Session 2 | Informed & Ahead | Monitoring

Hi everyone, I'm Summer Allison with Parallel Learning. I want to thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules today to join us. I know that being a special educator means that you're pulled in 1,000 different directions all the time, and time is a huge commodity for you. And so we just want to let you know how much we appreciate you sharing some of that with us today and joining us for this amazing informational webinar that Dr. Bateman is going to share with us. But before we get started, I did want to take a quick minute to kick us off with a fun poll. To kind of think back for a second. And, you know, before screens and apps are part of every classroom, before we had web filtering and all those things, classrooms looked a little bit different. I don't know about you guys, but I think of encyclopedias as kind of the TikTok of the '80s, because I remember going to my grandma's house, pulling out a random encyclopedia, and just reading random things and being so excited and sharing with people. Whereas I feel like I see that's what our kids are doing today, just on a different level and in a digital world. So if you could fill out the poll real quick and let us know. I know I also was a big fan of the TV cart. That meant we got to watch a movie. Everybody loved the movie days. All right, so we're going to take that poll. Can't forget the chalkboard either. I mean, I know we're going to talk about chalk dust, but We cannot forget about nails on the chalkboard. I don't think you could have been in an elementary school classroom back in the day where some kid didn't run up and run their nails down that chalkboard. All right. And it's really wild to think about how much the classroom has changed, right? Even in just a couple of decades. Not that I want to age myself, but I did learn to type on a typewriter and then 3 years later was doing the AOL dial-up in college to get ready to write a paper. So it's quickly changed so fast. All right, looks like we had a favorite, and it was the TV cart. Everybody loved movie day. But one thing that hasn't changed is the reason why we show up. I know all of us had a teacher or counselor or somebody in the district that saw something in us, helped us grow, made a difference or an impact on our lives. And that's what this work is all about, creating the same kind of connection and support for students today. Just with better tools. So the difference is that now technology can actually expand access, whereas we were limited before by geography and all the things that that brought with it. Now, with remote-based service— remote-based services that aren't replacing anybody, but they're removing barriers. So we can help districts reach students who might otherwise fall through the cracks because of staffing shortages or zip codes. And that's why today's conversation is so important. Dr. Bateman is going to unpack the real-world challenges and policy shifts districts are navigating and how we can build systems that don't just react but actually prepare. And one thing we've learned with working with hundreds of districts is that the best partnerships don't start in crisis. They start in a conversation. Most directors will even tell us, like, I wish we'd met sooner. I wish I'd known that you existed. And that's because standing up a new partnership, whether it's for evaluations or related services, can take a few weeks to set up. To get the right systems in place and align processes. So even if you don't have an immediate need today, meeting now means that when the busy season hits, your support is already in place and your students don't have to wait. Just let us be another tool in your tool belt that you pull out whenever you need. So we'd love to set up a short 15-minute conversation to learn about your district's goals. Make sure that you're set up before things get hectic. Scan the QR code in your card and click And click the link in the chat to start the conversation and take the next steps. With that, I'm excited to kick off session 2. For those of you who got to attend session 1, I know you're probably as excited as we are. But session 2 of Informed and Ahead— this is our fall leadership series. And thank you to all of our pillar partners who have joined us today. And welcome to all of you that haven't been exposed to us yet. So as we go through the webinar, please put your questions that you have throughout the session in the Q&A, and that is at the bottom of your Zoom toolbar. All right, today we are very honored to have Dr. David Bateman with us. He is a truly valued partner of Parallels, and we— he's a trusted and respected voice in special education law with over 3 decades— not to age you too, David— of hands-on experience and and more than 580 due process hearings under his belt— whoo— Dr. Bateman offers practical, battle-tested insight that helps districts strengthen their programs and stay compliant. And we all know how important that is. His deep legal expertise, combined with an authentic understanding of the challenges leaders face every day in the real world, makes his guidance both relatable and actionable. So with that, I'm going to go ahead and turn it over to Dr. Bateman to get started. Let's go be inspired, and most importantly, let's all keep making a difference together.

Thanks, Summer. I really appreciate that. And I, I, in the interest of full disclosure, is that I've worked really— as obviously in order to put this on, I've had to work closely with a parallel team. But whoever chose the music to do this ahead of time, that Miles Davis track, has a sense of humor because the name of that song is So What. Which is exactly what we're going to be talking about today. So whoever chose that, kudos to you. We did not discuss this ahead of time, so I want to make sure that you're aware that it was just kind of randomly what we put in there. So real quickly, just a standard thing. This is not— this is a presentation for informational and educational purposes only. We are going to cover a lot, and we've got a lot we want to share with you. But if you need legal advice, you should talk to legal counsel. And I mean this with all seriousness, but we will do our best to provide you information. We're going to talk about case law. We're going to talk about what's going on out there. We're going to talk about illustrative best practices. But we should make sure that you are aware that there are things that you should get from your legal counsel, and at all points you should contact them as a part of this. All right. So today, this is where we're going. Monitoring, the heart of accountability and improvement. This is the so what. Again, whoever chose that song gets kudos on this one. It was not me, and we didn't have a discussion ahead of time. For those of you unaware of who I am and how to contact me, then the lower right-hand corner is my information. There's my email address. Some of you after the first session used it to get information about this. More than happy to answer whatever questions you have on this one. I'm also again going to encourage individuals to go to the blog, which is spedlawblog.com, to sign up for updates about what's going on in the world. Free resources. I do this with Mitchell. Haven't talked to him in about two hours. Hope he's okay. What's interesting about this one, and then there's a website where you can get more information about me. I previously talked about it. It's crappy. It has not changed. So just to let you know where we are with this and help you understand what's going on. Okay. So let's just give you some heads up. On September 25th, we talked about the foundation. What are the basics we need to get to as a part of this? We're so we're going to build on this today. We're talking about monitoring. For me, this is probably one of the most important things that you could be doing this month, and I'm not being hyperbolic on this one, is how to increase your monitoring and where we are with this one and addressing this one. Next month, we're going to talk more about problem-solving issues and how to address what's going on, because by that point, some of you will have problems. If you don't have problems, reach out to us. We can get you some to help you with this as a part of where we are with this. So keep in mind, it's a service that we can provide as well. Okay, so what did— so this— so what I want to strive to and I want to get to and I want to focus on is the so what. And so this, this is probably— and I'm not being— I truly not being hyperbolic— this is going to be one of the more important things that you can do as a part of this. And I'll outline for you why and give you tips and strategies on how to deal with this one. Okay, so let's just talk about this. Compliance is a low bar. It is a low bar. It's one that we all strive to. It's one that we strive to make sure that we're compliant. Just to remind all of you that special education is a field defined by a law. And what we have to think about as a part of this is ensuring what we're providing is appropriate education to kids. It was legal, and this is highlighted as we're coming up on the 50th anniversary of the law. The 50th anniversary of the law is November 29th, at the end of next month. And just to remind you that Gerald Ford, who was president at the time, did not want to sign this into law. Because he said it would cost districts too much money and it really wouldn't change what's going on. So he did— there was not— so we took what was legal to prevent kids from participating in education. Kids with disabilities from participating in education. Could have been a grand, glorious signing ceremony. He signed on a plane on the way to a golf tournament. So it was kind of underwhelming, the start of this, but it took a while for us to get going about this one. But what we're gonna be talking about today is talking about progress and how you can use to determine what we're actually doing as a part of this one. Some of you have maybe seen me do presentations relating to the Ender Supreme Court case from 2017. And what we talk about there is that the change in that law is— I was there for the oral arguments. The change in the law based on their interpretation was it changed from a benefit standard to one of progress. So what we're gonna be talking about today is what this means as a talk, as we address this and address this and move forward as we to clarify it so that you can take it effectively to your team. Okay, so more.

All right.

So I previously in the first session and the pre— if you didn't attend the first session, the first session, we can get you access to it because it is on the YouTube. So, but basically I talked about this case and I want to reiterate this case because we have not had— we don't have— first, there's no cases right now relating to special education that have been— that are at this— at the Supreme Court level. So this is the highest case that we have. This is from the 6th Circuit that was heard just this past year. It was on accommodations. And what we have to think about this is, I want to lay the foundation for you on this one. If you're looking for more information about this, there's a really good description of this case at the SPEDlaw blog from a few months ago as a part of this one.

Okay.

So progress monitoring must measure skill acquisition, not just access or participation. And this is what we get this one. The court has made it very clear this, the IEP is focused on accommodations, like the student who got in this one got all sorts of accommodations like text-to-speech tools without measuring whether the student is actually acquiring the missing skill. In this case, the missing skill was reading. Fails to meet IDEA standard for FAPE. William's IEP tracked his ability to access text but did not track his ability to actually read it independently. Okay, so what do I want to make sure that you get from this? As the first case, this will lay the foundation for everything we're going to— is progress monitoring must include data-based evidence of learning a targeted skill, not simply evidence of using supports or advancing grades. That's the first thing. Okay, second thing, and I can't emphasize this enough, is as I do witness preparation for due process hearings, one of the things that I highlight rather, rather Well, repeatedly is that data must drive instructional revisions. William's IEP in this case remained virtually unchanged for years. There were really no changes despite stagnant progress in reading. Okay, so this— and you'll hear me say this later, and I'm getting ahead of myself, but I don't want— I want to make sure you understand— is when progress monitoring data shows little or no growth, the IEP must revise the goals, the SDI, and the instructional methods. Not just keep accommodations in place. So we have to think about this one.

All right.

The third one, and some of you, if you're going to be attending the CASE conference next week in Oklahoma City, doing a workshop on specially designed instruction with some of my amazing colleagues out there, but accommodations are not a substitute for specially designed instruction. The court emphasized that accommodations like extended time and assistive technology cannot replace what we refer to as SDI. which is defining IDEA as adapting content methodology or delivery to address the student's needs. All right, so sorry, one more thing, one more thing that I want to get before we move on from this one, that this is laying the foundation for what we're all talking about. This one, there's a recent case, is that progress monitoring must reflect the student's individual circumstances. Okay, I don't care what the disability label is. I care what the individual circumstances this student has And how were you addressing this one? He was capable of learning to read, but his IEP goals did not reflect that potential. So what we have to pay attention to as a part of this is ensuring what we're providing for the kids is information that can help them move forward. All right, so keep this in mind as we pay attention to this. Use this. There again, there's a really good description of this case where a child basically graduated with a 3.4 GPA but could not read because he used accommodations instead of instruction. Okay, more. Okay, so reading progress. So let me give you some examples. And what I'm sharing with you is when I'm going to share with you some progress monitoring data from a case that I was recently involved in. And this is from— this is her reading progress monitoring data.

Okay.

For one marking period, it said, this is the data we got, seems to be doing well. Another marking period, keep up the good work. 3rd marking period, she is great to be around. That warms my heart, but that doesn't tell me how she's doing in reading. And we need to do a better job of this. Works really hard. Even better. Kind of, I like this. All right. So, and then they move to one assessment per marking period the last 2 times. This is the kind of reading progress monitoring data that I'm seeing, and this poses significant problems.

Okay.

So, so what I told them, there's one assessment per marking period. I asked them to graph that. They dutifully drew an x-y axis and said it's right here. They couldn't tell me yes or no whether she was improving or not. And that's what we have to think about this one. So pay attention to this. This is real stuff. Oh wait, I got another one. All right, Marcus. Okay, this is Marcus, a functional performance example. And what we have here, Marcus is doing better with behavior. That's great. That was the data that was provided to the parents. Has fewer outbursts lately. Also, I'm really excited that that's happening. A joy to have in class. Again, warms my heart. Continues to strive hard. And teacher reports improved self-control. That was 5 marking periods of progress monitoring data on a behavior goal for him. Okay, so what's interesting about this one? Okay, so why am I showing you this one? Okay, these statements are subjective. They lack measurable data and they're not connected to IEP goals, so we cannot demonstrate actual progress is being made. So we have to think about what can we do to improve this and move this forward. All right, so let me show you an example. All right, so here's a functional goal. I'm going to go straight to a functional goal as a part of this one. Marcus will improve self-regulation skills by using a coping strategy something in 4 out of 5 opportunities as measured by behavior logs and teacher observation. Something that we can clearly see as a part of this one. The other thing I'm often seeing when I see things relating to functional goals is I see suppression goals. Marcus will not talk out for the next 4 hours. Marcus will be quiet for the next 4 hours. Goals like that, those kinds of things. My question for you, and this is a common thing we talk about when we talk about writing goals, is if a student can be dead and meet the goal, it's a bad goal. It's called the dead man rule. So keep that in mind as we address this. We pay attention to this one. But here, so let's talk about this one. All right. The progress monitoring data summary we have for this, right? So here, so we go back to this as the goal. So the district was taking data on this kid, opportunities, successful uses, successes, and notes. So September 1st to 15th in the gen ed classroom, 20 opportunities, 8 uses, success 40%. Often needs an adult cue on this as a part of this, but you can see this is information. Okay, because parents, as we highlight here, expect data. They don't expect promises. And what we have to think about is the data that we're providing as a part of this so we can move this forward. On September 16th, 18 opportunities, 12 uses, began independently using things like this. You can see changes As a result of this, October 1st to 15th, small group kinds of things like this one. October 16th to 31st, 22 opportunities, 19 successful uses, maintains progress with fewer prompts. What you can see is we're taking data that is very specific, data that is graphable, data that we can articulate and explain to others about what's going on relating to the interactions that Marcus is having in the classroom. So what we have for you here All right, so what we have for you here is Marcus's progress summary. All right, so we can see this is a better summary statement as opposed to he's nice to be around. Again, I'm glad Marcus is nice to be around. He's a good kid. It's fun to be around him. But Marcus has increased independent use of coping strategies from 40% in early September to 80% by late October. I'm betting, I'm absolutely betting you would, you would love to be able to make a statement like that to parents. Be able to demonstrate what's going on. Be able to demonstrate what's going on. But what— think about this. Why is this strong data? Let's go to this. First, it's data tied directly to the IEP goal. That's what's important. It provides frequency. It provides duration. It provides percentages and includes comparisons across periods. I'm betting you would love to see this from your teachers. I'm betting you would love to see this kind of information. It demonstrates what also— and look at number 4 here. This is the kicker, and this is what's important. It demonstrates instructional impact. And that's what we're looking for. We want to be able to say that what we're doing with these kids actually makes a difference, that we're proving as part of this one. Okay, so we can see that. Think of this. We can make— we can talk about this one. The next— we have next steps. We also have data-based decision-making. We can fade the prompts, updating the goals and generalizing the skills as a part of this one. So our example is trying to get data on a regular basis that we can use, because the vast majority of due process hearings that I'm involved in, we have to settle because we— there is no data. There's no data that can clearly articulate yes or no about whether a student is making progress. Teachers are not taking— now, I'm not talking about speech paths. That's a separate thing. I like speech paths. But it's interesting about this one is, is you have to say this and you have to address this so that you can get your team to understand what's going on. So keep this in mind. All right, so what? All right, so let's just talk about this. All right, a weak example is student is improving with supports. First, I think that it's nice that student is performing. I like that. Strong example, student increased decoding accuracy from 42% to 68% using Wilson Step 2. It's clear on this one. But progress reports must tie directly to baseline data and measurable goals. So we have to think about this as we're addressing this so that we're clearly articulating where we are with this. Okay? But keep this in mind as we're paying attention to this one, because this is what's vital. And too often we don't have this. Now, many of you are saying, oh, he's talking data. Yeah, I'm talking data. And that sounds like a lot. Nope, we're not talking a lot of data. I'll give you some examples of that in a few minutes. So stay tuned. Don't go away. This is— I'm baiting you on this one. All right? That's— I do that with my last name. It's interesting about this. We can pay attention to this.

All right?

18. Alright, so, so what do we have to think about? Okay, and this is a direct quote from the Supremes. So keep this in mind, and we've highlighted some words here that we want you to pay attention to. This, this is, this is the law of the land. This is what we need to pay attention to. But first, the IEP must enable this child to make progress. That is our obligation. That is what we're expected to do. That's what we need to do, and that is our obligation. Okay, because think about this one, and there's more, again, words that are highlighted for that you need to pay attention to as a part of this one. The essential function of an IEP is to set out a plan for pursuing academic and functional advancement. Not just academic advancement. We also need to make sure that we're providing functional advancement for these kids to help them as a part of what they're doing. Because too often, too often we don't provide that. We pay attention solely to academics. There are kids, and I guarantee, and we'll talk about 504s in a few minutes. There are, I guarantee that there are kids in your school who are doing fine academically. Right. But have poor social skills, who can't interact with others, who become one with their Chromebook as they walk down the hall because they want to make sure that they don't talk to anybody. Or when they go in the lunchroom, they are scared of the lunchroom because they may have to address or talk to somebody else. So we need to do a better job of not just academic but also functional advancement. This is from the Supreme Court. This is not me, but I like it very much. All right, so more. Okay, so what do we think about? All right, so pay attention here, right? From here forward, we're shifting to what if special education to the how. The next section will focus on effective implementation really looks like, right? What leaders need to do that makes the biggest differences for students and families. So what I want to make sure you understand, there's an acronym that I want to teach you. It is a real-life acronym. It's not one of my made-up ones, but it's a real-life acronym, and it's KUSHK. It's when a district knew or should have known. Because what if— so if you know For instance, a child is not making progress. If you know that the child's not doing what they're supposed to be doing, parent sends you a notice saying, my child is having trouble in school. Parent lets you know through email that there's an issue with what's going on about this one. You need to pay attention to this because you are now on notice about what's going on, and we need to do a better job of paying attention to what we are as a part of this one.

Okay?

So what we're thinking about— And that— and so We could talk about this one is that there has been a dramatic rise in due process hearings across the nation. And what were the big— one of the big things that they're asking for is compensatory education as a part of this. And compensatory education looks at when you knew or should have known that the child's IEP was either defective or the child was not making progress. And so what we— and what we're having seen as a part of this one is districts are unable to show to parents that the child has made an appropriate education. So there's a lack of faith. There's a lack of understanding what's going on. There's a lack of understanding what we are to this. And how this is happening is there's a lack of progress monitoring data. So keep this in mind about this one. Okay? So you can see this adapted from, from the Endrew F. decision in 2017, one of our rare unanimous Supreme Court decisions, by the way. Educational benefit isn't assumed. It must be demonstrated. We need to do a better job of this, and we need a better job of articulating this one. All right, so let's talk about October issues to be concerned about. I'll come back to this in progress monitoring in a second. Okay, but think about this one. So what I want you to think about, for those of you who are special education leaders, conduct 3 to 5 random IEP file reviews. Okay. Well, that's what I say. This is pay attention. Pull 3 to 5 IEPs and make sure, make sure that the students are getting the services that they're supposed to get. So if a student is supposed to get 2 hours of language arts instruction each day, make sure that that student is getting 2 hours of language arts instruction. Just pull these and just do an internal audit about what's going on as a part of this one and make sure that you're doing this as part of this one.

Okay?

Second, go to service logs from related service providers and make sure that the students are getting their related service needs addressed from the related service providers as a part of this one. So keep this in mind as we're addressing this and pay attention to as a part of this. Make sure that they're getting this. We spend a lot of time writing these IEPs. Implement the little suckers. Make sure that they're actually doing it. It's one of the 3 levels of FAPE: procedural, substantive, and implementation part of this one. Then schedule data meetings with case managers. We'll come back to that in a few minutes. But then start preparing a summary for November because November is a good time to pay attention to what's going on about this one. To make sure that you have— so put this as a regular system that you have because systems will outlive what's going on. And so we have to think about this one and address what we can talk about as part of this. So keep this in mind as we pay attention to this. All right, so systems at work. Right, so what we have is a— so we have— so we're going to show you some documents in a few minutes, but we have some things for you. Don't worry, we got— oh, we got handouts. Oh, we got handouts like crazy. All right, so we got things that we can provide for you, but okay, you set the tone for communication. So what we're going to do is we've got a progress summary tracker that we're going to provide for you. We have a walkthrough checklist to verify STI. So let me just talk about some of these things here just real quickly. All right, so we got an end of marking period progress questionnaire for you. This form will allow to summarize a student's overall progress on IEP goals. We have a walkthrough checklist for principals about what to do as a part of this so that they can understand as they, as they walk through. Brief observation of instructional environments to ensure that they understand that STI is being implemented, the alignment of instruction with the IEP goals, those kinds of things, just to address what we're doing as a part of this one, and a progress report rubric. And so what I'm— when I say a progress report rubric, it assesses clarity and measurability. One of the things that I'm recommending is for all teams, and this is going to sound like a lot of work, it's not as much as it sounds, is that I'm— and for all the districts that I work with, is what we have them do is we have building-level administrators sit down with every single teacher at the end of each marking period And go through each child's IEP to determine yes or no whether the student is making progress. All right. And now this sounds like a lot. I've modeled it in many districts in Virginia divisions, but many, many different districts as a part of this. And what we've seen is you can go through 24 kids in 20 minutes. It's not make work for the teachers because they have to report this information to the parents already. It's not— it's a passive activity for the building-level administrator. They just sit and get the information. As a part of this. So what we have to think about as a part of this is understanding what's going on. But like, for instance, student 1, go through the student 1. Is he— how's he doing in reading? We have data on the— should have data on how the student is doing in reading. Doing okay? Move on. How's the student doing? How's the student doing in math? Data on how the student's doing math. Anything else we need to pay attention to? You can talk about a student in 45 minutes and have a really good understanding of what's going on. We have a form for you to get to your building-level administrators that can help articulate this and clarify what's going on as a part of this. Because what this is, is an internal check. Now, when I did this, the most recent time I did this, we went through 24 kids in 20 minutes. We found 2 kids who were not making progress, and we deferred an IEP meeting to the following week because we knew we needed to change something. So keep this in mind as we talk about this one. But we have forms for you that will help with this one to summarize where you are with this and help with what you can do. Get these forms out to the team members who work within your district who can benefit from such, and then use these as a way of articulating To the parents that we're actually changing what's going on. Step back to the districts that have done this, who've done this at the end of each marking period. It's again, it's a passive activity for the principals. They sit there and learn about what's going on. The principals like it because after 2 or 3 marking periods they know which kids are having problems. They can pay attention to this, and then when they see the parents in the parking lot, they can articulate to the parents, hey, we're working on your kid, how's this going? They don't have to go back to their file and see what's going on. Parents feel that the principals are more informed. Principals feel more informed, and principals can talk about what's going on as part of meetings more effectively. Keep that in mind as we address this one. Next thing. All right. So from compliance to monitored confidence, this is something we need to pay attention to. So what I want to emphasize is, yes, we need to take progress monitoring data, but what we need to use is use this progress data to drive coaching. Not criticism about where we are as a part of this one. And ask these things like this: monitor the— monitoring protects students and staff. And it sounds like, it sounds like I'm doing a whole bunch of CYA activities that will prevent you from being involved in a lawsuit. What it is, I'm teaching you a lot of things that are good for parents, for teams to know about this one so we can move forward. All right. So the questions each team needs to ask as a part of this one is, Who reviews the data before the parent sees it at the end of each marking period? There needs to be someone who's reviewing this one because what— want to make sure you know this, that a teacher who's been teaching for 1 week is held to the same legal standard as someone who's been teaching for 20 years. Make sure someone reviews the data that they're providing the parents. What happens to the data when there shows regression? And are service logs verified monthly? Keep this in mind as we address this. Keep this in mind and pay attention to this one. So from compliance to confidence, make sure that you're monitoring this and you're doing this as a way of providing additional supports for the teachers. Okay, so case study. Hey, so which I want you to think about. Student X had measurable goals but no reported data. Parent complaint, compensatory services were ordered. Listen, data without analysis is paperwork. Data without— with reflection is protection. And so what I want to emphasize as a part of this is we can do a better job of protecting what's going on. We can do a better job of articulating what's going on with these kids, and we can do a better job of explaining to the parents how the students are doing with their So we need to pay attention. This is a part of what's going on. Keep that in mind. So I've got some recommendations for you.

All right.

So I've got some recommendations. All right. And some of you may have seen these recommendations, but these are based on case law, the Ender case from 2017, but cases that I've been involved just recently. The first one. This is the first one. This is vital. Ensure— and so you can't have good measurement if you don't have good goals. And so you need to ensure that all annual IEP goals are appropriate, ambitious, and measurable. We've got to emphasize that they're measurable for kids, and we are articulating that appropriately for what's going on. They're measurable, and we can address this. That is a vital part of the process. Keep that in mind as we think. Okay, next, second recommendation. And this is a vital recommendation, is we need to continuously monitor and measure a child's progress on annual goals. And objectives and benchmarks, if applicable, and maintain data to demonstrate that progress has been made. So what I'm recommending is we need to continuously monitor and measure what's going on, but do it on a regular basis. So I'm working with teams who are setting up— because there are some kids— this may be news to you— there are some kids who have trouble coming to school on Mondays, and there's some other kids who have trouble coming to school on Fridays. Set aside just a portion of Friday— of Wednesday afternoon. Kids for some reason come on Wednesdays, but Wednesday afternoon where we're going to do, we're going to do some progress monitoring data on these kids. Just a 5-minute reading probe, a 5-minute math probe, quick observation of the kid when they're on the playground. Do they interact with others? Make sure, and we're, so we're having consistent data that we can graph on a regular basis, and it's a consistent time that we're doing this one. So talk to your team about setting up a clear time to do this and a clear time to measure this. so that you can move forward as a part of this one. Recommendation 3. Parents can— this is emphasized here— is provide frequent and systematic database reports. Parents can handle about anything as long as it's not a surprise. We need to make sure that parents understood what's being provided to them, and parents can address this, and parents can understand what's going on with their kid. If a kid is not making progress, let the parents know. But then make sure that you understand that we articulate very clearly to the parents that the disability is only the starter point of the conversation. And what we have to do as a part of that is then move that forward to help address how the student can learn and what we are going to do and alternatives we're going to do to change what's going on with this kid. It's vital that we pay attention to this, and it's vital we do this, but make sure it's frequent and make sure it's systematic database as part of this, what's going on. Then it addresses not just academics, but it also addresses functional needs of the kids. So keep this in mind as we pay attention to this and keep this in mind as we address this. Okay, so next, the next one, and this, and so I don't mean to be hyperbolic on this one, but this is by far the most important recommendation. And I mean this with all seriousness. I mean, if you can get this recommendation to your team, absolutely get this recommendation to your team and have your team follow this recommendation, you will change of the trajectory of my next couple of years, because the vast majority of lawsuits that I'm involved in relate to this. And I, and I'm not being hyperbolic. I mean this with all seriousness. So when progress reports and other data do not reflect an annual goal being met, I want you to reconvene the IEP team, determine why, and make academic or functional changes. Some of you are going to be upset if I don't say this phrase, but here we go on this one. So change the seating. Change the grouping, change the intensity, change the reading method, change something else. And for those of you keeping track on the Bateman bingo card, change, document the snot out of this so that you have some documentation so that we can help move this forward and understand what's going on. What's important about this one is often we often need to change multiple things. Okay, one thing I truly wish I truly wish one change would solve things or fix this child, kind of like what I did to my puppy on Monday. But we've changed what's going on. You have to think about this when you have to improve. So, so put a ticker on your calendar, change something. And if that doesn't work, 3 weeks later, change something else. If that doesn't work, 3 weeks later, change something else. If that doesn't work, 3 weeks later, change something else. Change something and continue to change. Because too often when I do talk with teachers about witness preparation, they've said they made one change. Did that work? Didn't often work, didn't solve the problem. So we need a better job of articulating what we can do to pay attention to as a part of this. And keep this in mind as we're addressing these issues, but make these changes. This would solve everything. Now I want you guys to continue to pay attention because we're going to move on to a different topic that is very important. But take this to your team. All right, take this to your team. All right. Questions related to 504. All right, so I'm going to be addressing things relating to 504. 3 quick questions that every 504 team must ask. Why am I addressing this one? Well, the 504 regs are coming out in August of 2023. Yeah, hold your breath on this one. All right, and so what's interesting about this, and so we have information for you on this one, I don't see the current administration issuing new regulations on 504. So actually, Mitch Yell and I just got a book contract on how to write on 504s. We actually— he and I talked about it a couple hours ago. So talk about this one, what we can do as a part of this one, but determining 504 eligibility. Okay, so Section 504 of the Rehab Act ensures that students receive necessary accommodations. Not— okay, and there's a difference between accommodations versus modifications.

Okay.

So every school's 504 team must evaluate eligibility And the process centers around 3 very fundamental questions. So many of you are dealing with individuals who are leading or staffing 504 meetings who often have no training on 504s, and we need to do a better job of articulating what we can do as a part of this so they understand what their roles and responsibilities are relating to this one. Okay, so question 1. Does the student have a physical or mental impairment? The physical or mental impairment must substantially limit one or major life activities. ADHD, diabetes, dyslexia, anxiety. Anxiety is, in all districts that I'm working with, is the big one that everyone's reporting of late. But it has to affect a major life activity. It could be learning, reading, walking, concentrating, breathing, or such. It just has to affect what's going on for the kid in school. This is the first question, and we need to make sure we're addressing this one. Wait, there's more. Stay where you are. Understand the impairments. The impairment first does not need to be severe. The impairment does not have to be permanent. And also medical diagnosis can support but are not required. I'm working with a school district right now where there's a kid who's missing his left leg as a result of a bad car accident. We do not need a medical diagnosis to determine the kid is missing his left leg.

Yep.

I'm not sure how we do this, but you should consider teacher input. You can do evaluations, medical records, and waiting on medical— and based on waiting on medical diagnosis flies in the face of what is called the Kuch standard, knew or should have known, as a part of this one. Okay, so keep this in mind as we address this. Question 2. Does the impairment substantially limit a major life activity? Okay, and the big thing that I'm seeing in school districts is that they say the kid is doing fine academically, therefore they don't need a 504 plan. Okay, there are students who have behavior challenges, attendance concerns, functional limitations. There are kids out there who are getting A's, A-minuses, and doing well in school who are so anxious that they have trouble riding the bus. They're so anxious that they have trouble going in front of groups. They have such anxiety issues that they have trouble walking down the hall. We need to think about how we can provide appropriate supports for them as a part of this one. Okay, evaluating substantial limitations. Consider the nature, severity of what's going on. So look at the impact. Look at the impact. Don't just look at the diagnosis. A few minutes ago I said I'm not so— I don't really care so much about the child's label. We need to think about what the needs are that this student has and pay attention to that as a part of this. All right. So keep this in mind. All right. More. Wait, there's more. Does a student need accommodations to access their education? Even with impairment, accommodations must be necessary. So accommodations will remove barriers without altering curriculum standards. So keep this in mind as a part of this one. Some common accommodations we have are extended time on tests, preferential seating, access to medication, regular access to toileting, regular access to participation with their peers. There's all sorts of accommodations we provide we need to pay attention to as a part of this one. So we need to think about this one. It's— these are accommodations. The vast, vast, vast majority of accommodations we provide under 504 are low or no cost. They really are. They're not going to break your bank. Extended time on test is not going to break you. Preferential seating hopefully is not going to break you. But keep this in mind as we pay attention to this one.

All right.

So we have to think about this one and pay attention. So developing a 504 plan, if all 3 questions are answered yes, a 504 plan is developed. The plan outlines specific accommodations based on needs and must be reviewed annually. All right. So keep this in mind as we pay attention to this one. All right, so I'll tell you more about why we're talking about this in a minute, but keep this in mind as we pay attention. And there's, there's going to be a QR code coming up in a little bit, so get your phones ready. So for those, for those of you awake, get your phones ready because I'm gonna have you download something then with this. Okay, but keep this in mind as we address this. All right, common pitfalls. Very specifically, pitfall first, assuming failing grades are necessary. For eligibility. Failing grades are not necessary for eligibility. They're not. We need to focus on access barriers, not just academics. Well, how is the student accessing what's going on, not just academically, but the ability to participate in and spend time with their peers? Pitfall: relying solely on medical diagnosis. Best practice: use multiple data sources. Do you see evidence of this within your school walls? Do you see evidence when this kid is on the playground? Do you see evidence on the bus? It's all part of the whole program. Pitfall: providing accommodations that modify the curriculum. Nope, I'm not asking you to modify the curriculum. The kid needs modified curriculum, then we need to pay attention to whether the child needs IDEA eligibility under special education. Okay, so make sure that we're not changing the learning processes about what's going on. All right, conclusion. Okay, Section 504 ensures equal access for students with disabilities.

Pause.

It's not just access. It's also access for parents. It's also access for your staff. So 504 doesn't just apply to kids. It applies to everyone. But all 3 questions guide eligibility decisions, and we need to pay attention to as we're addressing this one. Spent the day working on a chapter really for that book that Mitch and I are doing on 504 eligibility. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming slowly, but it's coming. Schools must implement, monitor, and update I-504 plans easily annually. Keep that in mind as we address this one. Alrighty. Now here's the chance for you to use your phone to get out a QR code. This is this is it's coming, it's coming, it's coming. Here it comes. Right? So what we have for you is an accommodation guide. So what I want to recommend is you scan to download this one. This is this is an accommodation guide that I wrote a few years ago. It has my old work email address on the bottom. I haven't worked there in a few years. We're gonna don't worry. We're gonna be updating it for the for the book. All right. But it's free. It's free. Get this out to whomever might benefit. And I mean this with all seriousness because it's become the 504 writing guide for many of your states and territories. So it's been widely circulated. I get an email about this form every single day. I'm not being— I truly get an email about this and I dutifully answer every single one of these. Why is this important? Why is this important is you have to think about this one. It has the difference between accommodations and modifications, what a 504 plan is. And then we did a task analysis on step by step how to write A 504 plan step by step. We field tested in 3 states before we sent it out. And then for the 30 most popular disabilities, because you can see the example for dyslexia off to the side here, is we have an example of what dyslexia looks like, resources where you can go for information, and then possible accommodations. And you don't just go check, check, check, check, check, because it has to be individually tailored to the needs of that child. So we have to think about how we can provide this for these kids. It starts with kids with ADHD, and the— but what the problem is, is the most common accommodation that I see for kids with ADHD is extended time on tests. And who are these kids who often finish these tests first? Is kids with ADHD. So keep that in mind. But it's got to be tailored to what's going on. It's not perfect. It has allergies. It has nut allergies. It doesn't have food allergies. And as someone with food allergies, you would think that I would be smart enough to include this. I'm not, but it's a great guide. And so get it out. School counselors and assistant principals need this. Get them out to whomever might benefit. Okay, next. So we have resources, and here are some of these resources I was alluding to just a few minutes ago. All right, these are free resources we're going to get to you as a part of this. We have an end of marking period questionnaire. And what this end of marking period questionnaire talks about, how, what's going on with the kids in the classroom. And so we can say it allows you to report and closes with the recommendations for next steps about what we are doing about this one. But this is for overall progress on IEP goals. Second thing, we have the IEP progress summary tracker at the end of marking period about what's going on. And this is designed for administrators or principals to help them understand what's going on. You can see if you look just at the form, student name, grade, teacher case manager, goal area, on track, progress, any identified steps about what's going on. Okay, then we also have an internal IEP audit form for you to, as a part of helping your teams understand what to do as a part of this, get it out to whomever might benefit as a part of this one. And the last 2 things we have, and I alluded to this before, is a special education classroom observation form. Please get this out to building-level administrators to help them with doing what they're doing, because they don't, they don't often understand the roles and responsibilities they have as a part of what we can do to address where we are with this one. We need a better job of articulating what we can do to share the information with them. We need a better of articulating so that they can address what's going on. Okay, so we need a better job of paying attention to as a part of this. It's a wonderful opportunity as what we can do is this. But there's also a classroom— there's a walkthrough form for a principal who's— or building-level administrator who's just doing a quick walkthrough how to look for things. But you can see about what we're doing this with, because many principals do not have training in special education. They don't understand what we're doing. They don't understand what we're doing as a part of special education, and they understand what we need to do to address this one.

All right.

So let me give you some basic tips. All right. We've covered a lot. We've got a lot for you here, but all of these things are free that will help your teams improve the services for kids eligible for special education. And then that 504 document for the kids with disabilities out there, it will help what's going on. I did not articulate this one, but what we're seeing is the reason we covered 504 is I'm seeing a dramatic rise in lawsuits relating to 504. Previously, parents would file complaints with the Office of Civil Rights in Washington. The Office of Civil Rights is all but decimated based on some firings in February and then their latest riffs about what's going on. Yes, I know there's news about this today and yesterday about a federal court saying that potentially individuals will come back as a part of this one, but we— and we have some guidance on this for you that we can get to you— but we have to think about this one is that parents are getting legal counsel Because under 504, parents can sue for monetary damages. And so we're seeing a dramatic rise in this. So that's why we spent time on 504. I should have articulated this for you, but it's something to help you address the needs of kids eligible under 504 so that we can provide appropriate services and address this appropriately for them. So you've got— we've been giving you good stuff. All of this you can get out to your team. All of this is great information, and you should use this with what's going on. So what do we got for you? Okay, so what I want to do, top 5 things you special ed must do in October. You don't have much time left in October to do these things, so you guys got to better— as soon as you get off of this call, you got to start this. You got to start this one and make sure that you're doing this in October because tomorrow is Halloween and boy, are we going to be sugared up in our household. What I was talking about this one is first, verify active progress monitoring systems. Make sure that there's progress monitoring systems that we have that are working, that are being demonstrated, what the kids are getting as a part of this. And if you don't have adequate progress monitoring systems going on, get some and start the process. Better start now and move forward is about this one. But make sure that what we're providing for all kids is where you'll be able to articulate yes or no whether this student is making progress. It is a vital part of this, and we need to do a better job of being able to explain what's going on about this Second, make sure that you review all first-round progress reports, all the progress reports that were provided to the parents. Make sure that there is data, that it's graphable data that you could talk about. This one, I gave you the examples with Marcus earlier, but make sure it's data that we can use to clearly articulate yes or no whether the student is making progress. And then use these— use that data for informed decision-making. Because when I said earlier before about making determinations about changing things, change something if it's not working. Okay, third, audit for implementation gaps. It's better for you to find this out internally than someone from the outside. Find this out whether whether the students are making progress or not. It's best that you do this now and make sure that the IEPs as they're being written are being implemented. Again, it's one of the big things we do. We spend an enormous amount of time writing them, implement them. Okay, fourth, if necessary, coach teachers on database decisions. Yes, I like teachers that teachers have gut reactions. I like that teachers are taking anecdotal data, but we need to make sure that what we're providing. For teachers is that they're providing information to us that provides data-based decisions that help us understand precisely what's going on with this one. How many times? Yes. So the kid, the kid has some behavior problems. Tell me how many times the kid acts out. How many times the kid is off task? How much time the kid gets out of their seat? How many times the kid hits others in the head? I want data on these things. I don't want you to say the kid is acting out because acting out takes very different interpretations. Give me hard data that we can understand about this one. And then make sure— 5, all of us can do a better job of providing communication progress to parents. This is a vital part of this process and often negated. We need to do a better job of articulating clearly to parents about where we are with going on and that parents are not caught by surprise. Parents are vital members of the team. We need to treat them as such. We need to make sure that they're respected, and we need to make sure that they— we pay attention to their desires, their needs, their questions. And the only way that they can actually participate effectively in the program is if we are communicating to them with data. We need to do a better job of this one. So bringing the parents on and make sure that they're part of the process, and we pay close attention to their demands and their questions as part of this one. Okay, so this is things you guys don't have. Again, I'm looking at my watch. You do not have much time in October to do this. We're doing this live. It's blue sky here in Charlottesville right now. So what's interesting about this is I pay attention to this, is you need to get on this one. So what do you need to pay attention to also is you need to make sure that you get these documents and you get these and get them out to whomever might benefit as a part of this one. Okay, more. So we got— what we're going to do is we're going to take questions that people have been posing, and some of you have been posing some really good questions. And what we're going to do is we're going to give you good answers to these and mail them out to every— email them out there. We're not going to mail anything. We're going to email them out to everyone as a part of this so you can see the answers as a part of this. It's hard to do questions and answers with a group this size, but we have some really good questions that have come in, such as, how can administrators balance legal compliance without creating a culture of instructional excellence? Or what are the most common root causes of special education disputes and how can leaders prevent them? Boy, do I get that question a lot, and I've got tips and hints on this one, things like this. Okay, but not every due process starts with one of these 3 preventable failures, but they all go there. So we're going to answer your questions. So if you have questions or concerns, get them to us and we will do our best to provide this information to you as a part of this one. It's a way for us to keep— for you to understand what's going on. Download the— we'll download, make sure you can download the forms, make sure you can access what's going on and address where we are at this one.

Okay.

But if I'm going to steal thunder real fast, I'm going to just talk about this one. What are the most common things? Poor communication, lack of progress data, and failure to implement the IEP as written. Hold on, didn't we just talk about all 3 of those? We just talked about all 3 of those. But those are the big kahunas we see in special education about what's going on. And special education is— I can guaran-damn-tee, I'm from the South, I can say this— is that the number of due process hearings are rising. So keep this in mind, right? More. So 3rd session is coming up in a few weeks. It's coming up in a few weeks. For those of you who have a calendar in front of you, it's coming up on November 20th. How did it? And so we're going to talk about problem solving. Julie Weatherly is going to be a special guest host on our guest speaker as a part of this one. It's going to be done live with her as about this one. Okay. So when we talk about this one, get ready for this. It's coming. All right. Wait, there's more. Okay. So stay informed. Here's how to contact me. Stay informed and how to contact me as a part of this one. And keep this in mind as we address this and keep this in mind as we pay attention to this one. All right. So keep this in mind as we're paying attention and we're moving forward. Protect your district by documenting both service delivery and student response. Keep this in mind.

Okay.

All right. In case you missed it, there was a session that we did last week. Just really quick session. We'll make sure that you can get access to the information as a part of this. We did a session last week on what was happening in special education in Washington based on the reductions in force. We came up with information so that you can talk to your team about what's going on and address where we are with this one. And as a part of that, we also generated some, some sample letters that you can send to your teachers, sample letters that you can send to your school board members, sample letters that you can send to the parents, even, even a press release that you could send to the newspapers for those of you who still have newspapers, so that you can use that as a part of this one, because we want to help you understand what's going on. But we have some sample letters for this that you can get out to everyone as a part of addressing where we're at. But it's a good, it's a good group of information that we can help understand where we're at. But it's going to help understand. All right, the next thing for those of you who will be in Oklahoma City next week for the CASE conference, the Council of Administrators of Special Education conference in Oklahoma City, I'm looking forward to getting out there. It's a Wednesday night at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar. Never been there. We'll see what happens. But there's going to be a shindig there and I highly recommend it. I highly recommend that you participate and I recommend you engage yourself with what's going on as a part of this one. But there's going to be a good selection of people there. So I'm planning on being there, assuming the traffic— air traffic controllers allow me to fly. So that's, that's what I'm planning on being there. So just come there, come meet me. I'll be happy to talk with you. Always, always love a good cocktail party. So keep that in mind as you address this one. I will be at the CASE conference next week in Oklahoma City, have multiple sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. Don't hesitate to come talk to me about this one, but keep in mind as we address this. All right, last slide.

All right.

All right. So Parallel is an organization that I highly recommend. What I mean by this one, I have partnered with Parallel because they have shared this. They really do. They share the same goal that I do to make special education work better for districts and students. Special education takes time. Special education takes energy, and what we have to do is do a better job of this. The issues that I'm seeing in due process hearings and across districts nationwide— staffing shortages, compliance pressures, and burnout— are the very challenges Parallel is working to solve. If any of these today's topics resonated with you today, I encourage you to connect with their team and quickly— quick intro call can open the door to resources and ideas that truly can make a difference. So the QR code is there for you as a part of this, and what I recommend is you use that if you— and hopefully it'll benefit you. I appreciate all of you for participating today. Please get the resources that we're sharing out with the teams, your teams, and then I appreciate what you're doing. So I look forward to you. And again, this is my information here, back here. Contact me if you have any additional questions or concerns, please let me know. But here is the QR code for you to sign up to get more information about Parallel. Thanks, all of you. Stay well and do good deeds. Thank you.