WELCOME Special Education Director Meeting What if teachers were - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

WELCOME Special Education Director Meeting

What if teachers were treated like football stars? https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1544605065680370&fref=nf

TCASE Mary Rosenberg, Ph.D., TCASE House of Delegates Representative, Klein ISD Deena Hill, Ed.D., TCASE President-Elect, Pasadena ISD GCASE Cynthia Peltier, GCASE President, Clear Creek ISD Special Ed Continuing Advisory Committee Laurie Goforth Rodriguez, Texas Special Education Continuing Advisory Committee stakeholder, Dickinson ISD Reports from Colleagues

Independent Educational Evaluations: Components • Parent request for IEE form • Criteria for IEE to provide to parents and selected assessor. • Discussion guide for district to analyze IEE request and whether to grant or request a hearing • Minimum qualifications for evaluator • List of qualified evaluators by area of evaluation • Cost criteria • Operating guidelines • Question and answer document

Independent Educational Evaluations: Components • Form letters to adapt and use as PWN: • Granting IEE • Refusing IEE – district will request a hearing • Refusing IEE – district has not conducted an evaluation in the area requested – no disability suspected in that area • Refusing IEE – district has not conducted an evaluation in that area – ARD will meet to do REED and consider evaluation in that area • Refusing IEE – parent has already obtained an IEE • IEE approved, but selected assessor does not meet district guidelines

FAQ • What is an IEE? • Who can request an IEE? • Is there a timeline for requesting an IEE? • How does a parent request an IEE? • What do I do if I receive a request for an IEE? • What if the school district’s assessment is appropriate? • What if the school district has not conducted an evaluation?

FAQ (continued) • What if the parent disagrees with a school district assessment in one area but seeks an IEE in another area? • Can a parent disagree with a school district evaluation before the evaluation is completed? • What is the school district’s obligation when a parent requests an IEE? • How long does the school district have to respond to the request for an IEE?

FAQ (continued) • Which school district personnel make the decision to grant or deny a request for an IEE? • What should a school district do when it grants a request for an IEE? • What should a school district do when it denies a request for an IEE? • Who selects the IEE evaluator? • Can the school district recommend evaluators? • Can the school district establish criteria for IEEs?

FAQ (continued) • Can a parent seek reimbursement for travel cost the parent incurred in having the IEE conducted? • What if the parent pays for an evaluation and then requests reimbursement? • Can a parent seek reimbursement when they obtain an independent evaluation without first seeking an IEE from the school district? • Must the school honor the IEE evaluator’s request to observe and review school records?

FAQ (continued) • Can the IEE evaluator bring associates, parents, or the parents attorney/advocate to the observation? • Can a school district deny a request for a specific evaluator because the evaluator is someone who regularly works with parent’s advocacy groups or parent attorneys? • Can a school staff chaperone the observation on school campus? • Must the school honor the IEE evaluator’s request to speak with teachers and/or staff who work with the student?

FAQ (continued) • What is the school district’s obligation after the IEE is completed? • What if the evaluator or the parent refuses to provide the results of the IEE to the school district? • What if the parent is unsatisfied with the IEE and requests a second IEE? • Can a school district require a parent to privately fund an IEE and seek reimbursement rather than funding the IEE directly? • What is the school district’s obligation when it successfully proves that its assessment is appropriate through a due process hearing?

http://sped.esc4.net Special Ed Portal

Discipline HQ and Flowchart SPED Online http://s3.amazonaws.com/te Guidance Document mpshare- stage.storyline.articulate.com /stp195rjhaam55mv6b1oohak t1ruc4/story.html SPP High Cost Changes Funds • Proposed changes • Timelines aligned Opens — 11/10/14 • Ensure sufficient Closes — 11/19/14 TEASE accounts This Just In — Hot Topics

Live Binder Funding www.livebinder.com/p lay/play?id=1338386

STAAR Alternate 2: Overview and Key Elements Adapted from TEA 9.25.14 TETN #33018 Developed by Region 4 ESC and Cy-Fair ISD and Provided by Region 4 ESC

That was Then, This is Now… STAAR Alternate STAAR Alternate 2 • Materials accommodated as • Teacher created materials necessary required • 3 complexity levels • standardized assessment with clustered and scaffolded questions • Predetermined student • Varied student responses response modes allowed • Preparations for • Predetermined accommodations during preview presentation supports and allowed materials • Assessment window 10 days • Assessment window (preview window 10 days) approximately 4 months

What Has Not Changed STAAR Alternate STAAR Alternate 2 Prior to Assessment Window Prior to Preview Window • Security and Confidentiality • Security and Confidentiality Training Training • Signed Oath of Test • Signed Oath of Test Security Security • Individual Student • Individual Student Assessment of Alternate Assessment of Alternate State Standards State Standards

Which Assessment? Consider which assessment is appropriate. • STAAR • STAAR with Accommodations • STAAR A (online version) NO STAAR Modified • STAAR Alternate 2 (Intellectual Disabilities) • Participation Requirements • Exceptions

Intellectual Disabilities: Characteristics • Intellectual quotient below 70 resulting in limited potential • Evidence of an intellectual disability must be verified by an assessment specialist and be based on valid assessment data. • Student unable to academically reach grade level, regardless of the quality of instruction • Access and participate in the grade-level TEKs through prerequisite skills • Require specialized supports to access the grade-level curriculum and environment • Poor social adaptability resulting in dependence on others for daily living and employment • Differs from students with learning disabilities who have average intelligence, but have learning problems that make reaching their potential difficult

Exceptions • A student with a severe medical or cognitive impairment may not be able to complete any part of the assessment. For these exceptions, ARD Committee/IEP Teams can determine if a student’s assessment can be coded as a Medical Exception or as No Authentic Academic Response (NAAR). • For both exceptions, the ARD Committee/IEP Team will make the determination after reviewing medical and educational records. The decision must be documented in the student’s IEP along with evidence to support the determination.

Medical Exception Students that are medically fragile and cannot attend to or tolerate any academic interaction can qualify for a medical exception for the following circumstances: • The student is in the final stages of a terminal or degenerative illness. • The student is receiving extensive short-term medical treatment due to a medical emergency or serious injury in an accident. • The student is unable to interact with peers or staff without risk of infection or contamination to himself/herself or others. • The student is receiving non-academic homebound services due to medical issues and does not receive academic instruction.

No Authentic Response Students who are not able to respond authentically to any verbal, visual, or tactile stimuli during academic instruction due to level of cognition rather than a medical condition can qualify for a NAAR exception if one of the two following student descriptions is evident: 1. Because of multiple impairments, the student is unable to receive (standards-based academic ) information during instruction and assessment. For example, the student may have a combination of visual, auditory, and/or tactile impairments. 2. The student is consistently unable to provide an authentic academic response during instruction. His or her behavior may be described by one or more of the following characterizations: • Does not show any observable reaction to a specific stimuli • Exhibits only startle responses • Tracks or fixates on objects at random and not for a purpose • Moves or responds only to internal stimuli • Vocalizes intermittently regardless of changes in the environment

District Considerations … • District and Campus Administration • 10-day Preview Window • Campus Testing Coordinator (CTC) • Test Administrator (Teacher) • Paraprofessionals • Examples of the Impact of Time (7 hour day) • Test Administration Window • Test Preview Window

Training Resources Livebinder

Who to Contact? • District Contact: Name • Phone • email • Region 4 ESC Contact: Susan Parker • 713-744-6398 • susan.parker@esc.net • TEA Contact: Student Assessment, Alternate Assessment Team • 512-463-9536 • staaralt@tea.state.tx.us