Texas Special Education Continuing Advisory Committee
Meeting Minutes

June 13-14, 2007

June 13, 2007
9 am – 4 pm

Radisson Hotel
Travis III Meeting Room
Austin, Texas

CAC Attendees
Emily Bodden,Sharon Brown, Mel Capelo, Margaret Christen, Rose Cruz, Christy Dees, Vicky Coffee-Fletcher, Kathy Grant, Mary Helen Haines, Sherri Hammack, Candy Hawks, Marjie Haynes, Drusilla Knight-Villarreal,Laura Stough, Shewanda Williams, Pam Willson

CAC Absentees
Priscilla S.King, Mary Helen Haines

Texas Education Agency Resources
Kathy Clayton, Richard Poe, Karen Hattaway, Carmen Noe, Barbara Kaatz, Carolyn Todd, Dottie Goodman, Cindy Swain

Facilitator
Margie Sanford

Welcome and Introductions

Participants introduced themselves and shared positive experiences they have encountered this year serving on the CAC, an Improvement Group, or Statewide Committee.

Meeting Purpose

Update committee members regarding statewide activities and initiatives in the area of special education
Provide the CAC the opportunity to review Proposed Commissioner’s Rules and comments
Provide the CAC the opportunity to comment on any point of the Commissioner’s Rules on which they reach consensus
Provide the CAC an overview of the continuum of dispute resolution
Set priorities for the CAC for the coming year

Meeting Result

Committee understanding of statewide activities and initiatives in the area of special education
Committee understanding of Proposed Commissioner’s Rules and comments
Advisement to TEA on Proposed Commissioner’s Rules
An improved understanding of the three dispute resolution services offered by TEA
Members will have a clear understanding of their areas of focus for the coming year

CAC Minutes

Minutes were reviewed by committee members. A motion was made to accept the Minutes without changes. Motion was seconded and Minutes were approved by all members present.

CAC Bylaws

Bylaws were reviewed by committee members. A motion was made to accept the Bylaws with the following changes made:

Remove extra bullet at the end of Section 1
Remove extra page 1 number at the bottom of page 1

A motion was made to accept the Bylaws with the above changes. Motion was seconded and Minutes were approved by all members present.

State Performance Plan

Kathy Clayton presented the State of the State illustrating General Supervision with a slide of puzzle pieces named for each of the working parts of the Division of IDEA Coordination. The challenge is to fit NCLB and IDEA 2004 together. When discussing the State Performance Plan (SPP) the following points were emphasized:

Stakeholders are actively involved
SPP leads to improved results
SPP is the blueprint for systems change

Effective implementation of policies and procedures is essential to improve results for children with disabilities.

Proposed Commissioner’s Rules: Background Information of CAC Role in Review of Public Comment

Richard Poe shared background information on the sequence of events leading up to TEA requesting that CAC members comment on the Commissioner’s Proposed Rules. The rule timeline was shared with members. The CAC will be able to comment as a group if they reach consensus on a comment or individual members are free to comment until June 19, 2007.

Proposed Commissioner’s Rules: Explanation of the Rules Matrix and Consensus Process

Margie Sanford provided an explanation of procedures to be used for commenting on Commissioner’s Rules.

Proposed Commissioner’s Rules: Review/Comment Process
CAC members reviewed the proposed Commissioner’s Rules and public comments. Members were unable to develop a consensus statement on any section of the proposed rules.

CAC members were encouraged to submit their comments individually by June 19, 2007.

June 14, 2007
9 am – 4 pm

Radisson Hotel
Travis III Meeting Room
Austin, Texas

CAC Absentees
Priscilla S.King, Mary Helen Haines

Texas Education Agency Resources
Kathy Clayton, Richard Poe, Karen Hattaway, Carmen Noe, Barbara Kaatz, Carolyn Todd, Dottie Goodman, Cindy Swain

Facilitator
Margie Sanford

Review and Comments
Margie Sanford reviewed the Meeting Guidelines and an overview of the agenda.

Dispute / Resolution Presentation

Kathy Clayton reviewed the Consortium for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education, (CADRE) continuum of dispute resolution options and the development of the IEP Facilitation Process training provided by TEA for representatives from each of the ESCs.
Cindy Swain reviewed the continuum of Dispute Resolution services through the details of the step by step process.

Texas Continuous Improvement Plan Update (TCIP)

David Carrales gave an overview of TCIP with a focus on recent activities regarding the SPP/APR.
He viewed all the levels of advisement TEA receives from stakeholder groups.
The data sharing model was presented linking campus reporting through direct channels.
Kathy Clayton shared details on the Determination Process.

CAC Priority Setting

Margie Sanford led the group in a priority setting activity. CAC members were asked to answer the following question:
Look at the big picture of the state- now that you have heard the directions we are going in all these areas- What do you see as future priorities for the CAC in terms of gaps or needs?

Participants worked in three groups:

Each groups brainstormed possible priorities and recorded them
One member of each group reported out to the large group
TEA will compile the list and send it to all CAC members
Group priorities will be used to build future meeting agenda items

Next Meeting
Dates for future meetings were discussed. The group will meet again in October in Austin. A hotel and exact date will be determined by accommodation availability.

Special Education Main Page

Texas Education Agency | Division of IDEA Coordination
1701 North Congress Avenue | Austin, Texas 78701-1494
Telephone: 512.463.9414 | Fax: 512.463.9560

Created: November 29, 2007