Out-of-District IEPs*

October 15th, 2014  

What do you need to know for students who transfer into KPBSD with an out of district IEP?

The first step is that the team must determine whether to accept the eligibility and the IEP established by the previous district.  This decision must be made within 10 days of the student enrolling.

bullet-point-image-8The team may accept both the eligibility and the IEP, even if the IEP requires minor revisions to align with the services provided by KPBSD.  The IEP team does not need to conduct an IEP meeting if the current IEP is available, the parent agrees with it, and the IEP team finds it approrpriate.  If this is the case, acceptance can be accomplished through an IEP amendment by phone.

bullet-point-image-8The team may reject the eligibility and/or the IEP.  However, FAPE must be provided to the student based on the eligibility and IEP developed in the previous district until a new evaluation is conducted and/or a new IEP is developed.

For more information regarding what paperwork needs to be completed for out of district IEPs, please look up key words “out of district” in the search bar above.

*This information is slightly different than newsletters past.  Please review carefully

October 2014 FAQs

October 15th, 2014  

FAQs
 

 

Q: One of the students on my caseload is under the custody of the Office of Children’s Services (OCS).  What do I need to know?

A: The first, best thing to do is contact the Pupil Services Compliance Secretary for your school.  OCS is not the legal guardian and cannot sign the paperwork as the legal guardian.  Depending on the student’s situation, a family member or a foster parent may serve as the guardian for IEP purposes.  Or a surrogate parent may need to be appointed for the student.  A call to the district office compliance secretaries will help determine what the next steps are for the student.

Q: Should I bring a draft IEP with me to the IEP meeting?

A: If you bring a new proposed draft of the IEP to the meeting, the most important things to do is to mark it as DRAFT and ensure that everyone at the table knows that the draft will be reviewed at this meeting and changes made.  If you do bring a draft, make notes on you copy of what changes team members would like to make.  In potentially contentious cases, save the copy with your notes on it so that it can be referred to if a parent has a question.  Another option is to bring a copy of the current IEP and make changes where needed on that copy.  An effective case manager brings some sort of draft to work from so that the meeting can stay on track.

Out of District Paperwork – What Needs to Go in the Database?

September 23rd, 2014  

If you accept out of district paperwork for a transfer student, there are certain components that will need to be entered in the sped database.  You do not need to type the entire contents of the IEP and ESER into the database!

Here is what is required:

bullet-point-image-6Type of IEP Review (IEP Info screen)

bullet-point-image-6Certification/Eligibility Category (Evaluation Summary/Eligibility Report screen)

bullet-point-image-6ESER Needs and Recommendations

bullet-point-image-6IEP and ESER Meeting Dates – double check to be sure that expiration dates are correct too!

bullet-point-image-6Summary of Services

bullet-point-image-6Goals and Objectives – enter them in the database so you have a place to enter progress

bullet-point-image-6Assessment Accommodations – these transfer to PowerSchool and are accessed by school counselors/testing coordinators

bullet-point-image-6LRE Placement Checklist

bullet-point-image-6Secondary Transition Checklist (for students age 15+)

bullet-point-image-6All IEP Text Fields – Enter the statement, “see out of district IEP.”

bullet-point-image-6Error check the IEP and ESER and enter “see out of district paperwork” in any other required text fields

 

April 2014 FAQs

April 4th, 2014  

Q: Please remind me what I should consider for extracurricular and non – academic activity accommodations and modifications.

A: Here is what we offered in our January 2013 newsletter!

extra curr accoms

 

 

 

 

Q: Why do I need to write my IEP end dates for a full year if the student is a senior and clearly going to graduate in the spring? And what if the student is aging out?

A: IEPs are living , legal documents that span a whole calendar year. Though we may be certain that a student will meet the requirements to graduate, IF the student did not, at the end of the school year, we would have an IEP that was expired for a student who is eligible and would return.

For students who are aging out, but their IEP is due, we are legally responsible for maintaining a CURRENT IEP for all students, even if the duration of the IEP would be only a few weeks.  If we did not complete an IEP for the student we would be out of compliance legally.

Equality vs. Equity:

Equality vs Equity

Equality = Sameness. Giving everyone the same thing. It only works if everyone starts from the same place.
Equity = Fairness. Access to the same opportunities. We must first ensure equity before we can enjoy equality.

Three Pointers to Strong Prior Written Notices

April 4th, 2014  

1. Be specific about the district’s proposed actions. What exactly is the DISTRICT going to do or not do, not what has the parent requested? If there is more than one reason for a district’s proposed actions, include all of the reasons why the district is proposing or refusing.

2. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.  Avoid naming teachers or particular classrooms and making those decisions based solely on parent request. Make sure that parents know that the district will ensure that the child receives his services in an appropriate setting and will monitor his progress.

3. Identify options considered and rejected, including parent concerns.  In state complaints, parents often allege that schools did not consider information or evaluations that they provided or that they didn’t consider one of their concerns.  The prior written notice is the first place to go to see what was discussed and decided at an IEP meeting.

It is equally important to remember that the prior written notice is not a transcript of what was said at the IEP meeting. The document should eliminate all doubts or misunderstandings about what is being proposed or refused by the district.

— From LRP eConnections Newsletter

Questions?  Contact your school’s program coordinator for more information.