Special EDge
March 2018 FCPS Special EDge Hot Sheet
Special Education Bundle
Special Education has provided a Special Edition Bundle for March.
The bundle this month includes:
- MSDE Parent Survey Flyer
- MSDE Parent Survey FAQ
- SECAC Resource Fair Flyer
- Talking to Children about Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers
- Occupational and Physical Therapy (OT/PT) Referral Update 2018
The bundle link is below entitled Meet Google Drive. It is organized in folders by month.
Special Education Citizens Advisory Council (SECAC) Resource Fair
Special Education Citizens Advisory Council Resource Fair Flyer
MSDE Parent Survey
IEP School Teams,
Each year the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) surveys parents of children receiving special education services in the State. The purpose of the Survey – The Maryland Special Education Parent Involvement Survey – is to hear from parents about how well they think their child’s school is partnering with them and promoting parent involvement in their child’s education.
You play a central role in how parents perceive special education services in the State and we ask for your help in encouraging parents to complete the Survey.
When will the Survey be administered?
§ Surveys were mailed on February 4, 2018 and must be returned (mail or online) by May 1, 2018.
What is your role as an IEP School Team?
- Encourage parents to complete the Survey.
- Distribute the flyer at IEP Team Meetings, PTA meetings and other school events.
- Offer parents your computer lab or a device in your building so they may complete the Survey online http://www.mdparentsurvey.com
- Remind parents to complete the Survey when you see them at IEP meetings, PTA meetings and other school events.
- Each school will receive a packet of 25 flyers/with FAQ printed in English. These copies will be delivered to the attention of the principal and will arrive at your school over the next two weeks.
- Copies of the Spanish version of the FAQ flyer are available through central office. Contact Marcia.Andrews@fcps.org to obtain copies for your school.
Where can I get more information about the Survey?
- Review the Frequently Asked Questions document. This document is included in the Survey packet parents are mailed.
- Contact Ken Hudock at MSDE at 410-767-7770 or Kenneth.Hudock@maryland.gov.
- This Survey will help MSDE and each local jurisdiction understand how they can support you and support parents in educating Maryland’s children with disabilities.
Help Spread the Word!
*The responses from this MSDE Parent Survey provide results for our State Performance Plan Indicators and should not be confused with our internal FCPS Parent IEP Team Survey that is also in progress.*
Occupational and Physical Therapy (OT/PT) Referral Update 2018
It is linked here: Occupational and Physical Therapy (OT/PT) Referral Update 2018
Reminders: Provision of Special Education and Related Services
IEP services are driven by the goals on the IEP, which are driven by the specific needs identified in the PLAAFP. School schedules need to be taken into account as to when the services should be delivered, but they do not drive the amount or location of services.
For example, a student has 30 minutes daily of direct service for a math goal on the IEP. If a schedule change finds that the student no longer has math every day, the student is still entitled to 30 minutes daily of direct service for that math goal. Failure to provide those services would be a violation of the IEP and entitle the student to compensatory services.
IEP goals are written for an entire school year. Therefore, the goal should be addressed as part of ongoing instruction and monitored at least quarterly the entire year. If a schedule change finds that the student is no longer enrolled in a class that the goal was being addressed in, the case manager must determine when and where the goal(s) will be delivered so that there is not a break in services.
Progress on an IEP goal cannot go from making progress to not introduced. If the reason that a case manager is choosing this for progress reporting is because the student is no longer in a class where the goal(s)/service(s) were being addressed. There should not be a break in services to address the goal(s).
County IEP Process
FCPS makes every effort to educate students with disabilities in their home school or within a specialized program in FCPS. Therefore, IEP teams have a duty to ensure that school staff have implemented strategies and interventions to address educational and/or behavioral challenges before a referral to CIEP is made. If the following have occurred and the student does not make progress on IEP goals and objectives, a referral to CIEP is recommended. A Central Office Special Education Coordinator/Teacher Specialist must be in attendance at the school IEP meeting where this referral is made.
The steps in the process are as follows:
- Contact Central Office Special Education Coordinator/Teacher Specialist to discuss student needs and set up an observation.
- Review instructional practices, collect data, and determine appropriateness in consultation with Central Office Special Education Coordinator/Teacher Specialist.
- Review academic interventions, collect data, and determine appropriateness in consultation with Central Office Special Education Coordinator/Teacher Specialist.
- Ensure the IEP is up to date with present levels of academic and functional performance, accommodations, supplemental aids and services, and goals to address students’ areas of weakness.
- If there are behavioral concerns, a BIP is in place and being implemented.
- Recommendations from school based and/or central office staff have been implemented.
Once these steps have been followed a referral to county is appropriate. Please note, incomplete packets will be returned to the school for completion. Our office works diligently to schedule meetings as soon as possible once packets are received.
Augmentative Communication & Technology Team-ACTT's Corner
iPad Updates:
In order for our office to push out recommended apps for your students or any updates, please connect to the internet on your student iPads and turn OFF guided access. Then the recommendation from your ACTT team leader should push to the device.
Windows 10 Migration
We understand that some schools are in the process of migrating their desktops/laptops to Windows 10 and might need ACT software reinstalled. Please contact us if this happens.
More resources:
Free Online Boardmaker community: Make a free account and utilize all the resources available with your classroom friends. Tons of already created boards can be found at : https://www.boardmakeronline.com/
Tech Tip: Program an AAC home/school message
Use your students’ AAC tool to program a message for home about what has happened during the school day! Many devices have pre-programmed buttons ready to be programmed to send home!
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING ESY 2018
Reminder that the ESY dates for 2018 are July 9th to August 2nd. IEP teams should make ESY decisions for students by March 2nd.
As you make your ESY decisions, ensure that you send your ESY transportation referrals to transportation within ten days of the meeting. Changes in the ESY transportation referrals can be made via email up until May 23, 2018, to william.crabill@fcps.org.
Applications are NOW OPEN for the ESY dates listed above. If you are interested in working during ESY, and are available for the entire four week window, please submit your application using the links below.
Links are also located on our Special Education website on InsideFCPS. The application will close March 1, 2018. You will be notified if you were selected via a letter mid-April.
ESY STAFF APPLICATIONS
ESY Special Education Instructional Assistant
https://goo.gl/forms/Yr095lJyfR1NzpLF3
ESY Teacher
https://goo.gl/forms/YxTZwENRKiGfFQy73
ESY SLP
https://goo.gl/forms/kl6RgsgaAg5n1i003
ESY Therapist
https://goo.gl/forms/5ddyi6uY81yhyVRG2
ESY Behavior Support Specialist
Rochelle's Special Education Tip
Tip #1. I Heard it Through the Grapevine: If It Is Not In the PWN You Will Have a Hard Time Proving It Happened
When you develop the Prior Written Notice (PWN) be sure to document what happened, in English. If you feel compelled to use educationalese, also add interpretive language in layperson’s English. Be clear. After you write the document, step back and read it. Pretend you were not at the meeting. Would you know what occurred at the meeting based on what you wrote in the PWN? Some IEP teams keep both the PWN and accompanying Minutes, which are helpful when you cannot figure out how to fit a summary of the meeting into the PWN. An administrative law judge is more likely to believe a witness who confirms what was written in the PWN or Minutes instead of someone who cannot recall exactly what occurred at an IEP team meeting. The same principle holds true for 504 Minutes.
Tip #2 . Pomp and Circumstance and Glass Houses
There have been a whirlwind of stories about students graduating from high school who have not fulfilled basic high school requirements, like passing tests or attending school. Before you throw stones at these schools and school systems, take a look at what is going on in your school system, particularly as applied to special education students who need a lot of accommodations in order to pass a course. You are doing no one a favor by spoon feeding answers to students. Do not give multiple choice tests with 2 choices. Do not send the tests home ahead of time so the student can practice. (This is far different from telling students what to study.) Do not tell a student to “think again” when writing in the wrong answer. Do not nudge the student’s hand toward the correct choice.
Some parents are rightfully indignant when they learn the only way their child received an “A” or “B” grade was by taking the test over and to only have the second test score count. Or when they learn that just turning in homework counts as much as test scores even though the child really does not understand the material.
Another problem area is inflated grades given during Home and Hospital Instruction. Give the Home and Hospital teachers guidance on how to test students. Be careful in your approvals of Home and Hospital Instruction. Do not approve Home and Hospital applications without having consent to speak to the professional signing the verification form. If something seems fishy, it probably is. Is the student turning in the work? Who is doing the work? Being absent or sick does not mean the student should be allowed to skip assignments or tests. They need to make up the work. Remember that students have until age 21 to receive a free, public education and graduate. Always invite the Home and Hospital teacher to the IEP team meeting.
If you believe there is wrongdoing in grading or passing students who do not legitimately meet the course requirements, you need to report this to your Principal or the Office of the Superintendent. Immediately.
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