Start Up Preparing Your School to Serve Students with Disabilities - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Keys to a Successful School Start Up Preparing Your School to Serve Students with Disabilities August 2015 1

Agenda I. Child Find, Evaluation, and IEP Responsibilities II. DC State Special Education Policies III. Obtaining Student Records IV. Key OSSE Resources V. Upcoming Training Opportunities VI. Key Terms 2

Child Find, Evaluation, and IEP Responsibilities 3 3

Child Find, Evaluation, and IEP Responsibilities • All staff are fully aware of the Student Support Team (SST) process and child find obligations when a student is suspected of a disability. • All staff fully understand key special education requirements, including initial evaluation/re-evaluation, eligibility determination, IEP development and implementation, discipline, and least restrictive environment/educational placements. • A system is in place to ensure that general education teachers have access to student IEPs and are supported in their implementation. • All students with IEPs are assigned to appropriately constituted IEP teams, a case manager, and appropriate related service providers before the start of the school year. • A calendar of key deadlines for all students with IEPs is developed and managed. The calendar is developed in the beginning of the year and monitored monthly. • A system is in place to ensure that roles and responsibilities are clear for uploading special education documents pertaining to students into the Special Education Data System (SEDS), the state’s official system of record, within five business days of the event or receipt of documents. 4

Child Find, Evaluation, and IEP Responsibilities 5

Child Find, Evaluation, and IEP Responsibilities  By the start of the school year, the LEA should be able to compile a list of all annual IEPs and re- evaluations deadlines by month based on information from SEDS and the LEA Planning and Performance Report. Due Date Event Student 11/12/14 Annual IEP Josh Bunny 11/15/14 Re-evaluation Chris Cotton 11/15/14 Annual IEP Barry Happy 11/17/14 Annual IEP Jill Hill 11/18/14 Annual IEP Mary Lamb 6

Child Find, Evaluation, and IEP Responsibilities  It is important to ensure that the LEA has a system for on-going training of new staff or staff unfamiliar with the IEP process and requirements. Staff Member/Role Training Dates Monitoring Dates Quality Control Feedback 7

The Role of the LEA SE POC • Each LEA is required to have an LEA Special Education Point of Contact (LEA SE POC) who serves as OSSE’s main point of contact with LEAs for the purpose of special education. • LEA SE POC responsibilities remain largely the same from year to year, with some modifications according to LEA-level or State-level needs. • Monthly LEA SE POC webinars will highlight any new responsibilities that may arise over the course of the school year. 8

The Role of the LEA SE POC The role of a LEA SE POC entails: Attending monthly LEA SE POC webinars LEA SE POC Thoroughly reviewing the For additional weekly distributed LEA Look information visit Forward newsletter the OSSE Website Attending trainings hosted by OSSE Request Submitting and responding to account access tickets in the via Quickbase OSSE Support Tool Reviewing state-level weekly and monthly reports (LEA Access all reports P&P, Backlog Reports, Events in SLED not Transferred, etc.) 9

Child Find, Evaluation, and IEP Responsibilities When a student with an IEP transfers to the LEA, the LEA SE POC should immediately: • Review the student history in SEDS • Assign a case manager • Build the IEP team • Provide access to the IEP for all relevant teachers and staff • Assign related service providers • Add the student to the calendar list of IEP due dates and evaluation timelines 10

Key Special Education Policies 11 11

DC State Special Education Policies LEA special education administrators are responsible for OSSE website: obtaining, understanding, and following the policies and http://osse.dc.gov/service/specialized- regulations set forth by the federal government and by the education-policies-and-regulations state. Complete the following steps to access special education policies and regulations: • Go to osse.dc.gov. • Click the Programs tab and select Specialized Education. • In the body of the page, click the Policies and Regulations hyperlink. 12

DC State Special Education Policies Key policies for LEAs to review include: – Comprehensive Child Find System Policy – Part B Initial Evaluation and Reevaluation Policy – Individualized Education Program (IEP) Process Policy – IEP Implementation for Transfer Students Policy – Policies and Procedures for Placement Review Rights of Parents of Students with Disabilities: IDEA Part B Notice of Procedural Safeguards – http://osse.dc.gov/publication/rights-parents-students- disabilities-idea-part-b-notice-procedural-safeguards 13

DC State Special Education Policies Policy in Practice Webinar Series • Collection of on-demand webinar videos that cover a wide variety of special education topics, including all DSE special education policies. During each webinar, participants will learn: – The basic tenets of each special education policy – The laws and regulations underlying each policy – Best practices in implementing the policies, including case studies – Documentation of policies and procedures in the Special Education Data System (SEDS) – Where to find additional resources Available to view on-demand on the TTA resources page on the OSSE website. ESSE Policy in Practice Webinar Series 14

Key OSSE Resources 15 15

Key OSSE Resources OSSE List of LEA Contacts Periodically ,OSSE will send important information to school leaders and other designees based on the person’s role at the LEA. It is important to have the name, work phone number, email, and title of the LEA’s administrative team. By August 1 st of each school year, LEAs should send contact information of the following individuals: • Head of School • Data Manager • LEA Special Education Point of Contact • Assessment Specialist • Homeless Liaison • Finance and Grants Manager • Information Technology Contact • Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Coordinator Send contact information to: osse.leadata@dc.gov and Tonia.lovelace@dc.gov. 16

Key OSSE Resources • LRE Toolkit http://osse.dc.gov/publication/least-restrictive- environment-toolkit • PBS Toolkit http://osse.dc.gov/publication/positive-behavior-support- pbs-toolkit • Secondary Transition Process Toolkit http://osse.dc.gov/publication/secondary-transition- process-toolkit • Effective Behavior Support Webinar Series 17

Key OSSE Resources • Nonpublic Program Toolkit http://osse.dc.gov/publication/nonpublic-toolkit • Standards-Based IEP Guidance http://osse.dc.gov/publication/standards-based- individualized-education-program-iep-resource-guide • Policy in Practice Webinar Series http://osse.dc.gov/service/specialized-education-resources • Student- led IEP Initiative: “The Best Me I Can Be” http://osse.dc.gov/multimedia/best-me-i-can-be 18

Obtaining Student Records 19 19

Obtaining Student Records When a transfer student officially enrolls in a new LEA, the new LEA shall: • Specifically ask the parents and the previous LEA whether the student has been referred previously as a potential “child with a disability.”* • Request the student’s records from the previous LEA within 5 business days of enrollment: – Includes any special education records, or documentation of referral. • The previous LEA shall provide the student’s records to the new LEA within 10 business days of the new LEA’s request. – If the existing IEP is from out of state, the LEA must upload the IEP into SEDS within 10 business days of its receipt. – If the new LEA is unable to obtain the IEP, it must fulfill its Child Find obligations if there is reason to suspect the child has a disability. • Provide comparable services within 20 calendar days of receipt of out-of- state IEP *OSSE Individualized Education Program (IEP) Implementation for Transfer Students Policy, December 2015, p. 2. 20

Obtaining Student Records • Currently OSSE facilitates the transfer of a student’s SEDS records between two in-state LEAs: – The LEA SE POC is responsible for regularly checking the “Events Not Transferred” (ENT) report in the OSSE Support Tool for any new students whose records in SEDS have not yet transferred. – The LEA SE POC submits a request for OSSE to transfer the SEDS records. • The facilitation of a SEDS records transfer by OSSE does not excuse the new LEA from reaching out directly to the previous LEA to obtain other non-SEDS student records. • The LEA SE POC and school registrar should work closely together to ensure all enrollment information is up to date, and all records are obtained. 21