© 2014, Florida Department of Education. All Rights Reserved. Prekindergarten Contacts' Meeting February 3, 2015 Bureau Update

© 2014, Florida Department of Education. All Rights Reserved. Review of recent changes New opportunities for students with disabilities Changes to graduation requirements Repeal of special diploma Expansion of year old programs Our focus on equity and access Data driven decision making related to our monitoring and targeted technical assistance

© 2014, Florida Department of Education. All Rights Reserved. Review of recent changes Legislation expanding parent rights & involvement Meeting participation of individual of choice Provision of information on funding Consent for ESE center school placement and participation in Florida Alternate Assessment Parent approval of changes to postsecondary transition goals, graduation options and waiver of the results of state standardized assessment Ability of parent to seek independent review in circumstances noted above New choice option – Personal Learning Scholarships

© 2014, Florida Department of Education. All Rights Reserved. Parent Involvement and Enhancing Communication It is a priority of our bureau as well! Instituted every other month calls with advocates, Disability Rights and federally funded parent centers Bureau commitment to Facilitated IEP training 3-day professional development Upcoming train-the-trainer opportunity for districts Annual parent survey How are you using this information to enhance your services to families?

© 2014, Florida Department of Education. All Rights Reserved. General Education Intervention Procedures, Evaluation, Determination of Eligibility … Rule 6A , F.A.C.

© 2014, Florida Department of Education. All Rights Reserved. Rule 6A , F.A.C Rule background Amended twice during 2014 – March and November 2014 legislation related to repeal of special diploma required that consent form for FAA administration be changed Language stating that participation in FAA would result in a special diploma modified and specifically references population entering grade 9 before Additional areas addressed unrelated to legislation - timelines for requesting parental consent for evaluation and completing evaluations revised

© 2014, Florida Department of Education. All Rights Reserved. Rule 6A , F.A.C Districts must seek parental consent for evaluation when a school based team determines - That a K-12 student’s RtI data indicates that the student is responding to intensive interventions but the level of intensity & resources to sustain growth exceeds that available through general education OR That a K-12 student’s RtI data indicates that the student is not making adequate growth given effective core instruction & intensive evidence based interventions In these circumstances, consent must be requested within 30 calendar days of the determination, unless other timeline agreed to

© 2014, Florida Department of Education. All Rights Reserved. Rule 6A , F.A.C. Districts must seek parental consent for evaluation when A child age 3 to kindergarten entry age receives a developmental screening through the school district or through FDLRS and based on the results of the screening it is suspected that the child may be a child with a disability in need of special education and related services In these circumstances, consent to evaluate must be requested within 30 calendar days of the determination, unless other timeline agreed to

© 2014, Florida Department of Education. All Rights Reserved. Rule 6A , F.A.C. When a parent requests an evaluation and there is documentation or evidence that the K-12 student or a child age 3 to kindergarten entry age who is enrolled in a school district operated preschool program may be a student with a disability in need of special education School district must obtain consent within 30 calendar days unless another timeline agreed to OR Provide notice of refusal

© 2014, Florida Department of Education. All Rights Reserved. Rule 6A , F.A.C. Changes to evaluation timeline beginning Districts must ensure that evaluations are completed within 60 calendar days after the receipt of parent consent for evaluation Days that do not “count” as a “calendar day” School holidays, Thanksgiving, winter and spring breaks, as adopted by the school board Summer vacation beginning the day after the last day of school for students and ending the 1 st day of school for students as adopted by the school board For students who are absent for more that 8 school days in the 60 calendar day period, the student’s absences beyond 8 school days shall not count

© 2014, Florida Department of Education. All Rights Reserved. Rule 6A , F.A.C. Note about timelines New 60 calendar day timeline to complete evaluations begins ; current 60 school day provision applies to consents received on or before June 30, 2015 All other changes in the rule became effective December 23, 2014

© 2014, Florida Department of Education. All Rights Reserved. What we are seeing in the SP&P For some districts, FDLRS is getting consent for evaluation at the end of the screening Use of team to review results Procedures to monitor or track timelines This section will be revisited next year

© 2014, Florida Department of Education. All Rights Reserved. Questions to address in the TAP If through FDLRS child find screening process, the results of developmental screening indicate that the child may be a child with a disability, who is responsible for obtaining consent? FDLRS? School District? If a preschool child or K-12 student does not “pass” a vision or hearing screening, and it is suspected that the child may be a child with a disability in need of special education, can the school district postpone proceeding with requesting parental consent for evaluation?

© 2014, Florida Department of Education. All Rights Reserved. Questions to be addressed in the TAP If a parent requests an evaluation for their child who is enrolled in a private school does the 30 day timeline apply?

© 2014, Florida Department of Education. All Rights Reserved.