1. Day 1 South Carolina Public Charter School District Back to School Training July 29, 2015

2. Welcome, Agenda, Introductions 5 W’s and 1 H of the District Comprehensive Program Review (CPR) Transfers into the District Evaluation/Reevaluation Policies & Procedures Today’s Agenda

3. Robert Compton – Assistant Superintendent of Academic Services Beckie Davis - Director of Special Education Services Vamshi Rudrapati (Mr. V) - Director of Federal Programs Zenobia Ealy - Assistant Director of Technology Services Kendall Stewart - Student Information Coordinator Welcome and Introductions

4. District Special Education Coordinators Nichole Adams - Lead Mary Scott Emily Paul

5. The South Carolina Public Charter School District 5Ws & 1 H

6. The SCPCSD As Authorizer Evaluates and approves/denies charter applications Executes contracts with each of its schools Monitors the performance and compliance of its schools according to each school’s charter Notifies schools of deficiencies and violations Monitors to ensure correction of any findings of noncompliance

7. The SCPCSD is not responsible for the success or failure of your schools – schools are responsible for your own outcomes With autonomy comes responsibility

8. The SCPCSD As LEA Pursuant to SC charter school law, the sponsor of a charter school is the charter school’s LEA and the charter school is a school within that LEA The SCPCSD retains responsibility for special education and must ensure that students enrolled in its charter schools are served in a manner consistent with LEA obligations under applicable federal, state, and local law As LEA, we do provide technical assistance related to sped

9. Charter Schools National Alliance for Public Charter Schools: “Public Charter schools are always public schools. They never charge tuition, and they accept any student who wants to attend. Charter laws require that students are admitted by a random lottery drawing in case too many students want to enroll in a single charter school. Charter schools must also meet the state and federal academic requirements that apply to all public schools.”

10. Charter Schools Charter schools are not exempt from federal laws that cover equal rights, access and discrimination. Students attend charter schools by choice of their parents or guardians rather than by assignment by a school district.

11. In a traditional district, there would be: –“District supports” Coordinators, curriculum specialists, school psychologists, related service providers (OTs, PTs, nurses, …) District-level staff development opportunities –District staff checking behind you –District staff hiring and firing –District-wide programs (self-contained class for students with low incidence disabilities) Us versus the Traditional District

12. Each school will be assigned a DSEC. This person is the school’s first point of contact. The DSEC works specifically with the school to provide targeted technical assistance. The DSEC works with the school to develop and monitor individualized improvement plans. The DSEC does not attend IEP meetings. District Special Education Coordinators

13. So how do we balance authorization with LEA responsibilities: Performance Framework and Comprehensive Program Review

14. ​​ The South Carolina Public Charter School District (SCPCSD) developed the Performance Framework to define high standards for its schools’ performance. The Performance Framework sets the standards by which all District charter schools will be evaluated, informing both SCPCSD and school officials about school performance and sustainability. The standards are divided into three sections, and each asks a fundamental question: Academic Performance: Is the educational program a success? Financial Performance: Is the school financially viable? Organizational Performance: ​ Is the organization effective and well run? ​ Ratings fall into Exceeds Standard, Meets Standard, Does Not Meet Standard, and Falls Far Below Standard There are special education components in the Academic and Financial sections that align with the CPR. Performance Framework

15. Comprehensive Program Review

16. CPR Description The Comprehensive Program Review (CPR) is a transparent and collaborative process used by the District to monitor schools' compliance with the various rules and regulations governing the education of students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004. The CPR will consist of the following:  Onsite visits to the school or telephone/video conference;  Review of documentation: records, resources, materials, policy/procedures; and  Consultation with staff

17. In addition to the Performance Framework and monitoring schedule, the Federal Programs Department utilizes: Comprehensive Program Review (CPR) consisting of 25 compliance points. –Completed at the school level AND completed by District staff. »3 point scale (0 – 2) »Improvement Plan Priorities Scheduled reviews built into the yearly calendar: –Transfer IEPs –Child Count Verification Parental Complaints Verification of school submitted data Monitoring and Oversight

18. Assurances 1.The school has district-approved policies and procedures. 2.Special Education and related service staff are in place and are highly qualified, appropriately certified. 3.Special education related providers (school psychologist, OT PT, RN) are on staff or on contract are appropriately credentialed. 4.The total number of identified students are appropriately proportionate to hired special education staff so that all identified students are able to receive a FAPE. 5.Special education staff, other related service providers, and/or other school staff have engaged in professional development as to special education and RTI procedures, process and practice. 6.School files are kept confidential, locked, up to date, accessible, and organized with appropriate information stored for the required length of time. 7.The school maintains an up-to-date, confidential, and accurate database of students with IEPs. 8.All required information is marked complete and attached in Enrich in a timely manner. 9.All IEPs are compliant as demonstrated by a review of 5 IEPs (transfer, annual, initial evaluation, and/or reevaluations). 10.All active IEPs are reviewed annually. 11.All reevaluations have been conducted within appropriate timelines. 12.All active IEPs have documentation of progress monitoring at intervals described in the IEP. 13.Students receive services in accordance with their IEPs. 14.Evaluations for initial eligibility are comprehensive, are conducted by a multidisciplinary team, and contain evidence of previous research-based interventions. 15.Comparable services meetings occur within the first 5 school days after enrollment and services that are similar or equivalent to those that were described in the previous IEP are provided. 16.Transfer IEP meetings are conducted within 30 calendar days of enrollment. 17.The school has a means to track the removal of students for disciplinary reasons and to alert school staff when a student is approaching 10 days OSS. 18.All disciplinary removals of students with IEPs were done so in accordance with IDEA requirements and have been appropriately documented in Incident Management in PowerSchool. 19.The school has a means to document the provision of all accommodations and modifications required in IEPs. 20.All parents have been notified of their Procedural Safeguards at least annually. 21.Notices and other IDEA-required information have been presented to parents in understandable language (written language understandable by the general public and in the native language of the parent or other mode of communication used by the parent). 22.IDEA funds are used solely for district-approved IDEA related activities. 23.The school maintains an inventory of all equipment, materials, etc. purchased with special education funds throughout the life of the equipment. 24.The school submits timely and accurate data as required by Federal, State, and District reporting. 25.The school uses all forms required by the District.

20. Support Triangle Low Risk Schools Adequate scores on CPR Returning coordinators No findings or reasons for concern High Risk Schools New schools New coordinators Informal warnings Letters of caution Letters of noncompliance Revocation District/State/OCR findings

21. Support Triangle Low risk schools Modified CPR –Transfer IEPs –IEPs –Reevaluations –Initial evaluations Run-of-the-mill questions

22. Support Triangle High risk schools New schools/new coordinators/informal warnings/letters of caution –Full CPR –Corrective action plan developed with DSEC –Targeted technical assistance via DSEC Letter of noncompliance/Notice of Default –Sanctions short of revocation Revocation –Legal involvement

23. Questions for us?

24. Forms All forms and processes are handled through Enrich. The district has a procedural safeguard notice.procedural safeguard notice

25. Transfers into the District

26. IEPs (Transfers) VI (F) Regardless of how the parent completes the enrollment information regarding previous special education services, it is the responsibility of the new school to verify whether or not the student received special education and related services in the previous district. Since this is a transfer of educational records from the child’s previous LEA to the South Carolina Public Charter School District, no consent for release of documents is required.

27. Written, school-level procedures ●How do you identify newly-enrolled students who have IEPs? ●How/who requests records? ●Where do you request records from – school versus district office? ●What happens if you don’t get records within 5 days? ●Once you get records, what happens?

28. School Requirements Verify the student’s special education status with the previous school district – even if the parent “marks no” –Make this verification call to the former school If you find out that the child has an IEP: –Request full records: At a minimum: –Current IEP –Most current evaluation/reevaluation report Make request to the former district’s director of special education, not the school (contact list located in SharePoint) If, after a few attempts and reasonable amount time, you do not receive IEP records, contact Beckie for assistance

29. Records Requests Follow your school’s written process in your P&Ps for verifying whether or not a new student has an IEP Doesn’t matter what the parent says on the enrollment form Phone call to sending school to verify Yes/No sped; must also have written verification Records request goes to district office, not to sending school

30. 1.Once enrolled, the school may begin gathering the needed information (records from previous district). The school must verify whether the child had an IEP; this could be as simple as a phone call to the sending school. 2.Special education records need to be requested from the former district’s director of special education (list provided) not from the school. 3.Once the child “sits for the first class” (or right before), without delay (up to 5 days), the IEP team will meet to determine “comparable services.”comparable services These services are comparable (similar or equivalent to) those in the “sending IEP” 4.Within 30 days of enrollment, the IEP team will meet to either accept (rare), revise, or create a new IEP (annual review). All decisions for this IEP MUST be data-driven. So use these 30 days to gather data. The first 30 days

31. You cannot make any changes to the any IEP that you don’t have data to support

32. Expired IEPs For IEPs expired within the past 6 months, provide comparable services –May or may not need to initiate a reevaluation For IEPs expired more than 6 months, provide comparable services and initiate a reevaluation to gather additional information to determine educational needs

33. Individual Service Plans (3) TRANSFERS WITH AN INDIVIDUAL SERVICES PLAN IDEA requires that LEAs must develop and implement an Individual Services Plan (ISP) for each parentally-placed private school child with a disability who has been designated by the LEA in which the private school is located to receive special education and related services. (34 CFR § 300.132) The services plan must describe the specific special education and related services that the LEA will provide to the child in light of the services that the LEA has determined through the consultation process described below that it will make available to its population of parentally-placed private school children with disabilities. The services plan must, to the extent appropriate meet the requirements for IEPs and be developed, reviewed, and revised consistent with the same process for IEPs. The following applies to a child with a disability who transfers to the South Carolina Public Charter School District with an ISP: Within five school days of enrollment for a child with a disability who transfers to the South Carolina Public Charter School District with an ISP from another district in South Carolina, the South Carolina Public Charter School District, in consultation with the parents, will provide a FAPE to the child, including services comparable to those described in the child’s ISP from the previous district. Because the previous LEA is responsible for providing equitable services and not a FAPE, the child’s newly designated IEP team in the South Carolina Public Charter School District would conduct a reevaluation planning meeting at the same time as the comparable services meeting to review existing information, including but not limited to, the most recent evaluation/reevaluation from the previous district, any draft IEP developed by the previous district, and the ISP, to determine what additional information, if any, was needed in order to develop and implement a new IEP. The team would obtain parent consent to gather any additional information determined to be needed. Within thirty calendar days from the date of enrollment the South Carolina Public Charter School District will complete the reevaluation process and develop and implement a new IEP. When a child transfers with an ISP, eligibility has already been established in the previous district.

34. Comparable Services An IEP team determines comparable services through a meeting (not the previous comparable services form) It involves two things: –Transfer IEP –Parental Input There are two meeting options: –Full IEP meeting –Agreement to amend IEP without a meeting Comparable services meeting must take place within 5 days of enrollment

35. Comparable Services How do you determine comparable services? –Not going from 1950 minutes of special education services to 60 minutes –Not dropping the behavior/counseling goal because “we don’t do that here” –Not dropping the fine motor goal because “we don’t have an OT”

36. Between Comparable Services to 30- day meeting Gather data... Monitor/adjust... Try interventions... Monitor/adjust... Gather Data...

37. 30-day IEP meeting Team can only make changes if there are new data to support making changes

38. IEP Meeting following transfer/comparable services VI (F)(1) –Within thirty calendar days from the date of enrollment the South Carolina Public Charter School District will: adopt the child’s IEP from the previous LEA, amend the child’s IEP from the previous LEA, or develop and implement a new IEP.

39. Child Find Evaluation/Reevaluation Process

40. Child find obligation The school must have in effect policies and procedures to ensure that all children with disabilities enrolled in the school are identified, located, and evaluated (§300.111) The obligation is on the school to “find” these children

41. Child find Referrals come from – Parents – Teachers – Other school staff Even if the parent says “No, I don’t want my child evaluated” the school is obligated to pursue the referral if there is reason to suspect the child may have a disability under IDEA.

42. Child find The school is obligated to refer if there is reason to suspect the child may have a disability under IDEA The parent can always refuse to give consent to evaluate The school/district has the option to take the parent to a Due Process Hearing to obtain consent to evaluate (but probably won’t) If the school refers and the parent refuses consent to evaluate or, even farther down the road, refuses consent for services, the school has fulfilled its Child Find obligation (you’re covered)

43. Purpose of evaluations To determine eligibility (meets criteria and as a result needs special education) AND To determine educational needs

44. 2 prongs Meets eligibility criteria under 1 or more of 12 disability categories – Standards for Evaluation and Eligibility Determination (SEED) AND Because of the disability, needs special education services to receive a FAPE

45. 2 Prongs, not just 1 Medical diagnosis of ADHD + adequate performance (with classroom accommodations such as preferential seating, prompts for attention and medication) = no IEP

46. The evaluation must be sufficiently Must be comprehensive enough so as to identify all of the child’s special education and related services needs, whether or not they are commonly linked to the disability category This does not mean the team has to “test” in every area. Evaluations

47. PERMISSION TO EVALUATE If the team determines that additional information must be collected in order to determine eligibility, the team must get informed written consent to evaluate before gathering this additional information YOU CANNOT GET CONSENT TO EVALUATE UNTIL THE EVALUATION PLANNING TEAM HAS MET AND DETERMINED WHAT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THE TEAM NEEDS; UNTIL THE TEAM MAKES THESE DECISIONS, THE PARENT DOES NOT KNOW WHAT HE/SHE IS GIVING CONSENT FOR 47

48. PERMISSION TO EVALUATE If you do not get consent to evaluate signed at the special education referral/evaluation planning meeting, document the date you received the consent Your receipt of the consent starts the 60-day evaluation timeline If the parent REFUSES consent to evaluate, contact Beckie If you make reasonable efforts to obtain consent to evaluate (and document these attempts) and the parent does not respond, contact Beckie to discuss how to proceed These attempts should be made within the 3 weeks following the evaluation planning meeting DO NOT let this drag out for more than 3 weeks 48

49. Eligibility Determination Within 15 days of completing the evaluation, team meets to determine eligibility. Team considers all previous and new information in making the eligibility determination. Must meet both prongs to be eligible: ●eligibility criteria ●due to that need specialized instruction (sped services) 49

50. Eligibility Information from a variety of sources (reviews of existing data, parent and teacher input, formal and informal testing, observations,…) Determination made by multidisciplinary team (not just a school psychologist or SLT or parent or doctor) Direct link between disability and need for special education

51. Evaluation Planning Review existing data (what do you already know about the child) in all areas Do you have enough to determine eligibility? – Meets all eligibility requirements from SEED – As a result needs sp ed Two paths – – Yes, we already have EVERYTHING we need (rare) – No, we need more information

52. Areas for Discussion - ALL MUST BE DISCUSSED Health, Medical, and Developmental (includes vision and hearing) Educational Background (academic/ preacademic, retention, attendance) English Language Proficiency Cognitive Processing Academic Achievement (reading, math, writing) Adaptive Behavior (info must be supplied by parent/guardian) Motor/Sensory (gross motor, fine motor, sensory processing) Social/Emotional/Behavioral Transition/Vocational Parent/Outside Agency/Private Provider Other All areas have a section to include narrative information about what is currently (at the time of the eval planning meeting) known about the student and existing data (grades, response to interventions, …) All areas have an Additional data needed? Yes/No If you check Yes for an area, this automatically populates on the parent consent to eval form.

53. Yes, we have everything we need Evaluation planning and eligibility determination take place during the same meeting – Have all required eligibility components from SEED* – Have all information needed to determine that due to disability, student needs special education services Get parent consent for the initial provision of special education services Provide parent with a signed copy of the Evaluation /Eligibility Determination Report Develop IEP within 30 calendar days of eligibility determination Provide parent with PWN prior to implementing IEP Implement IEP as soon as possible *Might have this situation if parent provides you with an outside evaluation (but typically this won’t contain all educational requirements (like observations during instruction).

54. Referral/Procedura l Safeguards Evaluation Planning Meeting Review of Existing Data Additional Data Are Not Needed Determine eligibility Parent consent for initial provision of special education services/PWN Develop IEP within 30 calendar days of eligibility/PWN Implement IEP as soon as possible Yes, we have everything we need

55. No, we need more information Determine what areas team needs additional information in and who will gather Give parent PWN so he/she will know what he/she is giving consent to do Get parent consent for evaluation Gather additional information requested by team WITHIN 60 calendar days of receiving signed consent Once all information is gathered, schedule eligibility determination meeting with members “similar to an IEP team” – School psych – LEA rep – Gen ed teacher of the child – Sp ed teacher – Parent – Others as needed (OT, PT, Vision teacher, school nurse) Send Meeting Notice from Excent

56. No, we need more information Referral/Procedural Safeguards Evaluation Planning Meeting Review of Existing Data Additional Data Are Needed Parent Consent to Evaluation/PWN Gather Additional Data within 60 calendar days Review all data/Determine eligibility Parent consent for initial provision of special education services/PWN Develop IEP within 30 calendar days of eligibility/PWN Implement IEP as soon as possible

57. If YESIf NO Determine eligibilityDetermine what additional info is needed to determine eligibility Get consent for initial provision of sp ed signed by parent and give PWN Get consent to eval signed by parent; give PWN Give Eval/Eligibility Report to parentGather additional info requested Develop IEP within 30 calendar days; give PWN before implement Meet to review additional data Implement IEP as soon as possibleDetermine eligibility Get consent for initial provision of sp ed signed by parent and give PWN Give Eval/Eligibility Report to parent Develop IEP within 30 calendar days; give PWN before implement Implement IEP as soon as possible

58. Evaluation Report Each area from the Eval Plan will appear with a question - Was additional data gathered in this area? If you checked Yes on the Eval Plan, you must check Yes on the Eval Report and enter the information gathered. Evaluation Summary section is a brief summary of strengths and weaknesses. THIS IS NOT AN ELIGIBILITY RECOMMENDATION OR DETERMINATION!

59. Eligibility determination Review all information and determine if child meets all required eligibility components from SEED* and as a result of the disability, needs special education services Get parent consent for the initial provision of special education services Provide parent with a signed copy of the Evaluation /Eligibility Determination Report Develop IEP within 30 calendar days of eligibility determination Provide parent with PWN prior to implementing IEP Implement IEP as soon as possible

60. Eligibility Determination Disabilities Considered During Meeting - once you choose a disability, you get the following prompts: Enter worksheet data? MUST CHOOSE YES FOR ALL NEW DISABILITIES (all initial and any reeval where adding new disability) Worksheets have disability-specific requirements from SEED

61. Answer the eligibility questions: Displays characteristics consistent with… Disability has adverse effect… Requires specially designed instruction… Does meet criteria… Answer “rule out” questions: Not due to lack of instruction in reading… Not due to lack of instruction in math… Not due to LEP Conclusion - eligible Yes/No

62. Reevaluation Every 3 years or sooner if requested/needed Answers 4 questions: – Does the student continue to have a disability or to have an additional disability? – Does the student continue to need special education? – What are the student’s present levels of educational need? – Do any changes need to be made to the IEP? Doesn’t require the school psychologist unless a different/additional disability is suspected Must occur prior to discontinuing/dismissing from special education (including related services)

63. reevaluation Same process as initial evaluations Review existing information Determine if have enough information to answer the 4 reevaluation questions – If yes, answer the questions and make any changes needed in IEP Give parent copy of Reevaluation Report, IEP, and PWN – If no, determine what is needed Get parent consent for reevaluation and give PWN Gather additional information Meet to answer 4 questions and make any changes needed in IEP Give parent copy of Reevaluation Report, IEP, and PWN

64. PERMISSION TO REEVALUATE If the team determines that additional information must be collected in order to answer the reevaluation questions, the team must get informed written consent to reevaluate before gathering this additional information. If the parent REFUSES consent to reevaluate, contact the school’s DSEC. If the team makes reasonable efforts to obtain consent to reevaluate (and documents these attempts) and the parent does not respond, the team can go ahead and gather the additional information without parent consent. 64

65. Fun facts You must have a school psychologist at all evaluation planning meetings unless you are sure the referral is for only speech concerns (in which case you’ll need a speech-language therapist) You must have a school psychologist at all eligibility meetings unless the referral was only for speech concerns (in which case you’ll need a speech- language therapist) You must have a school psychologist at all reevaluation planning and continuation meetings where there is reason to suspect the child may have an additional/different disability unless the “new” disability is speech-language (in which case you’ll need a speech-language therapist)

66. Fun facts Work out up front with the school psychologist about who (the school or the school psychologist) will provide test kits and protocols. The District does not provide either (kits or protocols). – If the school is going to purchase test kits, you will have to work with the school psychologist on the purchase of cognitive processing kits (this requires special certification/training) Decide how you’re going to handle completed test protocols – is the school psychologist going to keep them, but make them readily accessible when needed (parent or district request, for example) or are you going to get them back from the school psychologist and store them The same is true for OTs, PTs, and SLTs – the District does not provide any test kits or protocols – Work these details out with your related service providers BEFORE the first evaluation/reevaluation

67. Fun facts There is a list of school psychologists on SharePoint who have worked with the District in the past – If you’re using someone not on that list, send Beckie a copy of his/her certification – Just because someone is certified as a school psychologist in Maine, doesn’t mean he/she is certified in SC

68. If the team suspects the child may be eligible under an additional disability category, involve your school psychologist and/or speech-language therapist during the initial reevaluation planning meeting 68

69. EVALUATIONS/REEVALUATIONS As the special education coordinator, you are responsible for ensuring the completion of the evaluation within 60 calendar days regardless of when these days fall (winter break, spring break, summer,…) 69

70. Does your school have related service providers on standby? This includes speech, OT, PT, school psychologist, and counselor? If not, start making contacts now; don’t wait until you get the first IEP with OT listed to start trying to locate an OT. The local school district (district in which your school is physically located) has no obligation whatsoever to provide any special education services to your school. We have lists for school psychologists.lists Related Service Providers

71. Where Do I Start?

72. Policies and Procedures

73. Writing Policies and Procedures Let’s look at your school’s P&Ps

74. Established Policies and Procedures We have Policies... Very good policies!Policies We lack procedures... On purpose. We have policies WITH a space to indicate your procedures in the following areas: –Child Find –Parental Notification –Discipline (tracking) –LEA Designee We’ll talk about these more later

75. We’ll see you again tomorrow (same time/location) Begin thinking about your school’s service delivery. Start working with your school secretary to determine which students have IEPs and begin requesting records. Where Do I Start?

76. Resources – BookShelf, Enrich District Special Education Coordinators District Staff

77. We have plenty of resources for you: –Any previous training, PPT, handouts –Other people’s training materials –Specifics about Enrich/data reporting https://sccharter-public.sharepoint.com/Pages/IDEA.aspx Many “special education” books and resource guides (just ask) –OSEP, OCR, and Court rulings –Years and years of special education experience Resources

78. Contacts Nicole Adams nadams@sccharter.org 803.603.6590 Emily Paul epaul@sccharter.org 803.960.9686 Kendall Stewart (Enrich access and errors) 803.734.0164 kstewart@sccharter.org Mary Scott mscott@sccharter.org 803.603.4065 Beckie Davis bdavis@sccharter.org 803.734.8050

79. Questions?