Special Education Overview
for New Administrators
Who are we?
Office of Charter Schools and School
Redesign (OCSSR) Access and Equity
Team:
Ellie Rounds
Coordinator of Access and Equity
OCSSR since August 2012
Melissa Gordon
Access and Equity Specialist
OCSSR since December 2014
2
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Goals for today
Clarify charter school responsibilities with
particular attention to special education.
Describe OCSSR’s Access and Equity
monitoring in the charter school life cycle.
Preview charter schools’ other intersection
points with the Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
3
OCSSR: Access and Equity
 What we do:
Review prospectuses and applications for new
schools.
Work with opening schools on special
education, ELL, and civil rights including
program accessibility.
Provide TA to opening and existing schools as
needed.
Conduct site visits.
Consult with vendors regarding renewal
inspections.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
4
Charter School Responsibilities
related to Access and Equity
Recruitment and Retention plans
Admission and FAPE
Written Notice
Special Education program requirements
603 CMR 28.10 (6) (a)
Teacher qualifications
Program self-evaluations
5
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Retention and Recruitment Plan
 Every charter school must submit a Recruitment and Retention
Plan every year as part of the Annual Report.
 As defined in MGL c. 71 § 89 and 603 CMR 1.00, Massachusetts
charter schools must receive approval from the Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education for a Recruitment and
Retention Plan which is updated annually.
 The plan must list deliberate, specific strategies the school will
use to attract, enroll, and retain a student population that
includes students who are:







Limited English Proficient,
Special education,
Low income (free lunch and reduced-price eligible),
Sub-proficient on the MCAS,
At risk of dropping out of school,
Have dropped out of school,
Any others who should be targeted to eliminate achievement gaps.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
6
Recruitment and Retention Plan
Guidelines and instructions in Annual Report
Guidelines
Compendium of Best Practices
http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/sped/Recruitmen
tStrategies.pdf
7
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Admission and FAPE
 You must admit all eligible students selected through the
lottery, including but not limited to those identified as:
 Behavioral
 Severely involved
 Needing related services: OT, PT, Speech, counseling,
nursing/medical support services
 Charter schools may not consider a student's disability or
the services that may be required to serve a studentincluding students who may be in out-of-district programs
at the time of application for admission-in determining
whether to admit the student.
 Charter schools can access circuit breaker.
 http://www.doe.mass.edu/finance/circuitbreaker/
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
8
Written Notice (603 CMR 1.05
(4))
 Written Notice: Charter schools shall notify all
applicants in writing of the rights of students with
diverse learning needs to attend the charter
school and to receive accommodations and
support services, including students who may
have disabilities, require special education, or are
English language learners. Charter schools must
include this notice as part of the school's
application and enrollment materials. Every
charter school must make information regarding
the availability of services for students generally
available in the school's outreach materials,
through the student handbook, and on the
school's website.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
9
Written Notice (603 CMR 1.05
(4))
 Student Right to Attend Notices
Outlines the educational rights of children with
disabilities and ELLs to attend Massachusetts
public charter schools.
Must it be given to all families as part of application
and enrollment materials.
 These documents are available on the OCCSR website:
www.doe.mass.edu/charter/sped/default.html
 Other notice for families about availability of services
via
School’s outreach materials
Student/Family Handbook
Available on school’s website
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
10
Special Education Program
Requirements
Search for, identify, assess and serve
students in need of special education.
Make a full continuum of services
available to students with disabilities
within the school.
Have a current, signed IEP on file for
each special education student.
Deliver services as described in the IEP.
Conduct a data based program selfevaluation.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
11
Special Education Terms
 Full continuum of services
 IEP team has available a full range of placement options from
full inclusion to substantially separate and other programs as
needed to meet the needs of students on IEPs.
 As determined by the IEP Team, the school will provide services in
a placement which is:
 Full inclusion
The student is in the general education classroom for 80%100% of the school day.
 Partial inclusion
The student is in the general education classroom 21%-65%
of the school day.
 Substantially separate
66% or more out of general education classroom during
school day.
603 CMR 28.10 (6) (a)
Technical Advisory:
http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/advisories/20145ta.html
Charter schools responsibilities:
Have a full compendium of services available for
students with disabilities.
Maintain communication with sending district of
residence (SDOR) about students on IEPs.
Investigate in-district options at the SDOR with
families as needed
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
13
Timeline of Events
14
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
In-district placement
Before placement meetingCS and parent agree on in-district option at charter
school.
No agreement:
Placement team considers if SDOR has in-district program,
either alone or supplement to services at CS.
If yes, Team must propose an in-district option:
Services may be delivered in charter school
Through a program located in SDOR or
Combination of both
15
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
In-district Placement continued
Different, possible options for charter schools:
Independently develop and offer the in-district
program described in the IEP at the charter school.
Join, form, or purchase services from educational
collaboratives or other partners to provide or
support the provision of some or all of the services
described in the IEP.
Collaborate with the student's SDOR to establish
and operate a program at the charter school that
meets the needs of the student.
Collaborate with the SDOR, including contracting
with the SDOR to provide services to the student.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
16
In-district Placement continued
 Important things to remember!
 When in-district programming is proposed, the student
remains enrolled at the charter school
 The charter school retains financial and programmatic
responsibility for the student
 The charter school has full discretion over where it will
deliver any in-district program.
 The charter school is not required to contract with the
SDOR for services unless the charter school chooses to
do so.
 The charter school may not require the parent to
disenroll their child at any time as a condition for
receiving any service.
 Parents can chose to leave the charter school and enroll
in the SDOR for any reason.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
17
Teacher Qualifications
Horace Mann CS teachers/staff must be
licensed.
Except for teachers of English as a second
language, teachers in Commonwealth
charter schools (including special education
teachers) are not required to be licensed.
 But any staff implementing specialized
instruction included in an Individual Education
Plan (IEP) must meet the qualifications for
service delivery provider.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
18
Teacher Qualifications for Special
Education
Hold a valid (in or out-of-state) license or its
equivalent as a special education teacher for the
appropriate grades and severity level and/or
Have successfully completed an undergraduate or
graduate degree in an approved special education
program
19
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Teacher Qualifications for Special
Education
 Specialized instruction provided by personnel who
do not meet the above qualifications must be
delivered in consultation with a qualified individual
who provides supervision and oversight of the
delivery of the specialized instruction.
 The supervisory structure and relationships
between qualified and non-qualified special
education service delivery staff should be evident
in the daily schedule and may be noted on the
student’s IEP (in grid A on Service Delivery Page).
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
20
Program Self-Evaluations
Part of the site visit and renewal inspection
process.
Has the school implemented a regular,
systematic, data-driven analysis in order to
verify that special education and ELL students
have made expected academic gains?
Self-evaluations are your opportunity to get
advance knowledge of the challenges facing
your program, a head start on fixing them,
and to make your case regarding program
effectiveness.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
21
Program Self-Evaluations
 The analysis may include, but is not limited to, the
following elements:
 data analysis (graphs, tables) presenting one or more of the
following:
 comparisons of measures of student achievement of the same ELLs,
or students with disabilities, across time, showing changes,
preferably on multiple assessments
 comparisons of performance of students who are and are not
English Language Learners or students with disabilities on the same
assessment(s), (including, but not limited to, performance on MCAS)
 comparisons of the performance of students who are ELL/special
education in this school with ELL/special education students
from the district(s) from which the school draws students on the
same measure
 interpretation and discussion of results to reach conclusion(s)
regarding program effectiveness and,
 recommendations for any needed changes in the ELL/special
education program based on the conclusions reached
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
22
The MOST important things
You must have a current, signed IEP which
you are implementing for each student eligible
for special education.
Teachers must either be qualified to
independently deliver services or be
supervised by someone who is.
23
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Ongoing Access and Equity
Monitoring
The A&E team will participate in 3 basic types
visits to your school:
Full
Check-in
Targeted
New schools only: two visits; one in fall and
one in spring
24
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Site Visits
Site visit teams are comprised of individuals
with educational and organizational expertise
and are led by a member of the OCSSR staff.
The primary purpose of a site visit is to
corroborate and augment the information
contained in a school’s annual report, and to
gather evidence on progress the school is
making toward meeting the standards
articulated in the Charter School Performance
Criteria.
Site visit reports are issued by the OCSSR.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
25
Charter Cycle, Years 1-4
26
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Charter Cycle, Years 5+
27
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
The ESE and You!
 In addition to the OCSSR, your relationship with the
Department will consist of the following major components:
 PQA: Coordinated Program Review (CPR) process and
the Problem Resolution System (PRS)
Coordinated Program Review process is the “compliance
review” .
Problem resolution system is complaints filed in regard to
your school.
 ESE: Technical Assistance meetings, workshops and
advisories
 Check the ESE website frequently for news and
information.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
28
Coordinated Program Review
(CPR)
 All public schools in MA are on a 6 year cycle for CPR
activities.
Covers: Special Education, Civil Rights, ELL
Mid-cycle reviews occur every 3 years
 You can find out where you are in the cycle on the
ESE website under compliance and monitoring.
 http://www.doe.mass.edu/pqa/review/psr/6yrcycle.html
 Crash-ups (CPRs and Renewal Inspections) will occur
due to differently timed cycles: the CPR will be
deferred for 1 year if there is a crash-up.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
29
Complaints
OCCSR
Related directly to charter
school statute and/or
regulations.
Logged, filed and handled
through OCCSR working
directly with the school and
parent.
Program Quality
Assurance
Other federal state law or
regulation related (often
special education).
Handled through the
Problem Resolution System.
30
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Technical Advisories
DESE Website: check for updates
and advisories, meetings and
workshops:
www.doe.mass.edu
www.doe.mass.edu/sped/
www.doe.mass.edu/pqa/
www.doe.mass.edu/charter/
31
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Questions?
Ellie Rounds
erounds@doe.mass.edu
781.338.3212
Melissa Gordon
mgordon@doe.mass.edu
781.338.3209