Mid Year Face-to-Face Special Education Coordinator Meeting January 14, 2013

1. Mid Year Face-to-Face Special Education Coordinator MeetingJanuary 14, 2013

2. Agenda • Welcome • District Update • Immediate Procedural Changes • Planning for 2013-2014 • Referrals • OEC Onsite Monitoring • When Parents Call • Complaint Resolution • Role of the Special Education Coordinator • Compliance Hot Topics • IEP Review Checklist • Spring/Summer 2013 Planning • Closing

3. Welcome and Introductions

4. Introductions • New Special Education Coordinators: • Margie Lee, Columbia Imagine • Lucia Moraru, Fox Creek High School • LeslyeTobin-Cobb, Cape RomainEnvironmental Education Charter School • Margie Player, Youth Leadership

6. District Update

7. District Update • Currently have 18 schools who are operational. • For 2013-2014, we have 10 schools who are planning on opening. • 1 virtual • 1 blended • 8 brick-and-mortar • As of today, we have had a total of 41 schools who have put in letters of intent to open in the 2014-2015 school year.

8. District Update

9. District Update • Since we’ve last met: • Board and Superintendent have an increased emphasis on the District being a charter school authorizer: • greater accountabilityin exchange for greater autonomy. • SCDE and Legislators want to see more accountability. • The District is strengthening its compliance model and process.

10. District Update • Six schools received notification in November that they were placed on probation. • Special education concerns were the “trigger” for probation for two of the schools. • A total of three schools were cited for special education deficiencies.

11. District Update • District Population: 11,500 • Top 25 Districts in the State • December 1 Count: 1,150 student • 10%

12. District Update • 4 State Complaints filed • 2 parents withdrew their complaint • 1 outside scope of IDEA • 1 investigated and resolution issued • Will be discussed later • 1 OCR complaint filed • Currently being investigated • 1 District-Level 504 Grievance Filed • Outside the scope of Section 504

13. District Update • We’re up to 80 referrals for initials or “additional disability suspected.” • We have a total of 2.6 FTE providing IDEA oversight. • Just a reminder: • We’re at 18 schools • Up to 28 schools in 2013-2014 • Up to 69 schools in 2014-2015 • We will not be able to keep up with this growth with our current structure.

14. Immediate Procedural Changes

15. Immediate Change: Regional Coordinator • In order to keep up with the growth and demands of the District, we are piloting a new a service delivery model. • Initial point of contact for the Upstate Region: • Calhoun Falls, Youth Leadership, Spartanburg Charter, & York Prep • Provides onsite support • Tailored & School Specific • She begins 1/16/2013 when she’s introduced to the above school leaders • Mariann Carter (part time): • mcarter@sccharter.org • Phone: will be provided later this week

16. Immediate Change: Referral Process • ALL referral packets (including reevaluations) will be sent to Catherine Oxner (coxner@sccharter.org). • Part Time (1 day a week) • Audrey Whitley will attend evaluation planning and eligibility determination meetings for all school except SCS; that will be Evelyn Williams. • Part time (5 days a week) • No meeting will be scheduled until a completed referral packet is submitted. • Audrey and Evelyn will not attend a meeting unless provided a letter of notification. • Neither will not stay for IEP development.

17. “High profile” or “Unusual” situations • For situations that are “unusual”, one of us will attend the meeting. • Beckie will be involved in “unusual” referrals and reevaluations.

18. Immediate Change: IEP meetings • When there is a representative from the District at the IEP meeting serving in the role as “representative from the District,” we are serving as the LEA. • This needs to be noted on the letter of notification. • Before attending, we need to receive a copy of the letter of notification.

19. 2013-2014 Planning

20. 2013-2014: Regional Model • Every school will be assigned a Regional Coordinator. • Each position is part time. • This person will be the school’s point of contact. • Over the next few months we’ll draft the regions and provide more information about this model.

21. 2013-2014: Formal Compliance Model • As we previously mentioned, the District, at the request of the Board and Superintendent, are moving towards a “traditional authorizer” model. • Over the next few months, we are going to begin designing this process. • Resources: • National Association of Charter School Authorizers • Colorado Charter School Institute

22. 2013-2014: Formal Compliance Model • Some things you can expect: • The rollout of the Regional Model • Yearly Self-Assessment • Yearly Onsite Visit • Yearly Comprehensive File Audit • More defined roles and expectations • Currently, the District is working on strengthening the Charter Compliance.

23. 2013-2014: Psychological Services • Beginning July 1, 2013, schools will be 100% responsible for all aspects of the child find process. • The district will not provide a school psychologist for evaluation planning or eligibility determination meetings. • We will still maintain a list of contract psychologist and share this list with the schools.

24. 2013-2014: Psychological Services • Over the next few months, there will be more information to come regarding this process. • Schools are STONGLY encouraged to secure a permanently assigned school psychologist.

25. Referrals

26. Referrals: Interventions • RtI/Intervention Teams • Includes targeted interventions, responses to those interventions, and progress monitoring data • More than just accommodations • Includes specific data (CBMs, frequency counts, …) • Should include ruling out things like vision or hearing problems • If there’s a behavior issue, must include • Clear description of behavior (what it looks, sounds, smells, tastes, feels like) • How often it occurs • How long it lasts • What triggers it • What happens as a result of it

27. Referrals: New Procedures • C. Oxner • Send all referrals to Catherine unless you’ve cleared it with Beckie first • She will process and log the referral information • If the packet is incomplete, she’ll send it back to you and notify Beckie • Once the packet is complete, she’ll review it and pass it on to Audrey or Evelyn • If there is a question about proceeding with the evaluation, the decision will be made after consultation with District staff; District staff will notify parent with PWN if the decision is made to refuse to evaluate

28. Referrals: Roles and Responsibility • Special Education Coordinator • Ensure the proper RtI process and documentation has occurred • Ensure the referral packet is complete • Review of forms to ensure all are completed • Follow-up on info mentioned in referral packet (requested previous evaluations, obtained consent to talk with other professionals, followed up on any vision or hearing problems • Once notified by Catherine, schedule evaluation/ reevaluation planning meetings with Audrey or Evelyn in a timely fashion

29. Responsibilities • Ensure all information requested by the team is gathered in a timely fashion • Develop a process for monitoring this – check in with OT, SLT, parent • Ensure all information gathered by others is in a useable format (Word document) • Observations must be written up in a narrative fashion • Send all information gathered to Audrey or Evelyn in the appropriate format

30. Responsibilities • Ensure that Sections I-IV of the Report are completed appropriately and professionally • Send the Report to Audrey or Evelyn within 5 days of the planning meeting • Schedule the eligibility meeting within 15 school days of the completion of the evaluation • Ensure that appropriate team members attend or that the proper excusal process is used • Do not go into a meeting without all appropriate team members

31. OEC Onsite

32. OEC Onsite: Continued Monitoring • On September 20, 2012, the OEC finished a two-day onsite visit. They indicated that they were going to go onsite to two or three of our schools sometime in the next 30 days. • This never happened. • They issued a letter in late October stating that they would go onsite to two or three of our schools by January 2013.

33. OEC Onsite: Continued Monitoring • On December 19, 2013 they called, indicating that they do not have time to go onsite, so they were going to come to the District to review some additional files. • They have asked for: • The COMPLETE special education file for every child who was on the original list. • From the point of entry to today. • An updated caseload roster

34. OEC Onsite: Continued Monitoring • File Collection: • Updated Caseloads: • Distribute • Will be sent electronically by 9am Tuesday. • These are due by noon on Friday (1/18/2013) • Emailed to Mr. V.

35. OEC Onsite: Continued Monitoring • The OEC will be at the District Office on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 to finish the process they started back in September. • Within 30 days (February 23, 2013), the OEC will issue their findings and corrective action plan. Their findings will address: • District Policies, • School Policies, & • Individual Files

36. When Parents Call

37. When Parents Call • We assess the call based on: • Did the parent not know who to contact at the school, or • Is this a perceived compliance issue. • We always try to redirect the call back to the school to either the special education coordinator or to the school leader.

38. When Parents Call • If the call is about a potential compliance issue: • Assess the situation using Excent, by talking with the special education coordinator or school leader, and asking for additional information from the school. • Outcomes: • Informing the parents that the school is within its rights • “the school’s IEP team isn’t letting my child opt-out of PASS.” • Informally advising a school of the required corrective action • “my child has been at school since October and we have not had an IEP meeting yet.” • Failure to comply by the school to the informal advice results in a notification being made to the District’s Director of School Compliance.

39. Complaint Resolution

40. Complaint Resolution • Issue 1: Did the District fail to consistently implement the accommodations in the Student’s IEP? • Issue 2: Did the District fail to provide the Student a FAPE as a result of the to implement the accommodations in his IEP?

41. Complaint Resolution • White glove test: • Fail to provide special education, related, and supplementary services? • Fail to include PLAAFPS in the Student’s IEP? • Fail to include annual measurable goals? • Fail to amend the IEP to incorporate changes from a previous meeting? • Fail to issue progress reports • What are these?

42. Special Education Coordinator

43. Special Education Coordinator • With the District’s focus on authorization and verification of compliance, more responsibility will fall on the school for ensuring compliance • Communicate with staff to identify needs and secure resources to meet those needs • Oversight of school-level compliance and implementation

44. Special Education Coordinator • Communication • Information shared with you regarding the implementation of IDEA needs to be shared with your staff. • How do you share information with your staff? • How do you verify the implementation of the newly shared information? • Some information needs to be shared with your school administrator: • Parent concerns that we’ve brought to your attention • Upcoming File audits • Data reports • Don’t let your administrator be caught off-guard.

45. Compliance Hot Topics

46. Hot Topics: Letter of Notification • IEP meeting notifications must include the purpose, time, and location of the meeting and who will be in attendance. This is why an email asking the parent to attend a meeting doesn’t suffice (even if they attend).

47. Hot Topics: Letter of Notification • So there has to be documentation that a formal invite that included all of the above was provided. • What shows that proper notification was provided: • Email • Email with invitation attached? • Does this make sense? One notification method that says “phone.” • Even if the parent attends, the meeting could be determined null and void if proper notification wasn’t provided.

48. Hot Topics: Transfers • Here are the order of events for a “transfer into the district” with a current IEP (done prior to the first day of classes or no more than 3 days): • After verifying the child is transferring in with a current IEP (no more than 4 months expired), contact the parent about holding the comparable services IEP meeting. • Option A: typical face-to-face IEP meeting to discuss “comparable services” • Requires letter of invite • Comparable services consultation meeting form (will be added on Thursday) • Minutes • PWN • Option B: if LEA and parents agree, meet without “meeting” • Requires comparable services consultation without a meeting form

49. Hot Topics: Transfers • After holding this meeting, go into Excent, and officially “add” as a transfer. • Within 30 calendar days from the 1st day of enrollment, an IEP team will need to meet again to either accept the IEP, amend the transfer IEP, or conduct an annual review. • Think of it like this . . . One IEP meeting to design comparable services and then one IEP meeting to amend or create a new IEP.

50. Hot Topics: Comparable Services • Most Common Complaints: • Children transferring to new school don’t receive comparable services consistent with their incoming IEPs. • School personnel claiming that there are insufficient resources to meet the provisions of the incoming IEP. • School personnel saying they didn’t know the child had an IEP at the previous school • Parent checked “no” on the enrollment form • No told me the child had enrolled • What the Regulations Say: