CIFMS Ad Hoc Task Force Meeting
December 16, 2008

Continuous Improvement and Focused Monitoring System (CIFMS)

Stakeholders Present:

Brian Anderson, Nissan Bar-Lev, Barb Behlen, Sister Patrice Colletti, Carol Noddings Eichinger, Cynthia Hirsch, Phil Knobel, Pete Knotek, Sheri Krause, Don Rosin, Patty Schaumburg, Jan Serak, Mary Skadahl, Jeff Spitzer-Resnick, Joan Wade, and Patricia Yahle

Facilitator:

Ann Bailey, North Central Regional Resource Center (NCRRC) reviewed the agenda.

Topics:

State determination; State Performance Plan (SPP) 2007 Executive Summary; Indicator 12, the Program Participation System (PPS) and technical assistance; SPP Improvement Activities Review; and Proposed Changes to SPP Indicators

State determination – Anita Castro, Assistant Director

• Wisconsin received notice on June 6, 2008, that the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) determined the State needs assistance in meeting the requirements of Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This is the second consecutive year the State missed Indicator 12 and was found to need assistance in meeting the requirements of IDEA. The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is required to access available sources of technical assistance related to Indicator 12 and report in the Annual Performance Report on the technical assistance sources from which DPI received assistance and what actions the State took as a result.

State Performance Plan (SPP) 2007 Executive Summary - Dani Schott, DPI Data Consultant (Handout)

• Data for Indicators 1 and 2 is not yet available, but will be included in the February 2 submission of the APR. DPI will notify the stakeholders when the APR is posted on the DPI website.
• Indicator 3 – Under Wisconsin’s accountability plan, adequate yearly progress (AYP) at the district level for students with disabilities is determined in part by whether the district met the minimum cell size of 40. During the 2007-08 school year, the cell size decreased from 50 to 40 students with disabilities. Fifty districts met the cell size and 47 of these districts made AYP.
• Indicator 4 – data is not yet available, but will be included in the February 2 submission of the APR. LEA data is included in the Special Education District Profile on the DPI website. The target for PK-12 districts is 3.29% or below, and for Union High School Districts is 6.96% or below.
• Indicator 8 – There was slight slippage in the percent of parents who reported that schools facilitated parent involvement. More parents were surveyed than the previous year. Following the example set by OSEP, DPI analyzed 18 of the items on the Parent Involvement survey for reporting on Indicator 8. For each of the 18 items, the proportion of parents who agreed that schools had performed that item was calculated. The lowest score (73.4%) of the 18 items was used to determine Indicator 8 results. All other items scored higher, ranging from 81% to 97 %. The lowest scoring item consistently has been, "The school explains what options parents have if they disagree with a decision of the school." The target for 2007-2008 was 76.1%.
• Indicator 13 – The State is making good progress on this indicator each year. Because the previously identified noncompliance was able to be corrected, OSEP did not sanction the State for this indicator. The department conducted statewide training on transition to clarify the distinction between best practice and compliance so that districts can accurately self-assess.
• Indictor 14 – The Wisconsin Post High School Outcomes Survey is a phone survey of students with disabilities conducted by St. Norbert Survey Center under the direction of CESA 11 and DPI. The sample is aligned with the Procedural Compliance Self-Assessment cycle of districts and is representative of the state. One-fifth of the districts + MPS participate each year.

Indicator 12, the Program Participation System (PPS) and technical assistance – Jill Haglund and Dani Scott, DPI Consultants (PowerPoint)

• PPS is the new data collection system for collecting Indicator 12 data. It will allow county birth to three agencies to make electronic referrals to local educational agencies, and allow LEAs to report the status of those referrals in real time. PPS was developed in collaboration with the Department of Health Services (DHS) and was funded through a General Supervision Enhancement Grant (GSEG). This system will enhance communication between districts and counties, and allow DPI to monitor progress on Indicator 12 on a regular basis. PPS requires LEAs to report on a child-specific basis the reasons why the indicator was not met.
• Missing Indicator 12 for two consecutive years resulted in the State’s determination status of needs assistance for two consecutive years. DPI must report in the APR on the technical assistance sources from which the State received assistance and what actions the State took as a result of the technical assistance. OSEP posts available technical assistance on the SPP/APR calendar. A cross-department (DHS and DPI) transition team was created to review and identify appropriate technical assistance for the State and develop program specific and collaborative support for LEAs.
• During 2007-08, the most common number of days beyond the 3rd birthday when eligibility was determined and the IEP developed was one day.
• Counties are preparing parents in advance of the transition planning conference to make the decision to refer, but if the parent is not comfortable making a decision until after the child is 2 years 9 months old, this is not held against the district. Counties indicate this in PPS. The County Birth to 3 agency must get parent permission to make a referral or share evaluation materials with the LEA. DHS is developing a form that will notify the district when a parent does not provide consent for referral.

SPP Improvement Activities Review – Ann Bailey, NCRRC, and Troy Couillard, Assistant Director, DPI (Handout)

• NCRRC has developed a process for evaluating improvement activities.
• DPI invited NCRRC to Wisconsin to help the State evaluate the State Performance Plan (SPP) improvement activities (SPP-APR Improvement Activity Review Form).
• The SPP now depicts the improvement activities in an easy to read table with the years identified in which the activities occur.
• The Annual Performance Report (APR) also depicts the improvement activities in an easy to read table with more detailed information about the activities that occurred in 2007-08. Also identified is the type of activity (or category); whether the activity is continuing, new, or completed (color coded); and supporting resources.
• The revised SPP and APR will be posted on the DPI website February 2, 2009. (SPP - APR). The 2007-08 data will be posted on the District Profile by June 1, 2009, (https://www2.dpi.state.wi.us/DistrictProfile/Pages/DistrictProfile.aspx)

Highlight of recent activities

• Indicator 4 – Troy Couillard, Assistant Director
  • A cross-department team composed of general and special education is working with the National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavior and Intervention Supports (PBIS). DPI is in the initial planning stages.
• Indicator 5 – Sandy Berndt, DPI Consultant
  • Wisconsin has met or is making progress toward the Indicator 5 targets, which the stakeholders set. Starting with separate facilities, DPI is undertaking a study of how IEP teams document their least restrictive environment (LRE) analysis. The study will include a review of student records. DPI hopes to report back to the stakeholders in May.
• Indicators 9 and 10 – Courtney Jenkins, DPI Consultant
  • CREATE is a five-year systems change grant intended to increase statewide capacity to train and enhance educators’ understanding and application of research-based and culturally-responsive policies, procedures, and practices with the goal of eliminating race as a predictor of placement in special education and success. Wisconsin is one of the first states to have a technical assistance center for disproportionality. CESA 6 is the coordinator of the grant with subcontracts to other CESAs. CREATE is available to all districts.
    
    Goals of the grant:
    • Synthesize and expand research-based practices for culturally and linguistically diverse students in general and special education.
    • Establish a racial context for all educators that is personal, local, and immediate.
    • Leverage the continued improvement of schools through collaborative work with existing technical assistance networks, continuous school improvement processes, and regional and state leadership academies.
    • Engage a statewide discourse across local, professional practice, and policy communities on improving educational outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse students.
    • Develop products, with a particular focus on web-based professional development, that help schools implement effective and evidence-based teaching and school organizational practices that support successful educational outcomes for students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
• Parent revocation of special education services – Patti William, DPI Consultant
  • Regulations were issued by the Department of Education on December 1, 2008, which resulted in some changes to the current federal regulations for Part B. The regulations take effect on December 31, 2008. The major change is that a parent can revoke consent for special education services at any time. The parent must revoke consent in writing. When a school district receives the written revocation, the school district must provide the parent with prior written notice regarding the change in educational placement and services that will result from the revocation. In doing so, it must inform the parents of the educational services and supports they are declining. DPI will provide model forms for the written revocation and the notice prior to December 31, 2008.

Proposed Changes to SPP Indicators – Ann Bailey, NCRRC (PowerPoint)

• Indicator 4B is restored, targets to be included in FFY 2009 APR due February 1, 2011.
• Indicator 7 calculation – includes two summary statements.
• Indicator 12 – additional measurement includes # of children who were referred to Part C less than 90 days before their third birthdays.
• Indicator 13 – additional criteria; new baseline for FFY 2009.
• Indicator 14 – standardizes definitions; new baseline for FFY 2009.

Next scheduled stakeholder meeting: May 19, 2009, DPI Room 041

For questions about this information, contact Anita J. Castro (608) 266-1781

Last updated on 2/25/2009 3:22:41 PM