ASC/MSRRC REGIONAL EVENTS

UPCOMING EVENTS

PAST REGIONAL MEETINGS

The Mid-South Region Part B Directors Forum is held twice annually to enable Directors to discuss issues related to the task of leading a state in its implementation of IDEA Part B. Collaboratively the Directors develop the agenda and it often includes issues related to APR indicators, finance (MOE, etc.), NCLB challenges related to the special education subgroup, assessment, and many others. The top issues were identified in a conference call held about a month before the meeting. Bill East attended and provided a report on NASDSE activities.

The Mid-South Regional Resource Center invited State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) Directors and Evaluators to this regional forum. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss emerging issues relative to the management and implementation of the SPDG. This venue provided an opportunity for a peer-to-peer exchange of ideas and the sharing of successful improvement strategies to increase state and local capacity for improving outcomes for students with disabilities.

The Mid-South Regional Resource Center, in collaboration with national TA partners, conducted a regional forum for state education agency Part B staff involved in the implementation, tracking and evaluation of Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS).

The forum began forum with a national update on CEIS followed by the states discussing their implementation, tracking, and evaluation of their processes. States were asked to send two staff members who are assigned the responsibility for implementation and documentation of a CEIS process. It was anticipated that states would send their financial officer and data manager at Mid-South's expense. (States could send additional staff but at their own expense).

The purpose of this meeting was to discuss state approaches and implementation issues regarding the design, implementation, tracking and evaluation of CEIS activities and expenditures.

Mid-South RRC invited TA Specialty Centers to participate in this forum to assist states. Project Forum and the Appalachian Regional Comprehensive Center participated in this event.

This forum will begin with an introduction to improvement strategy systems followed by state planning sessions. States have been asked to send a team of staff who are assigned responsibility for one APR Indicator or a set of related indicators (e.g., C5 & C6). The purpose of this meeting is to discuss a systems approach to the design, implementation, tracking, and evaluation of improvement activities. Staff will develop a state-specific plan for establishing or refining their system which will inform the development of their APR to be submitted in February 2009. Mid-South will invite the participation of OSEP TA Specialty Centers to participate in this forum to assist states with their specific Indicator challenges in their state planning sessions.

Materials & Presentations:

• Agenda

Directors from the MSRRC region convened in Lexington, Kentucky.  NASDSE staff participated and provided an overview of IDEA Reauthorization. MSRRC staff and states participated in a session on state headlines and success stories. Additionally, the following general discussion topics were identified by states:

• Verification visits - how to prepare
• Disproportionality
• Early Intervening Services
• RtI at the Secondary Level
• Local Determinations -- what rubrics are you using?
• Correction of noncompliance
  
• Other discussion related to the messages delivered at the NAC/OSEP Leadership conference.

Materials & Presentations:

• Agenda

Lead agency (LA) and State Education Agency (SEA) staff and members from the State Advisory Panels and Interagency Coordinating Councils (ICCs) in the Mid-South region expressed an interest in meeting with their peers to discuss key issues related to fulfilling federal and state requirements. In response, the MSRRC, in collaboration with the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC), the Mountain Plains Regional Resource Center (MPRRC), and the Region II Parent Technical Assistance Center, hosted this meeting. LAs were invited to send the Chairperson of the ICC and a staff support person and the SEA was invited to send the Chairperson of the State Advisory Panel and an SEA staff support person.

This forum covered General Supervision and Data Management, Early Childhood Transition, Preschool Outcomes and other 619 issues. Previously, the forum was only to cover General Supervision, but opportunities to be more efficient in scheduling travel and cover a greater number of topics presented themselves. Outcomes included the following:

Joint Session: Part B Directors, Part C Coordinators and 619 Coordinators

Gain an understanding of the recommended components and elements needed for state systems of effective transition.

Begin to problem-solve how to use the transition document (Designing and Implementing Effective EC Transition Process) as a resource to guide planning and application of recommended practices.

Explore beginning steps for the implementation of components of recommended transition practices in your own state context.

Session for Part B staff: General Supervision and Data Usage

Gain an understanding of the definitions, 616/618 relationships, accurate collection, verification, analysis, and utilization of data for improvement.

Regional session: Early Childhood Transition

Further explore the essential components/elements for an effective transition system.

Gain an understanding of IDEA transition requirements and SPP/APR data elements related to transition (C8 & B12).

Gain information on strategies or methods for collecting and verifying data to respond to SPP/APR indicators (e.g., transition C8 and B12) and on using data to identify issues/needs and develop meaningful improvement activities.

Part C Coordinators, or their representative, from six states met in to share and problem solve.  Session leaders included a partnership between two Mid-South field staff and a NECTAC staff person. The session began with a discussion of General Supervision. This set the framework for all other discussions. Other key topics included: EC transition, child outcomes, family outcomes and timely services. Evaluations indicated session to be highly relevant and useful and showed increased understanding of the issues.

A 3-day regional meeting was conducted on dispute resolution APR Indicators 16, 17, 18, and 19. Approximately 30 state staff attended from 8 of our Region's 9 states. The agenda was organized by APR Indicator plus "upstream" early dispute resolution strategies. Staff from the Exceptional Child Assistance Center participated in a presentation on the involvement of PTIs in early dispute resolution. States requested and will participate in regular bi-monthly regional conference calls organized by Indicator.

Materials & Presentations:

Forum Agenda

Forum Minutes

PAST WEBINARS & CONFERENCE CALLS

A regional conference call was conducted for PTI and Part B staff on the parent revocation of consent regulations. There were 28 lines used by roughly 45 participants. Presenters included Rebecca Walawender and Carmen Sanchez of OSEP, Melissa Smith of the Virginia Office of Dispute Resolution and Administrative Services, Connie Hawkins of the RPTAC, and Rich Lewis.The purpose of this call was to provide an opportunity for Parent Centers and SEAs to work together to ensure that families and LEAs all understand this important change. The call provided an opportunity for parent center and SEA staff to collaborate to provide the information families need to make informed decisions.

• RRC-RPTAC Call Announcement
• April 2009 Part B Supplemental Regulations
• MSRRC Information Request Response: PWN & Revocation of Consent (March 2009)
• Arizona Revocation of Consent for Special Education and Related Services (January 2009)
  
• Kansas Prior Written Notice for Termination of Special Education Services Due to Parents' Revocation of Consent (February 2009)
  
• South Carolina Revocation of Consent (March 2009)
  
• Virginia Prior Notice Revoke Consent: Memorandum (February 2009)
  
• Virginia Model of Written Prior Notice When Parents Revoke Consent

This call included a presentation from the Georgia Department of Education which will discuss their Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) model. States were provided with an overview of their state's supervision role as to how the LEAs report: 1) the budget for CEIS and 2) local districts efforts for identifying high risk students. The discussion covered both academic and behavioral high risk students.

At the beginning of the call, Dr. Williams (OSEP) agreed to join us, as did Joy Markowitz who described the Data Assistance Center (DAC) effort to document issues and practices to inform the OSEP staff technical assistance development activities. The balance of the hour was in the hands of Dr. Zelphine Smith-Dixon and Dr. Harry Repsher. This activity was arranged in collaboration with the Applachian Regional Comprehensive Center through our shared colleague Kay Johnston.

Materials:

• CEIS Mid-South Regional Resource Center PowerPoint Presentation
• CEIS Review Template
• Sample EIS Plan Mid-South Regional Resource Center

The Mid-South RRC, in conjunction with our national TA partners, is offering a webinar for state Part B and Part C staff involved in the planning, implementation, and/or evaluation of state improvement systems to address state performance on Annual Performance Report Indicators.

The webinar will include an exposition of the framework for developing an improvement system to address any APR indicator, followed by examples presented by state Part B and Part C staff.

Materials & Presentations:

• State Systems Improvement Self Assessment

PDF Version
WORD Version 

• State Systems Improvement Work Plan

For more information, CLICK HERE

Two regional calls were conducted: One for Part B State Directors and the other for Part C Coordinators in the MSRRC states. The purpose of these calls was to increase understanding about the strategies Mid-South states are pursuing in the establishment of a procedure to make local determinations under IDEA section 616(d).

Materials & Presentations:

• Part B minutes
• Part C minutes
  

Mid-South conducted a regional call with Part B and Part C agencies in response to a needs assessment identifying specific topics. Former NCSEAM staff Sharon Walsh and Sandy Schmitz provided content related to the Indicator Worksheets for B-15 and C-9, the Definitions, and identification of noncompliance through data systems and other off-site strategies. Thirty-six lines were used from 13 area codes within our region.

Materials & Presentations:

• Minutes
• NCSEAM Presentation
• Definitions Relevant to Indicator C-9, B-15 (8/3/07)
• SPP "Overview of Issue/Description of Issue or Process" - Examples of Topics to Address in the Description of State's General Supervision System
• Indicator C-9 Worksheet
• Indicator B-15 Worksheet

MSRRC convened a multi-regional conference call with guest speaker Roberta Wohle of NJ discussing the processes and experiences of NJ over the last seven years related to disproportionality issues and requirements. She provided access to the NJ web documents and a PowerPoint presentation for her talk. Twenty-three SEA staff from 8 Mid-South states participated in the call. In addition, representatives from five Northeast states, two NERRC staff and six Southeast states and 2 SERRC staff joined the call. Discussion continued with TN staff to prepare specific documentation and their experience as they prepared the 2008 APR submission for Indicators 9 &10 this summer.

Materials & Presentations:

• Minutes
• NJ PowerPoint Presentation Review of Policies, Procedures and Practices "Disproportionality"
  
• NJ Handout Special Education Monitoring Self-Assessment Document, May 2007 - Section IV: Disproportionate Representation of Minority Students
  

Two regional calls were conducted: One for Part B State Directors and the other for Part C Coordinators in the MSRRC states. The purpose of these calls was to increase understanding about the strategies Mid-South states are pursuing in the establishment of a procedure to make local determinations under IDEA section 616(d). Participants were asked to: 1) familiarize themselves with the document Determination of the Status of Local Programs by State Agencies Under Parts B and C of the IDEA; 2) compose a question or two to stimulate group conversation on the issues and possible solutions related to designing an effective system of local determinations; and 3) prepare a brief discourse of their state's progress in establishing local determinations procedures.

Materials & Presentations:

• Minutes
  

MSRRC convened a conference call and 8 states in the region participated. The call began with a discussion of the OSEP Leadership Conference and the tools which were presented for taking care of disproportionality and disproportionate representation. MSRRC staff indicated that to help guide the discussion for today’s call, we would be using the six content categories used by Westat when they reviewed state SPP/APR submissions. The categories are as follows:

Baseline Data

Methods Used to Calculate disproportionate representation

State definition of disproportionate representation

Minimum cell sizes used in calculation of disproportionate representation

Description of the plan for reviewing policies, procedures and practices

Results of those reviews of policies, procedures and practices

The purpose of this call was to address a specific question relating to disproportionality which was raised at the end of the OSEP conference call pertaining to state determination letters. ASC/MSRRC convened the call to provide state staff an opportunity to describe what they heard or understood from the OSEP conference call and to clarify their understandings. Additionally, the OSEP Memorandum 07-09 on disproportionality of racial and ethnic groups in special education was discussed, providing clarification where needed.

Materials:

Minutes