Special Education 101

1. Special Education 101 Nori Cuellar Mora, Ed.D. ESC2 Nori.mora@esc2.us Associate Director of Instructional Services 361-561-8501 December 7, 2007

2. Introduction

3. Agenda • IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act • Disabilities Identification • The Principal as ARD Chair • State Performance Plan Indicators • Final Thoughts

4. Objectives • Understand the premise of IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act • Become familiar with the process for identifying disabilities in order to make appropriate decisions for referring students to special education • Practice chairing an Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) Committee: Principal as ARD Chair • Become familiar with the State Performance Plan Indicators as to how they relate to the campus plan • Think of what you will share at your next staff meeting

5. Change . . .

6. Acronym Activity

7. Sometimes it is all in how you read something……

8. Administrative Expectations What will you be doing???? Here are some assignments as reported by principals currently in the field.

9. Survey done of 200 principals across the state of Texas reported on how much of a typical day is spent on special education issues:Amount of time/day Up to 25% 24.3% 26 – 50% 21.3% 51 – 74% 13.5% 75% or more 38.3% Dr. Debra Bravenec’s Study for Dissertation

10. IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Special Education The Child-Centered Process

11. Definition of Special Education

12. Special Education: • Specially designed instruction, • At no cost to the parents, • To meet the unique needs of the student

13. Specially Designed Instruction: • Adapting as appropriate, to the needs of an eligible child, the content, methodology or delivery of instruction: • To address the unique needs of the child that result from the disability • To ensure access of the child to the general curriculum to meet the standards that apply to all children

14. CFR 300.26 This definition and the laws governing special education in the nation’s schools are outlined by the Federal government.

15. Special Education it is: personnel curriculum methodology

16. Special Education is not a place. It’s a SERVICE!!

17. IDEIA says that a school must: • find and identify students who may have a disability • make sure parents participate in decision making • evaluate students in a nondiscriminatory way • develop an individualized education plan for each student

18. decide what special instruction and related services the school district will provide; • make placement decisions; • develop a transition plan for adult activities, including job opportunities; • maintain education records/files; and • have hearings/appeals for complaints and grievances.

19. Pre-referral Referral Special Ed. G E N E R A L FIE / Yearly evaluation Implementation ARD

20. Principles of IDEA

21. Principles of IDEA • Identification • FAPE: free appropriate public education • Due Process • Nondiscriminatory evaluation • Individualized education program • Least restrictive environment • Parent/Guardian Surrogate Consultation • Personnel Development, Inservice • Confidentiality

22. IDEA Recognized Disabilities

23. Disability categories in Texas(your students may carry one or more of these labels) MD DB TBI OI SI Deaf NCEC (Texas only) • MR • OHI • AI • VI / Blind • AU • LD • ED

24. Students served in Texas public schools by disability • Learning Disabilities 57.9%---- 46.81% (2007) • Speech Impairments 15.5%---19.34% (2007) • Mental Retardation 5.6%----5.74% (2007) • Emotional Disturbance 7.9%---7.16% (2007) • Other Health Impaired 7.8%----11.71% (2007) • Multiple Disabilities 1%-----1.03% (2007) • Autism 1%-----3.88% (2007) • Hearing Impaired 1%----1.49% (2007) • Orthopedically Impaired 1% ----0.98% (2007) • Traumatic Brain Injury Less than 1% (.0018%)----0.27% (2007) • Visually Impaired Less than 1% (.005%)----0.72%(2007) • Deaf/Blind Less than 1% (.00016%) 0.02% (2007)

25. What is happening in Special Education? http://www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/data/ http://www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/

26. Do I really HAVE to do this?

27. Child-Centered Process How do we get from general education to special education? Reflect on your campus’ process for referring students to special education. What does that look like? Write the major steps down.

28. Appropriate Curriculum • What is the curriculum for Texas schools?

29. Research tells us that if we intervene at the beginning point of difficulty with intensive, appropriate instruction – special education referrals would be reduced by 50%.

30. Pre-referral 504 Referral to Special Ed. G E N E R A L FIE / Yearly evaluation Implementation ARD

31. Who? What? Where? When? How long? Response to Intervention Model Pre-referral Process (Early Intervention Process)

32. A Sense of Urgency • A student in the 10th percentile reads about 60,000 words a year in 5th grade • A student at the 50th percentile reads about 900,000 words in a year in 5th grade • Average students receive about 15 times as much practice in a year • Growth in fluency requires a lot of accurate practice

33. So, You’re The ARD Chair? What kind of “Chair” are you?

34. Think, Share, Pair What statements should you ALWAYS hear at an ARD? What statements should you NEVER hear at an ARD?

35. IEPIndividual Educational Program Background information to strengthen the administrator’s role at ARD meetings!

36. Who is on the IEP team? • Parent(s) • Regular Education teacher • Special Education teacher • Administrator • Evaluation personnel • Student • Others

37. What would you do? • Superintendent calls you to meet with him at 10:00 a.m. • You have had a scheduled ARD for over a week on your calendar for the same time. • It is 9:45 a.m. and your sped teacher is asking for you to come to the meeting room.

38. Individualized Educational Program = Appropriate Education

39. What does the IEP have to have? • PLAFP (Present Levels of Academic and Functional Performance) • Measurable annual goals • Special education & related services • Accommodations

40. Level of state assessment • Dates services are to be provided • Participation • School activities • Transition • Progress • Age of Majority

41. What would you do? • The ARD meeting is in full swing, and the special education teacher does not review the annual goals for the child and says she will create them later.

42. Least Restrictive Environment

43. LRELeast Restrictive Environment Each state shall establish: “procedures to assure that, to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities are educated with children who are not disabled,

44. and that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aidsand services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.”

45. What would you do? • The ARD committee begins the meeting by stating that little Joey will be served in the resource room for math because they have a great teacher to meet his needs.

46. To ensure LRE, the State... • Uses a system of placement neutral funding; • Performance Based Monitoring and SPP for LRE compliance; • Clearer definition for “supplementary aids and services”; • Emphasizes the participation of students with disabilities in the general curriculum;

47. May use funds to pay for the costs of special education and related services and supplementary aids and services provided in a regular classroom or other education-related setting ; • Students with disabilities be included in statewide assessment (including a statement as to what modifications will be necessary in order for the student to participate). • Performance goals which are consistent with goals and standards for other children

48. Most Important part…. • Provide students with disabilities an appropriate education. This law has a clear preference for educating them in general education classrooms with their non-disabled peers and removing them from this setting only when an appropriate education there cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

49. Special education is not services based upon administrative convenience. Build for the individual student’s needs – you shouldn’t try to squash the child into an existing program!

50. Legal Framework: . . . The answer to most of your questions!! http://fw.esc18.net/frameworkdisplayportlet/