ANALYZING SPECIAL EDUCATION’S

““GREAT DIVIDE”GREAT DIVIDE”

S.E.A.S.S.E.A.S. ““IEPs are not actually designed IEPs are not actually designed or used for individualized or used for individualized education; instead they are education; instead they are focused on legal protection and focused on legal protection and compliance with regulatory compliance with regulatory processes”processes”

Special Education CycleSpecial Education Cycle

YOUR data interconnects with each of the daily tasks in

your SPED department.

It drives the actions, decisions, funding, and

development of each IEP and the services that follow.

Each of these programs requires varying degrees of administration and staff participation.

SEAS SEAS ApplicationApplication

Every step forward in productivity

Support Teachers…Tackle PaperworkSupport Teachers…Tackle Paperwork

feel excessive paperwork interferes with their ability to serve children with disabilities more effectively (53 percent )

spend an average of 35 percent of their time filling out forms or—literally—trying to find the proper paperwork.

EQUALS 2 STEPS BACKWARDS IN PAPERWORK

““The typical special education teacher… The typical special education teacher…

Not all systems reduce PAPERWORKNot all systems reduce PAPERWORK

“States have never been required by the federal government to collect so much information on students with disabilities, and in such detail...

…Many states have had to retool their computer programs and devote employees specifically to the task.”

("States Face a December Deadline to

Submit Special Education Data," Nov. 9, 2005.)

What is the difference?What is the difference?

Children with Disabilities Children with Disabilities are being left behind!are being left behind!

LEAVES LITTLE TIME FOR DAILY TASKS

printing or making copies of forms specific to special education

scheduling IEP meetings

mailing notices to parents

tracking paperwork from other teachers that is required for the IEP process

initial evaluations & triennial evaluations

functional behavioral assessments

manifestation determination reviews

keeping behavior logs to track frequencies of specific student behaviors

behavioral intervention plans

other aspects of special education

Updating, verifying quality & integrity of data for all parties

The system is driven by complex regulations, excessive paperwork and ever-increasing administrative demands at all levels—for the child, the parent, the local education agency and the state education agency

2001 - President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education:

Summary of Findings; A New Era: Revitalizing Special Education for Children and Their Families.

IDEA 2004IDEA 2004 involves

more than 800800 individual regulations.

Special Education… MORE than just IEP’SSpecial Education… MORE than just IEP’S

RTIIDEAFAPE

HIPPACivil Rights

State FTE reportingOrganizational Oversight

Data BackupTransferability

Can you fit all of your eggs into ONE basket???

80 to 90 % 80 to 90 % of in-service for special education is devoted to compliance…

… not improving instruction or the quality of student IEPs.

The right system = SUCCESS!The right system = SUCCESS!

Facts about SEAS:Facts about SEAS:

Reduce SpEd teacher

shortages

Increase SpEd Career

expectancy

Streamline Paperwork

Litigation Defense

Training & Support without

adding human resources

Consider how each tool can both perform the collaborative functions required by your department as a SUPPORT TOOL for your staff.

Special Education CycleSpecial Education Cycle

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.” ~John Pierpont Morgan ~John Pierpont Morgan

WILL receive IEP data and integrate with state reporting mechanisms.

Will NOTWill NOTassist in the collaboration activities that create, address, and track WHY theses determinations have been made. i.e. Pre-eval assessments, Goals & Objectives

State Web-BasedIEP application

What it is…What it is… AN IEP? AN IEP?

1. Tool for collaborative planning between the school, the parents/caregivers, the student (where appropriate) and other agencies as necessary

2. Effective means of identifying and prioritizing learning outcomes

3. Consensus agreement on the student's current learning and development focus

4. Statement of learning objectives

5. Concise and usable summary of the student's educational program

6. Summary of teaching strategies, & related resources for curriculum areas and essential skills

7. Commitment to supporting the student to achieve identified goals

8. Tool for tracking individual student learning in terms of agreed goals and objectives

9. Element in reviewing the effectiveness of the teaching and support program

10. Support for those with less experience in working with students with special needs

11. Record of the relationship between any support services being provided and the student's educational program

12. Method to promote effective partnerships between the student and all those involved with them.

SEAS Security…Just like you want itSEAS Security…Just like you want it

Add as many students of Schools to the staff YOU CHOOSE

DATA… DATA… Where does it all Come From?Where does it all Come From?

“DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING is the KEY to identify strategies that work and developing more effective methods of allocating your resources"

*Does not help create quality narratives

WHAT WE WHAT WE GETGET Administrative

Oversight issues Multiple people are

recording & updating Department Friction Accuracy & Consistency Frustration

Process for providing Process for providing staff support and team collaborationstaff support and team collaboration

WHAT WE WHAT WE WANTWANT Sharing information Identifying outcomes Selecting priorities Planning actions Agreeing on responsibilities Determining teaching and

support strategies Tracking of resources

(materials and personnel).

Is your system

Incomplete?Incomplete?

““Student progress and success occur when there are effective partnerships Student progress and success occur when there are effective partnerships between individuals, families, schools, and other specialists.”between individuals, families, schools, and other specialists.”

DUE PROCESS…Not IF…but WHENDUE PROCESS…Not IF…but WHEN

All data & activities must be documented, reported, and stored & shared among multi- disciplinary teams, teachers, supervisors, and principles.

Exposure to civil rights, FAPE, IDEA, and other due process litigation will consume a districts time, resources, and budget, and patience.

“School districts should brace for more litigation in the wake of Monday’s decision…

…There will be many more IDEA cases appealed to court by pro

se parents.” Kathleen Mehfoud, a Reed Smith partner who represents schools in special ed disputes,

regarding Wilkelman v. PARMA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT ; a 7-2 decision in favor of parents ability to represent their children in court.

Reporting or ProgressReporting or Progress

Each Piece of the Speciale Education Pie rest upon the previous.

Reporting is the BY-PRODUCT all of the elements of your process.

Reporting & Medicaid is the necessity of LEA FUNDING

The rest is a necessity for CHILD PROGRESS!

Ask yourself…Ask yourself…

How can I be sure that implementing a new system, process, or technology will assist with handling the complex data & reporting needs for my district?

What role will this process play in reducing attrition of teachers… New and Old?

Why not just use our FREE state system?

Are my electronic records permissible in court?

“Able TO AGGREGATE AND DISAGGREGATE data into meaningful data-driven decision making formats?”

MORE QUESTIONS?

Teacher Satisfaction Teacher Satisfaction == Teacher Shortages Teacher Shortages

of school districts report special education teacher shortages.59

openings openings for special education teachers were left

vacant or filled by substitutes in 1999-2000.58 U.S. Department of Education-funded SPeNSE study

of special education positions nationally that are filled by

uncertified personneluncertified personnel. 60 (The proportion of special education positions held by uncertified personnel is even

higher in some states.61 )

Improving working conditions of special educators by reducing paperwork and mitigating the adversarial nature of special education

98%

12,000

10%

SEAS SolutionSEAS Solution

Student-Centered database “Single-Source“ = increased Data integrity Student-Centered; not just IEP based

Compliance Timeline – Automatic reminders AEPS* /ARM– Documented assessments Service Tracking – Ensuring services accountability Goals/Objectives – Tied to State/Federal Goal criteria

Security Access rights to all stake-holders EASE of USE

Familiar forms for teachers to type directly on Auto-populate redundant information accurately to EACH form

*Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System (AEPS)

State SolutionState Solution

The State Web-Based IEP is designed around the principle of STATE DATA REPORTING

The application:1. Provides all fields that must be completed to follow State

reporting and funding regulations Teachers do not actually fill out forms, just the required fields

2. Checks for irregular paperwork, or clerical errors Sends back a list of areas that must be appended.

3. Allows for a large number of pre-designed reports

ARM WILL ALSO:ARM WILL ALSO:•Reduced exposure to non-compliance litigation•Always have the most current regulations•Provides a strong additional layer of security for your student assessments•Adds structure and order to a complex process•Helps staff drive to professional best practices•Can be used as a staff development tool•Increases the flow of communication at the report level when information is the most critical•Identifying and allocating responsibilities

ARM AEPS Assessment Report Manager

HOW TO AVOID HOW TO AVOID •Critical information missing.Critical information missing.

•Poorly written goals and objectives.Poorly written goals and objectives.

•Inadequate assessment dataInadequate assessment data

•Unclear links between the component parts.Unclear links between the component parts.

•Very few evaluation statementsVery few evaluation statements.