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)

 

May 2012 FAQs

May 1st, 2012  

Q: I want to make sure that I invite all the right district team members to my students’ IEPs. How can I be sure I haven’t missed anyone?
A: It can be difficult when the student has many providers. There are a couple of suggestions that we would like to share:

1. Always check the Summary of Services page and invite any service that is listed as direct service or consult. Whether consult or direct, related services providers are required at the meeting.

2. Double check the student’s schedule in PowerSchool—just in case (especially helpful for secondary). Making sure that the correct people are at the meeting is critical for making a full, legal team for the  benefit of a student. Because providers service several schools, always give as much notice as possible. Ideally, you will contact all providers immediately after scheduling with the parent 10 days prior,

 

Q: What do I need to do when the IEP team requests an assessment for an area outside of the three-year re-evaluation process? For instance, a parent requested an OT assessment (or other assessment) and the team agrees to conduct it. Once the assessment is completed, what do we need to do?
A: The first step is to understand that this situation requires a consent for evaluation. After the  completion of the assessment, you would hold a meeting where the assessor will review their report and the team will determine eligibility for the particular area/service or potentially continued eligibility for special education. You would then continue to an IEP meeting to amend the IEP with this new information in the PLAAFP, and determine if goals and objectives and/ or program modifications/ accommodations are required. Finish with a Prior Written Notice summarizing the actions to be implemented.

Change to Consent for Eval Form: Vision & Hearing

February 15th, 2012  

The Consent for Evaluation form has been updated to add the words “(formal assessment)” after Hearing and Vision.  While vision and hearing screenings are part of the three-year process and should be documented on the Nurse’s Report, these regular screenings do not require parental consent.  Those categories should be checked on the consent form only if the student will be given a formal assessment of their vision or hearing—beyond the regular screening that all students get.  The Description of Tests and Procedures that prints along with the consent form has been updated as well.

Keep in mind that the categories that are checked on the Consent for Evaluation form should align with the assessments that are actually completed during the evaluation process. If the team decides at a later date that additional areas need to be evaluated, you must have the parent sign an additional consent to test to include those areas.  In the same vein, avoid checking extra areas on the consent form.  If an area is included on the Consent for Evaluation, there should be a subsequent evaluation of that area.

Snapshot of Evaluation checkboxes in IEP database

One final note on the Consent for Evaluation—

On the referral screen in the SpEd database, there are two dates in the Consent for Evaluation section.  The first date (Date Consent for Testing Sent to Parent) is the date that will print out at the top of the form.  Please remember to update this field before printing a new Consent for Evaluation when you are preparing for a three-year evaluation.  We frequently get forms that have a printed date from the previous three-year.

Snapshot of consent dates in IEP database

The second date is the date that you receive the signed consent form from the parent.  This is the date that begins the 45-day count in which the ESER process must be completed. In most cases this will be the date when the parent signed the form.  If there is a significant lag between the time the form was signed and the time that you actually received the form, then you should complete the “For District Use Only” section at the bottom of the form and note the date that you received the form.