Effective Student Support
Practices
March 29, 2015
CCSA
Jackie Peterson
Edwin Wilson
Presentation Goals
1) Identify contributing factors to SED
Disproportionality of African American students.
2) Demonstrate use of Universal Behavior
Screening data for early identification of students
at-risk of school failure
3) Demonstrate implementation of an Early
Intervening Services model to impact
disproportionality.
Poll Everywhere
Please proceed to the poll and answer:
1) What is your definition of disproportionality in
schools?
2) Based on your definition, does your school
have disproportionality?
Testable Hypothesis
Given similar behaviors, A-A students are
identified as SED more often than their white
counterparts as a punitive consequence.
Why Should This Matter to All of Us?
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School Funding
Graduation rates
Qualified work force
Government dependency
Crime
Juvenile/Incarceration Costs
Positive role models for the next generation
National Security
Example School
Whoville Elementary
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Demographics
Test Scores
OSS incidents
SED Identification
School Profile Example
100%
80%
60%
40%
5
15
5
15
5
15
Tier 3
80
80
20%
0%
5
15
Behavior
Reading
80
80
Tier 2
Tier 1
Writing
Math
Early identification of students at-risk for failure in
the four key areas is critical for positive student
outcomes.
National Data
• 5,000 children are expelled from preschool
annually; 90% are male.
• More than 70% of remedial reading students are
male.
• 70% of all D’s and F’s are earned by males.
• 66% of students suspended are male.
• Some school districts retain almost 20% of their
kindergarten students, most of whom are male
Kunjufu, 2011)
What Behaviors are Students
Referred For By Race?
White students referred more for:
• Smoking
• Vandalism
• Leaving w/o
permission
• Obscene
Language
Black students referred more for:
• Disrespect
• Excessive
Noise
• Threat
• Loitering
(Skiba, 2008)
2012 -2013 North Carolina Discipline Data
•6th highest suspension rate by state
•Males are 2.7 x more likely t be suspended
•African American students are suspended at a rate of
3.67 compared with 0.84 for White students
Exceptional Children
•Students receiving EC services received 25.7% of total
NC Department of Public Instruction
suspensions
Exceptional Children Services
Percentage by Category
Serious Emotional Disability
12.7%
Specific Learning Disability
37.2%
Other Health Impaired
25.4%
Disproportionality Definition
The presence of students from a specific group in an educational program being
higher or lower than one would expect based on their representation in the general
population of students.
 Involves comparisons by race or ethnicity between groups of students identified
as eligible for special education services
 Disproportionate Representation in Special Education = Students from a particular
racial or ethnic group identified at a greater rate than all other racial/ethnic
groups
Duhaney, & Montgomery 1998, cited in Salend
Source: 2008 NCES report, 2006 data & Action for Children North Carolina released
One Out of Ten: The Growing Suspension Crisis in North Carolina (2005)
Odds Ratio
# of students of X ethnicity in Y disability category
___________________________________________
# of students in X ethnicity in the student population
Compared to
# of students in ALL other ethnicities in Y disability category
________________________________________________
# of students in X ethnicity in the student population
www.nasponline.org
Whoville Elementary
Do they have disproportionality?
• Let’s look at Smith Elementary data.
• What conclusions can you draw about the
school?
Discuss with a partner at your table for
5 minutes.
Timer
Federal and State Action
• IDEA Reauthorization
• Redirection of funds
• State actions
Reauthorization of IDEA
2004
IDEA Regulations:
• Require policies and procedures.
• Require collection and examination of data regarding disproportionality.
• Establish requirements for review and revision of policies, practices and
procedures.
• Require States to disaggregate data on suspension and expulsion rates by race
and ethnicity.
• Require States to monitor their LEA's to examine disproportionality.
US Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs.
Disproportionality and Overidentification, 2/2/2007
Significant Disproportionality:
Use of Funds
• 34 CFR § 300.226 Early Intervening Services
• LEAs may use up to 15% of their IDEA funds to develop and
implement early intervening services for K-12 students not
identified as needing special education or related services but who
need additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in the
general education environment
– 34 CFR § 300.646 Disproportionality LEAs with significant
disproportionality must use the full 15% of funds for this purpose
– 15% set-aside must begin in the fiscal year immediately following the
year in which notification of significant disproportionality occurred
SED Outcomes
• Get lower grades
• Fail more courses and
exams
• Are held back more often
• Graduate at lower rates
• 55% drop out rate
• Have blame placed on
family
• Move from program to
program
• Get arrested more often;
over 40% /1 year and
within 5 yrs. over 60%
• Spend more time in the
juvenile justice system
• Are more frequently
placed in restrictive
educational environments
The Grinch
Factors
Contributing Factors
Socio-Economic Issues
Unequal Educational Opportunities
EC Referral and Placement Process
Solutions
Socio-Economic Issues
 Exposer to a variety of socio-demographic stressors associated with
poverty.
 Less developmentally ready for schooling
 More likely to be referred to, and ultimately found eligible for,
special education service.
Poverty is an important contributing factor that increases the risk,
presumably in a linear fashion, of special education placement for
minority students.
National Research Council, 2002
Unequal Educational Opportunities
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Teachers perceptions of students exhibiting behaviors.
Availability of quality instruction.
Cultural competence of school staff .
Intervention team process.
Parental Involvement.
Suspension days out of school.
Level of wrap around supports in schools.
Behavioral expertise available in schools.
Locked Out
80
70
60
50
Black
40
Latino
30
White
20
10
0
North Carolina OSS
Days
North Carolina
Graduation
CMS Gifted
Annual AP Report to the Nation,
The Collect Board, 2012
EC Referral and Placement Process
• Is there a standard referral process?
• How do teacher perceptions vs data factor into
decision making?
• Do schools have a true understanding of SED?
• Do schools have adequate support for students being
considered for SED classification?
• What tools are being used to determine SED?
• Socially maladjusted vs. SED?
Testable Hypothesis
Given similar behaviors, A-A students are
identified as SED more often than their white
counterparts as a punitive consequence.
Poll Everywhere
Accept or Reject?
Movie Clip
Solutions
How do we reduce
disproportionality and prevent?
Exceptional Children Department
Strategies
• Immediate things we can do to affect
disproportionality:
• LEAs/District Support
• Consult model for students with behavior issues
• Exit system in place
Prevention is the Key
It is easier and less expensive to PREVENT
a problem than to CURE.
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General Education Strategies
• Universal Behavior Screening
Comprehensive Intervening Services
“Universal screening is the systematic
assessment of all children within a given class,
grade, school building, or school district, on
academic and/or social-emotional indicators
that the school personnel and community
have agreed are important.”
• Source: Ikeda, Neessen, & Witt, 2009
• Universal screening for behavior is integral to
the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
• Tier 1 Emphasis is on prevention vs. intervention
– Behavioral Instruction
– Early Identification of Behavioral Learning Errors
– Universal Behavior Screening
Continuum of Support
Tier I
Prevention
Practices
Tier II
Tier III
Support Practices Support Practices
(2-5 Referrals)
(6+ Referrals)
Behavior Curriculum
Indirect FBA
Social Skills
Behavior Contracts
Check-In, Check-Out
Progress Monitoring
Data Decisions
Behavior Curriculum
Intervention Team
FBA/BIP
Crisis Planning
Wraparound
District Supports
Community Supports
Data Decisions
(0-1 Referrals)
Behavior Curriculum
Behavior Instruction
Universal Screening
Classroom
ClassroomMgmt.
Mgmt.
Parental
Involvement
Data Decisions
Benefits of Universal Behavior Screening
• “The Commission found compelling research sponsored by
OSEP on emotional and behavioral difficulties indicating that
children at risk for these difficulties could also be identified
through universal screening and more significant disabilities
prevented through classroom-based approaches involving
positive discipline and classroom management.”
Source: U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. (2002). A New Era:
Revitalizing Special Education for Children and Their Families
Universal Behavior Screening Categories
EXTERNALIZED
INTERNALIZED
Behavior Examples
Verbally Aggressive, Poor
impulse control, Disruption
of peer activities, Disrespect
to Adults
Cries Often, Pretends to be
Ill, Difficulty with Changes in
Routine, Limited
Relationships
Screening Measures
Defined CMS Behaviors
Defined CMS Behaviors
Which students?
All Students
All Students
How often?
October, January, March
October, January, March
Why Screen for Internalized Behaviors?
• Not as easily identified as those with acting-out or
externalizing behavior.
• May not be identified by utilizing office referrals and
are under the radar of school personnel.
• Research indicates that internalized behaviors may
manifest into severe externalized behaviors in the
future.
Mental Health and School Age Children
% of Children Receiving
Service
Service Usage Rates
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
A 35%
gap!
85
75
65
40
Internalizers
Externalizers
Special Education
Mental Health
Source: Bradshaw,
Buckley, & Ialongo,
2008
• “Without early intervention, children who
routinely engage in aggressive, coercive
actions, are likely to develop more serious
anti-social patterns of behaviors that are
resistant to intervention.”
Source: Walker, Ramsey, & Gresham, 2004
Universal Behavior Screening
is not…
..sufficient for determination of grade retention,
classroom assignment or academic grouping.
..sufficient for determination of EC eligibility.
Universal
Behavior
Screening
• Teacher Nomination and Ranking
Stage 1 • Gate 1
• Behavior Screening Committee
Stage 2 • Gate 2
• Course of Action
Stage 3 • Gate 3
Stage 1
1) Teachers use their class roster to ensure that all student
names appear on the Teacher Nomination and Ranking forms.
2) Teachers consider all students in the class for demonstration
of externalized behaviors using the standard CMS definitions.
3) Teachers rank order top 5 identified students based upon
intensity and frequency of demonstrated behaviors.
4) Repeat the process for internalized behaviors.
*Special Note- It is important that the externalized and internalized
behaviors be considered separately.
Stage 2
Behavior Screening Committee
• Comprised of 3-5 school staff with birds eye view
of students at the school (ex: AP, BMT, Counselor, Dean,
Facilitator, Soc. Worker, Psychologist)
• Members convene to review Stage 1 results for
accuracy (delete/add to teacher list)
• Members prioritize final student list
(intensity, frequency, existing support)
Stage 3
Course of Action
• The Behavior Screening Committee determines the
support action for the identified students.
• Students who are deemed at elevated risk or extremely
elevated risk should be referred to the appropriate
school-based team. The Behavior Screening Committee
may:
a) Monitor student behavior
b) Provide school based supports
c) Monitor existing intervention d) Make a community referral
• The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools supports a
‘multi-gate’ process for implementing universal
screening for behavior
– Efficient:
• Takes approximately 15 minutes to complete per class.
• Less expensive and more timely than special education
referral process
– Fair:
• All students receive consideration for additional supports
(gate one)
• Reduces bias by using evidence-based process to identify
students.
Tier 2/3
Interventions
Tier 1 Staff
Recommendations
Tier 1 Discipline
Data
Behavior
Screening
Results
So we have identified students needing support….
NOW WHAT?
Comprehensive Early Intervening Services
Comprehensive Early Intervening Services
Early Intervention Coach
2010-2011 Mini-Skills Courses
Research Based Behavioral Interventions
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Behavior Contracts
Social Skills Instruction
Check-In, Check-Out
Behavior Charting and Progress Monitoring
Managing Escalating Behavior
Developing Positive Teacher - Student Relationships
Parental Involvement: Schools + Families = Success
Supporting the Teacher - Parent Partnership
Student Referrals for Behavior
2010-2011
Comprehensive Early Intervening Services
700
600
587
*Note: Total Student Referrals =
1,717
500
400
300
200
100
0
307
241
136
176
107
96
50
15
2
Who Needs Help
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78% of referrals for support were male
60% of referrals were from grades K-2
73% of referrals were African American students
61% of referrals were performing below grade
level
Top Reasons for Referral
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Following Directions (358)
Defiance/Disrespect (248)
Other (118)
Physical Aggression (51)
Anxiety (39)
Social Skills (37)
Depression/Withdrawn (26)
Bullying (15)
Fighting (14)
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Support Interventions
Behavior Contracts (340)
Teacher Support (221)
Reinforcement Strategies (77)
Environmental Modifications (67)
Social Skills Instruction (65)
Crisis Implementation (28)
Self Management/Regulation (24)
Cognitive Strategies (21)
CEIS Model Outcomes
YEAR 1
• Only 17% of students referred to the CEIS Coach
moved on to Tier 3 supports
• Every elementary grade level saw a reduction in
students referred for EC services in the area of SED.
YEAR 2
• Referrals for student support reduced by 43%
What can we do Immediately?
• Special Education Placement/Exit Process:
• LEAs
• Consult model for students with behavior issues
• Exit system in place
Testable Hypothesis
Given similar behaviors, A-A students are
identified as SED more often than their white
counterparts as a punitive consequence.
Poll Everywhere
Accept or Reject?
Factors
Testable Hypothesis
Socio-Economic Issues
Unequal Educational Opportunities
EC Referral and Placement Process
Solutions
Final Activity
• Prioritize the three categories of in regards to
the needs of your school or district. (Response
Cards?)
• What is one thing you are going to do
differently to impact disproportionality when
you return. (Write on a notecard)
Thank you!
Contact Information:
Jacqueline Peterson
jacquelineb.peterson@cms.k12.nc.us
Edwin Wilson
edwin.wilson@cms.k12.nc.us