Special Education Plan Training Bureau of Special Education

Special Education Plan Training Bureau of Special Education Jean Inskip Pat Scanlon Capital Area Intermediate Unit Joan Adams Jill Neuhard Pa. TTAN King of Prussia - November 12, 2013 Pa. TTAN Harrisburg - November 13, 2013 Pa. TTAN Pittsburgh – November 15, 2013 1

Authority • Chapter 14 PA Regulations (June 28, 2008) • 14. 104 Special Education Plans • Assurances to US Department of Education, the Office of Special Education Programs 2

History Done by paper Done by electronic Special Education Plan (e. SP) Done within the Comprehensive Plan webbased tool. Done in District Phases Due on May 1, 2014 Guaranteed the Federal Government with our IDEA Part B application that all districts have complete and approved Plans • Update on Chapter 4 • • • 3

The Comprehensive Plan • Includes: – Professional Education Plan – Educational Technology Plan – Special Education Plan – Approval and Disapproval notifications – Editing features – Process for submitting SEPRNs (soon) 4

Requirements for School Districts • Developed every three years • Specify Special Education Programs operated by the district, intermediate units, vocational schools, other agencies • Criteria for identifying students • Supplemental aids and services 5

Requirements for School Districts • • • Access to full continuum of placements Approved policies and procedures Procedures for behavior support services Parent training Procedures for special education in APS, other institution 6

Requirements for School Districts • Procedures for nonresident students in private homes or institutions • Plans need to be approved by the Department (Bureau of Special Education) • Full range of services • Settings other than regular education • Time for submission • Formal tiered approval/disapproval procedures 7

District Profile • Demographics – Address – Superintendent – Director of Special Education 8

Planning Committee • The Planning Committee for the Special Education Plan Report must include at least: – – One Administrator One Special Education Teacher One General Education Teacher One Parent 9

Core Foundations • Special Education Students – Total unduplicated count of students enrolled by the LEA who are eligible for special education. 10

Identification Method (SLD) • Identify the District’s method for identifying students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) – Federal Regulations are supporting both the “discrepancy model” and the “Response to Intervention model” (RTI) for the identification of students with Specific Learning Disabilities, school districts must identify which model is being utilized by the district. If the district is not utilizing one method districtwide, the district must identify which model is being utilized in each individual building. In order to use Rt. II, a district must have PDE approval. You must have submitted a Using Response to Instruction and Intervention (Rt. II) for SLD Determination: Application for Approval and have been approved. If you have not been approved, describe your evaluation process for the discrepancy model. 11

Enrollment • The enrollment figures have been pre-populated. The program will automatically identify any disability categories that are disproportionate with state data. School districts are only required to develop an improvement plan if a disability category has been identified as disproportionate. It is possible that the district may not need to develop an improvement plan based on enrollment data. • If identified as not significantly disproportionate, no narrative is required. If the school district was identified by PDE as having a significant disproportionality with regard to disability categories under early intervening services then use the narrative to develop a plan to address the categories identified as significantly disproportionate. 12

Non-Resident Student Oversight 24 P. S. 13 -1306 • IMPORTANT - - Respond to all three questions 1. How does the District meet its obligation under Section 1306 of the Public School Code as the host District at each location? 2. How does the District ensure that students are receiving a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE)? 3. What problems or barriers exist which limit the District's ability to meet its obligations under Section 1306 of the Public School Code? 13

Non-Resident Student Oversight 24 P. S. 13 -1306 Nonresident Students in Institutions, BEC 24 P. S. 13 -1306, issued September 1, 1997 • Students who are residing in a "children's institution" whose parents are not residents of the school district in which the institution is located are identified as "1306" students. These students may be in a variety of residential centers, homes or institutions, such as Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centers, homes for orphans or other "institutions for the care and training for orphans or other children. " 14

Incarcerated Students Oversight 24 P. S. § 13 -1306. 2 • Describe the system of oversight the District would implement to ensure that all incarcerated students who may be eligible for special education are located, identified, evaluated and when deemed eligible, are offered a free appropriate public education (FAPE). 15

Incarcerated Students Oversight 24 P. S. § 13 -1306. 2 • 24 P. S. § 13 -1306. 2. Juveniles incarcerated in adult facilities • (a) A person under twenty-one (21) years of age who is confined to an adult local correctional institution • following conviction for a criminal offense who is otherwise eligible for educational services as provided under this act shall be eligible to receive educational services from the board of school directors in the same manner and to the same extent as a student who has been expelled pursuant to section 1318. (b) A person under twenty-one (21) years of age who is confined to an adult local correctional institution following a charge for a criminal offense who is otherwise eligible for educational services as provided under this act shall be eligible to receive services from the board of school directors in the same manner and to the same extent as a student who has been placed in an alternative education program for disruptive students. • (c) The department shall effectuate necessary procedures for the transfer of funds from the school district of residence to the school district in which the local correctional institution is located. In effectuating the transfer of funds, the department may deduct the appropriate amount from the Basic Education Funding allocation of any school district which had resident students who were provided educational services in the local correctional facility. • (d) For purposes of this section, the term "convicted" means a finding of guilty by a judge or a jury or the entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere for an offense under 18 Pa. C. S. (relating to crimes and offenses) whether or not judgment of sentence has been imposed. • (e) For purposes of this section, a "local correctional institution" shall include any jail, prison or detention facility operated by a county or jointly by more than one county or by a municipality. The term does not include any facility used for the detention or confinement of juveniles. 16

Least Restrictive Environment • Describe the District procedures, which ensure that, to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including those in private institutions, are educated with non-disabled children, and that removal from the regular education environment only occurs when education in that setting with supplementary aids and services, cannot be achieved satisfactorily. • Describe how the District is replicating successful programs, evidence-based models, and other PDE sponsored initiatives to enhance or expand the continuum of supports/services and education placement options available within the District to support students with disabilities access the general education curriculum in the least restrictive environment (LRE). (Provide information describing the manner in which the District utilizes site-based training, consultation and technical assistance opportunities available through PDE/Pa. TTAN, or other public or private agencies. ) • Refer to and discuss the SPP targets and the district's percentages in the Indicator 5 section - Educational Environments. Also discuss the number of students placed out of the district and how those placements were determined to assure that LRE requirements are met. 17

Behavior Support Services • Provide a summary of the District policy on behavioral support services including, but not limited to, the school wide positive behavior supports (PBS). • Describe training provided to staff in the use of positive behavior supports, de-escalation techniques and responses to behavior that may require immediate intervention. • If the district also has School-Based Behavioral Health Services, please discuss it. 18

Intensive Interagency/Ensuring FAPE/Hard to Place Students 1. If the LEA is having difficulty ensuring FAPE for an individual student or a particular disability category, describe the procedures and analysis methods used to determine gaps in the continuum of special education supports, services and education placement options available for students with disabilities. 2. Include information detailing successful programs, services, education placements as well as identified gaps in current programs, services, and education placements not available within the LEA. Include an overview of services provided through interagency collaboration within the LEA. 3. Discuss any expansion of the continuum of services planned during the life of this plan. 19

Strengths and Highlights • Describe the strengths and highlights of your current special education services and programs. • Include in this section directions on how the district provides trainings for staff, faculty and parents. • Although there are no minimum requirements in completing this section, be aware of the importance of articulating the strengths of the programs in a public document. Discuss the continuum of placement options, the qualifications of district staff, special initiatives, summaries of exemplary data, etc. 20

Special Education Assurances • • The Local Education Agency (District) has verified the following Assurances: Implementation of a full range of services, programs and alternative placements available to the school district for placement and implementation of the special education programs in the school district. Implementation of a child find system to locate, identify and evaluate young children and children who are thought to be a child with a disability eligible for special education residing within the school district's jurisdiction. Child find data is collected, maintained and used in decision-making. Child find process and procedures are evaluated for its effectiveness. The District implements mechanisms to disseminate child find information to the public, organizations, agencies and individuals on at least an annual basis. Assurances of students with disabilities are included in general education programs and extracurricular and non-academic programs and activities to the maximum extent appropriate in accordance with an Individualized Education Program. Compliance with the PA Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education's report revision notice process. Following the state and federal guidelines for participation of students with disabilities in state and district-wide assessments including the determination of participation, the need for accommodations, and the methods of assessing students for whom regular assessment is not appropriate. Assurance of funds received through participation in the medical assistance reimbursement program, ACCESS, will be used to enhance or expand the current level of services and programs provided to students with disabilities in this local education agency. 21

24 P. S. § 1306 and § 1306. 2 Facilities • Identify: – Facility Name – Type of Facility (incarcerated or non-resident) – Type of Service – Number of Students Placed 22

Special Education Program Profile • Program Positions • Operator • Program Segments • Refer to Off-Line Guidance Tool for all coding requirements. 23

Special Education Support Services • Enter the Support Services information into the chart. • All Support Services such as, Special Education Director, Supervisors of Special Education, School Psychologists, Social Workers, Paraprofessionals, Personal Care Assistants, etc. that are employed by the district. 24

Special Education Contracted Services • Enter the Special Education Contracted Services information into the chart. These are support services that are contracted through the IU, outside agency, or under individual contract to provide support services to district students. (OT, PT, School Psychologist, Supervision, etc. ) • Contracted Services should not include any programs with caseloads that are included on the Program Profile. School districts must not report contracted programs such as Speech and Language Support, Hearing Impaired Support, Vision Impaired Support, Autistic Support, etc. that are contracted through the Intermediate Unit. These programs must be listed on the Program Profile not on the Contracted Services chart. 25

Special Education Personnel Development • Required Topics – Autism – Behavior Support – Paraprofessional – Transition 26

Special Education Affirmations • Electronic Signatures Required – School Board President – Chief School Administrator 27

How do I access the Comprehensive Planning Web Application? 1. Go to: http: //www. education. state. pa. us 2. Click on Log In 3. Enter username and password, click enter 4. Click My PDE Apps at the bottom left hand corner of the page. 5. Click on Comp Plan. 28

Comp Plan is not listed under My PDE Apps. Now what do I do? 1. 2. 3. 4. Go to: http: //www. education. state. pa. us Click on Log In Enter username and password, click enter Click My PDE > View/Join Groups > Applications at the bottom left hand corner of the page. 5. Click Join Group 6. Find the group PA Planning and click Select 7. Depending on your school/district level rights, click one of the following groups: Planning Leader, Author, or Viewer. Click Select 8. Select an Institution. Click Select 9. To complete your registration, click Create Membership 10. Your district LSA will receive notification regarding your 29 registration request.

Comp Plan Web Application Overview 30

To identify the CP components that must be completed for… Special Education 31

Signers must have a PDE Portal account and must have at least Author access to the entity’s plan. 32

In order to ask the web app to check the plan for completion, and to see the SUBMIT button, a user must have Planning Leader Access. (Author can check for issues but CANNOT SUBMIT) 33

Reports can be selected and printed using this page. 34

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Copying Information from e. SP to Comp Plan Use the Get Report link to generate a word document. Copy and paste any information from the word document into Comp Plan. 37

Copy and Pasting tips When copying and pasting • consider using keyboard shortcuts - ctrl-c to copy and ctrl-v to paste • Use the rich text editor toolbar to • Paste from word (can sometimes clean up formatting from word) • Past plain text (removes most word formatting) • Remove Formatting 38

Want to get the latest information? Join the PA Planning List. Serv http: //mailinglist. caiu. org 39

Need Assistance? For technical (web-application) related assistance, Comprehensive Planning Support Team • paplanning@caiu. org • 717. 732. 8403 For content and planning related assistance, Bureau of Special Ed Advisor 40