Special EDge
November 2018 FCPS Special EDge Hot Sheet
Special Education Bundle
Special Education has provided a Special Edition Bundle for November.
The bundle link is below entitled Meet Google Drive. It is organized in folders by month.
There are critically important documents in this bundle, including memos and technical assistance bulletins that area mandated for circulation. Please ensure you read this information carefully.
5 Day Rule Standard Operating Procedure
In accordance with Section 8-405 of the Education Article to the Annotated Code of Maryland and to allow parents the opportunity to meaningfully participate in the IEP process, FCPS requires that at least (5) business days before a scheduled IEP team meeting, the parents are to receive an accessible copy of each assessment, report, data chart(s), draft IEP, or other document the IEP team plans to discuss at the meeting, unless extenuating circumstances exist. Additionally, the completed IEP and IEP meeting notes with Prior Written Notice must be provided to parents within 5 business days following at iEP team meeting. Changes in IEP service for a student may not be implemented until the parents have received prior written notice of the change.
- Here is a marked 2018-2019 school calendar with business days to facilitate your calculations when sending IEP documents 5 business days prior to IEP meetings.
These resources are linked in the Special Education Bundle and located on our Special Education website.
IEP Chairperson Training
The professional learning four part series for school year 2018-2019 will focus on the role of the IEP chairperson, before, during, and after the IEP process, and confidence in the legal compliance of the IEP process to ensure well-developed and implemented instructional programming for students with disabilities.
The focus is grounded in the system initiatives including Cultural Proficiency, Accelerated Learning Process, and Framework for Teaching. These initiatives are synthesized with a growth mindset of expectations for students.
Here is a link to the first of the series presentation: IEP Chairperson Training
Extended School Year (ESY)
Extended School Year (ESY) service decisions are being made in your schools each week in IEP meetings. The IEP team must consider several factors when making an ESY decision to include:
- Whether the child’s IEP includes annual goals related to critical life skills;
- Whether it is likely that the child would suffer a substantial regression of critical life skills caused by the normal school break and would fail to recover those lost skills in a reasonable time;
- The child’s progress toward mastery of IEP goals and objectives;
- The presence of emerging skills or breakthrough opportunities;
- Interfering behaviors;
- The nature and/or severity of the disability; and
- Special circumstances
The MSDE will be auditing these factors in ESY decision-making within the IEP annual process for the 2018-2019 school year.
Although this is a summer service for students with disabilities, it is critically important IEP teams adhere to and clearly document the ESY decision-making protocol during the IEP meeting using quantitative and qualitative data.
What are Extended School Year (ESY) Services?
Extended school year services (ESY) means the individualization of extension of specific special education and related services that are provided to a student with a disability beyond the normal school year of the public agency, in accordance with the IEP, at no cost to the parents, and that meets the standards of the MSDE.
ESY services are only necessary to a free and appropriate education (FAPE) when the benefits that a student with a disability gains during a regular school year will be significantly jeopardized if the student is not provided with an educational program during the summer months. A public agency may not limit ESY services to particular categories of disability or unilaterally limit the type, amount, or duration of those services.
Here is a link to the ESY Teacher Resource Guide for ESY decision-making (with more specific guidance) in the IEP process:
Extended School Year Teacher Resource GuidePARCC Appendix D for Human Reader and Text-to-Speech for ELA
Eligibility criteria for accessing the Human Reader/Text-to-Speech accommodation on the PARCC ELA assessment is an important annual decision for many IEP students.
There have been changes in guidance for when to complete the PARCC Appendix D tool, so please read carefully!
As always, the most current information can be found on the PARCC Live Binder. Please note that this resource has been updated.
The Human Reader/Text-to-Speech for ELA can only be listed as an accommodation on a student's IEP if he/she qualifies for both instruction AND assessment. This is a change in practice for some schools!
If a student does not meet eligibility criteria to access this accommodation on PARCC, it should not be listed as an accommodation. In these circumstances, you may consider listing Human Reader for ELA as a Supplementary Aid and Service for instruction only.
Human Reader/Text-to-Speech for ELA Eligibility Criteria and Documentation:
- Appendix D- This is a change!
- This form MUST be completed for any student in grades 3-12 who:
- currently has Human Reader of Entire Test on his/her IEP
- has data to support that Human Reader of Entire Test should be added to the IEP
- has data to support that Human Reader should be removed from the IEP
- This is the only form for PARCC that gets filed in the student's blue folder.
- Aligned Reading Data Table for Human Reader
- A student MUST have 2 aligned data points that show a significant deficit in decoding
- Data used to determine eligibility for PARCC accommodations must be collected within 90 days of when the team discusses these in an IEP meeting.
- Aligned Reading Interventions for Human Reader
- A student MUST have been enrolled in an aligned reading intervention that focuses on decoding skills for at least 2 years
- If a student has unusual circumstances (i.e. new to FCPS, significant regression due to sudden medical condition, etc.), please contact our office to discuss.
- IEP Team Meeting Notes Documentation
- The determination of whether or not a student is able to access Human Reader/Text-to-Speech on PARCC must be documented in the Prior Written Notice of IEP Team Notes.
Also, please note that if a student accesses Human Reader/Text-to-Speech on PARCC, it is imperative that a student's IEP aligns with these decoding needs. The Present Levels of Performance should identify this need and there should be corresponding IEP reading decoding goals to address services related to this need.
Please keep in mind that the Appendix D is only for accessing Human Reader/Text-to-Speech accommodation on the PARCC ELA assessment. There is a different accommodation for accessing Human Reader/Text-to-Speech accommodation on the PARCC Math assessment (i.e. 1r: Text to Speech for the Mathematics, Science, and Government Assessments and 1s: Human Reader or Human Signer for Selected Sections of the Mathematics, Science, and Government Assessments).
Special Education & Psychological Services Faces in New Places
Linda J. Chambers
Compliance and Student Support
Linda has served as a special educator, professional development teacher specialist, and special education administrator with FCPS for 23 years. She is a Doctoral Candidate pursuing her doctorate in organizational leadership. As a Nationally Board Certified Teacher, Linda taught special education for 14 years. She has been a staff development teacher and a special education administrator for the past 9 years. She is committed to closing the opportunity achievement gap. She believes that one size does not fit all. With exceptional instructional programming that allows access to learning for students with disabilities, we can build the leaders of tomorrow.
Denise Flora
Denise joins The Department of Special Education and Psychological Services after having served over nine years as principal at Heather Ridge. She also previously served as assistant principal at both West Frederick and New Market Middle Schools. Her organizational skills and attention to detail are above reproach. Denise is not only certified as a comprehensive school principal, but also as a Special Education Teacher, Special Education Principal, and Special Education Supervisor.
Rochelle's Special Education Legal Tip
(Rochelle Eisenberg is a Maryland Special Education School System Attorney. These are her legal advice based upon her experiences in cases around the state.)
There Is No Need to Write the IEP Version of War and Peace When You Are Developing Present Levels and Goals and Objectives
Tip: The IEP is a working document. It is supposed to be helpful to the reader. Too often, school staff include so much information in the Present Levels that it is difficult to understand exactly what is the student’s Present Level in any given area. Sometimes this happens because it is just easier for the writer to transfer, verbatim, what is in an assessment report. But it also happens that some parents’ attorneys/advocates, want you to include information to show that they are effective in their advocacy or there is an ulterior placement/LRE motive in including certain information. The school based members of the IEP team are ultimately responsible for deciding what goes into the Present Levels. While you must consider parental input, it does not mean you have to agree.
The same principal is true for the number of goals and objectives in an IEP. Only include those goals and objectives that are reasonably achievable by the student in a year. Not every weakness needs a goal. Goals do not need a large number of objectives.