Talbot County Public Schools

Talbot County Public Schools

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Building Partnerships and Working Together

Caroline County Special Education Staffing Plan

SFY 2017

Elizabeth K. Anthony

Supervisor of Special Education

May 2017

Table of Contents

Process for Developing, Monitoring and Evaluating the Special Education Staffing Plan…2

Background

Overview

Development of the Plan……………………………………………………………………..4

Public Input

Budget Process and Maintenance of Effort ………………………………………………….6

Maintenance of Effort

Staffing Patterns for Service Providers, Including the Methods for Determining the Number and Types Needed …………………………………………………………………………….7

Overview

Key Factors and Considerations to Determine Staffing

Suggested Special Education Caseload Staffing …………………………………….11

Special Education Instructional Services ………………………………………….12

Related Service Providers ………………………………………………………… 12

Accountability………………………………………………………………………………..13

Caseload Monitoring and Adjustment Process………………………………………13

Process for Resolving Staffing Concerns …………………………………………...13

Evaluating of the Local Staffing Plan for Effectiveness……………………………………..14

Guiding Factors for the Development and Review of Special Education Staffing

Public Input Activities……………………………………………………………………….16

Other Sources of Data………………………………………………………………………..17

Documentation of Maintenance of Effort……………………………………………………17

FY 2016 Suggested Staffing Plan……………………………………………………………18

Vacancies By Position……………………………………………………………………….18

Evaluation of FY 2015 Plan…………………………………………………………………19

Evaluation of FY 2016Plan………………………………………………………………….22

Caroline County Public Schools

Process for Developing, Monitoring and Evaluating the Special Education Staffing Plan

Background

This document describes the process Caroline County Public Schools (CCPS) will use to meet federal and State requirements for the annual development, review and evaluation of a staffing plan for special education. Annually, CCPS will utilize this process to determine the needs for special education staffing to monitor its implementation and make adjustments as needed and to evaluate its effectiveness. The Maryland State Department of Education provides written guidance and a rubric for the development of this plan. In addition, this plan is referenced and utilized to review the Special Education State Performance Plan Self-Assessment and to develop the CCPS Bridge to Excellence Master Plan.

Overview

Caroline County Public School’s mission is for all students to have access to challenging curriculum and support services provided by highly qualified personnel. In order for CCPS to reach this goal, staffing in each school must be sufficient to meet the needs of the learner. In accordance with federal and State requirements, students identified as having a disability are provided a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). These students with special needs recognized as having educational disabilities and needing specialized instruction are required to have an Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). IEPs are the educational roadmaps for students with special needs. School teams in conjunction with families develop these plans based on diagnostic assessments and identified needs. The plan includes goals and objectives, services needed to implement the plan, and where the plan will be implemented. Staffing patterns for the district and schools are formulated based on the data regarding the total special education instruction and supports needed to implement the IEPs of the special education students within the least restrictive environment.

Each school plans and implements systemic school improvement efforts and activities to meet their identified goals. The delivery of special education instruction and related services is an integral part of school improvement planning and instructional activities. In making decisions about special education services, school teams must consider each student’s needs and supports and services necessary to provide access to and meaningful participation in general education settings and programs. A key element in the provision of a FAPE for students with disabilities is the availability of appropriately trained personnel to implement each student’s IEP and access to appropriate and timely staff development to support special education and general education staff working with students with disabilities. The Caroline County Public Schools (CCPS) staffing plan is a vehicle to ensure the appropriate personnel are available to deliver the services required to fully implement IEPs. Professional development for school personnel and others in the district will address the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004), as well as ongoing activities to promote development of instructionally appropriate practices and to reach the goals of the CCPS ‘s Bridge to Excellence Master Plan and the State Performance Plan for Special Education.

Annually, local school systems must prepare a comprehensive special education staffing plan that describes and projects how special education personnel will be assigned to schools. This plan will report the collection of data, sources of input and the procedures used to determine the numbers and types of service providers in order to provide a free appropriate public education as required by COMAR 13A.05. and IDEA 2004. Certification of staff assigned to provide services as per the IEP is reviewed to ensure that State standards are met. This plan will be evaluated annually as a part of the process for ensuring compliance.

CCPS has developed a set of Guiding Principles to ensure that staff deployment adequately and efficiently support students’ needs:

  • All students, including those with disabilities, are entitled to a high quality, challenging educational program through access to the general education program and highly qualified staff.
  • The specialized instructional services and supports included in a student’s IEP are crucial to their success in school and thus are critical in determining reasonable staff caseloads.
  • There must be flexibility in the staffing plan to allow for changes in students’ needs, local decision-making, cost effectiveness and unexpected situations that arise during any school year.
  • All services and supports must be provided in compliance with state and federal regulations, which include providing a continuum of services in the LRE appropriate to a student’s needs.
  • CCPS maintains a focus on providing services and supports needed for an individual student to be successful, rather than based on the identified disability or its severity.
  • CCPS will continue to demonstrate improvement in all areas identified in the SPP, particularly the monitoring priority: FAPE in LRE.
  • CCPS will continue to demonstrate improvement in the monitoring priority: Disproportionality in regards to identification and placement.

Stakeholders are essential in the education of all children. The building principal must be the leader of the school in many functions, including the school’s climate. A building’s climate includes the welcoming of diverse learners. The principal’s additional roles include but are not limited to:

  • IEP chairperson (and/or the assistant principal);
  • Collection of data to determine staffing needs to serve all children;
  • Communication to the Supervisor of Special Education and Assistant Superintendent regarding additional staff and training needs based on the School Improvement Plan and Master Plan, and most importantly,
  • Instructional leadership.

General and special education teachers have both shared and specialized roles. Both are responsible for the implementation of the student’s IEP as well as the general education and life skills curriculum if appropriate. Both are responsible for grading and communication to parents to include IEP meetings. In collaborative teaching models, the general education teacher is viewed as the content specialist, whereas the special education teacher is viewed as the strategy specialist. Training in effective collaborative teaching approaches and practices is provided to school staffs through an intensive mentoring/coaching model. Related service personnel provide services based on the IEP to include direct services, as well as consultation to all staff working with children on their caseload.

CCPS believes that for inclusion to be effective an ongoing program of professional development for administrators and teaching staff is essential. Therefore, the special education central office team, in conjunction with collaborative teaching mentors/coaches assigned to target schools provide a menu of formal training opportunities to general and special education staff. These staff members are available for teaming meetings, individual consultation with staff and parents, observations and constructive feedback, and demonstration teaching.

Development of the Plan

Public Input:

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA) focuses on each state’s accountability on State Performance Plan (SPP) indicators defined by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) which, in turn, determines the levels of intervention needed by OSEP. The four levels of determination are: Meets Requirements, Needs Assistance, Needs Intervention, or Needs Substantial Intervention. The MSDE, Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services, use a results-based rubric on specific indicators to rate each public agency’s performance in meeting the State’s targets as defined by the SPP for Part B. The following Part B indicators are included in assigning determinations:

Results Indicators

  • Graduation with a Maryland High School Diploma
  • Dropout
  • State Assessment Results
  • LRE for Students Ages 6-21

Compliance Indicators

  • Disproportionality: as a result of inappropriate identification and based on race
  • Disproportionality: as a result of inappropriate identification and based on race and disability
  • Initial Evaluation Timeline
  • Part C to Part B Transition
  • Secondary Transition
  • Timely Correction of Noncompliance
  • Timely, Valid and Reliable Data

Based on the available data, as well as information obtained through monitoring and complaint investigations, Caroline County Public Schools received the results from the data of the SPP indicators from FFY 2014/SFY 2015 status has been determined that CCPS is in the Meets Requirements status. Since FFY 2006/SFY 2007, CCPS has maintained the Meet Requirements status.

The information from the self-assessment was used to guide instruction, identification, and placement of students with disabilities. This information and each school’s School Improvement Plan, as well as the Caroline County Public Schools Bridge to Excellence Master Plan, guide the CCPS Team in all decisions regarding staffing and programming needs. Previously, CCPS would submit the required Self-Assessment of the State Performance Plan in December of the current school year. Now all of the data is online and MSDE no longer requires LEAs to submit the Self-Assessment on lagging data.

Input into the special education staffing plan is sought from a wide variety of stakeholders throughout the school year. These stakeholders include staff, parents, and the community.

The Special Education Team meets to review issues regarding programming, system compliance and planning. The new requirement for quarterly data submission on SPP Indicators provide team members a quarterly review of special education needs and areas of priorities. Special education staffing is one of the standing agenda items. Additional input is included from the following:

  • Coordinator of Special Education
  • Supervisor of Pupil Services
  • Special Education Teacher Specialists
  • Psychologists
  • Speech and Language Pathologists
  • IEP Chairpersons

The CCPS Special Education Advisory Committee is another group that reviews data on an ongoing basis and provides input into the staffing plan. This group is comprised of school staff, parents, and community members. The plan is then presented to the Caroline County Board of Education members for review at a public work session. Information is also available on the county website and Board Docs. The revised document is presented to Caroline County Board of Education for review and then approval in June of each year.

During the 2016-17 school year, CCPS will initiate additional means of gathering input from parents through surveys following all initial and annual IEP meetings. Additionally, this information will be collected at the beginning of the school year and again in the spring from students and staff. The Special Education Advisory Committee at their meetings considers this information. Additionally, a parent survey was developed by MSDE and submitted to parents of Caroline County parents. Information from this survey is included in the State Performance Plan Self-Assessment. Caroline County results from the Parent Survey will be available on the MSDE website as a requirement of the new State Performance Plan.

Budget Process and Maintenance of Effort

Considerable planning, discussion and brainstorming of ideas takes place prior to the development of the school system’s annual operating budget. Information gathered through the public input activities described above, as well as data on student achievement, is used to inform the budget needs assessment. All budget items are carefully considered then prioritized based on priority initiatives linked to the district’s Bridge to Excellence Master Plan, the School Improvement Plans and the Special Education State Performance Plan Self-Assessment, including areas such as student achievement, discipline, inclusion and collaborative teaching efforts.

The steps in the CCPS budget process are:

  • In the fall of each school year the budget process for the following school year begins. Needs are assessed through data collection and analysis, surveys and progress toward meeting goals outlined in theState Performance Plan Self-Assessment andBridge to Excellence Master Plan. Draft budgets are developed based on this data, which include staffing, materials, equipment and services. School improvement teams, including parents, review this information.
  • Budget priority discussions continue throughout the fall and winter with parent participation and community input. Staffing needs are updated and clarified on an on-going basis.
  • Special education student data are collected, and reported on three times a year by special education case managers. This data includes the number of students served, the number of hours of service, the number of students per class and the number of staff provided with consultation on a regular basis. Additionally, quarterly data required for the SPP Indicators provide verification of data submitted by case managers. Input regarding student needs is also obtained from parents and other staff during IEP meetings and parent conferences.
  • Public hearings are held throughout the winter to gather community input on the proposed budget.
  • The budget is submitted to the County Commissioners for approval.
  • Once approved, the Board of Education adopts a final budget for the next fiscal year.

Maintenance of Effort

Maintenance of Effort is demonstrated annually in the school budget as required by 34 C.F.R.300.231 and COMAR 13A.02.05.

Staffing Patterns for Service Providers, Including the Methods for Determining the Number and Types Needed

Overview

Ratios act only as a guide in determining caseloads and staff patterns. The most significant factor is the severity of the needs of the students. Teacher schedules are reviewed on an on-going basis in order to ensure that they have sufficient time to plan, evaluate student progress, conference with general education teachers and parents, to conduct educational assessments and to complete the written documentation required by federal and State regulations.

The SSIS system enables the Special Education Supervisor to track hours of service and environments. Collected SSIS information, along with data submitted by case managers is analyzed and used as part of the decision-making process in determining what, if any, changes need to be implemented. The same procedure is used for determining related service staffing. At the building level, special education representatives are part of the School Improvement Teams and provide input regarding the need to increase/decrease services and any additional budgetary items required at the school.

The CCPS Bridge to Excellence Master Plan is a comprehensive, integrated countywide plan identifying the school system’s goal, strategies for meeting them, and methods of evaluating achievement of the goals and objectives. As part of this plan, CCPS Special Education reviewed the Special EducationState Performance PlanSelf-Assessment data and identified target objectives and strategies that will assist in meeting the standards established by Race to the Top and Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools Act. These objectives address instructional levels in Early Childhood Intervention; Elementary; and Secondary. Priority areas established by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) are also addressed. These include, not limited to, Least Restrictive Environment; AYP; and Disproportionality.

Key factors and Considerations to Determine Staffing

Determining the specific needs of students with disabilities in the district.

  • Review of SPP indicators and the Maryland Report Card Monitoring Priority: FAPE in the LRE
  • Percent of youth with IEP’s graduating from high school with a regular diploma compared to percent of all youth in the State graduating with a regular diploma. CCPS’s FFY 2014(SFY 2015) data for this indicator are58.62% for the 4-year cohort, which is an increase from FFY13 (SFY 2014) data of 58.14% for the 4-year cohort. This is slightly below the State’s target of 61.43% for the 4-year cohort. Based on the FFY 2014 (SFY 2015) SPP/APR Part B indicators, CCPS has not met the state target. The 2015 Maryland Report Card data for this indicator are 69.23% for the 4-year cohort, which is a significant increase from the FFY2014 (SFY 2015) data. The 2015 Maryland Report Card data is the most current indicator of our percent of youth with IEP’s graduating from high school with a regular diploma compared to percent of all youth in the State graduating with a regular diploma.
  • Percent of youth with IEP’s dropping out of high school compared to the percent of all youth in the State dropping out of high school.

CCPS’s FFY 2014(SFY 2015) data for this indicator are 7.43%,this is an increasefrom last year of 3.0 % but is belowthe state target of 4.47%. CCPS has not met the state target.

  • Percent of children with IEPs Aged 6 through 21:
  • Inside the regular class 80% or more of the day: CCPS FFY 2014 (SFY 2015) data for this indicator are 82.10 %. This exceeds the State’s target of 68.90% by 13.20 %.
  • Inside the regular class less than 40% of the day: CCPS FFY 2014 (SFY 2015) data for this indicator are 10.89 %. This exceeded the State target of 12.76 % by 1.89 %.
  • Served in public or private separate schools, residential placements, or homebound or hospital placements: CCPS FFY 2014 (SFY 2015) data for this indicator are 1.56 %. This exceeded the State’s target of 6.44 % by 4.88 %.
  • Percent of preschool children with IEPs who demonstrate positive social-emotional skills (including social relationships):
  • Percent of children who entered or exited the program below age-expectations will substantially increase their rate of growth by the time they exit the program. CCPS FFY 2014 (SFY 2015) data for this indicator is 93.75%. This exceeded the State’s target of 64.23%.
  • Percent of children will function within age-expectations by the time they exit the program. CCPS FFY 2014 (SFY 2015) data for this indicator is 90.32%. This exceeded the State’s target of 65.12%.
  • Percent of preschool children with IEPs who demonstrate improved acquisition and use of knowledge and skills (including early language/communication and early literacy).
  • Percent of children who entered or exited the program below age-expectations will substantially increase their rate of growth by the time they exit the program. CCPS FFY 2014(SFY 2015) data for this indicator is 86.96%. This exceeds the State’s target of 69.08 %.
  • Percent of children will function within age-expectations by the time they exit the program. CCPS FFY 2014(SFY 2015) data for this indicator is 80.65%. This exceeds the State’s target of 61.42%.
  • Percent of preschool children with IEPs who demonstrate improved use of appropriate behaviors to meet their needs.
  • Percent of children who entered or exited the program below age-expectations will substantially increase their rate of growth by the time they exit the program. CCPS FFY 2014(SFY 2015) data for this indicator is 90.32 %. This exceeds the State’s target of 72.98%.
  • Percent of children will function within age-expectations by the time they exit the program. CCPS FFY 2014 (SFY 2015) data for this indicator is 64.52%. This exceeds the State’s target of 56.92%.
  • Collection of data from each case manager. Caroline County Public Schools is committed to becoming a highly inclusive system. Data are collected to help guide our system in that direction. Case managers are asked to report the number of students they serve and the number of hours of service they provide to their students. Additionally, special education staff is asked to provide information on the number of general educators that they must provide consultation to on a regular basis to ensure the success of students in the general education environment.

As students matriculate to the secondary schools the district is committed to increasing collaborative efforts with the use of the co-teaching model. This is quite challenging given a master schedule at the secondary level. Staff reports the number of environments where they provide instruction. It is essential, given the goal of inclusion, that there is sufficient professional and paraprofessional staff available to meet IEP needs of each student in the least restrictive environment. CCPS’s secondary schools are primarily operating on the four-block schedule with 90-minute periods of instruction.

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