SPECIAL EDUCATION
March 13, 2013
Curriculum and Instruction Committee
Question and Answers Meeting
Developing tomorrow’s leaders today
Referrals to CSE
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CHILDREN NEED
TO BE CLASSIFIED? PROCESS?
IS IT APPROPRIATE TO MODIFY A
STUDENT’S CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION
AND ASSESSMENT WITHOUT AN IEP OR
504 ?
WHO MAKES THE FINAL DECISION IN A
CSE MEETING?
CAN ANY STAFF MEMBER WORKING WITH
A CHILD MAKE A REFERRAL?
SHOULD REGULAR EDUCATION TEACHERS BE
CONSULTING AND/OR ADVISING PARENTS ON
SPECIAL EDUCATION ISSUES OR CONCERNS IN
ANY WAY?
SHOULD TEACHERS/STAFF BE ADVISING
FAMILIES TO PUT THEIR CHILDREN ON
MEDICATION OR SUGGESTING
POTENTIAL DIAGNOSIS TO PARENTS?
WHY DO SOME REFERRALS TO CSE NOT
HAVE TO GO THROUGH IST?
WHO DETERMINES THAT THE SCHOOL
PSYCHOLOGIST IS THE “SCHOOL
DISTRICT DESIGNEE?”
DO THE ACTUAL CURRICULUM
APPROACHES AND INSTRUCTIONAL
METHODOLOGIES NEED TO B E
PROVIDED FOR A CSE REFERRAL?
WHEN SHOULD WE EXPECT DISCUSSION
OF THAT INFORMATION?
WHAT INTERVENTIONS ARE WE
CURRENTLY USING TO ADDRESS
STUDENT NEEDS PRIOR TO
CLASSIFICATION?
IT WAS SAID THAT WE HEAVILY RELY ON
RTI DATA. FOR WHAT …TO CLASSIFY
CHILDREN?
TO CONTINUE RTI?
WHAT SPECIFIC DATA ARE WE TALKING
ABOUT? AIMSWEB?
HOW LONG DO CHILDREN TYPICALLY
HAVE TO STAY AT THE TIERS BEFORE WE
HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO CONSIDER CSE?
NOW THAT WE HAVE RTI WHAT DOES
THE CSE REFERRAL PROCESS/FORM LOOK
LIKE?
Classification and Declassification
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN
IEP, 504, OR DECLASSIFICATION
DOCUMENT?
WHY IS IT SUCH A BIG DEAL TO CLASSIFY
A STUDENT?
WHY DO CHILDREN WHO HAVE LOW
STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES WHEN
EVALUATED, NOT QUALIFY FOR CSE?
WHAT ARE WE DOING TO ADDRESS THE FAMILIES WHO
FEEL PRESSURED BY STAFF TO ACCEPT CSE SERVICES OR
TO PUT THEIR CHILD OUT OF DISTRICT?
WHY ARE SOME CHILDREN SENT OUT OF DISTRICT
WITHOUT THE EVIDENCE THAT THE BIP HAS BEEN
CONSISTENTLY FOLLOWED OR WITHOUT THE
SUPPORT OF AN FBA?
BEHAVIORAL DATA TRACKING IS BEING DONE
BY SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS WHO ARE
RECORDING WHAT THEY WANT AND
CHANGING WHAT THEY WANT.
WHAT BEHAVIORAL DATA TRACKING ARE
SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS RESPONSIBLE FOR?
DO WE FOLLOW DISCREPANCY MODEL
OR RTI TO QUALIFY CHILDREN AT THE
ELEMENTARY LEVEL?
RTI IS MANDATED ONLY FOR GRADES K-4
READING, RIGHT?
WHAT ARE THE PATHWAYS A CHILD CAN
QUALIFY FOR A LEARNING DISABILITY
(LD) IN NYS?
WHAT DOES A PATTERN OF STRENGTHS
AND WEAKNESSES MEAN IN TERMS OF A
LEARNING DISABILITY (LD)?
WHAT MAKES A STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENT
VALID AND RELIABLE?
WHAT IS A GOOD RELIABILITY COEFFICIENT?
WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT?
DO THE TESTS USED IN PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL
EVALUATIONS MEET THIS CRITERIA?
DOES THERE NEED TO BE EVIDENCE OF
VARIED CURRICULUM APPROACHES TO
JUSTIFY A LEARNING DISABILITY (LD)?
WOULD CURRICULUM GAPS OR
PROBLEMS BE RELEVANT IN A LACK OF
INSTRUCTION AS IT RELATES TO A
LEARNING DISABILITY (LD) DISCUSSION?
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A
READING DISABILITY AND A LEARNING
DISABILITY?
WERE ANY CHILDREN PUT ON THE CSE
REGISTER LAST YEAR OR THIS YEAR?
ARE THE SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS
PRESSURED TO DECLASSIFY STUDENTS?
WHAT IS THE POINT OF RE-TESTING
STUDENTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN
FULLY ASSESSED AND PUT ON
DECLASSIFICATION SUPPORT?
IS THERE AN IMPACT TO THE CHILD?
WHAT SUPPORTS HAVE BEEN PUT IN
PLACE IN REGULAR EDUCATION FOR
DECLASSIFIED STUDENTS?
WHY AND WHERE ARE WE USING THE
LINDAMOOD-BELL LIPS, SEEING STARS,
AND VISUALIZING/VERBALIZING
PROGRAMS?
WHAT ARE THE FIVE PILLARS OF READING?
WHAT HAS CHANGED SO DRASTICALLY IN OUR
TEACHING THAT CHILDREN HAVE GROWN TO
GRADE LEVEL AND BEEN DECLASSIFIED TO BRING
OUR NUMBERS FROM 20% TO 15%?
HOW/WHAT DID OUR DISTRICT DO TO DECREASE
OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION PERCENTAGES 3-5%
FROM 09 -10 TO 13-14?
Professional/Certifications
CAN TEACHERS/STAFF OTHER THAN THE
SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST INTERPRET
TEST SCORES UTILIZED AS PART OF A
STUDENT’S PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL
EVALUATION (REGARDLESS OF THE
EVALUATION HAVING BEEN CONDUCTED
BY DISTRICT STAFF OR NOT)?
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE SPECIAL
EDUCATION TEACHER REGARDING
PROGRAMMING, IEP DEVELOPMENT AND
COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS?
WHAT READING TRAINING HAVE THE
PSYCHOLOGISTS HAD?
WHAT TRAINING HAVE READING
TEACHERS HAD TO ANALYZE OR
INTERPRET TEST RESULTS (SPEECH, AND
PSYCH EVALUATIONS)?
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A
READING TEACHER AND A READING
SPECIALIST, AND HOW DOES THE SCOPE
OF THEIR PRACTICE DIFFER?
PLEASE PROVIDE EXAMPLES.
Programming
IS IT TRUE THAT STATE ED CAME OUT TO
REVIEW THE ICM PROGRAM LAST YEAR? IF
SO, WHAT DID THEY SAY?
HOW MANY COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN
MADE TO STATE ED WITHIN THE LAST 5
YEARS REGARDING SPECIAL EDUCATION?
HAS STATE ED PROVIDED US ANY
FEEDBACK ON OUR CURRENT
PROGRAMS AND PRACTICES?
I’M SURE THAT THE POSITIVE ROLE
MODELS OF THE GENERAL EDUCATION
STUDENTS ARE HELPING OUT THE ICM
KIDS, BUT ARE WE TRACKING HOW THE
NEGATIVE BEHAVIORS OF THE ICM KIDS
ARE AFFECTING OUR GENERAL
EDUCATION STUDENTS?
Communication
WHAT IS THE FEEDBACK ON PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL EVALUATIONS FROM
OTHER DISTRICTS?
WHAT IS PREDETERMINATION AND
PLEASE PROVIDE EXAMPLES?
DO PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS COUNT?
DOES GOING OVER PSYCHOLOGICAL
REPORTS AHEAD OF TIME COUNT?
TEACHERS ARE ASKED FOR A LOT OF
INFORMATION TO BE COMPLETED PRIOR
TO THE PSYCHOLOGISTS REPORT BEING
COMPLETED AND WE DO NOT HEAR A
BOUT IT UNTIL THE MEETING. CAN A
PROCEDURE BE ESTABLISHED TO FOLLOW
UP BEFORE THE MEETINGS SO EVERYONE
IS ON THE SAME PAGE?
IS THERE A FORMAL PROCEDURE IN PLACE FOR THE REEVALUATION PROCESS FOR THE COMMITTEE THAT WILL
BE AT THE MEETING?
(THE PSYCHOLOGIST DOES ALL THE TESTING, SEND
HOME RATING SCALES TO FILL OUT, TEACHERS ARE
ASKED TO FILL OUT SURVEYS AND SCALES AND GIVE
NARRATIVES ON THEIR STUDENTS, AND MAYBE WE GET
AN EMAIL BACK ABOUT THE RESULTS)
WHY ARE WE TELLING PARENTS THAT
OUR NUMBERS ARE TOO HIGH;
THEREFORE, THEIR CHILD WILL NOT GET
SERVICES ON THE CSE REGISTER?
Training
WHEN WILL TRAINING BE PROVIDED THAT
HELPS DISTINGUISH BETWEEN
INTERVENTIONS AND
ACCOMMODATIONS/MODIFICATIONS?
WOULD ADDITIONAL TRAINING IN
ACCURATE DATA COLLECTION
(WITHOUT THE USE OF SUBJECTIVE OR
INFLAMMATORY LANGUAGE) BE HELPFUL?
Additional Comments
“PBC’S ISM CLASS WAS NOT INITIALLY MODELED AFTER ANYTHING. A BRAND NEW
TEACHER WAS (AND LET GO) AND NEVER REALLY GIVEN ANY GUIDELINES.
GUIDELINES CAME MID-YEAR AFTER STAFF PUSHED AND QUESTIONED AND PUSHED
AND QUESTIONED. VISITS WERE MADE TO BETHLEHEM, A DESCRIPTION WRITTEN,
ETC. AROUND FEBRUARY OF 2012. LAST YEAR WAS A HORRENDOUS YEAR FOR BOTH
TEACHERS, TEACHER ASSISTANTS AND STUDENTS AT PBC DUE TO THE LACK OF
PLANNING FOR THE ICM CLASSES. THE UNDERSTANDING IS IT HASN’T CHANGED
MUCH BUT THAT TEACHERS ARE EITHER AFRAID TO SPEAK UP OR DO NOT HAVE
THE TIME BECAUSE THEY ARE TRYING TO KEEP THEIR HEADS ABOVE WATER.”
“NOT SO SURE PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS ARE WRITTEN SO PARENTS CAN
UNDERSTAND THEM. ALSO THE INITIAL LETTERS SENT TO PARENTS ARE OFTEN
DECEIVING AND/OR DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND; THEREFORE, HOLDING UP OR
EXTENDING THE PROCESS.”
“I KEEP HEARING “TEAM” BUT THAT IS NOT REALLY PUT IN TO PRACTICE.”
AIMSweb and RtI
Follow Up Meeting Being Scheduled
with an AIMSweb Representative to
Address Questions Related To
These Topics.