DIVISION
OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
Telephone: 317-232-0570
Facsimile: 317-232-0589
e-mail: rmarra@doe.in.gov
Meeting of the State Advisory Council on Students with Disabilities
June 12, 1998
Embassy Suites, North
Indianapolis, Indiana
In Attendance: Michael Dalrymple, Julie Swaim, Cathlene Hardy-Hansen, Becky Bowman, Kathy Wodicka, Carolyn Heier, Mary Ramos, Edward Kasamis, Brett Bollinger, David Schmidt, Liam Grimley, Elaine Scaife, Deborah Winchester,
Special Guests: Maria Sells, Maureen Sweeny (attended for Maureen Greer), and Gary Collings. Sharon Schultz, Daena Richmond, and Connie Franklin joined the Council for the afternoon presentation on the State Improvement Plan (SIP) and State Improvement Grant (SIG)
Division Staff in Attendance: Robert Marra, Lynn Holdheide, Rebecca Relford, Sally Cook, and Sharon Knoth
Interpreters - Robert Frew and Anita Storkey
Mrs. Wodicka called the meeting to order at 9:15 a.m. Introductions ensued.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes from the March 19, 1998 were reviewed. Mr. Schmidt moved to approve them as distributed. Seconded by Dr. Grimley. Motion carried.
IDEA Update
Mr. Marra addressed the Council regarding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), providing a "current status" overview regarding the reauthorization. The areas of major interest (where we are uncertain as to how the final regulations will "read") were:
o Discipline and the "10-day rule" is a very contentious area of the regulations. There are no clear indications of how the final regulations will read pertaining to the area of discipline.
o Implementation Date or Effective Date of IDEA. An agreement was reached and a letter issued by OSEP to indicate that, contrary to what they said originally, IEPs which are developed after July 1, 1998 must be compliant with the new regulations (previously they had said IEPs which would be in place after that day must meet the language).
o Participation of the general education teacher in the case conference committee meeting. How do schools reduce the "burden" of having teachers moving in and out of classrooms to attend meetings? Finding substitute teachers is a difficult issue - and to add on the increased numbers needed in order to meet this requirement increases that difficulty.
o Increased Funding for IDEA.
A discussion of the "paperwork" required for special education ensued. Dr. Bollinger indicated that he is losing many special education teachers to general education due primarily to the large amount of paperwork they are required to maintain.
Alternate assessments - Mr. Marra provided an update on where Indiana is currently with regard to standardized assessments, state-mandated assessments, and alternate assessments.
Functional Behavioral Assessments - the Division and the IEP staff have been conducting effective discipline workshops to address this area.
Monitoring - we are not going to be monitored this next year (by OSEP). OSEP truly liked our State Implementation Plan which we developed this past October, and believed we were "right on track" with implementing the new regulations. We will most likely be monitored by OSEP within the next two or three years.
Dr. Grimley stated that he would like for the Council to commend the Division for all of their work on the State Implementation Plan. Seconded by Mr. Schmidt. Affirmed by the Council.
Article 7 Revision
Mr. Marra gave an update to the Council regarding Article 7 and how we will handle bringing it into compliance with the reauthorization. Topics of interest include:
o A discussion of Developmental Delay. Ms. Bowman brought up concerns regarding confusion which may result with the Developmental Disability label used in the Bureau of Developmental Disability. Mr. Marra indicated the Division will look into that issue.
o General Education Intervention. The Division is proposing to remove all of the specificity and then place it in the hands of the case conference committee. It will have to be done, and the case conference will have to discuss the results of interventions attempted, but Article 7 won't prescribe how to do this.
o Eligibility Criteria. We have been attempting to reduce the repetition which existed in the definitions originally. We have also tried to remove procedural language from the eligibility criteria.
o Triennial Assessments. We have been working on wording functional triennial assessments into Article 7.
o Case Conference Committee Participation - Agency Representative (who can commit fiscal resources?) Bob has checked with other states and we seem to have a very strict/narrow interpretation here. Can we give some flexibility here and not look strictly at licensor, but rather, at the skills the individuals have? Can the initial case conference have different required participants than the annual case review?
o Transition/Age of Majority- The Division is working on this issue (along with the Indiana Transition Initiative personnel).
o Comprehensive System of Personnel Development. We are looking at removing the CSPD team requirements currently in Article 7 and replacing it with the language in HR5 which speaks to building-based teams. These teams would tie in the Title I funds, Language Minority, Adult Education, etc.
o Use of Paraprofessionals. We have an extreme shortage of speech-language pathologists in our state. We are working with Indiana State, Purdue, and IU to begin a training program where a 4-year degree would be a Speech Language Assistant (SLA), use distance education, etc. There is also a concern that, in reviewing the most recent ChildCount data, the "solution" is throwing a paraprofessional in the classroom with the student (rather than looking proactively at the needs of the building and the student).
Data collection for the Federal Government was discussed. We are being required to begin collecting data on the number of students expelled or suspended due to drugs, weapons, and a variety of other issues. The form currently being required by the Feds is q`uite involved and lengthy....and will require quite a bit of training and time for the LEAs to complete. It is hoped that this form will be modified and shortened when the reauthorization is finalized.
Meeting Dates for Next Year
Mrs. Wodicka shared the dates and locations for the 1998/99 Council meetings. The September 18, 1998; November 13, 1998; February 19, 1999; and May 21, 1999 meetings will be the required meetings of the Council. Dr. Kasamis moved to approve the meeting dates. Seconded by Mrs. Swaim. Motion carried.
Presentation on the SIP and the SIG
Sharon Schultz and Daena Richmond from IEP at Ball State gave a presentation to the Council. Dr. Grimley suggested that the two performance indicators which were repeated, be re-worded to reference the earlier citation of the performance indicator (so that the reader will know that it wasn't repeated due to an oversight on the SIG Committee's part).
Donna Hogle has developed a White Paper on the Bright Beginnings Program, which Michael believes is publically available, if anyone is interested.
A discussion of Goal 2 ensued [especially 2.3(c)]. The committee believes it is a very important indicator, but we need help determining how we will measure it. Mrs. Wodicka indicated that the G/T students have alternative methods for going on to college (even at the age of 13) - perhaps we could check into how they do this - and how they measure whether it is successful. Dr. Bollinger indicated that they have a collaborative partnership in their area which has been quite successful. It is called Opportunities for Success and is a collaborative partnership between New Albany Floyd County Schools and Ivy Tech which we may also want to explore.
Title I has data from a survey conducted every October regarding the delinquency centers throughout the state. Charlie and Hazel would be who we would contact for data.
Mr. Dalrymple moved to have the SIP placed on the Division's home page for comments. Seconded by Dr. Grimley. Motion carried.
Re-Structuring Update
Mr. Marra updated the Council on the Greater Randolph Interlocal Cooperative and Jay School Corporation. Each have hired a director of special education and are moving forward with preparing grants for next year. It is anticipated that North Montgomery will come back before the Council next year. It is also anticipated that there will be at least one other district seeking re-structuring during the 1998/99 school year.
Ms. Scaife moved to adjourn the Council meeting at 2:40 p.m. Seconded by Dr. Bollinger. Motion carried.