The Role of Special Education

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The Role of Special Education
Christopher Balow, Ph.D. Feb. 2008
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Topics for Today

• Minnesota laws rules related to SLD
• Use of RtI for special education SLD eligibility
  determination.
• Requirements, policies and procedures for SLD
  eligibility.
• Role of and function of problem solving teams

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RtI Problem-Solving What have we accomplished
so far (06-07)

• District RtI Coordinator to facilitate the
  process.
• RtI problem-solving training for 10 elementary
  teams.
• Increased use of universal screening data for all
  students.
• Elementary teams processed about 60 cases last
  year using the problem-solving intervention
  model.
• Computer database system is being used too
  collect and manage assessment data and RtI
  information.
• AimsWeb assessments for tier II III
  interventions
• Teams improved their skills at intervening with
  students and teams improved their process skills.
• Frustration was felt with not being able to
  qualify students for SLD using the RtI
  approach.

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RtI Problem-Solving What have we accomplished
so far (07-08)

• Problem-solving teams continue to meet and
  improve their skills and capacity.
• Creation of a new District RtI K-12 steering
  committee.
• RtI coordinator connection with State RtI Center
  and others around the state
• Advanced training for elementary problem-solving
  teams ½ day this Jan/Feb.
• Jr. High training (3 - ½ days) SJHS OLJH grade
  7 only. Teams begin work by 1/24.
• Senior high training for 10th grade teams (3 ½
  days). Teams begin work by 2/7.

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Possible Road Map for RtI (draft 2/08)

• Lots more sharing, training, coaching,
  technical support as we move ahead!
• Advanced training for elementary PS teams Winter
  2008
• Reading eligibility determination process K-6
  Winter 2008
• Training for elementary gen ed on RtI process
  Spring 2008
• Secondary PS teams begin work Winter 2008
• District discussions of resource allocation for
  RtI initiatives Spring 08
• Building teams review data for tier-level
  determination Fall 2008
• Training for secondary gen ed on RtI process Fall
  2008
• Advanced training for 7 10 PS teams late Fall
  2008
• Initial PS team training for 8, 9, 11 12 grade
  teams Fall 2008
• Math universal screening K-6 Fall 2008
• Math eligibility determination process K-6 Spring
  2009
• Reading eligibility determination process 7-12
  Spring 2009
• Advanced training for 8, 9, 11, 12th grade
  teams Fall 2009
• Integration of secondary assessment system into
  RtI model Spring 2009
• Math Eligibility determination process 7-12
  Spring 2009
• Written Expression is being explored as well.

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• Stop asking me if were almost there were
  Nomads, for crying out loud!

Some People see change as a singular event. RtI
is an on-going process. (3-5 years minimum!)
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Response To Intervention Defined

• Response to intervention is defined as
• the practice of providing high-quality
  instruction and interventions matched to student
  need, monitoring progress frequently to make
  decisions about changes in instruction or goals
  and applying child response data to important
  educational decisions. RtI should be applied to
  decisions in general, remedial and special
  education, creating a well-integrated system of
  instruction/intervention guided by student
  outcome data.

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General RtI Concepts

• It IS NOT the same as Problem-Solving
• A systematic and data-based method for
  determining the degree to which a student has
  responded to an intervention.
• School-wide assessment data on all students at
  three levels (universal screening, diagnostics
  and continuous progress monitoring.
• Multiple tiers of intervention services and
  options.

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General RtI Concepts

• Services should intensify for a student as the
  student response to intervention is below
  expectations.
• A systematic problem-solving process .
• PS Teams with knowledge of and accessibility to
  research based intervention strategies or
  programs.

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Essential Component 1 Multi-tier Model of
Services
1-5
1-5
5-10
5-10
80-90
80-90
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Essential Component 2
Problem-Solving Method Problem-Solving Teams
RtI
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What is a Problem Solving Team (PST)?

• A group of professionals and persons
  knowledgeable about a student(s) engaged in a
  collaborative process that uses the skills of
  these individuals from different disciplines to
  develop and evaluate intervention plans that
  improve significantly the school performance of
  students.

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Problem-Solving Teams

• Special education staff should play an equal
  role as a team member. This is an Gen Ed
  function.
• Tasks assigned by the PS team should not be
  heavily weighted on special ed staff.
• Some special education staff may play a larger
  role depending upon their expertise and nature of
  the referring problem.

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Problem-Solving Teams

• DO NOT use the problem-solving team and in-depth
  problem analysis approach for all individual
  student problems!
• Do use in-depth problem analysis with the most
  severe individual cases (at the most 5).
• Do use the problem solving team to examine
  building and grade level data.
• Do use the problem-solving team for building
  grade level academic and behavioral concerns at
  the tier 1 and tier 2 levels.

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Problem-Solving Consultation Continuum
Level IV Entitlement Consideration
Level III Full Problem Solving Team ICEL-RIOT
Level II Standard Treatment Protocol
Level I Problem-Solving Team Teachers,
Parents, Building specialists
Intensive
Amount of Resources Needed to Solve Problem
Strategic Progress Monitoring
Benchmark Universal Screening Data
Intensity of Problem
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Essential Component 3Integrated Assessment
Systems

• Highest performing schools place great importance
  on frequent assessment and monitoring of all
  students.
• Assessment Monitoring and is different than
  testing
• Instruction without data is like going to the
  doctor and getting a random treatment without any
  specific diagnosis.
• Directly assess specific skills standards of
  all students at least 3 times per year
• Students are categorized and grouped
• Assessments sensitive to small amounts of growth
• Assessments are brief, repeatable, easy to use
• Direct relationship to instructional
  decision-making

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Essential Component 4Data Management Systems

• Comprehensive integrated to manage all possible
  data sets (numerical and text)
• Informs the decision-making process for student
  programming
• Staff training and time to evaluate the data
• Provides real-time feedback and data access for
  teachers and teams
• Allows analysis of the data
• Allows for graphical display of data
• Allows for normative comparisons

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Special Education Eligibility

• Assessment Process and Data
• Historical system Global ability and
  achievement tests, uses only national norms, 1-2
  sessions only, based on hypothetical constructs,
  does not lead to intervention and has low
  utility, ecological information has little
  impact.
• RtI Specific usually direct measures of
  specific skills needed for success in the
  classroom, repeated measures/progress monitoring,
  adjusting interventions based on data, uses
  various norm groups, relates to relevant
  standards, leads directly to intervention with
  high utility, ecological information is central
  to decision-making.

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Special Education Eligibility RtI

• Component LD eligibility criteria
• Historical system Primarily based on
  ability-achievement discrepancy and consideration
  of SLD exclusion factors
• RTI Based on significant difference in
  performance compared to peers, low rate of
  progress even with high-quality interventions,
  special education need, consideration of SLD
  exclusion factors

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Entitlement for Special Education

• 3 Pronged Criteria
• Educational Progress
• Discrepancy
• Instructional Needs
• Grimes,J., Kurns, S (22003, December) An
  Intervention-based system for Addressing NCLB and
  IDEA Expectations A Multiple Tired Model to
  Ensure Every Child Learns. Paper presented at
  the National Research Center on Learning
  Disabilities Reponsiveness to Intervention
  Symposium, Kansas City, MO.

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Entitlement for Special Education
Multivariate Discrepancy Model
High Instructional Needs
Slow Educational Progress
Academic Skill Discrepancy
Convergence of Data from a Variety of Sources
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Proposed MN SLD Criteria (draft 10/07)

• Must receive 2 documented scientific researched-
  based interventions (SRBI) prior to evaluation or
  as part of an evaluation.
• Parents must be part of decision-making team
  informed regularly of progress
• Parents and team may extend intervention
  timelines with written consent. (a new form?)

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Researched- Based Interventions (SRBI) Core
Components

• Quality curriculum and instruction for all
  students.
• Screening performance of all students
• Monitoring of progress of all students
• SRBIs matched to student need
• Interventions intensify as needed
• Consistent team decision-making rules timelines
• Assurances of intervention fidelity
• Effective communication with parents and all
  stakeholders
• Minnesota Dept. of Education

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Proposed MN SLD Criteria (draft 10/07)

• Data must confirm a disability in a variety of
  settings.
• Areas of SLD Disability basic reading skill,
  reading comprehension, reading fluency, math
  calculation, math problem-solving, oral
  expression, listening comprehension, written
  expression
• Meets criteria in A,B, C OR A, B, D.

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Proposed MN SLD Rule

• Does not achieve adequately in (reading, writing,
  math) in response to classroom instruction, and
  either
• Does not make adequate progress toward state
  standards when using a process based on the
  childs response to intervention or
• Exhibits a pattern of strengths and weaknesses in
  performance, achievement or both relative to age,
  state-approved grade level standards or
  intellectual development, that is determined by
  the group to be relevant to the identification of
  an SLD.

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Proposed MN SLD Rule

• B) The child has a disorder in one or more of the
  basic psychological processes
• The team will determine the nature and presence
  of an information processing disorder.
• Inadequate or lack of acquisition of information,
  lack of organizational skills, following written
  or oral directions, spatial arrangements, correct
  use of developmental order in relating events,
  transfer of information onto paper, visual and
  auditory memory, verbal and nonverbal expression,
  motor control for written tasks such as drawing
  or copying.

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Information Processing and Reading

• Auditory Processing Phonological deficit
• Visual Processing Orthographic deficit
• Rapid Naming Fluency and retrieval deficit
• Rapid naming, sustained attention, working
  memory, meta-cognition Comprehension deficit.
• Hale Fiorello, 2004

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Proposed MN SLD Rule

• C) Demonstrates a severe discrepancy between
  ability and achievement1.75 standard deviations
  below the mean of the distribution of difference
  scores for the general population. This is the
  old discrepancy model.
• The regression formula will be revisited Vicky
  Weinberg, Ph.D.
• MDE LD Specialist, 2008 PowerPoint at CEC

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Proposed MN SLD Rule

• D) Demonstrates an inadequate rate of progress.
• A consistent intervention carried out by trained
  staff over a 7 week period OR 12 data points.
  ROP is inadequate when
• Rate of improvement is minimal and continued
  intervention will not likely result in reaching
  age or state grade-level standards
• Progress will likely not be maintained when
  instructional supports are removed
• The childs level of performance in repeated
  assessments of achievement falls below the
  childs age or state approved standards, and
• The level of achievement must be at least or
  below the 5th percentile rank on one or more
  valid and reliable achievement tests using either
  state or national comparisons. Local comparison
  data that is valid and reliable may be used in
  addition to either state or national data.

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Why Have this Dual Criteria?

• Efforts to implement RtI models typically takes
  years and is better characterized as a dynamic
  ongoing process, rather than an event that is
  complete on a given date.
• Accommodate situations where SRBI data may be
  difficult to gather.
• Use of data from alternate research-based
  procedures required under IDEA
• Minnesota Dept. Of Education

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Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility

• Slow rate of educational progress
• At least 12 data points have been collected
  through the use of appropriate progress
  monitoring techniques.
• OR
• At least 7 weeks of one or more researched-based
  interventions have been implemented with a high
  degree of integrity.
• Slope - Given the established trendline
• a) trendline slope is below a 95 confidence
  interval around the target slope, OR
• b) gt 2 years to reach aimline, target or grade
  level content standards given current intensive
  interventions

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Confidence Interval Example for 3rd Grade Reading
Fluency AimsWeb National Norms Rate of Progress
Words per week avg gain for 3rd graders
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Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility

• 2. Discrepancy From Peers
• lt5th National ile on an approved assessment.
• The standard error of measurement of assessment
  measures can be considered in determining the
  magnitude of the discrepancy.
• Discrepancy on state standards. A discrepancy
  may be identified if a student has not mastered
  most major content standards in reading based on
  age or grade expectations.

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Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility

• 2. Discrepancy From Peers Example
• lt5th National ile
• Grade 3 reading fall NWEA MAP 163 RIT
• Standard error of measurement - 3.3 RIT points
• 161 - 3 160 to 166
• Percentile band 1st ile to 7th to 8th ile

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Stillwater Approved Assessments Reading
Determine Discrepancy (National Norms)

• NWEA MAP Reading Test
• AimsWeb Early Literacy Assessments
• AimsWeb oral reading fluency
• AimsWeb MAZE reading
• Other nationally-normed reading assessments that
  meet standards for reliability and validity
  (WJ-R, GORT-4, Early Reading Diagnostic
  Assessment, DIBELS, etc)
• Literacy First PAST Phonics inventory to
  document discrepancy on standards for reading.

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Assessments Recommended by Reading First
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Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility

• Significant Educational Needs
• Based upon team determination, the education
  interventions required by the individual cannot
  be sustained without special education services.
• The team will consider the intervention history,
  knowledge of the students need gathered through
  an analysis of instruction, curriculum,
  environment and the learner.
• The team will outline all strategies,
  accommodations and modifications that will enable
  the students performance to improve.

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Entitlement for Special EducationStillwater
Model via RtI
Multivariate Discrepancy Model
12 Data pts. or 7 weeks of inter- vention
Slope-low rate or gt 2 years to target or
standard
High Instructional Needs team decision
lt5th Nat. ile on a quality Assessment (use
SEM)
Convergence of Data from a Variety of Sources
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Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility

• Observations of Student
• Observation of child in classroom documenting
  academic performance and behavior in the areas of
  difficulty
• During routine class instruction before and after
  referral
• Document relevant behavior that impacts academic
  functioning
• Exclusionary factors
• Visual or hearing impairment, cognitive
  disablity, EBD, LEP, environmental/cultural/econom
  ic influences
• Lack of appropriate instruction
• 6. Verified by
• Child was provided appropriate instruction in gen
  ed with qualified staff
• Repeated assessment data reflecting childs
  progress, which was provided to parents.
• All team members certifies report reflects the
  members conclusion.
• District TSES manual includes SRBI procedures.

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Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility

• Complete standard SPED due process forms (notice
  of assessment plan, rights brochure)
• Assessment plan indicates RtI procedures.
• Completion of required forms in RtI Management
  System (becomes formal documentation and
  implementation fidelity checks)
• Problem Identification Screening Form (all tabs)
• ICEL-RIOT Matrix
• Intervention Planning Form (all tabs)
• Problem-Solving Checklist (all items completed)

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Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility

• Parent permission form for RtI process, if
  applicable for pre-referral cases.
• Parent SLD Evaluation Info guide

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Stillwater Requirements for SPED Eligibility

• Include data graphs indicating student
  performance on repeated measures over time
  indicating current trendline, aimline and
  target/goal.
• Assessment Team Report. If desired we can use
  the data entered into the RtI Management System
  to create a compiled assessment team report.
• Quality control of all cases for entitlement
  reviewed by Don Schuld, Dan Naidicz or designee.
  Notify via email if there a case under
  consideration for RtI SLD, they will review the
  information online.