INDICATORS 11 AND 13 Bureau of Indian Education Division of Performance and Accountability WebEx October 18, 2011 DESK AUDIT

What is a Desk Audit? A Desk Audit refers to a review of data done from the SEA (DPA) rather than onsite at the LEA (school). It refers to data that can be examined using an electronic database or data sent to the SEA electronically. This term may also refer to review of monitoring data sent to the SEA in hard copy.

Why a Desk Audit? DPA has revised it’s Special Education Integrated Monitoring Process (SEIMP) to include desk audits Required monitoring priorities includes child find and the system of transition services (616)(a)(3)(B) Indicator 11 and Indicator 13 are compliance indicators and must be at 100% as defined in the State Performance Plan (SPP) DPA has to report this data annually to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)

Indicator 11 – Child Find Percent of children who were evaluated within 60 days of receiving parental consent for initial evaluation or, if the State establishes a timeframe within which the evaluation must be conducted, within that timeframe. Consent to Eligibility Determination - 60 calendar days

Definitions for Indicator 11 An initial evaluation refers to the first complete assessment to determine if the child has a disability under the IDEA and the nature and extent of special education and related services that the child requires. Parents have the right to withdraw their child from special education and related services (revoke consent for special education and related services). After revocation, a parent always maintains the right to subsequently request an initial evaluation to determine if the child is a child with a disability who needs special education and related services. Thus the 60 day timeline applies.

When a student transfers in from another state, the school must provide the child with FAPE (including services comparable to those described in the child’s IEP from the previous public agency), until the new public agency Conducts an evaluation pursuant to CFR through *(if determined to be necessary) Then the 60 day timeline is applicable CFR (f)(1) *emphasis added

Parent’s Informed Written Consent Consent means: The parent has been fully informed in his or her native language or other mode of communication of all information relevant to the activity for which the consent is sought The parent understands and agrees in writing to the activity for which his or her consent is sought, and the consent describes that activity and lists the records (if any) that will be released and to whom The parent understands that the granting of consent is voluntary and may be revoked at any time. The BIE Assessment Plan is the BIE form for documenting the parent’s informed written consent.

Eligibility Determination: After completion of the initial evaluation or reevaluation, the school must compile all the evaluation data for review and consideration to determine whether the child is a child with a disability eligible for special education services A group of qualified professionals and the parent review the collected evaluation data and make an eligibility determination for the child It could be the IEP Team but it is not required that a full IEP team make this decision The Team completes the BIE Evaluation Summary Report or the SLD Determination Form

60 Day Time Frame for Initial Evaluations Date of the written informed consent (BIE Assessment Plan) to the date of the eligibility determination (Evaluation Summary Report or the SLD Determination Form) is within 60 calendar days. Two limited exceptions to the 60-day time frame: If the parent repeatedly fails or refuses to make the child available for evaluation, the school is not bound by the time limit. When a child transfers to a school after the previous school has begun, but not completed, an initial evaluation. The new school is not bound by the 60-day time frame if it is making “sufficient progress” to ensure prompt completion of its initial evaluation, and if the parent and new school agree to a specific time when the evaluation will be completed. Note: Refer to § (c)(5) for the coordination between schools.

NASIS Special Education Module Memorandum to all Line Offices and Schools dated February 2009 states: “After training is completed, the use of the NASIS special education forms will be required for all BIE funded schools.” “Primarily, the data base will allow the DPA to collect data for specific reports sent to the United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Office of Special Education Programs.”

DPA User Group and User Accounts Memorandum dated November 23, 2010 to all Line Offices and schools states: “Therefore, the DPA will begin desk audit activities as part of the data collection and monitoring procedures.”

Desk Audit Notification Memorandum dated September 28, 2011 to school administrators and school special education coordinators: Informs schools of desk audit beginning November 15, 2011 Attaches Indicator 11 sample data collection form (Timely Initial Evaluation for SY ) for schools to submit by November 10, 2011 to the DPA

Indicator 11 Next Steps: DPA will verify the information submitted by the schools How? Check the Assessment Plan of the student for date of consent and signature to compare with the submitted form Check the Evaluation Summary Report or the Specific Learning Disability Determination form for the date of Eligibility Determination and compare with the submitted form

Indicator 11 tips Schools should ensure that the parental consent page is signed, dated and scanned into the NASIS module Refer to the updated NASIS Special Education Process Guide dated March 11, 2011 for instructions on how to upload signature pages (required for Indicator 13 also) Process Guide can be accessed at the following website: NASIS link, NASIS training

After Eligibility Determination During the evaluation process, the school should have indicated the child’s Special Ed Status in the NASIS enrollment tab as 02: Being Evaluated Once the determination is completed, the school needs to change the child’s Special Ed Status in the NASIS enrollment tab to: 01: Regular Ed – Not Receiving Services or 03: Receiving Services

Indicator 13 – Secondary Transition Requirements (8) (from the SPP) Percent of youth aged 16 and above with an IEP that includes (1) appropriate measureable post secondary goals that are (2) annually updated and based upon an (3) age appropriate transition assessment, (4) transition services, including (5) courses of study, that will reasonably enable the student to meet those postsecondary goals, and annual IEP goals related to the student’s transition services needs.

Transition continued… There also must be (6) evidence that the student was invited to the IEP Team meeting where transition services are to be discussed and evidence that, (7) if appropriate, a representative of any participating agency was invited to the IEP Team meeting with the prior consent of the parent or student who has reached the (8) age of majority.

Indicator 13 Tips 1. Post secondary goals – describe activities AFTER high school 2. Updated annually – to verify, we look at previous IEPs, if this is the first transition one, answer is NA 3. Transition Assessment – refer to the name of the assessment used 4. Transition services – what the school is doing while the student is still in high school

Indicator 13 continued … 5. Courses of study – indicate classes you think the student will be taking until completion of high school. 6. Evidence student invited (scan the signature page of attendees). If student not at meeting, scan the Meeting Invite form with ‘student’ circled (Parent/Student/Guardian). 7. Usually, NA, is marked. If there is evidence that an outside agency was invited or attended the meeting, we look for the form, titled ‘Permission for Consent Prior to Inviting Agencies Related to Transition’, a simple form in NASIS. 8. If student signs for age of majority for the first time, scan that page; if student signed in a previous IEP, make a note of that in that space on the IEP or in the meeting notes.

Indicator 13 Process – 2 steps 1. Verify that corrections have been made from the spring 2011 findings, based on the CAPs submitted in June. 2. Review different files to ensure the school is following the specific regulatory requirements. 3. If new non-compliances are identified, school will receive written notification by December 31, 2011, with instruction on the process.

More Indicator 13 Resources Refer to the BIE website for further secondary transition information: Programs Link Special Education Special Education Academy 2011 oTransition PPT News Link Newsletters Secondary Life Transitions oFall 2010 – first page, (info on item #7)

Notification of Findings – Indicator 11 & 13 For Indicator 11, by December 31, 2011 schools will be notified of the results of the desk audits with instructions on completing their Corrective Action Plan if non compliance are found. For Indicator 13, by December 16, 2011 schools will be notified of the results of the desk audits.

Contact Information Indicator 11 Connie Albert, , Indicator 13 Sally Hollow Horn, ,