FCPS Special EDge Hot Sheet
May 2017 Brief Info blasts about Special Education
May Special Education Bundle
Each month in alignment with the Special Education Hot Sheet, a Special Education Bundle will be linked to provide a streamlined opportunity to access all updates and information related to Special Education and Psychological Services at scheduled times throughout the year.
This endeavor is purposeful to promote a consistent message.
The bundle link is below entitled Meet Google Drive.
Our Very Own FCPS 2017 Teacher of the Year-- Karima Sharper
Congratulations Karima! We are so proud that you earned this well-deserved honor!
Disproportionality & Discipline Requests for Students with Disabilities
FCPS is gearing up for a targeted review by MSDE to assess our policies and procedures as it relates to disproportionality. The audit will occur between now and the summer. MSDE will review suspensions and expulsions of ALL students in FCPS to unpack the disproportionality we face. Our office will be consulting you for records of students who were suspended including cumulative records, student records, SST referral record, and discipline records who were suspended in SY 2015-2016 to prepare for this targeted review,
As we near the end of the school year, please be reminded that administrators must consult the Department of Special Education and Psychological Services to request discipline suspensions beyond 10 days for any student with a disability, IEP or 504 so we may support you in the next steps of the process to meet the needs of our learners.
2017 Special Education and Psychological Services Summer Curriculum Workshops
This summer, special education and psychological services will hold the following workshops.
2017 Special Education Handbook, SLP Handbook, Staff Website and Form Updates: Revise handbook, website, and forms to current practice with an instructional focus on closing the achievement gap using standards-based IEPs. July 10 - July 13; July 17 - July 20
Passport to My Future: Developing Transition Lessons for Students with Emotional/Behavioral Needs: Building upon the framework that has been developed by a consultant, staff will work to develop materials that are developmentally appropriate for students with disabilities at the middle and high school level, many of whom are in the Pyramid Program. June 26 - June 29; July 10 - July 13
Identifying Priority Standards in ELA, Math, and CCCs: This workshop will bring experts from CII and special education together to identify priority standards aligned to the Common Core standards in PK-5th grades, 6-8, and 9-12 in the areas of mathematics and English language arts. Additionally, teachers who teach to the CCC standards will come together to also identify priority standards aligned to the CCCs. The development of examples of high-quality standards-based IEP goals and PLAAFPs will also occur. June 26 - June 29; July 3 - July 7
Creating Visuals, Lessons, and Materials for Differentiated Learning: Working together to review the CCC’s, teachers will develop lessons and materials to support instruction. This course would focus on creating practical resources related to visuals (i.e. schedules, behavior cards, first/then boards, cue cards, task checklist, etc.) to implement in the classroom. It would also look to creating adapted/modified templates for accessing the ELA, math, writing, science, and social studies curriculum. July 3 - July 7; July 10 - July 13
Psychological Services and School Counseling Crisis Intervention: An electronic repository of crisis materials and training modules will be created and uploaded to a shared drive so that building administrators and staff, and members of the crisis team will have unfettered access. July 3 - July 7
Supporting students with mental illness, a trauma history, and behavioral difficulties: Create professional learning resources to support students with mental illness, exposure to trauma and behavioral issues. July 10-July 13
Woodcock Johnson IV Assessment License Reminder
Please be aware that, for each test protocol purchased for the Woodcock-Johnson IV (WJ-IV), there is one license purchased for the Online Scoring Module. You may only use one scoring license for each assessment conducted.
As an assessor, if you need to re-enter the scoring module, ensure that you are re-entering the same scoring module that you had previously opened, rather than opening a new one.
Likewise, remember that for copyright reasons, you may not make photocopies of test protocols.
Keep your eyes open for an updated process with WJIV assessment licenses for the school year 2017-2018.
3rd Year for the MSDE Communication Competence Conference-Please Register!
This year's MSDE Communication Competence Conference will focus on written expression for students with significant cognitive disabilities. The conference will be held on June 1, 2017.
Learn more about it and register here: Everyone Has Something to Write!
If Case You Missed It... IEP Chairperson Webinar
If you missed the IEP Chairperson Hangout in March 2017 you can review it at this link:
March 22, 2017, IEP Chairperson Webinar
FCPS is working together to engage families meaningfully in the IEP process. Here is a great resource sheet to have engaging IEP team meetings as you close out the school year.
Rochelle’s Special Education Legal Tips
Tip #1: Supreme Court Issues Landmark Decision on the FAPE Standard
We have been eagerly awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. On March 22, 2017, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court held that to meet its substantive obligation under the IDEA, a school must offer an IEP reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.
The case involved Endrew, a child with autism, whose parents were dissatisfied with his IEP and progress. They unilaterally placed Endrew in a private school specializing in educating children with autism, determined that his behavior significantly improved in the private school, then sought a new IEP from the school system. Dissatisfied with the new IEP, the parents filed a due process complaint seeking funding of the private school placement.
The U.S. District Court held in favor of the school system and concluded that annual modifications to Endrew’s IEP objectives were “sufficient to show a pattern of, at the least, minimal progress.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed, relying on the language in the Supreme Court’s decision 35 years ago in Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley that instruction and services must be calculated to confer “some educational benefit.”
The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals and remanded the case for the Tenth Circuit to reconsider based on the Supreme Court’s decision that the standard is whether “the IEP is reasonably calculated to enable the child to make progress in light of his circumstances.” In its decision, building on Rowley, the Supreme Court made the following statements, all of which are very helpful in assisting IEP teams in determining whether an IEP is appropriate and a FAPE being offered:
- It is not enough to just say that “any educational benefit” is sufficient.
- A school must offer an IEP reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.
- The IEP need not aim for grade-level advancement if that is not a reasonable prospect for the child.
- The benefits obtainable by children at one end of the spectrum will differ dramatically from those obtainable by children at the other end.
- The question is not whether the IEP is “ideal.” The question is whether it is “reasonable.”
- The IEP must aim to enable the child to make progress.
- The IDEA requires that children with disabilities receive education in the regular classroom “whenever possible” and for most children, FAPE will involve integration in the regular classroom and individualized specialized special education calculated to achieve advancement from grade to grade.
- Being offered an educational program providing merely more than de minimis progress from year to year can hardly be said to have been offered an education at all.
- Deference is given on the application of expertise and the exercise of judgment by school authorities.
- The courts should not substitute their own notions of sound educational policy for those of the school authorities which they review.
While this decision may not change the development of IEPs by teams already utilizing these common sense standards, the decision will definitely help inform decisions when a parent is seeking private school funding.
Tip #2: What Do You Do with the Private Assessment Report?
Whenever you receive a private assessment, it must be reviewed, discussed, and considered by the IEP or 504 team. As soon as you receive it, write the date of receipt on the front of the report. If it is received at the meeting, write, “Received at IEP (504) meeting on (date).” If you receive the report at the meeting and it is of such length or complexity that taking a break to read it will not give you enough time to understand it, then state another meeting must be scheduled to review the report. At that point, schedule the meeting. Do not delay. However, if you can take a break to review the report and believe a quick reading is sufficient in order for the team to review, discuss, and consider the report, then go ahead and review the report. Your notes from the meeting should reflect your consideration of the report, and if it was just received, note that fact too in the notes.
In connection with scheduling a meeting to review a report you have received ahead of time, do not delay in scheduling the meeting. You have an obligation to review the report.
Make sure that when you are reviewing the report, you discuss not only the findings but the recommendations in the report. Some of the recommendations may already be in the IEP or 504 Plan, some may need to be added, and some may make no sense. Just because something is written in a report does not mean it is accurate or reliable, no matter how renown the institution that authored the report. It is not unusual to receive a private report filled with boilerplate recommendations. Sometimes, the reports are based just on parental input and include behaviors not seen in the school setting. Or, conclusions are reached by a private examiner based on the snapshot assessment of the child and do not match the child. It is important for the team to note these issues and to include them in the notes of the meeting.
If you have questions about something in the report, ask for consent to consult with the writer of the report. If consent is refused, note that in the notes of the meeting. Also, if part of the report is deleted or pages are missing, ask to see the missing portions. Explain that without reviewing the report in its entirety, it is difficult to give it the consideration needed. What is missing could comment about the child’s health or behavior on the day of the assessment which would have a major impact on the outcome of the assessment, family trauma that could be the cause of behaviors, or prior medical findings. You need the entire report.
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