Act 117: “Every Child A

Learner”

Presented by:

Vermont Department of Education

Vermont School Boards Association

Workshop Outline

Learn about evolution of Act 117Goals of Act 117Role of the School BoardActivities to implement goalsConnect with other state initiativesIdentify questions and issues

A Little History

1975 EHAB/IDEAPre-1989 Study Committees1990 Act 2301996 Act 1571996-98 Cost Containment Com.1997 Act 601998-99 Blue Ribbon/Fiscal Review

Child Count

1997 avg. 11.1% (6.1-17.8%)

1998 avg. 11.8% (6.0-17.3%)

1999 avg. 12.4% (7.0-17.6%)

2000 avg. 12.8% (6.3-20.2%)

SPED Costs/ADM

1998 avg. = $979 ($441-$1,377)

1999 avg. = $1,088 ($467 - $1,607)

2000 avg. = $1,231 ($510 - $1,789)

2001 avg. = $1,365 ($632 - $2,324)

Factors Affecting SPED Costs

Inflation – health insurance – salaries

Cost shifts from human service agencies

Technology advances (cochlear implants)

Changes in technical center federal funding

Act 117

Passed in the spring of 2000

Strengthen capacity of education system to meet needs of all Vermont students

Act 117 Goals

Increase capacity of general education

Support consistency of special education

Promote cost containment and effectiveness

Act 117 Goals

Assess impact of human service costs

Assist with unusual special ed. costs

Identify factors affecting sped costs

Act 117 Activities

Dissemination of information

Annual ESS Survey

Training opportunities and materials

Monitoring and auditing

Act 117 Activities

New Special Education Consultants

Higher Education Collaborative

Conducted IEP study

Revised Special Education Rules

Role of the School Board

Work with administrators to define goals for educational support systems

Establish accountability systems

Direct creation of time lines

Monitor progress through benchmarks

Role of the School Board

Understand and use student data

Receive periodic Action Plan reports

Recognize and support staff efforts to improve student achievement and success

Role of the School Board

Ask right questions – provide informed oversight

Direct reallocation of funds when data supports it

Adopt key policies (ESS, prof. dev., assessment, action plan, evaluation, curriculum….)

Outcomes After 18 Months

Service Plans – slowed from 14.1 to 8.9%

Training 76 aspiring special education teachers

Greater school focus on Educational Support Systems

Identification of audit exceptions

Outcomes After 18 Months

Child Count - reduced from 6.3% to 3.2%

Medicaid – participation increased from 66.5% to 83.8%

Preschool – federal funding for costs over $12,000

Training Opportunities& Materials

Presentations and workshops

IEP Decision Model

Legal support

Paraeducator materials and models

Connections with Other State Initiatives

Act 60 and School Action Planning

Standards and Learning Opportunities

School Quality Standards

Connections with Other State Initiatives

Assessment and Accountability

Annual Child Count

Annual collection of demographic data

Next Steps for Dept. of Ed.

Annually conduct school surveys

Educational Support System funding

Review school Medicaid IEP reimbursements

Use of Act 60 high poverty Limited English Proficiency funds

Higher Education Partnership

UVM, State Colleges and St. Mike’s created special educator training program

76 students enrolled in 4 VT regions

Licenses teachers currently on waivers

Trains future special educators

ESS Highlights From 289 Schools

283 = Have Ed. Support Team276 = Access to school nurse264 = School-wide discipline plans193 = Trained crisis response team144 = Student mentoring program 140 = Home school coordinator95 = School social worker56 = Full day Kindergarten

Medicaid Reimbursements to 57

SUs

53 = Covered 10% of admin. costs 26 = Mental Health school clinicians24 = Home School Coordinators11 = After-school tutoring10 = Speech support9 = Occupational/Physical Therapy9 = Literacy support for at-risk

Act 60 Poverty Fund Use

Maintaining small class sizeIncreasing Kindergarten time for studentsStrengthening literacy supportExpanding early education opportunitiesProviding paraprofessionalsCreating after school programs

Recruit & Maintain Special Educators

Improve recruitment

Reduce staff turnover

Improve student outcomes

Reduce paperwork

Provide Legal Support, Information & Training

Develop model ESS policy and discipline plan for schools

Revise SPED regulations

Review administrative complaint process

Provide technical assistance

Provide Training & Development Opportunities

Delivered workshops to over 50 schools/supervisory unions

Presented at BEST Institute

Conducted Program & Fiscal Reviews at 14 sites

Developed materials & forms for schools

Improve Consistency & Cost Effectiveness of

SPED

Analyzed 3000 IEPs Use findings to create trainingsRevised SPED rules on eligibilityMonitored SPED programs and ESS systems in 22 supervisory unions22 additional supervisory unions will be monitored spring 2002

Hired 2 New Consultants for Disabilities & Autism

Developed Learning Disabilities Guide

Provided training & technical assistance

Established five start-up grants for schools

Created Autism Education Fact Sheet

Improve Cost Containment

& Cost Effectiveness

Financial audit of every supervisory union and district

Develop IEP decision making model

Distributed 500 “Guidelines for Making Decisions About IEP Service”

Published FY2000 Annual Report

Assess Extent of Human Services Cost Shift

Collaborate with VTDOE, Agency for Human Services & schools to implement Act 34

Review residential placement procedure

Hired Student Support Team manager

Provide Assistance for Unusual SPED Costs

Develop rules for unusual and unexpected special education costs

Implement rules

Collect data on use of funds for inclusion and report to legislature

Identify External Factors Affecting SPED costs

Inflation – 70M increase in 10 years - 20 M due to inflationHealth Insurance – 50% of benefits for professional staff is health insuranceSalaries – Professional salaries increased by 6.6% over three yearsHuman Service Cost Shift – Not measurable at this time but dramatic

Advances in Technology

Cochlear Implants – 10 Vermont children have received implants to improve hearing No insurance coverage for

recalibration, speech instruction and intensive therapy

Increased physical problems due to newborn survival

Changes in Federal Tech Center Funding

Carl Perkins funds reduced grant flexibility for special needs students

Costs shifted back to sending schools

Increased sending schools contributions statewide to $800,000

Next Workshop, March 11, 7:00 PM

Educational Support System and Team

Approaches to strengthening and increasing effectiveness of supports

Role of the School Board in the ESS