the day before the
  first day of subsequent fall term.

14.124 (b)
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Reevaluation Process
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Decision
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Protocol

• As an LEA what do you do if you think the
  reevaluation is unnecessary?

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Protocol
Issue to parent Agreement to Waive the
Reevaluation
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Agreement to Waive the Reevaluation

• Must indicate on the form why and or how the
  determination to waive the reevaluation was made.

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Parents Decision
Agreement to Waive the Reevaluation
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If the parent agrees

• No Reevaluation Report is written.
• No Permission to reevaluate is executed.
• The signed Agreement to Waive the Reevaluation is
  included in the students record.
• A reevaluation is not required for another 3
  years.
• There is no requirement to revise the IEP unless
  the IEP is due for its annual review.

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If the parent disagrees

• The reevaluation process begins.

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Consideration ---

• What system is in place to determine which
  reevaluations are waived?

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Review of Records

• For all students, including those with MR, the
  reevaluation process begins with a review of
  existing data by the IEP team.

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Reevaluation Decision
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Protocol
Issue to parent Permission to Reevaluate Consent
Form
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If additional data is needed

• The Permission to reevaluate Consent Form is
  executed.
• The reevaluation must be completed by its
  anniversary date and within 60 calendar days of
  the issuance of the permission to
  reevaluate/consent form.
• After the additional data are collected and
  analyzed, the findings are written in the
  Reevaluation Report.
• Conclusions regarding eligibility are made.

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If additional data is needed

• A copy of the RR is given to the parent.
• The RR becomes part of the students educational
  record.
• The form, Permission to Reevaluate Consent is
  also part of the educational record.
• The students IEP shall be reviewed and revised
  within 30 calendar days of the reevaluation.
• Reevaluation is not required for another 2 years
  for students with MR and 3 years for all other
  students with disabilities.

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Conclusion regarding Eligibilty

• If the student is eligible, the parents are
  invited to an IEP meeting and the IEP is revised.
  If placement changed, the NOREP/PWN is issued as
  well.

• If the student is no longer eligible, the
  district issues a NOREP/Prior Written Notice
  (NOREP/PWN)

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Reevaluation Decision
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If additional data is not needed

• Findings from the review of records is
  summarized.
• A written Reevaluation Report is completed.
• A copy of the RR is given to the parent and is
  part of the educational record.
• Conclusions regarding eligibility is made.

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Conclusion regarding Eligibilty

• If the student is eligible, the parents are
  invited to an IEP meeting and the IEP is revised.
  If placement changed, the NOREP/PWN is issued as
  well.

• If the student is no longer eligible, the
  district issues a NOREP/Prior Written Notice
  (NOREP/PWN)

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Permission To Reevaluate
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Activity
Reevaluation Flow Chart
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SPP Connection

• Best Practice Activities
• Reevaluation flowchart to staff.
• Create monthly chart of reevaluations based on 60
  day prior to anniversary dates.
• Create record keeping for tracking timelines or
  randomly sample evaluations for timeline
  compliance.

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Specific Learning Disability
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SPP Connection
Indicator 9 Percent of districts with
disproportionate representation of racial and
ethnic groups in special education and related
services that is the result of inappropriate
identification.
Indicator 10 Percent of districts with
disproportionate representation of racial and
ethnic groups in specific disability categories
that is the result of inappropriate
identification.
Indicator 11 Percent of children with parental
consent to evaluate, who were evaluated within 60
days (or State established timeline).
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Specific Learning Disability

• To determine that a child has an SLD, the school
  district or IU must use one of the two procedures
  allowed in Chapter 14.

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SLD

• A process based on the childs response to
  scientific, research-based intervention,
  documenting that
• Student received high quality instruction in
  regular education
• Research-based interventions were provided to
  the student
• Student progress was regularly monitored

14.125
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SLD
2. A process that examines whether a child
exhibits a pattern of strengths and weaknesses,
relative to intellectual ability as defined by a
severe discrepancy between intellectual ability
and achievement or relative to age or grade.
14.125
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Technical Adequacy

• Allows for practitioners and parents to have
  confidence in the decision process
• Allows for defense of decision made throughout
  process

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Response to Intervention

• Districts must provide a detailed description of
  their RtI process in their special education plan
  and attach the Documentation and Evidence of RtI
  Implementation Status- Self Report.
• Approval to use RtI for SLD determination shall
  be based on the extent to which the
  district/school has implemented the components of
  the PA RtI framework.

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(No Transcript)
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Documentation and Evidence of RtI Implementation
Status- Self Report
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Rubric Scoring
3-Evidence of full implementation
fidelity Evidence indicates that all relevant
details/look-fors for this indicator are in place
as described. 2-Partial implementation
fidelity Evidence indicates that some of the
relevant details/look-fors for this indicator are
in place as described. 1-Lacks evidence of
implementation fidelity Evidence indicates that
none or few of the relevant explanations/look-fors
are present for the indicator.
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Activity
Self-Report
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SPP Connection

• Best Practice Activities
• Reevaluation flowchart to staff.
• Create monthly chart of reevaluations based on 60
  day prior to anniversary dates.
• Create record keeping for tracking timelines or
  randomly sample evaluations for timeline
  compliance.

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SPP Connection

• Best Practice Activities
• Professional development training for school
  psychologists.
• Professional development for progress
  monitoring in general education.
• Fidelity/Integrity checks.

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SecondaryTransition
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SPP Connection
Indicator 13 Percent of youth aged 16 and above
with an IEP that includes coordinated,
measurable, annual IEP goals and transition
services that will reasonably enable the student
to meet the postsecondary goals.
Indicator 14 Percent of youth who had IEPs, are
no longer in secondary school and who have been
competitively employed, enrolled in some type of
postsecondary school, or both, within one year of
leaving high school.
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(No Transcript)
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Bureau of Special Education Pennsylvania Training
and Technical Assistance Network
Edward G. Rendell
Gerald L. Zahorchak, D.Ed.
Governor

Secretary Diane Castelbuono, Deputy
Secretary Office of Elementary and Secondary
Education John J. Tommasini, Director Bureau of
Special Education
Contact Information Ann Hinkson-Herrmann www.patt
an.net ahinkson-herrmann_at_pattan.net