SC Public Charter School District

1. SC Public Charter School District Special Education Coordinator Training September 5, 2013

2. Agenda • Welcome and Introductions • SCDE OEC On-site Monitoring Follow-up • Comprehensive Program Review • Policy and Procedures • School-level Procedures • Compliance within the IEP process • Transfers • PLOP • Annual Goals • Progress Monitoring • FAPE Continuum • Child Find • Restraint and Time Out • Disciplining SWD • Importance of PowerSchool • Excent • Attachments • Potpourri • Excent • Confidentiality/FERPA • Exiting • Medicaid • Budgeting • EFA Coding in PowerSchool • Data • Dates • Closing/Questions

3. Introductions

4. Who we are – • Robbie Compton, Ph.D. • Director of Federal Programs and School Safety • 803-734-8067; 803-230-9593 (cell) • Beckie Davis • Director of Special Services • 803-734-8050; 803-312-2491 (cell) • Zenobia Ealy • Special Education Data Manager (Excent/data) • In addition to PowerSchool • 803-734-4151 • Vamshi Rudrapati (Mr. V) • Assistant Director of Federal Programs (forms) • In addition to Title I, Title III, and homeless • 803-734-1105; 803-603-6433 (cell)

5. Who we are – • Mariann Carter • Upstate Regional Coordinator • 803-734-8067; 803-230-9593 (cell) • mcarter@sccharter.org • Nichole Adams • Midlands and Virtual Regional Coordinator • 803-603-6590 (cell) • nadams@sccharter.org • Debbie Dawsey-Davis • Lowcountry Regional Coordinator • 803-603-8424 (cell) • ddawsey-davis@sccharter.org • Mr. V • Pee Dee Regional Coordinator • 803-735-1105; 803-603-6433 (cell) • vrudrapati@sccharter.org

6. Look Back

7. Reflection of 2012 - 2013 • Over the past year, we’ve had: • 4 State Complaints • 2 were withdrawn by parents • 2 were investigated • 1 found to be in violation which resulted in the school reviewing 100% of their IEPs for compliance. Out of 105 IEPs, 101 were determined to be non-compliant. • 1 found to be in volition which resulted in the school reviewing 3 files. • 1 request for mediation • 2 OCR Complaints • 1: accommodations • 1: continuum of services

8. SCE Onsite Monitoring Follow-up

9. SCDE Onsite Monitoring Follow-up • On March 5, 2013, the SCDE completed and sent to the district the results of their onsite monitoring visit. The district was cited for non-compliance in a variety of areas (based on the review of the IEPs). • As a result: • The district has updated it’s policies and procedures (with school-level procedures built in) • The district has provide training in a variety of targeted areas • The district has developed a school-level monitoring tool (Comprehensive Program Review) • What’s left to do: • Individual student-level corrections • The district will send to everyone within a week a spreadsheet of the students who need some sort of corrective action • This list will include instructions • The deadline to make the required corrections (as per the SCDE corrective action form) is October 18, 2013

10. Comprehensive Program Review

11. Comprehensive Program Review (CPR) • Resulting from a variety of events (SCDE visit, NACSA visit, authorization best practices, and through our own observations), the district has created a monitoring tool called the Comprehensive Program Review (CPR). • The Comprehensive Program Review (CPR) is a transparent and collaborative process used by the South Carolina Public Charter School District (District) to monitor schools' compliance with the various rules and regulations governing the education of students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004. The CPR will consist of the following: • Onsite visits to the school or telephone/video conference; • Review of documentation: records, resources, materials, policy/procedures; and • Consultation with staff

12. Comprehensive Program Review (CPR) • The CPR occurs annually during the Fall semester. District staff and/or Regional Coordinators will schedule the CPR with each assigned school. Follow-up on progress with the Action Plan and/or Improvement Plan will be provided by March 15. • How: • School Procedures: • Complete the Self-Assessment rating • 0-Does not meet - No evidence of any degree of implementation or compliance • 1-Partially meets - Partial plan in place to meet legal requirements • 2-Meets - Plan is 100% in place and meets legal requirements • Prepare and describe evidence for the various compliance requirements to be reviewed by District staff and/or Regional Coordinators • District Procedures: • Examine the school's ratings and evidence for each rating • Provide justification for each rating of 0 or 1 • Determine the level of priority: • Low and Medium levels require an Improvement Plan (IP)* developed in conjunction with the Regional Coordinator • High level requires an Action Plan (AP) developed in conjunction with District staff

13. SharePoint

14. SharePoint • http://sccharter-web.sharepoint.com/ • All forms, policies, and resources are on SharePoint • Print as needed since these are updated often • From Excent, use only the following: • IEP • Meeting Notice • Progress Report • Forms and Procedural Safeguards cannot be modified.

15. Let’s Talk Policies

16. Policies and Procedures • As previously discussed, this year’s policies also include a section for the insertion of school-level procedures. • Schools must adopt our policies. • The areas that schools need to address are: • Cover page (including school logo) • Assurances (p. 4) • Child Find (p. 12) • Procedural Safeguards (p. 15) • Monitoring of Suspensions (p. 21) • IAES (p. 22) • Serving students aged 21 (p. 35) • Sending Paperwork (p. 35) • LEA Designee (p. 36) • Meeting Notices (p. 37) • Transfers (p. 43) • School’s must submit their signed copies of their Policies and Procedures to their regional coordinator by Tuesday, September 17th.

17. Putting the “I” in IEP

18. Transfers into the District

19. IEPs (Transfers) • VI (F) • Regardless of how the parent completes the enrollment information regarding previous special education services, it is the responsibility of the new school to verify whether or not the student received special education and related services in the previous district. • Since this is a transfer of educational records from the child’s previous LEA to the South Carolina Public Charter School District, no consent for release of documents is required.

20. Written, school-level procedures • How do you identify newly-enrolled students who have IEPs? • How/who requests records? • What happens if you don’t get records within 5 days? • Once you get records, what happens?

21. School Requirements • Verify the student’s special education status with the previous school district – even if the parent “marks no.” • If you find out that the child has an IEP: • Request full records: • At a minimum: • Current IEP • Most current evaluation report • Make request to the former district’s director of special education, not the school (contact list located in SharePoint) • If, after a few attempts and reasonable amount time, you do not receive IEP records, contact Robbie for assistance.

22. Comparable Services • “Comparable” services • Not going from 1950 minutes of special education services to 60 • Not dropping the behavior/counseling goal because “we don’t do that here” • Not dropping the fine motor goal because “we don’t have an OT” • How do you determine comparable services?

23. comparable services • An IEP team determines comparable services. • It involves two things: • The transfer IEP • Parental Input • There are two meeting options: • Full IEP meeting • Agreement to amend IEP • 2 options = 1 form • Comparable services meeting must take place within 5 days of enrollment.

24. Between Comparable Services to 30-day meeting Gather data . . . . . Monitor/adjust . . . . Try interventions . . . . . Monitor/adjust . . . . Gather Data . . . .

25. 30-day IEP meeting Team can only make changes if there are new data to support making changes

26. IEPs (Transfers) • VI (F)(1) • Within thirty calendar days from the date of enrollment the South Carolina Public Charter School District will: • adopt the child’s IEP from the previous LEA, • amend the child’s IEP from the previous LEA, or • develop and implement a new IEP.

27. Meeting Summary/PWN

28. IEPs (Minutes/PWN) • We require minutes and a PWN every time an IEP team meets. • The minutes are not meant to be transcriptions but general notes and discussions for the IEP. • Minutes are not required to be signed. • PWN must be completely filled out every time in which the child’s FAPE was discussed. • Samples are found on SharePoint • At the conclusion of the meeting, the parent will receive the signed IEP, minutes, and PWN.

29. PWNs Changes in an IEP cannot be implemented until the parent has received the PWN

30. THE IEP: Present Levels

31. The Link • There must be a link throughout the complete IEP. The link begins with the present level and it expands to all areas: • Accommodations • Services • Annual Goals • LRE • PSGs • . . .

32. PLAAFP • Foundation of the IEP • All the rest of the IEP is built on these • Must include an individualized statement of how the disability affects the child’s progress in the general education setting • Can’t just be a statement that says, “John’s learning disability adversely impacts his access and progress in the general curriculum” • Must be • Current • Data-based • Descriptive • Understandable

33. Annual Goals

34. Annual Goals • Annual goals, or objectives, CANNOT have a mastery statement that says: • As evidenced by an increase on MAP by 5 points • As evidenced by passing the PASS (or HSAP) • As measured by a passing grade in Math. • As measured by a final grade of 83% in English IV • As shown by a standard score increase of 5 points on the Woodcock-Johnson. • By meeting 4 out of the 5 short-term objectives. • For all the measurements above - MAP, PASS, HSAP, grades in class, and Woodcock-Johnson, the score reflects a global score and not a specific skill deficit. A RIT score cannot tell you if the child can tell time on a clock. • The MAP, PASS, HSAP, and Woodcock Johnson are not meant to be given 4 times a year which is at least how often we need to be measuring progress and sending home progress reports. • For passing a class . . . This is EVERY KID’s goal . . . There is nothing “special” about that education. • Which objective is not important?

35. Progress Reports

36. IEPs (Progress Reports) • The South Carolina Public Charter School District will report to the parents the child’s progress towards each annual goal at a frequency defined by the IEP, but in no case less than progress is reported to the child’s non-disabled peers. The reporting may be carried out in writing or through a meeting with the parents (including documentation of information shared at the meeting) • Must be every 9 weeks (at a minimum) • Must be based on data; can’t just have a general statement that says “progressing” or “may meet annual goal by end of the year” without data to support. See handout: Seattle School District

37. Accommodations

38. Accommodations • If it’s listed as a testing accommodation, it MUST be listed as an instructional accommodation and used by the student during typical instruction. • Must have a method of documenting the provision of accommodations from the IEP • How are you going to answer a parent, district staff, SDE staff, OCR, … when we ask, “How do I know the student received the accommodations?”

39. Records in Excent

40. Records • The following must be uploaded into Excent as an attachment: • Transfer IEP and any previous evaluation/reevaluation reports (from the previous district) • Comparable services form • Completely signed IEP (not just the signature page) • Minutes/PWN • Evaluation/Reevaluation paperwork: • Consent for evaluations • Consent for services • Signed Evaluation/Reevaluation Report • Schools still need to maintain hard copies of the child’s IEP folder • What does not get uploaded: • Work samples • Notes between parents and teacher • Test protocols

41. FAPE Continuum

42. Continuum of Services • Every “eligible child” under IDEA is entitled to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) through the services of his/her IEP. • Charter schools are expected to provide a continuum of services and placement options. • Not a FULL continuum in every school, but a continuum.

43. Continuum of Services • http://sccharter-web.sharepoint.com/Documents/SPED%20Rights%20SWD%20to%20Attend.pdf • For students who require special education services that are beyond what is reasonable for the charter school to provide, an IEP Team will be convened to arrange for provision of needed services. • Charter schools within the SCPCSD are held to the same standards and regulations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as traditional public schools. In some cases, the parent’s request to remain in the school of choice (charter school) cannot be granted because the IEP team determines that in order to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to a student; the services must be provided in a different setting, such as a child’s district of residence. Just like a traditional district, individual schools are not required to provide an exhaustive list of placement options within that one school. This decision will be made through an IEP meeting. You will be invited to the meeting. When the meeting occurs, the IEP Team will determine what the child’s needs are and how those needs will be met. If the IEP team determines that a FAPE cannot be provided to the student within the current charter school setting, the SCPCSD will contact the school district of residence to determine if there is a program within that school district that can meet the child’s needs. If so, based on the IEP team’s decision, placement will be made, and responsibility will return to the school district of residence.

44. Continuum of Services The district has the responsibility to provide a full continuum of services. This means that in some cases, the district might set up a multi-district agreement in situations when FAPE cannot be provided in a particular school. This is a IEP team decision that involves district office staff. These are handled case-by-case. Contact Robbie immediately when you have had a child enroll and been accepted to your school who is coming with intensive services and supports. Latest OCR Complaint

45. Referral Process (Child Find)

46. Child Find Procedures In accordance with federal law, the South Carolina Public Charter School District assumes responsibility for the location, identification and evaluation of all children age 3 and 21 who are enrolled in any of the schools chartered with the South Carolina Public Charter School District and who reside within the State of South Carolina and who require special education and related services. This includes children who are suspected of having a disability even though they are advancing from grade to grade (34 C.F.R. § 300.111(a)(c)).

47. Child Find • Must be publicized • Easiest way to do this is on your school’s website • See district-provided sample • Could send this out in the school newsletter • Post on bulletin boards at school • Must include information about how parents and staff refer a child for an evaluation if there is a reason to suspect the child may have a disability under IDEA (contact name, contact information) • Must also include contact information for the school district in which your school is located or a link to the OEC coordinators’ list

48. Child Find • Regardless of whether the parent supports the referral or not, school staff is required by state and federal laws to refer the child for an evaluation • This means gathering the referral information • Scheduling an evaluation planning meeting • Requesting consent to evaluate • The parent has the right to deny consent to evaluate • Typically this stops the process*

49. Initials