How much time do you spend reviewing score reports beyond just looking to see what standard scores were obtained? It is critical we look beyond our standard scores. Not doing this we risk misinterpreting the results obtained.
Check out this free webinar, Getting the Most out of your WJ IV Score Report by Dr. Tammy Stephens, Ph.D.
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.
Part 3: Writing Impactful FIEs for the Educational Diagnostician
(11/2/2023) 9:00-4:00 Session ID: 2655911
Virtual Lunch and Learn Series
Dates and Topics Coming SOON!
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 discussions. Attendees may opt to participate during the live session or asynchronously during the week following the live session.
11/29/2023- Session ID: 2657721
The Write Stuff: Effective Evaluation of Written Language Skills with Ashley Arnold from WPS
2/14/2024- Methods for Integrating Multiple Sources of Data
4/17/2024- Legal Updates with Taylor Montgomery from Thompson & Horton
STAAR Alt 2 Updated Participation Requirements
TEA updated the STAAR Alt 2 requirements outlining when a student may be considered eligible for this alternative assessment. You can find the STAAR Alt 2 forms in English and Spanish as well as other important resources on TEA's website.
Updated STAAR Alt 2 Requirements (TEA form to be completed by the ARD committee)
And if you are new to working with students with significant cognitive disabilities and would like to learn more, check out these resources and courses available through the Texas Sped Support website.
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.
Virtual Lunch and Learn Series for ARD Managers
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 discussions. Attendees may opt to participate during the live session or asynchronously during the week following the live session.
SAVE THE DATES!
1/31/2024- Preparing for and Leading Difficult ARD Meetings
3/20/2024-Transition Requirements
Child Find Evaluation and ARD Supports Network: Updates and Resources
**** IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!
The Child Find Evaluation and ARD Supports Network website is no longer a standalone site. ALL resources are in the process of being moved to the NEW TEA site: Texas Sped Support. This site will house ALL resources that have been created through various TEA networks on one website platform. Due to recent updates in legislation as well as state code, several resources that were previously available are being revised and are currently unavailable.
If you find that you are unable to locate a particular document, training, or webinar, please contact me for assistance.
In this Edition of the Quarterly Chronicle, you will find information about available TEA training for evaluators and ARD Managers.
TEA Updates
Texas Sped Support Website is a one-stop-shop for educators and administrators who support students served by special education. The website will house special education resources such as online courses, printable tools and templates, guidebooks, and a robust video library. Bookmark Texas SPED Support today!
House Bill (HB) 3928
House Bill 3928 was passed by the 88th Texas Legislature (Regular Session) and impacts dyslexia evaluation, identification, and services. While the agency works to update the necessary materials, be aware that the law is effective immediately. The State Board of Education's proposed timeline for its required changes will be communicated to the field once it is determined and communicated to the Texas Education Agency (TEA). You can view a brief video overview of the requirements of HB 3928 HERE
Support for Struggling Readers
TEA has provided funding for all K-12 public and open enrollment schools to support struggling readers with the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution.
This September, Learning Ally will be rolling out two new incentives designed to help maximize the power of the Audiobook Solution - at no cost to your school or district!
- Learning Ally’s Texas Student Orientation: provides students with hands-on knowledge of how to use the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution. Students will explore how to search for age-appropriate books, add them to bookshelves, set reading goals, and begin reading.
- Learning Ally’s Educator Rapid Coaching Session: A 30-minute educator support class, a Learning Ally Coach will guide educators in a workshop-style environment through setting up educator dashboards, assigning books to students, and monitoring progress. Educators will have the opportunity to ask questions and get support. Limit 20 educators per session.
Level the playing field for your students at NO INCREMENTAL COST to your school or district.
REPRINTED FROM JIM WALSH’S “DAILY DAWG” WITH PERMISSION FROM THE WALSH GALLEGOS LAW FIRM.
TOOLBOX TUESDAY!! WAS IT A MANIFESTATION OF DISABILITY?
If a student is diagnosed with autism, any violation of the Code of Conduct is likely a manifestation of that disability: right? Same goes for students who are identified as needing special education due to a serious emotional disturbance: right? So if you have a student with both of these conditions, it’s predictable that any misbehavior will be considered a manifestation of one or both disabilities: right?
That’s not how the hearing officer viewed the matter in a Texas due process hearing decision from earlier this year. The ARDC concluded that the student’s behavior was not a manifestation of disability and the hearing officer affirmed that decision.
Like most decisions from a special education hearing this one is heavily redacted. Consequently, we are not told exactly what the student did that led to his assignment to a DAEP. Despite that, we can glean some important lessons from this decision.
First, the ARDC reviewed all of the relevant records before making a decision:
The MDR Committee reviewed Student’s current FIE; Present Levels of Academic and Functional Performance information from teachers, school records, including permanent records, group/individual achievement records; discipline records, information from parents, and IEP/BIP goals, and placement.
Second, the ARDC reviewed IEP implementation to make sure that the student’s misconduct was not attributable to the failure of the district to do its job. The teacher testified about how she implemented the IEP, and the Committee noted that the student’s BIP did not address the behavior that led to the DAEP placement.
Third, the hearing officer emphasized that the MDR sets a high bar. Key Quotes:
The standard for establishing a manifestation for the purposes of an MDR under IDEA is a high bar, requiring a close correlation between the disability and the conduct. Simply showing a connection to the disability is not sufficient….
Hearing officers and courts have consistently looked for a causal connection between the ways the student’s disability has manifested itself in the past at school and the behavior at issue in the disciplinary incident.
The bottom line is this: The IDEA’s limit on disciplinary consequences for students with disabilities applies “only when the conduct violation has a documented and close connection to the behavior the student has exhibited previously at school stemming from their disability.”
It’s a Toolbox case! Here, the district used Tool #6—a Disciplinary Change of Placement. Tool #6 can only be used when the behavior is not a manifestation of disability. Here the district persuaded the hearing officer that it used Tool #6 properly, even though the student was identified with both autism and an emotional disturbance.
It’s Student v. Klein ISD, decided by hearing officer Deborah Heaton McElvaney on March 23, 2023. It’s Docket No. 157-SE-0123, and it’s reported in The IDELR at 123 LRP 16835.
DAWG BONE: MDR SETS A HIGH BAR. CAUSATION—NOT CORRELATION.
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