Monthly School Special
Education Coordinator
Meeting
March 10, 2014
Topics
 OEC Onsite Visit (September 2012)
 IDEA Funds
 Excent/Enrich
 Preparing for IEP Meetings
 Annual Reviews
 Letters of Notification
 IEP Development
 Progress Monitoring
 Summary/PWN
 Special Reviews vs Annual Reviews
 Transition Services
OEC Onsite Visit – September
2012
LAST UPDATE EVER!!!!!!
OEC Onsite Visit – Closure

2/28/2014

“The SCDE is happy to inform you that the SCPCSD has corrected the
noncompliance found from onsite monitoring within the one-year
timeline, which includes LEA systemic noncompliance and individual
student level noncompliance. The OEC has verified the total correction
of this noncompliance in accordance with IDEA and OSEP guidelines.”

Does this mean every file in the SCPCSD and every school is in complete
IDEA compliance?

Does this mean we need to relax our processes now that we’ve been
cleared?

At the end of the day, the letter from the OEC is another way of saying,
“Thank for doing your job by meeting the obligations of your school’s
charter.”
IDEA Funds
IDEA Funds
 The funds have been loaded (based on what was
provided to us back in November).
 Schools will be given a one-time amendment to their
IDEA funds later this month. Information will be
provided to school leaders during their next District
Leaders’ Meeting.
Excent/Enrich
Excent/Enrich
 Enrich - We’ve actually seen it
 Here is what we know at this time:
 Same components (different order)
 Better linkage between present levels (narrative  Findings 
Goals)
 Progress monitoring tools built-in
 MUST HAVE a baseline number for each goal
 Better reporting capabilities (state-wise accommodations report)
 Attachments gets “filed” into an actual meeting, not just global
attachments
 Any annual review removes all old data (including present levels and
goals)
 There will be an upgrade to Excent sometime in the next month to
incorporate the Smarter Balanced Testing Accommodations (for next
year)
Excent/Enrich
 Here is what we don’t know, but need to make you aware
of:
 What from Excent moves forward
 Some components from current IEP move forward
 The most current IEP (PDF) moves forward
 What doesn’t:
 Attachments (we’re working on a solution for this – but start thinking
about keeping a backup copy of the attachments for your active
students)
 What this means:
 A lot more information to come (after April)
 Summer training on Enrich
 You’ll need to physically have the most current IEP with you
(the one that carries over until next year).
Preparing For
Annual Reviews
April 10, 2013
Annual Reviews
The Process
Letters of Notification
IEP Development
Progress Monitoring
Summary/PWN
Special Reviews vs Annual
Reviews
Transition Planning
Letters of Notification
Letter of Notification
 IEP meeting notifications must include the purpose,
time, location of the meeting and who will be in
attendance. This is why an email asking the parent to
attend a meeting doesn’t suffice (even if they attend).
 If the meeting changes for any reason (date or even
time), do a new letter to give to the parent and
document in Notes section as to why the meeting
changed
 If the student is 13 or older or will turn 13 during the
course of the IEP, transition must be checked as a
meeting purpose and the
Letter of Notification
 So there has to be documentation that a formal
invite that included all of the required components
(date, location, purpose, and attendees) was
provided.
 Even if the parent attends, the meeting could be
determined null and void if proper notification
wasn’t provided.
Letter of Notification
 If you do not have proper notification to
parents, you have denied them the
opportunity to participate in the
development of their child’s IEP.
 This is a huge issue and one that is
frequently addressed by the courts and
due process hearing officers.
The IEP Process
The following slides were adapted from a presentation
conducted by the SC Department of Education, Office of
Exceptional Children.
IEP Section I
Student Information
 The percent of time the student spends in the regular
education environment auto populates from
Placement History.
IEP Section I
Student Information
 “Date of IEP Meeting” reflects:
 Date of Initial IEP meeting or;
 Date of Annual Review
 “Date of Special Review” changes whenever additional meetings are
held throughout the school year
 Remember that the IEP Initiation Date is either the first day of the
following school year (If Not Birthday IEP) or reflects a change
during the school term and you MUST provide PWN to explain the
reason for the change
Dates
 If this is an AR, all dates change
 Date of IEP meeting
 Initiation date,
 date of anticipated AR, and
 IEP ending date
 If this is a SR, only 2 dates change
 IEP meeting date and
 IEP initiate date
IEP Section II
“The Foundation”
This is the basis from
which all other
Individualized Education
Program (IEP)
components are
developed
IEP Section II
Academic and Functional Strengths and
Needs
 Describing Academic and Functional Strengths and Needs provides
an overview of factors that impact performance and the
development of services and programs designed to meet the
student’s unique learning needs
 There are 3 areas within this section
 Academic and Functional Strengths and Needs (Present Levels or PLPs)
 Functional Behavior
 Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance
(Findings)
IEP Section II
Academic and Functional
Strengths and Needs (PLPs)
 PLPs
 Disability statement that tells WHAT the
disability(s) is and HOW it/they affects the
student’s access and progress
 Strengths and weaknesses within each area of
disability (what the student can and cannot do
within each area)
 These are the student’s educational needs
 Written in narrative format to briefly give the
“big picture”
IEP Section II
Academic and Functional Strengths and Needs
(PLPs)
Example
Questions
 What is Josephina’s area of weakness?
 What is Josephina’s area of strength?
 What type of Present Levels of Academic Achievement and
Functional Performance might be developed?
 Might Josephina require any instructional accommodations?
IEPs & Present Levels
 Present levels ARE NOT meant to be a history of the
child’s educational experience. It’s literally, a snapshot
of where the child is CURRENTLY functioning. Present
levels answer the question, “Where is the child currently
functioning?” Note the word “currently”
 So for the 1st IEP after a transfer, you could see a
comment about “the child just recently transferred from
ABC HS where he . . ..”
 At the 1st annual review (one year later), this statement
wouldn’t be included.
IEP Section II
Academic and Functional Behavior
 If a Functional Behavioral Assessment is
warranted, this must have taken place as
part of an evaluation or reevaluation
Functional Behavior
 Does the student’s behavior warrant a
FBA?
 Has a FBA already been done, not will one be
done
 Reasons for needing a FBA would be found
above in the PLPs
 Results (data/numbers) of the FBA would be
found below in the Findings
IEP Section II
Present Levels of Academic Achievement
and Functional Performance (Findings)
 The Findings
 Identify Educational Need
 Serve as a baseline or starting point
 Are directly connected to goals and services
 Describe with data what the student can do at the
time the IEP was written
Findings
BASELINE DATA
numbers, percentages, frequency
counts, amounts, times, quantities,
figures, statistics,…
IEP Section III
Accommodations to the General Curriculum
 Accommodations :
 Are justified in the PLPs
 Do not reduce learning expectations
 Provide access by enabling the student to participate more
fully in instruction and assessment
 Permit the student to better demonstrate skills
 Must be part of daily instruction
 Should never be introduced for the first time when a student
is participating in state-wide or district assessments
Accommodations
 Instructional Accommodations:
 Why does the child need INSERT ANY ACCOMMODATION
HERE as an instructional accommodation? Because
according to the present levels it states that it’s needed.
 Instructional accommodations need to be specific. There is
a different between “oral admin” and “oral administration of
assignments and tests for science and social studies.”
 What’s your procedures for documenting accommodations?
Accommodations
 These are necessary to “level the playing field”, not “I
think John would benefit from”
 Oral admin is for students with significant reading
problems
 Retaking tests failed is not an accommodation
 Failing a test because the appropriate accommodations and
special education instruction haven’t been provided is one
thing
 Failing a test because the student hasn’t studied/ prepared
for the test, is entirely different
IEP Section III
Modifications in the General Curriculum
 Modifications:
 Change learning expectations
 Must be clearly described
IEP Section III
Supplementary Services
 Supplementary Services:
 Aids services and supports that can be provided in general
education, education-related settings and in extracurricular and
nonacademic settings
 Supplementary Services:
 Might include parent training, providing the student with a oneon-one assistant, or providing staff with professional
development to assist in meeting the unique needs of the
student
IEP Section IV
IEP Goals and Objectives
 Annual Goals must:
 Directly link to the PLPs and Findings and when applicable, the
Transition needs of the student
 Annual Goals tell us:
 What we expect the student to learn or be able to do in 1 year; and
 How we will know when the student has learned or demonstrated
that he can do it
IEP Section IV
IEP Goals and Objectives
 The essential characteristics of IEP Goals are that they must be
measurable and be measured
 If an IEP Goal is not measurable it violates the IDEA and may
result in the denial of a Free Appropriate Public Education
(FAPE)
 If a Goal is not measured that violates the IDEA and may
result in the denial of FAPE
o Bateman & Herr, 2006
IEP Section IV
IEP Goals and Objectives
 Every Measurable Goal Must:
 Allow a clear yes or no determination of whether or not
it has been achieved
 Pass the “stranger test” (IEP Team Members can agree if
the goal has been achieved)
IEP Section IV
IEP Goals and Objectives
 Objectives/Benchmarks
 “Spell out” what the student will need to do to
complete the annual goal.
 Are the same skill in each benchmark with degree of
proficiency to which the student performs the skill
changing from benchmark to benchmark
 Are required for all goals of students taking
alternative assessment (SC-Alt)
Measurable Annual Goals
Critical Components
 Behavior – clearly identifies the performance being
monitored; “Jeremy will read aloud”
 Condition – describes what must be present for the
student to demonstrate the skill or behavior at the expected
level of performance; “when presented with a passage from
the 2nd grade curriculum”
 Level of Proficiency – how many, how often, to what
standards the behavior must occur; “48 words per minute
with less than 2 errors”
 Measurement – as measured by; “as measured by weekly
one minute oral reading fluency probes”
 Timeframe –may be included; “In 36 weeks”; “by the end
of the 2012-2013 school year” – may also be left blank
since it’s “implied” that by the annual review . . . .”
IEP Section IV
IEP Goal Example
In 36 weeks, when presented with a passage from the 2nd
grade reading text, Jeremy will read aloud from 38 to 48
words per minute correctly as measured by weekly one
minute oral reading fluency probes.
Location of Services
Special Education Classroom
Virtual Special Education Classroom
Not “virtual classroom”
IEP Section IV
IEP Goal and Objectives
 Remember, for any student that participates in the SCAlt (Alternate Assessment), the IEP team must develop
goals AND objectives for any area of need identified in
the PLAAFP.
Annual Goals
 You should be able to answer the question, “If you want
Jeremy to be here (ending point in the AG) by the end
of the year, where is he starting from (baseline in the
Findings?
 In 36 weeks, when presented with a passage from the 2nd
grade reading text, Jeremy will read aloud 48 words per
minute as measured by weekly one minute oral reading
fluency probes.
 How many words is Jeremy reading aloud now?
 How many errors is he making?
Annual Goals
 Measurements should be clear
 Wrong
 Solve math problems with 80% accuracy with less than
6 errors
 Answer 8 out of 10 comprehension questions with 75%
accuracy
 Right
 Solve math problems with 80% accuracy on 4/5 trials
 Answer comprehension questions with 80% accuracy on
8 consecutive assessments
 Read 50 words per minute correctly on 2 out of 3 gradelevel passages
Annual Goals
 All annual goals must have baseline data
in the Findings
 All objectives must have baseline data in
the Findings
IEP Section V
Time
 Special Education and Related Services must be
denoted in MINUTES
 Subtract the total MINUTES in special education and
related services from the total amount of minutes in
the school week
IEP Section V
Related Services
 Related Services are:
 Supportive services provided to students with disabilities to assist them
in benefiting from Special Education
 Like the need for special education, determined on an individual basis as
part of the IEP process
 Connected to other parts of the IEP to include Functional Strengths and
Needs and Findings
 Accompanied by measurable annual goals that are denoted in section IV
IEP Goals and Objectives
IEP Section V
Related Services
 The IDEA regulations contain a list of related services IEP
teams can consider and they include, but are not limited to:
 Audiology, Counseling Services (including rehabilitation
counseling), Early Identification and Assessment of disabilities in
children, Interpreting Services, Medical Services, Occupational
Therapy, Orientation and Mobility Services, Parent Counseling and
Training, Physical Therapy, Psychological Services, Recreation,
School Health Services and School Nurse Services, Social Work
Services in Schools, Speech-language pathology services and
Transportation
Related Services
 In South Carolina, Speech-Language Impairment is a
category of disability just like Learning Disability,
Intellectual Disability, …
 SLI must be listed as a disability (primary, secondary,
tertiary,…) and NOT as a related service if the student
meets the eligibility criteria
 If the student DOES NOT meet eligibility criteria under
SLI, but the IEP team determines (based on data) that
the student needs speech-language services in order to
benefit from special education, then speech becomes a
related service
 This is rare
IEP Section VI
Participation in Statewide Testing
 Consideration for the
use of Accommodations
and/or Modifications for
Statewide Testing
should:
 Be based on
individual student
need and;
 When selected, must
be clearly reflected in
IEP Section III –
Accommodations
to the General
Curriculum and in
Section II the
PLPs/Findings
Testing/Accommodations
 State Wide Testing
 Why does the child get INSERT accommodation on
statewide testing? Because that’s what he receives as part
of daily instruction.
 These accommodations must be provided.
 As we gear up for HSAP, PASS, and EOCs, special education
coordinators need to communicate with testing coordinators
about which child receives what accommodations.
 “I think”, “The teachers have been told” or “I’ve been told”
are not sufficient methods of verification. Have case
managers show you the IEP so there is no
misunderstanding.
IEP Section VIII
Special Factors The Team Must Consider In
The Development of the IEP
 This is a guide to ensure
the team considers all
factors when developing
the IEP.
 You must determine ESY
annually
 Be careful of deferring
this decision
IEPs (ESY)

Eligibility must be discussed annually
 Not necessarily in “May.”
 95% of the kids, you can determine this at the annual review
What must be considered:
1)
REGRESSION/RECOUPMENT
2)
CRITICAL POINT IN INSTRUCTION/EMERGING SKILLS
3)
INTERFERING BEHAVIOR
4)
TRANSITION
5)
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
AND what data do you have to support these?
IEP Section IX
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
 LRE Considerations
 The team must document the
extent, if any, that the student
WILL NOT participate with
non-disabled students in the
general education classroom
LRE Page
 Explain the extent, if any, which the student WILL NOT
participate with non-exceptional students in the regular
classroom.
 Does the child participate in a resource/support class with
other students with disabilities? If so, then “electives” is
checked and the words “resource” or “academic support”
are added.
 The only child who wouldn’t have anything marked in this
section would be a 100% consultative child or a child
receiving sp ed instruction in a virtual setting that is in
addition to/on top of all the other required instruction.
IEP Section IX
Reporting to Parents
 The IDEA requires every IEP to include a description of
how the child’s progress toward annual goals will be
measured and when periodic reports will be provided.
 Our District requires reporting to the parents the child’s
progress towards each annual goal at a frequency defined
by the IEP, but in no case less than every nine weeks.
 Be aware of whether the IEP also includes with report cards or
simply every 9 weeks – it makes a difference
 Every 9 weeks is regardless of when report cards go home
 If the IEP is implemented Jan. 1, progress reports would be sent March
7 which may or may not coincide with a report card period
IEP Section X
Team Members
 Make sure the people on
the meeting Notice
match the people here
and on the PWN/minutes
 Make sure the LEA and
Special Education
teacher positions are
listed (unless they have
been properly excused)
 Don’t assume people
know that the Principal
was the LEA or that the
Coordinator was the
Special Education
Teacher
Summary and PWN
Meeting Summary

Required per District Policy
 Not meant to be a transcription
 Purpose is to capture the gist/flow of an IEP meeting
 Purpose is to discuss requests/disagreements
 Every parental request needs to have closure
 Parent asked for an in-home teaching assistance. The team discussed and
determined that based on present level data, the child is able to receive FAPE
through the proposed virtual services.

Common mistakes noted:
 Wrong date of the meeting
 Not noting proper meeting membership

This is a summary of the major points of the meeting
PWNs
 As a result of the IEP/Staffing meeting, the IEP/Staffing Team
proposes or refuses to
 Explanation of why the school district/agency proposes or
refuses to take this action
 Description of each evaluation procedure, assessment, record,
or report the school district used in deciding to propose or
refuse the action
 Description of any other choices that the IEP team considered
and the reasons why those choices were rejected
 Description of any other reasons why the school district
proposed or refused the action
PWNs

The parent MUST have a copy of the PWN prior to implementing the IEP.

If the parent attends the meeting and does not leave with a copy of the
PWN, the IEP cannot be implemented until after the PWN has been sent.

If parents did not attend, the IEP cannot be implemented until after the
PWN has been sent to the parents.

What does this mean?
 Give the PWN at the meeting (along with the IEP)
 Wait 5 – 7 days after the meeting to initiate the proposed FAPE
 Initiation date must reflect this on the cover page of the IEP)
 Cannot extend past the expiration date of the IEP to “wait” to give the PWN.
Progress Reports
Progress Monitoring
 Use the PM report in Excent
 Documenting progress towards each annual goal
 Provided to parents on the schedule dictated in IEP
 At least as often as gen ed, but not less than every 9 weeks
 The AR will typically be the 4th and concluding progress
report for that IEP and should close out the IEP
Purpose
“When the cook tastes the
soup, that formative; when
the guests taste the soup,
that’s summative.”
Robert Stake
“As the cook, or teacher, we need to stop and taste the
soup before we move forward with instruction. We
need to design instruction so students can press the
reset button and go back to learn what they missed the
first time. We can use many techniques to assess
student achievement and understanding.”
 If you wait until the end of the year to monitor
progress, you have run out of time to change
instruction.
 Collecting progress monitoring data drives/guides
instruction.
Examples
 Updates of baseline data from PLPs
 CBMs
 Data sheets for time on task, assignments completed
 Discipline referrals
 graphs
 Description of progress (more than “progressing”)
 Answer the question “Where is Robbie now?”
Special Review vs Annual
Review
Special Review vs. Annual Review
Special Review
 Can be done with an
agreement to amend an
IEP (with your LEA’s prior
approval)
 Only updates certain
areas of present levels
 Something needs to be
changed (updated) for
EVERY special review
(most likely in the PLOP)
Annual Review
 Updated 100% of the
present levels with
CURRENT present level
data
Transition Planning and the IEP
Who does this apply for?
Regulations
 Transition services. Beginning not later than the first IEP to
be in effect when the child turns 13, or younger if
determined appropriate by the IEP Team, and updated
annually, there after, the IEP must include—
(1) Appropriate measurable postsecondary
goals based
upon age appropriate transition assessments related to
training, education, employment, and, where appropriate,
independent living skills; and
(2) The transition services (including courses of study)
needed to assist the child in reaching
those goals.
What does this mean: the annual review for a child who is 12
years old and older.
Letters of Notification
Letter of Notification
 Purpose of the meting must include this is a secondary
reason:
 To discuss transition service needs or to develop a transition
plan
IEP Section I
Transition
 Check Yes for any student that:
 will reach the age of thirteen during the active dates of the
IEP; or
 is age 13 to 21 during the active dates of the IEP
 The student must be invited to the first transition
meeting as well as to all subsequent IEP meetings
 and “to discuss transition services” must be checked on the
Letter of Notification
IEP Section I
Student Interests and Preferences
 Global statement describing the “student’s” interests and
preferences
 Interests and Preferences can be derived from:
 Formal and informal (documented) interviews
 Formal and informal interest inventories
 NOT just a copy/paste from the previous IEP
IEP Section I
Student Interests and Preferences
Example
IEP Section I
Post Secondary Goal(s)
 A Post Secondary Goal is:
 Articulation of what the student would like to achieve after
high school phrased in the form of a measurable goal
 Based on age-appropriate transition assessment
 Based on student’s strengths, preferences and interests
 Written for both education or training and employment
 When appropriate, written for independent living
 Education or Training must be separate from
Employment
IEP Section I
Post Secondary Goal(s)
 Post Secondary Goals are:
 “Measurable”
 Based on an outcome and not an activity or process
 Do not use action verbs like “seeks”, “pursues”, “continues”, “learns”
and “applies” as these terms are processes and not outcomes
IEP Section I
Post Secondary Goal(s)
“Helpful Formula”
IEP Section I
Post Secondary Goal(s)
Example
NonExample
IEP Section I
SC Career Cluster
 School can use up to sixteen clusters for reporting purposes
but may modify these clusters (for example, Arts and
Humanities in place of Arts, Audio-Video Technology, and
Communications).
 ONLY put a cluster (cluster combination) that your school
offers)
 The sixteen state clusters are the same as the sixteen federal
clusters
o Defined Program Grades 9-12
o Regulation No.: R43-234
o http://www.careertech.org/careerclusters/glance/careerclusters.html
IEP Section I
Course of Study
 For any student who is, or who will reach the age of transition, the
Course of Study provides a description that is:
 Driven by the student’s interest and;
 Linked to the selected SC Career Cluster
 The only options in our District:
 Standard Course of Study towards a HS diploma
 Modified/Functional Course of Study towards a district attendance credential
 Standard Middle School Focus
 Modified/Functional Middle School Focus
IEP Section I
Course of Study
Example
Non Example
IEP Section I
Transition Services
 If any Transition Service is selected there must be a
corresponding goal.
 It is possible for one goal or goal and objectives to support
multiple Transition Services
 At a minimum, “Instruction” is checked. Let’s talk about
“development of Employment and Post School Objectives
when we talk about transition assessment.
IEP Section I
Diploma/Certificate

If District Attendance Credential, the IEP team must ensure
that the parent(s) and the student understands that this is not
a State High School Diploma

When Regular State High School Diploma is selected, the
Anticipated Date of Graduation can be updated by the IEP
team as appropriate

We do not offer:
 Occupational credential, State Certificate, or N/A for GED Program
IEP Section I
Age of Majority
 Be sure to inform any student that will, or has
reached age of majority, of his or her rights under
IDEA.
 This must be completed not later than one year
before the child reaches the age of majority under
the state law.
 This notification form is on SharePoint
IEP Section II
Academic and Functional Strengths and
Needs
 This needs to include the area of “transition” too.
 Do you have any post-secondary goal concerns?
 Unreasonable, unattainable, might struggle
IEP Section II
Present Levels of Academic Achievement
and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)
 Where is your data supporting the Post Secondary Goal Statement?
 Answer this question: How do you know Laura wants to be a public
relations director after high school?
 The data must be within one year of the annual review.
 The date of assessment could be included in Section I under
Interests/Preferences or here under Findings
IEP Section IV
IEP Goals and Objectives
 EVERY GOAL must be either marked:
 Instruction AND Transition
 Related Service AND Transition
 Or ALL THREE
 How can an annual goal about writing a 5 paragraph essay .
. . . . Be a transition goal?
IEP Section V
Time
 Do you have any annual goals regarding postsecondary goal/employment obtainment?
The Link
 There must be a link throughout the complete IEP. The
link begins with the present level and it expand to all
areas:
 Accommodations
 Services
 Annual Goals
 LRE
 PSGs
 ...
 The highlighter test
Links
The famous
(or now
infamous)
HIGHLIGHTER
TEST
Questions?
 Check with your school’s special education coordinator
 Talk with your regional special education coordinator
Upcoming Dates
 April 14, 2013 – Web Coordinator Meeting
 Accommodations: Make sure you’ve communicated your
accommodations over to your school testing coordinators
 PASS Writing: March 18 & 19
 HSAP: April 1 - 3
 PASS: May 6 - 9
 June/July – don’t forget we have some major reports due
over the summer . . . Make sure you plan accordingly.
Don’t leave your school empty handed.
 We’ll discuss these in detail in April