Special Education The ARD meeting The Agenda v

Special Education The ARD meeting

The Agenda v v v Introductions. Statement of Confidentiality. Review Purpose of ARD. Review Assessment Data. Determination of Eligibility. Review Present Competencies. v v v Review IEP Progress. Develop new IEPs. Classroom Modifications. State Assessment Participation. Related Services to be provided. Determination of Placement.

Introductions and Confidentiality • Not everyone in the room will know each other. • You MUST not discuss the student with others. • Just the fact that the child receives special ed services is confidential. This even includes Speech services.

Review Purpose of ARD meeting • Briefly and Succinctly • This is a statement for the record, not a discussion. • Long discussions should have already been held in parent-teacher conferences.

Review of Assessment Data • Typically this is where the Diagnostician steps in and presents new information. • Can include LSSP, Speech Therapist, Occupational Therapist, APE, MT, and In-Home Training Instructor. • Teachers also need to provide input into whether or not the data obtained during assessment is backed up by classroom experiences. • Determination of Eligibility is then made before moving on to the rest of the ARD.

Review of Present Competencies • Specific things that the child can do. • Age and grade level are NOT enough. • Have at least 2 -3 in each area. • More in area that is of specific concern.

Examples of Good Competencies • Knows all of his letter sounds. • Can add single digit numbers with regrouping. • Can read a passage at 2 nd grade level and summarize story in 2 sentences. • Can write a paragraph with moderate errors in punctuation and spelling for grade level.

Review of IEP Progress and New IEP Goals • Done by CMC or Resource Teacher. • Reviewed by the ARD committee and agreed upon. • This is the child’s curriculum in that subject for the next year. • Essentially takes the place of TEKS.

Modifications • Things that this child needs in the classroom in order to succeed that are over and above what you do for other children in the room. • Do NOT go overboard with these.

Modifications and Responsibility • These are now legally binding things that you must do every time for this child. • This is an area that teachers and schools get sued for very often. • Have this list ready before the ARD meeting. • Big time-eater in ARD meetings.

TAKS and SDAA • Three options (TAKS, TAKS -Accomodated, and TAKSModified). • There are eligibility requirements for each test. • You must be using the modification in the classroom in order for them to use it on the test.

Related Services and Placement • Related Services include counseling with LSSP, Transportation, OT, PT, Nursing, Audiological, In-Home training, Parent Training and others. • Only now is the determination of placement made (Resource, CMC, SAC). • The whole ARD up to this point has been about what the child needs. Only now do we talk about how to provide it. • This is the most important committee decision.

Remember…… • This is now a legally binding document. • Be succinct and to the point. • Save discussions and long examples for conferences.

These Are Still Your Students! • General Education teachers are still responsible for the education of every student in their classroom. • “Ownership” is shared with the Special Education teachers. • Learn the student’s strengths and weaknesses and use that information.