The Scoop

Hello TISD Special Services #IslandInnovators! I am so excited to see all we can do for our students and families during the 2024-2025 School Year! Your dedication, passion, energy and innovation will make Tomball ISD a true Destination for Excellence and our own little slice of Paradise!

The Scoop is a place for you to make sure you are in the know and have all the information you need. You are responsible for the information in the SCOOP. If you need clarification, please reach out to your Student Support Specialist or me.

You all do an amazing job and service for our students, families and staff. You set the stage for communication, service and trust. Keep building that community trust with parents, students and staff and over communicate!

~Keri

Last day for reporting your water intake for the September Challenge.

Keep up the great health and wellness this month and participate and report your water consumption… even if you don’t feel you met your goal, go ahead and report.

For October, it is The 31 Day Exercise Challenge! Make sure you submit on the google form the days you complete at least 30 minutes of excercise (walking, weight training, running, group class, etc,). The form will record the amount of exercise you complete over the course of the month! You can find the form on the TISD Moves site linked below along with healthy tips and information.

Check out our TISD MOVES site with healthy tips and information!

**** We are listed with C&I department, so participate and report under C&I.****

If you can believe it, we have been using our Curriculum Access tools now for about 7 years. As part of our due diligence we are going through the process of evaluating how the reading and writing tools are used and if there are other products that might serve us as well or better. As a result, we are recruiting a few people who are interested in trying out some of the products and giving feedback. We know that the best judge of the usefulness is those who use it most. If you are interested in participating in these trials and reviews please submit your information at this link:

https://forms.office.com/r/DEKHA5bB1n

Our first informational meeting on a product is October 10. If you are selected we will let you know prior to that date. You will not be required to attend the meetings but you will be expected to give feedback on your experiences with the tools. Please respond on the form by Friday, October 4th to be considered only if you are willing to provide feedback. If you have a student that you would like to include in the feedback loop please provide their information on the form separately or e-mail me their name and ID# and why you think they would be a good candidate to evaluate the tools.

Thanks in advance for supporting the success of our students!

Don’t forget that you will need three goals: one department goal, one personal goal, and a health/wellness goal. Here is the guidance on submitting your goals.

If you have any questions or need a face to face meeting, please contact your Appraiser this week!

This week is Digital Citizenship Week! What an amazing opportunity for our students and teachers to learn more about being safe online and being responsibly users of digital applications! Our teachers and librarians are prepared to facilitate important lessons throughout the week.

Please help support Digital Citizenship Week by wearing the daily colors assigned to each theme. You can find the daily colors here.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cP2fiLE8SZiGR5Z8WgzucP9TmxgmbGY9/view?usp=drive_link

A new and exciting addition to Digital Citizenship Week is the opportunity for teachers to become Common Sense Recognized Educators and for each school to become a Common Sense Recognized Campus. The Digital Learning Department is working with Common Sense and campus librarians to make this recognition a reality.

Please make sure to provide all parents with the Overview of Special Education for Parents when getting initial consent. Upload the signed form to the Frontline Manager along with the Notice and Consent.

The agenda norms for IEP meetings have been shortened. Please see the changes here. Also, please ensure you indivudualize the agendas when needed to ensure clarity in meetings and structure.

As we prepare for our Annual ARD meetings in October, please ensure that Extended School Year (ESY)services are considered during the meeting. Case Managers should assess whether students regressed over the summer and if they recouped skills by the first progress report. Avoid stating that we will "wait and see"; instead, use current data to determine eligibility for ESY. For students who have not been in special education long enough to have relevant data, we will indicate "no" for ESY. If circumstances change, we can address this in a Revision ARD.

For students eligible for ESY, please upload the data in Frontline Archive Manager, select "Yes" for ESY, complete the ESY supplement, and specify the goals affected by selecting ESY on the goal. Don't forget to add the ESY dates to the schedule of service page. Also, address transportation needs and complete the ESY section of the transportation supplement if transportation is needed for the summer. Add the student’s name to this list. Please share the ESY Google form with the parents. You can check if the parents completed the form using this link.

If you have questions, please reach out to your student support specialist.

Special Education Language Acquisition (SELA) is a yearly data collection process for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and are eight years old or younger. The data is used to create a report on the children's language acquisition.

In Tomball ISD we will have 3 scenarios for completion of this requirement:

Cy Fair based TISD students: Cy Fair will assess and report.

TISD based students receiving itinerant services: The itinerant teachers will reach out to parents that meet the criteria (DHH or DB and 0-8 years old) to obtain consent. They will coordinate with the ARD team to complete the assessment.

TISD students not receiving direct DHH services:

a. The Assistant Director of Student Support will complete the SELA spreadsheet with student names and campuses each year.

b. Diagnosticians will update the spreadsheet with any students transferred in or added that meet the criteria during the year.

c. TISD campus SLP will obtain * consent from parents and coordinate with the team as needed, as to what approved assessment is appropriate.

d. Eileen Garza with support of the team, will provide information on amplification questions.

e. Document results using assessment rubric on this spreadsheet by April 30th.

1. Unless a student is undergoing sped evaluation, results do not need to be in a formal report, rather place protocol and consent in the protocol folder and send it to Student Support.

ii. Upload consent into eSped.

*click here for Spanish and Vietnamese versions on the TEA website

Letter from TEA explaining the consent form. This is for our information only.

If you have any questions, then reach out to your student support specialist.

Expectations for Prior Written Notice (PWN) and Deliberations

Remember that deliberations need to be personalized to show parent participation along with what was considered and decided upon in the meeting. All parent requests will be considered with a district response either accepting the request, explaining (using data) why the request is not necessary for FAPE, or discuss how the need is already addressed within the current IEP. The deliberations always need to be read aloud.

#FAPE Amendment Without a Meeting

Here is a helpful document on how to complete an amendment.

The people who sign the amendment should be all of the required stakeholders that would be necessary to hold an ARD.

FAQs For the Re-Evaluation Process

All three-year reevaluations due through September 30, 2025 should already be discussed to determine what is needed. All stakeholders need to be involved in this decision including the parents. Call parents and discuss the evaluation needs and make sure you document the conversation in the Frontline Parent Log. Remember parents have a right to request formal evaluation and we need to make sure to share this information with the parent. It is okay to explain why formal testing may not be necessary, however, please explain to the parents how the evaluation team can address their concerns without formal testing (i.e. How much progress has the student made?).

#EVALUATION-Independent Educational Evaluation

Parents have the right to request an IEE for the areas of a suspected disability that the school district evaluated for or should have evaluated for. If data indicates that another area may be impacting a student (other than the suspected area) then we must explore that area.

Make sure when requesting consent to include all areas of the evaluation which allows for informal or formal assessments to be conducted as determined by the evaluator if needed. This will keep us from limiting the scope of our evaluations.

Please make sure we are archiving the notice and consent.

When you have a student who elopes, it's hard not to imagine the worst about what could happen if he slips away during the school day.

But not every student who wanders needs the most restrictive interventions. Students elope for a variety of reasons. Creating an elopement plan as part of a student's behavioral intervention plan and IEP can ensure it's tailored to his individual needs so that he and everyone around him stays safe.

"If there's any time when a student is eloping and leaving areas with adult supervision, you probably want some sort of plan in place to make sure they're safe," said Elizabeth A. Heffernan, an attorney at Ahlers & Cooney P.C. in Des Moines, Iowa. It's not as simple as saying, "Here's your template of an elopement plan," Heffernan said. "It comes back to that individualized student need. Make sure teams are discussing this behavior, and it's documented in a way that makes sense for people reading it."

IEP teams, including school administrators, should discuss students' specific elopement behaviors and develop plans that address immediate safety needs while also building skills that make them less likely to run. Below, explore possible components of an elopement plan that align with a student's BIP and IEP.

Key components of elopement plan

Component

What it involves

Describe reason for student wandering.

You may learn through interviews and observations that the student runs when he is overwhelmed and trying to avoid an academic or another demand, Heffernan said. Or he may become overstimulated by his surroundings and wander to calm down somewhere quieter. He may be distracted by something and leave to get a closer look. Or he may be working silently and wandering to find the stimulation he needs. "Knowing the trigger can help inform the rest of the elopement plan," she said. If it's part of a behavioral intervention plan, "knowing antecedents that get the student to elope is going to be important if it's something that can be controlled or at least prepared for."

Detail who will respond.

Identify who is responsible for keeping track of the student and notifying others about her elopement, Heffernan said. For example, a paraprofessional may be prepared to follow the student if she wanders the hallway to self-regulate. But, the para might have to contact the principal if the student tries to leave the school building. If a student doesn't have a para but is known to wander in certain circumstances, have teachers check in with the central office when she arrives and leaves classes. "There's someone who's regularly keeping track of the student's location so we can figure out where they are," Heffernan said.

Note who else to contact.

State the need to contact a school resource officer if a wandering student is in danger or unable to be found, Heffernan said. "If there becomes an emergency situation, identifying when [law enforcement should get involved] is a good piece of the plan," she said. "If a student has left the school building and is running down the street, maybe that's when the teacher may call the office, and the office may notify the SRO."

Clarify when to reach out to parents.

Along with incorporating parents' input on what works to reduce and respond to their child's elopement behavior, the plan should detail when to notify them about their child's wandering, Heffernan said. "If the student wanders the halls, maybe they don't need to be notified every time," she said. "But if they leave the school building, maybe that's when they call the parents. It really depends on the needs of the individual student and what the parent input is for that team. This is part of the conversation of the team as a whole."

Address future fading of plan.

Don't expect a student to need the same plan forever, Heffernan said. As the student receives interventions and learns replacement behaviors through his BIP, the elopement plan can be faded out. You may create goals in the student's IEP regarding staying in class for an increasing amount of time with the use of coping strategies he has been taught. "The core function of the elopement is something that needs to be addressed over time," she said.

See also:
· Before placing 'runner' in more restrictive setting, try 5 easy pre-steps
· Strategies to Keep Children with Autism Safe in School
· From Planning to Crisis Response: Legal Issues Related to School Safety and Students With Disabilities, presented by Brandon K. Wright, Esq.

Cara Nissman covers autism, school psychology, and IEP team issues for LRP Publications.

March 19, 2024

Copyright 2024© LRP Publications

Special Ed Connection

Community Connections assists Special Services in making key chain visuals for staff. There is a minimum of a 1-2 week turn around. If you or anyone on your campus needs the lanyard visuals, please use the link below to order:

Key Ring Visual Order Form

A student on track to graduate need not attend the IEP meeting where transition services are being discussed. Is this fact or fiction?

An IEP team can consider transition services at an IEP meeting not attended by the student, provided the student is invited. All the IDEA requires is that: "If the child does not attend the IEP Team meeting, the public agency must take other steps to ensure that the child's preferences and interests are considered." 34 CFR 300.321 (b)(2).

In Gibson v. Forest Hills Local School District Board of Education, 68 IDELR 33 (6th Cir. 2016, unpublished), the 6th Circuit explained that a court may excuse a district's failure to invite a student to an IEP meeting on postsecondary transition planning if the student is unable to articulate her interests and preferences. However, the failure to gather any meaningful data on transition needs will almost surely result in a denial of FAPE.

Therefore, you were correct if you guessed FACT.

Editor's note: This feature is not intended as instructional material or to replace legal advice.

September 24, 2024

Copyright 2024© LRP Publications

Voter Registration Deadline Oct. 7

Less than three weeks remain for Texas voters to register to vote or update their registrations for the Nov. 5 election. By Oct. 7, voters should verify their voter registration here to ensure that their names and addresses are correct and that their registration statuses are “active.” Name and address changes can be made online.

If you’ve never registered to vote, a fillable online form can be completed, printed, and mailed following the instructions here. Public libraries often carry paper registration forms with postage paid.

Texas does not offer online voter registration.

• Thursday, October 10 - Work Day
• Friday, October 11 - Exchange Day (Grades Due)
• Monday, October 14 - Campus PLC Day
• Check HERE for the rest of the year meetings for Special Services

Robanne Roberts - 9/29

Brenda Knoepffler - 9/30

Angela Moore-10/1

Wendy Lewis-10/15

Thad Green-10/20

Ramona Brizzard-10/22

Keri Williams-10/23

Vy Thai-10/26

Rodeliah Elloie-10/26

• Julie Gray is such a kind and thoughtful person! Several of us not assigned to CES have a face to face parent meeting today at CES, and she took the initiative to contact the administrative assistant to check on a place for us to meet. Julie did not need to do this and took it upon herself to help us. THANK YOU JULIE!! We appreciate you!

Tomball Education Foundation continues to provide grants for TISD staff through an application process to support innovative instruction and high academic achievement. As you plan with your teams before school, please keep in mind the opportunity to be funded for innovative practices. The deadline to apply is Friday, October 18. Last year we were able to provide $125,000 to the TISD staff. Grants can be written as a team or as an individual. If you have questions, please contact us through the Tomball Education Foundation website: www.tomballedfoundation.com/

We just received updated information, and TEA has extended the free access to ATIA webinars for the 24-25 school year. ATIA Videos provide free ASHA credits. Also AOTA, APTA and IACET. ATIA stands for Assistive technology industry association

Here is the link:

https://links-1.govdelivery.com/CL0/https:%2F%2Fspedsupport.tea.texas.gov%2Flearning-library%2Fassistive-technology-industry-association-atia%3Futm_medium=email%26utm_source=govdelivery/1/01000191a4f50317-e7cb9210-8af9-41cc-87c3-3866e37ea9a0-000000/Rghob1Uk5feswgqsbakJySYbsKy8bP6BCbDyW_AorC4=368

The code is: PD25TEA

PASSionate ABout Kids!

Behavior Bulletin

Specialized Support Snippits

Lip Ledger

If you are tweeting anything this school year, do not include identifying information of students nor students that are identified with a "red button". Please use our hashtag: #IslandInnovators our district hashtags: #DestinationParadise, #DestinationExcellence and feel free to tag @gibby1112 and @TStudentSupport

Student Support Personnel by Campus

Our Student Support Personnel are listed by campus on the link above. This will help ensure you know your student support specialist as well as other campus contacts.