Best Practice Tip for Resource Teachers (Mostly Secondary)

January 7th, 2014  

When developing goals for a student eligible under Specific Learning Disability, the IEP should address the student’s skill deficits as goals and objectives. At times, we tend to focus on the executive functioning skills of handing in or completing assignments, timeliness, grades, etc. Executive functioning skills are important and may need to be addressed for these students; however, we should have at least one goal that addresses the learning disability itself as this is the area of eligibility for the student. By making sure we always focus on and address the student’s skill deficits, the goal(s) will align with the ESER, which in turn will help ensure we are writing legally defensible IEPs.

   Look for more best practice tips from Kevin Downs in future issues!!

 

ESER Reminders for the New Year

January 7th, 2014  
  • Specialized transportation is not a need for the ESER. Transportation is a related service that is addressed in the IEP. The ESER report and needs should provide justification for the need for transportation in the IEP.
  • Accommodations and modifications can be recommendations to meet a specified need on the ESER, but they are not a need themselves.
  • Needs and recommendations should include all the relevant, team determined information from the meeting and the evaluations that were done. Refer to the  evaluators’ individual reports for recommendations to include in the Needs / Recommendations section of the ESER.

PLAAFP — The First “P” Stands for Present!

September 4th, 2013  

Presents Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) are developed during the IEP process first for a reason – without a proper PLAAFP, the team cannot develop the goals or select an appropriate program. Take the following 5 steps to construct detailed PLAAFPs:

1. Bring current data to the IEP meeting. This doesn’t mean information that is a year or older. Rely more on hard data than teacher observations. Data should speak for itself.

2. Be cautious when using numbers in PLAAFPs. Think twice before saying that a child does something X percent of the time or X out of X times. If you are saying that a child does something 8 out of 10 times, does he consistently do it 8 out of 10 times or just that day assessed? PLAAFPs should explain where the child is functioning on a day to day basis, not where he was functioning on a particular day.

3. Review test scores and evaluation results prior to meeting. Team members should have an opportunity to interpret test scores and evaluation results for themselves. Sometimes different staff members and parents have different beliefs about whether a student is making progress and what the student needs to improve. Reviewing ahead of time leads to a meaningful discussion at the meeting.

4. Write PLAAFPs in positive terms. PLAAFPs are supposed to identify what a student can do. Avoid using the word can’t when writing PLAAFPs. What the child cannot do comes into play when developing the goals and objectives. PLAAFPs identify student strengths and abilities while goals identify what the student needs to learn to do.

5. Use the “stranger test” to assess PLAAFPs. A PLAAFP is appropriate if a person who is unfamiliar with the IEP would be able to identify exactly what the student can do. This is likely if the PLAAFP includes measurable data and specific details.

Excerpted from Special Ed eConnection by LRP (February 2013)

 

ESERs! (Again?)

February 1st, 2013  

Some ESERs have come in with needs and recommendations that are not clear or are too general. Here are some things to consider.

The needs must be specific enough for the IEP to be developed from them. For instance, if there are specific content area needs, such as reading, writing, math, these should be listed separately so that recommendations can be made for each. Listing “academic skills” does not provide enough information to the development of the IEP PLAAFP, goals and objectives, and other areas of the IEP.

Recommendations must be aligned to the specific need and may be a little more general than the needs statements. For example, for a need of “Reading fluency” a recommendation may be, “Small group or individual instruction including use of research – based reading program”. This recommendation does not tie any teacher to one particular type of instruction or program, but allows the current case manager to create appropriate goals to match the needs. For a need of “Focus in the classroom,” the recommendation may be “Classroom accommodations”. This leads one to refer to the accommodations section of the IEP.

**Be cautious that most of the needs and recommendations reflect the need for specialized instruction. That is, if all needs have recommendations for only accommodations, then there is no need for special education.

Check out the recently clarified “Amending an ESER to Add a Service” flowchart back in the December 2012 newsletter.

Amending an ESER to Add a Service

December 1st, 2012  

Amend ESER

**Sometimes this process is best captured as a three-year reevaluation.  If you have questions or concerns, contact your program coordinator.**

Do NOT amend the ESER to do the following:

  Change a student’s eligibility category – this requires a complete evaluation.

  Remove a related service – we do not reverse what has already been identified as a need.

  Remove an educational need or change a recommendation. The IEP is the fluid document that describes the student’s current level of functioning.