Great Ideas Convention 2015
Learning Labs
The Administrative Quagmire for 18+ Programs
in Texas
Vickie J Mitchell, Ed.D., Mitchell-Panter Consulting, LLC and
Christopher P Borreca, JD, Thompson & Horton LLP
THE ADMINISTRATIVE QUAGMIRE FOR 18+ PROGRAMS IN TEXAS
Vickie J Mitchell, Ed.D Christopher P Borreca, JD
2014-‐ What to do about…
• LiRgaRon and TransiRon• The 18+ ConRnuum of Services: Campus, District, andCommunity-‐Based
• TEKS and TransiRon-‐Based IEPs, ARD CommiZeeMembership, and ExiRng 18+ Services
• Do the assessments, to plan the IEP, look different for 18+?
• InstrucRonal Arrangements and the 18+ • Travel Training and TransportaRon • Data CollecRon and Grading • Postsecondary EducaRon, Who Pays?
Li'ga'on and Transi'on
• Chris Borreca, JD • LiRgaRon and TransiRon Services
• Current Cases
• ImplicaRons for adult students in 18-‐21 TransiRon Services
18+ ConRnuum of Services
Life beyond the classroom (P. Wehman)
LocaRon: HS Campus (the HUB)
TransiRon-‐Based IEP
InstrucRon occurs at the campus & in the community
LocaRon: a district owed/rented/borrowed locaRon
Yes, even if the room is at the community college! (The HUB)
InstrucRon occurs at the ISD locaRon & in the community
LocaRon: the community
The student’s schedule, instruc>on and support to facilitate Transi>on, mirrors adult life.
Home to community & back home
Campus-‐Based 18+
District-‐Based 18+
Community-‐Based 18+
TEKS and Transi'on-‐Based IEPs?
• 18+ Services are for adult students who have completed the state curriculum (TEKS) and meet general educaRon requirements for graduaRon for the School FoundaRon Program
• The IEP of an 18+ adult student is: – Transi>on-‐Based NOT TEKS-‐Based
ARDC Membership and the 18+
• ARD CommiZee Membership
– RepresentaRve knowledgeable about the resources within the local district
– Adult Student – Parent/Surrogate Parent/Guardian
• Surrogate parents of students in ResidenRal Facility (RF), must meet eligibility requirements to serve as an RF surrogate parent.
• ResidenRal facility staff members may not sign as the parent of adult students residing in the RF.
– Appraisal Staff, if new evaluaRon is being considered
– Special EducaRon Teacher, or if appropriate special educaRon provider
– Related Services, if applicable
– RepresentaRve of parRcipaRng agencies likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transiRon services; invited with the consent of the adult student or parent/guardian/surrogate parent
ARDC Membership and the 18+
• General EducaRon Teacher? – not less than one regular educaRon teacher of the child (if the child is, or may be, parRcipaRng in the regular educaRon environment) 89.1050(c)(1)(B)
• Career and Technical EducaRon Teachers? – The student is no longer par>cipa>ng in CTE, nor is CTE being considered, therefore there is no requirement for a CTE teacher as a member of the ARD CommiGee.
If vocaRonal training is needed, go where other young adults go… community
college, OJT, etc.
Exi'ng 18+ Services
• If everyone ages out, then are the 18+ services truly individualized or do ALL of the adult students simply run out of >me to meet the IEP? – IEP Planning for 18+ Services
• Meaningful partnerships with adult students and parents to conduct TransiRon Assessment, analyze the results, plan the IEP, and develop the adult schedule
• Everyone develops and knows the goals and what each will look like when met
• Everyone develops and agrees on the adult schedule • Every partners helps to teach, monitor, and communicate • Everyone “RECOGNIZES” when the IEP has been met … the student has met the IEP and the Exit ARD is completed. – Discuss the request to return opRon at the Exit IEP MeeRng for the 18+
adult student.
Example of 18+ Transi'on Assessments
This is an example.
What tools does your district have?
You need the PCT or PCTA and Life
Plan
Instruc'onal Arrangements and 18+
• If we do not follow the school calendar and bell schedule, how do we address the commensurate day requirement?
• Review of exisRng IEP • Assessment results • Needs • Goals and objecRves • Courses • Number of minutes required to implement the adult IEP This is an ARDC Decision!
Case Law? “Length of school day”?
§89.63: Instruc'onal Arrangements and SeSngs
The “Old” and
the “New” as of Jan. 1, 2015
Travel Training and Transporta'on
• Yes, we sRll teach travel training if we do not have metro – Pedestrian – Bicycle – Taxi –Metro, Metro-‐Liq – City bus versus point to point, limited metro – Carpool, friends, family, etc.
Urban families in ci'es with buses have
the same problems as suburban and rural
families living in areas without buses.
Transporta'on
• Do we use the yellow bus/district van for adult services?
– You may use the yellow bus/district van to implement the 18+ services but this is NOT a research-‐based pracRce nor does it facilitate transiRon services. (Fade the Bus/Van!!)
– The purpose of transiRon is to transiRon to the adult world of work, educaRon/training, and independent living, AND to transiRon to community services that provide access adult environments. The yellow bus won’t exist aAerpublic school!
Is the “y
ellow bus
” LRE
in an adu
lt transi'
on
program
????? Independent Living ?????
Progress Reports and Grading
• What is the standard for determining the grading procedures for a student whose educaRon takes place in the community instead of the high school campus? – Tests versus hands-‐on demonstraRon of skills
– The value of task analysis, producRvity charts, levels of support, etc.
– Technology and Video Modeling
– Determining the grading process and the ARDC discussion – Monitoring progress reporRng
Progress Reports and Grading
A liXle something to help you figure it out!
Postsecondary Ed: Who Pays? • If the student in the 18+ program parRcipates in
postsecondary educaRon classes at the local community college, who pays for the course, the district or the parent?
• CFR 300.39(a)(1) “at no cost to parents”
• Defined: “at no cost means that all specially-‐designed instrucRon is provided without charge, but does not preclude incidental fees that are normally charged to nondisabled students or their parents as part of the regular educaRon program.” – BUT THIS MAY OR MAY NOT BE SPECIALLY-‐DESIGNED INSTRUCTION
• What are your district’s policies and pracRces?
TEA Dual Credit FAQ August 12, 2011
Page 8; Ques'on 27
Does your district pay for general ed students who are dually enrolled?
Make 18+ Happen With Quality
• Vickie J Mitchell, Ed.D Mitchell-‐Panter Consul>ng, LLC
936-‐494-‐9080 [email protected]
• Christopher P Borreca, JD Partner; Thompson & Horton LLP
713-‐554-‐6740 [email protected]
hXp://tcase2015.wikispaces.com
Developed by Dr. Vickie J Mitchell; Mitchell-Panter Consulting, LLC (2012; Revised 2014, 2015)
Coding Guidance for 18+ Adult Transition Services (ATS)
TCASE 2012 Dr. Vickie Mitchell and Chris Borrecca (Horton & Anderson) presented this information to Special Ed Directors at the January 2012 TCASE. It was based on information provided by Vickie to districts since 2008. Chris verified the information. The TCASE presentation was: “Barriers to 18+ Services in Texas”.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 18+ CODING ASSIGNMENTS: The non-‐traditional, 18+ ATS utilizes the community as an extension of the high school campus (97-‐off home campus-‐community class). Services are provided in the community to transition skill acquisition and maintenance into adult environments. Therefore, 18+ students are coded as members of their home campus.
18+ ATS Coding Matrix for Students in Residential Facilities (From Mitchell-‐Panter 18+ Procedures Manual) Parent/Legal Guardian is a
Non-‐Resident of DISTRICT and Adult Student is in RF
Parent/Legal Guardian Resides in DISTRICT and Adult Student is
in RF Non-‐RF Student
85 18+ regular campus; > 60%
44 18+ regular campus; > 50%
44 18+ regular campus; > 50%
86 18+ on a separate campus
96 18+ on a separate campus
96 18+ on a separate campus
87 Not Employed; community class
97 Not Employed; community class
97 Not Employed, community class
88 VAC (paid or unpaid)
08 VAC (paid or unpaid)
08 VAC (paid or unpaid)
ESC 13: Guidance on Coding for 18+ (Elizabeth Danner) This is from an 18+ Q&A Document developed by Elizabeth Danner at ESC 13 (Updates: Nov. 2011).
Adopted Dec. 2015 by SBOE: Effective Date 1/1/2015 -‐ §89.63 IA 08: Vocational Adjustment Class/Program This instructional arrangement/setting is for providing special education and related services to a student who is placed on a job (paid or unpaid unless otherwise prohibited by law) with regularly scheduled direct involvement by special education personnel in the implementation of the student's IEP. This instructional arrangement/setting shall be used in conjunction with the student's individual transition goals and only after the school district's career and technical education classes have been considered and determined inappropriate for the student. IA 97: Off Home Campus-‐Community Class A student in a community setting or environment (not operated by a school district) that prepares the student for postsecondary education/training, integrated employment, and/or independent living in coordination with the student's individual transition goals and objectives, including a student with regularly scheduled instruction or direct involvement provided by school district personnel, or a student in a facility not operated by a school district (other than a nonpublic day school) with instruction provided by school district personnel;
(2012) Developed by D
r Vickie J M
itchell; Mitchell-‐Panter Consulting, LLC., M
ontgomery, TX
18+ TRANSITIO
N ASSESSM
ENT M
ATRIX
Transition Assessm
ent
Employment Skills
PS Educ. / Training
Independent Living/Daily Living Skills
Community Participation & Access
Transportation
Health
Self-‐Determinatio
n
Social Skills
Communication
Levels of Support
Time Management
Productivity
Aptitude
Rec/Leisure
Brigance Em
ployability Skills Inventory
X
Brigance Transition Skills Inventory
x
x x
x
X
Vineland A
daptive Behavior Scales
X
X X
X
MPC Productivity
Chart X
Person-‐Centered Thinking
Assessm
ent (PCTA)
X X
X
X X
X
Life Plan – (M
itchell-‐Panter/M
PC) X
X X
X X
X
X X
X
X
Reading-‐Free Vocational Interest
Inventory X
X
Enderle-‐Sevenson Transition Rating Scale (ESTR)
X X
X X
X X
(Severe/ Multi)
X
Transition Planning Inventory
X X
X X
X X
X X
X
Task Analysis
X
ARC Self-‐
Determ
ination Scale
X
AIR Self-‐
Determ
ination Scale
X
Community A
ccess Assessm
ent*
X
(2012) Developed by D
r Vickie J M
itchell; Mitchell-‐Panter Consulting, LLC., M
ontgomery, TX
Transition Assessm
ent
Employment Skills
PS Educ. / Training
Independent Living/Daily Living Skills
Community Participation & Access
Transportation
Health
Self-‐Determinatio
n
Social Skills
Communication
Levels of Support
Time Management
Productivity
Aptitude
Rec/Leisure
Ansell-‐Casey Life
Skills (III) X
X X
X X
X X
MPC Levels of Support
X X
X
Functional Analysis
of Transportation* X
MPC Social Mapping
X X
Informal M
easure of Productivity
X X
School &
Community Social
Skills Rating Checklist*
X X
X
THEA
Practice Test X
Assistive
Technology Needs
Inventory-‐Com
munications
Application*
X X
X
Technology and Adult Environm
ents X
X X
X X
X X
X X
X X
X X
X
*From
the ProEd Series: (1) Informal A
ssessments for Transition Planning, (2) Inform
al Assessm
ents for Employm
ent and Career Planning, (3) Informal
Assessm
ents for Independent Living and Community Participation.
Framework for Data Collection and Grading on 18+ IEP Progress
Data Collection Rationale
Why is data collected?
Instructional and related service personnel collect and maintain records to chart the student’s progress and needs. The collection of data provides documentation that the adult student is benefiting from instruction.
Type of data collected
The records can be anecdotal reports, portfolios, task analysis, productivity or time charts, videos, criterion-referenced tests, teacher made tests, interviews, adult student work samples, etc. (Use Technology, both for the teachers and student-monitored progress)
When should data collection begin? Data collection should begin as soon as the IEP is developed and continue until the next scheduled IEP review.
How often is data collected?
Usually progress is reported at the same time that typical students receive report cards, but this can change based on an ARD/IEP committee decision.
• Teachers should collect data at least 1 time per weekon IEP goal progress.
• The frequency of data collection is increased for newinstruction or based on the individualized needs of the adult student.
What if the adult student master’s his/her IEP goals?
As the student masters goals, work to maintain the skill and implement instruction for other goals on the IEP not met or introduced. If the adult student has made progress and mastered many of the IEP goals, recommendations for new goals and objectives will begin to be generated. (What is your district’s policy for Amend ARDs, Telephone ARDs, or does this need to be a full ARD Meeting? Do the proposed goals create a change of placement? Then you must go back to ARD.)
What if the student does not master or make progress on the IEP goals?
If the adult student has not made progress or mastered IEP goals, consider the following:
• Was the IEP implemented appropriately?• Did you vary instructional strategies or materials• Is a referral for evaluation for additional services or
supports needed?• Is the placement appropriate?
What about grades? The ARD Committee will determine how progress grades will be determined and document the discussion and decisions in the Deliberations.
** Adapted from the Texas First Project: Texas Continuous Improvement Process
Note: The ARD Committee should discuss grading and progress monitoring and document the decisions in the IEP deliberations. As noted above, the frequency of collecting data is based on individual student need. For example, a student participating in travel training as a new skill may need a higher frequency of data collection to identify skill strengths and barriers to skill acquisition for the purpose of making individualized instructional and support decisions.
© 2011; Revised 2013, 2014. Mitchell-Panter Consulting, LLC. Montgomery, TX. All rights reserved.
Grading Options and 18+ Grading: What is the purpose of grading? What will be graded? What documentation will be used to monitor progress and report the progress? What will the grade look like to report the progress? How will the adult student and parent receive the information and how often? Remember:
• Educators are evaluating student performance and reporting the results.• Good reporting is based on good evidence (Thomas R. Guskey)• Grades/progress monitoring is part of the instructional process (Thomas R. Guskey).
Progress evidence helps the teacher know what is working/not working with instructionas well as used to develop grades or progress reports.
• Student-monitored progress is a excellent strategy for meaningful” studentinvolvement”.
Criterion-Referenced: Grading in an 18+ is criterion-referenced (compares the student’s performance to clearly stated performance standards), NOT norm-referenced (compares student performance to other students. What are the performance standards? Reporting Frequency for 18+: Discuss this in the ARD Meeting. Will the reporting occur on the same time schedule as IEP Progress Reporting or the “School Report Card” schedule. Connecting the Dots: Progress reporting must match the IEP goal. (i.e. If the IEP states 7 out of 10 trials or with 90% accuracy then does the data show how the adult student is progressing toward the IEP standard? It is not that you have to be gruelingly technical, but you have the standard in the IEP so how is the adult student doing in regards to meeting the standard the ARD Committee set?
Grading Model The ARDC Conversation
Traditional A, B, C, D, F
• What documentation will be collected to evaluateperformance?
• How will you determine the grades?• Consider using a grading rubric.• How will the results be used to determine progress on
the IEP?• Frequency?
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Or
Met/Not Met
• What documentation will be collected to evaluateperformance?
• How will you determine what constitutes “S” versus“U” when evaluating student performance?
• Consider using a grading rubric.• How will the results be used to determine progress on
the IEP?• Frequency?
IEP Progress Report as the Grade
• What evidence would verify progress on each of the IEPgoals/objectives?
• How will the evidence be shared with the adult studentand parent to support the rating on the IEP ProgressReport?
• Frequency: Will you follow the ISD policy on this or theARDC set a different reporting frequency?
© 2011; Revised 2013, 2014. Mitchell-Panter Consulting, LLC. Montgomery, TX. All rights reserved.
Regulations, Interpretations and Grading the IEP Progress
300.320(a)(3)(i) Definition of Individualized Education Program (a) General. As used in this part, the term individualized education program or IEP means a written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in a meeting in accordance with §§ 300.320 through 300.324, and that must include —
... (3) A description of — (i) How the child ’ s progress toward meeting the annual goals described in paragraph (2) of this section will be measured; and …
Special Education Bulletin: OCR Letter to Runkel; July 1995; to the Dept of Ed-Montana Question #2. May a student with a disability enrolled in a general education class for reasons other than master of the course content (example, learning social skills) be excluded from the class grading and evaluation on specific objectives on the IEP? We agree with our response that classes taken for no credit as part of the IEP may solely be graded based upon criteria outlined in the particular student’s IEP.
OCR Letter to Mary Hudler; July 26, 2006; Director of Special Education, California Page !: “IDEA does not have specific provisions on report cards or transcripts, but does require that the IEP for a child with a disability include a description of how the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals will be provided (Such as through the use of quarterly or other periodic reports, concurrent with the issuance of report cards). These periodic progress reports may be separate from, or include as part of, the regular report cards of students with disabilities with an IEP.
Question #2: Can a report card assign grades for a child with a disability based on the student’s grade level standards? …To the extent that a disabled student is not participating in such classes and is being taughtdifferent course content or taught using a modified or alternate education curriculum for a portion of the day, it would be up to the SEA and the LEA to establish standards to reflect progress or level of achievement for this different course content or modified or alternate education curriculum. The grades on a disabled student’s report card for classes with a different course content and classes taught using modified or alternate education curriculum would be based on these standards.”
U.S. Department of Education; Office of Civil Rights Website: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-qa-20081017.html
Nothing in Section 504 or Title II prohibits SEAs and LEAs from deciding how to establish standards to reflect the progress or level of achievement of students with disabilities who are taught using different course content or a modified or alternate education curriculum. To the extent that a student with a disability is not participating in regular education classes, but is receiving modified course content or is being taught under a modified or alternate curriculum, it
© 2011; Revised 2013, 2014. Mitchell-Panter Consulting, LLC. Montgomery, TX. All rights reserved.
would be up to the SEA and/or the LEA to determine the standards to be used to measure the student’s progress or level of achievement.
Region 20 ESC: IEP Annual Goal Development Q&A Document 1.32 How does master of annual goals relate to grading and promotion? “…Mastery of an IEP goal does not automatically constitute passing a course and passing an course does not automatically equate to mastering an IEP goal. If the IEP goal is not academic in nature, it may not figure into mastery of the course (and, thus the assignment of a course grade) at all.”
1,36 How should progress be reported in IEP periodic progress reports to parents? “Progress must be reported in the same manner as the goal and associated objectives is measured. For example, if the goal/objective state that the child will master a goal/objective 4 out of 5 times, then progress reported must reflect how many times out of 5 times the student is able to accomplish the goal/objective. If the goal/objective is written as a percentage, then progress must be reported as a percentage. Simply noting things such as “progress being made” or “Continuing” are not adequate for reporting progress”.
3.4 Must measurable annual functional goals be standards-based? “No. Because there are no state adopted standards for functional goals, there is no standard on which to base these goals. For example, if the ARD committee decides the student needs a goal to help him/her transition independently between class periods, there are no TEKS related to this skill. The goal must still be written in measurable terms (including timeframe, condition(s), criterion, and behavior), but it should be based on the student’s PLAAFP and the skills the student needs…”
© 2011; Revised 2013, 2014. Mitchell-Panter Consulting, LLC. Montgomery, TX. All rights reserved.