Special Edition
Wood County Educational Service Center
Editor: Belinda Rhoads, Ed. D of Special Needs/Early Childhood Services
http://www.wcesc.org/special-needs
March 23, 2012
Volume 1, Issue 13
Special Education “Think About” Section
Preparing for contentious IEP meetings
Please check out our
new website!
www.wcesc.org
Wood County Board
of
Education Meeting
Tuesday, March 27
Board Agenda
Available on the Website
www.wcesc.org
In this issue:
Think About...
1
Hot Topics
2
Special Education
ODE Compliance
3
Sheet for Visitation
Professional
Development
4
Gifted EXcerpts
5
As an IEP team leader, you know which meetings have the potential to be contentious. Being organized and ready to discuss parents’ concerns and the teams’ concerns helps to make the meeting hopefully run smoother. Preparing your staff for a
potentially difficult meeting is imperative.
1. Identify parents’ specific concerns. Identifying and preparing the agenda items
that are likely to create conflict between the school and the parents. Understanding a parents’ concerns prior to the meeting will enable you to develop
ideas, options and proposals for discussion.
2. Gather relevant data. Collect data on the student’s day to day activities and
behaviors. Examine the data from previous meetings to detect if there is a pattern involved or any changes that may have occurred with this student.
3. Be ready to discuss options, not positions. Parents respond better to choices
than “This is the schools position, this is your position.” Make a list of pros and
cons of each option or concern that is up for review for discussion.
4. Review federal and state regulations. Make sure a current copy of the “Who’s
IDEA is this?” is given to the parents and available for review.
5. Team Preparedness. Encourage your team members to be prepared with their
input and recommendations. Having their ducks in a row, can be an encouragement to parents that you truly care about their concerns being voiced and their
child’s future education experiences.
6. Set time limits for meetings. Meetings that last for several hours can lead to
frayed nerves and thwart the type of collaboration the IDEA seeks to promote.
If you believe that a meeting has the potential to last longer, or it seems to be
stuck on a dead end going no where, seek a break. This will help everyone to
be able to refocus and continue with the goal of completing this IEP meeting.
Thought for the Day…. Spring Arrives March 20, 2012
The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring
day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month. ~ Henry Van Dyke
Hot Topics for Special Education
Whose IDEA is This? Is being updated
The office for Exceptional Children (OEC) is reviewing Whose IDEA is This? for minor edits. The updated version
will be posted to on the OEC website by approximately April 1, 2012. If you have spring IEP meetings that occur before this date please use the current version.
As soon as it is available, we will post it to our website: wcesc.org –under Special Education.
Please remember to visit www.edresourcesohio.org for any current updates .
Independent Educational Evaluations
1. What is the purpose of an IEE? An IEE is an evaluation conducted by qualified examiner who is not employed
by the school district or other public agency responsible for the education of the student in question. Because a
student’s educational program and placement are premised upon the results of his evaluation, the right to obtain an
IEE is essential for parents who suspect that the district’s evaluation has not discerned the true nature of a student’s disabilities and resulting needs.
2. Do parents have a right to obtain an IEE? A parent has the right to an IEE at public expense if the parent disagrees with an evaluation obtained by the public agency, subject to the conditions in 34 CFR 300.502(b)(2)
through 34 CFR 300.502 (b)(4). If a parent requests an IEE at public expense, they must without delay either:
A. File a due process complaint to request a hearing to show its evaluation is appropriate.
B. Ensure that an IEE is provided at public expense, unless the agency in a hearing demonstrates in a hearing
pursuant to 34 CFR 300.507 through 34 CFR 300.513 that the evaluation obtained by the parent did not
meet agency criteria.
If the public agency files a due process complaint notice to request a hearing and the final decision is that the
Agency evaluation is appropriate, the parent still has the right to an IEE, but not at public expense.
3. Can districts as why parents want an IEE? The public agency can ask the parent’s reason for objecting the
evaluation.
4. What is the appropriate response time by the district? There is no specific time limit in which the district must
respond to the parents. However, a district may not “unreasonable delay” either agreeing to fund the IEE or requesting a due process hearing to show that its own evaluation was appropriate.
5. Should a school district convene an IEP meeting to review the results of an IEE? If the IEE relates to decisions
about programming, then the IEP team must reconvene to review the results.
Please remember to check the IDEA for additional information on this subject.
Cheat Sheet for ODE Compliance Visit
A neighboring district just had a compliance visit from ODE to monitor special education. They shared the compliance form with us and I am able to share it with you.
When (not if) they come to monitor us, this will be the things they will check.
* Cover page incomplete
* Part 1 Incomplete (future planning)
* Part 2 Incomplete (special instructional factors)
* Part 3 Incomplete (child’s profile)
* Part 4 Incomplete (missing transition statements)
* Part 5 Incomplete (missing transition plan)
* Part 6 Incomplete
Goal # ___is not measureable
Goals do match ETR qualifications
Missing related service goals
*Part 7 Incomplete (specially designed instruction)
Related services missing
Assistive technology does not follow state guidelines
Accommodations / modifications noncompliant
* Part 8 Incomplete (transportation)
* Part 9 Incomplete (Nonacademic and extracurricular)
* Part 10 Incomplete (general factors)
* Part 11 Incomplete (LRE)
* Part 12 Incomplete (state and district testing)
Noncompliant detail of accommodations
Checkboxes incomplete (IEP form status)
*Part 13 Incomplete (meeting signatures)
*Part 14 Incomplete signatures (signatures)
*Missing EMIS form
*Missing parent invitation to meeting
*Missing documentation of attempts to contact
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Free Assistive Technology Vendor Fair - Huron, Ohio - April 2, 2012
Sponsored by SSTs 1, 2, 6, 7, & OCALI
Assistive Technology can close the achievement gap for students with disabilities. State Support
Team Regions 1, 2, 6, 7, and OCALI are sponsoring an Assistive Technology Vendor Fair at Sawmill Creek Resort in Huron, Ohio on April 2, 2012 from 9:00am-3:00pm. Assistive Technology
vendors from across the country offering writing, reading, communication, math and organizational tools and supports will be on hand all day to demonstrate products and answer your questions. Vendors will also be presenting breakout sessions which will provide attendees with indepth, hands-on information regarding tools available. This opportunity is free and is open to all
educators, parents, and administrators. Lunch will be provided. Door prizes will be raffled off at
the end of the day. Registration is free, however, attendees must register in advance on STARS
at https://safe.ode.state .oh.us/portal. Search events in ‘Region 2’. If you need assistance registering, please call Vicki Barbaro at 440-324-5777 ext 1107.
Fist to Five Feedback
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/fist-to-five-feedback?fd=0
WEB SUPPORT:
Discovery Education
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/
Gifted EXcerpts:
It’s still March…Creativity Continued
Question: Are you a “doodler”?
Robert Fulton, designer of the first power-driven steamboat, was! He daydreamed all the way
through school, with his daydreams sometimes taking the form of doodles and sketches. He
doodled plans for the first submarine; he doodled some more and came up with a steam-driven
boat, then he built his most successful steamboat. Sometimes it pays to daydream….
Question: Did you know that Maryland and California are two states that have passed House Bills that adopt
creativity indices in all their schools?
*Brainstorming, a necessity for creativity, is the act of generating numerous ideas while deferring
judgment. People must get all common responses out of the way before innovative, creative ideas
can surface (usually about 20 responses into the process). Piggy-backing (one person’s idea produces a similar or enhanced idea in another person) is allowed. Accept outrageous, humorous, and
seemingly unimportant ideas, as the most “off-the-wall” comments often lead to solutions.
Bob Eberle’s SCAMPER technique for brainstorming*:
S = Substitute (ex. what else instead?)
C = Combine (ex. blend something)
A = Add or Adapt (ex. what other idea does this suggest?)
M = Modify, Magnify, Minify (ex. what to add; lesser frequency?)
P = Put to a new use
E = Eliminate (ex. subtract, condense, streamline, understate)
R = Reverse or Rearrange (ex. transpose positive and negative or cause and effect; change pace; opposites?)
Critical and Creative Thinking Combined = CPS (Creative Problem Solving) Model (Isaksen
and Treffinger):
Mess Finding = identify and acknowledge the problem
Data Finding = what do you know and what do you still need to know; clarify the problem by
collecting information; make the “fuzzy” clear
Problem Finding = problem statement that expresses the “heart” of the situation
Idea Finding = brainstorm* as many ideas as possible for dealing with problem statement
Solution Finding = evaluate possible solutions by generating criteria and selecting the most
important
Acceptance Finding = formulate a plan of action to implement your solution. Determine potential obstacles and what kind of help you’ll need in order to get rid of the original mess!
CPS reminds us of the Scientific Method (observe and research; form a hypothesis; test your idea; figure out
what really happened; and test again to see if you are right!)
Compiled (various sources) particularly Project XL: The Inventive Thinking Curriculum Project
Everyone has creative ability. So, go out there and increase your CQ (Creativity Quotient)!