ESCLEW Community Schools Center

Annual Statewide Meeting 2022-23

Special Education~School Responsibilities & Monitoring

August 4, 2022

ESCLEW Community Schools Center Special Education Team

› Jen Adkins, M.Ed., Special Education Specialist

› Jessica Bair, Special Education Specialist

Agenda

  2022-2023 ESCLEW Special Education Oversight and Technical Assistance Overview

  Principal’s Role in Special Education

  Tracking and Monitoring Your School’s Special Education Program

  Q & A
  Survey/Certificate

2022-2023 Special Education Oversight and Technical Assistance Overview

specia education programming
Our Goal: l to support progress and continued improvement in your school’s

The ESCLEW Community Schools Special Education Specialist (SES), will provide oversight and technical assistance as follows:

All Schools will receive:

• Fall Special Education Meetings conducted by the SES

• Communication of: any pertinent special education updates;

• Monitoring of Annual Special Education Rating and Special Education Profile results (as well as support with any profile required action and Improvement Plan development)

Your school may receive additional support in the following manner:

• Follow-up special education program and records reviews, and/or desk audits

• Provided with and/or connected to resources and training, specific to identified needs

• Work sessions

2022-2023 Special Education Oversight and Technical Assistance Overview

o ESCLEW Community Schools Center Sponsor Monthly Update ~Check out the Special Education Update section!

o Feel free to call or email us with any specific questions or needs related to special education. We are here to support you!

The Principal’s Role in Special Education

Principal’s Role in Special Education

Principal’s Role in Special Education

POLL

What do you think when you hear the term, “Special Education”?

Principal’s Role in Special Education

Principal’s Role in Special Education

“Special Education is the instruction that is specially designed to meet the unique needs of children who have disabilities”.

“The Super 6 Principles of IDEA- Part B” Oklahoma Department of Education

Principal’s Role in Special Education

Flow of Implementation

Law and/or ORC Code

District/Board Approved Policies

School in Practice

Principal’s Role in Special Education

How can you support all of these components?

There are many administrative support roles in each building that are responsible for special education.

- Deans of Intervention

- Special Education Coordinators - Special Education Leads
- Assistant Principals

Principal’s Role in Special Education

Responsibilities

The principal is responsible for the education of all students in the school

● The principal is responsible for creating an inclusive environment and mindset. Making sure that all staﬀ know they are all your students
● Many parents may know the principal but not that special education coordinator. You are the ﬁrst point of contact for them.
● As an educational leader your responsibility is to make sure that all students are receiving an appropriate education- with that, it is the principals responsibility to ensure that all special education staﬀ and related service providers are trained and are aware of the school’s processes and procedures.

Principal’s Role in Special Education

Responsibilities

The Principal Needs to Be Familiar With the Concept and Practice of Special Education

● Most principals are not trained in special education. However, the principal needs to know about special education services and the diﬀerent types of special education staﬀ.
● Principals should be prepared to participate in special education evaluation meetings, individualized education program (IEP) meetings, and discipline meetings
● Principals should periodically observe special education classroom instruction—just like they observe general education classroom instruction

Principal’s Role in Special Education Responsibilities

The Principal Needs to Verify That Staﬀ Members Are Appropriately Implementing Services for Students With Disabilities

● The principal needs to ensure that students with disabilities are receiving the services they need, and that regulations and guidelines are being followed
● If you ﬁnd that a student is not receiving the type of services required and delineated, you must respond in a timely manner. You may need to arrange a meeting to reevaluate the student or the student’s education plan, or may have to consider corrective action plans for teachers who are not complying with students’ special education plans.

How are you doing this? What process and procedures do you have in place to keep on top of this?

Principal’s Role in Special Education

Responsibilities

The Principal Should Ensure That All Staﬀ Members Are Aware of the Process for Identifying Students With Disabilities

● Does your school have a strong RTI process?

● The principal should ensure that not only special education staﬀ are aware of the process but also general education teachers.

Principal’s Role in Special Education

Responsibilities

The Principal Must Be Prepared to Lead Meetings Related to Services for Students With Disabilities

● In order for students with disabilities to receive services, a representative of the school district with the authority to commit funds is required to be in attendance at any meeting and to oversee the process. Principals are increasingly being identiﬁed to serve in these roles. Therefore, the principal must understand what makes a child eligible for special education services (and what type of services), and be familiar with the regulations governing meetings (e.g., when to arrange meetings, what procedures to follow).

Principal’s Role in Special Education

Role of the District Representative

Putting It All Into Action!

Tracking & Monitoring Your School’s Special Education Program Specially Designed Instruction:

What is Specially Designed Instruction (SDI)? Adapting as appropriate the content, methodology or delivery of instruction

IEP Teams determine the need for, plan, and implement SD) for children with disabilities who require an Individualized Education Program (IEP).

The design and delivery of SDI is the core of special education.

Accommodations: Provide access to course content but do not alter the amount or complexity of the information taught. Accommodations do not reduce the learning or performance expectations of what is being taught or tested.
~Extended Time (be sure to include the subject and amount of allotted time allowed), Read Aloud (include for which subjects and in what kind of content), Frequent Breaks (be sure to include the limited number of breaks and amount of allotted time allowed)

Modifications: Change the amount and/or complexity of the instructional material taught.
~use of Extended Learning Standards (list which subject areas), Reducing the Scope of Complexity (be sure to include which subject and type of reduction)

Tracking & Monitoring Your School’s Special Education Program

What SDI Is…………..and Is Not…………:

Is…
-In addition to core instruction (supplemental) -A service (provided in the child’s LRE)
-What a teacher does Based on teaching specific skills a student does NOT have in order to access and make progress in the general curriculum
-Unique instruction written into the IEP that is provided to the child to allow him/her to progress toward annual goal(s) Specific to the child (individualized) Instruction that allows a child to make progress in the general education curriculum and close the gap in academic performance as compared to his/her general education peers
Is Not...
-In place of core instruction (supplant) -A place
-What a child does
-A restatement of the academic content standards being taught -A commercial program
-A schedule
-An excuse for setting low expectations or teaching below grade level (not making grade level content available/accessible to children with disabilities)

Considerations for Specially Designed Instruction by Kansas State Department of Education

Tracking & Monitoring Your School’s Special Education Program

Elements of SDI

Content -What is taught to allow the student to access the general education curriculum

Methodology -How the instruction is delivered or the practices and approach the teacher uses to teach

Delivery -Who, Where, and When the instruction is delivered (who will provide the instruction?)
(Where?)
(How frequently?)

Tracking & Monitoring Your School’s Special Education Program

Verification of the Delivery of Services:

How will the IEP Team document the provision of SDI (Intervention Specialists and Related Service Providers)?

How will the building’s Special Education Coordinator monitor the implementation of SDI?

How will the School Leader monitor the delivery of all special education services?

Tracking & Monitoring Your School’s Special Education Program

Suggested Actions for the Building Administrators:

–Create Administrative Tool: develop a Building Special Education Monitoring spreadsheet (a shared document, possibly via Google Drive, that houses every student enrolled with a disability, ETR/IEP timelines, meeting dates, etc.) to increase accountability

--Create Teams: develop a building level Internal Monitoring Team (IMT); create a schedule and provide set expectations (meet monthly to review data/documents and conduct walkthroughs; internal review of records for progress monitoring and the identification of systemic PD needs)

Tracking & Monitoring Your School’s Special Education Program

Suggested Actions for the Building Administrators:

–Create Provider Tools: develop tool for documenting service delivery (frequency, methods, and responses)

–Provide Training: all providers receive annual training on format (monitoring tool); complete periodic check-ins with providers to ensure tool utilization/completion meets requirements (per the training provided); provide training on service delivery models

–Create Resources: develop a “Special Education Manual” for your school (develop/improve your written processes & procedures)(provide training on the manual; provide print version and electronic access in Google Drive)

Tracking & Monitoring Your School’s Special Education Program Tools and Resources:
PROGRESS Center:
IEP Tip Sheet What is the Statement of Special Education or SDI? https://promotingprogress.org/sites/default/files/2021-05/SDI_IEP_Tips.p df
IDEA and the IEP: From Compliance to Progress online module https://promotingprogress.org/training/IDEA-IEP
Delivering Instruction Practice brief https://promotingprogress.org/sites/default/files/2021-08/Delivering-Ins truction-508.pdf

– SST7:
Staff Training PPT Draft/Sample https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1c_vJhwEIeIOqbdSbGYXn62 sZFI_fEAKw/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=101513028794505675446&rtpof=tru e&sd=true

– OEC:
Universal Support Materials/Learning Management System

2022-2023 ESCLEW School Regional Representatives:

Brittany Beck

Joyce Lewis

Alison Lentz

Augie Herman

Jenny Little

DeAnna Hardwick

2022-2023 ESCLEW Community Schools Center Leadership:

Kurt Aey, M. Ed., Director of Community Schools, Educational Service Center of Lake Erie West

Kristi Hayward, M. Ed., Academics Team Leader, Educational Service Center of Lake Erie West

Questions?

Survey

● Scan the QR Code to complete the Evaluation.
● Contact Hour Certiﬁcates will be provided after you complete the Evaluation.

Contact Information:

ESCLEW Community Schools Center: 4955 Seaman Road Oregon, OH 43616
419-246-3137 | (fax) 419-246-3127

Jen Adkins, M.Ed., Special Education Specialist, ESC of Lake Erie West jadkins@esclakeeriewest.org
Cell: 419-260-4793

Jessica Bair, Special Education Specialist , ESC of Lake Erie West jbair@esclakeeriewest.org
Cell: 419-367-3562