Department of Specialized Services

Updates onSpecial Education

Sandra SimpsonTeresa Root, Kelly Sanson and Stephanie Thompson

March 28, 2017

• Efforts to improve academic achievement

• Academic and social/emotional/behavioral supports

• Reducing the percentage of RCSD student classified as students with disabilities

Focus Areas

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Rochester City School DistrictGraduation Rate – (Includes August Graduates)

Students with Disabilities in Comparison to General Education StudentsFive Year Trend

55.1% 53.8% 57.0% 56.1% 58.8%

18.7%23.5% 26.7% 28.8% 32.2%

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

General Ed

SWD

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Source: NYSED School Year Total Cohort Graduation Rate and Enrollment Outcome Summary ReportStudents are reported based on their date of entry in grade 9 and their last enrollment status as reported in the SIRS.

The Graduation Rate for Student with Disabilities has increased over the past five years.The 2012 Cohort Graduation Rate of 32.2% is the highest percentage of SWD graduates in over ten years.

Goal: Continuum of Services

The Rochester City School District will implement an expanded continuum of services that offers a full range of special education program options designed to meet the individual needs of students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. The expanded continuum of services will enable students with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate in accordance with 8NYCRR §200.6.

Goal: Committee on Special Education (CSE)

The Rochester City School District’s CSE process will develop high quality individualized education programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities that result in student access, participation and progress in the general education curriculum and address other disability related needs of the student.

Goal: Career and Technical Education (CTE)

The Rochester City School District will provide access to high quality CTE programming that enables students with disabilities to be placed in District-operated CTE programs and/or CTE programs operated by the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES).

Strategic Action Plan

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Improving Quality of IEP Development• Professional Development for Coordinating Administrators of Special Education with

Regional Special Education Technical Assistance Support Center (RSE-TASC), on a monthly basis throughout the 2016-2017 school year.

• Professional Development for Special Education Teachers with RCSD Special Education School Improvement Specialists (SESIS). Multiple offerings throughout the 2016-2017 school year.

• Directors have reviewed individual IEPs through random selection on bi-weekly basis to review CSE decision-making and data collection.

• Directors have scheduled one-on-one meetings with Coordinating Administrators of Special Education to review IEPs in accordance with the Department of Specialized Services Local Guidelines.

• The Department has requested that all IEPs during the 2016-2017 Annual Review season be visually displayed to review as a Committee with parents and students.

Efforts to Improve Academic Achievement

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Involvement with NYSED

• The Lead Team (Department of Specialized Services Directors) meets on a monthly basis with New York State Special Education Quality Assurance Team to review NYSED regulations, memos and updates.

Changes in Allowable Testing Accommodations - Tests Read Accommodation for the NYS ELA and Math 3-8 Exams

Superintendent Determination of Graduation with a Local Diploma

Guidance for CSE Transition Meetings, diploma Requirements, including multiple pathways

Efforts to Improve Academic Achievement

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Regular Data Review for Compliance

• Students Awaiting Consent to Test

• Students Awaiting Consent to Place

• Annual Review Status Report

• Open Events List (upcoming meetings)

• FBA & BIP

• Progress Reports

Expect CASEs to know all students by name and face.

Efforts to Improve Academic Achievement

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Continuum of Services

The Department has worked to develop and expand our continuum of special education services within the District.

Related Services: Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy,

Consultant Teacher

Resource Room

Integrated Co-Teaching

Special Classes

Within the continuum, there are specialized programs for students with significant cognitive and/or physical needs, autism and speech and language needs.

Academic and Social-Emotional-Behavioral Supports

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Staff to Support Academic and Social-Emotional-Behavioral needs of approximately 6000 students

Coordinating Administrators of Special Education assigned to each building. (38)

Special Education Teachers: 603

Paraprofessionals: 122

Teaching Assistants: 214

1:1 Paraprofessionals: 108

TES (The Employment Store, Temporary 1:1’s): 83

Related Service Providers (School Psychologists, Speech Pathologists,

Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Teachers of the Deaf, Teachers of Visually Impaired): Approximately 250

Academic and Social-Emotional-Behavioral Supports

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Multiple Support Teams within District

MATCH

Behavior Support Teams – staff development, TCI and CPI

Autism Team

Special Education School Improvement Specialists (SESIS)

Partnerships

Hillside – Contracted with NorthSTAR program to provide additional behavioral support for students.

Hillside – On-site Day Treatment program for elementary students at School #2

University of Rochester – Project Search

Academic and Social-Emotional-Behavioral Supports

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Academic and Social-Emotional-Behavioral Supports

Overall Compliance and Special Education Supports for students with Behavioral needs:

The Department of Specialized Services recognizes the importance of assessing behaviors (Functional Behavioral Assessment, FBA), and providing targeted intervention for such behaviors impacting educational performance (Behavior Intervention Plan, BIP).

Over the past 18 months, multiple trainings have been provided for FBA’s /BIP’s. The focus has been on compliance with New York State Regulation, as well as development of quality assessments and plans.

The Department, working with NYSED and the Special Education School Improvement Specialists, identified specific schools for targeted intervention and support.

Next Steps: Creation of Rapid Response Teams, in collaboration with the Office of

Teaching and Learning, to address individual student on a needs basis. Instructional team with training. Development of team would be based on input from principals, and the needs of the individual student.

Expansion of continuum for 2017-2018: for example: Consultant Teacher and Resource Room available in all schools.

Academic and Social-Emotional-Behavioral Supports

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By the numbers

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Reducing the Percentage of Students with Disabilities

17.48

10.01

18.316.62

17.43

14.7

Rochester Albany Buffalo New York City Syracuse Statewide

Per

cen

tage

of

SWD

School District

Classification Rates 2015-16 Beds data

Students with disabilities are those who have been identified as such by the Committee on Special Education and are receiving services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Students with disabilities include those having an intellectual disability; hearing impairment, including deafness; speech or language impairment; visual impairment, including blindness; serious emotional disturbance; orthopedic impairment; autism; traumatic brain injury; developmental delay; other health impairment; specific learning disability; deaf-blindness; or multiple disabilities and who, by reason thereof, receive special education and related services under the IDEA according to an Individualized Education Program (IEP), Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), or a services plan.

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Reducing the Percentage of Students with Disabilities

RCSD Referral Trends

288 319

411

575644

209 239 247289 316

497558

658

864

960

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

RCSDInitial Referral Data

2011-2016

Eligible Ineligible Total

Referral process

Consistency across all zones, schools, and programs

Quality and process reviews conducted weekly

Ongoing Professional Development related to established guidelines, program recommendations, diagnostic and clinical information, and the revised referral processes.

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Reducing the Percentage of Students with Disabilities

Ensuring accuracy and compliance

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Reducing the Percentage of Students with Disabilities Classification comparison: RCSD vs. NYS

Autism 8%Deafness <1%

Emotional Disturbance

8%

Hearing Impairment

1%

Intellectual Disability

7%

Learning Disability 27%

Multiple Disabilities 3%

Orthopedic Impairment

<1%

Other Health Impairment

28%

Speech or Language

Impairment 18%

Traumatic Brain Injury

<1%

Visual Impairment

<1%

RCSD BEDS 2016% DISABILITY

Autism 7.14%

Deafness<1%

Emotional Disturbance

6% Hearing Impairment<

1%

Intellectual Disability 3%

Learning Disability

36%

Multiple Disabilities

4%

Orthopedic Impairment

<1%

Other Health Impairment

17%

Speech/Lang. Impairment

26%

Traumatic Brain Injury

<1%

Visual Impairment

<1%

NYS 2016 % Disability

Taking a look at classification

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Reducing the Percentage of Students with Disabilities

LDRTI implementation and impact on referral process/eligibility determination

ED and OHICloser scrutiny on diagnostic information

Tier one and Tier two interventions

• Reinstate Central CSE for Initial Eligibility meetings and more restrictive program considerations.

• Collaborate with T and L in implementation and utilization of RTI.

• Psychologist handbook-Establishing criteria, guidelines and profiles for disability and classification purposes.

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Reducing the Percentage of Students with Disabilities Recommendations

• Questions and/or Comments

End of Presentation

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