IDEA Section 619 IDEA Preschool Grants Program

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IDEASection 619IDEA Preschool
Grants Program

• Maria Synodi, 619 Coordinator
• Early Childhood Special Education
• State Department of Education

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IDEA Section 619

• Federal Statute
• Federal Regulations

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IDEA 2004 Legal Landscape

• Individuals with Disabilities Education
  Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004 (Public Law
  108-446)
• IDEA has four (4) Parts
• Part A General Provisions
• Part B Assistance for the Education of All
  Children with Disabilities Includes Section
  619
• Part C Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities
• Part D National Activities to Improve the
  Education of Children with Disabilities

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IDEA Part B Implementing Regulations Sub-Parts
A-H

• IDEA Implementing Regulations found at 34 CFR
  Parts 300 301 Assistance to States for the
  Education of Children with Disabilities and
  Preschool Grants for Children with Disabilities
• Sub-Part A General Provisions
• Sub-Part B State Eligibility
• Sub-Part C LEA Eligibility
• Sub-Part D Evaluations, Eligibility, IEPs and
  Placement
• Sub-Part E Procedural Safeguards
• Sub-Part F Monitoring, Technical Assistance and
  Enforcement
• Sub-Part G Use of Funds
• Sub-Part H Preschool Grants Program (section
  300.800-300.818)

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IDEA Preschool Grants Program

• IDEA, Part B Statute Includes Section 619
• IDEA 619 Regulations at sections 300.800-300.818
• Called the Preschool Grants Program or Section
  619
• The Secretary provides grants under section 619
  of the Act to assist States to provide special
  education and related services
• (a) To children with disabilities, three through
  five years of age and
• (b) At a State's discretion, to two-year-old
  children with disabilities who will turn three
  during the school year.
• State Identified IDEA Section 619 Coordinator
• Section 619 responsibilities for the
  implementation of IDEA Part B for the population
  of children ages 3 through 5 with disabilities

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IDEA Special Education

• IDEA Part B
• Children ages 3 through 21, or graduation from
  high school, whichever is first attained
• IDEA Part B, Section 619
• Children ages 3 through 5 Regardless of grade

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IDEA Preschool Grants Program

• Section 619 Fiscal Responsibilities State
  Allocation of 4,818,610 in 2010-2011 -
  3,943,828 to school districts
• IDEA 619 grant dollars
• 82 is disbursed to school districts (80
  minimum)
• 13 is set aside by the state for state-level
  activities
• 5 supports 619 in the State Department of Ed
• IDEA 619 funds to school districts are spent on
  the excess cost of providing special education to
  children ages 3-5
• Annual IDEA 619 grant application for school
  districts
• Federal formula for determining how much each
  school district receives is specified in section
  619
• Annual IDEA 619 funds flat-funded since 1997 (no
  federal increase actual decrease in funding to
  state)

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What Is Special Education?
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IDEA Part B Purpose (applies to 619)

• The purposes of this part are
• (a) To ensure that all children with disabilities
  have available to them a free appropriate public
  education that emphasizes special education and
  related services designed to meet their unique
  needs and prepare them for further education,
  employment, and independent living
• (b) To ensure that the rights of children with
  disabilities and their parents are protected
• (c) To assist States, localities, educational
  service agencies, and Federal agencies to provide
  for the education of all children with
  disabilities and
• (d) To assess and ensure the effectiveness of
  efforts to educate children with disabilities.
• (Authority 20 U.S.C. 1400(d))

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IDEA Services Special Education

• IDEA, Part B Special Education means that a
  free appropriate public education (FAPE) is
  provided to a child with a disability who
  requires special education and related services.
• Special Education means specially designed
  instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the
  unique needs if a child with a disability
  including instruction conducted in the classroom,
  in the home, in hospitals and institutions and in
  other settings.
• Speech and Language Pathology is considered
  special education only if the service is
  considered special education rather than a
  related service.

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IDEA Related Services

• Related services include transportation and
  developmental, corrective and other supportive
  services as required to assist a child with a
  disability to benefit from special education, and
  can include
• Speech-language pathology
• Audiology
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Interpreting services
• Counseling
• Mobility services
• Social work services in schools
• Parent counseling and training

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Who Are The Children 3-5?
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In Connecticut - Section 619

• In 2010-2011, there were 7,933 Children
• 2,149 3-year-olds (27.09)
• 2,813 4-year-olds (35.46)
• 2,971 5-year-olds (37.45)
• In 2010-2011, there were
• 2,347 girls (29.59)
• 5,586 boys (70.41)
• In 2010-2011, of the 7,933 Children
• 4,666 were in preschool (58.82)
• 2,848 were in kindergarten (35.91)
• 418 were in first grade (5.27)
• Represents approximately 6.3 of the population
  of children ages 3 through 5

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IDEA Special Education Eligibility

• The determination that a child requires special
  education and related services is a decision of
  each childs planning and placement team (PPT)
  which includes the parent(s).
• The determination of a childs eligibility is
  based upon the results and review of each childs
  initial evaluation information.
• Child is determined to be eligible for special
  education when their educational needs meet one
  of the IDEA disability categories and it is
  determined by reason thereof, that the child
  requires needs special education and related
  services.

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IDEA Special EducationDisability Categories

• Intellectual Disability
• Hearing Impairment (including deafness)
• Speech or Language Impairment
• Visual Impairment (including blindness)
• Serious Emotional Disturbance
• Multiple Disabilities
• Autism

• Orthopedic Impairment
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Other Health Impairment
• Specific Learning Disability
• Deaf-Blindness
• Neurologically Impaired
• DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY (for children 3 through 5)

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Disability Category Children 3-5 (2010-2011)

• Intellectual Disability (also called Mental
  Retardation 36 Children (0.45)
• Hearing Impaired 94 Children (1.18)
• Speech and Language Impaired 2,354 Children
  (29.76)
• Visually Impaired 18 Children (0.23)
• Seriously Emotionally Disturbed 9 Children
  (0.11)

• Other Health Impaired 182 Children (2.29)
• Learning Disabled 48 Children (0.61)
• Deaf-Blind 0 Children
• Multiple Disabilities 98 Children (1.24)
• Autism 763 Children (9.62)
• Traumatic Brain Injury 5 Children (0.06)
• Developmental Delay 4,318 Children (54.43)

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Race Ethnicity Children 3-5 (ECO)
Race/Ethnicity Percent
Am. Indian/Native Alaskan 0.4
Asian 3.7
Black 10.2
White 65.0
Hispanic 20.8
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Time in Pre-K Special Education (ECO)
Time (in Months) Children Received Special Education in Pre-K Percent of Children
6 to 12 months 21.7
13 to 18 months 24.6
19 to 24 months 32.0
25 to 30 months 17.1
31 to 36 months 3.6
36 months 1.0
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Parent Participation Satisfaction

• 93.7 of parents of children ages 3-5 and 90.0
  of parents of children ages 18-21 indicated that
  they are satisfied with their childs special
  education program .
• 94.5 of parents of children ages 3-5 identified
  that general education teachers make
  accommodations and modifications as indicated on
  their childs IEP.
• More than 90 of parents of children ages 3-5
  agreed that their child was learning skills that
  will enable him or her to be as independent as
  possible.
• Similarly, 93.4 of parents of children ages 3-5
  were also most likely to agree that their child
  is learning skills that will lead to a high
  school diploma, further education or job.
• Parents of children with a developmental delay
  and a speech and language impairment were the
  most likely to agree that they have the
  opportunity to talk to their childs teachers on
  a regular basis (98.0 and 95.2, respectively).

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Who Provides Special Education?
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Responsibility for Special Education

• In Connecticut, school districts are responsible
  for the provision of special education and
  related services to the eligible population of
  children ages 3-21, including children ages 3
  through 5
• In IDEA, school districts are referred to as LEAs
  local educational agencies
• In Connecticut, there are approximately
• 169 towns
• 143 school districts for 619
• 13 regional school districts for 619
• 1 state school district USD II, DCF for 619

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Child Find

• Child Find is the obligation to locate, identify
  and evaluate children who have a disability or
  who are suspected of having a disability
• Child Find is an obligation of Part C and Part B
  an overlapping responsibility of the two
  systems
• The Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center (CPAC)
  serves as the statewide Child Find agent on
  behalf of the IDEA, Part B Special Education,
  including 619
• The Child Development Infoline (CDI) serves as
  the statewide Child Find agent on behalf of Part
  C and 619
• Referrals received for children nearing the age
  of 3 are referred on to the responsible school
  district
• MOA between Birth to Three and SDE on Child Find

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Referral, Evaluation, Eligibility, IEP

• Referral
• Can be made by Birth-3, the parent, MD, child
  care
• School district completes appropriate forms,
  sends notice, procedural safeguards
• School sends invitation to planning and
  placement team (PPT) meeting

• Convene PPT
• PPT discusses referral
• PPT reviews available information and parent
  concerns
• PPT determines evaluation is needed
  identifies existing data
• Maybe PPT designs initial evaluation
• If PPT proceeds to evaluation, parent written
  consent obtained to conduct

• Convene PPT
• PPT reviews evaluation results
• PPT determines this is a child with a
  disability under the IDEA
• PPT identifies the IDEA Disability Category
• PPT develops IEP based upon evaluation FAPE By
  Age 3 for B-3 children

Evaluation Conducted
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Special Education Plan IEP

• IEP Individualized Education Program (IEP)
• IEP means a written statement for a child with a
  disability that is developed, reviewed and
  revised in accordance with the IDEA
• IEP Team In Connecticut, a planning and
  placement team (PPT) a group of individuals
  that is responsible for developing, reviewing
  and/or revising an IEP for a child with a
  disability

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Location of Services

• Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
• To the maximum extent appropriate, children with
  disabilities, in public or private institutions
  or other care facilities, are educated with
  children who are not disabled and
• Special classes, separate schooling, or other
  removal of children with disabilities from the
  regular educational environment occurs only if
  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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LRE for 3-5 In Connecticut (2010-2011)

• 70.40 or 4,259 children, ages 3-5, spent 80-100
  of time with non-disabled peers
• There was an increase of 800 children, ages 3-5,
  or a 3.7 increase in spending 80-100 of time
  with non-disabled peers from the prior year
• 6.60 or 594 children were spending 40-79 of
  their time with non-disabled peers
• 2.90 or 296 children were spending 0-39 of
  their time with non-disabled peers
• 13.60 or 1,206 children were served in an ECSE
  program
• 5.20 or 371 children were served in a provider
  location
• 0.06 of children were served in a separate
  school
• 0.04 were served in a residential facility
• 0.02 of children were served at home

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Children with IEPs Participate in

• Public Schools, integrated early childhood
  programs
• Magnet Schools, Charter Schools with Pre-K
  Programs
• School Readiness
• Head Start
• State-Funded Child Care
• Private Nursery Schools, Preschools
• Parochial Schools
• Participation may or may not be a part of a
  childs IEP
• Inclusion Access, Participation and Benefit

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Where Is The Accountability?
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Monitoring, Accountability

• State Performance Plan (SPP) Annual Performance
  Report (APR) 20 Indicators (3 of which are 619)
• Federal monitoring of state (OSEP visit 11/2011)
• State monitoring of school districts (e.g., LEAs)
  State general supervision responsibilities
• Fiscal Accountability for 611 and 619 Funds
• Focused Monitoring 2010-2011 Academic
  Achievement
• Complaints, Mediations and Due Process
• Identification and correction of non-compliance
  within 12 months
• Monitoring of district improvement activities
• Annual public posting of school district APRs
• Results Based Accountability (RBA)

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Indicator 12 A Free Appropriate Public
Education (FAPE) By Age 3

• Indicator 12
• This indicator measures the percent of children
  who were referred by the Birth to Three System
  and who had an IEP developed and implemented by
  their third birthday. This is a compliance
  indicator, meaning that the IDEA requires 100 of
  all children referred by the Birth to Three
  System to have an IEP in place by their third
  birthday, or for children with a summer birthday,
  by the start of the school year. The graph
  represents the states trend data, indicating
  substantial to full compliance, on this indicator
  for the last five years.

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Indicator 6 LRE for Children 3 through 5

• Indicator 6
• This indicator measures the percent of children
  who spend time in programs that comprise a class
  composition of no less than 50 of children
  without disabilities. This data represents the
  2010-2011 school year. The data has yet to be
  reported in the SPP/APR. The 2010-2011 data
  indicate that 70.40 of children, ages 3 through
  5, spend 80-100 of time with non-disabled peers.
  This data represents time with non-disabled peers
  (TWNDPs) that includes, but is not limited to,
  the setting that a child with an IEP receives
  their special education and related services.

• 70.40 of children spend 80-100 TWNDPs
• 6.60 of children spend 40-80 of TWNDPs
• 2.90 of children spend 0-40 of TWNDPs
• 13.60 of children are in ECSE classrooms
• .06 of children are in a separate school
• .04 of children are in a residential facility
• .02 of children are served at home
• 5.20 of children receive services in a service
  provider location

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Positive Social Emotional Skills

• Indicator 7 ECO
• Progress in the development of positive social
  emotional skills, including positive social
  relationships is measured by the percent of
  children who
• Attained growth near same-age peers, and
• Attained developmental and functional skills
  within age expectations.
• The graph represents data from the school year
  2008-2009, the year in which baseline data was
  established and the school year 2009-2010, the
  first year of progress data on this indicator.
• The 2009-2010 state target reflecting the percent
  of children who attained growth near same-age
  peers was 56.0. The state did not meet that
  target, with data indicating that only 54.3 of
  children grew to near same age peers. The
  2009-2010 target for children who attained age
  expectations was 52.0 and the state data
  exceeded the target with data identifying that
  55.5 of children attained age expectations.

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Acquisition Use of Knowledge and Skills

• Indicator 7 ECO
• Progress in the development of childrens
  acquisition and use of knowledge and skills,
  including the areas of early language and
  literacy is measured by the percent of children
  who
• Attained growth near same-age peers, and
• Attained developmental and functional skills
  within age expectations.
• The graph represents data from the school year
  2008-2009, the year in which baseline data was
  established and the school year 2009-2010, the
  first year of progress data on this indicator.
• The 2009-2010 state target reflecting the
  percent of children who attained growth near same
  age peers was 59.0. The state exceeded the
  target with data indicating that 63.8 of
  children grew closer to same age peers. The
  2009-2010 state target for children who attained
  age expectations was 31.0 and the state data
  exceeded the target with data identifying that
  33.9 of children attained age expectations.

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Use of Behaviors to Meet Needs

• Indicator 7 ECO
• Progress in the development of childrens use of
  behaviors to meet their needs is measured by the
  percent of children who
• Attained growth near same-age peers, and
• Attained developmental and functional skills
  within age expectations.
• The graph represents data from the school year
  2008-2009, the year in which baseline data was
  established and the school year 2009-2010, the
  first year of progress data on this indicator.
• The 2009-2010 state target reflecting the percent
  of children who attained growth near to same age
  peers was 48.0. The state exceeded the target
  with data indicating that 50.7 of children grew
  nearer to same age peers. The 2009-2010 target
  for children who attained age expectations was
  24.0 and the state data exceeded the target with
  data identifying that 26.1 of children attained
  age expectations.

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IDEA 619 and Links to Early Childhood Cabinet
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Workforce Professional Development

• 619 and work with Bureau of Certification on
  certification regulations for teachers
  (translates to work with higher education
  institutions)
• 619 and CCAC Inclusion Strand, Inclusion
  Saturday Series
• 619 and Professional Development
• Offering stipends, fee waivers for EC personnel
  to attend professional development events focused
  on inclusion and supporting children with
  disabilities in EC settings
• PD Offerings designed to include general and
  early childhood special education literacy,
  behavior, etc.
• 619 partnership with Birth to Three offering
  birth-5 PD
• 619 specific PD
• TWW statewide conference multi-agency,
  organization planning and delivery of conference

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Tiered Quality Rating System (T-QRIS)

• 619 funds to CCAC and AFP for NAEYC accreditation
  (2-year MOA)
• Funds pay for accreditation, re-accreditation
• Eligible programs provide an integrated early
  childhood opportunity
• Training and technical assistance is available
• In 2009-2011
• 85 early childhood programs received financial
  support
• 70 programs attained accreditation
• 15 program in the accreditation process
• 5,462 children
• 646 children were children with disabilities (an
  IEP)
• NAEYC accreditation also supports workforce

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Curriculum Instruction

• Approximately one quarter of children who receive
  special education receive a single service (e.g.,
  speech only)
• Districts offer integrated early childhood
  programs through a variety of options part-day
  full-day
• Average length of hours per month 36.5
• District operated early childhood special
  education programs are delivered by a certified
  teacher
• Department supports the use of the PCF and PAF
  for all children, as appropriate
• Department supports a preschool curriculum for
  all children to be implemented with the
  appropriate accommodations, modifications,
  supports

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Data and Data Interface

• State Department of Education Data Systems
  Registration System Public School Information
  System (PSIS) Special Education Data Application
  and Collection (SEDAC) and Preschool Information
  System (PKIS)
• State Assigned Unique Student Identification
  Numbers (SASID Numbers)
• State Department of Education provides a SASID
  Number to every child receiving early
  intervention
• Data used for federal reporting, accountability

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Thank You