Mat-Su Borough School District Student Support Services Welcome from Lucy Hope, Director

Agenda Overview of special education in Mat-Su Overview of special education law: IDEA; Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Overview of disabilities

Who’s who…. Introductions: Your name, Why are you subbing? School(s) you are working in Programs you have worked in

Related Services Speech Language Pathologists School Psychologists Occupational Therapists Physical Therapists Audiologists Vision and Hearing Specialists Sign Language Interpreters Assistive Technology Specialists

CONFIDENTIALITY Protection of Records, Disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to children with disabilities Parental Access to Educational Records Parental Consent for Release of Records

MSBSD Special Education Policies and Procedures Are one and the same as……… Alaska Special Education Handbook

DEFINITIONS Special Education: Related Services 504 Plan Accommodations Modifications Is: specialized instruction, Is: required for a child to benefit from special education

The legal and political aspects of Special Education Series of federal public laws regarding children’s entitlement to a Free and Appropriate Public Education in the Least Restrictive Environment 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act 1987 Preschool Handicapped Act 1990 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 1997 IDEA Amendments of : Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act

BASIC CONCEPTS FAPE (free and and appropriate public education) Ages 3-21, suspended or expelled students, students in correctional facilities, private schools, home schools, charter schools, district and state correspondence schools. LRE (least restrictive environment) to maximum extent appropriate

IDEA Disability Must meet eligibility criteria as defined by law under fourteen disability categories Must adversely affect education performance Must substantiate requirement for special education and related services

IDEA Disability Categories Specific Learning Disability (about half of all students with IEPs): 1174 students Speech Impaired: 428 students Early Childhood Developmentally Delayed: 301 students Other Health Impaired: 238 students Emotionally Disturbed: 154 students Cognitively Impaired: 100 students

Other disability categories: Low incidence disabilities: Autism: 78 students Multiple disabilities: 52 students Hard of Hearing/Deaf: 19 students Visually Impaired: 6 students Deaf Blind: 1 students Traumatic Brain Injury: 6 students Orthopedically Impaired: 12 students

Childfind Early childhood, school age children enrolled in the district, school age children not enrolled in the district Interventions Must be attempted in regular education before a referral to special education is made…. Commonly called “RTI” in our district (Response to Intervention)

Referral and Evaluation Must be completed within 45 school days of the date parent signed consent to evaluate. Reevaluations Must be conducted every three years Exit Only for reasons allowed by state regulations

IEP Individualized Education Program Consists of 13 sections, defined by state regulations. iPlan is our software, forms on iPlan come directly from Alaska Special Education Handbook. Developed by team

IEP Meeting: Required Participants Must be invited Parent Student after age 14 General Ed teacher Special ed provider District representative Anyone knowledgeable about evaluation conducted Must attend: General Ed teacher Special Ed provider District representative

IEP Alignment From Evaluation………………… to PLAFFP…………………………. to Goals & Objectives………… to Services…………………………. to Placement

Placement: based on IEP following it’s completion LRE (to what extent is the child being educated with typical same age peers???) Not where the child is educated, but with whom….. Should be enrolled in their attendance area school or as close to home as possible. Team must consider continuum of options. Justification must be written if services are more restrictive than fulltime services in general education classroom.

Implementation of IEP Must be implemented within 45 days of receipt of consent to evaluate Upon proposal of IEP, regardless of any disagreement. If consensus cannot be reached, district must provide Prior Written Notice of its proposed IEP.

Transition Services Into Preschool 90 days prior to 3 rd birthday, children in Infant Learning Program have Transition meeting in their home Process of evaluation begins By age 16 Transition Plan required for every student, addressing the purpose of IDEIA: “to prepare for employment and independent living”

MSBSD Programs Early Childhood (ages 3-5) Itinerant Headstart Center Based preschool (2 or 4 days) Elementary (grades k-5) Itinerant Resource Intensive resource Regional programs for ED and Deaf students, and ABA programs

MSBSD Programs Middle School (grades 6-8) Itinerant Resource Intensive resource Self contained High School (grades 9-12) Itinerant Resource Intensive resource Self Contained Next Step Transition K-12 Special Day School

Houston High School Houston High Resource Intensive Resource Self Contained & ED Houston Middle School Resource Intensive Resource Self Contained & ED Willow Elementary Resource Preschool Big Lake Elementary Resource Intensive Resource Preschool & ED Meadow Lakes Elementary Resource Intensive Resource Preschool

Su Valley Junior/Senior High School Susitna Valley Junior Senior High Resource Intensive Resource Willow Elementary Resource Preschool Talkeetna Elementary Resource Trapper Creek Elementary Resource

Wasilla High School Resource, Intensive Resource Self Contained, ED & ABA Wasilla Middle School Resource Intensive Resource Self Contained & ABA Goose Bay Elementary (Grade K-2) Resource Intensive Resource Preschool Knik Elementary (Grade 3-5) Resource, ED, Intensive Resource Iditarod Elementary Resource, ED, Intensive Resource Preschool, Augmentative Communication class Snowshoe Elementary Resource Intensive Resource Preschool Tanaina Elementary Resource Intensive Resource Preschool Teeland Middle School Resource, Intensive Resource, ABA Self contained, ED & Deaf ED/HOH Shaw Elementary Resource Intensive Resource Preschool & Deaf ED/HOH Larson Elementary Resource Intensive Resource Preschool & ABA

Colony High School Resource, Intensive Resource Self Contained, ED & ABA Teeland Middle School Resource, Intensive Resource, ABA Self contained, ED & Deaf ED/HOH Shaw Elementary Resource Intensive Resource Preschool & Deaf ED/HOH Larson Elementary Resource Intensive Resource Preschool & ABA Colony Middle School Resource, Intensive Resource Self contained & ED Finger Lake Elementary Resource Intensive Resource Preschool Pioneer Peak Elementary Resource Intensive Resource Preschool & ABA Machetanz Elementary Resource Intensive Resource Preschool & ED

Palmer High School Palmer High Resource Intensive Resource ED & Self Contained Palmer Junior Middle School Resource Intensive Resource ED & Self Contained Sutton Resource Sherrod (Grade 3-5) Resource Intensive Resource Swanson (grade K-2) Resource Intensive Resource Preschool Butte Resource Intensive Resource

Glacier View School Glacier View School (Grades K-12) Resource*

Alternative Schools Burchell High Grades 9-12 Resource Valley Pathways Grades 9-12 Resource

Correspondence School Mat-Su Central (Grades K-12) Resource

Charter Schools Midnight Sun (Grades K-8) Resource Academy Charter (Grades K-12) Resource Twindly Bridge (Grades K-12) Resource Fronteras Spanish Immersion (Grades K-5) Resource American Charter Academy (Grades 2-12) Resource Birch Tree (Grades K-8) Resource

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) AYP: Adequate Yearly Progress…measured by annual Standards Based Assessments District is at Level 4 Schools are at different levels For more info go to SWD: Students with Disabilities A subgroup, specified in NCLB Performance of this subgroup includes all students in district with IEPs, grades 3-10.

All are decisions Made by IEP team Alaska Statewide Assessment Grades 3-10 Terra Nova (NRT) Standards Based Assessments (CRT) Grade 10 High School Graduation Qualifying Exam (CRT) SWD MUST take assessments: without accommodations, or with accommodations, or Participate in an Alternate Assessment

Alaska Statewide Assessments All accommodations specified in the IEP must be administered during the assessments. SSS Records Specialist, will work with case managers so you know which students have which accommodations.

Alaska Statewide Assessment After 10th grade administration of the HSGQE, if a SWD has failed a subsection, the IEP team may recommend a Modified HSGQE Nonstandardized HSGQE All of these need to be approved by DEED. Submission of these requests is coordinated by SSS, Records Specialist Upon approval, info will be sent to case managers.

Extended School Year Eligibility under three categories: Regression/Recoup- ment Self-sufficiency Emerging skills IEP meetings annually determine eligibility for ESY IEP Amendment meetings must be held, to determine skills to be addressed in ESY

Special Education Attendance Required to be taken daily Paper/pencil, in addition to iCue attendance at your school Mark each day you are scheduled to see a child (i.e. positive attendance) Submit at the end of each quarter to Records Specialist

Working Files Must be locked You are responsible for confidentiality Must contain current iep, this year’s progress notes, and any other confidential information about that child that you want to keep

Thank you! Please enjoy the rest of your day…. Please fill out questionnaire about future topics