November 2012 FAQs

November 1st, 2012  


Q: I am using the Edmark program to teach reading to some of my students. Can I include the name of the program in the goals and objectives?
A: It is not best practice to include the names of specific programs in the goals and objectives for the students, but rather a general description or title of the program. For instance, for Edmark, you could say, “a sight word/ functional word based reading program.” In the PLAAFP and in the baseline for the goals, you can state where the student currently is in regards to the programs in which he/she is working. Including names of programs locks the teacher into a particular program, and if the student were to move, would lock another school into a particular program (or providing an explanation of why that program will not be used).

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Q: I have an IEP annual and a 3-year reevaluation due in the same year, but we did not hold the meetings together. Any thoughts?
A: The most important thing to remember is that our Special Education Database holds only the most recent IEP paperwork. Once new information is inputted, the previous is deleted. Because of that, it is imperative that you plan ahead.  When an annual and a 3-year are done in the same year, but not at the same meeting (for instance, two weeks apart), you will need to send the paperwork into district office for the first meeting, BEFORE the next meeting is started so that it can be reviewed and corrected, if needed, before it is erased with the paperwork for the subsequent meeting.

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Q: A student just transferred from Connections to my school. The IEP doesn’t make sense to be able to implement at my school. Now what?
A: When a student transfers from Connections, primarily with a consult-model IEP, the receiving school will need to amend the IEP to be able to implement the IEP at their school. This includes an amendment to the summary of services and possibly the goals and objectives to be implemented at the receiving school. Always feel free to contact the Connections special ed teacher if you have questions about the student.

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Q: I usually send paperwork home to parents at the same time I send it to district office. It is embarrassing to have to contact the parent to correct mistakes found by district office. What can I do?
A:  The hard copy of the IEP is the legal document that the school is to follow and is the educational record for both the district and the parent. Therefore, that document must not only reflect the decisions made by the team for the student, but must reflect our best work as school district employees. Always print out the IEP and proofread it. You may consider asking a colleague to proofread it for you. You may also wish to contact the district office secretaries or your program coordinator prior to printing and sending the document anywhere, and we will be happy to proofread it for you! Proofreading should be for typos as well as for content inconsistencies or errors.

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Adding Services to IEPs

October 1st, 2012  

The PLAAFP, Summary of Services, and Goals and Objectives must be aligned with the needs and recommendations outlined in the ESER.  (The State Compliance Monitors identified this as an area we need to address).

 If the student has need of adding any SPED service that is not yet documented in the ESER, then the student must be evaluated specifically for that need/service. The student’s needs and recommendations from the evaluation may then be added to the ESER. This applies to all areas of service.

Examples: 

 A student cannot have only articulation/language needs and recommendations within the ESER and receive any other SPED services in the IEP

 A student cannot have only math needs and recommendations within the ESER and receive services in the IEP, for reading, writing, articulation/language, OT or other SPED services

 A student qualified for special education in writing and the needs/recommendations section of the ESER only addresses writing, you cannot write goals and objective in areas outside of writing.

 

If there is a need to add services but not change the eligibility category at this time:

 The team must collect the data to show the education need for the service.

 A permission to test is needed if new assessments are required

 A permission to test would not be needed if looking at progress monitoring data that has been collected (note, we cannot add related services using only progress monitoring data)

 The team will hold an IEP Amendment Meeting (unless this additional falls in line with an annual review) and amend the ESER to include a new individual evaluation report that addresses the educational need for the new service. **It would be best practice to hold a meeting rather than using the “without meeting” option of the amendment.

* The amended ESER will list the new area of service(s) in the “Education Needs” section.  **The team will NOT change the ESER date.

* The ESER and the PLAAFP will include all areas of needs that are on the Summary of Services.

* Goals and objectives will be written to address the new area of service.

* An IEP amendment form will be completed with a change noted in goals/objectives and in type/or amount of service.

* The changes will be documented on a PWN.  The changes to both the ESER and the IEP can be documented in a single PWN as long as all changes are clear for both areas.

 

September 2012 FAQs

September 1st, 2012  

Q: On my Summary of Services page, I need to include a category of service that is not listed in the database. What do I do?
A: In most instances, you will not need to add what is not already listed. Most services your school provides will fall under a special education academic or behavior service or one of the common related services. If the team feels the need to specify a service outside of what is listed, fill in the “Other” field on the Summary of Services page. However, you can clarify services in the Additional Comments field. This might include clarifying that the “Reading” minutes will be focused on pre-academics or that the “Writing” minutes include 30 minutes in general ed 5 days a week and 30 minutes in sped 4 days a week. Please do not use the summary of services to match with a student’s class schedule.

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Q: I have a student that uses the Dragon Speak program. What areas of the IEP do I need to include that information?
A: Dragon Speak can be used as an assistive technology accommodation. You will include a description of the student’s strengths and needs related to this accommodation in the PLAAFP. You will mark the “Yes” box next to the assistive technology question in the Special Factors section of the IEP.  You will include Dragon Speak in the Program Modification/Accommodations page with a description of when and how it is to be used. Finally, if it is being used as an accommodation for testing, mark the box for “Using a computer without spell or grammar checker.”

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Q: Which day is the first day of an evaluation timeline?
A: The date the parent writes on the consent to evaluate is the first day of the timeline, i.e. if the meeting is at 5:00 pm on August 15, the first day to count is August 15. However, if the parent did not sign the consent at the meeting and returned it to you at a later date, the timeline begins on the date that the district (school) received the consent. Either way, write the received date at the bottom of the consent form and include that date in the database.

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Q: What is the purpose of turning in my paperwork from a meeting within two weeks? I have so much to do.
A: There are two main reasons for this. The first and most important reason is that if it isn’t turned into Central Office in two weeks, it likely hasn’t been provided to parents within two weeks. Parents have a right to this information within a reasonable amount of time. Secondly, Central Office needs time to review and file the paperwork and must have the most current paperwork always in the file in the event that records are requested from another district.

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Q: Are the educational needs statement fields on the ESER supposed to be in any particular order?
A: Yes! Once the evaluation process is complete and the IEP team reviewed the evaluation data, the team must identify and prioritize the educational needs. At the meeting, the team will list the needs in priority order and the recommendations to meet those needs. The team may discuss and determine that there are too many needs to address with a one year IEP and will choose to work on the first few needs for the upcoming IEP year. If that happens, you must provide an explanation of that discussion in the PLAAFP so that it is clear that these needs were not forgotten.

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Welcome Back!

September 1st, 2012  

Welcome Back to the 2012—2013 School Year!!

Here’s what’s new and review!

  KPBSD has determined that initial evaluations must be completed within 75 CALENDAR days. 3-year reevaluations must never pass their expiration date. More information on evaluations and timelines to come as the state revises regulations.

  We have to report that secondary transition agencies were invited to transition meetings. EVERY time a transition agency is invited to a meeting they must be included on the meeting invitation.
· If you want to include a transition agency as a service provider in the transition section of a student’s IEP, that agency must have been invited to and attended the IEP meeting and agreed to provide the service. Consent to invite agencies is coming soon too!

 ESER —> IEP:  The educational needs statements on the ESER need to be listed in priority order and must relate to all areas identified through the evaluation. (For more information, see September FAQs)