SPED NEWS
2/24/23
Dates to Remember
March
3/13-3/17-Spring Break
March 20 - OAAP State Testing Window opens
APRIL
April 3- May 17 - State Testing for 11th and 3rd-8th
MAY
5/26/2023 - IEPs are due that have dates before 10/1/2023
JUNE
6/9/2023 - 2nd Semester Progress Report due
JULY
7/10-8/4 - ESY
EDPLAN GLITCH-PLEASE CHECK ROSTER
I just want to thank everyone for their patience with the EdPlan glitch this week (it did not make it easy on anyone, but as always this fantastic team made it work). You should have all of your students you are the teacher of record for in EdPlan now. I do need you to check and see if you are missing any students that you are a team member only (these would only be kids in the middle of the testing process). If you find anyone missing please send me an email with name and state testing number or student number and I will get them added back in asap. The other things to keep an eye on is to make sure related services and principals are assigned.
TESTING- NEED TO KNOW INFORMATION
You are likely to get this from me, your principal, and your BTC but I wanted to put it here anyway as it is important.
*****If you have a student that needs Word-to-Word Dictionary it is SUPER important for you to read this information as the deadline is quickly approaching*****
ACT testers with the multi-day accommodation need
to start and finish in the same ACT testing window.
Example: A student cannot start during the first two
weeks of ACT testing and finish during the make-up
window.
Start exposing students to the practice test and the
embedded tools : Link Here
It is recommended for students to bring their own
calculator. Link Here
Word to word dictionaries are not being sent to the
site. Students who need them need to have this form
completed by March 1st.
***When it opens and you complete the TA/TP Training it is VERY important that you use the exact name on your Teaching Certificate. If you are unsure about yours please email me and I will verify it in Bamboo (for some reason I can see everyone else but not my own)***
ECO UPDATES
ECO Info
End of year services will be calculated as June 30th, if an exit date is not provided.
Exit dates should reflect when the ratings were actually completed & not future dated. Occasionally this may mean that the length of services reported will be less than 180 days.
All 3 & 4-year old students determined eligible for special education services will need to have Entry ECO ratings completed, regardless of the date they are determined eligible for services. Edplan requires this for the IEP to be finalized.
Outcome Rating Scenarios:
If a student is placed December 31st or earlier and will be exiting pre-k in the spring the ECO Entry & ECO Exit will be required.
If a student is placed January 1st or later and will be exiting pre-k in the spring the ECO Entry can be completed, but it is not required for reporting purposes in most cases. Please see below for further information.
4-year old students- Edplan will require ECO Entry data, ECO exit is not required if the student will be receiving less than 6 months of service
5-year old students- ECO Entry data is not required for children placed January 1st or later who will be exiting pre-k. However, the ratings may be entered to assist with progress measurement. OSDE did caution that if for some reason a 5 year old student placed after 1/1 does not progress to Kindergarten as expected, then an entry & exit will be required.
Transfer between in-state schools
If a student transfers in with less than 180 days of service, an exit rating will not be completed by the sending district. If the total time of services at the sending school plus the receiving school equals 180 days or more an ECO Exit rating should be completed.
Total length of service should be checked before exiting to ensure that length of service totals 180 days or more.
Transferring out-of-state
Students that are transferring to an out-of-state school should have an ECO Exit rating completed, if they received at least 180 days of services
Kindergarten w/o ECO Exit rating
If a Kindergarten student did not receive an ECO Exit rating prior to leaving pre-k the ECO rating should be completed as soon as possible, but will most likely be on the previous year’s report.
Importance of the Parent Survey
Our district's response number to the parent survey is VERY low. As a matter of fact, our Fall 2022 response rate was 0.13% (7 out of 5386 students). The survey completion rate is factored into our school evaluation under the Indicator 8 category. Parents can complete the survey online or by phone.
Here are some suggestions:
- If you are meeting with the parent in person please pull the survey up at the end of the meeting (We can do this after REDS & Parent Consent, MEEGS, and IEP Meetings)
- Epic is ONLY located in Oklahoma County. Please make sure you let your parents know this to avoid any confusion or frustration ;)
- If you know that you have a family that will struggle with completing the survey please offer to help them ;)
- If you have a phone meeting when you send the final signed documents you can use an email template asking them to complete it.
The Parent Survey document contains the phone number as well as the online link with instructions on how to . You can refer parents to this document or only provide the online Parent Survey link.
SCHOOL PSYCH NEWS
Clearing up some confusion on Educational Needs and Deficits
An Educational Need is anything below a Standard Score of 85 for Academic scores.
If the student has a category of Autism, ED, or OHI, Social/Emotional Behavior could also be an Educational Need. Adaptive Behavior is usually only added for students that need help with normal daily tasks like dressing, etc.
A Deficit is only addressed when we are looking at SLD, Specific Learning Disability. There are 8 educational deficit areas: Basic Reading Skills, Reading Comprehension, Reading Fluency, Math Calculation, Math Problem Solving, Written Expression, Oral Language and Listening Comprehension. If any of these boxes are checked on the MEEGS, it is because there is a discrepancy on the testing between Cognitive (IQ) and achievement scores. This area, "Deficit", only populates when SLD is being considered as the category.
So, a student may qualify for SLD due to the discrepancy in, let's say Math Calculation. That is a deficit that qualifies the student for special ed services. Then, they may have Educational Needs in the areas of Basic Reading and Written Language because those scores were below 85, which is below the average range.
Kathryn Howe -Team Jones
Mandy Thompson-Team Buck
Just a few Friendly Reminders
Calendar Invite Reminders
- Please make sure the student's full name is included on calendar invites.
- Do not hide the guest list.
- Don't forget to invite related services or the HI/VI specialist when applicable. This is located on the Parent/Team tab!
IEP Reviews
- Must be submitted by 5 PM at least 3 business days prior to the meeting, or the teacher will be required to reschedule.
Finalize Form
- Please submit the finalize form after every IEP, Re-Eval, or Consent meeting held.
Signature Requests
- Must be completed within 3 business days of being finalized. (Teachers are notified by email when finalization is completed.)
Weekly Sped Office Hours (Optional)
Tuesday's at 9 am
This is an optional time that I will be available on Zoom to answer general questions about any thing SPED related. I will keep this time set aside all year (unless there is a special event). Please do not feel like you have to have a question to join us, I had many teachers last year join in and listen because many times if someone has a question you might benefit from the answer.
Please use the following link to join:
https://epiccharterschools.zoom.us/j/5803620492
Meeting ID:580 362 0492
ACCESS TO RESOURCES
Special Education EpicOne Page
Check out each of the tabs on the SPED page.
- IEP Meeting Documents
- Conference Lines
- SPED Handbook
- and lots more!
Weekly Newsletters
- IEP Process Check List
- EDPlan Navigation
- EDPlan Goal Vocabulary
- Components of an Objective Statement
- Components of a Written Notice
- Transition Cheat Sheet
- Transition Assessment Handbook
- Casey Life Skills (paper version)
- Transition Services/Activities: Example 1 & Example 2
- and much more!
Access to DDS fliers and recording of informational meeting. Located under SPED Essentials>Community Resources.
EDPLAN LINK
Hoping Edplan plays nicer next week!
Kelly Ford
SPED Compliance Specialist
Conference quick line: 1(408)638-0968,,,5803620492
Email: kelly.ford@epiccharterschools.org
Phone: 580-362-0492