All right, good afternoon everyone and welcome to Klay County's virtual parent academy. My name is Tori Gice. I'm the coordinator of family and community engagement. We are so excited to have you joining us today. This session is going to focus on partners in progress understanding ESSE and IEPs. And we're
pleased to have Dr. Melanie Sanders, our director of ESSE, and Hope Davis and Teresa Carlson, our supervisors of ESSE, here to share important information with you all. Just a few quick reminders. If you've never been to one of these before, um we are going to record this
session. It's going to be available on our district website and on YouTube for your viewing later. If you have any questions during the presentation, please submit them um in the bottom right hand corner. There is a Q&A section down there and then we will
answer as many um questions as possible at the end of the session. Thank you again for partnering with us to support your student success at this time. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Sanders, Miss Davis, and Miss Carlton to guide us through today's session.
>> Good afternoon everyone. We're so glad that you're here. Um it's always a pleasure to get to talk about the program that I have the pleasure of being the director of. And so our exceptional student education program in Klay County is something that um my team
and I are very proud of. And so I want to start with sharing some celebrations and just some information for you all on how our students who are served through the exceptional student education program here in Klay County, how they
are achieving. And this is compared to other state other districts in our state in Florida. And so, as you know, Klay County is a top 10 school district for all students. You know, we consistently rank in the top 10 for all tested areas
across the board um for our students with disabilities and our general education students, but specifically our students with disabilities. We actually fall in the top five compared to other districts around the state. And as you can see here on the screen, we're um
tied for fifth place with for for English language arts. This is um information from know your schools, the FD FL DOE website. And we're in the top five for math as well, top five for science, and we're actually in the top
three for social studies. And um that is something that we are very, very proud of. That being said, we always are striving to continue improving. Um, our students that we serve are very important to us and we want to continue
doing um doing well for them and serving each of them as best we can. So, we're going to start with a little bit of just the foundations of the exceptional student education program. And if you're listening um to this, if
you're part of this call today and you already have a student who is in the ESSE program, some of this might be a little bit of review for you, but we know we have a wide audience and people may um even view this later. So, we wanted to go over some of the
foundations of ESSE. And so, we are bound by federal law. And you may have heard of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. And that is the federal law that really guarantees
that it is the school district's responsibility to provide a free appropriate public education for all students with disabilities ages 3 through 21. So that is something that a lot of people don't realize is that we
start serving students who have been found eligible starting at age three and we can serve them through the age of 21 if um the student and the parent so choose to defer graduation and stay with us. And so um that really is our is our
federal law that guides our work. And there are six main components that are in um a part of the IDA law that we serve. Um as Dr. Sanders mentioned earlier, of course, um the first one is FAPE, which is the free and appropriate
public education. It means that students with disabilities um must receive education that's tailored to meet their needs at no cost to the family. We also um have to guarantee an appropriate evaluation. We use the data um collected um in the school and determine um what
services a student may need. Um the individualized education program, as many of you may be aware, um is the IEP, which is the um actual plan that help serves our students and what their needs for services and supports are. And then
the least restrictive environment is the fourth um foundational part of IDEIDA. And it just means that students with disabilities have the right when appropriate to be served as much as possible with non-disabled peers. So all
of those inclusive opportunities and then of course um as we're so proud that you guys are here with us today. Parent participation, all parents are an equal member of the IEP team. So you guys get to provide input and um help weigh in on all those decisions that are made for
your children. And then procedural safeguards, which are the parents rights. If you've been to an IEP meeting before, you've probably either received a paper copy or gotten an electronic um uh option for that if you choose that as well. That just explains um all of your
rights as a parent within the laws under IDA. So the next piece um we're going to talk about today is eligibility. So, if you've either have a student that has a disability um served in our ESSE program or um maybe you could have um been
through this process before or maybe you are in this process now. The process of eligibility um comes from um when we talk about the students if the school or if the parent um identifies that they may have some concerns about the students progress um towards the general
education curriculum. We would look at data um provide interventions through the MTSS process and we would look to see if there are concerns that we need to take that data um through that multi-ter system of supports and end up
going towards um an evaluation. The evaluation along with the data would help the team determine if a student was eligible for ESSE services. And of course, as a parent, you are part of that decision-making process. But if the
student does have a qualifying disability um and they have that need for specially designed instruction, then an IEP is written from eligibility and the student is able to receive services at that time. Miss Davis, I think um now is a good time to bring up, you know, this is a
common misconception that um having a documented disability automatically qualifies a student for exceptional student education services when in reality what the federal law says is that we do have to show that adverse
effect. We do have to show the need for specially designed instruction in order to qualify a student for um as a student with a disability and get services through ESSE. >> Absolutely.
>> So the next thing we're going to talk about is the IEP. you know that is the IEP stands for the individualized educational plan and each student in the exceptional student education program
has an IEP and so um that is the plan that really guides the work of the school system in providing support for that student. Each IEP should be exactly what it says individualized for that particular student. And on the screen um
are some of those major components of the IEP. These are all um parts of the IEP that are all necessary in order for the IEP to be complete. And so we'll just kind of go through each of these
and talk a little bit about each one. And we'll start with the present level of academic and functional performance. This is really where um the school educators, the providers, any therapy providers, um anyone who's on that IEP
team gets to go into the present level and add just how the students doing. So, we want to list strengths. We want to list ways that the disability might be affecting the access to the general education curriculum.
This is where we want to note any um new new test scores, new evaluation results. We also want to note any any medical issues that might um have come up or any new medical information that the family may get to share with the IEP team.
Parent input is also part of this present level of academic and functional performance. We always want to include um parents, you know, their concerns, their ideas for their child for the future. This present level of academic and
functional performance is really what guides the rest of the IEP. So all of the parts of the IEP are important and they're all interconnected just like the graphic kind of shows there as puzzle pieces, but you really have to start with that present level of academic and
functional performance in order to look ahead and um be able to finish the rest of the plan. So the next thing is um are the goals. That's a big part of the IEP. So, we look at where students are now with the present level and then
we set goals. And we want those goals to be um achievable goals, but we also want them to be um we want them to be strong goals. We want we want the goals to really push the students um in a way that's going to help them get as close
to on grade level as possible. um but any improvement you know obviously depending on the student any improvement um will be noted for those goals. So there should be goals for every area of um of
need for that student. So for some students that might only be goals in the area of reading or it might only be goals in the area of social emotional um health. It the goals might only be for speech and language if they're a student that only has speech impairment or
language impairment. Sometimes there are goals in many areas depending on the complexity and the needs um you know of that student. So obviously the next part is what actual services are there going to be? um that's usually on the first page of
the IEP and it really just lists, you know, are we going to provide um consultative services for the student where the general education and the special education teacher um work together to make sure that the student's getting what they need? Do we provide
support facilitation through the general education setting where a support facilitator um gives support to that ESSE teacher and that student inside the general education class? Is it therapies? Is it
speech impair speech therapy, language therapy? Is it occupational therapy, physical therapy? Or is it um one of our more supportive settings? Is it more of a self-contained type class where students receive a high level of support from the time they enter the the campus
until they leave there? There's a continuum of services. And so, you know, it's not just one or the other. That is kind of the way it used to be where it was like you were either in a general education class or you were in a self-contained class. Now, we really, really try to look at each individual
student to determine what's going to help them make the best progress. Some students also have related services. Um some of those therapies, the speech, OT, PT, um some don't. And so that is a piece of the puzzle if that
student needs it. And then a big piece of every IEP are those accommodations and potential modifications. Accommodations we can give to any student with an IEP who has a documented need. >> Who has a documented need. Modifications
are when we're actually modifying the content. We're modifying the standards and modifications can really only be made for students who are on access points. So, um once students reach a certain grade level, usually around third grade, we start thinking about are
is this a student who um might need to be instructed on access points? And there are very um very strict guidelines that the state gives us for students who can be provided the modifications the access points. So that's um that is something
that is not the norm but it is something that you know we look at for students who may need that. Um like I said accommodations can be for anyone. That's things like extra time. That's things like testing in a small group. That's things like um visual supports that
might be in the classroom. Modifications, like I said, would be that actual change to the standard itself. So, it might still be an algebra standard, but instead of um being eighth grade algebra, it is broken down into a
um a simpler skill that still gives access to the same idea that that standard helps us helps us get to. So students can get varying levels of those access points to the gened standards. Another big part of the IEP is progress
monitoring. So when we write those goals that are right above the progress monitoring, that puzzle piece, those two puzzle pieces go together. We have to then monitor those goals. We have to monitor um how students are working toward achievement on those goals. If we
are not moving toward achievement in those goals, then we need to potentially hold an amendment IEP and um think about what other supports and services might be needed to help that student reach their goals. Sometimes we um increase
the goals. Sometimes we decrease the percentage that they might need to attain in order to to get a little closer to to those goals. Part of the IEP also is we have to note during every IEP whether or not a student is going to participate in how they're going to participate in
statewide assessments. So if a student is on general education standards, they usually um will participate in the FAST test that I'm sure that's not a new term for anyone. Uh and then if they are
instructed using access points, they may be given the alternate assessment, which is um the acronym for that is the FA FAA, and that's the Florida alternative assessment. And then last but not least, part of the IEP is once a student um
begins once a student turns um a certain age. And in Florida, that used to be 14. It's actually 12 now. Um, and so when we get to that age, we start thinking about transition planning. We're actually required to do that. And so we start
talking to the student and the parent about um what their plans for the future might entail and how can the IEP team help them get there. Once students enter high school, that transition planning really ramps up. And we have a really great transition
specialist who offers several events each year for parents and families to start learning about some of those transition plans. If you're listening to this and and you have a student who is um in high school and you have not been
involved in discussions about transition planning, um we will let you know in in a few minutes who you can reach out to. And next is um another piece of the IEP processes which is just how often we meet and what we meet for. So as we
talked about earlier um during that evaluation um piece for potential eligibility if the student is found eligible, we um then schedule and hold an initial IEP meeting. And that's that first IEP meeting to determine what
supports and services the student needs, what their eligibility is, what um exceptionality they may have qualified for, as well as all of those components that Dr. Sanders just talked about within the IEP process. And then after the initial IEP, every single year um
from the date of the initial and then so forth every year after um within that year's time, we have to hold an annual review of the IEP. So that's where we sit down, we bring all of the data to the table, we review the students progress, and we develop a whole brand
new IEP every year based on the current data that we have um based on academics, behavior, um services, um related services, any sort of supports the students receiving, any type of specially designed instruction, um accommodations, all of those things we
just talked about within that annual review time. So, at a minimum, you'd have one IEP meeting a year and a development of that new IEP. Um, there's also amendment IEP meetings, and those amendment IEP meetings occur when any
sort of change needs to happen before the due date of the annual review. So, for instance, if a student had a schedule change and we needed to adjust um or I'm sorry, if the team determined some services that needed to change that were going to like affect the student's
schedule, um we would hold an IEP meeting to change those services. if we needed to maybe add or change some accommodations, maybe updating or reviewing a goal. if a student maybe wasn't making progress towards a particular goal or was having any type
of um struggles or not progressing in the way the team would like to see the student progress, an amendment IEP meeting is called to discuss um the students needs and how the IEP um team and the IEP itself can support the
student in being successful. And then every three years at least we have to consider um and conduct a re-evaluation. That could be um an informal evaluation using um the current data of the student, how the student is progressing
towards the general education curriculum, you know, where where they're at um currently um academically, behaviorally. Um or it could be a formal re-evaluation in which we say, "Hey, you know, we suspect that there might be some other concerns. We'd like to get
some formal um evaluation results um maybe by our school psychologist in which we need to bring those back to the IEP team and review those results to determine how the IEP might need to be changed or amended um to support the students needs." And then of course we
also always have the option um for an amendment IEP meeting or an annual for the parent to request the meeting. So anytime you as a parent feel like you have some concerns or some questions that need to be addressed through the IEP, um we meet anytime based off of
parent requests. So, if that ever occurs, you just need to contact your your child's school and the school team and the ESC secretary will be happy to set that meeting up for you and you can meet to review the IEP as well. One resource we wanted to make sure that
families know about is that we do have a family liaison who contracts with our department in order to support families to support parents as they have questions with the IEP process. Of course, parents can always call us at
the district office, but we also understand that sometimes parents want to um talk to someone who maybe isn't a directly a district employee. And so, Miss Vincent, Mrs. Vincent is a former educator. She used to work um in Klay
County as a teacher and then she was one of our district specialists before she retired. She's also a parent and um now a grandparent as well. And so, she has the unique perspective of understanding the um the school district as a former
ESSE teacher, but also as a an ESSE parent. And so her contact information is there and she is an absolutely wonderful resource that does not cost families anything um to reach out to her to ask her questions to have her help
you look at your child's IEP and help you come up with questions that maybe to ask or to help you prepare for an IEP meeting. That's a service that the district provides, like I said, at absolutely no cost to families. um she's just a a great person who loves to help
um families with with this process. So, next up in our presentation, we wanted to give parents some tips on just how to how to work together with um your child's IEP team in order to best
support your child. Um, you of course know your child better than anyone and so we as the educators, we value your involvement and we hope that all parents of students with disabilities are able to really be involved as much as
possible in the process. And so some of the tips that we have are um first just to start with communication. you know, we find that um when we're dealing with situations that involve um that come to the district level that maybe involve a
little bit of um contention between a family and a school, oftent times communication is really where um the breakdown was. And so we just encourage parents to contact your child's teacher um with any concerns, anything that
you're worried about early on and not wait until you know you're really frustrated about it. If if the teacher isn't receptive, which you know most of the times our teachers want to um want to make things better, they want to address your concerns, you can always go
to the principal as well. You can go to the assistant principal or the principal at your child's school. you know, having a copy of that IEP. We always give you a copy at the end of every IEP meeting. We always offer you a copy. Um, and if that doesn't happen, you can ask for it.
>> And so, review that IEP. If you if you you know, you have start having a concern, maybe, you know, open it up and and look over it and see if you can find where it says in the IEP that that this team should be addressing a certain situation. And again, if you need help with that, you're welcome to contact um
anyone at the district level, but also Linda Vincson, our parent leaison, family leaison. Ask questions. Um it's okay to ask questions during an IEP meeting. It's okay to call and ask questions in between IEP meetings. We're here to answer your questions. Like Miss Davis mentioned earlier, you
can always request an IEP meeting. We're required by law to have one every year, but there we can have as many as um as we need in order for you to feel and you to feel good about your child's education, but also for us to see progress. You know, if we're not seeing
progress with a child, we should hold another amendment meeting so that we can problem solve as a team. That kind of leads us to our next tip, working as a team. You know, just assuming positive intent. Um it's hard sometimes. I'm a parent as well and so I understand
sometimes our mama bear comes out when it's about our students but most of the people in the school system truly are here because we want to help families and we want to help students and so just assuming that positive intent and um
working together as a team. We certainly always encourage our schools to um really treat parents as a member of the team and by law you are a member of that team. So definitely, you know, advocate for that. And then staying engaged, you
know, um especially as students move into the upper grades and into junior high and high school, grades become a bigger issue. So we just always encourage you to monitor your students progress. Um using using our our online
systems for for that. And when you start seeing an issue, don't hesitate to reach out to the school. reach out to the teachers and or the the school administration to help you with that. That way you can help get your child um
you know on back on a a good path. So we wanted to share with you a little bit about the level of support um that is available to you. We wanted to let you know that at your child's school there is someone at your child's school that is considered their case manager.
Usually that would be their ESSE teacher. So, if they're in a self-contained setting, it would almost for sure be their ESE teacher, their main home room ESE teacher. If your child is in inclusionary settings, it will probably be a teacher whose title would be like support facilitator or
inclusion teacher. Um, it also could be a strategic intervention teacher. There's a couple of different job titles it could be, but you should know who that person is. That's the person who is ultimately in charge of making sure that your child's IDEP is being implemented. We also wanted to let you know that at
every school there is an ESSE school site specialist that is a member of our team. It's a district level employee who is housed full-time at the school and their number one task is to make sure that students IEPs are implemented um
with fidelity and that the overall ESSE program at that school is is in a positive going in a positive direction. And so, um, you can always, you know, if you're not having luck with your your child's ESC case manager, their ESC teacher, you can always ask to involve
the ESSE school site specialist as well. And every single one of our schools has one of those. And then, like we've mentioned before, um, school administration. I'm a former school principal, former school assistant principal, and um, that was part of my job. you know, if if a if any parent had
an issue and they weren't able to resolve it after talking to the teacher, then you certainly can involve your school administration. They're always happy to help. And then we are also here for you. We have the ESSE district staff. We have the ESC district team
and the three of us that um that are that are on this call today, Miss Davis, Miss Carlson, and I are the three administrators um who manage a team of district staff for ESSE. So, there are plenty of people
to help you. And if you ever feel like you're not getting the support you need, you can always reach out to my office um on the one clay district website. We have all of our names and emails there under the exceptional student education
tab. So you can always let us know if you have any questions or concerns or if you need our help with something. All right. So, as of right now, there are no questions. Um, so if you guys want to go to the next page, this will take them to the district website in
case they have any questions. Um, again, it is onecllay.net and then in the top search bar, you can always type in exceptional student education. Um, and I just want to thank you, Dr. Sanders, Miss Davis, and Miss Carlson for sharing your expertise with us today. That was
incredible. Um, and thank you families for joining our virtual parent academy. We hope this session helped you feel more confident in understanding exceptional student education and the IEP process. A few final reminders before we wrap up today. This session
was recorded and it will be available on our district web page for you to revisit any time or share with anyone else. Um, we'll also be sending out a feedback survey to everyone who joined us live and attended our session. We hope you'll take a few moments to share your thoughts with us. Um, if you asked a
question specifically and we didn't get to it, we will follow up with you. But in addition, if you have any questions moving forward, definitely start with your child's um, case manager. Thank you for going over that, Dr. Sanders. Um, and again, thank you for spending your time with us and for partnering with us
to support your student success here with Klay County District Schools. We hope you have a wonderful afternoon. Bye-bye. Thank you.