Writing Instructionally Appropriate IEPs

1. Writing Instructionally Appropriate IEPs Special Populations Tennessee Department of Education

2. Norms We Will: • Be open to others’ views and input • Share experiences and ideas • Determine roles and responsibilities • Ask questions within and outside of our own group • Provide constructive feedback • Be engaged in the presentations and group work • Be respectful and turn all technology to silent mode during work time

3. Procedures Roles and Responsibilities of Group Members • Make sure that each person in your group is serving in at least one role. If you have more than 4 people in your group, have more than one Timekeeper/Gatekeeper. If you have less than 4 people in your group, have group members serve in more than one role. Everyone should serve as a secondary facilitator, helping make the group’s work easier. Small Group Facilitator • The Facilitator leads the discussion, making sure that everyone is fully participating. • Examples of getting all to provide input: “Will each person give your thoughts about what data we should include in our present levels of performance?” • “As the most highly qualified professional providing the most intense intervention, what supports would we have in place for our student? What do you all suggest? We will start with (name) and go around the group”. Scribe • The Scribe writes the information for the group on the presentation chart Reporter • The Reporter reports the small group's work to the whole group. Timekeeper/ Gatekeeper • The Timekeeper keeps track of the time and makes sure that the group finishes the task on time as well as ensuring everyone remains on task.

4. Procedures • This activity is meant to simulate the collaboration that is needed to gather all the necessary information to write an instructionally appropriate IEP. • As a professional educator, there might be times when you receive a file on a student and there will be things missing. This is a time where you might have to go look for the information to make your file complete. • For example, you might need to discuss with the general education teacher, special education teacher, school psychologist, and any one else necessary to make sure all information is collected.

5. Developing A Strong Narrative A quick snapshot describing the student’s strengths and concerns • Must include: • Student’s strengths • Parent concerns in their own words, to the greatest extent possible • Impact on Mastery of Standards/Core Instruction • Medical information, even if no concerns (don’t leave blank) • Must pass the “stranger test”

6. Narratives Include:

7. Narratives: Medical Information: Ex. Susan’s parents indicated there are not medical concerns at this time. • Do not leave this area blank Student’s Strengths: Ex. Specific Learning Disability-associated deficit in Reading-Susan has strong listening comprehension skills. She enjoys listening to information when it is presented orally, and recalls information very easily. She has a strong sight word vocabulary and tends to utilize this as her primary strategy when reading independently.

8. Narratives: Parent Concerns: Ex. Specific Learning Disability-associated deficit in Reading. Mr. & Mrs. Test are very concerned about Susan's reading progress. They report that she is easily frustrated when she has to read independently and worry that she will only fall further behind. Impact on Mastery of Standards: Ex. Specific Learning Disability-associated deficit in reading Susan's deficits in the areas of basic reading skills, specifically phonics & decoding, and fluencyimpacts her mastery of reading standards as well as impacts her access and participation in core instruction. At this time, she is does not have the skills necessary to independently read information in academic areas which interferes with comprehension.

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10. Share Your Work Reflect and make changes as necessary

11. Developing A Strong PLEP A summary of assessments aligned to area(s) of need Must include: • Student’s current assessment data • Narrative description about skills assessed • Impact on mastery of standards • Exceptional: yes or no • Positive terms and language • Must pass the “stranger test”

12. Example PLEPS Associated Deficits of Specific Learning Disability in Reading • Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency (TOSWRF) In looking at Susan's protocol, it appears that she worked very slowly. She managed to divide 45 words on the form, but made 10 errors. Her descriptive rating indicated that she fell within the below average range placing her at the 13th percentile. Based on expected third grade norms, Susan is significantly behind for her current grade level. This impacts her mastery of standards throughout content instruction as third grade is the year instruction switches from learning to read to reading to learn. Exceptional: Yes • Curriculum-Based Measure: Given a 1 minute fluency test, Susan accurately sounded 42 letters. This represents the 45th percentile according to winter norms. Word Identification Fluency: Susan identified 6 words from the CBM third grade word list in one minute. This represents the 10th percentile according to winter norms. Her difficulties with phonics and word identification impacts her mastery of standards. • Reading Fluency-Given a 1 minute grade level passage, Susan read 25 words correctly with 11 errors. This is significantly below the 10th percentile according to winter norms. Susan is significantly behind grade level average compared to her third grade peers in word identification fluency and reading fluency and will be impacted her mastery of reading standards. Exceptional: Yes

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14. Share Your Work Reflect and make changes as necessary

15. Developing A Strong MAG A clear description of an observable behavior a student will be able to do within one year Must Include: • Condition • Behavior • Performance criteria (How well? How consistently? How often? How measured?) • Must pass the “stranger test” • Look at the template provided

16. www.pattan.nethttp://www.ksde.org

17. Goal Statement- Let’s Practice! • Given__________________ (condition/materials/setting/accommodation), ________________ (student name) will __________________ (do what measurable/ observable skill/behavior in functional terms), _______________________ (to what extent/how well to determine mastery), _________________ (# of times/frequency/how consistently), by _______________________ (how often) evaluated/determined by _________________(measure).

18. Goal setting with CBM data • Step One: Determine Typical Rate of Improvement (ROI)

19. Let’s Practice!

20. Goal setting with CBM data • Step One: Determine Typical Rate of Improvement (ROI)

21. Goal Setting with CBM data • Step Two: Determine Goal Rate of Improvement (ROI)

22. Let’s Practice! • Step Two: Determine Goal Rate of Improvement (ROI)

23. Goal Setting with CBM data • Step Three: Calculate Student Goal

24. Let’s Practice

25. Goal Setting with CBM data • Step Three: Calculate Student Goal

26. Goal Statement • Given a 2nd grade reading passage, Joanne will accurately read 80 words correct on three consecutive data days using a weekly reading curriculum based measure.

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28. Share Your Work Reflect and make changes as necessary

29. Link MAG to Characteristics of Intervention This is not added into Easy IEP

30. Characteristics of the Most Intensive Intervention Potential intervention components: • specifically target student’s skill deficit • are research based, explicit, and systematic • are more intensive than general education interventions • for academics, must be more intensive than Tier III • provides support to students in addition to intervention

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32. Share Your Work Reflect and make changes as necessary

33. Accommodations Accommodations change the “how” Must address: • Core instruction participation and access • Assessment participation and access • Student’s entire school day; not limited to ELA & Math

34. Modifications Modifications change the “what.” This is a very significant decision that should only be considered as a last resort. • Scaffolding, accommodations, support, interventions, and additional adult assistance should all be tried first with data collected to determine effectiveness and fidelity of each accommodation. • Modifications are restrictive by nature. They are only the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) once all other options have been implemented with fidelity and data has been collected. Only then can we determine that modifications are required.

35. Considerations of Service Delivery • Least Restrictive Environment • All students are general education students first • All students receive high quality core instruction— for students with the most significant needs, the “how” and “where” is the “I” in IEP • Areas of deficit • Intervention required to meet student’s need • Directly linked to the MAG • A person is not an intervention

36. Considerations of Service Delivery Cont. • Student independence • The MAGs should be increasing the student’s skills so he or she requires increasingly less accommodation/modifications the following year. • Collaboration between general and special education teachers • Training support for staff/peers • May be noted in the MAGs under “details—supplementary supports for school personnel” Ex: A child has a visual schedule. A special education professional would provide a fifteen minute training to all staff on that particular schedule.

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38. Share Your Work Reflect and make changes as necessary

39. Progress Monitoring • How will you know if the intervention is working? • Monitor progress at least as often as non-disabled peers • Once a week • Once every other week • Monitor progress in student’s identified area of need • If the intervention is working, keep going! • If the intervention is not working, the team may need to consider changing the intervention

40. What is Adequate Progress?

41. What is Adequate Progress?

42. Sharing what has been developed • Present Your Student (Case study)

43. Moving Forward—Self Reflection • What questions do you still have? • Who on your team/school/LEA can assist you moving forward? • How will you communicate about the changes to parents? When? In meetings, prior, multiple times? • What interventions do you have available at your school? • What interventions might you need? • How will your schedule be different next year? If you have questions you would like answered, please place the index card in the box in your room.

44. Programming team Joann Lucero, Literacy Intervention Specialist Joann.Lucero@tn.gov Ryan Mathis, Mathematics Intervention Specialist Ryan.Mathis@tn.gov Alison Gauld, Behavior and Low Incidence Coordinator Alison.Gauld@tn.gov Jill Omer, Speech, Language and Autism Coordinator Jill.Omer@tn.gov Tie Hodack, Director Of Instructional Programs Tie.Hodack@tn.gov Theresa Nicholls, Director, Special Education Eligibility Theresa.Nicholls@tn.gov Josh Stanley, High School Intervention and Transition Coordinator