CONDUCTING GOLD STANDARD IEP MEETINGS

1. CONDUCTING GOLD STANDARD IEP MEETINGS By Craig W. Bartholio, Ed.D.

2. IEP Meeting • An IEP meeting is a legal document that provides a snap shot of the students current levels of performance and is to be reasonably calculated to provide the opportunity for Educational Benefit (Rowley)

3. IEP Meeting Costs • 3 people, 1 hour, $50K = $83 • 10 people, 1 hr, 50K = $278 • 5 people, 2 hrs, 50K = $278 • 10 people, 8 hrs, 50K = $2,222 • 14 people, 24hrs, 50K = $9,333

4. A bit about myself • Taught SDC Mild/Moderate (4-6) • Taught SDC Moderate/Severe (9-12+) • Program Specialist • Adjunct Professor to become full-time professor • B.A. Psychology CSULB • M.A. Education: Special Education [Moderate/Severe] Cal Poly Pomona • Ed.D. Educational Leadership [Educational Psychology] Univ. of Southern California • Current research investigations: Special Education services in Faith-Based Elementary Schools. • How CTA can help capture the differences between Experts and Novices in conducting IEP meetings. • Elements facing General Education teachers transitioning to Special Education.

6. Focus of IEP Meeting Presentation • Your role as a Special Education Teacher • Pre-IEP meeting actions • What happens during the IEP meeting • Creating defensible goals • How to write services correctly • Post- IEP actions • Perspectives of the IEP meeting

7. Your Role as a Special Education Teacher • Professionalism • Case manager • Collaborator • Preparing for your next role: Understanding the position above and below you

8. Pre- IEP meeting Special Education Teacher Actions • Pre-IEP meeting actions will greatly determine the outcome of the IEP meeting. • Logistical Information • Document preparation • Reports • Discussions with all stakeholders • All reports read by stakeholders prior to meeting • Phone call or personal visit with parents prior to meeting

9. Logistics • Invitation sent with a reasonable amount of time for parents. • 10-day notice is not in the legal documents. “Reasonable amount of time” is the legal wording. • Invitation clearly states all stakeholders attending and all those you are asking for permission not to attend. • Number of individuals must be accounted for on the IEP invitation. • Location and equipment will be available for room.

10. Document Preparation • Document preparation occurs throughout the year • Are you collecting hard data for your goals? • How? And how often? • Are you continually updating your Educational Benefit file for each student? • Determine if this is a new case to you or not. • Read all reports and review previous years Individual Education Programs (IEP’s) • Do not repeat goals and objectives • Determine if all stakeholders have the assessment reports prior to the IEP meeting.

11. Discussion with all Stakeholders • Confirmation with the general education teacher. • Document, document, document all of the discussions you have with all stakeholders. • Make a phone call, send a note, Skype, or send and e-mail to the parent weeks prior to the IEP meeting to begin a dialogue. • Send home a “draft copy” of the IEP to the parents 5 days prior to the scheduled meeting based on the students progress and the contact you have made with the parent.

12. IEP Meeting Agenda • Finish this Sample Agenda: • Introductions • Parent concerns • Assessment reports • Review Goals and Objectives • ……… • Take the next 3 minutes with a partner and complete this IEP meeting Agenda.

13. IEP Meeting Norms • Helps establish a positive working environment • Provides a cognitive and affective focus on the student in question • Sample meeting norms: • We are all here for [student name] • Be respectful of the meetings time frame • Respect one another- no personal attacks • Keep all discussion focused on the child

14. Pre-IEP Meeting Major Factors • Logistical Information • Document preparation • Discussions with all stakeholders • IEP Meeting agenda • IEP meeting norms

15. Life Skills: • Take 3 minutes and share with your neighbor the major aspects of Pre-IEP meeting actions. Determine your “Call to Action” [what will you do now as a special educator?] • [Make sure you stand up and stretch at this time] • Things to say when you are caught asleep at the computer: • “I just took a typing by thought class last night and I am completing my homework.” • “Did you ever notice that the keyboard makes a humming noise when you put your ear really close?”

16. Beginning IEP meeting Phase • Have someone meet the parents/ guardians at the door and escort them to the room where the IEP will be held. • Introductions: Everyone introduces themselves and states their purpose for the IEP meeting • Administrator or District representative: State the purpose of the IEP- Initial- Annual- Triennial- Amendment IEP • Send around the signature page for all participants to sign • Offer another copy of the procedural safeguards (Parental rights) • Review IEP meeting norms and time frame for IEP • Review the agenda for the IEP meeting • Ask the parent for input on the IEP agenda and their approval of the agenda

17. Beginning IEP meeting Phase • IF Initial or Triennial IEP, THEN- • Have the psychologist review their report (Hand out copies of report) • Have any other related service provider review their report (Hand out copies of report) • Have the nurse present their report (Hand out copies of report) • Have the special education teacher review their report (Hand out copies of report) • Determine if the student qualifies for special education and through which primary eligibility and secondary eligibility, if appropriate. • IF the student does qualify for special education, THEN go to Step 7 and proceed with the rest of the IEP meeting and review the IEP forms. (Hand out “Draft” copies of the IEP) • IF the student does not qualify for special education, THEN determine if the student can receive a 504 plan and calendar a date to create a 504 plan or just a classroom based intervention plan

18. Beginning IEP meeting Phase • IF the IEP is an annual review (and the completion of a triennial and initial IEP), THEN: • Review front page demographics • Review the students current levels of performance • Ask the parents for their future concerns for their son/daughter • Ask the parents how their child learns the best • Are there health concerns? • Are there behavioral concerns? • Are there assistive technology concerns?

19. Present Levels of Performance • Present levels of performance need to include concise factual statements about where the students performance level is presenting. • No Empty boxes. State current level even if at grade level. OK to state “[Student is not presenting a current need at this time in this area.” • Maxwell is doing well in reading • Jasmine is decoding at the 2nd grade level, Reads 75 words per minute in a 2nd grade text. According to curriculum based measurements, she continually answers reading comprehension questions at a 90% accuracy. NEAT scores Reading Fluency; GE 2.8, Reading Comprehension: GE 2.1; Math GE 3.1

20. State Testing • Review and determine classroom accommodations and modifications • Review and determine state assessment accommodations and modifications • Determine the State assessment that student will take (CST, CMA, CAPA) • IF the IEP team is considering the CAPA, THEN the IEP team needs to review the artifact for determining participation within the CAPA assessment.

21. IEP Goals • Review last year’s academic goals and determine if the student level for achievement for each goal- • Work samples and data are present to support goal attainment or not. • Present the new proposed goals for the next year. • Obtain parent approval for each goal (If using an online system make sure to mark “approved • Formula for creating goals: • By (Date) student, (Behavioral statement) Will be able to (action of skill) at a ?% accuracy, in (determine the number of trials) as measured by (Teacher checklists, an assessment, logs, teacher observation, etc).

22. Creating a goal • Based on the following case study, create an IEP goal with the appropriate baseline. • Sarah, a 9th grade student, currently reads at a fifth grade level. She reads approximately 89 words per minute. Sarah is able to correctly answer 4/5 comprehension questions after reading a passage. • What questions, if any, do you still need answers to?

23. Creating a goal • Present Levels in Math: • Samuel can identify the penny and the dollar bill. Samuel knows the value of the quarter. He can add single digit numbers up to a product of 9. He has 1:1 correspondence up to 5 items. He knows 4 shapes (Circle, Square, Triangle, Star). He can identify the colors red, blue, purple, and black. He can count up to 10, but omits the number 7 on a regular basis. • What goal for math can you create? • What is the best way to have a defensible baseline when writing an IEP goal?

24. Individual Transition Plan (ITP) • Needs to be created for students who are 15 and will turn 16 by the next annual review. • IF the student will be 16 before the next IEP, THEN present the ITP to the IEP team • New practice: Student presents own ITP to the team. (Traditionally for students with mild/moderate disabilities) • Invite appropriate individuals (Regional Center, Department of Rehab, Community College DSPS)

25. Related Services • IF the student has related services, THEN review the goals from each related service. • Present new related service goals for parent approval • IF a related service provider asks to leave, THEN the parents need to approve their dismissal. (Make sure that they sign the IEP before they leave the meeting) • Review and discuss the services needed and their level of frequency (“# of sessions” versus “Times per week”)

26. Services on the IEP • Make sure to make each service as explicit as possible. • If the “Specialist” is going to provide direct, collaborative and consultative services, they need to each be identified and each needs their own service box.

27. Placement and offer of FAPE • Discuss the continuum of possible placements and determine the appropriate placement • District offers one clear Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) offer • Does the FAPE offer include Extended School Year (ESY) • Transportation

28. IEP meeting notes • IF it is not in the notes, THEN it did not happen. • The notes of the IEP meeting are read to the group for review • Additions and or corrections to the IEP meeting notes are made • IF parent has made their own notes, THEN they can be attached to the IEP but are not numbered as part of the “Official” IEP. Comments page needs to state that “Parent participation comments pages are attached to the IEP”.

29. Obtaining Parent Signatures • Parents are presented the IEP for signatures and approval or disapproval • Create copies of the “Completed andSigned IEP” for the parents before they leave the IEP meeting. • IF there is a disagreement with the FAPE offer or other issues that presented themselves during the IEP that could not be resolved, THEN calendar an IEP date before everyone leaves to resolve the issues

30. Post IEP meeting Actions • Assign actions to stakeholders to complete after the IEP. • Contact the parent later on in the week to debrief the IEP meeting and get a sense on how they felt the IEP meeting went. • Follow through on all actions assigned to you. • Follow up with all actions assigned to other stakeholders.

31. Items to consider • A parent can call an IEP meeting every 30 days. • There are no “emergency IEP meetings”. For a behavioral incident, the meeting needs to be “On the calendar” within 48 hours of the incident. • Parent, advocates, and lawyers smell fear • Saying “I don’t know, but will get back to you on that piece.” is golden. • You can stop an IEP meeting if it becomes out of hand. • Document all interactions with your parents. (Even hallway conversations)

32. IEP Meeting Process • Exercise: • Stand up and walk over to someone who you have not spoken to today and each individual in the pair needs to share four (4) things you learned today, three (3) things you already knew, two (2) things you don’t understand and one (1) item you disagree with. • Take 4 minutes to complete this activity.

33. Perspectives of IEP Meetings • Parent’s Perspective • Administrator’s Perspective • Special Educator’s Perspective • What is Education Benefit? • What is Reasonably Calculated?

34. Last Slide (Yeah!) Thank you for today and thank you for working with children with special needs! Craig W. Bartholio.,Ed.D.