WinterInstuteforSchoolPsychologists’...

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In Co l la b o ra t i on wi th…

Winter Ins*tute for School Psychologists – ISRD 2015

David Wheeler, Ph.D. School Psychology Consultant

Student Support Services Project USF/Florida Department of EducaAon

[email protected]



Agenda

• Updates on LegislaAon & SBE Rules • RTI-‐Based SLD IdenAficaAon Toolkit •  School Mental Health • Discussion & QuesAons



Revised School Accountability – SB 1642

•  School Grading System that emphasizes student achievement and learning growth.

•  School improvement plans must address subgroups not demonstraAng significant learning gains on statewide assessments.

•  ExempAon from statewide assessments for children with medical complexity.



District Report Card

• Percentage of students demonstraAng learning growth

• Percentage of students in the highest and lowest quarAles demonstrate learning growth

• Closing the gap between higher performing and lower performing subgroups

•  Success in improving student aUendance



Educa*on – HB 7031

• Amends middle grades promoAon (s. 1003.4156) & high school graduaAon (s. 1003.4282) requirements

•  Intensive remedial course or a content area course that incorporates remediaAon strategies required for students scoring Level 1 or Level 2.

• Deletes references to common core standards and assessments – FCAT

• Clarifies that right of parents to be accompanied by another adult applies to students with disabiliAes



Florida Standards Assessments Portal



Third Grade Promo*on/Reten*on

•  Third grade the only grade where there is state-‐mandated retenAon.

•  Students can be granted a good cause exempAon and be promoted to fourth grade under certain circumstances.

• NEW – A student may only be retained once in the third grade (s. 1008.25(6)(b)6, F.S.)

•  Students not reading on grade level (promoted or retained) must receive intensive intervenAon

•  Third Grade Progression TAP and Parent Brochure



Educa*on – SB 850

• Repeals special diploma opAon for students with disabiliAes

•  Establishes Personal Learning Scholarship Account (s. 1002.385, F.S.)

• Requires middle schools to implement an “early warning system” as part of school improvement plan

•  Technical Assistance Paper DPS: 2014-‐136



Bureau of School Improvement Recommenda*ons for EWS

•  Use term “off-‐track” for students exhibiAng one or more indicators

•  Regularly monitor number & percentage of students “off-‐track” (school-‐wide, grade level, classroom)

•  School-‐based teams responsible for using EWS data to plan intervenAons within a MTSS

• Monitor effecAveness of supports for “off-‐track” students & idenAfy students needing intensive support (Tier 3)



SWD Course Requirement – SB 1108

• All educators who apply to renew a valid, Florida professional cerAficate must saAsfy the SWD credit.

• One (1) semester hour of college credit or 20 Florida in-‐service points in teaching students with disabiliAes is required.

•  Each school district will determine if the content of a college course or professional learning acAvity saAsfies the content requirement for SWD credit.

• DPS: 2014-‐12 • hUp://www.fl-‐pda.org



State Board Rules

A Resource Manual for the Development and EvaluaAon of ExcepAonal Student EducaAon Programs

Revised 2014



Rule 6A-‐6.0331

General EducaAon IntervenAon Procedures, EvaluaAon, DeterminaAon of Eligibility, ReevaluaAon

and the Provision of ESE



Rule Background

• Amended twice during 2014 – March & November •  2014 legislaAon related to repeal of special diploma required that consent form for FAA administraAon be changed

•  Language staAng that parAcipaAon in FAA would result in a special diploma modified and specifically references populaAon entering grade 9 before 2014-‐2015

• AddiAonal areas addressed unrelated to legislaAon – Amelines for requesAng parental consent for evaluaAon and compleAng evaluaAons revised



Child Find

• Districts must seek parental consent for evalua*on when school based team determines…

•  K-‐12 student’s RtI data indicates that the student is responding to intensive intervenAons but the level of intensity & resources to sustain growth exceeds that available through general educaAon OR

•  K-‐12 student’s RtI data indicates that the student is not making adequate growth given effecAve core instrucAon & intensive evidence based intervenAons

• Consent must be requested within 30 calendar days of the determina*on, unless other *meline agreed to



Child Find (cont.)

• Districts must seek parental consent for evalua*on when

•  A child age 3 to kindergarten entry age receives a developmental screening through the school district or through FDLRS and based on the results of the screening it is suspected that the child may be a child with a disability in need of special educaAon and related services

• Consent to evaluate must be requested within 30 calendar days of the determina*on, unless other *meline agreed to



Parent Request

• When a parent requests an evalua*on and there is documentaAon or evidence that the K-‐12 student, or a child age 3 to kindergarten entry age who is enrolled in a school district operated preschool program, may be a student with a disability in need of special educaAon – School district must…

•  Obtain consent within 30 calendar days unless another Ameline agreed to OR

•  Provide wriUen no*ce of refusal



Evalua*on Timeline – EffecAve date: 7-‐1-‐15

•  Districts must ensure that evalua*ons are completed within 60 calendar days aner the receipt of parent consent for evaluaAon

•  Days that do not “count” as a “calendar day” •  School holidays, Thanksgiving, winter and spring breaks, as adopted by the school board

•  Summer vacaAon beginning the day aner the last day of school for students and ending the 1st day of school for students as adopted by the school board

•  For students who are absent for more that 8 school days in the 60 calendar day period, absences beyond 8 school days shall not count



Ini*al Evalua*on – No*ce, Consent, Refusal

ClarificaAon on Requirements



District Responsibility

• Conduct a “full and individual” evaluaAon that assesses all areas related to the suspected disability (6A-‐6.0331(5)(f), F.A.C.).

• Provide the parent with wriUen noAce of the evaluaAon procedures the district is proposing to conduct (6A-‐6.0331(4)(a), F.A.C.)

•  Consent should idenAfy the broad evaluaAon categories or areas of assessment.

•  IdenAfying the suspected areas of disability as part of evaluaAon planning process is congruent with the IDEA.



Parent Consent

• Consent must be “informed”. • Parent consents to the proposed evaluaAon in its enArety.

•  Team considers parent request for specific evaluaAon procedures.

•  If denied, document in the “descripAon of other opAons the team considered & reasons why those opAons were rejected”.



Refusal

• Only provide “NoAce of Refusal” when refusing to conduct an evaluaAon.

•  If district is denying specific evaluaAon procedures requested by the parent, document why the requested acAon is not being taken on the consent when rejecAng evaluaAon procedures requested by a parent.

• A “NoAce of Refusal” is not necessary in the preceding circumstance.



Ques*ons to be addressed in the TAP

•  If through FDLRS child find screening process, the results of developmental screening indicate that the child may be a child with a disability, who is responsible for obtaining consent? FDLRS? School District?

•  If a preschool child or K-‐12 student does not “pass” a vision or hearing screening, can the school district postpone proceeding with requesAng parental consent for evaluaAon?

•  If a parent requests an evaluaAon for their child who is enrolled in a private school does the 30 day Ameline apply?



Au*sm Spectrum Disorder -‐ Proposed Language for 6A-‐6.03023



ASD Defini*on – Proposed

•  A condiAon that reflects a wide range of symptoms and levels of impairment, which vary in severity from one individual to another.

•  Characterized by an atypical developmental profile with a paUern of qualitaAve impairments in social interacAon and social communicaAon, and the presence of restricted or repeAAve, paUerns of behavior, interests, or acAviAes, which occur across sepngs.



ASD Evalua*on – Proposed •  Addresses core features of ASD (i.e., deficits in social interacAon, social communicaAon, and restricted or repeAAve, paUerns of behavior, interests, or acAviAes).

•  Behavioral ObservaAons •  Psychological evaluaAon includes assessment of academic, intellectual, social-‐emoAonal, and behavioral funcAoning and at least one standardized instrument specific to ASD;

•  Language evaluaAon includes assessment of the pragmaAc and social interacAon components of social communicaAon.

•  Standardized assessment of adapAve behavior (NEW)

•  FuncAonal behavioral assessment (NEW) – if behavioral concerns are present



ASD Eligibility – Proposed

•  Evidenced by ALL of the following: •  Impairment in social interacAon as evidenced by delayed, absent, or atypical ability to relate to individuals or the environment;

•  Impairment in verbal or nonverbal language skills used for social communicaAon;

•  Restricted or repeAAve, paUerns of behavior, interests, or acAviAes.

• Core features occur across sepngs. •  Student needs special educaAon.



Iden*fica*on of SLD



hUp://sss.usf.edu/resources/topic/ese/ESE_Eval/Eval_instruments.html



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Exclusionary Factor Evidence

Visual, Motor, or Hearing Disability Sensory screenings; medical records; observaAon

Intellectual Disability Classroom performance; academic skills; language development; adapAve funcAoning; IQ

EmoAonal/Behavioral Disability Classroom observaAon; student records; discipline Hx, emoAonal/behavioral screenings; raAng scale

Cultural factors LOP & ROP compared to students from same ethnicity

Environmental or Economic factors LOP & ROP compared to students from similar economic background (free/reduced lunch); situaAonal factors that are student specific

Limited English Proficiency English language proficiency (oral language; vocabulary; verbal ability); LOP & ROP compared to ELL with similar exposure to language and instrucAon

Irregular PaUern of AUendance AUendance records; # of schools aUended; tardies; discipline; migrant status

Classroom Behavior Classroom observaAons; academic engagement (AET); ODR



School Mental Health



Mental Health Grants for Florida

• BEESS (FDOE) was selected to receive two five-‐year federal grants

•  “Now is The Time” – Advancing Wellness and Resilience in EducaAon (Florida AWARE)

•  Mental Health First Aid Training

•  School Climate TransformaAon (Florida SCT) grant programs.



School Preven*on & Interven*on Resources

•  The Youth Suicide PrevenAon School-‐based Guide hUp://theguide.fmhi.usf.edu/

• More Than Sad hUp://morethansad.org/

•  Signs of Suicide PrevenAon Program (SOS) hUp://mentalhealthscreening.org/programs/youth-‐prevenAon-‐programs/sos/

•  A Promise for Tomorrow www.jasonfoundaAon.com

•  Aner a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools hUp://www.sprc.org/bpr/secAon-‐III/aner-‐suicide-‐toolkit-‐schools



Discussion, Ques*ons, Resources



Ques*ons – School Mental Health

•  Social EmoAonal curricula for primary grades. hUp://www.casel.org/guide

•  Home Services-‐ for psychiatric, medical stabilizaAon and behavioral issues/discipline issues at school-‐ reason/documentaAon/services to be provided/duraAon

•  Comprehensive list of services provided for students with vision impairments or dual-‐sensory impairments? Also are the services available only to students at certain ages or grade levels?



MTSS

•  MTSS & preschool – research on effecAve pracAces hUp://www.rAnetwork.org/learn/rA-‐in-‐pre-‐kindergarten hUp://www.crAec.dept.ku.edu

•  MTSS and gined -‐ Are meeAngs mandated for students who don't meet gined criteria? 20-‐day rule for reviewing tesAng

•  Do parents have the right to make wriUen requests to remove their children from the RTI process? If this individual has leUers wriUen by parents staAng that they do not want their child to receive intervenAon can/should the school honor those requests? Would there be any possible legal repercussions if the school conAnued to provided intervenAon?



MTSS

•  Examples of effecAve RTI programs at the middle and high school levels and/or examples of successful alternaAve school programs at that level.

•  If a student has been working through RTI at the middle school should they complete the process before sending the student to the high school? If a student comes to us at the high school do we conAnue with the next level or do we have to begin over or can we jump to Aer 3 and determine eligibility?



Early Warning Systems

Indicators Thresholds

AUendance Student missed 10% of more of instrucAonal Ame (absences)

Course Performance Failure in one or more courses Earned 2.0 or lower GPA (4-‐point scale)

Behavior Locally validated thresholds (e.g., referrals, in-‐ or out-‐of-‐school suspensions, behavior grades)

hUp://beUerhighschools.org/



Conceptual Model for Evalua*ng MTSS

Shapiro & Clemens (2009). A conceptual model for evalua1ng system effects of response to interven1on.



Ques*ons – Evalua*on

•  Use of Q-‐InteracAve -‐ Pros and Cons •  Criteria for Alternate Assessment. What qualifies as a "significant cogniAve disability?"

•  Is IQ <70 the only way to qualify for AA? •  If a student is Language Impaired, is a Nonverbal IQ required?

•  Can SLD students be placed in Access classes? •  Parents are requesAng a list of specific evaluaAon components. District seeks consent but not for complete list that parent requested based on data. Parent refused to sign consent for evaluaAon proposed by district. Has DOE created a “white paper” on this area?



Ques*ons – Eligibility

•  Best PracAces for ESE eligibility and FAPE for private school students

•  Addressing exclusionary factors when determining eligibility for ESE programs (i.e., Limited English Proficiency, gender, age and cultural factors, etc.)

•  How do you determine eligibility for Language Impaired primary-‐aged students that are ELL?



Ques*ons – Eligibility

•  This has to do with medically undiagnosed “potenAal” ADHD… Since OHI requires a medical diagnosis eligibility tends to be fairly clear, but what do we do when there is no diagnosis, evaluaAon results are indicaAve of ADHD and that the behaviors are impacAng school performance, and parents will not even consider gepng a doctor diagnosis?

•  Can we consider 504? •  Can we consider SLD even if the team can’t rule behavior out?



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