Themes from the President

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Themes from the Presidents Commission on
Excellence in Special Education
www.hdc.lsuhsc.edu
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A New Era for Special Education

• President's Commission on Excellence in Special
  Education

• 19 members across the U.S. (5 Ex-Of)
• Representing parents, schools, business,
  communities
• Investigate and report on 9 areas

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Commissions job (1)

• Examine the effectiveness cost of special
  education and the federal governments role
• Recommend
• How to improve special education
• Research agenda

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Commissions job (2)

• Analyze
• Effect of funding, differences in size, location,
  demographics, wealth on decisions to refer
  place students and cost of special education
• How federal government can help states LEAs
  provide high quality instruction
• Impact of early intervention
• Impact of federal/state requirements on cost
  effectiveness of special education
• If changes needed in supplement not supplant
  maintenance of effort

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The Commissions strategies

• Examined special education broadly (not just
  I.D.E.A.)
• Held 13 public hearings
• Obtained expert testimony and public input (100
  witnesses)
• Received and analyzed white papers and external
  documents
• Drafted and approved a report to the President by
  7/1/02

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Complementary context

• No Child Left Behind Act (accountability with
  consequences)
• Emerging consensus on shift from processes to
  results ( focused monitoring)
• Promising research on early intervention (WH
  Conference)
• Shift in assessment and instruction practices
  (NRC Report, LD Summit, etc.)

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Context 2Premise of I.D.E.A.

• Congress finds
• Disability is a natural part of the human
  experience and in no way diminishes the right of
  individuals to participate in or contribute to
  society.

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The promise of I.D.E.A.

• Improving educational results for children with
  disabilities is an essential element of our
  national policy of ensuring equality of
  opportunity, full participation, independent
  living, and economic self-sufficiency for
  individuals with disabilities (sec. 1400 (c) (1)

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Myths about the Commission

• The Report was written before the Commission
  began.
• Commissioners have their minds made up.
• This is a hatchet job on special education.
• Everything in Florida is going national.

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A new era Revitalizing special education for
children and their families

• Summary lists
• 9 major findings
• 3 major recommendations
• Report contains
• 7 sections
• 32 additional findings
• 33 general recommendations
• Numerous additional (specific) recommendations
  (47)

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Commission themes

• Increase accountability
• Emphasize results
• Provide flexibility
• Empower parents and their choices

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Major recommendations

• Major recommendation 1 Focus on results not
  on process.
• Major recommendation 2 Embrace a model of
  prevention, not a model of failure.
• Major recommendation 3 Consider children with
  disabilities as general education children
  first. 

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Too much process

• Finding 1 IDEA is generally providing basic
  legal safeguards and access for children with
  disabilities. However, the current system often
  places process above results, and bureaucratic
  compliance above student achievement, excellence,
  and outcomes.

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Major recommendations

• Major recommendation 1 Focus on results not
  on process.
• Adequate yearly progress (set by states)
• Sensitive measures of continuous progress
• Student-level data system (disaggregate)
• Variety of results measures (gap, etc.)

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Hold states accountable (1)

• Recommendation set high expectations for
  special education NCLB requires states to
  establish high expectations.
• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
  should require each state to establish additional
  ambitious and conforming goals for students with
  disabilities by using measures such as graduation
  rates, post-graduation outcomes and parent
  satisfaction surveys. States should also be
  required to define "adequate yearly progress"
  under IDEA for students with disabilities in
  local education agencies (LEAs) toward these
  goals.

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LEA must be accountable (1)

• Recommendation Hold LEAs accountable for
  results State and local accountability systems
  should include all children, and each system must
  be consistent with the No Child Left Behind Act.
• IDEA should require states to report annually on
  the success of each school and LEA in achieving
  IDEA goals for students with disabilities.

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LEA must be accountable (2)

• Recommendation IDEA should provide for
  technical assistance for LEAs that fail to make
  adequate yearly progress under IDEA, and it
  should require states take more intensive
  corrective actions including state direction of
  IDEA funds for LEAs that do not demonstrate
  adequate yearly progress under IDEA for three
  consecutive years.

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Hold feds accountable

• Recommendation Replace federal monitoring
  practices with a focused approach. Radically
  change how it conducts technical assistance and
  monitoring activities to focus on results instead
  of process.
• Recommendation Utilize federal special
  education staff more effectively. Within three
  months of the issuance of this report, the
  Secretary of Education should provide
  recommendations to Congress on how OSERS can
  better utilize its staff and resources to
  implement federal special education law.

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Participation and performance

• Students with disabilities must participate in
  state-wide assessments whenever appropriate (80
  or NCLB 95?)
• For those who participate, compare their average
  performance to students without disabilities (gap
  for now, trends later)

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Increase participation

• Recommendation Incorporate universal design in
  accountability tools Ensure all tools used to
  assess students for accountability and the
  assessment of progress are designed to include
  any accommodations and modifications for students
  with disabilities.

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Reduce burdens

• Recommendation Reduce regulatory burden and
  increase flexibility emphasize flexibility to
  achieve results for children with disabilities,
• Including a unified system of services from birth
  through 21, and
• Simplify the Individualized Education Program to
  focus on substantive outcomes.
• Dramatically simplify IDEA federal regulatory and
  administrative requirements to be more
  understandable for parents, educators and
  administrators

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Must be one system

• Finding 3 Children placed in special education
  are general education children first. Despite
  this basic fact, educators and policy-makers
  think about the two systems as separate and tally
  the cost of special education as a separate
  program, not as additional services with
  resultant add-on expense.

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A specific recommendation

• The Commission recommends that the U.S.
  Secretary of Education ensure all federal
  requirements for accountability be integrated
  into a unified system of accountability
  throughout the Department. (p. 16)

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Poor outcomes (1)

• Finding 9 The focus on compliance and
  bureaucratic imperatives in the current system,
  instead of academic achievement and social
  outcomes, fails too many children with
  disabilities. Too few successfully graduate from
  high school or transition to full employment and
  post-secondary opportunities, despite provisions
  in IDEA providing for transition services.

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Poor outcomes (2)

• Finding 9... Parents want an education system
  that is results oriented and focused on the
  childs needs in school and beyond.

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Exiting with a regular diploma

• Ages 14 - 21

Note There are no currently uniform standards
guiding standards for diplomas for students with
disabilities. Considerable differences exist
across states.
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All students with disabilities exiting with a
regular diploma
80.9
78.4
78.4
77.3
24.9
28.4

• Highest 5
• Lowest 5

27.3
13.7
90.3
24.6
Nat. Avg. 61.6 - Ages 17-21, 97-98 school
year
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All students with specific learning disabilities
exiting with a regular diploma
83.4
84.8
79.9
83.9
36.5
44.5
16.6

• Highest 5
• Lowest 5

90.2
29.3
38.6
Nat. Avg. 67.5 - Ages 17-21, 97-98 school
year
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Dropping out All students with disabilities
45.3
50.1
23.5
45.9
23.9
13.2
17.8
45.8
49.2
32.9

• Highest 5
• Lowest 5

16.4
Nat. Avg. 31.2 - Ages 14-21, Table AD5
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Dropping out Students with specific learning
disabilities
45.5
45.1
46
19.4
19.7
13.7
18.9
52.8
37.2

• Highest 5
• Lowest 5

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47.7
Nat. Avg. 29.3 - Ages 14-21, Table AD5
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Dropping out Students with emotional disturbance
77.5
72
27.6
73.5
25.3
29.3
76.3
34.7
77.9
61.5

• Highest 5
• Lowest 5

27.5
Nat. Avg. 53.5 - Ages 14-21, Table AD5
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Improve outcomes

• Recommendation Simplify federal transition
  requirements in the Individuals with Disabilities
  Education Act
• Recommendation mandate federal interagency
  coordination of resources.
• Recommendation Create a Rehabilitation Act
  Reauthorization Advisory Committee.
• Recommendation Support higher education
  faculty, administrators and auxiliary service
  providers to more effectively provide and help
  students with disabilities to complete a high
  quality post-secondary education.

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Added measure of accountability

• Note While measurements of least restrictive
  environment are not necessarily outcomes per se,
  they are important and should be measured and
  reported at state, local and school levels.

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What are Class Settings?

• Regular 20 or less of school day outside of
  the regular class. At least 80 of day in the
  regular class.
• Separate 61 or more of the school day outside
  of the regular class.
• Resource 21 to 60 of school day outside of
  the regular class.

Now, just use the numbers.80 v. - 40
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Comparing percent of children ages 6-21 served in
different educational environmentsUnder IDEA,
Part B, During the 1996-97 School Year (21st
Report)all disabilities, Sorted by in Regular
Class (lowest to highest)
Other PUBLIC SEPAR FACIL PRIVATE SEPAR FACIL
PUBLIC RESID FACIL PRIVATE RESID FACIL HOME
HOSP ENVIR
Table AB2-7
Data prepared by GLARRC
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Really big myth

• The Commission did NOT endorse full funding of
  the federal share of special education costs.

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Reward results

• Recommendation Increase discretionary Part B
  federal funding and establish a definable
  threshold percent of excess costs
• Recommendation Link future funding increases
  above the threshold percent to state plans to
  improve accountability for results. Funding in
  future years should be contingent on achievement
  of results in that plan.

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Fear of litigation

• Finding 5 The culture of compliance has often
  developed from the pressures of litigation,
  diverting much energy of the public schools
  first mission educating every child.

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Reduce litigation

• Recommendation prevent disputes and improve
  dispute resolution IDEA should empower parents
  as key players and decision-makers in their
  childrens education. IDEA should require states
  to develop early processes that avoid conflict
  and promote individualized education program
  (IEP) agreements, such as IEP facilitators.

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Reduce litigation

• Recommendation prevent disputes and improve
  dispute resolution Require states to make
  mediation available anytime it is requested and
  not only when a request for a hearing has been
  made. Permit parents and schools to enter binding
  arbitration and ensure that mediators,
  arbitrators and hearing officers are trained in
  conflict resolution and negotiation.

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Parents need power

• Finding 4 When a child fails to make progress in
  special education, parents dont have adequate
  options and little recourse. Parents have their
  childs best interests in mind, but they often do
  not feel they are empowered when the system fails
  them.

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Empower parents (1)

• Recommendation increase parental empowerment
  and school choice
• Parents should be provided with meaningful
  information about their childrens progress,
  based on objective assessment results, and with
  educational options.
• The majority of special education students will
  continue to be in the regular public school
  system. Students with disabilities attend schools
  or access services of their familys choosing,
  provided states measure and report outcomes for
  all students benefiting from IDEA funds.

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Empower parents (2)

• Recommendationincrease parental empowerment and
  school choice
• IDEA should increase informed opportunities for
  parents to make choices about their childrens
  education. Consistent with the No Child Left
  Behind Act, IDEA funds should be available for
  parents to choose services or schools,
  particularly for parents whose children are in
  schools that have not made adequate yearly
  progress under IDEA for three consecutive years.

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Wait to fail model

• Finding 2 The current system uses an antiquated
  model that waits for a child to fail, instead of
  a model based on prevention and intervention. Too
  little emphasis is put on prevention, early and
  accurate identification of learning and behavior
  problems, and aggressive intervention using
  research-based approaches.

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Identify differently (1)

• Recommendation Identify and intervene early
  Implement research-based, early identification
  and intervention programs to better serve
  children with learning and behavioral
  difficulties at an earlier age. Include early
  screening, prevention and intervention practices
  to identify academic and behavioral problems in
  young children.

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Identify differently (2)

• Recommendation simplify the identification
  process Simplify the IDEA identification and
  eligibility determination process, and clarify
  the criteria used to determine the existence of a
  disability, particularly high-incidence disorders.

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Identify differently (3)

• Recommendation Incorporate response to
  intervention Implement models during the
  identification and assessment process that are
  based on response to intervention and progress
  monitoring. Use data from these processes to
  assess progress in children who receive special
  education services.

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What does L.D.A. say?

• The preliminary exploration and discussion of
  alternative approaches to identification and
  eligibility processes have not yet addressed many
  specifics that must be determined prior to
  widespread adoption. Research and pilot projects
  must clearly describe students, professional
  competencies, settings, services, and
  interventions so the most effective of the
  alternatives can be replicated and moved into
  large scale settings. In implementing such an
  approach, the required and optimal components,
  their sequence, and timelines will need to be
  specified, as well as who has the ultimate
  responsibility for each component.

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Better personnel

• Finding 7 Children with disabilities require
  highly qualified teachers. Teachers, parents, and
  education officials desire better preparation,
  support, and professional development related to
  the needs of serving these children. Many
  educators wish they had better preparation before
  entering the classroom as well as better tools
  for identifying needs early and accurately.

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Improve personnel

• Recommendation recruit and train highly
  qualified general and special education teachers.
• Recommendation create research and data-driven
  systems for training teachers of special
  education.
• Recommendation institute ongoing field
  experiences.
• Recommendation require rigorous training in
  reading.
• Recommendation require public reporting.
• Recommendation increase special education and
  related services faculty.
• Recommendation conduct research.

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Upgrade research

• Finding 8 Research on special education needs
  enhanced rigor and the long-term coordination
  necessary to support the needs of children,
  educators and parents. In addition, the current
  system does not always embrace or implement
  evidence-based practices once established.

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Improve research

• Recommendation Change the current grant review
  process to create scientific rigor.
• Recommendation Improve the coordination of
  special education research.
• Recommendation Support long-term research
  priorities.
• Recommendation Improve the impact of research
  findings.

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In summaryCommission themes

• Increase accountability
• Emphasize results
• Provide flexibility
• Empower parents and their choices

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Questions ???Comments ???
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