Compliance of Special Education Laws and related Mandates Data Driven Discipline Act 833(HB 1015) of 2014 Dr. Sherlyn Ezell Powell University of Louisiana

Compliance of Special Education Laws and related

MandatesData Driven Discipline

Act 833(HB 1015) of 2014

Dr. Sherlyn Ezell PowellUniversity of Louisiana (ULM)

EDCARE

Purpose of Presentation

To provide guidance to school-building level administrators regarding process, compliance and accountability related to special education, discipline, and other mandated regulations- Data Driven DisciplineAct 136 RS 17:252 (D)Discuss Act 833(HB 1015) of 2014

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Ensuring & Sustaining Safe, Supportive & Successful Classrooms = ACT 136

– The school master plans required of city, parish, and other local public school boards by this Section shall make provision for pre-service and ongoing grade appropriate classroom management training for teachers, principals, and other appropriate school personnel regarding positive behavioral supports and reinforcement, conflict resolution, mediation, cultural competence, restorative practices, guidance and discipline, and adolescent development.

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2010-11 State-Wide Instances of Removal from Classroom

Type of Removal Total Removed

In-School Suspension(unduplicated count)

83,707

Out-School Suspension(unduplicated count)

69,066

In-School Expulsion 4,800

Out-School Expulsion 1,680

TOTAL 159,253

When applying just 6.5 hours (1 missed school day excluding 30 min for lunch) for each instance, it totals 1,035,145 hours removed from regular/assigned classroom.

• Louisiana Department of Education4

Evidence about the Effects of Suspension and Expulsion

• There is little scientific research to show that zero-tolerance or other “get-tough” measures are effective in reducing school violence or increasing school safety.

• Several studies have found negative outcomes following suspension and expulsion, such as delinquency, substance abuse and school dropout

• The three student discipline issues most frequently rated as serious or moderate problems by principals at elementary and secondary level schools were tardiness, absenteeism, and physical violence

– Suspension and Expulsion At-A-Glance, Institute for Democracy, Education and Access (2003)

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The Challenge…

• Translating Act 136 requirements into training material that not only defines the requirements but is also structured so that it is relevant, reasonable and realistic for educators..

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The Solution…• Relevant, Realistic & Reasonable

– Applying Requirements and Context into a 3-Tiered Intervention Model for the Classroom

– 3-Tiered Model is familiar to Educators and compliments RTI and PBIS models that may be already in place

– Step-by-step structure that takes the guess work out of determining intervention next steps

– Strategies and activities built in that teachers can also easily incorporate into the classroom.

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• Educator Expectations• Student Expectations• Stages of Development• Relevant Rules• Routine & Procedures• Classroom Arrangement• Reinforcement• Consequences• Building Rapport• Cultural Competency• Engaging Instruction

• Background: Traditional Disc.• Low-Level Correction Strategies• Logical Consequences• Peer Mediation• Restorative Justice

• A-B-C’s of Behavior• Writing a Behavior Plan• Implementing Behavior Plan• Analyzing Behavior Plan

Whole Class

Group of Students

IndividualStudent

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MODULE 1Knowing the “Players”

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MODULE 2Preparing to Learn

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MODULE 3Maintaining a S.S.S.C

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MODULE 4Intervening Low-Level

Problem Behavior

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MODULE 5Individual Intervention

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The Big Picture

– Academic Learning Outcomes

– Social & Emotional Learning Outcomes

Both sets of learning outcomes are inter-related and require systems of intervention

and support.

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Qualities of Good StudentsQualities of Good Students• Be eager to learn

• Work hard

• Take pride in their work

• Be organized

• Be prepared

• Be willing to learn from mistakes

• Be honest

• Attend class unless there’s a good excuse

• Respect the teacher

• Respect other students

• Obey class and school rules

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How Do We Balance?????How Do We Balance?????• Various Social Stage of

Development• Unresolved feelings of inadequacy

and inferiority among peers, can have serious problems in terms of competence & self-esteem

• Most significant relationship is with school & neighborhood

• Struggle to discover & find his or her own identity

• “Fitting-in”• Developing a sense of morality

and right from wrong• Withdraw from responsibilities• Unsuccessful with this stage tend

to experience role confusion & upheaval

• Be eager to learn

• Work Hard

• Take Pride in their work

• Be organized

• Be prepared

• Be willing to learn from mistakes

• Be honest

• Attend class unless there is a good excuse

• Respect the teacher

• Respect other students

• Obey class and school rules16

Is it Nature?

Is it Nurture?You cannot separate the two…however, which

one do YOU have influence over and how can you have influence over it?

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How Can We Nurture?How Can We Nurture?

• All individuals are motivated by needs. Dr. William Glasser identifies four basic psychological needs that motivate behavior:– Belonging: Fulfilled by loving, sharing, and cooperating with

others.

– Power: Fulfilled by achieving, accomplishing, and being recognized and respected.

– Freedom: Fulfilled by making choices.

– Fun: Fulfilled by laughing and playing.

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Background: Background: School-Wide PBISSchool-Wide PBIS

• School-Wide Expectations and rules taught in settings during first week of school

• School-Wide Reinforcement System in use• Minor/Major problem behavior defined• Leveled system for dealing with minor/major problem in

use

However……….However……….• For effective teaching & learning to take place, these

elements need to be used in the classroom!

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Classroom Management =Classroom Management =Teacher Self-ManagementTeacher Self-Management

• Understand the nature of the “grand delusion” that you are going to “manage” or “control” how someone else acts.

• However, what we do (how we act) in the classroom does directly influence how our students act.

• A more accurate description of what effective classroom management requires is “teacher self-management of instructional practices in group settings”.

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Breaking it Down….Breaking it Down….

• Expectations– Think of Expectations like a Mission Statement , the

overall purpose.

• Rules & Routines– Think of rules & routines like a Vision Statement,

vivid descriptions of how we will carry out the Mission.

• Social Skills– The specific skills we need to have to carry out

those descriptions and ultimately fulfill the Mission.

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Example of ExpectationsExample of Expectations

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What Does Pride What Does Pride Look Like Look Like in the in the Classroom? Classroom?

EXPECTATIONS CLASSROOM RULES

PREPARED •Have pen, pencil, binder & A.R. book everyday•“ELVIS” is in the building

RESPECTFUL •Uniform & ID worn appropriately•Follow classroom routines•Stay clear of JUNK-YARD Behavior!

INTEGRITY •Be HOT! (Here on Time)• KEEP YOUR HEAD..Stay out of the JUNK-YARD!

DETERMINED •Complete assignments•Meet Deadlines•Ask for help if I don’t understand

EXCELLENT •When I do P, R, I & D!

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Social SkillsSocial Skills• Explicit teaching of classroom rules can be

more challenging than teaching rules for other settings because so much of what goes in the classroom is based on interaction with teacher to students and peers to peers. However it is an ESSENTIAL ELEMENT ! DON’T ASSUME!

– Respect others comments, opinions & ideas– Say please & thank-you– Mind YOUR business

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Rule to Social SkillRule to Social Skill

• KEEP YOUR HEAD and stay clear of JUNK-YARD Behavior! – Eye-rolling– Talking back– Pressuring others– Teasing– Mind Your Own Business

• What are some social skills lessons that could be created?

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How Do I Decide?How Do I Decide?• As a grade level or on your own:

– Gather previous year discipline data of students you will be teaching this school year.

– Using the data, grade level teachers determine which social skills to target and then translate those skills into rules but let student have input too!

– For older students, strongly encouraged to share the data and allow them to make recommendations as to what the rules should include. Most times, they will come up with the same rules.

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Explicit Teaching is Essential!Explicit Teaching is Essential!

• Repetition and rehearsal are the keys to learning new skills

– For a child to learn something new, it needs to be repeated an average of 8 times

– For a child to unlearn an old behavior and replace with a new behavior, the new behavior must be repeated and average of 28 times (Harry Wong)

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Explicit Teaching is Essential!Explicit Teaching is Essential!

• We can no longer assume that students know the rules/expectations and appropriate ways to behave

• We can no longer assume that all students will learn appropriate behaviors quickly and effectively without consistent modeling/practice

• We MUST assume that students will require different curricula, instructional modalities, etc. to learn appropriate behavior

• We MUST assume that we need to teach appropriate behaviors/expectations and rules as effectively as we teach academic skills

– Louisiana School-Wide Positive Behavior Support Team Training, 2007-2008 (53)

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What Happens When We Don’t What Happens When We Don’t Plan to Teach Appropriate Plan to Teach Appropriate

Behavior?Behavior?• The absence of a plan for teaching desired behaviors may

lead to:– Inconsistent administration of consequences

– Exclusionary practices that encourage further misbehavior through escape

– Disproportionate amounts of staff time and attention to inappropriate behaviors

– Miscommunication among staff, students and parents

– Over reliance on punishment of problem behaviors

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“Whereas interventions that foster pro-social behaviors in the classroom frequently lead to

improvements in academic performance, interventions designed to improve academic

achievement do not show corresponding increases in pro-social classroom behaviors.

In essence, this means that educators that respond to mandates of high-stakes testing by

stressing content drills in the classroom are missing an important opportunity to promote

academic success”(Cobb, 1972; Cobb & Hops, 1973; Coie & Krehbiel, 1984; Hops & Cobb, 1974; Wentzel,

1993)

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Defining ConsequencesDefining Consequences• School-wide PBIS process is that each school

identify and then specifically define minor & major problem behaviors.

• Minor = handled in classroom– Talking out– Chewing gum– Inappropriate uniform/no ID

• Major = handled in office– Fighting– Extreme Classroom Disruption

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System for Addressing System for Addressing Minor/MajorMinor/Major

• Another element of School-wide PBIS is that schools develop a system for dealing with minor & major behaviors – “The 3 Strike Policy”

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Is the Incident Major?

1st OffenseVerbal Feedback & Re-teach

Clarify Consequences

2nd Offense Complete Tracking Form

Intervention & Consequence

3rd Offense Complete Tracking Form

Intervention & ConsequenceContact Parent

4th Offense (within 3 weeks)

Follow Referral Procedure

Reinforce Appropriate

Behavior

BehaviorCeases

Write ReferralAttach all applicable minor incident forms.

Send student with referral to Room 145

Administration will follow-up with course of action

and/or consequences

1. Parent contacted (1 day)2. Teacher provided

administrative action (1 day)3. Incident recorded in

data management system (2 days)

No Yes

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The Minor Infraction MythThe Minor Infraction Myth

• A minor infraction form is not a “classroom referral”.

• A minor infraction form is a way to document information essential to determining trends

– Behavior triggers (environmental factors)

– Motivation for inappropriate behavior (functional factors)

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• See School Master Plan with ACT 136 spefications

• See articles on drop out rates of general education students and special education teachers.

• See memo from USDE on RTI not being a reason to deny IDEA evaluation.

• See clarification of memo.

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Documents

Compliance of Special Education Laws and related Mandates Data Driven Discipline Act 833(HB 1015) of 2014 Dr. Sherlyn Ezell Powell University of Louisiana