Special Education Issues Nori Cuellar Mora, Ed.D. ESC2 Associate Director of Instructional Services December 7, 2007

Introductions What are the top 3 issues at your school concerning special education?

What are some of the questions you have about Special Education? Think about these throughout the session and write them down for the end of the session. Special Education Main Page

Agenda Accountability Systems: State Performance Plan Indicators Performance Based Monitoring (Disproportionality, Dropouts, LRE, ISS ) Response to Intervention (Over-identification) Legal Frameworks (law) SPEARS (data) Final Thoughts

Objectives Become familiar with the State Performance Plan Indicators as to how they relate to the campus plan Understand how Response to Intervention (RtI) is a general education issue with special education support as one of those interventions Think of what you will share at your next staff meeting

Accountability Systems What types of Accountability are we faced with in schools?

Group Findings: TEA - Accountability Links Commissioner's Rules

Overview of SPP: State Performance Plan Six year plan submitted to OSEP. Evaluates the state’s efforts to implement IDEA Illustrates how the state will continuously improve Annual Performance Report (APR) shows progress on measurable and rigorous targets and improvement activities

Data Collection PEIMS: Personal Educational Information Management System AYP: Adequate Yearly Progress AEIS: Academic Excellence Indicator System

5 Monitoring Priorities 20 Indicators (Performance and Compliance) 1. FAPE in the LRE 2. Disproportionality 3. Child Find 4. Transition 5. General Supervision

Why should general education staff be concerned about the SPP? Monitoring will be based on district data Students with disabilities make up a districts’ overall student population

Students with disabilities graduate with the same diploma as their non-disabled peers Consider: SO more sped dropout students means higher dropout rate for district!

if inappropriate referrals are made--- SO if inappropriate referrals are made--- Child Find numbers create OVERidentification General education teachers are the first staff members to indicate if students should be referred to special education,

Baseline Data and Targets We must meet or exceed State Targets for EACH indicator. GENERAL EDUCATION communication is the key to improved results. Referrals Key members at ARDs Inclusion State Assessment knowledge

State targets

Keep Your Eye on Data SPEARS: a. Child Count b. Instructional Setting c. Disproportionality d. Exit e. Disciplinary Action f. Extended School Year

Performance Based Monitoring (PBM) TEA - Performance-Based Monitoring PBM Manual

Child-Centered Process How do we get from general education to special education? Reflect on your campus’ process for referring students to special education. What does that look like? Write the major steps down.

Response to Intervention (RTI)

Background to RTI State Directors of Sp. Ed. expressed concern about rise in identified students with LD. Led to lack of confidence in discrepancy model as means of identifying students with LD. IDEA 2004 authorized LEAs to utilize RtI. National Association of State Directors of Sp. Ed. do not recommend one RtI model.

Background Continued National Institute for Child Health and Development (NICHD) Studies: Research conclusion--- IQ achievement discrepancies to identify SLD delays treatment to students beyond the time when interventions are most effective. Early Intervention is Critical. Assume FIRST that problem is with instruction--- not with the child.

Move from Test and Treat to Treat and Test

IDEA 2004 : Specific Learning Disabilities “The LEA shall not be required to take into consideration whether the child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill, reading comprehension, reading fluency, mathematical calculation, or mathematical reasoning.”

IDEA 2004 Specific Learning Disabilities “In determining whether a child has a specific learning disability, a local educational agency may use a process which determines if a child responds to scientifically research- based interventions.”

TEA’s RtI Summit Jan Purpose: Background Info Conversations with different populations Provide advisement to the state

What Is Response to Intervention? A comprehensive, multi-tiered intervention strategy to enable early identification and intervention for students at academic or behavioral risk. An alternative to the discrepancy model for the identification of students with learning disabilities.

A Standard Protocol Intervention … is scientifically research-based. has a high probability of producing change for large numbers of students. is designed to be used in a standard manner across students. is usually delivered in small groups. is often scripted or very structured. can be orchestrated by a problem-solving team.

Key Characteristics of RtI Universal Screening of academics and behavior Multiple tiers of increasingly intense interventions Differentiated curriculum-tiered intervention strategy Use of scientifically research-based interventions Continuous monitoring of student performance Benchmark/Outcome assessment

RtI Teaming and Decision-making Universal Screening Instructional Grouping Intervention Monitoring student progress Outcome/Benchmark assessment

Equate to a Public Health Model Different levels of Intervention based on your symptoms or outward signs of stress: Slight fever? Aspirin and check periodically Broken arm? Intervene quickly Dr. doesn’t keep you at a level longer than necessary

3-Levels of Support Secondary Prevention Specialized Group System For At-Risk Students Primary Prevention: School/Classroom-wide Tertiary Prevention: Specialized Individual System for High-Risk Students

RtI is not the ONE way to identify LD Dr. Jack M. Fletcher Teachers tend to refer based on behavior. Reduce reliance on teacher referral through universal screening for reading and behavior problems. Teach teachers evidence-based instructional strategies Reserve Sped Ed for those who “need it.”

Why care about reading? Sp. Ed. Commission: 2/5 children in Sp. Ed. because they can’t read adequately. 6% of all students in schools are identified as LD 52% of the Sped population 90% with high incidence disabilities 80-90% of those identified as LD are impaired in reading.

Data from National Institute of Health If students are not reading at grade level by the third grade, the odds that they will ever read at grade level are only 1 in 17 By the 4 th grade, 2 hours of specialized daily instruction is required to make the same gain that would have resulted from only 30 minute of daily instruction if begun when the student was in kindergarten

A Sense of Urgency A student in the 10 th percentile reads about 60,000 words a year in 5 th grade A student at the 50 th percentile reads about 900,000 words in a year in 5 th grade Average students receive about 15 times as much practice in a year Growth in fluency requires a lot of accurate practice

Sp. Ed. doesn’t close the gap Identification based on failure--- underlying IQ discrepancy model--- has no scientific basis! System oriented to procedural compliance-- -not services and outcomes. How do you close the gap when student is already 3-5 years behind? (Intervene early!)

School-wide change Not just ENHANCED pre-referral services.

You’re closer than you think… Instructional Support DIBELS School Improvement Teams Effective Instruction Progress Monitoring Scientifically research-based reading program Flexible Grouping Schoolwide screening Benchmark Assessment Student Centered Teams RtI

Tier I: Core Class Instruction Tier I comprised of three elements: Progress monitoring of at-risk students Ongoing professional development In-class support and mentoring

Time: 90 minutes or more Assessment: Benchmark assessments at beginning, middle and end of the academic year Interventionist: General education teacher Setting: General education classroom

Tier II: Small Group Intervention Tier II is individual or small group intervention in addition to the time allotted for core reading instruction. Tier II includes curriculum, strategies and procedures designed and employed to supplement, enhance and support Tier I.

Tier II: Small Group Intervention Focus: For students identified with reading difficulties and who have not responded to Tier I efforts Curriculum: Specialized, scientifically based reading curriculum emphasizing the five critical elements of beginning reading

Grouping: Homogeneous small group instruction 1:5 Time: minutes per day in addition to the 90 minutes Assessment: Weekly progress monitoring on target skills to ensure adequate progress and learning

Interventionist: Research provided Interventionist Setting: Setting outside of classroom

Tier III: Intensive Intervention Tier III is specifically designed and customized individual or small group reading instruction that is extended beyond the time allotted for Tier I and Tier II.

Tier III: Intensive Intervention Focus: For students identified with reading difficulties and who have not responded adequately to Tier I and Tier II. Curriculum: Individualized and responsive intervention emphasizing the critical elements of reading for students with reading difficulties/disabilities

Grouping: Homogeneous small group instruction Time: 50 minutes per day in small group in addition to 90 minutes of core reading instruction Assessment: Weekly progress monitoring on target skills to ensure adequate progress and learning

Interventionist: Research provided interventionist Setting: Appropriate setting outside of classroom

Essential Components of RTI Seeks to determine what instructional supports are needed to solve student achievement problems. Requires that students be exposed to effective instruction before they are referred for special education

Eliminates a “wait to fail” model because at risk students get help promptly within the regular education setting Changes the belief that something is wrong with the child to something is wrong with the instruction

Multiple tiers of intervention service delivery such as three-tier model Problem-Solving Method An integrated data collection/assessment system to inform decisions at each tier Use of scientific research based interventions

Getting Started Define the Problem: Data to determine IF a problem exists Data to determine what hypothesis should be made Data to determine WHY the problem is occurring

Develop A Plan: What are we going to do about the problem? What will be done differently? Who will do it? What are the goals of the plan?

Implement the Plan: Who will be charged with implementing the intervention? What materials will be different; what methodology will be used? Where will the intervention take place? When will the intervention plan occur? How long will the intervention be utilized?

Evaluate the Plan: Where were we going? Did we get there? Did the plan work? Were the goals of the intervention met? Were the goals of the overall plan met? Were we successful?

Consensogram

Questions?

Contact Information Nori Cuellar Mora, Ed.D. Associate Director of Instructional Services