# data[].attributes.body
After completion of this certificate program I would like to be employed as a district coordinator for special education.  Eventually, once I have gathered enough experience I would like to to lead a special education department as a director.

# data[].attributes.body
While conversing with my special education director Melanie Kasper, I learned of five important legal and ethical issues revolving around special education.

1.       The Endrew Case is changing the way districts look at special education services, but due to the 5th circuit court Texas is in a better place than most due to recent rulings to better define individualized education.

2.       The TEA corrective action plan has many districts worried about an increased number of referrals and parent request for testing, many all the campuses in the district already saw an increase number of parent request this spring.

3.       Bulling can have increased risk when it happens to a special education student as it interferes with FAPE. Our district needs to make sure bulling is properly documented when concerns arise.

4.       Our district is currently in the process trying to more clearly address mental health services for SPED students and trying to streamline the behavioral referral process to better address the guidelines in the Every Student Succeeds Act.

5.       Properly training new SPED and general education staff on accommodations, modifications, and documentation will help teachers to understand the legal rights and compliance proceedings of an ARD/IEP meeting in Texas.

(M. Kasper, personal communication, June 4, 2018)

# data[].attributes.body
TEA 's Special Education Strategic Plan was released in April 2018. The  corrective action plan  is in response to the Federal ruling regarding the cap on the number of special education students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) released their final Corrective Action Plan, now called The Special Education Strategic Plan on April 23, 2018. The updated plan can be found by clicking

The Arc of Texas joined Disability Rights Texas this week to review and comment on the Special Education Strategic Plan/Corrective Action Plan. This video can be found on Disability Right Texas' Facebook page HERE.

You can view The Arc of Texas' final comments to TEA that we submitted prior to the final release of the plan HERE.

Next, The United States Department of Education will review the submitted plan and provide further guidance. We will continue to keep you informed on any developments.

You can still share your comments and concerns by contacting your local legislators and the Governor's Office. Special education will not be fixed with a plan alone, it will take commitment and resources. To find out who represents you at the State Capitol, click HERE. To contact the Governor's office, click HERE.

It is important that your elected officials hear from you!

BACKGROUND

On January 11, 2018, The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services released their findings after a 15 month investigation into Texas' performance indicator that capped special education enrollment at 8.5%. The DOE determined that Texas systematically denied students with disabilities the federally required services and supports they needed to succeed in school. Specifically they found that:

1. TEA failed to ensure that all children with disabilities residing in the State who are in need of special education and related services were identified, located, and evaluated, regardless of the severity of their disability, as required by IDEA section 612(a)(3) and it's implementing regulation at 34 CFR §300.111.

2. TEA failed to ensure that FAPE was made available to all children with disabilities residing in the State in Texas's mandated age ranges (ages 3 through 21), as required by IDEA section 612(a)(1) and it's implementing regulation at 34 CFR §300.101.

3. TEA failed to fulfill it's general supervisory and monitoring responsibilities as required by IDEA sections 612(a)(11) and 616(a)(1)(C), and their implementing regulations at 34 CFR 300.149 and 300.600, along with 20 U.S.C. 1232d(b)(3)(A), to ensure that ISDs throughout the State properly implemented the IDEA child find and FAPE requirements.

The U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services has since directed TEA to develop a Corrective Action Plan to help the students of the denied class, provide professional development for educators and school district leadership about federal IDEA and 504 requirements and put a system in place to ensure this never happens again.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
TEA Corrective Action Plan - The Arc of Texas

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) released their final Corrective Action Plan, now called The Special Education Strategic Plan on April 23, 2018. The updated plan can be found by clicking HERE. The Arc of Texas joined Disability Rights Texas this week to review and comment on the Special Education Strategic Plan/Corrective Action Plan.

# data[].attributes.body
Changes will continue being made in districts to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act which went into effect in the 17-18 school year. Specifically improving mental health, and trauma services for students with an without disabilities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Perhaps the most significant change in is that ESSA significantly reduces the authority of the federal Secretary of Education. States and local jurisdictions have substantial control over the implementation of academic standards, the design and enforcement of accountability systems, and how to allocate federal dollars. Specific implications of this law will become more clear as the regulatory process unfolds. For now, these are the key highlights of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Key Definitions: ESSA contains two definitions that specifically mention school psychologists:

' school-based mental health services provider': "includes a State-licensed or State-certified school counselor, school psychologist, school social worker, or other State licensed or certified mental health professional qualified under State law to provide mental health services to children and adolescents"

' specialized instructional support personnel' means "(i)school counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists; and "(ii) other qualified professional personnel... involved in providing assessment, diagnosis, counseling, educational, therapeutic, and other necessary services (including related services as that term is defined in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401)) as part of a comprehensive program to meet student needs."

Specialized instructional support personnel (SISP) is a new term that replaces 'pupil services personnel', and is intended to reflect the similarities between pupil services (as defined in ESEA) and 'related services' as defined by IDEA, and the professionals that provide these services to children in general and special education. ESSA explicitly references (and in some cases mandates) specialized instructional support personnel and services more than 40 times in policies regarding state and district school improvement plans; identifying and supporting students most at risk of school failure; improving student literacy; addressing school climate and school safety; supporting the mental and behavioral health of students, among others.

Assessment and Accountability for All Students. ESSA replaces the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and 100% proficiency requirements with a comprehensive model focused on supporting struggling schools. In consultation with various stakeholders, which include specialized instructional support personnel, states must establish an accountability system to measure progress toward "ambitious long term goals." As part of this plan, States must annually measure student progress toward goals based on:

proficiency on state assessments, and

at least one other valid and reliable academic indicator that can include student growth

high school graduation rates (high schools only)

at least one indicator of school quality or student success that allows for meaningful differentiation, such as student or educator engagement, or school climate and safety

School Support and Improvement. States must establish a system of meaningfully differentiating school performance. At least once every three years states must identify a category of schools for " comprehensive support and improvement" that includes, at a minimum, the bottom 5% of schools and high schools with graduation rates below 67%. These schools must conduct a needs assessment, implement evidence based comprehensive learning supports based of the results, and identify and plan to address resource inequity, which could include staffing ratios. The State approves these plans and determines how long schools have to improve and what actions will be taken if schools fail to make progress.

Every year, states must inform local school districts of any individual schools in which any subgroup of students is 'consistently under performing.' These schools must develop, and the district must approve, a plan to improve outcomes for the subgroup of students identified as under performing. The district determines how long these schools have to improve, and what action will be taken if schools fail to make progress. It is unclear when and if the state can impose additional requirements on schools who do not improve. This is an issue we expect to be addressed via regulations.

Improving School Climate, School Safety, and Access to High Quality Comprehensive Learning Supports.ESSA requires that states include data about school climate, bullying, and harassment their annual state report card. States could choose to include measures of school climate/school safety in their accountability system, but at a minimum, it must be made available to the public. Further, states must articulate how they will assist LEA efforts regarding bullying, harassment, and discipline. School psychologists should routinely examine the available data from their schools, states, and districts to monitor the progress of efforts to improve school climate/safety and reduce bullying and harassment and ensure that all students attend a school with a safe and supportive learning environment.

To help schools improve conditions for learning, ESSA authorizes various funding streams that states and districts can use to implement:

positive behavior interventions and supports or other activities to address skills such as social emotional learning, conflict resolution, effective problem solving, and appropriate relationship building.

trauma informed practices, and mental health first aid

comprehensive school mental health services

efforts to improve school climate, school safety, and crisis prevention, intervention, and response

improve school community partnerships

Districts may use federal funds to offer ongoing and job embedded professional development activities for all relevant school staff that facilitates the alignment of activities to specific school improvement efforts and increased educator capacity within multi-tiered systems of support.

We will continue to update school psychologists as specific details and requirements are proposed through the regulatory process.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Perhaps the most significant change in is that ESSA significantly reduces the authority of the federal Secretary of Education. States and local jurisdictions have substantial control over the implementation of academic standards, the design and enforcement of accountability systems, and how to allocate federal dollars.

# data[].attributes.body
Looking into the corrective action plan is of great interest to me for two reasons. One this action plan directly effects my current position as a special education diagnostician. The increased evaluations linked to this corrective action will dramatically effect my assessment teams work load. Secondly, this plan will effect the budget of my department, an increase in  evaluations will cause on out flow of money to contract evaluations services, this could effect other areas of the budget like supplies (test kits, specialized curriculum),  staff training?professional development, and  assistive technology.

# data[].attributes.body
TEA Corrective Action Plan

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
AUSTIN - Following an extensive statewide outreach effort that included more than 100 meetings statewide, Commissioner of Education Mike Morath announced today that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has posted a final strategic action plan for special education.

The plan, posted on the TEA website ( https://tea.texas.gov/TexasSPED), incorporates valuable input from parents, students, teachers and education stakeholders received over the past several months regarding the delivery of special education services in school districts statewide.

"The Texas Education Agency is committed to providing the quality of support needed to improve outcomes for students with disabilities," said Commissioner Morath. "This strategic action plan provides a solid foundation for our state to make meaningful, lasting change in how we educate and support children with special needs."

At the direction of Governor Greg Abbott, TEA drafted an initial strategic action plan in January, which also addressed all issues identified in a federal monitoring report from the U.S. Department of Education. The report identified areas of deficiency for the state, including the proper identification of special education students and assuring access to appropriate services at the local level.

"I am pleased with the urgency and commitment from the Texas Education Agency and Commissioner Morath to take significant steps to reform the special education system in Texas," said Governor Abbott. "Going forward, we will continue to work with parents and educators to ensure our students with special needs receive the services they deserve."

Over the past several months, TEA launched a comprehensive outreach effort to solicit feedback before finalizing the strategic plan and submitting a final corrective action response to federal officials. The outreach efforts have included:

More than 100 focus group meetings in all 20 education service center regions across the state;

More than 4,000 responses from special education teachers and district administrators to a needs assessment survey;

More than 7,000 responses to TEA's online survey regarding the special education strategic action plan draft; and

More than 1,000 emails sent to TexasSPED@tea.texas.gov, an email established to receive direct stakeholder feedback.

A copy of the final plan was shared with the Governor's Office and made publicly available today on the TEA website ( https://tea.texas.gov/TexasSPED). Significant actions that are part of the final plan include:

TEA will roll out a large scale statewide special education professional development system, including multiple opportunities for follow-up support for all educators (general education, special education, and others).

TEA will create a suite of resources intended to be shared with the parents of children suspected of having a disability to help fully inform them of their rights to a free and appropriate public education and accompany those resources with a large outreach effort.

For students who are found to have needed services that did not receive them, the school system is responsible for providing compensatory services. TEA has identified $65 million to assist school systems in the effective delivery of services.

TEA will further strengthen its staffing and resources devoted to special education, allowing for greater oversight as well as additional on-site support to local school districts.

To review the final strategic action plan for special education, as well as the corrective action response submitted to the federal government, visit https://tea.texas.gov/TexasSPED.

# # #

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
TEA completes work on comprehensive strategic action plan for special education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
AUSTIN - Following an extensive statewide outreach effort that included more than 100 meetings statewide, Commissioner of Education Mike Morath announced today that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has posted a final strategic action plan for special education.

# data[].attributes.body
I am an Educational Diagnostician and have been a special education teacher in the past, the TEA Strategic Action Plan for Special Education was just released.  This plan is designed to better serve and educate special education students. (TEA, 2018) This is a great thing; this action plan will better support students.  However, I am not interested in this plan and for the support; it will provide parents and students. I am interesting in the effects the action plan will have on campuses, and school districts.

My current special education director is in the process of re-organizing our assessment structure to try to account for the increase number of evaluations the district is anticipating receiving. This reorganization should help, but what happens at the campus level?  What and how will this Strategic Action Plan for Special Education impact funding, staffing, and learning in a school setting? Lastly how does this plan align with the Every Student Succeeds Act.

# data[].attributes.body
Article describing the improvement in disability services in the District of Columbia after a long court battle and a program reform.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Angelo State University - Library Online Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Unauthorized use is prohibited; Usage may be subject to security testing and monitoring; Misuse is subject to criminal prosecution; No expectation of privacy except as otherwise provided by applicable privacy laws.