Conducting Legally Sound ARD Meetings

1. Conducting Legally Sound ARD Meetings

2. Members of the ARD Committee • Administrator • The child’s teacher • One or both parents • The child where appropriate • The Diagnostician (when assessment is discussed) or Speech Path if speech only ARD • Other individuals may be invited by the parent or the school, but are not members of the ARD Committee.

3. Attorneys at ARDs • When a parent brings an attorney without notice, the school district may postpone the ARD meeting until their attorney can be present.

4. Tape Recorders • A parent has a right to tape record the ARD meeting • If the parent records the meeting, the school district should tape record as well • If recorded, make a note in the ARD minutes that the meeting was recorded.

5. Chairing the ARD Meeting • The Chairman of the ARD is the Administrator • Be sure to use the prepared ARD agenda • Make sure everyone at the ARD has a copy of the agenda • Do not stray from the agenda

6. Time Limitations • Reasonable time limitations can be made – include in Notice of ARD • If an ARD meeting is lasting longer than anticipated, the ARD committee can adjourn and reconvene at a later date • The date and time for reconvening should be set before adjourning the ARD

7. Purpose of the ARD • Should be clearly stated and documented Initial Annual Manifestation Determination Brief ARD

8. Parental Issues • A parent can raise issues at an ARD meeting without giving prior notice • The ARD committee does not have to take action on those issues at the time, but must allow the parent to raise the issues. • Methodology is left to the expertise of the school personnel.

9. Eligibility Child centered process Appropriately identify students with disabilities Eligibility = Disability + Educational Need 2004 IDEA Regulations 34CFR 300.101(c) FAPE must be available to students who need special education and related services even though the child has not failed or been retained in a course or grade, and is advancing from grade to grade.

10. Educational Need • Grades don’t tell the whole story • Look at patterns of achievement over time • Look at behavior and disciplinary action • Look at emotional functioning • Educational need is a committee decision

11. Development of the IEP • Review progress • ID strengths/weaknesses • Parent concerns • Postsecondary desired outcomes • Review need for ESY • Consider any special factors – health, medical, behavior, language, communication, AT, etc. • Complete supplements unique to specific disabilities/needs

12. Development of the IEP • Develop goals and objectives to reflect deficit grade level TEKS – link to needs identified on the PLAAFP • Skill deficits should be addressed in order for the student to access their assigned grade level curriculum • Challenge for IEP teams is to develop goals that are aligned to content standards yet are individualized for that student

13. Accommodations • Accommodations should be unique to the individual student needs and enable the student to access and progress in the general curriculum • Accommodations are the actual teaching supports and services that the student may require to successfully demonstrate learning • Supplemental aids may be specified if they are required to be utilized by the student and not just good teaching practice. • The AT Supplement is put in place for any student with identified AT needs

14. Modifications/Accommodations • Modifications refer to changes made to curriculum expectations in order to meet the needs of the student -Made when the expectations are beyond the student’s level of ability -May be minimal or complex depending on the student’s performance -Must be clearly acknowledged in the IEP • Accommodations refer to the actual teaching supports and services that the student requires to successfully demonstrate learning -Does not change expectations to the grade level curriculum

15. Placement Evaluation information must drive programming decisions Consideration of the child’s need for specially designed instruction must drive placement.

16. Least Restrictive Environment • Whenever the placement is other than the student’s regular classroom, the ARD Committee must justify the more restrictive placement • Set forth what supplementary aids and services have been attempted in the less restrictive setting and why the student needs a more restrictive placement

17. Least Restrictive Environment • Set forth what efforts will be made to transition the student back to the less restrictive environment • IEP demonstrates positive benefits both academically and non academically. (Educational benefit is reasonable progress, not A’s and B’s)

18. Refusal to Sign • If a parent refuses to sign the ARD report, make a notation of the refusal and initial it • If consensus is not reached, offer the parent the opportunity to reconvene the ARD meeting within 10 days • The parent has the right to decline the 10 days • The minutes should reflect that the offer was made • Parents should be encouraged to write a statement regarding their reasons for disagreement.

19. Non-consensus ARDs • All members are asked to sign the signature page beginning with the parent. • If the parent disagrees the minutes must clearly reflect what their disagreement is and what steps were taken to resolve the disagreement. • If the parent disagrees a 10 school day recess must be offered to the parent – during this recess the school and parent are to gather new information and/or review the ARD decision. • Placement cannot take effect on any disputed ARD decision until the 10th school day following the reconvention ARD meeting.

20. Prior Written Notice • In addition to signing the ARD signature page the parents must agree to waive the 5 school days waiting period or plan cannot be implemented. • If parent is in attendance there is a place on the ARD signature page for them to waive their 5 days. • If parent is not in attendance the ARD packet along with the Prior Written Notice statement and a letter are sent to the parent with the effective date for implementation of the IEP unless the parent returns the letter signed before the effective date

21. ARD Minutes/Deliberations • Deliberations should clearly reflect the decisions made by the ARD Committee but are not a verbatim transcript of the meeting. • Deliberations should reflect all parent concerns and district’s response to those concerns and/or questions.

22. Handling Belligerent Parents • The ARD Committee should allow a parent to “let off steam;” however, should the parent become abusive, take a break to give the parent an opportunity to regain composure • If the parent remains abusive, adjourn the ARD meeting to another time

23. Handling Belligerent Parents • Never respond to a parent’s frustration with a personal attack • Maintain professionalism

24. Give the meeting the attention it deserves—if you are taking calls or leaving the meeting to take care of other business, you are sending a clear message to the parent about how important their child is • Don’t use jargon and don’t let your staff use jargon • Don’t allow committee members to engage in side conversations

25. Teach the Golden Rule—Don’t come to the ARD with recommendations you have not discussed with the other staff members involved. • If something unexpected happens and the committee isn’t prepared to make a decision, document areas where you have reached agreement and agree to recess in order to gather more information.

26. And More Tips Stay out of issues that are not ARD/IEP issues. • Personnel • In District transfers • Promotion/retention (unless SSI Committee) • Assessment Battery • Curriculum and Instructional Materials • Parent/Teacher conferences • District and Campus policies and procedures • Other students

27. Statements you should never make in an ARD • He is lazy and he just uses these accommodations as a crutch • You could come back and sue us if we did that • We could never afford that • It’s not fair to the other students • I don’t believe in modifying. If he is in my class he should do what everyone else has to do • Advocates and Attorneys don’t scare me…….

28. Things you can say • Why do you believe John needs……? • It sounds like you are concerned about………, (re-state the problem) how could we address that most effectively? (Keep everyone in dialogue until a suggestion is made that everyone can live with.) • I think it would be more practical to……. • We want John to be as independent as possible, so what about….. • It’s important that she be exposed to as much of the regular curriculum as possible, so what if we…..

29. Things you can say • What is your goal for your child after high school? Will …………..move him toward that goal? • What would be the best way to handle this in your classroom? • He has trouble finding the motivation to complete his work and doesn’t always put forth the effort needed to be successful even when he seems to have the skills in place to complete the assignment

30. Notes: • Stay positive • Don’t take things personally • Be honest and straightforward but…. • Phrase things in a respectful and polite way • Be a leader for your campus…your attitude about the student and family will influence the attitudes of your staff

31. Issues Related to Discipline

32. Essential Questions 1. How do discipline decisions impact district rankings on the SPP (State Performance Plan) and PBMAS (Performance Based Monitoring Analysis System)? 2. When does a campus conduct an MDR (Manifestation Determination Review)? 3. What is the purpose of the MDR ? 4. Are there special considerations that need to be considered when making disciplinary decisions for students with special needs?

33. SPP: State Performance Plan • Information is gathered by TEA to report to the U.S. Dept. of Education (OSEP) • Monitoring Priority for State Performance Plan: FAPE in LRE • SPP reports information on eight indicators • Indicator #4: “Percent of districts identified by the State as having a significant discrepancy in the rates of suspensions and expulsions greater than 10 days in a school year”.

34. PBMAS: Performance Based Monitoring Analysis System • This system is used by TEA to evaluate the performance and program effectiveness of school districts and charter schools • PBMAS reports data based on 18 indicators • Indicators 16, 17, and 18 address discretionary placements in DAEP, ISS, and OSS

35. PBMAS continued • For each district, the difference score is compared to the PBMAS standards for the indicator, and performance standards are assigned as Performance Level 0, 1, 2 and 3 • Performance Level 0 indicates that standards have been met, Performance Level 3 indicates that the district percent of discretionary placements are at least 6.1% higher than the percent of overall discretionary placements within the district

36. PBMAS Performance Level Consequences • Level 1: Corrective action plan • Level 2: Financial Impact (15% of funds) • Level 3: TEA monitor

37. When to conduct an MDR • When a student has been removed from his educational placement for 10 days (cumulative) • Remember: • Portions of a school day that a child has been suspended would be counted as one day • ISS would not be considered out of placement as long as the child is afforded the opportunity to: • Appropriately progress in the general education curriculum • Continue to receive the services specified on the IEP(the ISS teacher must implement and provided instruction on student’s specific goals and objectives) • Continue to participate with nondisabled peers to the extent they would have in their current placement

38. Counting Caution • Evaluate this very cautiously-attorneys advise you to count all ISS days as out of placement • If an ISS day is not counted as out of placement, make sure the contact teacher has documented all services as well as service delivery times • Be sure COP monitor includes bus suspensions in ‘FAPE Free’ count

39. Change of placement occurs when: • The removal is for more than 10 consecutive days or • The student is subject to a series of removals that constitute a pattern that • Totals more than 10 school days in a year • Shows the child’s behavior that is subject to discipline is similar to previous behaviors that resulted in a series of removals, taken cumulatively, and determined to have been a manifestation of the child’s disability • Considers additional factors such as the length of each removal, the total amount of time the child has been removed, and the proximity of the removals to one another (CFR 300.536)

40. When change of placement occurs: • Administrator must notify parent and provide the parent a copy of the Procedural Safeguards. • Administrator must notify Assessment Specialist that the a change of placement has occurred and schedule a MDR ARD meeting. • After initial MDR Administrator may use Short-term Removal form to determine if another MDR is necessary for each subsequent day out of placement or change in placement.

41. Mandatory MDR: When a change of placement occurs Possession or use of drugs at school Possession of weapons at school Infliction of serious bodily injury An MDR must be scheduled within 10 school days of the decision to change placement as a result of violation of the Student Code of Conduct Not later than the date on which the decision to take the disciplinary action is made requiring an MDR, school personnel must notify the parent of the decision and provide them a copy of the Procedural Safeguards

42. MDR does not reset the clock! • A student may only have 10 cumulative days out of placement in a school year. • Each subsequent day is in addition to the first 10. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Each year begins with 0 days out of placement. • Count begins on first day out of placement in a school year.

43. Purpose of the MDR is the determine the answer to the following questions • The ARDC must determine : • 1. Was the conduct in question caused by, or did it have a direct and substantial relationship to the child’s disability? or • 2. Was the conduct in question the direct result of the districts failure to implement the IEP?

44. MDR Question # 1Caused by or direct and substantial relationship • Has the student followed the rules in the school in the past? • In what situations can student control behavior? • Are there other factors to explain the misconduct? • Is this an isolated instance of this behavior or is it recurrent? • Was the behavior premeditated?

45. MDR Question # 2Direct result of failure to implement IEP • Is the student making progress? • Have the services been provided consistent with the IEP? • If there were inconsistencies in the implementation in the IEP, did they have a direct impact on the behavior in question?

46. When Behavior is a Manifestation • If the answer to either question is a “yes”, the conduct is a manifestation of the child’s disability. • The ARDC must: • Conduct a FBA and implement a BIP • If BIP exists, review BIP and modify as necessary to address behavior; and • Return the child to their current placement (unless parent and district agree to change of placement as part of a BIP modifications and unless mandatory 45-day removal applies

47. When behavior is Not a Manifestation • Apply relevant disciplinary procedures same as for children without disabilities • Sec. 300.530, Authority of school personnel (a) Case by-case determination. School personnel may consider any unique circumstances on a case-by case basis when determining whether a change in placement is appropriate for a child with a disability who violates a code of student conduct.

48. Questions?