1. Phyllis Mondak Kyla Patterson Sarah Moore
Regulations Governing Special Education Programs for Children with Disabilities in Virginia Transitioning from Early Intervention to Early Childhood Special Education
Phyllis Mondak
Kyla Patterson
Sarah Moore

2. Early Intervention Eligibility
Birth to 3
Developmental Delay
At least 25% delay in one area
Atypical Development
Sensory-motor
Social emotional
Behaviors
Social, language plus behavior
Since we’re talking about transition between Part C (early intervention) and preschool special education, we thought it would be helpful to start by reviewing what makes a child eligible for early intervention.
Eligibility ends on third birthday
Developmental Delay – At least 25 % delay in one area of development
Atypical Development –
Atypical or questionable sensory-motor responses
Atypical or questionable social-emotional development
Atypical or questionable behaviors that interfere with acquisition of developmental skills
Impairment in social interaction and communication skills along with restricted and repetitive behaviors (pre-ASD diagnosis)

3. Early Intervention Eligibility
Diagnosed Conditions
Prematurity
Chromosomal abnormalities
Effects of toxic exposure
Hearing or vision impairment
Autism spectrum disorder
Congenital infections
Central nervous system anomaly
Etc.
… with high probability of resulting in a developmental delay. List of 20 (many are categories)

4. Special Education and Related Services
Children who turn age 2 on or before September 30 of any given year and who meet Part B eligibility …are eligible to receive special education and related services through their local school divisions.
Although children are eligible for EI under Part C of IDEA until their third birthday, Virginia Code allows that …
It’s important to know that referral from EI can happen at either of these times.

5. Part C (EI) Requirements
Federally required for all children potentially eligible for Part B:
Notification to LEA
Transition Planning Conference
State Interagency Agreement further defines responsibilities
There are two federal transition requirements under Part C of IDEA that impact you as LEAs: notification, transition conference
Potentially eligible for Part B – defined in Virginia as “Children receiving early intervention services are considered “potentially eligible” for Part B unless there is a clear expectation that they will no longer require services by the time they reach age 3.” Determination is made by child’s IFSP team
State Interagency Agreement spells out some state-level agreed upon timelines and responsibilities between EI and the LEA in order to accomplish these two required tasks. We’ll share information about the EI side of requirements and Phyllis will talk about what’s required on the LEA side. Focusing on what’s required from the federal and state level. After that we have a panel of local EI and school representatives who will talk more about how they’ve worked out local roles and responsibilities in order to meet the federal and state requirements.

6. Referral for Initial Evaluation

7. Early Intervention Notification and Referral to the LEA
Required unless parent opts out
Notification to LEA and DOE
Child’s name, birth date, parent(s) name and contact information
Method for notification to LEA (who it goes to, how its transmitted) – determined locally and specified in local interagency agreement

8. Notification and Referral – Timelines
At least 90 days before the child’s anticipated date of transition
By April 1 for children who turn 2 by Sept 30 of any given year
At least 6 months ahead of third birthday
These timelines allow for IEP’s to be developed so children can start school on the first day
State interagency agreement requires notification by April 1 if child starting school at beginning of the school year (2 by Sept. 30). Or at least 6 months prior to the child's third birthday (PM). But a different date may be determined in local interagency agreement (as long as Part C can meet their requirement for sending the notification at least 90 days ahead and child can ready to start school at the beginning of the school year or on third birthday)
Can be before April 1, especially if the parent choses. Does not mean services start before the child is age eligible. IEP start date can be at start of school, but you still must write IEP within 30 calendar days of eligibillity meeting

9. Notification and Referral
Notification = referral to Part B
Notification can take place any time of the year and must be treated as a referral to Part B
Parents must be provided with the procedural safeguards notice required under Part B and determine if an evaluation for eligibility must be conducted under Part B
State Interagency Agreement – (1) Once the LEA receives notification from Part C, must treat this as an initial referral to Part B. The point at which the special education director (or designee) receives this information is considered the date of referral. Phyllis will talk more about this.
Starts 65 day timeline
Can have CST meeting and decide to not go forward. But this is within the 65 day timeline. If decision is to move forward, you do not get 65 days from the meeting date. If decide not to move forward, timeline stops.
Not all of the Part C children should be referred. Not all of the referrals should be found not eligible

10. Notification and Referral – Late Referrals
May come to Part C late
Parents may change their mind about opting in for notification and referral
Notification is to be sent as soon as possible
May come late to Part C - If a child is referred to the local Infant & Toddler Connection system at least 45 days before the child’s third birthday and the child is found eligible and is receiving services under Part C, then the local Infant & Toddler Connection system must provide notification and referral to the local school system and Virginia Department of Education as soon as possible after determining the child eligible
Or parent may initially opt out of notification and referral and decide later (past the April 1 or 6-month mark) that they’ve changed their minds and want it sent. Must still treat the notification as a referral and follow Part B timelines, but we recognize child might not have IEP in place for first day of school/third birthday.
Late referral to Part C, may want to get school division involved and do a joint assessment for transition and information sharing purposes.

11. Procedures for Referral for Initial Evaluation
1 . The special education administrator, or designee, shall:
a . Record the date the referral was received, reason for referral, and names of the person or agency making the referral
b . Implement procedures for maintaining the confidentiality of all data
c . Provide written notice and procedural safeguards to inform the parent(s) in the parents’ native language or primary mode of communication, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so, about:
(1) The referral for evaluation,
(2) The purpose of the evaluation, and
(3) Parental rights with respect to evaluation and other procedural safeguards
d . Inform the parent(s) of the procedures for the determination of needed evaluation data and request any evaluation information the parent(s) may have on the child
This includes summer referrals. Make sure Part C knows who to contact over summer if staff not 12 mo. Employees. Reefrral should not sit on someone’s desk while they are on vacation. Cannot tell the family or Part C to call back in Sept. when school starts.

12. Three Options
The special education administrator decides to begin the initial evaluation procedures 
The special education administrator refers the request to the school-based team
The team has 10 business days to meet
The team may decide to evaluate OR determine that it does not suspect a disability and an evaluation is not warranted  
The special education administrator decides that an evaluation is not warranted
Prior written notice must be provided to the parent

13. Transition Conference

14. Transition Conference
Purpose is to discuss the services the child might receive through the public schools as well as potential service delivery options
Participants must include the family, a representative from Part C, and a representative from Part B
At least 90 days, and up to 9 months, before the anticipated date of transition
Must meet the requirements of an IFSP meeting
This is not a referral to Part B for possible eligibility
Required, with approval of family. May occur before or after notification/referral. SHOULD NOT OCCUR AFTER REFERRAL. TALK TO BETH, WE BOTH AGREED THAT THIS VIOLATED THE INTENT OF THE CONFERENCE.
SC responsible for ensuring scheduling of the transition conference within the required timelines and participation by required parties, including local school division personnel
Requirements of IFSP Meeting - Part C must provide prior notice to all participants, must document on IFSP, service coordinator must be present, parent can invite an advocate or other family member, accessible for family, etc

15. Transition Conference – LEA Representative
Must be knowledgeable about the services available in the local school system (provide information and answer questions regarding the continuum of supports and services available through the school system)
Does not need to be the special education director or any other specific position.
While a face-to-face meeting among all participants is preferable, participation by teleconference and/or videoconferencing are acceptable methods as well
In that rare instance when the local school division representative cannot participate in any of these ways, the local Infant & Toddler Connection will provide parents at the conference with information about early childhood special education services through the local school system. The local school division must provide the family with a contact name and phone number where the family can call with questions about school services
Put together information packets for Part C to have just in case.

16. Evaluation

17. Eligibility Group
The group shall include, but not be limited to: (1) Local educational agency personnel representing the disciplines providing assessments; (2) The special education administrator or designee; (3) The parent(s); (4) A special education teacher; (5) The child’s general education teacher or if the child does not have a general education teacher, a general education teacher qualified to teach child of the child’s age; or for a child of less than school age, an individual qualified to teach a child of the child’s age; and (6) At least one person qualified to conduct individual diagnostic examinations of children, such as school psychologist, speech-language pathologist, or remedial reading teacher.
Dually certified ECE teacher CAN NOT be both the gen. ed and sped teacher

18. Requirements of the Team
e . Secure informed consent from the parent(s) for the evaluation;
f . Ensure that all evaluations consist of procedures that:
(1) Gather relevant functional, developmental and
academic information about the child to determine
if the child is a child with a disability; and
(2) Are sufficiently comprehensive to identify all of
the child’s special education and related services
needs, and educational needs; and

19. g . Ensure that all evaluations are completed and that decisions about eligibility are made within 65 business days of the receipt of the referral by the special education administrator or designee.
Make sure Part C knows where to send/call in the referral. It cannot sit on an answering machine or in a fax machine because it is summer or someone is on vacation. 65 business days is based on state/federal calendar. Does not matter if you are on a 4 day a week schedule, the week counts as 5 days.

20. 65 Day Time Line
The time frame shall not apply to the local school division if: (1) The parent(s) of the child repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the child for the evaluation; or
(2) If the child enrolls in a school served by the local school division after the required 65 business days has begun and prior to a determination by the child’s previous local school division as to whether the child is a child with a disability. This exception only applies if the local school division is making sufficient progress to ensure a prompt completion of the evaluation and the parent(s) and the local school division where the child is enrolled in school agree to a specific time when the evaluation will be completed.
The parent and eligibility group may agree in writing to extend the 65-day timeline to obtain additional data that cannot be obtained within the 65 business days.

21. Review of Existing Data
Information provided by EI and the parent(s) of the child
e.g., other evaluations, medical diagnosis
The student’s education record
Observations by teachers and related services providers
Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)

22. Assessment Tools
A variety of assessment tools can be used during an evaluation
These tools should be used to gather information about the child in the functional, developmental, and academic areas
Include various types of tests, curriculum-based measures, rating scales, inventories, questionnaires and interviews, and dynamic assessment methods
Consider measures from both the standardized and informal (structured or unstructured) categories, as well as additional sources of information for eligibility decision making (e.g., parent information)
Should be selected and administered so as not to be discriminatory on a racial or cultural basis and provided and administered in the student’s native language and the form most likely to yield accurate information

23. No single measure or assessment is used as the sole criterion for determining whether a child is a child with a disability and for determining an appropriate educational program for a child.

24. Disabilities Autism Deaf-blindness Developmental delay
Emotional disability
Hearing impairment
Intellectual disability
Multiple disabilities
Orthopedic impairment
Other health impaired
Specific learning disability
Speech or language impairment
Traumatic brain disorder
Visual impairment
Child with a disability

25. Individualized Education Program (IEP)

26. IEP Development
Is developed within 30 calendar days of the date of the initial determination that the child needs special education and related services
State interagency agreement requires LEA to inform parents of their option to invite Part C service coordinator or other Part C representative to IEP meeting and then make that invitation if the parent so requests
Start date can be much later. Spring IEP, child eligible at start of school, IEP start date first day of school. Even if child turns two in spring.

27. Local Agreements Required
State agreement requires local Part C lead agencies and local school divisions to enter into local interagency agreements
At a minimum, must address the transition steps, activities, timelines, and other issues identified in the state agreement
Should be individualized to address the specific transition procedures, personnel, and timelines involved with ensuring a smooth transition to that particular school division
We’ve focused mostly on the non-negotiables … what’s required by federal or state regulations and what’s already been negotiated at the state level. There are areas for local flexibility and these arrangements need to be specified in a local interagency agreement. Panel will talk about the ways they’ve worked out how to meet the requirements and support a smooth transition for children and families.

28. Resources
VDOE Early Childhood Special Education webpage on Eligibility
See the document titled - Guidance on Evaluation and Eligibility for the Special Education Process
Regulations Governing Special Education Programs

29. September 6 and October 4 12:00-1:00 and Archived
Talk on Tuesday Getting from Here to There: Navigating the Transition from Part C to Part B
September 6
and
October 4
12:00-1:00 and Archived
5/16/2019