Strategic Plan Status Update Special Education Program Evaluation - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Strategic Plan Status Update Special Education Program Evaluation

February 10, 2020

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Goal 2: Student Experiences

Objective: A program evaluation of our current service delivery model for students with disabilities will be conducted by the end of the 2018-19 school year. Approved recommendations will be implemented in subsequent years.

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Program Evaluation Timeline

January–March 2019: Literature review and instrument development phase March – November 2019: Data collection and analysis phase November – December 2019: Draft report submitted for review and feedback January - February 2020: Final report submitted and Board Presentation

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Presented by Gibson Consulting Group, Inc. to the York County School Division

February 10, 2020

Special Education Program Evaluation

Agenda

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• Introduction
• Parent Insights and Satisfaction
• Staff Input
• Organization and Management
• Program Implementation
• Behavior Programs
• Questions

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Introduction

Gibson Consulting Group

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• Consulting and Research firm exclusively dedicated to the K12

industry

• Evaluated more than 75 special education programs

nationwide

• Based in Austin, Texas
• 15 employees, plus alliance partners
• Selected in January 2019 through competitive procurement

Evaluation Team

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• Presenting:

― Greg Gibson, Project Director ― Keri Munkwitz, Senior Evaluation Consultant ― Dr. Jill Carle, Research Scientist ― Dr. Cindy Elsberry, Special Education Technical Specialist

• Others Involved:

― Eric Booth, Senior Research Scientist ― Marshall Garland, Senior Quantitative Analyst ― Rex Long, Qualitative Data Analyst

Project Objective

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• To solicit feedback from program stakeholders and identify
• pportunities for improving programs and services to

students with disabilities in YCSD.

Evaluation Questions

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• What is the quality of special education services in YCSD as

evidenced by historical trends in student performance outcomes, program participation, and comparisons with similar schools and divisions?

• Are YCSD’s special education programs and services appropriately
• rganized, staffed, structured, and supported?
• Are students effectively identified, evaluated, and placed in special

education?

• Are special education programs and services meeting the needs of

students in YCSD?

• To what extent are staff and parents satisfied with the continuum
• f services provided to special education students in YCSD?

Elements of Work

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• Literature Review of Best Practices and Strategies
• Data Analysis and Benchmarking
• Individualized Education Program (IEP) Review
• Site Visit / School Visits / Classroom Observations
• Staff Survey
• Parent Survey and Phone Interviews

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Parent Insights and Satisfaction

Parent Insights and Satisfaction

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• Online parent survey (1,561 sent, 20% response rate)
• Phone interviews with hard-to-reach parents (n=34)
• Four domains:

― Satisfaction with instructional services and IEP development ― Satisfaction with school environment and family communication ― Parent involvement ― Transportation services

• Overall positive feedback across most domains

Parent Survey Results

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71% 77% 79% 83% 84% 85% 87% 87% 87% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

School communicates regularly regarding child’s progress on IEP goals IEP covers all appropriate aspects of child's development Had positive experiences at IEP meetings Discussed how child would participate in state assessments Concerns/recommendations documented on IEP Placement decisions made using data/input from IEP team members Team selects accommodations child needs Staff conveyed sufficient knowledge of IEP process Had thorough discussions of goals during IEP meetings

IEP Development

Parent Survey Results

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65% 67% 68% 80% 80% 89% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Teachers/staff at school effectively manage incidents of teasing/bullying I am satisfied with the quality of special education services my child receives School ensures afterschool/extracurricular activities are accessible School provides my child with all IEP services General education teachers implement all IEP accommodations/modifications Child spends an appropriate amount of time in general education classes, given learning needs

Quality of Student Services Received

Parent Survey Results

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Communication 72% 80% 81% 93% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Teachers/staff regularly share data about how child is doing Referral/evaluation process for testing was clear/easy Teachers/staff encourage participation in decision-making process Written information received is written in understandable way

Parent Survey Results

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30% 34% 35% 58%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% School connects parents to organizations that serve parents of children w/ disabilities School connects families to other families to provide information/mutual support School offers parents training if they need help understanding child's curriculum School gives parents help they need to play active role in child’s education

Accessibility of Resources

Recommendation

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• Help connect parents of students with disabilities with

community resources to support them and help them fully engage in their child’s educational life.

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Staff Input

Staff Survey Participants

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• Special Education Teachers
• Non-Special Education Teachers
• School Leaders
• Para-educators
• Related Service Providers
• School Board Office Staff

Staff Survey Domains

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• Satisfaction with Special Education identification, placement,

and service delivery

• Specialized instruction and inclusion
• Teaching supports and collaboration
• Professional development
• Job satisfaction and responsibilities
• Organizational support

Staff Survey Results

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• 1,610 online surveys sent; 67% response rate
• Response rates similar to division population percentages
• Level of satisfaction varied significantly across domains,

employee groups, school types, and schools within a school type

• Results woven into report observations where applicable

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Organization and Management

Program Profile

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• YCSD serves 1,450 students with disabilities, representing

11.2% of total enrollment, below the state average of 13.2% and below most peers

9.7% 10.6% 11.2% 12.5% 12.6% 13.0% 13.8% 13.2% 0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0% 12.0% 14.0% 16.0% Rockingham County Culpepper York County Albemarle Suffolk City Frederick County Faquier County 2018-2019 State

• Over the past 5 years, growth in students with disabilities

(17.9%) has exceeded overall enrollment growth (2.1%)

Program Profile

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• Flat per-student spending on students with disabilities, and

below available benchmarks

$10,957 $11,386 $11,335 $12,192 $11,676

$- $2,000 $4,000 $6,000 $8,000 $10,000 $12,000 $14,000

FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018

Improvement Opportunities

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• Organization structure:

― 22 positions report to the Director, resulting in excessive involvement in transactional details ― Peer divisions show much lower span of control ― Program accountability (instruction, compliance, data analysis) not reflected on organizational chart

Improvement Opportunities

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• Level of Student Services Coordinator support across schools

is inconsistent and focuses more on administrative than academic support

• More special education para-educators (114) than teachers

(103), inconsistent with what research suggests

• Staffing formulas and guidelines not sufficiently based on

student needs (service hours) or division-established caseloads

Improvement Opportunities

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• Incomplete and/or outdated procedures and job descriptions
• Insufficient data validation and analysis

Improvement Opportunities

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• Lower Medicaid Reimbursement Revenue per student than

available benchmarks

$243 $109 $122 $10 $96

$0 $50 $100 $150 $200 $250 $300

Suffolk City Fauquier County Culpeper County Albemarle County York County

Recommendations

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• Reorganize the Office of Student Services to achieve a

reasonable span of control and a logical alignment of functions

• Convert some para-educator positions to teacher positions to

more significantly impact student learning

• Establish targets for related services provider student-staff

ratios and caseload maximums to ensure optimal staffing efficiency and effectiveness

Recommendations

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• Assign a dedicated staff resource to data analysis, data

verification, and data entry training

• Seek outside assistance to explore additional Medicaid

Revenue opportunities

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Program Implementation

Program Profile

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• YCSD is trending towards higher inclusion levels
• Student achievement significantly higher than peer divisions

and state average across all content areas, largely mirroring general education performance

Program Passing Rates

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Graduation and Dropout Rates

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Improvement Opportunities

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• RtI implementation fidelity and effectiveness

― Staff survey on effectiveness of RtI ranged from 33% to 80% agreement

70.8 37.1 76 72.2 35 61.5 53.1 64 75.9 33.3 65.1 68.8 80.4 43.3 73.5 55.6 77.5 72.7 66.7

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

The RtI process at my school is effective in addressing the needs of students who are experiencing difficulty in school.

Improvement Opportunities

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• Some components of IEPs do not meet best practice

standards and quality is inconsistent across schools ― Measurable goals ― Well–written Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) ― Annual revision timelines ― Mastery of goals and objectives

Improvement Opportunities

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• Staff survey showed wide variations in agreement with

consistency of placement decision across schools

26.9 38.5 39.3 41.7 50 54.5 55.6 56.3 63.6 73.9 59.4 72.7 76.2 77.5 50 61.8 71.4 83.9 85

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Placement decisions are made consistently across IEP teams and schools.

Improvement Opportunities

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• Inclusion:

― General education classes have high percentage of high- need students ― In-classroom segregation of students with disabilities ― Over-utilization of whole group instruction ― Limited use of instructional technology to differentiate instruction ― Classroom observations not reflective of training efforts

Recommendations

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• Update RtI standard operating procedures and centrally

monitor school-level RtI data

• Develop standards for IEPs and conduct periodic audits to

ensure quality and compliance standards are met

• Provide additional guidance and training to IEP teams

regarding student placements, and continually evaluate YCSD’s continuum of program and services

• Provide schools with a model for supporting instruction and

inclusion in the general education setting

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Behavior Programs

Program Profile

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• Favorable trends in special education suspensions (> 10 days)

― 4A Special Education over-representation risk ― 4B Race or ethnicity over-representation risk

8.19 10.63 5.14 4.56 5.06 3.03 1 1 1 1 3.38 1 2 4 6 8 10 12 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 Risk Ratio 4A Risk Ratio 4B

Improvement Opportunities

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• Behavior intervention implementation fidelity
• Progress measurement and monitoring in Behavior

Intervention Plans (BIPs)

Recommendations

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• Expand on current efforts to build proactive and responsive

behavioral support systems across YCSD

• Identify and implement a Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

initiative

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Questions

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Date Action Steps

February 13 Communication sent out to all parents February 11-21 Form the Special Education Program Improvement Team March 17 Update Special Education Advisory Committee March 1- May 30 Improvement team develops an action plan based on evaluation findings and recommendations June 1 Update School Board on Progress

Program Evaluation Next Steps

Strategic Plan Status Update Special Education Program Evaluation

February 10, 2020