Hello!
Well you did it! You have made it through 1/2 the school year! How will you recharge and celebrate? I am looking forward to having all of my adult children together under one roof for a few days and spending time with my sweet granddaughters. I hope you find time to do those things that bring you joy while you disconnect from work! See you in the new year!
Amy
Our evaluation procedures require that we must provide a comprehensive evaluation that assesses all areas of concern related to the disability. Additionally we must use multiple sources of data and never rely on one type of data when making determinations or drawing our conclusions. If an FIE only includes standard scores as the basis for your conclusions then that FIE would not be meeting evaluation procedures required by law. We continue to evolve in our understanding and knowledge around the best methods for assessing students strengths and weaknesses and progress in the grade level curriculum. While diagnosticians often are well versed in various norm referenced tools, depending on the background of the evaluator and available resources in the LEA this may be an area where more tools are needed.
Below I have linked three websites that offer free curriculum based measures to assess students skills that a diagnostician may want to consider for use as part of their assessment. These may be directly administered by the evaluator or by the classroom teacher as a way of monitoring progress as interventions are applied. This will provide additional sources of data to help the evaluator judge the presence of a disability, the student's ability to make progress in the curriculum as well as impact of the condition and needs for supports, interventions and services.
Intervention Central offers both intervention resources for use with struggling students as well as free curriculum based measures to help probe basic skills.
easy CBM is a second website that offers grade based math and reading assessment tools.
LIVE Webinars
C-SEP Training Part 3 (webinar)
1/11/2022 Session ID: 2640860
This session presented by Dr. Tammy Stephens and Dr Sarah Holman will focus on how to write the FIE based on the C-SEP framework.
In Person Sessions
Dyslexia and Dysgraphia Determination in the FIE
1/14/2022 Session ID: 2638380
Essential Elements of the FIE ( these are repeat sessions from Fall 2021)
The following series is designed for educational diagnosticians who are interested in developing or deepening their skills as an evaluator.
Planning the FIE for Educational Diagnosticians
(1/21/2022) Session ID: 2638294
Selecting and Administering Assessments for the Educational Diagnostician
(2/11/2021) Session ID: 2638295
Writing Impactful FIEs for the Educational Diagnostician
(4/28/2022) Session ID: 2638296
The Impact of Learning Loss and Eligibility Determination with Dr. Andrea Ogonosky
2/4/2022 Session ID: 2640862
TEDA in Review
It was so great to connect with some of you at the TEDA conference a few weeks ago. I was so inspired by the keynote speaker LeDerick Horne. He is a poet and disability advocate. Check out his story here at understood.org.
We also heard from C-SEP author, Dr. Tammy Stephen's and researcher Dr. Sarah Holman. They discussed some of the challenges facing our evaluators and offered some practical solutions to address these issues. This article highlights the C-SEP method of SLD identification and offers suggestions about where to go from here.
Writing an IEP that thoroughly addresses transition is a critical step in the process. If this is an area where you are continuing to grow I recommend checking out the TEA network: Student Centered Transition Network. There are resources as well as trainings that will deepen your knowledge and understanding of this process.
Addressing Transition in the IEP - This course introduces the topic of developing a high-quality transition plan. A meaningful transition plan serves as the cornerstone of the transition planning process and builds the students' post school success.
upcoming sessions for ARD Facilitators
ARD Manager 101: How to Stay Cool When Conversations Get Heated/ARD Facilitation (repeat from August 2021)
Ever dreaded going to an ARD meeting that you knew was not going to go well? How about having conservations you knew not everyone would agree with? In this interactive session, you will learn strategies for changing the course when a conversation during an ARD/IEP meeting begins to get heated.
TEA Standards-Based Individualized Education Program(IEP) Process Training
Spring Session: 3/1 and 3/2 9:00-4:00 (Session ID 2643028)
Participants will learn how to gather meaningful data to develop Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) statements and write measurable annual goals aligned with grade-level academic content for students receiving special education services. By using the strategies presented, participants will be able to determine the critical area(s) impacted by disability (academic and/or functional) and determine the disability-related need(s) of the student. The information provided in the training meets accountability mandates of IDEA to improve the achievement of students with disabilities.
Question and Answer Document: Review of Existing Evaluation Data and Reevaluation has been posted to the Child Find, Evaluation and ARD Supports Network website on the Reevaluations and Review of Existing Evaluation Data (REED) pages.
Students with Visual Impairments: Eligibility for Special Education
The Students with Visual Impairments Eligibility guidance document provides information about determining the presence of the VI disability and educational need. Additional questions and references are also included.
The DHH Students Eligibility guidance document provides information about determining the presence of the DHH disability and educational need. Frequently asked questions are also included.
The recorded webinar, Evaluating Dyslexia in the Full and Individual Evaluation (FIE), has been completed and is now available.
Please click HERE to register for access to the recording.
At the beginning of the presentation recording, you will find a slide with link and QR code to the handouts for the webinar.
You can also access the other previously recorded virtual workshops sponsored by the Child Find, Evaluation, and ARD Supports Network on our website: Virtual Workshops: Recorded Sessions
REPRINTED FROM JIM WALSH’S “DAILY DAWG” WITH PERMISSION FROM THE WALSH GALLEGOS LAW FIRM.
TOOLBOX TUESDAY!! LET’S PRACTICE COUNTING TO FIVE.
Texas requires schools to give parents notice of an ARD meeting five school days prior to the meeting. That sounds simple. Just count to five. But you can stub your toe on this requirement if you don’t count the days the way TEA says you should count the days.
Consider this one:
The school delivered notice of the ARD meeting to the parent on Friday, August 20, 2021. What is the earliest date the ARD can be held? If you said one week later, Friday, August 27th, you are wrong, according to TEA. In a ruling in a complaint investigation the Agency stated that you don’t count “the day of the event that triggers the [five-day] period.” In this case, the “event that triggers” the period was the notice of ARD. The day that was delivered to the parent was August 20th.
YOU DON’T COUNT THAT DAY! Instead, the first day you count is the next school day, which in this case was Monday, August 23rd. That means that the fifth day is Friday, August 27th. The ARD cannot be held until all five days have elapsed. So the soonest you can have this ARD is Monday, August 30th.
Let’s look at the calendar today. Supposed you give notice of ARD today—November 30th. Remember, you don’t count that day. You start counting to five tomorrow. So your count is:
Day One: December 1
Day Two: December 2
Day Three: December 3—a Friday
Day Four: December 6
Day Five: December 7
You can’t hold your ARD until December 8th.
DAWG BONE: NITPICKY, BUT IMPORTANT.
Subscriptions to the Daily Dawg are available at www.edlawdawg.com
Amy Smith, Evaluation Consultant
Email: amy.smith@region10.org
Website: https://www.region10.org/programs/evaluation-special-education/overview/
Location: Region 10 Education Service Center, East Spring Valley Road, Richardson, TX, USA
Phone: 972-348-1784