Special Education Overview for Charter Schools

1. Special Education Overview for Charter Schools September 26, 2013

2. Goals for today • Clarify charter school responsibilities in regard to special education • Describe the OCSSR Access and Equity check-in points in the charter school life cycle (from prospectus to renewal) • Preview charter schools’ A&E intersection points with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

3. Who are we? • OCSSR (Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign)Access and Equity Team: • Barry Barnett • Coordinator-Access and Equity • ESE since 1994; CSO since 2000 • Ellie Rounds • Access and Equity Specialist • ESE/CSO since August, 2012. • Jane Haltiwanger • Access and Equity Specialist • ESE/CSO since September, 2012. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

5. Non-Discrimination • M.G.L. c. 71 §89 (l) Charter schools shall be open to all students, on a space available basis, and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental or physical disability, age, ancestry, athletic performance, special need, or proficiency in the English language or a foreign language, and academic achievement. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

6. Admission and FAPE • You must admit all eligible students selected through the lottery, including but not limited to those identified as: • Behavioral (do a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA), Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP)) • Severely involved (including a 1:1) • Needing related services: OT, PT, Speech, counseling, nursing/medical support services • Charter schools can access circuit breaker • http://www.doe.mass.edu/finance/circuitbreaker/ Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

7. Retention and Recruitment Plan • A full session on R&R plans is included as part of this strand • Every charter school must submit a Recruitment and Retention Plan every year as part of the Annual Report. • The plan must list deliberate, specific strategies the school will use to attract, enroll, and retain a student population that includes students who are: • limited English proficient, • special education, • free lunch and reduced-price eligible, • sub-proficient on the MCAS, • at risk of dropping out of school, • have dropped out of school, • should be targeted to eliminate achievement gaps Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

8. Program Requirements • Search for, identify, assess and serve students in need of special education • Make a full continuum of services available to students with disabilities within the school • Have a current, signed IEP on file for each special education student • Deliver services as described in the IEP • Conduct a data based program self-evaluation • Charter Schools are not responsible for full-time day/residential programs of special education. • Procedure for involving local district: M.G.L. c. 71 §89 (t) but are responsible for operating as program schools 603 CMR 28.10 (6)(a). Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

9. Special Education Terms • Full continuum of services • IEP team has available a full range of placement options from full inclusion to substantially separate and other programs as needed to meet the needs of students on IEPs. • As determined by the IEP Team, the school will provide services in a placement which is: • Full inclusion • The student is in the regular education classroom for 80%-100% of the school day. • Not just a seat in the regular education classroom • Partial inclusion • The student is in the regular education classroom 21%-65% of the school day. • Substantially separate • 66% or more pulled-out • NOT isolated alone in a classroom/”solitary confinement”

10. And the point is… • Charter schools offer unique and innovative educational programming. • In order to benefit equally from those programs, students with disabilities must be provided with full and equal program access including accommodations, curriculum modifications, specialized instruction and related services. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

11. Teacher Qualifications • Horace Mann CS teachers/staff must be licensed. • Except for teachers of English as a second language, teachers in Commonwealth charter schools, including special education teachers, are not required to be licensed. • But any staff implementing specialized instruction included in an Individual Education Plan (IEP) must meet the qualifications for service delivery provider. • …those qualifications are… Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

12. Teacher Qualifications • The appropriate qualifications for a Commonwealth charter school staff to independently deliver special education are: • Hold a valid (in or out-of-state) license or its equivalent as a special education teacher for the appropriate grades and severity level and/or • Have successfully completed an undergraduate or graduate degree in an approved special education program • Specialized instruction provided by personnel who do not meet the above qualifications must be delivered in consultation with a qualified individual who provides supervision and oversight of the delivery of the specialized instruction. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

13. Teacher Qualifications (Cont’d.) • The supervisory structure and relationships between qualified and non-qualified special education service delivery staff should be evident in the daily schedule and noted on the student’s IEP (in grid A). Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

14. Student Right to Attend Notice • Outlines the educational rights of children with disabilities to attend Massachusetts public charter schools • Recommend it be given to all families • Enrollment packet • Beginning of school year • At your lottery • Additional rights notices currently under development ELL, et. al. (This document is available electronically on the OCCSR website) Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

15. Avenues of Access • Reviewed on site visits and as part of the renewal inspection process. • The school’s facilities are programmatically accessible. • The school takes steps to make special education and ELL programs visible and accessible to all students and families. • The school has established an academic program that enables students with diverse learning needs, especially special education and ELL students, to fully participate in, and benefit from, the educational goals and mission of the school. • The school has plans in place to ensure a diverse student body, actively recruiting and effectively retaining special education and ELL students. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

16. Accountability /Access & Equity

17. Charter School Office: Access and Equity • What we do: • review prospectuses and applications for new schools • work with opening schools on federal programs (FP)- special education, Title I, ELL, nutrition and civil rights including program accessibility • provide TA to opening and existing schools • conduct A/E components of CSO accountability site visits • Consult with vendors regarding A&E renewal inspections • develop A&E component of Summary of Review for the Commissioner/ Board of Education Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

18. Pre-approval process and A&E Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

19. Ongoing Access and Equity CS Contacts There are 3 basic types of access and equity visits to your school: • Site Visits • Targeted Site Visits • Renewal Conditions follow-up Not to be confused with Coordinated Program Reviews. (Find out where you are in the cycle. More later. ) Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

20. Charter Cycle, Years 1-4 Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

21. Charter Cycle, Years 5+ Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

22. Site Visits • Site visit teams are comprised of individuals with educational and organizational expertise and are led by a member of the OCSSR staff. • The primary purpose of a site visit is to corroborate and augment the information contained in a school’s annual report, and to gather evidence on progress the school is making toward meeting the standards articulated in the Common Criteria for Charter School Performance. • Site Visit Reports are issued by the OCSSR. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

23. Program Self-Evaluations • Part of the site visit and renewal inspection process. • Has the school implemented a regular, systematic, data-driven analysis in order to verify that special education and ELL students have made expected academic gains? • Self-eval.s are your opportunity to get advance knowledge of the challenges facing your program, a head start on fixing them, and to make your case regarding program effectiveness. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

24. Renewal Conditions Follow-up • If a school’s charter is renewed with conditions that pertain to A&E or academic issues, the A&E team will come to the school for a follow-up visit. • This visit will result in a report that is provided to the Commissioner and the BESE. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

25. The ESE and You! • Your relationship with the Department will consist of the following major components: • PQA: Coordinated Program Review (CPR) process and the Problem Resolution System (PRS) • OCSSR: Accountability Site Visits and Renewal Inspections • ESE: Technical Assistance meetings, workshops and advisories Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

26. Coordinated Program Review (CPR) • All public schools in MA are on a 6 year cycle for CPR activities. • Special Education, Civil Rights, ELL • Mid-cycle reviews occur every 3 years • You can find out where you are in the cycle on the ESE website under compliance and monitoring. • Crash-ups will occur due to differently timed cycles: the CPR will be deferred for 1 year once every 26 or so years. But this could be your year! Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

27. Complaints-2 Types Complaint type 1: Charter law related • Complaints regarding 603 CMR 1.00 (charter schools) goes to the OCCSR • Complaints regarding special education, federal/state laws and regulations go to PQA. *************************************** OCCSR complaints: logged, filed and handled through OCCSR working directly with the school and parent. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

28. PQA Complaints • Complaint type 2- Other fed/state law or regulation related (often sp. Ed.) • Handled through the Problem Resolution System • A “complaint” is an allegation of non-compliance with a federal or state law or regulation. • Written complaint includes a statement of concerns • School provided opportunity for response • Additional fact finding and investigation • Letter of Finding: • Compliance Finding • Non-Compliance (requiring a Corrective Action Plan) • Non-Compliance (has been corrected) • Compensatory Services Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

29. Technical Advisories • DOE Website: check for updates and advisories, meetings and workshops: • www.doe.mass.edu • www.doe.mass.edu/sped/ • www.doe.mass.edu/pqa/ • www.doe.mass.edu/charter/ • TA Visits from the CSO • (Depending on staff availability) • Phone/email TA • Call with your questions • Please read the directions first, then call. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

30. Questions? • Barry Barnett • Bbarnett@doe.mass.edu • 781.338.3225 • Ellie Rounds • erounds@doe.mass.edu • 781.338.3212 • Jane Haltiwanger • jhaltiwanger@doe.mass.edu • 781.338.3229