Office of Exceptional Children

1. Office of Exceptional Children

2. SC Enrich will replace SC Excent

3. August 2014 Enrich will be launched state-wide as the new IEP System for development and implementation of individualized education programs for students with disabilities.

4. October 2014 Excent will be replaced and will no longer be used.

5. Mark Twain famously said, "The secret of getting ahead is getting started."

6. Implementation Process Product Configuration (on-going) Selection of Pilot School Districts – Lancaster, Greenwood 51, Sumter Designation of school districts for one of the 5 groups/waves Determination of the number of trainers for each district based on district size and number of schools IEP Project Portal – online portal to communicate general information and training schedules

7. Implementation Process Continued • Kick off meetings for each group that includes; Superintendent, SPED Director, and IT Director (SCDE -3 hours) Began 2/25 • Product Installation in each district Pilot sites completed – March Group 1 • Configuration and system administration training for each group (remotely-1/2 day) Began 2/26 • Train the trainer training for each group (SCDE Rutledge Building and Career Development Center – 4 sessions/2 days each) Began 3/3

8. Implementation continued… • April & May – Pilot implementation • June thru August 8 – Input from pilots/product modifications • August – District staff will conduct training for state-wide launch • October – Excent usage ends

9. Proviso 1.84 – Summer Reading Camps

10. 1.84. SDE: Summer Reading Camps For the current fiscal year, funds appropriated for summer reading camps must be allocated as follows:(1) $300,000 to the Department of Education to provide bus transportation for students attending the camps; and (2) the remainder on a per pupil allocation to each school district based on the number of students who scored Not Met 1 on the third grade reading and research assessment of the prior year's Palmetto Assessment of State Standards administration. The reading camps must provide an educational program offered in the summer by each local school district for students who are substantially not demonstrating reading proficiency at the end of third grade. The camp must be six to eight weeks long for four or five days each week and include at least five and one-half hours of instructional time daily. The camps must be taught by compensated, licensed teachers who have demonstrated substantial success in helping students comprehend grade-appropriate texts. Schools and districts should partner with county or school libraries, community organizations, faith-based institutions, pediatric and family practice medical personnel, businesses, and other groups to provide volunteers, mentors, tutors, space, or other support to assist with the provision of the summer reading camps. In addition, a district may offer summer reading camps for students who are not exhibiting reading proficiency in prekindergarten through grade 2 and may charge fees based on a sliding scale pursuant to Section 59-19-90 of the 1976 Code, as amended.

11. 1. In determining selection criteria for the State Summer Reading Program, should districts include all potential students in their criteria (ie., must they include students receiving interventions including those with IEPs receiving special education services?

12. Yes - as long as the child did not substantially demonstrate reading proficiency by the end of third grade.

13. 2. In determining selection criteria for the State Summer Reading Program, can districts exclude students (including those with IEPs receiving special education services) who take alternate assessments such as SC-Alt?

14. Yes - as long as they met the criteria to participate in SC-Alt during the timeframe outlined.

15. 3. In determining selection criteria for the State Summer Reading Program, can districts exclude students (including those with IEPs receiving special education services) who do not participate in the general education setting for primary literacy instruction and/or those who are in alternate curriculum programs (i.e., students in self-contained classrooms who receive specialized instruction in a special education setting and who do not meet criteria for alternate assessment)?

16. No - Unless children are taking SC-Alt, they must have access to and make progress in the general education curriculum through the use of specialized instruction and accommodations.

17. 4. In serving students with IEPs for the regular school calendar year in the State Summer Reading Program, what (if any) accommodations, modifications and behavioral interventions are required to be implemented within the summer program:

18. a. For student NOT recommended for ESY and therefore, no ESY addendum is developed.

19. Students with disabilities must be allowed to participate in the summer reading program regardless of whether they need accommodations, modifications, supplementary aides and services, or other supports so as to ensure that these students receive a free appropriate public education and an equal opportunity to meet this State requirement

20. b. For students who ARE recommended for ESY.

21. Participation in ESY cannot preclude participation in the mandatory reading program. The need for the additional instruction could not be used to exclude a child with a disability from instruction that is mandated for children without disabilities.

22. c. What, if any, type of documentation is expected in this area?

23. The same type documentation that is determined appropriate by the student’s IEP team and expected during the regular school year.

24. 5. In serving students with IEPs for the regular school calendar year in the State Summer Reading Program, are districts required to extend the special education services outlined in the school year IEP into the summer program? Specifically, if a student received resource support services during the school year but is not being recommended for ESY, does the district have to provide special education services in the summer? We understand that IEP teams make the final decision on services. We are asking if we are required to provide them for any/every student identified as special education and participating in the State Summer Reading Program.

25. Students with cognitive, social, physical, or emotional disabilities may require specialized instruction, accommodations, or other services to attend summer school and participate in the program. Such situations need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and as necessary.

26. a. If yes, would a summer IEP be developed?

27. Even where the services in question are not essential for a FAPE under the IDEA, Section 504 places a duty on the district to provide the necessary related services to the summer school program to ensure that the student with a disability receives equal opportunities to participate in this programming to the same extents as his nondisabled peers. See West Lafayette (IN) Cmty. Sch. Corp., 352 IDELR 498 (OCR 1987); accord, Seattle (WA) Sch. Dist. No. 1, 352 IDELR 375 (OCR 1987).

28. Spring Administrators’ Institute March 20 – 21 (1.5 days) Open to General and Special Educators https://ed.sc.gov/Survey/index.php?sid=38433&newtest=Y&lang=en

29. Research to Practice Conference July 14 – 18 River Bluff High School – Lexington Open to general and special educators

30. Questions John Payne, Interim Director 803-734-8224