October 3, 2006
9 am – 4 pm
Austin Omni Downtown
Austin, Texas
CAC Attendees
Emily Bodden, Sharon Brown, Margaret Christen, Mel Capelo, Rose Cruz, Christy
Dees, Vicky Coffee-Fletcher, Kathy Grant, Mary Haines, Sherri Hammack, Drusilla
Knight-Villarreal, Pam Willson
CAC Absentees
Candance Hawks, Marjie Haynes, Priscilla King, Shewanda Williams
Texas Education Agency Resources
Kathy Clayton (State Director), Robin Ward, Barbara Kaatz, Michelle Rosales,
Dottie Goodman
Facilitator
Margie Sanford
Present CAC members, Texas Education Agency staff, and the meeting facilitator introduced themselves.
Meeting Purpose
Meeting Result
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.
The CAC reviewed the current Bylaws offering the following suggestions:
Kathy Clayton shared the following overview of the State Performance Plan (SPP):
The formation of a statewide initiative to incorporate the concept of Braided Services was explained to the committee; including the concepts of Response to Intervention (RtI), Early Intervening Services (EIS), Disproportionality, and Texas Collaborative for Emotional Development in Schools (TxCEDS)/Positive Behavior Supports. Activities occurring at the State, regional, and district level in each these areas were discussed.
Braided Services
The term Braided Services is intended to describe the blending of several concepts that are a part of the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA ’04) and that have a considerable degree of overlap, in particular the involvement of both special and general education. The areas include Response to Intervention (RtI), Early Intervening Services (EIS), disproportionality (or overrepresentation), Positive Behavior Supports, and the Texas Collaborative for Emotional and Behavioral Development in Schools (TxCEDS). The crossover between general education and special education implicit in RtI and the related activities described above will require a blending or “braiding” of programs and issues in order to maximize resources and avoid duplication of efforts.
Response to Intervention
RtI may be described as a model addressing the needs of all students
through a continuum of services which provide:
Early Intervening Services
EIS refers to a school district’s/LEA’s use of up to 15 percent
of their IDEA Part-B funds to develop and implement early intervening services
for students in kindergarten through grade 12 (with a particular emphasis on
students in K-grade 3) who have not been identified as needing special education
or related services but who need additional academic and behavioral support
to succeed in a general education environment.
Disproportionality
Disproportionality refers to overrepresentation of racial and ethnic groups
in special education and is the result of inappropriate identification.
TxCEDS (Texas Collaborative for Emotional Development
in Schools)
TxCEDS is a project in which the well-being and mental health of all students
in Texas schools is promoted through comprehensive education support programs
and services and is addressed by integrating (or braiding) school owned resources
with community owned resources.
Positive Behavior Supports (PBS)
PBS is a system in Texas Public Schools that enables students with disabilities
to receive special education supports and services in the least restrictive
environment and promotes all students to participate successfully in the TEKS-based
curriculum and state assessments.
The rationale for these projects results in:
Specific information about these concepts and activities can be located on the TEA special Education webpage at: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/guidance/
This committee will have an opportunity to provide input at the next meeting. CAC members are welcome as an individual to provide comment during the comment period, but can not speak on behalf of the committee.
Partners Resource Network
Janice Meyer, Executive Director of the Partners Resource Network, shared the
following information.
The Mission Statement of the organization is “To empower parents of children
and youth with disabilities in their roles as parents, advocates, and decision
makers and to promote parent / professional partnerships in this endeavor.”
It has been a statewide program since 1986 providing:
Texas Project First and Parent Involvement
Family to Family Network was approached by the TEA to serve as a neutral organization
working on behalf of the Texas Continuous Improvement Process (TCIP) under the
auspices of TEA and ESC 9 to assist in fulfilling the goals of the State and
of the Parent Training Committee. They are identifying partners to help identify
resources, including the Parent Training Committee and the Parent Coordination
Network. The website is www.TexasProjectFirst.org
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Data Verification Visit will take place the week of October 16, 2006. During the visit they will look at 3 major areas:
They will review documentation and speak with individuals within the Division of IDEA Coordination and Intra-agency Coordination.
The Texas Continuous Improvement Process (TCIP) will host Public Meetings through the 20 Regional ESCs in Spring ’07. Regional Data collected during each meeting will guide improvement in each region.
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) will hold a community meeting in Dallas on November 2, 2006. The topic of discussion will be the reauthorization of IDEA 2004.
During the Response to Intervention RtI Summit ESCs were furnished a Trainer of Trainer (TOT) model to address RtI at the Regional to Local Education Agency (LEA) level. CAC members are encouraged to attend Regional RtI trainings.
Committee decided by majority to edit the CAC bylaws to include a committee chair and the addition of two co-chairs. The committee voted to elect Kathy Grant as Chairperson and to elect Mel Capelo and Christy Dees as Co-Chairpersons.
Introduction
About the State Performance Plan…
In the future, improvement groups look at data and improvement activities by indicator to advise on targets. Improvement groups include:
In the future, the Continuing Advisory Committee provides a big picture look at the improvement activities in the SPP/APR. CAC members are invited to participate in the many improvement groups currently active in advising the state on the SPP/APR.
Texas Education Agency | Division of IDEA Coordination
1701 North Congress Avenue | Austin, Texas 78701-1494
Telephone: 512.463.9414 | Fax: 512.463.9560
Created: August 30, 2007
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