There have been several changes to IDEA since it was passed in The MDE-OSE has regularly issued new policies to address changes in Federal regul

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2 There have been several changes to IDEA since it was passed in The MDE-OSE has regularly issued new policies to address changes in Federal regulations, guidance from OSEP memos, and case law. 6/10/14 Page 2

3 The MDE-OSE has not completed a revision of procedures to reflect the changes in policies in over a decade; however, the MDE-OSE has provided guidance on procedures and best practices through documents, updates to forms, and training materials. 6/10/14 Page 3

4 The previous procedures were drafted in a time before many changes in IDEA and State policies were made. Therefore the previous procedures are not consistent with current regulations and policies. 6/10/14 Page 4

5 A writing team was assembled in 2012 consisting of MDE-OSE staff in the division of Technical Assistance and contracted MDE- OSE retirees who had extensive special education expertise historical knowledge of MDE-OSE practices. The writing team has evolved over time to include Monitoring, Fiscal, Legal, and Student Assessment staff, as well as other practitioners and experts in the field, as needed, to assist with writing, reviewing, and editing. The original vision was to create a document that assisted all of the entities responsible for implementing special education. To ensure the document was responsive to the customers the team first had to identify who all of the customers were. Then, throughout the writing process, the team had to account for the needs of the different customers to determine what information to include and how to organize it to ensure utility. 6/10/14 Page 5

6 The writing team set three key criteria to be used to evaluate the resulting Procedures. 6/10/14 Page 6

7 To ensure the Procedures would be relevant, they needed to address Federal regulations and State policy as well as provide guidance, recommendations, and best practices for a range of important topics and sub-populations. 6/10/14 Page 7

8 To ensure the Procedures would be user-friendly, they needed to address the difficulties the agencies have had with the policies, namely the lack of understandable language, the lack of examples, and the disjointed location of information. The team also intentionally designed internal references that could be hyperlinked to enable online navigation for the modern way people search for and use information. The team also added key features into the document to make them more helpful and user-friendly. 6/10/14 Page 8

9 To ensure the Procedures would be adaptable, they needed to be designed in a way to enable more frequent revisions and the addition of information without disrupting the flow of the entire document, requiring renumbering of pages, or reprinting of unchanged sections. This lead the team to design a multi-volume document that could allow future revisions of the volumes to be independent allowing ongoing revisions for each volume as needed without impacting unchanged volumes. In addition, the appendices used a unique abbreviation sequence that enables ongoing revision, additions, and deletions without changing the page numbers in each volume. Furthermore, all of the appendices including sample forms will be made available in formats that enable public agencies to customize them for their needs. 6/10/14 Page 9

10 The revised Procedures will be published as a multi-volume document. The order differs from that of State Board Policy Rather it follows the pathway of children as they become eligible for and are served by special education. The first three volumes apply to every child who enters special education. The last three volumes address specific concerns that arise for children with disabilities due to specific behaviors, age, or special group membership. 6/10/14 Page 10

11 The chapters are grouped according to content and have a unique abbreviation used to identify their related appendices. 6/10/14 Page 11

12 The chapters are grouped according to content and have a unique abbreviation used to identify their related appendices. NOTE: Even though Volumes IV an V appear small due to their inclusion of only one chapter, they are in fact quite large due to the number of appendices included with them. 6/10/14 Page 12

13 Volume VI includes unique information as well as information found in other volumes limited to how it relates to the specific populations addressed. This volume will be adapted to include special guidance for identified special populations, as needed. 6/10/14 Page 13

14 Each chapter will use a layout consisting of the main text with several types of documents in the appendices. 6/10/14 Page 14

15 This is a mock-up of the anticipated title page to be used for each volume. 6/10/14 Page 15

16 This is a sample of the Table of Contents listing each chapter and its associated appendices. NOTE: There is an additional Table of Contents page for the appendices immediately proceeding them. 6/10/14 Page 16

17 This is a sample of the Table of Contents listing each chapter and its associated appendices. NOTE: There is an additional Table of Contents page for the appendices immediately proceeding them. 6/10/14 Page 17

18 Each main text section is laid out in a narrative format beginning with the definition of the public agency. 6/10/14 Page 18

19 Each main text section ends with the regulatory reference from State Board Policy 7219 on which the procedures for this chapter are based. The language of the text will help distinguish between language from policies ( The public agency must ) and language from guidance and recommendations ( The public agency should or The public agency may ). 6/10/14 Page 19

20 There is a Table of Contents page for the appendices. If desired, the appendices may be stored in a separate notebook using this separate Table of Contents page. 6/10/14 Page 20

21 This is a sample of the Top Ten highlights included for each chapter. 6/10/14 Page 21

22 As some topics are vary in length and technical information, the number of highlights vary. Often the chapters will have more than 10 items included for each chapter. Occasionally, they will have fewer than 10 items. 6/10/14 Page 22

23 Some tables provide reference information. 6/10/14 Page 23

24 Some tables function like a chart for clarifying information. 6/10/14 Page 24

25 There are flowcharts included that illustrate multi-step processes in special education. These can also be used as tools to clarify these processes with families during meetings. 6/10/14 Page 25

26 There are flowcharts included that illustrate multi-step processes in special education. These can also be used as tools to clarify these processes with families during meetings. 6/10/14 Page 26

27 When the writing team reviewed the forms, there were some forms for which very few changes were made. (In this example, the frequencies for the hearing screening were updated and the boxes for the vision screening were reworked.) 6/10/14 Page 27

28 There were some forms which were greatly expanded to include more relevant information. (In this example, the developmental history form was expanded to include more relevant information for children ages three through eight.) 6/10/14 Page 28

29 There were some forms which were greatly simplified to include only the necessary information for determining eligibility and the programming needs of children. (In this example, the report of physical status was redesigned to limit the information required to the four critical pieces of information needed for eligibility and programming: (a) impairments or injuries, (b) medications, (c) limitations and precautions, and (d) recommendations for school-based services. This revision was intended to alleviate the difficulties created by the previous report of physical observation which required substantially more information, including data unnecessary for determining eligibility or programming, and often presented as a barrier for evaluators to obtain this information from medical providers.) 6/10/14 Page 29

30 There were some forms which were newly created. (In this example, a Child Find Request form was developed to enable families and community members to make a written referral and to enable district employees to record a verbal request. In addition, this form contains spaces to record relevant information such as concerns about the child, the child s home language, and the child s location (e.g., school, community child care, or other facility). This information can assist the district in assembling the most appropriate Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team to determine if a comprehensive evaluation is warranted.) 6/10/14 Page 30

31 All of the forms have instructions to provide guidance on how to complete the form and suggestions for the potential use of the form. (This example is of a new classroom observation form that can be used to document classroom instruction and behavior management practices.) 6/10/14 Page 31

32 All of the forms have instructions to provide guidance on how to complete the form and suggestions for the potential use of the form. (This example includes sample eligibility determination forms that can be used to facilitate discussions during eligibility meetings and help the team decide among potential disability categories.) 6/10/14 Page 32

33 Additional guidance sections are included in the appendices, such as this section on environmental/cultural differences and economic disadvantage. 6/10/14 Page 33

34 Additional guidance in the appendices may also include worksheets to assist the IEP Committee in making important decisions for children, such as this worksheet on educational benefit. 6/10/14 Page 34

35 Additional guidance in the appendices also include worksheets or tools for educational entities to ensure they fulfill their special education responsibilities, such as this checklist on Child Find practices. 6/10/14 Page 35

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