Strengthening Compliant, Results- Driven IEPs (IEP 101)

1. Strengthening Compliant, Results- Driven IEPs (IEP 101)

2. State Support Team, Region 6www.sst6.org Presented By: Julie Bertling (jbertling@sst6.org) Caryn Timmerman (ctimmerman@sst6.org)

3. Starts with IDEA “Access to, participation and progress in general education curriculum” access-participation in the knowledge and skills that make up the general curriculum general education curriculum-the full range of courses, activities, lessons, and materials routinely used by the general population of a school 007.07A6

4. Ties to General Education • Promotes a focus on high expectations rather than academic deficits. • Utilizes standards to identify specific content critical to progress in the general ed. curriculum. • Promotes a single educational system that is inclusive through common language and curriculum. • Ensures greater consistency across schools and districts.

5. Closing the Achievement Gap • Compliance with the IDEA should lead to improved instructional practices that supports desired outcomes for all learners. • Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Announces New Effort to Strengthen Accountability for Students with disabilities (March 2012)

6. Results-Driven IEPs • Discuss at your table how an IEP is results-driven ? • Discuss what components of the IEP you think are the most important. • What are your top two most important IEP components and why? 5 minutes

7. The IEP Form - Interaction • Demographic Data • Amendments • Future Planning • Special Instructional Factors • Profile • Postsecondary Transition • Postsecondary Transition Services • Measurable Annual Goals • Description of Specially Designed Services • Transportation • Nonacademic and Extracurricular Services • General Factors • Least Restrictive Environment • State and District Wide Testing • Meeting Participants • Signatures

8. Standards-Based IEPs • A “standards-based IEP” contains goals based on the academic content standards and the age-appropriate grade-level benchmarks and indicators. • Goals serve as roadmaps, identifying the necessary learning that a child needs to achieve the grade-level benchmarks and indicators.

9. Standards Based IEPs Ask: • What skill does the child require to master the content of the curriculum? Not: • What curriculum content does the child need to master?

10. Learners on LI Continuum • The range of physical and cognitive capabilities of our students is varied. • Therefore we need to vary our materials, instructional strategies and environments throughout our planning and implementation.

11. What are Extended Standards? • Extended or alternate standards are allowable to provide access, participation and progress in the general curriculum. • aligned with a State’s content standards, • reduced in depth and breadth from the general standards, • promote access to the general curriculum, and • reflect professional judgment of the highest level of performance possible.

12. What are Extended Standards? • These extended standards are not statements of what students already know or can do, but are statements of what students CAN learn and will be able to do after instruction.

13. Academic Content Standards Extended Standards Curriculum Instruction and Practices Alternate Assessment

14. Extended Standards Complexity • Three levels of complexity addressed for each extended standard. • range from “most complex” to “least complex” Most Complex Least Complex

15. IEP Goals and Objectives • Guide to student access, participation and progress within instructional activities.

16. Sections of the IEP • All sections are critical components in writing a compliant, results-driven IEP. • The IEP is a written statement between the parent and the district that specifies the specially designed instruction, related services, accommodations, modifications and supports that a school will provide for a student with a disability.

17. Sections of the IEP • Section 1: Address the student’s and family’s preferences and interests in the Future Planning section • Section 2: Special Instructional Factors

18. Sections of the IEP Section 2: Special Instructional Factors • Behavior • Limited English Proficiency • Visual Impairments • Communication • Deaf or Hard of Hearing • Assistive Technology Services and Devices • Physical Education

19. Sections of the IEP • Section 3: Profile. Provide meaningful information about the student’s strengths, interests, assessment data and the concerns of the parent in the Profile Section • Section 4: Postsecondary Transition • Section 5: Postsecondary Transition Services

20. Sections of the IEP Section 6: Develop Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLOP)- • Identify needs that require specially designed instruction Identify measurable goals, including academic and functional goals- • Measurable benchmarks or measurable short-term objectives • Student Progress

21. Sections of the IEP • Section 7: Identify Services • Service(s) • Initiation Date • Expected Duration • Frequency

22. Sections of the IEP • Section 8- Transportation as a Related Service • Section 9- Nonacademic and extracurricular activities • Section 10- General Factors

23. Sections of the IEP • Section 11: Determine least restrictive environment – determine where services will be provided • Section 12: Statewide and District Wide Testing • Section 13: Meeting Participants • Section 14: Signatures

24. Technical Assistance Examples The intention of the examples that will be presented today is to provide a format demonstrating the interrelationship between critical components in the IEP. Peer Review Process Handout

25. Profile • BIG PICTURE information found in the profile should focus on impact on ability to access curriculum • Should be brief. However, make sure all points in IEP Compliance Checklist are addressed. • If you put something in the Profile, it doesn’t need to be duplicated later in the PLOP.

26. The Profile • Interests • Learning Styles • Strengths & Weaknesses • Needs in the ETR NOT addressed in the IEP summarized • Special Instructional Factors that are noteworthy • Needs considering typical child development • Medical and Safety Information • Information about all developmental areas (Preschool)

27. Profile - Interaction

28. Child’s Profile Now it’s your turn! What are evidence sources for the Profile? Review: IEP Compliance Handout, p. 2 Peer Review Process

29. Postsecondary Transition • See IEP Compliance Checklist, pgs. 3-8 • Check on SST 6 website for training dates • SST Contact Person: • Bill Nellis (bnellis@sst6.org)

31. Present Levels of Performance - PLOP • Academic achievement and functional performance. • Provide the foundation and support for developing goals, objectives and determining services. • Provide supporting detailed data/evidence that clearly establishes a baseline data related to the area of needs to set targets. • Identify student’s needs and align the corresponding goal to the content standards. • Compare to same grade level and age level nondisabled peers (typical peers). • Provide specific levels of academic and functional performance in the area of need within the general curriculum. 34 C.F.R. §300.320(a)(1)(i) OAC 3301-51-07(H)(1)(b) page 126

32. Present Level Example - Interaction K.D. cannot decode words quickly or automatically and relies heavily on her sight word vocabulary. K.D. can read 100/220 of the Dolch sight words. She can read sight words and comprehends stories that are written at a second grade readability level as measured by the Fry Readability Test. K.D. showed a growth rate of 1.5 words per week on the Dolch sight words during the last school year. Students are expected to demonstrate fluent oral reading, using sight words and decoding skills by the end of third grade. Fifth graders are expected to use word origins to determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases. K.D.’s reliance on sight words affects her comprehension of written text in all academic content areas. PLOP Slide Handout IEP Compliance Checklist, pg. 9

33. Present Levels of Performance – What Causes Compliance Errors • Lack of sufficient data and information: • Quantitative (numerical) and/or • Qualitative (Can do – cannot do) and • Typical peer data (Should be able to do). • Data is not current or time referenced. • PLOP is not linked to needs or goals. • PLOP does not indicate how the disability has an impact in making progress in the general education curriculum.

34. PLOP • Peer Review Process • Use Highlighters and IEP Compliance Checklist

35. Measurable Annual Goals and Measurable Short-Term Objectives • Address the student’s needs that result from the disability and are aligned with the present levels of performance. • The annual goals need to address the child’s unique needs resulting from the disability and enable the child to be involved in and make progress in the general curriculum. • The annual goals must meet the academic, developmental and functional needs of the child and must provide linkage to the content standards. • The annual goals and short-term objectives should be supported by baseline data in the PLOP using the same unit of measurement, e.g., if WPM was used in the PLOP for fluency then this should be used in the goal. • Use an “action word” 34 C.F.R. §300.320(a)(2)(i) O.A.C. 3301-51-07(H)(1)(c)

36. Annual Goals and Short-Term Objectives • Set expectations for levels of academic and functional achievement in one year. Achieving these goals and objectives will enable the student to make progress in the general education curriculum. • The IEP must state how the goals and objectives will be measured. • Can the goals and objectives be measured and replicated by someone who does not know the student?

37. The Six Components of a Measurable Goal • Who? • Does what? • To What Level or Degree? • Under What Conditions? • In what length of time? • How will progress be measured?

38. Component One Who? Relates to the student.

39. Component Two Does What? • Observable behavior describing what the student will do to achieve the goal/objective. • Action words.

40. Component Three To What Level or Degree? • This relates to criteria and mastery of the goal. • Criteria states how many times the behavior must be observed for the goal to be considered completed. • Mastery states the level of achievement required.

41. Component Four Under What Conditions? Conditions that describe the situation, setting, or given material that will need to be in place for the goal to be completed.

42. Component Five In What Length of Time? This is the time frame in which the goal is completed.

43. Component Six How will progress be measured? • Method for Measuring the Child’s Progress towards the Annual Goal- must have data. • Method and frequency of reporting progress.

44. Annual Goals and Short-Term Objectives – Measurability Appropriate application of different types of measurements. • Accuracy refers to number of times a behavior or skill occurs. • Duration refers to length of time and event. • Rate refers to number of times within timed period. • Cumulativecounts refer to number of times. without a time reference. • Measurable Verbs Handout

45. Use Your Skills - Interaction • 1. Given a writing prompt, David will write a three-paragraph essay and score a minimum of 56 on the “Correct Word Sequence Grade 8 Assessment,” for three out of four prompts. • 2.David will verify and interpret results using precise mathematical language, notation and representations, including numerical tables and equations and formulas, charts, graphs and diagrams, as evidenced by increasing to 90% accuracy using probes every two weeks. • 3. When given 20 new words selected from classroom curriculum based materials once every two week period, David will demonstrate increased vocabulary acquisition skills by using the words in a contextually correct sentence with 90% accuracy in four out of five assessed trials.

46. Annual Goals and Short-Term Objectives – What Causes Compliance Errors? • Using “increase”, “decrease” or “improve” without a baseline and target. • Using grade scores like A or B, 75 or 90. • Stand alone percentages (80%) may not be appropriate. • Inappropriate measurement or not compatible to baseline measurement in PLOP. • Too many variables and/or incompatible variables are included in the goal (“kitchen sink” approach). • Goal or conditions surrounding goal are vague.

47. Annual Goals and Short-Term Objectives – Ineffective Use of Percentage and Compliance Errors Ineffective use of percentage • Behavior does not lend itself to measurement by percentage. • Vague statements of measurement using percentages that are not clear to all parties. • 80% is often attached indiscriminately to goals and objectives without regard to the measurability.

48. Positive Examples • Look at your IEP • Make sure any student identifying information is redacted • Evaluate your annual measurable goals IEP Compliance Handout, pg. 10 Peer Review Process

49. Summary of Specially Designed Instruction and Related Services • Lists all the types of supports and services that may be provided to children with disabilities to support their acquisition of the goals listed in the IEP. • Also lists the supports and services for the goals • the beginning and end dates • the amount of time • the provider and location • the accommodations • any supports for school personnel needed to provide the services.

50. Specially Designed Services • You need a new set of boxes if there are any changes in: • the specially designed instruction • provider • location (resource room, general ed classroom..) • amount of time or frequency • DETERMINED BY NEED (not all identical)