Question 1: What Process was used to develop the delivery system for eligible individuals?

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1 Colfax-Mingo Special Education Service Delivery Plan June 2015 Question 1: What Process was used to develop the delivery system for eligible individuals? The delivery system was developed in accordance with Iowa Administrative Code rule (2)c. The group of individuals who developed the system included 3 parents of eligible individuals, 4 special education teachers, 3 general education teachers, 5 administrators, and the Partnership Director, Region 14, of the AEA. Meetings were held in May and June of 2015, to write the service delivery plan. The document was made available for public comment from June 8, 2015, via the school district website. Notice was placed on the website that the document could be accessed electronically (link provided), or hard copies would be available at the Central Office. Notice was also placed in the local paper seeking public comments, with a deadline of June 30, No public comment was received. It was submitted to the AEA Special Education Director on July Question 2: How will service be organized and provided to eligible individuals? A full continuum of special education services and placements are offered for eligible individuals from birth to age 21 years, including preschool. Children birth to 3 are served in cooperation with Heartland AEA 11. Children and youth aged 3-21 are service by Colfax-Mingo, or others in accordance with the student s IEP. Special Education and other programs work closely together to serve the students efficiently and effectively. Special Education students may be served by more than one of the following programs offered, except where prohibited: special education program, Title I, district nursing staff, ESL, special education support programs (speech/language, occupational therapy, etc). Consultation is done, as necessary, with the Department of Human Services, Juvenile Court Services, Lutheran Social Services, Iowa children and Family Services, and the Youth Law Center. The high school is provided with additional services from the At-Risk Counselor, Vocational Rehabilitation, Iowa Comprehensive Human Services, DMACC, Progress Industries, and area employers. Students may become involved in the intervention process through identification by parents or general education teachers, based on classroom performance and/or district wide assessment data. Parents are notified (by mail, phone, or face to face) and invited to participate in the problem-solving and development of intervention plans to implement in the classroom and are kept informed of their child s progress. A follow-up meeting date is then scheduled to review the effectiveness of the intervention plan. Progress monitoring charts will be examined to determine if a student demonstrates academic or behavioral growth. When interventions are not successful, or the amount or degree of interventions needed exceeds what can reasonably be provided through regular education, the student will be referred for a special education evaluation. The student is tested, using both local evaluations and any state evaluation procedures given by the AEA. Results of the evaluation will be share with parents no later than 60 days from the date that parents provide written permission to evaluate and is received by the public agency.

2 The district s expectations for meeting the needs of any/all student(s) are accomplished through a continuum of services, which is described below. Consulting Teacher Services: defined as indirect services provided by a certified special education teacher to a general education teacher in adjusting the learning environment and/or modifying his/her instructional methods using specially designed instruction strategies to meet the individual needs of a student with a disability receiving instruction in the general education classroom. Co-teaching Services: defined as the provision of specially designed instruction and academic instruction provided to a group of students with disabilities and nondisabled students. These services are provided by the special education teacher and general education teacher in equal partnership to meet the content and skills needs of student in the general education classroom. These services take shape in a variety of manners. For example, teachers co-plan, divide the class, provide the instruction to small groups, or teachers co-plan and then co-instruct different components of the content. The effectiveness of services provided through co-teaching has a strong research base. Collaborative Services : defined as direct, specially designed instruction (e.g., modifying instructional methods to meet student needs) provided to an individual student with a disability or to a group of students with disabilities by a qualified provider (certified special education teacher, support service provider, or trained paraprofessional) in a general education classroom to aid the student(s) in accessing the general education curriculum (examples include direct instruction, instructional support, or other assistance). These services are provided simultaneously with the general education content area instruction. Pull-Out Services : defined as direct, specially designed instruction provided to an individual student with a disability or a group of students with disabilities by a certified special education teacher to provide supplementary instruction that cannot otherwise be provided during that student s regular instruction time. These services are provided in a one to one or small group setting for a portion of the day. (In the Colfax-Mingo District, this will show up on a student s schedule as Resource in elementary or middle school, or Resource Information in high school where they will receive academic credit). Pull-out services supplement (in addition to) the instruction provided in the general education classroom through the services described above. The specially designed instruction provided in Pull-Out settings does not supplant (replace) the instruction provided in the general education classroom. Special Class/Reverse Consultation: defined as direct, specially designed instruction provided to an individual student with a disability or a group of student with disabilities by a certified special education teacher with consultation from a highly qualified content area teacher to provide instruction which is tied to the general education curriculum, but has been modified to meet the unique needs of the student(s) in a self-contained setting (including, but not limited to special classes, special schools, home instruction, and instruction in hospitals and institutions). This means the student is receiving his/her primary instruction separate from non-disabled peers. This will occur when the student is not able to function in the general education setting, even with significant modifications to the curriculum. (example: A 10 th grade student reading at the 1 st grade level would receive his/her Reading/English course in a special class and receive credit for this class).

3 Early Childhood: Identified children ages 3-6 are served in the regular early childhood program with a teacher who holds a valid practitioner s license issued by the Board of Educational Examiners that included prekindergarten and/or early childhood special education. The teacher is responsible for direct instruction, preparation of materials, adaptation and accommodations as specified in the IEP. The teacher with the dual endorsement is responsible for implementing and monitoring the child s progress according to the IEP. The district will provide access to this continuum (regular early childhood program to early childhood special education program) for all eligible individuals based on their IEP. Services may be provided within the district, or through contractual agreement with other districts and/or agencies. If the district provides instructional services through a contractual agreement with another district or agency, the preschool services will be examined annually to determine the availability of regular early childhood programs within the district. Question 3: How will caseloads of special education teachers be determined and regularly monitored? Caseloads will tentatively be set in the spring for the following year. Caseloads may be modified based on summer registration and actual fall enrollment. Caseloads will be reviewed at least one additional time during the school year by the Colfax-Mingo special education teachers, with their building principal and/or special education coordinator. A full teacher caseload will be consider to be 60 total points. If a teacher s caseload exceeds this number, the teacher and the building principal to meet to discuss whether the teacher is able to provide the services and supports specified in his/her students IEPs. If the teacher is able to do so, no further action is needed. If the teacher in unable to provide the services and support specified in the students IEPs, a plan of action will be developed. If the teacher is not satisfied that the plan of action will meet the requirements of the IEPs, the teacher may initiate the process for resolving caseload concerns that is described in this plan (see question 4). In determining teacher caseloads, the Colfax-Mingo Community School District will use the following values to assign points to the program components of each eligible individual receiving an instructional program in the district. (Teachers will be provided with a rubric/table to facilitate the process) Curriculum: Zero Points: Student is functioning in the general curriculum at a level similar to peers One Point: Student is functioning in the general curriculum 1-2 years below peers Two Points: Student is functioning in the general curriculum 3 or more years below peers Three Points: Curriculum that reflects the Iowa Core essential elements is required for meaningful instruction. Iowa s Alternative Assessments are used to measure progress in all areas (literacy, math & science) IEP Goals: Zero Points: student has IEP goals instructed by another teacher or service provider. One Point: student has 1-2 IEP goals. Two Points: student has 3 IEP goals. Three Points: student has 4 or more IEP goals.

4 Specially Designed Instruction: Zero Points: Student requires no specially designed instruction One Point: 25% or less of instruction is specially designed and/or delivered by a special education teacher regardless of the setting. Instruction could include teaching, co-teaching and collaborative instruction Two Points: 26-75% or less of instruction is specially designed and/or delivered by a special education teacher regardless of the setting. Instruction could include teaching, co-teaching and collaborative instruction Three Points: % or less of instruction is specially designed and/or delivered by a special education teacher regardless of the setting. Instruction could include teaching, co-teaching and collaborative instruction Joint Planning and Consultation: Zero Points : joint planning is typical for that provided for all students. One Point: special education teachers conduct joint planning with 1 general education teacher or paraprofessional over the course of each month. Two Points: special education teachers conduct joint planning with 2-3 general education teachers or paraprofessionals over the course of each month. Three Points: special education teachers conduct joint planning with more than 3 general education teachers or paraprofessionals over the course of each month. Paraprofessional Support: Zero Points: individual support needed similar to peers One Point: Additional individual support from an adult is needed for less than 25% of the school day. Two Points: additional individual support from an adult is needed for 36%-75% of the school day. Three Points: additional individual support from an adult is needed for more than 75% of the school day. Assistive Technology: Zero Points: assistive technology use is similar to peers. One Point: assistive technology requires limited teacher-provided individualization and/or training for the student. Two Points: assistive technology requires extensive teacher-provided individualization and/or training of the student. Three Points: assistive technology requires extensive teacher provide individualization and/or training for the student. Significant maintenance and/or upgrades for continued effective use are anticipated. Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)/Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP ) Zero Points: student requires no FBA or BIP One Point: requires less than 2 hours monthly for assessing, planning, collecting data, and communicating with others. Two Points: requires 2-4 hours monthly for assessing, planning, collecting data, and communicating with others. Three Points: requires more than 4 hours monthly for assessing, planning, collecting data, and communicating with others.

5 EARLY CHILDHOOD: Caseloads will be determined in accordance to the QPPS standards regarding maximum class size and teacher-child ratios. State guidelines have a teacher-to-student ratio of 1:8 for 3-year olds, and 1:10 for 4 year olds. Question 4: What procedures will a special education teacher use to resolve caseload concerns? Caseloads will be reviewed at least twice per year by Colfax-Mingo special education teachers, with their building principal and/or special education coordinator. If a teacher has exceeded the caseload guidelines outlined in Question 3, an informal process may be initiated, as described in Question 3. In addition to scheduled reviews, caseload will also be reviewed under the following circumstances: When a specified caseload is exceeded. If the caseload limit is or will be exceeded by 10% for a period of 6 weeks, then a review may be requested in writing. When a teacher has a concern about his/her ability to effectively perform the essential functions of his/her job due to caseload. REQUESTING A CASELOAD REVIEW: All requests must be in writing, after the initial problem solving process informally with the building principal Requests should initially be given to the building principal/supervisor A committee will be appointed annually to serve as a review team in collaboration with the building principal/supervisor. This committee will consist of all building administrators, all special education teachers, and 2 general education teachers from each building. However, only a limited number of participants will attend caseload reviews. For example, if an elementary teacher requests a caseload review, the team will consist of an administrator from one of the other buildings, a special education teacher from another building, and a general education teacher from the elementary, along with the teacher making the request. The teacher making the request will be responsible for gathering relevant information to support their request. This information might include, but is not limited to: ~ IEPs ~ Schedule and instructional grouping ~ Collaborative/co-teaching assignments PROCEDURAL STEPS: 1. Informal problem solving strategies in relation to caseload concerns have been exhausted. 2. A written request for caseload review is submitted to the principal/supervisor. 3. The request is reviewed for clarification with the principal/supervisor. He/She tries to resolve the concern at this point. 4. If the caseload concerns cannot be satisfactorily resolved, the request is then sent to the caseload committee. 5. Within 15 working days, the caseload committee will review the request and give a recommendation to the individual s principal/supervisor. 6. Upon receipt of the committee s recommendation, the principal will review the information and discuss it with the teacher. 7. Within 10 working days, the principal will meet with the teacher and provide a written determination.

6 8. If the person requesting the review does not agree with the determination, he/she may appeal to the AEA Director of Special Education. 9. The AEA Director/designee will meet with personnel involved and will provide a written decision. Question 5: How will the delivery system for eligible individuals meet the targets identified in the state s performance plan and the LEA determination as assigned by the state? What process will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the delivery system for eligible individuals? The Colfax-Mingo Community Schools will examine their SPP/APR (State Performance Plan/Annual Progress Report) data to determine priorities and develop an action plan. If the district meets SPP/APR requirements, the delivery system will be considered effective. If the district does not meet requirements, the district will work in collaboration with the State and AEA to make amendments.