Iowa Child Find2009-2010

Child find is the process by which students with disabilities are located, evaluated, and identified as needing special education services.

Background:

Two-year development process for Statewide Procedures

Child Find Committee with representation across the State , including AEA 9

As of August 2009, new Statewide Procedures and Forms guide:

http://www.aea9.k12.ia.us/en/programs_and_services/integrated_services/special_education/special_education_information/

Setting sail from the old world…10 AEAs

Combine “best” of procedures into one

First Order Change

First Order Change

Is perceived as an extension of the past

Consistent with prevailing agency norms

Congruent with personal valuesEasily learned – implemented with

existing knowledge by those responsible for implementation

Requires resources currently available to those responsible for implementation

Lost at Sea…

More issues than first thought

Expanded audience

Finding the New World…

Conclusion drawn:Second Order Change

See the shore…not yet in the harbor

Second Order Change

Is perceived as a break from the past Inconsistent with prevailing

organizational norms Incongruent with personal valuesRequires the acquisition of new

knowledge and skillsRequires resources currently not

availableChanges are discontinuous,

outcomes are not uncertain

Critical Concepts

1. General education interventions belong to general education

2. Evaluations begin when a disability is suspected

3. Evaluations must be comprehensive—Consider all domains

4. Exclusionary factors may exclude some kids

5. Just say no when appropriate6. Don’t Burn Bridges! 7. Determining student needs—the real

purpose of evaluation8. Documenting student progress is

necessary

General Education Interventions belong to General

Education

No longer required as a prerequisite for special education

evaluation

Critical Concept

#1

•Trying to use Sp Ed Procedures to improve Gen Ed Instruction

•Trying to “frontload” evaluation and IEP

•Special Ed Dollars supporting Gen Ed in violation of IDEIA

Problems

•Gen Ed Interventions are General Education’s responsibility (i.e. through IDM and ICC)

•Removing Gen Ed Interventions as a prerequisite to consideration for evaluation

Solutions

Capstone Study

194 files reviewedDetermine alignment of intervention,

evaluation and IEPs18 files from each AEA (more from

Heartland)Stratified random samples Iowa State University and

Department of Education

What percentage of the files reviewed had progress, discrepancy and need documented?

38%

In what percentage of the plans reviewed was the intervention judged “goal not met, explore eligibility”?

92%

In what percentage of the plans reviewed was the intervention successful? (conditions which enabled learning were established)

3%

In what percentage of interventions were general educators the primary implementors?

42%

Course Correction – Proposed Rules

• General Education’s Responsibility

• Every student is entitled to supplemental assistance or interventions as needed

• Incidental and Occasional support from Special Education staff

General Education Interventions 281-41.111(2)

Course Correction – Proposed Rules

• Evidence of progress in general education instruction – Standards determined by DE and AEA

• In other words, interventions in general education must be monitored in some fashion

Progress Monitoring 281-41.314

General Education Interventions…Let’s get this right!

General Education Intervention is not gone—responsibility has shifted

Every student is entitled to appropriate intervention

Student’s response to intervention provides critical information (progress and exclusion)

Evaluations Begin…

When Disability is Suspected!

Critical Concept

#2

•Unnecessary and indefensible delays in conducting Full and Individual Initial Evaluations

Problem

•Consent sought when disability is suspected

Solution

obligation to seek consent & evaluate

• Interventions cannot delay evaluation if suspicion exists

• Academic progress cannot automatically rule out suspicion of disability

• Parents can request evaluation at any time, sometimes the answer is no if no suspicion of disability exists

Suspicion =

When is Disability Suspected?

?

•performance falls persistently below standards or expectations, and

•performance is unique when compared to others, and

•no other more plausible explanations

1st Scenario

•a health or physical condition or a functional limitation adversely affects educational performance

2nd Scenario

•a health or medical condition creates an obvious and immediate need for service that may exceed the capacity of general education to provide

3rd Scenario

Sources of Information

Formative Assessmen

t

Performance

Monitoring

History (family, Health,

etc.)

Outside Provider Reports

Observations

Progress toward IFSP outcomes

Interviews with others

Additional Student Records

Disability Suspect Form

Disability Suspected Form

The State Directors of Special Education have agreed that by November 1, 2009, the Disability Suspected Form will be used consistently by AEA and LEA staff.

Evaluations must be Comprehensive…

Consider all Domains

Critical Concept

#3

•Not Considering all performance domains, evaluations do not address all areas of suspected disability

Problem

•Consider all performance domains and document on the new Consent for Full and Individual Initial Evaluation form.

Solution

Communication

AdaptiveBehavior

Behavior

Academic

Physical

Health

Hearing/Vision

Domains

Consent for FIE – What’s New?

Consent For Notice Form

The use of this form must begin immediately. Form is available on the Web IEP site. Information regarding the use of the form is available in the new Procedures Manual and Forms Guide.

Consider

guiding questions

Evaluate

Consider

Exclusionary Factors…(e.g., other plausible explanations)

May Exclude Kids!(from being mislabeled as having a

disability)

Critical Concept

#4

Exclusionary Factors…

Lack of appropriate instruction in reading

Lack of appropriate instruction in math

Limited English proficiencyEcological considerations including:

socio-economic status, cultural or ethnic differences, orschool attendance or mobility

(multiple moves, different districts).

•We don’t use them much – or at least not appropriately

Problem

•Understand that exclusionary factors may exclude kids…to reduce inappropriate identification of disability & eligibility

•We need to find other supplemental supports.

Solution

Just Say “No”…

When Appropriate!

Critical Concept

#5

•If you never say “no”, what does “yes” mean?

Problem

•Know when it is appropriate and defensible to say “not eligible”, and mean it.

Solution

Not Eligible? Eligible

Discrepancy Persistent

Progress Slope Low

No Other Plausible Explanation

Core Instruction questionable

Also ELL but may not be primary cause

Don’t Burn Bridges…

Critical Concept

#6

•Danger – Bridge Under Construction!

•Changes will be gradual and will require support

Problem

•Do’s & Don’ts

Solution

Do

• Understand this is new for everyone – work in progress (Second Order Change)

• Understand:•Being helpful vs. doing•Incidental vs. planned•Occasional vs. regular

• Consider creative solutions to supporting Gen Ed (i.e. CEIS non-Part B funds)

Don’t

•Say you won’t help•Tell them to go back and do a better job

•Say you don’t care about (or can’t help with) general education interventions anymore

A Vision for the Future

General education interventions as a separate process for addressing needs of individual students will not longer be necessary: Effective differentiated Core instruction

and monitoring Effective differentiated Core plus

Supplemental instruction and monitoring

A Vision for the Future

Special education staff (district and AEA) focus on improving outcomes for students with IEPs Subgroup performance improves

How will we get there?

Short-Term By November 1, general education

interventions will no longer be required prior to seeking consent

By November 1, all AEAs will use the Disability Suspected form in prescribed fashion

By November 1, this overview information will be shared with AEA and LEA audiences

Effectively immediately, all performance domains must be considered in conducting an evaluation

How will we get there?

By July 1, 2010, All intervention activities currently being

conducted by special education staff will lead to:▪ Consent for evaluation and consideration for special

education entitlement▪ Transferring responsibility for such activities to general

education personnel.

How will we get there?

Plans to phase in these changes will be developed centrally by DE personnel and the Child Find Committee

New documents, training and other types of assistance will be shared as they are made available.

What does your district need to support these changes?

Your input will be shared with the Directors and the Child Find Committee

Please take a few minutes to complete the input form

Contact Julie Schendel or your Sector Coordinator if you have questions.

Conducting the FIE – Intro to Critical Concepts 5-7

Purpose of the evaluation Determine interventions required to

resolve the problem and. (NEED! CONNECT TO THE IEP!)

Determine if the interventions are special education. (ELIGIBILITY!)

Conducting the FIE – Intro to Critical Concepts 5-7

Steps in conducting the FIE: Collect info about Needs, Progress, and

Discrepancy Collect info to rule out Exclusionary

Factors Summarize info in EER Schedule Eligibility Determination

Meeting within 60 days of receipt of signed consent form (and before the child’s third birthday if transitioning from Part C to Part B)

What processes do we use to conduct evaluations?

Multiple methods (RIOT)Multiple sources (LICE)Consider ecological contextTeam evaluation including parentsConsentDue ProcessExclusionary Factors

Conducting the FIE – Intro to Critical Concepts 5-7

How do we conduct an FIE?

RIOT Methods applied to ICEL sources of information

See the Assessment Methods and Source Matrix

Instruction

Curriculum

Environment

Learner

Review

Interview

Observe

Test

Multiple Methods and Multiple Sources

RIOT LICE

Determining Student Needs…

The real purpose of evaluation.

Critical Concept

#5

•We don’t know how to talk about need. Capstone data – only 3% of interventions conducted identified conditions that enabled learning.

Problem

•Improve our capacity to address instructional needs linked to IEPs.

Solution

Determining Student Needs

Most important and most neglected

Need Based Identification Process vs. Disability Identification Process

Identification & Application of Need

What does the student need to accelerate learning?

What does the student need to be successful and is beyond what general education can do alone?

If we know what kids really need – do we have the will to make it happen?

Linking Needs

Intervention Evaluation IEP

Documenting Progress…

Is Necessary!

Critical Concept

#6

•We are unclear about the purpose of a progress conclusion

Problem

•Clear understanding that progress conclusion plays multiple roles

•Measures discrepancy over time

•Differentiate disability from difficulty

•Helps rule out lack of instruction as causative

Solution

Purpose of Progress Conclusion

Distinguish Between Disability and Difficulty

Rule out/in Lack of Adequate Instruction as Exclusionary

Determine conditions that enable learning

Making the Progress Conclusion

Defined area of concern/measureable behavior/baseline

Targeted intervention; research or evidence based

Data collected

Comparison of rate of progress with expected rate

I-Plan…

What is Around the Next Corner?

Critical Concept

#9

•I-Plan was created for the old world “port” and won’t fit in the new world. 

Problem

•Re Load to match the procedures and support new concepts, AND to be more efficient to the user .

Solution

I-Plan

No change currently…we will be working on this next year.

If you are currently using the web I-Plan, continue, but understand the Critical Concepts #1, #2, and #3 (General Education Interventions, Disability Suspected, Consideration of all Domains)

If you are not yet using it, stay tuned…

Wouldn’t it be cool if…

Entry point…Disability Suspected Form

then Consent for FIE or PWN and EDW

then an instructional plan and progress monitoring data if needed

then Educational Evaluation Report (EER) all in a single application

Then link to the Web IEP

It “ain’t over till it’s over”…

Version 2 has begun…

Critical Concept

#10

2nd order change…

Version 2 Evolution of the I-Plan Clarification and articulation of the standards of

rigor required for “supplemental” instruction Clarification and assessment of the impact of

Ecological Factors The role of “progress” as an indicator of

disability within a 60 day timeline Calibration of standards of comparison used in

evaluations Integration of Child Find and eligibility

determination in the context of Iowa Core Curriculum

Questions from the field Professional Development needs Program evaluation in collaboration with the DE

All ashore….Good Luck!