1
POLICY & COMPLIANCE COMMITTEE
REVIEW OF LRE MONITORING PROTOCOLS
March 26, 2007
This analysis was generated as a result of documents provided to Committee Chairs by Judy Gran on March 15, 2007. It is not clear if or when PDE was going to request AP input in the development of these interview protocols.
When interviewing it is usually advisable to have open-ended questions that put people at ease and enable exploration of issues. Since LRE monitoring is not voluntary it is likely that there will be some defensiveness on the part of interviewees making it even more desirable to have open–ended questions to minimize social desirability in the responses (saying what you believe the right answer to be or what you believe the interviewer is wanting to hear). Also, questions eliciting a simple yes/no response are not likely to yield much useful information.
Open-ended questions usually take the form of How/What/Why/Explain/Describe questions, whereas closed-ended questions usually start with Are/Is/have/Do/Does etc..
2007/07 interview questions are presented first followed by similar questions from 2005/06 protocols. Comments in italics represent suggestions for alternative questions. Recommendations and suggested questions from the Policy & Compliance Committee from March 2006 are provided for comparison at the end of the document.
1A. SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER INTERVIEW, 2006/07
Questions specific to student whose file was reviewed:
30 / Were you a member of the IEP team that made the decision to place (child’s name) in your class?31 / Are you familiar with the contents of (child’s name)’s IEP?
Few teachers would admit unfamiliarity. Better to ask What is in the IEP?
32 / Do you have a copy of the IEP?
33 / Are supplementary aids and services included in the IEP?
A yes/no answer is not what is wanted. Ask What SAS are included in the IEP?
34 / Are there supplementary aids and services included in the IEP that are to be delivered in general education settings?
What are they?
35 / Are the specially designed instruction and supplementary aids and services that are to be provided in general education settings being provided to (child’s name)?
Allows for a simple yes/no answer. Saying no is also self-criticism. Better to ask How are the SAS provided in the general education setting?
36 / Are the specially designed instruction and supplementary aids and services that are provided to the child in general education settings sufficient to meet (child’s name)’s needs?
SAS can vary from class to class and the quality of their intervention may vary from class to class. A simple yes/no answer here is not going to give much information. Which SAS provided in regular education classes have been most effective? Please give specific examples.
37 / Do you have a role in providing the specially designed instruction and supplementary aids and services in the general education classroom?
Asking What is your role? will give better information
38 / Do you receive the training and support you need to provide the specially designed instruction and supplementary aids and services in the general education classroom?
What training and support do you feel you need? What do you receive?
39 / Are appropriate staff involved with the planning and implementation of (child’s name)’s program?
Who is seen to be “appropriate” depends on your assumptions and point of view. Ask Who is involved? Compare that with the team’s analysis of who they think should be involved.
40 / Do you have adequate time to meet as a team for planning?
How much time is enough? If you are doing little then little time is needed, if you are doing a lot then more time is needed. Admitting to inadequate time could be seen as critical of school administrators. Saying” yes” is also not going to give enough information.
41 / Do you provide consultative support to other team members?
What support do you provide to other team members?
42 / Do you have a role in monitoring and reporting (child’s name)’s progress on IEP goals?
What is your role in …?
43 / Is (child’s name) making progress toward IEP goals?
How much progress is the big question. How do you define meaningful progress for …? Are goals changing with each IEP revision to reflect continued progress? If a goal is not reached does the team discuss ways to improve educational progress?
44 / Is there a structure in place that allows you to have effective communication with (child’s name)’s parents?
How do you communicate with parents? How would you characterize your relationship with parents?
45 / Is (child’s name) receiving educational benefit from participation in your general education classroom?
Ask How do you define “educational benefit”? What are the benefits as you see them?
46 / Does (child’s name) need supplementary aids and services to participate in assemblies, field trips and extra-curricular activities? (If yes, ask next question)
The quality of the participation is more important than the fact of participation. Participation is different from presence.
47 / Are needed supplementary aids and services being provided to (child’s name)?
Is the student being provided with what s/he needs to maximize her LRE?
Before proceeding with the following questions, ask the teacher if they have already been interviewed during this focused monitoring on-site review. If they have, do NOT ask the remaining questions and leave questions 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53 and 54 blank on the tally sheet.
General – open ended/code as to topics (NOTE: A “Don’t Know” section has been added to the tally sheet.)
48 / In this school, are there barriers to a student with disabilities participating in general education? If yes, what are these barriers?This is a good question. Also ask Who/what is driving school inclusion?
49 / If students need modified curricula in order to participate in general education classrooms, is it provided? If no, why not?
How well are teachers making needed modifications to curricula?
50 / Are students who experience behavioral problems in general education classes “sent back” to the special education class or teacher?
How is this decision made? Please give examples if this happening.
51 / If this occurs, is it a planned strategy that is included in the student’s IEP?
What is this question trying to get at? It is not a good strategy even if it is planned.
52 / Have general education teachers been provided with training and assistance to enable them to implement behavioral supports in the general education classroom?
What training do teachers receive re behavioral support?
Is it enough?
53 / For children who have intensive behavioral support needs, is there interagency collaboration between school staff and other agency staff (social work, psychologists, mental health, child welfare) to ensure that the needs of the student are addressed?
What is the level and nature of the collaboration? Is it adequate?
54 / Does the level of interagency collaboration increase if the team is considering making a referral to a more restrictive setting?
What is this question trying to get at?
1B. Special Education Teacher Interview (Other Settings), 2006/07
Many of the questions are leading i.e., stroingly suggest a socially desirable answer or a simple yes/no response. Generally, it is a good idea with interview research to have open-ended questions (such as What, When, How and Why questions) because they encourage the interviewee to give their perspective from their experience rather than simple yes or no responses possibly in a socially desirable direction.
157
/Are appropriate staff involved with the planning and implementation of (child’s name)’s program?
Same as SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER INTERVIEW above #39158
/Do you have adequate time to meet as a team for planning?
Same as SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER INTERVIEW above #40159
/Do you have a role in monitoring and reporting (child’s name)’s progress on IEP goals?
Same as SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER INTERVIEW above #41160
/Is (child’s name) making progress toward IEP goals?
To say no to this could be perceived as very critical of a number of people…Better to ask what progress are you seeing?Same as SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER INTERVIEW above #43
161
/Is (child’s name) receiving educational benefit from participation in your program?
Same as SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER INTERVIEW above #45162
/Does (child’s name) have access to the general education curriculum?
What does “access” mean? The amount and quality of inclusion is what we are interested in.163
/Are there opportunities for (child’s name) to interact with non-disabled peers?
In what ways does this students interact with…? What is the nature and quality of these interactions?164
/Does the school plan or facilitate these opportunities?
How does the school plan…?165
/Does (child’s name) go on field trips, attend school functions or participate in extracurricular activities with their same age/grade non-disabled peers?
In what ways does this students interact with…? What is the nature and quality of these interactions?166
/Does (child’s name) have any opportunities to be involved in the community as part of their school program? If yes, describe the activities:
“Opportunities” is a positively loaded word (schools are all about opportunities). This is likely to strongly urge the interviewee to search for some “opportunities.” A more neutral question could be Is the student involved in the community as part of their school program? If so how?167
/Is there a structure in place that allows you to have effective communication with (child’s name)’s parents?
Same as SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER INTERVIEW above #44168 / Has the IEP team discussed the development of a plan to transition (child’s name) back into the school district with supplementary aids and services?
Good question. But what is the plan!
1C. TEACHER INTERVIEW, 2005/06
General
34 / How does the IEP team document that they considered multiple educational placement options for a student?Same as ADMINISTRATIVE INTERVIEW, 2005/06, # 6
What is the quality of the consideration?
35 / Does inclusion of a student with a disability into a general education classroom depend upon the student’s disability and/or the severity of disability? Explain.
36 / To what degree does the participation of a student with a disability in general education classrooms depend upon the student’s ability to be successful without accommodations and/or adaptations?
Please explain.
Scheduling and Staffing
37 / Do children self-select electives when that is an option provided to students at that age (i.e., art, music, industrial education at middle school and high school levels)?How are electives chosen?
38 / What opportunities are made available for a child to interact with non-disabled peers if the IEP team determines that he or she needs to be removed for any amount of time from the general education environment?
How is such a decision arrived at!
39 / Are related services provided to meet the needs of all children with disabilities as required in their IEPs?
How are related services…?
Supplementary Aids and Services
40 / What kinds of supplementary aids and services are provided to students with disabilities in regular classes? Give examples.41 / How are accommodations and modifications developed for an individual student? Give examples of typical accommodations that are often provided. Give an example of an atypical accommodation that has been provided in your school.
42 / In your school, have modified curricula been provided for students with disabilities in general education classrooms? If yes, describe the process for modifying the curriculum to meet the needs of a student.
43 / Are special education students who are educated in general education classes sent back to special education class/teacher when they experience behavioral problems? If yes, how is this decision made and is it reflected in the behavior support plan for the student?
This is a better version than question #50 above.
44 / What are the top three factors that make it challenging to successfully provide a range of supplementary aids and services to students with disabilities within general education classrooms in your school?
45 / What additional resources or supports to teachers would be helpful to facilitate providing supplementary aids and services to students with disabilities within general classrooms?
Collaboration
46 / How often are special education teachers available for co-teaching and consultation in general education classrooms?47 / Is sufficient time in the master schedule provided for common planning and collaboration if documented as a need in student IEPs, e.g. between general education and special education teachers, between related services staff and educators, between paraeducators and teachers, etc.?
How much time is scheduled? Is it sufficient?
48 / Which courses in the district are team-taught or co-taught by general and special educators?
What issues has team-teaching raised for you?
49 / For children with a need for emotional support, is there interagency coordination or collaboration between school based staff and service providers (social work, psychologists, mental health, child welfare) to ensure that the needs of the student are understood and addressed before making a referral to a more restrictive setting?
Please give examples.
Professional Development and Supports
50 / Is professional development available for addressing the issue of access to the general curriculum for all students?What professional development is available…?
51 / Describe the topics and modes of professional development that have been provided during the last two school years?
52 / Does the LEA provide or facilitate contact with specialist or consultants who can advise the IEP team on supports and services in regular education?
What contact is provided…?
53 / What efforts are made to coordinate supports and services to facilitate student transitions from one setting or school to another? (e.g. pre-school – kindergarten; elementary – middle; middle – high school, high school – adult life)
2A. Parent Interview, 2006/07
Use the following scale to answer questions #126 through 131:
SCALE / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6Always / Most of
the time / Rarely / Never / Don't
Know / Does not Apply
126 / I am satisfied with the educational placement for my child.