Special Education Resources

Basic Functions of Behavior

Behavior Doctor Seminars' Version of the Competing Pathway Chart 
(Think of the ABC's of Behavior)

Now you can develop a Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP) based on the function of the behavior (what the student is trying to gain or escape). 

Here are samples that have been implemented for specific behaviors from the Behavior Doctor Website.

Triple T- Triple R Worksheet for Blurting in the Classroom

Triple T- Triple R for Student with Low Self-Esteem

Triple T- Triple R Worksheet for a Student with ADHD

Triple T- Triple R Work Avoidance

Triple T triple R for A Student with Sensory Issues

Triple T – Triple R for a Student with Selective Mutism Due to Anxiety

Triple T- Triple R for an Isolated Student with No Friends

Triple T- Triple R for Student with Non-compliance

Triple T- Triple R for Student Who is Bullying Others

Triple T- Triple R for Teaching Young Students How to Calm Themselves

Triple T- Triple R for Stealing (Early Elementary)

Evaluation Report Scores and Distribution Table

Standard Score (SS): A way to compare student performance to a standardization sample.  Standard Scores in evaluation reports have a Mean (average) of 100 and a Standard Deviation of + or – 15.  A standard deviation (SD) is a measure used to quantify the amount of variation from the Mean.  A lower SD indicates a student performing closer to the majority with a higher SD indicating performing much lower or higher than the majority. 66% of students will score between 85 and 115. 

Scale Scores have a score range of 0 – 19 points, with an average score of 10 points. These scores are typically used for “Sub-tests,” which are smaller components of a larger psychological test, such as the WISC-V, the NEPSY-2, or the DKEFs.

T Scores are standardized scores on each dimension for each type. A score of 50 represents the mean. A difference of 10 from the mean indicates a difference of one standard deviation. Thus, a score of 60 is one standard deviation above the mean, while a score of 30 is two standard deviations below the mean.

Percentile Rank of a score is the percentage of scores in its frequency distribution that are equal to or lower than it. For example, a test score that is greater than 75% of the scores of people taking the test is said to be at the 75th percentile rank. Percentile ranks are not on an equal-interval scale; that is, the difference between any two scores is not the same between any other two scores whose difference in percentile ranks is the same. 

Common Language and Descriptions for Scores in Evaluation Report

Developmental Cognitive Disability (DCD) Description of Need and Level of Support

ASD Re-Evaluation Report Checklist
DCD Re-Evaluation Report Checklist
EBD Re-Evaluation Report Checklist
OHD Re-Evaluation Report Checklist
SLD Re-Evaluation Report Checklist

MDE Writing a Better PLAAFP Statement
Goal Writing Tutorial
SMART Goals
MDE Developing Annual Goals/Objectives Checklist
MDE Q&A: Needs Based Goals

IEP Meeting Agenda Template
Documenting the Need for Paraprofessional Support in the IEP
Calculating IEP Service Start Dates
Assistive Technology
Supplemental Aids and Services Needed for Access to Extracurricular Activities
IEP Checklist for Compliance
Amending an IEP
Q&A: Required IEP Team Membership

Teacher Guide

IEP Team Meeting Agenda

3525.2900 TRANSITION AND BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION PLANNING

Subp. 4. During grade nine the IEP plan shall address the pupil’s needs for transition from secondary services to postsecondary education and training, employment, and community living.

A. For each pupil, the district shall conduct an evaluation of secondary transition needs and plan appropriate services to meet the pupil’s transition needs. The areas of evaluation and planning must be relevant to the pupil’s needs and may include work, recreation and leisure, home living, community participation, and postsecondary training and learning opportunities. To appropriately evaluate and plan for a pupil’s secondary transition, additional IEP team members may be necessary and may include vocational education staff members and other community agency representatives as appropriate.

B. Secondary transition evaluation results must be documented as part of an evaluation report. Current and secondary transition needs, goals, and instructional and related services to meet the pupil’s secondary transition needs must be considered by the team with annual needs, goals, objectives, and services documented on the pupil’s IEP.

MDE Training Modules

Due Process Task Flow Checklist for Secondary Transition

These are examples of Potential Formal (F) and Informal (I) Age-Appropriate Assessments. This list is a guide and is not inclusive of the wide range of age or developmentally appropriate assessment tools. A minimum of 2 transition tools is required when addressing transition planning in the evaluation report.

Age Appropriate Transition Assessment Toolkit 4.0 Edition

Transition Planning in the Evaluation Report

What kind of information can be gathered for age-appropriate transition assessments?

• Functional life skills
• Reasoning and problem-solving skills
• Learning styles
• Communication skills
• Self-awareness and self-advocacy skills
• Assistive Technology checklist
• Transferable skills

Students must have their strengths, interests and preferences determined.

Here are some examples:

• Perceptual skills: the ability to judge where, how, and if things fit together
• Interpersonal skills: attitude, cooperation, teamwork, and communication skills
• Work aptitudes: ability to remember and follow instructions and procedures; ability to plan, organize, and improve with practice
• Work behaviors: the ability to concentrate and stay on a task and ability to remain motivated
• Interests: personal goals and interests, hobbies, leisure-time activities, academics, and favorite and least-favorite subjects
• Cognitive skills: reading and math skills, concept formation, thinking style, and problem-solving abilities.
• Motor skills: using one’s hands, eye/hand coordination, fine motor skills, and mobility

Secondary Transition Training

Related Services are defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) as “transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education.” The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) provides information and resources to assist related service personnel to meet the needs of students receiving special education services.

Related services in schools may include but are not limited to:

• Audiology
• Counseling services
• Early identification and assessment of disabilities in children
• Interpreting services
• Medical services (for diagnostic or evaluation purposes)
• Occupational therapy
• Orientation and mobility services
• Parent counseling and training
• Physical therapy
• Psychological services
• Recreation including therapeutic recreation
• Rehabilitation counseling
• School health services and school nurse services
• Social work services in schools
• Speech-language pathology services
• Transportation  

Links to national and state professional organizations for related service personnel

• American Occupational Therapists Association (AOTA)
• American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)
• American School Counselor Association (ASCA)
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
• Minnesota Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association
• Minnesota Occupational Therapy Association (MOTA)
• Minnesota School Counselors Association (MSCA)
• Minnesota School Psychologist Association (MSPA)
• Minnesota School Social Worker Association (MSSWA)
• Minnesota Speech-Language-Hearing Association (MSHA)
• National Association of School Nurses (NASN)
• National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
• School Nurse Organization of Minnesota (SNOM)
• School Social Worker Association of America (SSWAA)

Additional Resources

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) serves the nation as a central source of information on disabilities in infants, toddlers, children, and youth. The center also provides easy-to-read information on IDEA. There are State Resource Sheets that provide information on disability agencies and organizations in each state.

The IRIS Center is a national center that aims to provide high-quality resources for college and university faculty and professional development providers about students with disabilities by offering free online interactive resources that translate research about the education of students with disabilities into practice. The materials cover a wide variety of evidence-based topics, including behavior, RTI, learning strategies, progress monitoring and related services.

Sam Ortiz Videos on Cross Battery Assessments for English Language Learner (ELL) students can be found on the Minnesota School Psychology website. There are six sessions on the following topics:

• The Testing of Bilinguals: Early Influences and a Lasting Legacy
• Implications of Language Development for ELLs
• Effect of Early Language Development and Language of Instruction on Academic Outcomes
• Traditional and Current Approaches in the Evaluation of ELLs
• Current Approaches in the Evaluation of ELLs (continued): Introduction to the Culture-Language Interpretive Matrix (C-LIM)
• Case Studies in the Interpretation of the C-LIM

The Minnesota Positive Behavior interventions and Supports (PBIS) site represents the energy, collaborative work and learning of a broad constituency of Minnesota schoolwide PBIS implementers, trainers, coaches, practitioners, stakeholders, teachers, advocates, researchers, volunteers, administrators, regional and Minnesota PBIS project leadership staff.

The Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports has been established by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U.S. Department of Education to give schools capacity-building information and technical assistance for identifying, adapting, and sustaining effective school-wide disciplinary practices.

Intervention Central provides teachers, schools and districts with free resources to help struggling learners and implement Response to Intervention.

The Evidenced Based Intervention Network has been developed to provide guidance in the selection and implementation of evidence-based interventions in the classroom setting.

The National Professional Development Center on Autism is a multi-university center to promote the use of evidence-based practice for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders.

The Autism Internet Modules were developed with one aim in mind: to make comprehensive, up-to-date, and usable information on autism accessible and applicable to educators, other professionals, and families who support individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Written by experts from across the U.S., all online modules are free, and are designed to promote understanding of, respect for, and equality of persons with ASD.

The National Autism Center is May Institute’s center for the promotion of evidence-based practice. It is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving children and adolescents with ASD by providing reliable information, promoting best practices, and offering comprehensive resources for families, practitioners, and communities

Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS) is a national dissemination and professional development system, providing information on literacy research, practice, and resources.

The purpose of the I am NORM campaign is to promote inclusion by seeking to redefine the meaning of “normal” in our culture. It was inspired by the work from Including Samuel by Dan Habib which is a highly personal, passionately photographed film that captures the cultural and systemic barriers to inclusion.

School Nurse Role in Special Education Evaluations

MN Statute: 8710.6100 SCHOOL NURSE

The school nurse is an integral part of the special education team and should be involved in the pre-referral process in order to determine if there may be a health need that is impacting learning or is educationally significant.

• Collects and provides health-related information for the IEP team
• Professionally interprets and synthesizes health-related information in order to determine
  • how the health condition impacts learning and the school environment
  • the student's need for nursing services during the school day.

The school nurse uses a health interview style tool to gather. The information needed for special education evaluations.  This tool is called the Health and Physical Assessment.  This is a necessary component of evaluations for students who have health conditions (physical or mental) that require school nursing.

Such as:

• Individual or Emergency Care Plans
• Direct services: Medications, treatments, hearing monitoring
• Indirect Services: Medication management, care coordination, chronic condition management

Also recommended when:

• Little or no information is known of the student’s condition
• If the student has a complex health history.
• If the student has a physical or mental health condition and additional information is needed in order to understand how the condition impacts learning or participation in school.
• The Health and Physical Assessment is mandatory for eligibility under the Physically Impaired (PI) category (MN Rule 3525).
• It is also highly recommended when documentation of a health condition by a health care provider is required when determining eligibility, such as for Other Health Disabilities (OHD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
• In Minnesota, the Health and Physical Assessment tool must be completed by a Licensed School Nurse (LSN) or Public Health Nursing (PHN), and should meet current professional standards. 

Resources
Health and Physical Assessment

School Nurse Organization of Minnesota (SNOM)

PPT. School Nurse’s Role in Special Education & Third Party Billing

MDE FAQ on Orientation and Mobility Services

Q&A: Related Services