Meeting Minute Summary September 2012

Advisory Commission on Special Education Meeting Webcast Archive

Item 1B, Part B Annual Funding Application

Advisory Commission on Special Education (ACSE) members provided input related on the Part B, Annual State Funding application, Section IV. Recommendations will be finalized and submitted to the Special Education Division for further action.

Item 2, Response to Instruction and Intervention Survey

Virginia Reynolds, Director, Center for Prevention and Early Intervention; and Donna Mienders, Project Director, California Comprehensive Assistance Center at WestEd; provided preliminary results of the Response to Instruction and Intervention Survey. Responses are being accepted through September 2012. Final report is expected in November 2012, and will provide a baseline for evaluating this program in California.

Item 3, Instructional Quality Commission

Bill Honig, Chair of the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC), provided an update to the ACSE on the development of curriculum, instructional materials, and content standards. Final recommendation will be presented to the State Board of Education (SBE) in approximately one year, with districts having the final implementation decision. ACSE members were encouraged to review work completed to date and to actively participate in the committee moving forward to ensure the needs of special education students are addressed. This item will be included on the October ACSE agenda for further action.

• For more information, go to Instructional Quality Commission Web page

Item 4, State Board of Education Update

Beth Rice reported that the SBE will be addressing epilepsy medication administration recommendations at the September 13 meeting, and that common core and assessment are standing items for SBE review. ACSE members are encouraged to participate by attending meetings or accessing the meeting online.

Item 5, Public Comment

Comments were heard related to the Behavior Intervention Program.

Item 6, Report on State Performance Indicator 13–Transition

Fred Balcom, Director, Special Education Division, reported that California did not meet all eight standards of this indicator at 100 percent as required by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). He noted that districts are evaluating results to determine root causes or if data submission errors occurred. Jill Larson, Special Education Program Consultant, provided a report on the Transition Community of Practice and other transition activities, including the identification and duplication of “best practice” programs, quality outcomes, and technical assistance.

Item 7, Revisit of Unfinished Business

No items

Item 8, Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the May 2012 meeting were approved as presented.

Item 9, Draft Report on Special Education Expenditures, Revenues, and Provision in California

Jannelle Kubinec, Director of National, State, and Special Projects for the Comprehensive School Assistance Program at WestEd reviewed this report which analyses costs in special education. The report is based on California and national data, and provides comparative information related to inclusion, performance, and outcomes. It was noted that the report indicates that increased expenditures do not necessarily equate to increased outcomes. The document will be finalized and submitted to the ACSE for action at the October meeting.

Item 10, Report on Multi-Tiered Systems of Support and Common Core Standards Prospectus.

Janelle Kubinec, Director of National, State, and Special Projects for the Comprehensive School Assistance Program at WestEd, reviewed this report which identifies support necessary for students with special needs to meet academic standards in conjunction with the common core standards. This item will be submitted for action by the ACSE at the October meeting.

Item 11, Legislative Report for 2012

Whitney Staniford provided an update of pertinent legislative action for the 2012 Session.

Item 12, Statewide Assessment Reauthorization Workgroup (Assembly Bill 250 Panel)

Deborah Sigman, Deputy Superintendent; District, School and Innovation Branch; California Department of Education; reviewed the concurrent efforts underway to develop and implement statewide assessments aligned to the common core standards to be effective in 2014–15. She noted that two alternate assessment consortia are being considered to assist in developing assessments for students with cognitive disabilities. Additional updates will be provided to the ACSE at the October meeting.

Item 13, Organizational Input

Stakeholder organizations provided updates and input to the ACSE.

Item 14, Report on the State Special Schools

Scott Kerby, Director, State Special Schools and Services Division, provided a report to the ACSE. Updates were provided on the three goals established for the Division this year: (1) student achievement targets have been developed and results are anticipated in approximately 30 days; (2) enrollment is up at all three schools for the year; and, (3) an initial planning meeting for the California Deaf Education Resource Center will be held in September, with completion anticipated in the next six months. He also noted that a Parent Resource Guide has been developed for toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing, and it is expected to be available online in the next 30 days.

Item 15, Public Comment

No additional comments

Item 16, Commissioner Reports

Commissioners provided brief reports on their activities related to the ACSE and their stakeholder groups. Representative Buchanan reported that she has been appointed as Chair of the Assembly Education Committee, and will be providing updates as appropriate. She also administered the oath of office and conducted the swearing in of the new ACSE members.

Item 17, Report from the State Director of Special Education

Fred Balcom, Director, Special Education Division, provided a report to the ACSE. He noted that: (1) districts are being trained on the Special Education Self Review program; (2) Behavior Intervention Plan legislation has been tabled but is expected to be addressed in the next session; (3) OSEP is developing monitoring programs focusing on student outcomes versus compliance; (4) Improving transition outcomes is a major focus within the Division; (5) The National Association of State Directors of Special Education Annual Meeting is being held in Sacramento on October 21–23; (6) districts with significant disproportionality have been identified and corrective action plans are being developed.

Item 18, Unfinished Business

It was agreed that due to travel considerations, future meetings will begin at 10:00 a.m. instead of 9:00 a.m.