Part B State Performance Plan (SPP) for 2005-2010 | February 2007

Monitoring Priority: Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

Indicator 8: Percent of parents with a child receiving special education services who report that schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for children with disabilities.

(20 U.S.C. 1416 (a)(3)(A))

Measurement:

Percent = # of respondent parents who report schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for children with disabilities divided by the total # of respondent parents of children with disabilities times 100.

Overview of Issue/Description of System or Process:

Data Collection Activities for Baseline and Measurable Targets for FFY 2006 APR:

During the Texas Self Assessment in 2000, Family Involvement was identified as an area of improvement for the state. Although the State had many entities providing training, support, and technical assistance to parents of students with disabilities, there was no systematic process of coordination. Additionally, there was very little data available in this area which contributed to the difficulties of understanding the issues and identifying methods to measure improvement.

Region 9 Education Service Center is the statewide lead for Parent Coordination. The ESC is responsible for coordinating with all other regions to develop a statewide Parent Coordination network. The purpose of the 20-region network is to ensure ongoing communication among ESCs regarding state-level needs assessments, program planning and implementation, evaluation of statewide activities, and training regarding parent coordination.

The Parent Coordination Network is committed to ensuring that parents of students with disabilities receive accurate and timely information to assist them in making informed choices in their child’s education. The Network has identified the following priorities: joint training opportunities for parents and educators, collaboration with other parent training entities, and technical assistance to parents and school district personnel in the area of special education.

In 2002, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in conjunction with the Parent Coordination Network, conducted a survey of parental understanding of special education issues. A total of 54 items, or questions, were included in surveys distributed to a sample of parents in all local education agencies (LEAs). Surveys were provided in English and Spanish.

The sampling plan utilized for the distribution of this survey was representative of student groups, disability categories, local education agency size, and geographic area. Of the 32,000 surveys distributed, slightly less than 20 percent were returned in a usable form. The structured data were analyzed along with approximately 2,000 open-ended responses. A comprehensive report was produced and distributed statewide. The results were also posted on the Region 9 ESC website at www.esc9.net/survey/.

Development of New Survey
In 2005, the Parent Coordination Network, consisting of a representative from each of the 20 regional ESCs, reviewed questions from the National Center for Special Education Accountability Monitoring (NCSEAM) parent survey and the Statewide Survey of Parents of Students with Disabilities Receiving Special Education Services. State Performance Plan (SPP) Indicator 8 was reviewed and discussed. The network members recommended the survey questions reflect both surveys. A separate survey development committee was formed to create the questions. Details regarding the development of the survey are available in the SPP 2005-2010 found at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/spp/.

In the fall of 2006, the State conducted a limited distribution of the parent and principal surveys. The purpose for this limited survey distribution was to ensure the survey met the needs of the State and to provide data for the 2007 SPP. A copy of the survey is included in Appendix A. The sampling plan for the survey distribution beginning in the spring of 2007 is included in the original SPP and was approved by OSEP.

Sampling Plan
The fall 2006 limited distribution of the parent survey was used in a developmental effort to proof and refine the distribution, collection, and analysis methodology for subsequent, full-scale survey distributions. As such, a reduced group of parents were sampled (approximately 2,000) compared to the first full-scale survey scheduled for spring 2007 (12,000). One-sixth of all Texas districts will be sampled each year with every district included at some point during the six-year cycle. The sampling matrix considers geographic area, district size, and student demographics. Each district that enrolls 50,000 students or more must be included each year. The fall 2006 survey included 232 campuses located in 100 districts. Individual students were identified using the TEA student database.

Survey Distribution
Surveys were distributed in August 2006 to be returned by the end of September. Each survey was individually packaged with a campus name and student identified. Survey distribution procedures to parents were left up to the campuses. Every student with a home language survey indicating Spanish received both an English and a Spanish version of the survey. An addressed postage paid envelope was included with each survey as well as a contract number and e-mail address for assistance in both English and Spanish.

Findings
A total of 434 parent surveys were returned. Of these, 346 English and 57 Spanish surveys were returned in time to be included in the quantitative analyses (n=403). The overall return rate for parent surveys was approximately 24 percent. Of the 346 surveys, 204 parents also provided answers to the open-ended questions. Of these, 171 provided feedback in English, and 33 responded in Spanish. A copy of the Survey of Parents of Students Receiving Special Education Services in Texas; Fall Administration, December 2006; may be found at http://www.esc9.net/.

Baseline Data for FFY 2004 (2004-05):

Table 2: Summary by Category

Source: English and Spanish Fall 2006 Parent Involvement Surveys.

Discussion of Baseline Data:

A total of 24 questions from the parent survey were examined divided into seven topic specific categories. Grouping the three types of responses (Always-Never, Yes-No, and Agree-Disagree), Table 2 contains a summary of responses within these categories. In general, with one notable exception, the responses were overall positive. The percentage of responses in the least positive category, again with one exception, was also small. This category (Parental Actions) included participation in PTA/PTO, attending training sessions, and whether special education services had helped make changes in family routines.

Regarding communications, the degree to which a parent communicates regularly with the teacher had a lower positive rating. Within the same category, there was also some disagreement whether special education services have helped the parent communicate more effectively with the people who work with their child.

The second category with the least positive ratings is related to teacher issues. When asked if the teacher understands a child’s needs, quarter, 26 percent of parents responded “sometimes.” On the other hand, the ratings for whether the teachers were willing to discuss a child’s needs received a higher rating. Special education teachers were rated higher that general education teachers on the paired items examining implementation of IEPs. Another area that had a relatively high overall rating (General School Issues), had two items that were not highly rated. These two items related to transition from high school.

Overall, parent open ended survey parallels the responses received in the structures survey. Parents that responded to the survey are overall satisfied with the services received by their children’s’ school. Following is a list of the overall findings from parent responses.

Overall satisfaction—the majority of respondents in expressed being satisfied with the special education services provided by schools.

Communication improvements, regular reports to parents—across all questions in the parent open-ended survey, one relevant concern had to do with communication between parents and the special education staff (or communication between the special education setting and the general education setting). Parents want to be kept informed and want to know how to help the academic progress of their children.

Teachers and student monitoring—though relatively few criticisms were offered with respect to teachers in the parent open-ended survey, to enhance the relationship with the special education teacher, many parents wanted more contact through progress reports, and thusly, the frequency of student progress monitoring was also brought to fore. This is similar to the communication issue already described.

More resources—Parents noted that students with disabilities need intensive services. Respondents want more resources like more student-teacher time or services outside the school day.

Three categories from the parent survey were used to set the baseline target for Indicator 8 These categories are Communication Issues; Information and Understanding; and Parental Interactions (see Table 2: Summary by Category).

Note: The data from the limited distribution of the survey was used to baseline and set targets for this indicator in order to meet the requirements of the SPP. The State will use the representative data from the spring 2007 survey distribution as baseline and set new targets for this indicator with the Texas Steering Committee prior to the submission of the 2006 APR (February 2008).

Measurable and Rigorous Targets:

Improvement Activities/Timelines/Resources:

Spring 2007 Parent Survey Timeline

• Letters sent to Districts Announcing the Survey February 2007
  
• Surveys Distributed March 2007
  
• Surveys Returned April 2007
  
• Report Issued June 2007

This year a follow-up component will be added to ensure campuses have disseminated the surveys to parents.

The Parent Coordination Network (PCN) will be working closely with the Texas Project First (Families, Information, Resources, and Training) website, which can be found at http://www.texasprojectfirst.org/. This web site is a project of the Texas Education Agency and is committed to providing accurate and consistent information from a variety of sources to parents and families of students with disabilities.

The PCN is also developing a State Parent Training Academy to build partnerships with parent training entities in the state to ensure access to current and accurate information.

Improvement activities associated with this indicator will be ongoing through the 2010-2011 school year.

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: June 14, 2007

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