Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Overview of State Performance Plan Indicators 5 – LRE (ages 6-12) 6 – Preschool LRE

This power point includes: A description of each indicator; The SPP targets for each year and whether our State met the targets; Any additional pertinent information related to the indicator (if applicable); A list of some of the improvement activities included in the State’s SPP/APR for the indicator;

A description of how the indicator might impact a district’s determination level (as described in WAC 392-172A- 07012); and Contact information for questions about the indicator.

LRE (ages 6-21) Indicator 5: Percent of children with IEPs aged 6 through 21: Inside the regular class 80% or more of the day (LRE Table 1); Inside the regular class less than 40% of the day (LRE Table 3); or Served in public or private separate schools, residential placements, or homebound or hospital placements (LRE Tables 4-8). (20 U.S.C. 1416(a)(3)(A)) Data for this indicator are submitted by districts through the annual Federal Special Education Child Count and Least Restrictive Environment report.

State Targets – Indicator 5 Year 5A Target 5A Actual Met Target? 5B Target 5B Actual 5C Target 5C Actual 05-06 48.8% 49.05% Yes 14.81% 14.11% 1.0% 1.09% No 06-07 49.35% 50.11% 14.56% 13.46% 1.24% 07-08 49.9% 50.65% 14.31% 14.05% 1.04% 08-09 50.45% 50.20% 14.06% 13.93% 1.15% 09-10 51.0% TBD 13.81% 10-11 51.55% 13.56% Note: Since this is a Results Indicator, States are permitted to set their own targets.

Preschool LRE Indicator 6: Percent of children aged 3 through 5 with IEPs attending a: Regular early childhood program and receiving the majority of special education and related services in the regular early childhood program; and Separate special education class, separate school, or residential facility. (20 U.S.C. 1416(a)(3)(A)) Data for this indicator are submitted by districts through the annual Federal Special Education Child Count and Least Restrictive Environment report.

State Targets – Indicator 6 Year Target Actual Met Target? 2005-06 38% 46.0% Yes 2006-07 40% 51.5% 2007-08 42% 53.0% 2008-09 44% 55.0% 2009-10 46% TBD 2010-11 48% Note: Since this is a Results Indicator, States are permitted to set their own targets. Official APR reporting on this indicator is not required by OSEP until 2009-10.

Calculating LRE Least restrictive environment (LRE) is reported in terms of time spent in a general education setting. A general education setting is a setting in which typically-developing peers are present. In order to report LRE accurately, districts must ensure that the location of service delivery is clearly indicated in each student’s IEP (as required by WAC 392-172A-03090 (1)(i))

Common LRE errors There are three very common mistakes related to LRE reporting: The length of the instructional day has been calculated incorrectly; the breakdowns of minutes for the LRE tables have been calculated incorrectly (mathematical errors); and/or the total amount of service time is used, rather than the service time by location because (a) the person entering the data doesn’t know LRE is calculated using the location of services or (b) the data person can’t enter the time by location because the IEP does not clearly delineate the location of services.

1. Instructional Time "Instructional hours" means those hours students are provided the opportunity to engage in educational activity planned by and under the direction of school staff, as directed by the administration and board of directors, inclusive of intermissions for class changes, recess and teacher/parent- guardian conferences that are planned and scheduled by the district for the purpose of discussing students' educational needs or progress, and exclusive of time actually spent for meals.” (RCW 28A.150.205)

Calculating Instructional Time So, for a school whose day begins at 8:30 am and ends at 3:00 pm with a 30 minute block for lunch and one 15 minute recess: School day = 6.5 hours (390 minutes) MINUS lunch – 0.5 hours (30 minutes) Instructional Time = 6.0 hours (360 minutes/day, or 1,800 minutes per week) Recess and passing time should NOT be subtracted from the total.

2. Calculating the LRE Breakdown So, in our example, we have an 1,800 minute instructional week. 1800 x .80 = 1,440, so 1,440 to 1,800 minutes spent in a gen. ed. setting would equal 80-100% of the day (LRE Table 1) 1800 x .40 = 720, so 720 to 1,439 minutes spent in a gen. ed. setting would equal 40-79% of the day (LRE Table 2) Less than 720 minutes (0 to 719 minutes) spent in a gen. ed. setting would equal 0-39% of the day (LRE Table 3)

Minutes per week spent in gen. ed. setting Here’s another way to look at our 1,800 minute per week (mpw) example: LRE Table Minutes per week spent in gen. ed. setting Minutes per week removed from gen. ed. setting to receive sp. ed. services 1 1,440 to 1,800 mpw 0 to 360 mpw 2 720 to 1,439 mpw 360 to 1,080 mpw 3 Less than 720 mpw More than 1,080 mpw

3. IEP Documentation Issues As required by WAC 392-172-03090(1)(i), IEPs must include “the projected date for the beginning of the services and modifications… and the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of those services and modifications”. Without a clear identification of the location of services, it is virtually impossible to calculate a student’s LRE accurately.

General/special education Consider the following example: Without a clear location of service provided, it is impossible to tell how much of the 600 mpw is provided in general education vs. special education. How would you calculate this student’s LRE placement? Service Frequency Location Duration Reading 600 mpw General/special education 10/1/08 to 10/1/09

SPP/APR Improvement Activities Here are some of the improvement activities included in our SPP/APR to address these two indicators: LRE reporting instructions were revised and regional trainings were conducted to provide clearer guidance to districts in relation to LRE reporting; Ongoing training is provided to districts regarding documenting & reporting LRE through the state’s electronic student records system. Evaluation and IEP Technical Assistance Module, including section on LRE, was developed and disseminated to school districts;

Improvement Activities (cont.) Regional WAC trainings were conducted in the fall of 2007; Data verification and LRE are focus areas in the annual federal fund applications; LRE continues to be examined as part of the OSPI program review (monitoring) process; Model state forms were created, including an IEP section to assist with LRE calculation; AND MORE…

Impact on Determinations Indicators 5 and 6 are both results indicators. A district’s performance on these two indicators does not currently impact a district’s determination level. However, late submission of the annual indicator 5 and 6 data reports (Child Count and LRE reports) can impact criteria 3 (timely and accurate data). See the next slide for more information…

Determination Criteria 3 – Timely and Accurate Data If a district does not submit the annual Child Count and LRE data reports for indicators 5 and 6 on or before the required deadline, it will impact the district’s determination with regard to criteria 3 – Timely and Accurate Data. These are 2 of the 7 required data reports for criteria 3. All of the required reports were on time and accurate. 1 (Meets Requirements) 4, 5, or 6 of the 7 reports were on time and accurate. 2 (Needs Assistance) 1, 2, or 3 of the 7 reports were on time and accurate. 3 (Needs Intervention) None of the reports were on time and accurate. 4 (Needs Substantial Intervention)

Contact Information For questions about LRE reporting, contact Sandy Grummick at: Sandy.Grummick@k12.wa.us For questions about preschool LRE, contact Sheila Ammons at: Sheila.Ammons@k12.wa.us