The Role of Special Education

1. The Role of Special Education Christopher Balow, Ph.D. Feb. 2008

2. Topics for Today • Minnesota laws & rules related to SLD • Use of RtI for special education SLD eligibility determination. • Requirements, policies and procedures for SLD eligibility. • Role of and function of problem solving teams

3. RtI & Problem-Solving – What have we accomplished so far (06-07)… • District RtI Coordinator to facilitate the process. • RtI & problem-solving training for 10 elementary teams. • Increased use of universal screening data for all students. • Elementary teams processed about 60 cases last year using the problem-solving intervention model. • Computer database system is being used too collect and manage assessment data and RtI information. • AimsWeb assessments for tier II & III interventions • Teams improved their skills at intervening with students and teams improved their process skills. • Frustration was felt with not being able to “qualify” students for SLD using the RtI approach.

4. RtI & Problem-Solving – What have we accomplished so far (07-08)… • Problem-solving teams continue to meet and improve their skills and capacity. • Creation of a new District RtI K-12 steering committee. • RtI coordinator connection with State RtI Center and others around the state • Advanced training for elementary problem-solving teams – ½ day this Jan/Feb. • Jr. High training (3 - ½ days) SJHS & OLJH grade 7 only. Teams begin work by 1/24. • Senior high training for 10th grade teams (3 – ½ days). Teams begin work by 2/7.

5. Possible Road Map for RtI (draft 2/08) • Lots more sharing, training, coaching, & technical support as we move ahead! • Advanced training for elementary PS teams Winter 2008 • Reading eligibility determination process K-6 Winter 2008 • Training for elementary gen ed on RtI process Spring 2008 • Secondary PS teams begin work Winter 2008 • District discussions of resource allocation for RtI initiatives Spring 08 • Building teams review data for tier-level determination Fall 2008 • Training for secondary gen ed on RtI process Fall 2008 • Advanced training for 7 & 10 PS teams late Fall 2008 • Initial PS team training for 8, 9, 11 & 12 grade teams Fall 2008 • Math universal screening K-6 Fall 2008 • Math eligibility determination process K-6 Spring 2009 • Reading eligibility determination process 7-12 Spring 2009 • Advanced training for 8, 9, 11, & 12th grade teams Fall 2009 • Integration of secondary assessment system into RtI model Spring 2009 • Math Eligibility determination process 7-12 Spring 2009 * Written Expression is being explored as well.

6. “Stop asking me if we’re almost there; we’re Nomads, for crying out loud!” Some People see change as a singular event. RtI is an on-going process. (3-5 years minimum!)

7. Response To Intervention Defined Response to intervention is defined as: the practice of providing high-quality instruction and interventions matched to student need, monitoring progress frequently to make decisions about changes in instruction or goals and applying child response data to important educational decisions. RtI should be applied to decisions in general, remedial and special education, creating a well-integrated system of instruction/intervention guided by student outcome data.

8. General RtI Concepts • It IS NOT the same as Problem-Solving • A systematic and data-based method for determining the degree to which a student has responded to an intervention. • School-wide assessment data on all students at three levels (universal screening, diagnostics and continuous progress monitoring. • Multiple tiers of intervention services and options.

9. General RtI Concepts • Services should intensify for a student as the student response to intervention is below expectations. • A systematic problem-solving process . • PS Teams with knowledge of and accessibility to research based intervention strategies or programs.

10. Essential Component 1 Multi-tier Model of Services Academic Systems Behavioral Systems • Intensive, Individual Interventions • Individual Students • Assessment-based • High Intensity • Of longer duration • Intensive, Individual Interventions • Individual Students • Assessment-based • Intense, durable procedures • Targeted Group Interventions • Strategic Interventions • Some students (at-risk) • High efficiency • Rapid response • Targeted Group Interventions • Strategic Interventions • Some students (at-risk) • High efficiency • Rapid response • Universal Interventions • All students • Preventive, proactive • Universal Interventions • All settings, all students • Preventive, proactive 1-5% 1-5% 5-10% 5-10% 80-90% 80-90%

11. Essential Component 2 Problem-Solving Method & Problem-Solving Teams RtI

12. What is a Problem Solving Team (PST)? • A group of professionals and persons knowledgeable about a student(s) engaged in a collaborative process that uses the skills of these individuals from different disciplines to develop and evaluateintervention plans that improve significantly the school performance of students.

13. Problem-Solving Teams • Special education staff should play an “equal” role as a team member. This is an Gen Ed function. • Tasks assigned by the PS team should not be heavily weighted on special ed staff. • Some special education staff may play a larger role depending upon their expertise and nature of the referring problem.

14. Problem-Solving Teams • DO NOT use the problem-solving team and in-depth problem analysis approach for all individual student problems! • Do use in-depth problem analysis with the most severe individual cases (at the most 5%). • Do use the problem solving team to examine building and grade level data. • Do use the problem-solving team for building grade level academic and behavioral concerns at the tier 1 and tier 2 levels.

15. Problem-Solving Consultation Continuum Level IV Entitlement Consideration Level III Full Problem Solving Team ICEL-RIOT Level II Standard Treatment Protocol Level I Problem-Solving Team Teachers, Parents, Building specialists Intensive Amount of Resources Needed to Solve Problem Strategic Progress Monitoring Benchmark Universal Screening Data Intensity of Problem

16. Essential Component 3Integrated Assessment Systems • Highest performing schools place great importance on frequent assessment and monitoring of all students. • “Assessment” = “Monitoring” and is different than “testing” • Instruction without data is like going to the doctor and getting a random treatment without any specific diagnosis. • Directly assess specific skills & standards of all students at least 3 times per year • Students are categorized and grouped • Assessments sensitive to small amounts of growth • Assessments are brief, repeatable, easy to use • Direct relationship to instructional decision-making

17. Essential Component 4Data Management Systems • Comprehensive & integrated to manage all possible data sets (numerical and text) • Informs the decision-making process for student programming • Staff training and time to evaluate the data • Provides real-time feedback and data access for teachers and teams • Allows “analysis of the data” • Allows for graphical display of data • Allows for normative comparisons

18. Special Education Eligibility Assessment Process and Data • Historical system: Global – ability and achievement tests, uses only national norms, 1-2 sessions only, based on hypothetical constructs, does not lead to intervention and has low utility, ecological information has little impact. • RtI: Specific – usually direct measures of specific skills needed for success in the classroom, repeated measures/progress monitoring, adjusting interventions based on data, uses various norm groups, relates to relevant standards, leads directly to intervention with high utility, ecological information is central to decision-making.

19. Special Education Eligibility & RtI Component: LD eligibility criteria • Historical system: Primarily based on ability-achievement discrepancy and consideration of SLD exclusion factors • RTI: Based on significant difference in performance compared to peers, low rate of progress even with high-quality interventions, special education need, consideration of SLD exclusion factors

20. Entitlement for Special Education 3 Pronged Criteria: • Educational Progress • Discrepancy • Instructional Needs Grimes,J., Kurns, S (22003, December) An Intervention-based system for Addressing NCLB and IDEA Expectations: A Multiple Tired Model to Ensure Every Child Learns. Paper presented at the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities Reponsiveness to Intervention Symposium, Kansas City, MO.

21. Entitlement for Special Education Multivariate Discrepancy Model High Instructional Needs Slow Educational Progress Academic Skill Discrepancy Convergence of Data from a Variety of Sources

22. Proposed MN SLD Criteria (draft 10/07) • Must receive 2 documented scientific researched- based interventions (SRBI) prior to evaluation or as part of an evaluation. • Parents must be part of decision-making team & informed regularly of progress • Parents and team may extend intervention timelines with written consent. (a new form?)

23. Researched- Based Interventions (SRBI) Core Components • Quality curriculum and instruction for all students. • Screening performance of all students • Monitoring of progress of all students • SRBI’s matched to student need • Interventions intensify as needed • Consistent team decision-making rules & timelines • Assurances of intervention fidelity • Effective communication with parents and all stakeholders Minnesota Dept. of Education

24. Proposed MN SLD Criteria (draft 10/07) Data must confirm a disability in a variety of settings. • Areas of SLD Disability – basic reading skill, reading comprehension, reading fluency, math calculation, math problem-solving, oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression • Meets criteria in A,B, COR A, B, D.

25. Proposed MN SLD Rule • Does not achieve adequately in (reading, writing, math) in response to classroom instruction, and either • Does not make adequate progress toward state standards …when using a process based on the child’s response to intervention; or • Exhibits a pattern of strengths and weaknesses in performance, achievement or both relative to age, state-approved grade level standards or intellectual development, that is determined by the group to be relevant to the identification of an SLD.

26. Proposed MN SLD Rule • B) The child has a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes… • The team will determine the nature and presence of an information processing disorder. • Inadequate or lack of acquisition of information, lack of organizational skills, following written or oral directions, spatial arrangements, correct use of developmental order in relating events, transfer of information onto paper, visual and auditory memory, verbal and nonverbal expression, motor control for written tasks such as drawing or copying.

27. Information Processing and Reading • Auditory Processing = Phonological deficit • Visual Processing = Orthographic deficit • Rapid Naming = Fluency and retrieval deficit • Rapid naming, sustained attention, working memory, meta-cognition = Comprehension deficit. Hale & Fiorello, 2004

28. Proposed MN SLD Rule • C) Demonstrates a severe discrepancy between ability and achievement…1.75 standard deviations below the mean of the distribution of difference scores for the general population…. This is the “old discrepancy model”. “The regression formula will be revisited” Vicky Weinberg, Ph.D. MDE LD Specialist, 2008 PowerPoint at CEC

29. Proposed MN SLD Rule D) Demonstrates an inadequate rate of progress. • A consistent intervention carried out by trained staff over a 7 week periodOR 12 data points. ROP is inadequate when: • Rate of improvement is minimal and continued intervention will not likely result in reaching age or state grade-level standards; • Progress will likely not be maintained when instructional supports are removed; • The child’s level of performance in repeated assessments of achievement falls below the child’s age or state approved standards, and • The level of achievement must be at least or below the 5th percentile rank on one or more valid and reliable achievement tests using either state or national comparisons. Local comparison data that is valid and reliable may be used in addition to either state or national data.

30. Why Have this Dual Criteria? • Efforts to implement RtI models typically takes years and is better characterized as a dynamic ongoing process, rather than an event that is complete on a given date. • Accommodate situations where SRBI data may be difficult to gather. • Use of data from alternate research-based procedures required under IDEA Minnesota Dept. Of Education

31. Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility • Slow rate of educational progress • At least 12 data points have been collected through the use of appropriate progress monitoring techniques. OR • At least 7 weeks of one or more researched-based interventions have been implemented with a high degree of integrity. • Slope - Given the established trendline: a) trendline slope is below a 95% confidence interval around the target slope, OR b) > 2 years to reach aimline, target or grade level content standards given current intensive interventions

34. Confidence Interval Example for 3rd Grade Reading Fluency AimsWeb National Norms – Rate of Progress Words per week avg gain for 3rd graders

38. Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility 2. Discrepancy From Peers • <=5th National %ile on an “approved assessment.” • The standard error of measurement of assessment measures can be considered in determining the magnitude of the discrepancy. • Discrepancy on state standards. A discrepancy may be identified if a student has not mastered most major content standards in reading based on age or grade expectations.

39. Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility 2. Discrepancy From Peers Example • <=5th National %ile • Grade 3 reading fall NWEA MAP 163 RIT • Standard error of measurement +- 3.3 RIT points • 161 +- 3 = 160 to 166 • Percentile band = 1st %ile to 7th to 8th %ile

40. Stillwater Approved Assessments – Reading Determine Discrepancy (National Norms) • NWEA MAP Reading Test • AimsWeb Early Literacy Assessments • AimsWeb oral reading fluency • AimsWeb MAZE reading • Other nationally-normed reading assessments that meet standards for reliability and validity (WJ-R, GORT-4, Early Reading Diagnostic Assessment, DIBELS, etc) • Literacy First PAST & Phonics inventory to document discrepancy on standards for reading.

41. Assessments Recommended by Reading First

42. Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility • Significant Educational Needs • Based upon team determination, the education interventions required by the individual cannot be sustained without special education services. • The team will consider the intervention history, knowledge of the student’s need gathered through an analysis of instruction, curriculum, environment and the learner. • The team will outline all strategies, accommodations and modifications that will enable the student’s performance to improve.

43. Entitlement for Special EducationStillwater Model via RtI Multivariate Discrepancy Model * 12 Data pts. or *7 weeks of inter- vention * Slope-low rate or > 2 years to target or standard High Instructional Needs = team decision <=5th Nat. %ile on a “quality” Assessment (use SEM) Convergence of Data from a Variety of Sources

44. Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility • Observations of Student • Observation of child in classroom documenting academic performance and behavior in the areas of difficulty • During routine class instruction before and after referral • Document relevant behavior that impacts academic functioning • Exclusionary factors • Visual or hearing impairment, cognitive disablity, EBD, LEP, environmental/cultural/economic influences • Lack of appropriate instruction 6. Verified by: • Child was provided appropriate instruction in gen ed with qualified staff • Repeated assessment data reflecting child’s progress, which was provided to parents. • All team members certifies report reflects the member’s conclusion. • District TSES manual includes SRBI procedures.

45. Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility • Complete standard SPED due process forms (notice of assessment plan, rights brochure) • Assessment plan indicates RtI procedures. • Completion of required forms in RtI Management System (becomes formal documentation and implementation fidelity checks) • Problem Identification Screening Form (all tabs) • ICEL-RIOT Matrix • Intervention Planning Form (all tabs) • Problem-Solving Checklist (all items completed)

46. Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility • Parent permission form for RtI process, if applicable for pre-referral cases. • Parent SLD Evaluation Info guide

47. Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility • Include data graphs indicating student performance on repeated measures over time indicating current trendline, aimline and target/goal. • Assessment Team Report. If desired we can use the data entered into the RtI Management System to create a compiled assessment team report. • Quality control of all cases for entitlement reviewed by Don Schuld, Dan Naidicz or designee. Notify via email if there a case under consideration for RtI SLD, they will review the information online.