Special Education Updates John Payne, Interim Director Office of Exceptional Children

SC Enrich IEP System  Goal: In the school year, SC Enrich will replace Excent Online as the State web-based system for development and implementation of individualized education programs for students with disabilities.  What has been done?  Most of the product configuration  Selection of pilot school districts (Lancaster, Greenwood 51, and Sumter)  Designation of school districts for each of the five groups/waves (pilots are in Group 1)  Determination on of number of trainers for each district (based on district size/number of schools in each district)  What must be completed to reach goal?  Finish product configuration  Kick-off meetings for each group (Superintendents, SE Directors, and IT Directors)(SCDE – 3 hrs)  Product installation at each school district  Configuration and system administration training for each group (Remotely – ½ day)  Training for school district trainers for each group (SCDE Rutledge Building and Career Development Center – 4 sessions/2 days each)

SC Enrich Project – Monthly Activities  January – rollout announcement to school districts; complete software configuration; complete portal for communicating information to school districts (group designations, kick-off meeting dates, training guides and dates, announcements, etc.)  February – Excent will train OEC Enrich team (4 staff members) on all aspects of Enrich; develop school district training plan; Excent and OEC Enrich team will train remaining OEC staff; kick-off meetings for Group 1 and Group 2; product installation for pilot sites  March – kick-off meetings for Groups 3-4; product installation for rest of Group 1; training for Group 1  April & May – kick off meeting for Group 5; pilot implementation  June through August 8 – input from pilot districts; product modifications; training for Groups 2-5 (SC Enrich Version of Groundhog Day); product installation for Groups 2-5  Rest of August – school districts trainers provide training to district staff; OEC prays for successful state wide launch

RDA: Moving from a Compliance- Focus to One Driven by Results “For too long we’ve been a compliance-driven bureaucracy when it comes to educating students with disabilities.” “We have to expect the very best from our students – and tell the truth about student performance – so that we can give all students the supports and services they need. The best way to do that is by focusing on results.” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

General APR & SSIP Phase I Timeline

Accountability Goals Engage key stakeholders to identify and analyze key data. Stakeholders will help identify a focus for improvement (e.g. graduation rate, dropout rate) Work with LEAs and other stakeholders to identify evidence-based practices.

Standards for Evaluation and Eligibility Determination (SEED)  SEED is a non-regulatory guidance document developed in 2011 to assist districts in implementing state and federal special education regulations, particularly in the area of evaluation and eligibility for special education. This segment of the special education process was lifted from the more Comprehensive Process Guide.

SEED (cont’d)  After 3 years of use, the OEC has determined that the SEED document has not always had its intended effect, as it has been sometimes taken out of the context of the entire special education process. We will be removing SEED from our resources, and inserting its contents back into the Comprehensive Process Guide. The Comprehensive Process Guide will be revised to be more accessible and informative, giving better guidance to the entire special education process.

Students with Disabilities and The Common Core  As the Common Core Standards enter the full implementation year in , concern is growing regarding Students with Disabilities’ ability to meet those standards. This is a common occurrence anytime new standards or a more rigorous curricula are introduced. Although the CCS represent significant change, the role and function of special education remains the same. A few gentle reminders:

SWD and CCS  Students with disabilities are general education students first.  Special education is a supplemental service to general education, not a substitute.  The purpose of special education continues to be to assist in remediating specific skill deficits, and to help students access and progress in the general curriculum.  Students are deemed eligible for special education by having a disability which adversely affects their learning, not because new standards or curricula may be difficult for them.  The Office of Exceptional Children is dedicated to assisting general and special education staff in helping all students meet the Common Core Standards.

Project Goals:  To develop a comprehensive system of technically defensible summative assessments supported by  Evidence-based curriculum and instruction  Comprehensive professional development  To ensure that students with significant cognitive disabilities achieve increasingly higher academic outcomes and leave high school ready for post-secondary options (college and career ready) National Center and State Collaborative (NCSC) Alternate Assessment on Alternate Achievement Standards 12

 Community of Practice (CoP)  Regional Trainings; Research to Practice  SC Teachers participating in national study (Instructional materials)  Teacher Training Modules aligned to CCSS ready by end of month  Curriculum Alignment  Graduated Understandings  Curriculum Resource Guide  Curricular materials and instructional modules are available on the NCSC wiki NCSC Curriculum and Instruction Professional Development Update 13

NCSC Summative Assessment Update  Items have been developed.  SC teachers participated in content and bias review committee meetings across the summer with teachers from the other 25 states in the consortium.  Pilots/field tests of items with students and teachers will occur Spring  Pilots/field tests of complete forms will occur Fall  Operational assessment will occur Spring  SC-Alt will continue to be administered in science and social studies.

Questions? John Payne, Interim Director Office of Exceptional Childen