Hello!
Welcome back to returning Data Points subscribers and welcome to all of our new evaluators and ARD managers! I am so thankful for each of you and your willingness to say yes to this challenging, but rewarding career of public educator. If it is your first year or 30th year, the start of school can feel overwhelming, especially when there do not seem to be clear or specific answers. And I know you are all are working fast and furious already. So weather your role is to answer parent questions or provide solutions and answers for a team you lead, remember more important than having the answer is being kind. As you know, how you treat yourself and others will set the tone for all that follows.
In this issue you will find links to register for this year's sessions that have been put together to support all of you. We have an EPIC session planned that you will not want to miss on September 23rd. I am bringing together 4 of the best in our field to provide clarity to the application of the PSW method of SLD identification. We will also offer a legal session, and a webinar series for bilingual evaluation personnel. Check out the details below about these and many other fabulous learning opportunities!
Thank you!
Amy
Working Memory
The following two resources offer brief explanations of working memory and its role in learning. When synthesizing data to determine the impact and needs of a student who has deficits in working memory require an understanding of how that may look in every day performance and what research based strategies work to assist those students in mastering the academic or functional skill needed for success in the classroom. Keep in mind these are just two of many articles from reliable sources you can find on this topic.
Working Memory: The Engine for Learning, International Dyslexia Association Fact Sheet
Working Memory and Dyslexia, by Dr. Milton Dehn
Essentials of the FIE
The following series is designed for educational diagnosticians who are interested in developing or deepening their skills as an evaluator. These may be taken as a group or individually. All three are going to be repeated in the fall semester.
Part 1: Planning for the FIE from Referral to Consent for the Educational Diagnostician
(11/7/2022) 9:00-4:00 Session ID: 2648264
Part 2: Selecting and Administering and Interpreting Assessments for the Educational Diagnostician
(11/14/2022) 9:00-4:00 Session ID: 2648324
Part 3: Writing Impactful FIEs for the Educational Diagnostician
(9/16/2022) 9:00-4:00 Session ID: 2648194
(11/15/2022) 9:00-4:00 Session ID: 2648325
Bilingual Evaluator Webinar Series with Dr. Corinna Cole
Bilingual Evaluator Series Part 1: Achievement Testing Considerations
(9/28/2022) 9:00-12:00 Session ID: 2649459
Bilingual Evaluator Series Part 2: Cognitive and Adaptive Testing Considerations
(10/26/2022) 9:00-12:00 Session ID: 2649460
Bilingual Evaluator Series Part 3: Ask the Expert Case Study Reviews
(10/26/2022) 1:00-3:00 Session ID: 2649654
Additional Sessions to consider
Writing Legally Defensible FIEs and REEDs with Elvin Houston
(10/14/2022) 8:30-11:30 Session ID: 2644853
Writing Legally Defensible MDRs and FBAs with Elvin Houston
(10/14/2022) 1:00-4:00 Session ID: 2649445
Brain Research and Autism: Understanding and Identifying Autism Spectrum Disorders with Layne Pethick
(10/17/2022) 9:00-12:00 Session ID: 2645549
Using your Noggin': Brain based Interventions with Layne Pethick
(10/17/2022) 1:00-4:00 Session ID: 2648345
Collaborative Child Find: Evaluating for Dyslexia in the FIE with Amy Smith and Amie Davenport
(10-19-2022) 9:00-4:00 Session ID: 2648321
Administering and Interpreting the DASH and Leiter with Ashley Arnold
(11/9/2022) 9:00-12:00 Session ID: 2645553
Who Should Conduct a Comprehensive Evaluation for OHI due to ADHD? with Ashley Arnold
(11/9/2022) 1:00-4:00 Session ID: 2648350
The Neuropsychology of Mathematics: Evaluations for Dyscalculia with Dr. Stephen Feifer
(12/9/2022) 9:00-12:00
In Person Session ID:2649211 or Virtual Session ID: 2649462
Virtual Lunch and Learn Series
The Virtual Lunch and Learn sessions will be offered from 11:30-1:30 and will cover a variety of topics critical to your success as an evaluator and will include interactive activities and group discussion. Attendees may opt to participate during the live session or asynchronously during the week following the live session.
10/5/2022 Session ID: 2649475- Accessing and Interpreting Multiple Sources of Data in the FIE with Jessica Garrett
12/14/2022 Session ID: 2649468 - Assistive Technology Evaluations with Shelley Ratcliffe
As the ARD Manager you sometimes need answers on the spot. The following are just three resources you will want to be familiar with and bookmark or print for easy reference when you need them.
Prior Written Notice Best Practices Handout
Required ARD Membership and Dual Roles
Technical Assistance: Individual Education Program (IEP) Development
upcoming sessions for ARD Managers
Courses Recommended for NEW ARD Managers
ARD Manager 101 Part 2: How to Stay Cool When Conversations Get Heated/ARD Facilitation
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.
(11/8/2022) 9:00-4:00 Session ID: 2648257
Writing Legally Defensible FIEs and REEDs with Elvin Houston
(10/14/2022) 8:30-11:30 Session ID: 2644853
Writing Legally Defensible MDRs and FBAs with Elvin Houston
(10/14/2022) 1:00-4:00 Session ID: 2649445
Virtual Lunch and Learn Series
The Virtual Lunch and Learn sessions will be offered from 11:30-1:30 and will cover a variety of topics critical to your success as an ARD Manager and will include interactive activities and group discussion. Attendees may opt to participate during the live session or asynchronously during the week following the live session.
Transition Processes and Requirements that Lead to Meaningful Outcomes for Students with Sandye Cox and Amy
(9/7/2022) Session ID: 2649464
HB 4545 Requirements, State Assessment Decisions and Accommodations with Lorna Salgado and Catie King
(11/2/2022) Session ID: 2649473
ON Demand TEA Course: Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) Committee Manager Training
This professional development session is a self-paced, online course that is intended to provide participants with best practices to ARD committee managers for local education agencies (LEAs) that choose to use this model. This course is intended to provide information, guidance, and best practice for successfully achieving the expectations, roles, and responsibilities of an ARD committee manager, including scheduling ARD committee meetings, preparing and finalizing required ARD committee paperwork, facilitating the ARD committee meeting, and supporting families and school personnel with the ARD committee processes. Participants who complete the course will receive 12 hours of professional learning credits.
Network 1 updates and resources
Here is what is new:
Transition and ARD Committee Meetings - recorded webinar
Prior Written Notice Legal Requirements and Best Practices- recorded webinar
Quick Reference Resources- Here you will find all resources from the Network complied on one page!
REPRINTED FROM JIM WALSH’S “DAILY DAWG” WITH PERMISSION FROM THE WALSH GALLEGOS LAW FIRM.
5TH CIRCUIT AFFIRMS DISTRICT’S DECISION ON THE IEE….
Northwest ISD did not think it should have to pay for the IEE (Independent Educational Evaluation) obtained by P.H.’s parents. The district’s decision not to fund an IEE has now been affirmed by a special education due process hearing officer, federal district court, and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Here’s how it happened.
Before enrolling their child in kindergarten, the parents gave the district a psychological evaluation they had obtained that diagnosed the student with Autism Spectrum Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder and separation anxiety. They asked the district to determine if the child needed special education services. The district then conducted its own FIIE (Full Initial Individual Evaluation). All of this information was then reviewed and considered at an ARD meeting in November. The ARD determined that the student was not eligible for special education services.
The parents did not challenge that decision immediately. But later in the school year, in April, the district determined that the student qualified for a Section 504 plan due to anxiety. At the 504 meeting the parents expressed their disagreement with the FIIE the district had completed in the fall. They asked the district to pay for an independent evaluation. The district said no, and requested a due process hearing to prove the appropriateness of the FIIE.
Let’s review a few basics about IEEs.
The starting point: These parents did the right thing by asking for the publicly funded IEE based on their disagreement with the district’s evaluation. That’s all it takes—a request based on a disagreement. The district also did the right thing by not just saying “no” but also requesting a hearing. That’s what IDEA requires.
It’s about the money. Parents don’t need the district’s approval to get an IEE. They need the district’s approval to get a publicly funded IEE. Sure enough, when the district refused to pay, the parents obtained a new evaluation at their own expense, and used it as evidence in the litigation.
Burden of proof: The district has the burden of proof in a case like this. It can prevail in the litigation by convincing the hearing officer of either of two things: 1) the district’s FIIE met all legal standards; or 2) the IEE failed to satisfy the district’s criteria. In this case, Northwest ISD relied on #1. NOTE: there is 5th Circuit caselaw that permits districts to refuse to pay for an IEE that fails to meet its criteria without having to request a due process hearing. But talk to your school attorney if you want to go that route. It can be tricky.
All areas of suspected disability. A good FIIE looks at every possible area of disability that might meet eligibility criteria. Here, the parents argued that the district focused exclusively on autism and ignored the possibility that the student could qualify as emotionally disturbed due to the anxiety. The court held that the FIIE had adequately taken the child’s anxiety into account, particularly since it appeared to fall short of what would be necessary for an ED label. The student did not show anxiety in the school setting, and teachers reported that the student’s emotional behavior was pretty typical of kindergarteners.
Choice of instruments. As the court noted, the choice of instruments is a professional decision to be made by the district’s evaluation professionals. The district used CARS-2 and SRS-2. The parents preferred ADOS-II. The court noted “Plaintiffs’ preference for one testing tool over another does not show the FIE was noncompliant.”
Proper administration of instruments. Formal testing needs to be done as per the instructions in the testing manual. In this case the court held that the parents failed to produce evidence of any problems in this area. But it’s a good reminder of the importance of reviewing the manual and following the required protocols.
That sums up Heather H. v. Northwest ISD, decided by the 5th Circuit on June 2, 2022. The case is cited at 2022 WL 1800771. I’m pleased to let you know that Meredith Walker from our firm’s Irving office represented the district and helped produce this good opinion.
DAWG BONE: DON’T WANT TO PAY FOR THE IEE? CALL YOUR LAWYER FIRST.
Got a question or comment for the Dawg? Let me hear from you at jwalsh@wabsa.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