1. Division of Special Education and Student Services
Key Instructional Leaders, Regions 6 and 7
November 6, 2007
H. Douglas Cox
Assistant Superintendent

2. Topics Response to Intervention (RtI)
Special Education Annual Performance Report
Revision of Special Education Regulations

3. RtI 3 major initiatives RtI Institutes November 15 – 16, Roanoke
December 4 – 5, Newport News
You have been hearing about this for quite a while
We have spent the last several months getting aligned internally so that this is a VDOE initiative
Elementary, secondary, Title I, School Improvement, Special Education, Student Services all at the table
Our roll-out involves three major initiatives
The first is two institutes
Content:
The RtI Framework and Principles
Universal Screening
Progress Monitoring
Tiered Interventions
Implementation Considerations
Teams of up to four persons from a division are invited to attend one of the two institutes. Participants may include division superintendents, principals, directors of instruction, directors of student services, directors of special education, and curriculum specialists.
Will include vendors

4. Guidance Document: November 9
Pilot sites:
Guidance Document is the result of all of our internal planning and sets the overall approach to RtI in VA
It includes:
Legal background
Treatment of the essential components (universal screening, tiered interventions, and progress monitoring)
Implementation strategies, including infrastructure development
Pilot sites
8: 1 from each region
Training and preparedness this coming winter and spring
Implementation in fall of 2008
Evaluator on site from the get go
Purpose: to learn what it will take for state-wide scale up
NOTE: We will do all we can without our resources to support all RtI efforts; but our priority will be with pilot sites initially.

5. Annual Performance Report
20 indicators
14 from LEA data
Public reporting
Local determination
You may recall from our last time together in Rocky Mount or from information you have received since that time
We posted our public report in July – it’s one the Web site
We were also requried to make local determinations based on the data submitted plus other factors

6. Local Determination Meets requirements Needs assistance
Needs intervention
Needs substantial intervention
We were required to use the same determination levels that the USED used with states. These are: A

7. Local Determination: 2007
Indicator 12 (Transition from Part C to Part B)
Timely and reliable data
Unresolved noncompliance findings
Unresolved fiscal audit findings
The criteria we used for 2007 were:
Indicator 12 was the only compliance indicator for which we had more than one year’s worth of data. All others, were considered new data because of some change in the wording
Other factors were….

8. Local Determination: 2008 All elements from 2007
Indicator 9 and 10: Disproportionality
Indicator 11: 65-day timeline
Indicator 12: Transition from Part C to Part B
Indicator 13: Transition
Because the other compliance indicators will not be new for 2008, we will be required to add all of the others. These are:

9. Targets: 2008
Indicators 9 and 10: 0%
Indicators 11 – 13: 100%

10. Focused Monitoring and Targeted Technical Assistance
Data verification visits
Review of data on compliance indicators (9 – 13)
Review of performance indicators (1 – 8; 14)
On-site monitoring

11. Weighted formula based on
Graduation rate (Indicator 1)
Dropout rate (Indicator 2)
Assessment in reading and math (Indicator 3)
Disproportionality (Indicators 9 & 10)
Other compliance indicators

12. Revision of State Special Education Regulations
October 2006: NOIRA
September 2007: First BOE Review/move into APA
Executive Branch Review
60-day public comment period/public hearings

13. Key Provisions Removes requirement for child study committee
Maintains 65-day timeline for evaluation/eligibility
Establishes eligibility criteria
Removes consent requirement for termination of services when child is no longer eligible

14. Key Provisions (con’t)
Retains consent requirement for initial eligibility
Retains consent requirement for change in categorical identification
Retains consent requirement for revisions to IEPs

15. Key Provisions (con’t)
Eliminates requirement for STOs/benchmarks in IEP except for students participating in the VAAP
Retains requirement for transition plan at age 14
Eliminates “11-day” rule for FBAs/BIPs

16. Key Provisions (con’t)
Moves the administration of the special education due process hearing system from the VA Supreme Court to the VDOE
Maintains requirement for local special education advisory committees