April 2006 Executive Committee Minutes
MEMBERS PRESENT: Cindy Pittman (President), Tom Adams (President-elect), George Van Horn (Past-President), Gary Collings (Secretary), Saundra Lange (SW), Jim Murray (C), Cheryl Corning (SE), Teresa Oberley (NE), Cheryl Harshman (NC), Lynn Gosser (E), Pat Pierce (NW).
MEMBER ABSENT: Vendetta Gutshall (Treasurer)
OTHERS PRESENT: Bob Marra, Jim Durst, Dawn McGrath
I. Approvals
A. Minutes Cindy Pittman called the meeting to order and requested a motion to approve the March 16, 2006 minutes. MOTION: Saundra Lange moved the minutes be approved. After a second by Lynn Gosser, the motion was approved.
B. Treasurer's Report and Claim Docket In the absence of Vendetta Gutshall, Cindy Pittman distributed handouts for the Financial Report. The April 2006 Docket was presented in the amount of $25,531.65. MOTION: Cheryl Harshman moved to approve the Docket as presented. After a second by George Van Horn, the motion was approved. Vendetta's report showed that of the $110,600 budget, $91,252.16 had been expended to date. The Summary of Expenses for the Spring ICASE 2006 as of April 18 indicated a positive revenue balance of $28,171.93.
C. Membership Committee Tom Adams presented a $600 check to ICASE from CASE as a Unit rebate for our 100 active CASE members ($6 per active member). Members discussed ear-mark options for these funds and decided to recognize the work of the Membership Committee. MOTION: Teresa Oberley moved to use the $600 Unit rebate from CASE for the Membership Committee to expand the active membership roster. After a second by Pat Pierce, the motion was approved.
D. Roundtable Topical Proposals Jim Murray commented Central would like to conduct an ADIR topical for school psychologists related to autism assessment in the Fall and will work around the Southwest topical on the master calendar.
Teresa Oberley commented Northeast will conduct a closed conference from their roundtable proceeds on June 19 with John McCook. Lynn Gosser asked to explore possibilities of using the speaker for the East members the day before or day after to reduce travel costs. Cheryl Corning inquired about the role directors should assume through ICASE to address Response-to-Intervention. She noted IASP is having the same discussion about RtI. Members acknowledged the recent NASDSE booklet as a resource.
Pat Pierce distributed a flyer about a Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Instructor Certification Training Program, which will be hosted by her district on August 710, 2006 at Crown Point. Interested parties may contact Linda in the NISEC office (219/769-4000).
Cheryl Harshman distributed a summary of comments from the April 13 Transition Topical sponsored by the North Central Roundtable.
E. Strategic Plan Cindy Pittman confirmed that the retreat with Executive Committee members, invited past-presidents, and liaisons will be held on June 13-14, 2006 at the ISEAS office in the Hamilton-Boone-Madison building.
F. Calendar 2006-07 The revised draft of the Calendar of Meetings for 2006-07 was reviewed. MOTION: Jim Murray moved for approval of the calendar as presented. After a second by Cheryl Corning, the motion was approved.
II. Strategic Plan: 2002-2005
Goal I Encourage communication, support, and recognition of special education
Objectives:
1.1 increase communication among colleagues
1.2 provide ongoing support to special educators
1.3 broaden our membership to include all eligible professionals
A. Report: Conferences
1. Fall Conference 2006: September 27-29, 2006 Tom Adams is reviewing the contract with the Radisson Inn in Merrillville.
2. CEC/CASE Board Update Tom Adams attended the April 5 meeting in
Salt Lake City at which CASE presented the Outstanding Achievement Award for Communication to ICASE. The award was, in part, recognition of the actions of the ICASE Executive Committee in providing a strong network of communication for their members through roundtables, website, newsletter and e-mail updates.
B. Standing Committee Reports
1. Porter Scholarship Cheryl Corning reported four completed applications have been submitted by the April 19, 2006 deadline.
2. Recognition/Awards The respective Roundtable representatives will confirm the upcoming retirements of both Ron Myers (South Central) and Irene Rivera (East Chicago).
3. Past Presidents' Council Completed
4. Nominations Completed
5. Roundtable Activities Jim Murray (C) said they are planning a retreat in October at Culver. Cheryl Harshman (NC) said they met on April 11 with Lynn Holdheide and held their topical on April 13. Saundra Lange (SW) said they will meet on April 24 with both Lynn Holdheide and Maria Wheeler (Autism). Lynn Gosser (E) said they toured Richmond State Hospital at their last meeting and discussed RtI. Pat Pierce (NW) said they will have an all day meeting on May 5 to discuss IDEA changes. They are now including university representatives in their area to attend their session. Cheryl Corning (SE) said Baron Hill attended their March 17 session along with Tim Hammond and Mike Flores (IDTC), who were seeking input on their proposal for a replacement facility for Silvercrest.
Goal II Advance the improvement of education for all students
Objectives:
2.1 develop stronger partnerships with general education
2.2 provide staff development on effective best practices
2.3 influence teacher preparation programs
A. Report: Rule 26 Task Force Cheryl Corning noted the committee met on April 14 and will continue their work on April 25. No additional drafts were available. Members thanked Pat Pierce for her work in compiling the feedback from roundtables.
Goal III Support the development of public policy to address the needs of all students
Objectives:
3.1 advance our legislative platform
3.2 connect and collaborate with other professional organizations, state agencies, and the Indiana DOE for policy development
A. Report: Division of Exceptional Learners Bob Marra and Dawn McGrath presented a slide presentation to review issues related to ISTAR such as cut scores. The electronic format of the slide presentation has been made available to roundtable representatives for reference in their respective regions.
NCLB regulations from July 2002 state in § 200.8(a) that individual student achievement must be measured against academic achievement standards. Achievement standards are defined by a cut score that represents the standard of performance.
In the fall of 2003 and 2004, ISTAR data was collected for students in Indiana with significant cognitive disabilities in preparation for meeting this requirement. The Alternate Assessment Achievement Standard Setting Committee of over 40 representatives from school districts, universities, and parent groups met in August 2005 to review this data and set cut scores as required by NCLB.
In November of 2005, Indiana submitted the state plan for federal peer review. Specifically to the topic of alternate achievement standards, Indiana provided evidence that "2.1 the State approved/adopted alternate academic achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities" (which was evidenced in State Board of Education minutes from 09/05/05) and "2.3 these alternate academic achievement standards include at least three levels of achievement, including two levels of high achievement (proficient and advanced) that determine how well students are mastering a State's academic content standards and a third level of achievement (basic) to provide information about the progress of lower-achieving students toward mastering the proficient and advanced levels of achievement."
The cut scores determined by the Alternate Assessment Achievement Standard Setting Committee were applied to the ISTAR assessments from the Fall of 2005. On October 3, 2006, a group will be convened to review the additional data and make recommendations on adjustments to the cut scores.
Members noted the confusion from the term Basic to indicate non-proficiency on the ISTAR compared to the "no pass" term of ISTEP. The federal USDOE peer review requires the designation of proficient or non-proficient. Besides the cut-score parameters, those students over the 1% allowable were considered non-proficient under the AYP stipulations of NCLB.
In other matters, Bob Marra noted DEL is ready to transfer supplemental appropriations from the APC to preschool upon authorization. The DEL has received a three year federal Supervision Grant ($689,000) to address birth through Kindergarten standards. IDEA regulations are now rumored to be released in August 2006. A preliminary draft of Article 7 may be compiled by the end of June 2006. The OSEP Peer Review will be conducted at DEL during the week of August 14th.
B. Report: Public Policy and Legislative Committee Members discussed the May 9 public hearing to be held by the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board on proposed amendment and new rules to implement rule changes based on House Enrolled Act 1098-2005 (P.L. 212-2005) and Senate Enrolled Act 607 (P.L. 206-2005).
The proposed regulations include defining the role of support personnel, revising the definitions, licensure, ethics, and continuing education requirements, revising and establishing the educational and clinical practice requirements for SLPs and audiologists, revising and establishing the educational and task requirements for speech-language aides, associates, and assistants, and establishing the requirements for collection and use of a Social Security number for applicants who apply for a license, certificate, or permit under I.C. 25-36-1.
Members of the Legislative Committee will discuss the proposed regulations at their April 26 meeting. Bob Marra will discuss the proposed regulations with both Shawn Sriver and Kevin McDowell.
Goal IV - Promote the development of collaborative systems to support persons with disabilities in their local communities
Objectives:
4.1 provide resources to support students in home communities
4.2 effectively partner with families
4.3 positively interface with other agencies and facilities providing programs/services for students with disabilities
A. Indiana School for the Blind Jim Durst remarked stakeholders are asking how the ISB can assist in serving more students with visual impairments regardless of the setting by building capacity across the state with a "revolving door" policy. They would like to identify what it means for the ISB to become a part of the continuum of services in each school district. The challenge is providing students with visual impairments both the Braille and O&M skills needed along with the required core academic subjects. Outreach staff members are dealing with both functional literacy and functional vision. Students with visual impairments had extreme difficulty with science and math even with the unique Nemeth Code.
Jim Durst proposed a survey to roundtables to assist the ISB in redefining its role. Cindy Pittman suggested the purpose of the survey be explained at roundtable meetings with emphasis on the need for completion. Members can decide on a group or individual response. Representatives will announce the future survey and its expected availability in the Fall of 2006. Jim will compile the survey with the intent of having it available for roundtable meetings at the 2006 ICASE Fall Conference.
B. Indiana School for the Deaf Bob Marra commented candidates for the superintendent position were being interviewed today.
III. NEXT MEETING: May 17, 2006 (8:30 AM) DOE (Riley Room)