Developing a Range of Options in Your Community

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• Developing a Range of Options in Your Community

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Preschool Options

• What?
• Why?
• How?
• Where?

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IDEA Legal Definition

• Each public agency shall ensure that a continuum
  of alternative placements is available to meet
  the needs of children with disabilities.
• 34 CFR 300.551

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IDEA

• In determining the educational placement of a
  child with a disability including a preschool
  child the placement decision is made by a
  group knowledgeable about
• the placement options.
• 34 CFR 300.552 (a) (1)

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IDEA

• The full continuum of alternative placements at
  34 CFR 300.551, including integrated placement
  options, such as community-based settings with
  typically developing age peers, must be available
  to preschool children with disabilities.
• 34 CFR Part 300 Comments to IDEA Final
  Regulations

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Seventh Circuit Decision

• District failed to comply with LRE requirement.
• Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) applies to
  preschool.

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Requirement Not New

• Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
  Bulletin 89.9
• Complaint against rural district in northern
  Wisconsin
• Revisions in IDEA 97 clarified LRE for
  preschoolers

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Other Terms

• Preschool Inclusion
• Natural Environments
• Typical Settings
• Age Appropriate Settings

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DEC Policy

• Inclusion, as a value, supports the right of
  all children, regardless of abilities, to
  participate actively in natural settings within
  their communities. Natural settings are those in
  which the child would spend time had he or she
  not had a disability.
• Division for Early Childhood
• www.dec-sped.org

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It looks different for each child in each
community.
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• Home
• Instruction at home may be the most natural
  environment for a young child with a disability
  if the childs IEP/IFSP team so determines.
• 34 CFR Part 300 Comments to IDEA Final
  Regulations

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Discussion Questions

• What makes preschool inclusion unique?
• Share examples of options you have created beyond
  self-contained programming?

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Reporting Environments

• Educational Environment for 3-5 year olds with
  disabilities
• Reporting to DPI from LEA.

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Preschool Environments December 1999
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Why?

• Children with disabilities benefit from
  inclusion
• Generalization of skills
• Reduced need for intensive services

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Review of Research

• Children with disabilities in inclusive settings
  make more social
• skill gains.

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Social skills

• Families realized that the children did better
  than we all had expected in the community
  placements and that they were acting more like
  children than special education students
• Bruder, 2000

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Review of Research

• Gains in cognitive, language and motor skills
  for children with disabilities in inclusive
  settings are comparable to those in
  self-contained.
• (Buysee Bailey, 1993 Fewell Oelwein, 1999,
  Jenkins, Odom, Speltz, 1985 Wolery
  McWilliam, 1998).

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Review of Research

• Children from segregated preschool settings are
  twice as likely to retain special education
  eligibility and three times more likely to
  receive services in segregated settings.
• Miller, L.J., Strain, P.S., McKinley, J.,
  Heckathorn, K., Miller, S. (1993).

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Review of Research

• Early Childhood Research Institute on Inclusion
• www.fpg.unc.edu/ecrii
• Keys to Inclusion
• www.nectas.unc.edu

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Research From Wisconsin

• The Preschool Option Project
• Collaborative study involving CESA 1, CESA 10,
  University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and
  University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

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Research From Wisconsin

• Research Addressed issues
• IEP goals and objectives
• Family involvement in placement

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IEP Goals

• Play was under-utilized in addressing goals and
  objectives.
• The goals and objectives may not have been
  functional.
• Gains made in cognition, language and motor were
  comparable across settings.

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IEP Goals

• For more information on functional goals and
  objectives see
• CESA 12 website
• A Guide to Writing IEPs (Wright Laffin)
• System for Collaborative On-Site Preschool EEN
  (SCOPE) developed in CESA 12.

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Family Involvement in Placement

• Families did not understand the concept of Least
  Restrictive Environment.
• Families did not feel placement options were
  considered.
• Families stated a preference for settings that
  include children without IEPs.

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Family Involvement

• Effective partnerships between parents and
  professionals require collaboration. It is hard
  work.
• J. Fialka

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WSPEI

• Wisconsin Statewide Parent-Educator Initiative
• http//www.dpi.state.wi.us/een/parent.html

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Video
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How?

• Awareness and dissemination
• Changing professional practice
• Collaborative planning
• Utilize research to address challenges
• Individualizing services/expanding options

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Awareness Dissemination

• Preschool Options Project
• Commitment of resources in Wisconsin
• State Implementation Plan
• CESA 4 Integrated settings mini-grants.

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Changing Professional Practice

• New identity as trainer, consultant and/or team
  teacher.
• Staff travels to the child vs child travels to
  the staff.
• Loss of identity with classroom or building.

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Changing professional practice through IEP
training

• Provide training regarding the IEP process to all
  participants
• Improve parent participation in the IEP process
• Address LRE for preschoolers

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Collaborative Planning

• Key individuals
• Shared vision
• Organizational structure
• Policy Impact
• External support and community influences

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Collaborative Planning

• For more information see
• Collaboratingpartners.com
• CESA 10 Discovering Community Collaborative
  Options for Young Children and Families
• Collaboration Because Its Good for Children and
  Families. CESA 5

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Utilize Research to Address Challenges

• Differing philosophies
• Family members perceptions
• Benefits of inclusion outweigh concerns (ECRII
  study)
• Differing attitudes and knowledge base
• Funding and staffing

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Individualizing Services

• DPI Bulletin 00.09 questions IEP team considers
  to determine service delivery
• Where does the child usually spend the day?
• Can the goals and objectives be addressed in age
  appropriate settings?
• If not, what other settings for service
  delivery will meet the childs
  needs?

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Quality

• A high quality program is a necessary foundation
  of preschool inclusion
• However the program must ensure that
  developmental needs of young children with
  disabilities are met

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Quality

• NAEYC National Accreditation
• Cesa8.k12.wi.us
• Evaluation Tools
• Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale
• DEC Recommended Practices

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Where?
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Where?

• Public School Programs
• 4 or 5 year old Kindergarten
• At Risk/Title 1
• Public School Head Start
• Special Education classes with peer models
• Public School Child Care Programs

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Where?

• Community Child Care/Preschool
• Corporate for profit
• Locally owned programs
• Play group
• Nonprofit income based

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Where?

• Head Start
• Local Head Start Programs
• Regional Head Start Programs
• Tribal Head Start Programs

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Where?

• Home
• Instruction at home may be the most natural
  environment for a young child with a disability
  if the childs IEP/IFSP team so determines.
• 34 CFR Part 300 Comments to IDEA Final
  Regulations

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Practice

• Brainstorm new options for service delivery in
  your community.

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Outcomes

• Benefits for ALL children
• Efficient use of resources
• Shared responsibility
• Collaborative professional development
• Improved referral system

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For more information

• www.preschooloptions.org

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Where do we go from here?

• Practice activity
• 3 people or agencies
• 2 barriers
• 1 idea

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It happens one child at a time.