Improving Special Education Services in California: Stakeholder Meeting

1. WelcomeStakeholdersDecember 5, 2007 Improving Special Education Services (ISES)December 5, 2007

2. ISES Purpose Bring together California stakeholders to learn and discuss the update to the State Performance Plan (SPP) and the Annual Performance Report (APR).

3. Meeting Outcomes Stakeholders will be… • Knowledgeable regarding the SPP/APR information and provide targeted recommendations on the SPP/APR improvement activities to CDE. 2. Aware of new federal grant activities and obtain an update on the current State Improvement Grant (SIG2) training and technical assistance activities.

4. Our Continued Work • Stakeholder roles and responsibilities remain significant • Our work outcomes are… • Improve outcomes for students with disabilities • Ensure qualified staff • Continue our required general supervision activities as a state

5. ISES – Improvement Process • ISES is a unified planning and improvement process with stakeholders • Continue bi-annual meetings • ISES combines the activities of several diverse planning groups to address a variety of state needs based on data… • Personnel Development • Accountability • Monitoring • Continue our work with many partners

6. SPP/APR Review Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 Required… • State Educational Agency (SEA) to annually provide measures and reports on specific outcomes to the United States Department of Education (USDOE) on 20 Indicators • Established the State Performance Plan (SPP) • Describes how the state will meet these new requirements • Six year plan • Established the Annual Performance Report • Describes how the state met those outcomes described in the SPP • Based on those outcomes, OSEP made status determinations of California (“state IEP”) • All state level planning in special education tied to the SPP and State Improvement Grant (SIG)

7. Today • Update on what’s happened in California – OSEP’s Determinations • Hear new information about the State Performance Plan and Annual Performance Report data • Hear about what we have learned from the data • Hear about some of our targeted activities and overarching and connected improvement activities • Spending late morning and the afternoon in workgroups for examining, discussing, and providing recommendations to CDE • Hear the top 3 recommendations from each of the workgroups

8. Changes • New format for the APR improvement activities • Completed • Continuing • Added • Streamlined • Reduce redundancy of activities • Targeted likely relatedness to indicator • Identified Indicators that are cross-cutting, overarching

9. Partners in Improvement • Cross-walk matrix with Indicators and partners of projects, grants, contracts • Selected Acronyms • Everyone in the room is our partner in improvement

10. Turn Around LeadershipMichael Fullan • Explicit & relentless focus on raising the bar and closing the achievement gap • Investment in capacity building strategies at all levels • Availability & transparency of data at all levels • Investment of financial resources • Evolving positive pressure • Clear understanding that it is the quality of teachers, individually, how they work together & commitment

11. Instructions for Workgroups Workgroup AM Session • Select a recorder • Select a reporter • Review Indicators & Required Measurements • Review Benchmarks/Targets • Review data/discuss- Q & A

12. Instructions for Workgroups Workgroup PM Session • Review the improvement activities (completed, continuing, added) • Examine, discuss activities • Begin your recommendations (record) • Use Questions (1-6) “Litmus Test” • Select top 3 recommendations to report back to the group

13. Today’s Workgroup Topics • Strategic Plan for Recruitment, Preparation & Retention of Special Education Professionals 2. Indicators #9 & 10 Disproportionality By Ethnicity & Overall 3. Indicators #6 & 7 Preschool Assessment & Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) 4. Indicator #5 Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) 5. Indicator #8 Parent Involvement 6. Indicators #13 & 14 Transition Goal & Post Secondary Outcomes 7. Compliance Indicators #16 - Complaints #17 - Due Process #18 - Hearing Requests #19 - Mediation

14. Organizing Workgroup Ideas & Recommendations Responses and recommendations could address… • Policies, procedures, structural changes • Inservice Training - Professional Development • Recruitment and retention of qualified staff • Focused Monitoring and Technical Assistance • Data Analysis • Research

15. Brainstorming to Develop Recommendations for Improvement Strategies • Think …What could California … • Complete? Delete? Why? • Continue? For how long? • Scale up? In what way? • Add? Who, what when where and why? • Do the strategies address the indicator and required measurement? • Is there a likely capacity for the strategies to have obtainable data sources? (describe)

16. “Litmus Test Questions” • How is the recommendation aligned to the indicator as being one with a high likelihood of making an impact across the state? Describe • How is this recommendation addressing existing needs/gaps based on data? Describe • How feasible is this recommendation to implement? Explain. • Is this recommendation cost effective? In what way? • Is this recommendation linked to and/or leveraged with existing state activities that could supplement/or expand in California? • What mechanism(s) are needed to determine whether the recommendation works? (e.g. is there research, evidence-based practices, etc.).

17. Prioritize • Use dots or other methods to select the most important top 3 recommendations • Select the recommendations based on agreement (you can live with it) • Record recommendations on flip chart and post • Reporter will share wkgroup’s top 3 to larger group

18. Reflection & Review • Strategic Plan for Recruitment, Preparation & Retention of Special Education Professionals 2. Indicators #9 & 10 Disproportionality By Ethnicity & Overall 3. Indicators #6 & 7 Preschool Assessment & Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) 4. Indicator #5 Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) 5. Indicator #8 Parent Involvement 6. Indicators #13 & 14 Transition Goal & Post Secondary Outcomes 7. Compliance Indicators #16 - Complaints #17 - Due Process #18 - Hearing Requests #19 - Mediation

19. Next Steps • Please complete & turn in meeting evaluation today • Meeting evaluations compiled & placed on CalSTAT website • Recommendations compiled & • Placed on CalSTAT website • Next ISIS Meeting • When: June 3, 2008 • Where: 1500 Capitol Mall • Time: 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM

20. Thank you Stakeholders!!! See you June 3, 2008