SPECIAL EDUCATION March 13, 2013 Curriculum and Instruction Committee Question and Answers Meeting Developing tomorrow’s leaders today

Referrals to CSE

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CHILDREN NEED TO BE CLASSIFIED? PROCESS?

IS IT APPROPRIATE TO MODIFY A STUDENT’S CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT WITHOUT AN IEP OR 504 ?

WHO MAKES THE FINAL DECISION IN A CSE MEETING?

CAN ANY STAFF MEMBER WORKING WITH A CHILD MAKE A REFERRAL?

SHOULD REGULAR EDUCATION TEACHERS BE CONSULTING AND/OR ADVISING PARENTS ON SPECIAL EDUCATION ISSUES OR CONCERNS IN ANY WAY?

SHOULD TEACHERS/STAFF BE ADVISING FAMILIES TO PUT THEIR CHILDREN ON MEDICATION OR SUGGESTING POTENTIAL DIAGNOSIS TO PARENTS?

WHY DO SOME REFERRALS TO CSE NOT HAVE TO GO THROUGH IST?

WHO DETERMINES THAT THE SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST IS THE “SCHOOL DISTRICT DESIGNEE?”

DO THE ACTUAL CURRICULUM APPROACHES AND INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGIES NEED TO B E PROVIDED FOR A CSE REFERRAL? WHEN SHOULD WE EXPECT DISCUSSION OF THAT INFORMATION?

WHAT INTERVENTIONS ARE WE CURRENTLY USING TO ADDRESS STUDENT NEEDS PRIOR TO CLASSIFICATION?

IT WAS SAID THAT WE HEAVILY RELY ON RTI DATA. FOR WHAT …TO CLASSIFY CHILDREN? TO CONTINUE RTI? WHAT SPECIFIC DATA ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? AIMSWEB?

HOW LONG DO CHILDREN TYPICALLY HAVE TO STAY AT THE TIERS BEFORE WE HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO CONSIDER CSE?

NOW THAT WE HAVE RTI WHAT DOES THE CSE REFERRAL PROCESS/FORM LOOK LIKE?

Classification and Declassification

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN IEP, 504, OR DECLASSIFICATION DOCUMENT?

WHY IS IT SUCH A BIG DEAL TO CLASSIFY A STUDENT?

WHY DO CHILDREN WHO HAVE LOW STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES WHEN EVALUATED, NOT QUALIFY FOR CSE?

WHAT ARE WE DOING TO ADDRESS THE FAMILIES WHO FEEL PRESSURED BY STAFF TO ACCEPT CSE SERVICES OR TO PUT THEIR CHILD OUT OF DISTRICT? WHY ARE SOME CHILDREN SENT OUT OF DISTRICT WITHOUT THE EVIDENCE THAT THE BIP HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY FOLLOWED OR WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF AN FBA?

BEHAVIORAL DATA TRACKING IS BEING DONE BY SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS WHO ARE RECORDING WHAT THEY WANT AND CHANGING WHAT THEY WANT. WHAT BEHAVIORAL DATA TRACKING ARE SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS RESPONSIBLE FOR?

DO WE FOLLOW DISCREPANCY MODEL OR RTI TO QUALIFY CHILDREN AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL? RTI IS MANDATED ONLY FOR GRADES K-4 READING, RIGHT?

WHAT ARE THE PATHWAYS A CHILD CAN QUALIFY FOR A LEARNING DISABILITY (LD) IN NYS?

WHAT DOES A PATTERN OF STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES MEAN IN TERMS OF A LEARNING DISABILITY (LD)?

WHAT MAKES A STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENT VALID AND RELIABLE? WHAT IS A GOOD RELIABILITY COEFFICIENT? WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT? DO THE TESTS USED IN PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL EVALUATIONS MEET THIS CRITERIA?

DOES THERE NEED TO BE EVIDENCE OF VARIED CURRICULUM APPROACHES TO JUSTIFY A LEARNING DISABILITY (LD)?

WOULD CURRICULUM GAPS OR PROBLEMS BE RELEVANT IN A LACK OF INSTRUCTION AS IT RELATES TO A LEARNING DISABILITY (LD) DISCUSSION?

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A READING DISABILITY AND A LEARNING DISABILITY?

WERE ANY CHILDREN PUT ON THE CSE REGISTER LAST YEAR OR THIS YEAR?

ARE THE SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS PRESSURED TO DECLASSIFY STUDENTS?

WHAT IS THE POINT OF RE-TESTING STUDENTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN FULLY ASSESSED AND PUT ON DECLASSIFICATION SUPPORT? IS THERE AN IMPACT TO THE CHILD?

WHAT SUPPORTS HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE IN REGULAR EDUCATION FOR DECLASSIFIED STUDENTS?

WHY AND WHERE ARE WE USING THE LINDAMOOD-BELL LIPS, SEEING STARS, AND VISUALIZING/VERBALIZING PROGRAMS? WHAT ARE THE FIVE PILLARS OF READING?

WHAT HAS CHANGED SO DRASTICALLY IN OUR TEACHING THAT CHILDREN HAVE GROWN TO GRADE LEVEL AND BEEN DECLASSIFIED TO BRING OUR NUMBERS FROM 20% TO 15%? HOW/WHAT DID OUR DISTRICT DO TO DECREASE OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION PERCENTAGES 3-5% FROM TO 13-14?

Professional/Certifications

CAN TEACHERS/STAFF OTHER THAN THE SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST INTERPRET TEST SCORES UTILIZED AS PART OF A STUDENT’S PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION (REGARDLESS OF THE EVALUATION HAVING BEEN CONDUCTED BY DISTRICT STAFF OR NOT)?

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER REGARDING PROGRAMMING, IEP DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS?

WHAT READING TRAINING HAVE THE PSYCHOLOGISTS HAD?

WHAT TRAINING HAVE READING TEACHERS HAD TO ANALYZE OR INTERPRET TEST RESULTS (SPEECH, AND PSYCH EVALUATIONS)?

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A READING TEACHER AND A READING SPECIALIST, AND HOW DOES THE SCOPE OF THEIR PRACTICE DIFFER? PLEASE PROVIDE EXAMPLES.

Programming

IS IT TRUE THAT STATE ED CAME OUT TO REVIEW THE ICM PROGRAM LAST YEAR? IF SO, WHAT DID THEY SAY?

HOW MANY COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO STATE ED WITHIN THE LAST 5 YEARS REGARDING SPECIAL EDUCATION?

HAS STATE ED PROVIDED US ANY FEEDBACK ON OUR CURRENT PROGRAMS AND PRACTICES?

I’M SURE THAT THE POSITIVE ROLE MODELS OF THE GENERAL EDUCATION STUDENTS ARE HELPING OUT THE ICM KIDS, BUT ARE WE TRACKING HOW THE NEGATIVE BEHAVIORS OF THE ICM KIDS ARE AFFECTING OUR GENERAL EDUCATION STUDENTS?

Communication

WHAT IS THE FEEDBACK ON PSYCHO- EDUCATIONAL EVALUATIONS FROM OTHER DISTRICTS?

WHAT IS PREDETERMINATION AND PLEASE PROVIDE EXAMPLES? DO PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS COUNT? DOES GOING OVER PSYCHOLOGICAL REPORTS AHEAD OF TIME COUNT?

TEACHERS ARE ASKED FOR A LOT OF INFORMATION TO BE COMPLETED PRIOR TO THE PSYCHOLOGISTS REPORT BEING COMPLETED AND WE DO NOT HEAR A BOUT IT UNTIL THE MEETING. CAN A PROCEDURE BE ESTABLISHED TO FOLLOW UP BEFORE THE MEETINGS SO EVERYONE IS ON THE SAME PAGE?

IS THERE A FORMAL PROCEDURE IN PLACE FOR THE RE- EVALUATION PROCESS FOR THE COMMITTEE THAT WILL BE AT THE MEETING? (THE PSYCHOLOGIST DOES ALL THE TESTING, SEND HOME RATING SCALES TO FILL OUT, TEACHERS ARE ASKED TO FILL OUT SURVEYS AND SCALES AND GIVE NARRATIVES ON THEIR STUDENTS, AND MAYBE WE GET AN BACK ABOUT THE RESULTS)

WHY ARE WE TELLING PARENTS THAT OUR NUMBERS ARE TOO HIGH; THEREFORE, THEIR CHILD WILL NOT GET SERVICES ON THE CSE REGISTER?

Training

WHEN WILL TRAINING BE PROVIDED THAT HELPS DISTINGUISH BETWEEN INTERVENTIONS AND ACCOMMODATIONS/MODIFICATIONS?

WOULD ADDITIONAL TRAINING IN ACCURATE DATA COLLECTION (WITHOUT THE USE OF SUBJECTIVE OR INFLAMMATORY LANGUAGE) BE HELPFUL?

Additional Comments

“PBC’S ISM CLASS WAS NOT INITIALLY MODELED AFTER ANYTHING. A BRAND NEW TEACHER WAS (AND LET GO) AND NEVER REALLY GIVEN ANY GUIDELINES. GUIDELINES CAME MID-YEAR AFTER STAFF PUSHED AND QUESTIONED AND PUSHED AND QUESTIONED. VISITS WERE MADE TO BETHLEHEM, A DESCRIPTION WRITTEN, ETC. AROUND FEBRUARY OF LAST YEAR WAS A HORRENDOUS YEAR FOR BOTH TEACHERS, TEACHER ASSISTANTS AND STUDENTS AT PBC DUE TO THE LACK OF PLANNING FOR THE ICM CLASSES. THE UNDERSTANDING IS IT HASN’T CHANGED MUCH BUT THAT TEACHERS ARE EITHER AFRAID TO SPEAK UP OR DO NOT HAVE THE TIME BECAUSE THEY ARE TRYING TO KEEP THEIR HEADS ABOVE WATER.” “NOT SO SURE PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS ARE WRITTEN SO PARENTS CAN UNDERSTAND THEM. ALSO THE INITIAL LETTERS SENT TO PARENTS ARE OFTEN DECEIVING AND/OR DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND; THEREFORE, HOLDING UP OR EXTENDING THE PROCESS.” “I KEEP HEARING “TEAM” BUT THAT IS NOT REALLY PUT IN TO PRACTICE.”

AIMSweb and RtI Follow Up Meeting Being Scheduled with an AIMSweb Representative to Address Questions Related To These Topics.