Special Education Evaluationduring COVID-19

Krista Klabo, Ed.S. NCSPSchool Psychology and Special Education Evaluation Specialist

Exceptional Student Services Unit

November 13th, 2020

1

Webinar and Context

Summit Psychological Assessment & Consultation

Dr. Rachel Toplis

Practical Remote Strategies for Special Education Evaluations Webinar

• October 21st• 9:00 - 11:30 am• 173 registrants

Office Hours on October 27th

• Follow-Up Discussion and Question and Answers

3

Objectives

This session will address important information regarding

evaluation for eligibility and continuing services during the

COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Identify how to employ an online or hybrid comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation

2. Describe considerations and challenges for online evaluation

3. Recall and apply how to complete a remote psychoeducational evaluation

4. Review practical tips and strategies to support professionals in the field

4

Need for this Information

• Many professionals were requesting practical support to

conduct evaluations during COVID-19

• Professionals want to use their clinical skills in the best

interest of children. Which means, they wanted to learn

how to maintain the validity of online psychoeducational

evaluations in order to offer legitimate and authentic

recommendations

5

Evaluation Considerations

Many situations will not have perfect solution. Teams need to utilize collaborative problem-solving, ongoing documentation, and adjustment as needed.

Reminder:

• The evaluation must assess the student in all areas of suspected disability

• Be sufficiently comprehensive to identify all of the student's special education and related services needs

• A variety of assessment tool and strategies must be used to gather relevant information

6

OCR Guidance

If a school district is offering only distance learning, is it required to conduct evaluations and reevaluations under Section 504?

Yes. Schools must continue to meet the requirements of Section 504, consistent with the need to protect the health, safety, and well-being of students, school staff, and other individuals responsible for providing special education and related aids and services to students with disabilities. Section 504 requires school districts to conduct an evaluation in a timely manner of any student who needs or is believed to need special education or related services because of a disability before taking any action with respect to the student’s initial placement in regular or special education, and requires “periodic” reevaluation of students who have been provided special education or related services.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS September 28, 2020 Questions and Answers for K-12 Public Schools In the Current COVID-19 Environment

7

Colorado Guidance

Are the timelines for initial evaluations waived due to the suspension of in person learning?

At this time, there are no waivers for initial evaluation timelines. As a result, AUs are encouraged to complete evaluations that do not require face-to-face assessment in a timely manner. Schools and parents may also work together to reach mutually agreeable extensions of time to allow for the completion of a sufficiently comprehensive initial evaluation for which a face-to-face assessment is necessary. Any agreement to extend the timeline for the completion of the initial evaluation should be well documented by the AU and shared with the parent.

Child Find Obligations are still present.8

Colorado Guidance

Will the timelines for reevaluation be waived due to the suspension of in person learning?

At this time, there are no waivers for reevaluation timelines. A reevaluation for each child with a disability must be conducted at least every three years, unless the parents and the public agency agree that a reevaluation is unnecessary. As noted above, AUs are encouraged to work with parents to reach mutually agreeable extensions of time. Any agreement to extend the timeline for the completion of the three-year reevaluation should be well documented by the AU and shared with the parent.

Special Education & COVID-19 FAQs

9

Colorado Guidance (cont.)

Will the timelines for reevaluation be waived due to the suspension of in person learning?

In addition, AUs are reminded that a reevaluation may be conducted through a review of existing data, and this review may occur without a meeting and without obtaining parental consent, unless it is determined additional assessments are needed. Reevaluations that require additional assessments but do not require face-to-face assessments or observations may take place during the suspension of in-person learning, if the parents consent.

Decisions to dismiss a student from special education services should not be determined due to an inability to complete a comprehensive reevaluation. If a comprehensive evaluation is not possible due to the suspension of in person learning, the AU should continue to provide special education and related services to the greatest extent possible until the necessary assessments can safely be completed and eligibility can be properly determined. The AU should not determine that a student is no longer eligible based on a reevaluation that is not sufficiently comprehensive.

10

Before the Evaluation

• Informed consent

• Use FERPA compliant software and processes

• Does the child and family have equitable access to stable internet connection

• Educational impact has to be established without traditional classroom observations and other in-school assessments

• Consider what is best for the student

• Is there access to PPE for staff and students?

11

Informed Consent

Team should document conversation with family around

limitations and which components will be done virtually versus

in-person.

This documentation could be done with an additional consent

form or in the notes section of the PWN.

12

Technology Considerations

● Does the team have consent to disseminate information via

email?

● What video conferencing platform is FERPA compliant for

the district?

● Use the correct platform for the particular assessment

○ I.E. WISC-V, BASC-3

13

In-person Evaluation Procedures (Before)

❏ Screen student for COVID-19

❏ Consider scheduling assessment appointments when other students are not receiving instruction on the same area of campus

❏ Identify a large office space or classroom to allow for appropriate social distancing between school psychologist/assessor and student - with open door(s) and/or windows for ventilation/air circulation.

❏Maintain a student contact log for contact tracing purposes

❏ Consider additional informed consent procedures for parents to acknowledge risk of in-person testing

❏ Ensure all testing material is thoroughly cleaned

14

15

In-person Evaluation Procedures (During)

❏ Student and staff will handwash upon arrival, after sneezing, coughing, or nose blowing; after using any shared equipment/materials and before dismissal

❏ Staff and students must wear masks covering nose and mouth

❏ Consider use of a plexiglass divider or clear barrier in between student and assessor

❏ Consider using gloves when using shared material

❏ Provide mask breaks, if needed. Breaks should occur six feet apart from individuals and ideally outside or at least with the windows open

16

In-person Evaluation Procedures (During) cont.

❏ Consider use of an air purifier with HEPA filter and UV light sanitizer to minimize germs only if you can close doors and windows of office.

❏ Provide new/cleaned writing utensils for each student in a Ziploc bag and have student put all used utensils and materials in the bag at end of testing

❏ Adhere to safe distancing protocol in testing room (i.e. only sit on designated chair and no moving furniture, no shaking hands, try not to touch face & sanitize immediately after if so).

❏ Consider the use of clear film on each testing flip book/paper materials to allow for cleaning after each student’s use

17

In-person Evaluation Procedures (After)

❏ Document in your testing section the safety precautions that were used (masks, plexiglass, etc.) and include a validity statement if you believe any of the safety procedures may have an impact on the interpretation of results (using a mask during phonological processing tasks, for example).

❏ Document in the testing section how all assessments were completed. Include a validity statement if you believe any results and/or interpretation of the results were impacted by the new variables.

Adapted from CDC Guidance, Pearson Cleaning Checklists, National Association of School Psychologists (2020). Telehealth: Virtual Service Delivery Updated Recommendations.

In-person Evaluation Procedures (Cleaning & PPE)

Cleaning: ❏ Clean between evaluation

sessions. Evaluate the room and develop a specific checklist with an emphasis on high touch areas: ❏ Doors and door handles ❏ Tables ❏ Chairs ❏ Phones ❏ Light switches ❏ Plexiglass ❏ Materials used

❏ Disinfecting Test Materials

PPE:

❏ Masks/face coverings should be provided by the student/family, but extra disposable

face masks will be made available in the room for students who need them.

❏ Have gloves available in the room

❏ Hand sanitizers will be available in the room

18

File or Record Review

Especially important component right now.

• Review any and all records (previous evaluations,

transcript, behavior record, counseling records, etc.)

• Can be used to bolster any assessments administered

• Creates a Body of Evidence

19

Reliability and Validity of Rating Scales/ Normed Assessments

No new norms

● In order to bolster your normed assessments, gather

informal information (interviews, observations, etc.)

● Use progress monitoring data, work samples, etc. to

provide more evidence

20

Parent Input

Gather as much information as possible from families

• Background and educational history

• Current educational performance

• Use questionnaire or semi-structured interviews to gather information that might have been traditionally gathered through observations

More important than ever!

21

Teacher Input

Might need to be creative.

• Use former teachers or other school staff (pera-

professionals, SLPs, etc.)

• Go beyond the BASC or rating scale and conduct a semi-

structured interview

• Teacher questionnaires/Interviews and more in-depth

questions around behavior and impact of disability in the

classroom

22

Child Interview

• Communicate with the family to set an interview with the

child and explain the importance

• If possible, have the family leave the room to allow the

child to speak freely.

• If parent leaves the room make sure you have

emergency contact information in case child makes self-

harm statement etc.

• If not possible, make sure parent is on camera.

23

Observations - IDEA

Sec. 300.310 (a)

Statute/Regs Main » Regulations » Part B » Subpart D » Section 300.310 » a

(a) The public agency must ensure that the child is observed in the child’s learning environment (including the regular classroom setting) to document the child’s academic performance and behavior in the areas of difficulty.

24

Observations - IDEA

Sec. 300.310 (b) Statute/Regs Main » Regulations » Part B » Subpart D » Section 300.310 » b(b) The group described in §300.306(a)(1), in determining whether a child has a specific learning disability, must decide to—

(1) Use information from an observation in routine classroom instruction and monitoring of the child’s performance that was done before the child was referred for an evaluation; or

(2) Have at least one member of the group described in §300.306(a)(1) conduct an observation of the child’s academic performance in the regular classroom after the child has been referred for an evaluation and parental consent, consistent with §300.300(a), is obtained.

25

Observation Considerations

1. It may not be possible to conduct an in person traditional

classroom observation

2. How to demonstrate educational impact

3. Creative ways to fulfill this requirement

4. What previous observation data can you include

(counseling notes, progress monitoring information,

previous observations, etc.)

26

Creative Ways to Conduct Observations

• Virtual observations of the student at home or while parent or sibling interacts with the child

• Recordings provided by the parents

• Virtual observation during synchronous learning or during small group instruction

• Observation data from other staff or professionals

• Observation data from previous interactions (progress monitoring or counseling notes)

• Using work samples

• Collecting behavioral information on how they are interacting with their schooling right now (attending synchronous sessions, turning in work, participation)

27

Normed or Standardized Assessments

• Whenever possible use assessments already normed for

online administration

• Work toward approximating standardized administration

procedures as closely as possible

• Widen confidence intervals and rely on broader indices

whenever possible

• Note differences in administration for your report

Wright, A., Mihura, J., PhD, Pade, H., Psy.D., & McCord, D. (2020, May). Guidance on psychological tele-assessment during the COVID-19 crisis. Retrieved November 04, 2020, from https://www.apaservices.org/practice/reimbursement/health-codes/testing/tele-assessment-covid-19

28

Evaluation Report

• Include a statement in your report explaining the remote

evaluation process

• Include ways in which the administration was different

from typical

• Send your finished report securely

• Plan on sending the report ahead of time to give family

time to process through this information

29

Current Practices or Strategies Professionals, Schools, and Districts are Doing

• Most are doing a hybrid model (as much assessment conducted virtually with specific assessments in person)

• Some districts are contracting with outside assessment providers to conduct evaluations

• When following a cohort model, having the most crucial staff administer assessments in person, conduct observations, and facilitate assessments for the other professionals

• Some professionals are using the DP-4 cognitive section or RIAS-2 for virtual cognitive assessments

• Being more selective/targeted with when to administer Cognitive evaluations

• Taking into consideration the impact of COVID19 as it relates to assessment data

30

Important Things to Remember

1. Communicate with the evaluation team and family

2. Documentation of procedures and deviations from the norms

3. Body of evidence

4. Child Find requirement is still present

31

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection Recommendations,” available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/cleaning-disinfection.html.

Colorado Department of Education and Special Education during COVID-19 -https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped-covid19

Farmer, R.L., McGill, R.J., Dombrowski, S.C. et al. Conducting Psychoeducational Assessments During the COVID-19 Crisis: the Danger of Good Intentions. Contemp School Psychol (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-020-00293-x

Farmer, R. L., McGill, R. J., Dombrowski, S. C., McClain, M. B., Harris, B., Lockwood, A., … Benson, N. F. (2020, July 22). Teleassessment with Children and Adolescents During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and Beyond: Practice and Policy Implications. https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000349

Hodge et al (2019) Agreement between telehealth and face-to-face assessment of intellectual ability in children with specific learning disorder. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare 2019, Vol. 25(7) 431–437

32

References

Luxton, Pruitt & Osenback (2014) Best Practices for Remote Psychological Assessment via Telehealth Technologies. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice In the public domain 2014, Vol. 45, No. 1, 27–35

Pearson (2020). Disinfecting testing materials. Retrieved from https://www.pearsonassessments.com/content/dam/school/global/clinical/us/assets/telepractice/disinfecting-test-materials.pdf

Telehealth: Virtual Service Delivery Updated Recommendations. (n.d.). Retrieved November 04, 2020, from https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/covid-19-resource-center/special-education-resources/telehealth-virtual-service-delivery-updated-recommendations

Wright (2020). Equivalence of Remote, Digital Administration and Traditional, In-Person Administration of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V). Psychological Assessment 2020, Vol. 32, No. 9, 809 – 817 ISSN: 1040-3590 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pas0000939

Wright, A., Mihura, J., PhD, Pade, H., Psy.D., & McCord, D. (2020, May). Guidance on psychological tele-assessment during the COVID-19 crisis. Retrieved November 04, 2020, from https://www.apaservices.org/practice/reimbursement/health-codes/testing/tele-assessment-covid-19

33

Summit Psychological Assessment & Consultation

Dr. Rachel Toplis & Dr. Bri Makofske

http:summitpac.net (719) 235-7104 or

(719) 641-3748

34

Contact Information

Krista Klabo, Ed.S. NCSPSchool Psychology and Special Education Evaluation Specialist

Email: Klabo_k@cde.state.co.usPhone: (303) 866-6933