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PPBOCES Leadership Team: Corridor Training October 2015

Digging Deeper into evaluation, eligibility and IEP Development IEP: Present

Levels IEP: Service Delivery

IEP: Impact of Disability & Needs

+Multi-Tiered System of Support & Special Education

MTSS: School Wide, School Created, Multi-Leveled, Support

for Learning & Behavior

Special Education: Individuals with Disabilities Educational

Improvement Act (IDEIA) , includes assessment, identification and provision of services for students ages 3-21, eligible for special education, Students must qualify in 1 of 13 eligibility categories

+Full and Individual Evaluation vsA Comprehensive Evaluation

Colorado ECEA Rules and the federal regulations require a “full and individual evaluation” that must be conducted before the initial provision of special education and related services. This evaluation includes assessments in “all areas related to the suspected disability.” In the past, the “comprehensive evaluation” was interpreted by most to mean a common battery of assessments for all students referred. Now a more focused, student-centered approach is indicated.

+The Special Education Evaluation Identifies All of the Child’s Needs Even though it is more focused, it is specified in law that the

evaluation must be “sufficiently comprehensive to identify all of the child’s special education and related services needs, whether or not commonly linked to the primary disability category in which the child has been identified.”

The child is assessed in all areas related to the suspected disability, including, if appropriate, health, vision, hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status, and motor abilities.

Hand-out: areas to be assessed according to the specific disability the team is considering & specific tools available to address criteria questions and inform instruction

+Identify the Areas to be Assessed The PWNCE is filled out based on the IEP team’s best

guess as to what the disability category might be and should reflect the areas of assessments necessary to answer the questions around eligibility and inform instruction.

The case manager requests permission from parents to evaluate for special education. Permission is secured through the Prior Written Notice Consent to Evaluate (PWNCE) form which parents must sign prior to beginning assessment . The team then has 60 days to complete the evaluation and hold a meeting.

+The Evaluation Report

Documentation of student’s strengths & needs, a Summary of assessments completed & Implications Background Body of Report is a Body of Evidence

Includes Observation of Student Analysis of Data; narrative and scores

Implications for Instructions (summary)

+Background Information & Pertinent Health History

“Sets the table” as to the reason for referral & the areas in need of additional information/assessment:

Educational History Parent Report of Strengths and Needs Teacher Report of Strengths and Needs Educationally Relevant Medical Findings Previous assessment and/or plans (MTSS, General

Education Assessments; NWEA, DIBBLES, STAR, PARC etc) Transition statement into the body of evidence

+Body of Report is a Body of Evidence Universal Assessments Targeted Assessments Progress Monitoring Data Each area assessed should include a combination of both

data and a narrative description of strengths and concerns. Each team member is responsible for their section The Case Manager or Designee is responsible to review.

When the Evaluation is an Initial, the School Psychologist is responsible for reviewing the data presented in the evaluation report.

+Every Evaluation Report is unique

Academics: Pertinent academic information in the area(s) of concern. If for example, math is not an area of concern, include grade level math skills in background information. You can also include a “lead in” statement in the evaluation report such as, “Math and writing are not an area of concern; therefore, the focus of assessment is in the area of reading”.

Classroom Observations: Observations that relate to the area of concern and help paint a picture of strengths and challenges. Remember, if a Learning Disability is suspected, the observation needs to be in the area of suspected concern. For example, if the team is considering a math disability, an observation in PE would not be appropriate.

•  May also include: Cognitive , Communication, Physical Motor,  Social Emotional/Behavior/Attention, Adaptive/Self Help Skills. These assessments are included because they either answer the eligibility questions OR inform instruction

+Implications for Instruction This should be an individualized summary of the

student’s strengths/challenges AND how are his/her challenges impacting his/her ability to access general education.

Go back to the disability pages you are considering to help identify areas of potential educational impact.

Examples: Vickie’s current skill in the areas of reading comprehension

and decoding will make it difficult for her to keep pace when reading grade level curriculum.

Heather’s current academic skills allow her to access the general education curriculum.

Kelvin’s skill levels in listening comprehension and vocabulary will make it challenging for him to participate in whole group discussions in core subjects.

+Professional Practices with Evaluation Reports

Two weeks prior to Eligibility meeting have all formal evaluations completed and reports sent to School Psych who will create an integrated report and upload into Enrich. 

Prior to the meeting, every team member should read the report for accuracy and determine if all assessment on the consent for evaluation were completed and whether any other clarifying assessments would be helpful prior to the meeting. 

Prior to the meeting, the team may want to have a discussion around what disabilities will be considered at the meeting so that all necessary checklists are printed and ready to go for the meeting. 

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Using the for Evaluation to Guide the Development of the IEP

+Present Levels of Educational Performance Purpose: Highlight strengths and areas of concern in

academic and non-academic areas requiring specialized instruction.

If an Eligibility Review: Summary should be brief & scores are not necessary; you are summarizing the student’s overall strengths and academic needs from the Evaluation Report.

If an Annual Review: Describe the student’s current level of performance to include current testing/progress monitoring and progress towards previous IEP goals. State IEP goals specifically and provide detail as to the progress toward the goal.

+ Student Needs and Impact of Disability

Purpose: This section should identify and link needs from the Evaluation Report. The needs detailed in this section should then link with goals, accommodations, and/or modifications. Specifically, explain how identified needs are impacting access to the general education curriculum.

What are the impacts of the disability in terms of involvement and participation?

Why is it difficult for the student to do what their peers are doing in the classroom?

What are the barriers preventing the student from accessing general education?

+Linking Evaluation Implications to Need/Impact Implications: Carol’s access to the general education curriculum is significantly impacted in all academic content areas by her difficulty with reading fluency, written expression, and math. Her current attention, organization, and time management skills will also limit her ability to access general education instruction.

Student Needs and Impact of Disability: Due to Carol’s reading fluency deficits, she will need directions read aloud to her and extended time for decoding. She will need direct reading and math instruction to close gaps with same age peers. Due to Deb’s limited ability to sustain attention, she will have difficulty keeping pace with classroom instruction and completing tasks, particularly with written assignments. Deb will need teacher prompts (verbal/visual), checks for understanding, organizational strategies, and extended time for task completion.

+ Service Delivery Statement Purpose: This is what makes Special Education “Special”.

This is what we do! This is a thorough and individualized description of what

the student’s day/week looks like. Include supports both inside and outside of general

education Include any adult monitoring that is needed If any supports are provided by apara-professional under

the supervision of the special education teacher, include it here

Include any areas checked in “Special Factors” such as Extended School Year, Assistive Technology, Behavior Plan, ELL

+Timelines Annual Review must be held every 365 days- Always plan ahead for

weather and parent no shows!!!! Reevaluations- once every 3 years-Always plan ahead for weather and

parent no shows!!!! 60 calendar days to hold evaluation meeting after parents sign consent 90 calendar days to hold initial IEP meeting from date consent signed if

student qualifies (may do evaluation & IEP meeting at same time) 10 calendar days prior to scheduled meeting send Notice Of Meeting 3 days prior to meeting day for Excusal Form if you know an individual

cannot be in attendance 10 school days to finalize/ admin approve Evaluation Report & IEP,

send to PPBOCES special education office with all original signatures. Transfer documents must be completed within 10 school days from

when student enrolls. Services begin immediately when student enrolls.

+ Professional Practices of focus 2015/2016 School Year

Increase Parent Communication: Parent Notebooks Compliance: Timelines & Content of IEP’s

CDE Record Review Process

Standards Based Goals Increase Student Involvement: Self-directed IEP’s