Information taken from the Kansas Special Education Process handbook. See Screening and General Education Interventions

Public Notice of Child Find In USD 497, this notice is written and distributed by district level staff. To see a copy of this notice go to 7.org/ParentsAndSt udents/ParentNotic es/ 7.org/ParentsAndSt udents/ParentNotic es/ Notice given to public at beginning of year Repeated annually Copies of notice and documentation of distribution method need to be kept on file Notice should state that special education services are available how to access these services

Screening from birth to Age 5 In USD 497, these services are scheduled by appointment by calling Rusty Schnur Shelton at (785) Must be available for any child of whom there is a developmental concern who resides in the district Must screen for developmental delays or disabilities in Communication Cognitive development Social-emotional development Self-help/adaptive behavior Physical development Early screening makes early intervention possible

General Education Interventions from Kindergarten to Age 21 Screenings that disclose potential exceptionalities and need for referral for special education evaluation In USD 497 we use: MAP assessments Primary MAP for Math DIBELS Hearing and Vision screenings Observations

Conducting General Education Interventions Screen Identify students needing additional support Provide intervention successful Continue intervention not successful Change or modify intervention successfulNot successful Progress monitoring If needs resources beyond gen ed Then refer for evaluation If the team believes the child may have anexceptionality, then refer for evaluation

School-Wide Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) Approach

Individual Problem Solving approach Step 1. Problem Identification Define problem Establish baseline performance (observation or assessment) Estimate the severity (compare to norms or to peers) Establish expectations for child Step 2. Problem Analysis Analyze conditions (What happens before problem occurs? After? In what situations does it occur?) ICEL (Instruction, Curriculum, Environment, Learner) Gather additional data as needed (diagnostic assessment, observations, teacher ratings, etc.) Step 3. Develop and Implement an Intervention Plan Formulate a plan that targets the problem Establish goals (measurable) Plan for progress monitoring (How? How often? By whom? How will it be displayed?) Implement the plan Step 4. Evaluate and Revise Plan Review data to see if enough progress has been made (repeat of step 1) If not enough progress, repeat step 2 Revise intervention or select a new intervention (repeat of step 3)

Data Collection and Documentation Should be rare Obvious disability not yet identified (e.g. recent injury) Move straight to special education eval, but concurrently try gen ed interventions Documentation could include Medical records Previous school records Parent and Teacher Reports Observations General Education Strategies are insufficient to address area of concern for child.

Data Collection and Documentation 1. Appropriate instruction was provided to the child Curriculum is research based Curriculum is aligned with standards Child attended regularly to access instruction 2. Instruction by qualified personnel in regular ed settings 3. Child’s academic achievement was repeatedly assessed at reasonable intervals that reflected the child’s progress during instruction Progress Monitoring Data! Charts or Graphs showing progress Results of this data must show evaluation is appropriate Must have record that this data was regularly shared with parents 4. The instructional strategies used and child-centered data collected Student Support Plans Must have record that plan was provided to parents

Referral for Initial Evaluation 1. Conduct General Education Intervention a. Move up MTSS pyramid as needed b. Student Improvement Team c. Progress monitor and keep data d. Use progress monitoring data to determine if intervention is successful and adjust as necessary 2. Once a successful intervention is found, a. determine if that intervention requires more resources than can be reasonably provided through General Education i. If so, refer for evaluation ii. If not, continue Gen Ed intervention

Early Intervening Services Early Intervention Are provided in order to prevent later referrals Usually refer to services provided in Kindergarten to 3 rd grade (but could go to later grades) In USD 497, we use these funds for the Math and Reading Instructional Support Assistants for non Title I elementary schools Is provided to Infants and Toddlers (prior to Kindergarten)