[SE-Dir] Kindergarten Assessment Pilot

Thu Jun 20 08:44:02 PDT 2013

TO:    All District and ESD Superintendents
All District and ESD Special Education Directors
Regional Management Team
EI/ECSE Directors
District Test Administrators
Regional ESD Assessment Helpdesk

The message below is being sent to you on behalf of:

Sarah Drinkwater, Ph.D.
Assistant Superintendent
Office of Student Learning & Partnerships
______________________________________________
June 20, 2013

House Bill 4165 directed the Early Learning Council and the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to jointly develop a Kindergarten Assessment to be piloted in Fall, 2012 and ready for statewide implementation by Fall, 2013.  On March 7, 2013 the Board of Education adopted Oregon Administrative Rule 581-022-2130 mandating ODE implement a Kindergarten Assessment as part of the statewide assessment system beginning with the 2013-2014 school year.

ODE has been working diligently to identify appropriate accommodations with input from the Oregon Accommodations Panel and develop guidance prior to the training for the Kindergarten Assessment in May, 2013.  However, we understand that many school districts have already held transition meetings to develop Individualized Education Programs (IEP) for students eligible under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  ODE would like to remind school districts of their obligation under federal law (IDEA) to include a statement of any individual accommodation that is necessary to measure the child's performance on state and districtwide assessments.  This can be accomplished in several ways:

·       For transition meetings that have not yet been held, address student participation in the Kindergarten Assessment by identifying the necessary accommodations to provide access for students with disabilities as part of the annual review of the IEP.

·       For transition meetings that have already occurred, address student participation in the Kindergarten Assessment by identifying the necessary accommodations to provide access for students with disabilities by selecting one of the following options to amend the current IEP:

o   Agree with the parent to add accommodations to the IEP without convening an IEP meeting.  Develop a written document to amend or modify the child's current IEP and provide Prior Written Notice to the parents.  Provide a revised copy of the IEP with the amendments upon parent request; or

o   Reconvene the entire IEP Team to make the decision and provide Prior Written Notice.

The following are the relevant federal regulations that apply to accommodations on state and districtwide assessments, revisions of IEPs and written prior notice:

§ 300.320   Definition of individualized education program.

(a) General. As used in this part, the term individualized education program or IEP means a written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in a meeting in accordance with §§ 300.320 through 300.324, and that must include-

(6)(i) A statement of any individual appropriate accommodations that are necessary to measure the academic achievement and functional performance of the child on State and districtwide assessments consistent with section 612(a)(16) of the Act;

§ 300.324   Development, review, and revision of IEP.

(a) Development of IEP -

(4) Agreement. (i) In making changes to a child's IEP after the annual IEP Team meeting for a school year, the parent of a child with a disability and the public agency may agree not to convene an IEP Team meeting for the purposes of making those changes, and instead may develop a written document to amend or modify the child's current IEP.

(ii) If changes are made to the child's IEP in accordance with paragraph (a)(4)(i) of this section, the public agency must ensure that the child's IEP Team is informed of those changes.

(6) Amendments. Changes to the IEP may be made either by the entire IEP Team at an IEP Team meeting, or as provided in paragraph (a)(4) of this section, by amending the IEP rather than by redrafting the entire IEP. Upon request, a parent must be provided with a revised copy of the IEP with the amendments incorporated.

§ 300.503   Prior notice by the public agency; content of notice.

(a) Notice. Written notice that meets the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section must be given to the parents of a child with a disability a reasonable time before the public agency-

(1) Proposes to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child or the provision of FAPE to the child; or

(2) Refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child or the provision of FAPE to the child.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Laura Petschauer at 503-947-5936 or laura.petschauer at state.or.us<mailto:laura.petschauer at state.or.us> .

Kindergarten Assessment Resources:

·       ODE's Kindergarten Assessment Resources webpage provides resources to support district and school staff to administer the new Kindergarten Assessment starting in 2013-14.  Information about the required Kindergarten Assessment trainings, frequently asked questions, and links to additional resources can be located at http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?=3908 .

·       Oregon's Early Learning System Kindergarten Assessment webpage includes information about the purpose and design of the Kindergarten Assessment for parents, schools, and early childhood care and education providers at http://oregonearlylearning.com/kindergarten-assessment<https://ch1prd0411.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=w_tje_7gi0ipnTj9zELts6Ys8_nVO9AIcNQPP-7i_O-EraJAlaLA_-rqNDXGjbw5EDEBuf2c08s.&URL=http%3a%2f%2foregonearlylearning.com%2fkindergarten-assessment> .

·       ODE's list of the identified accommodations for the Kindergarten Assessment will be located within the Accommodations Manual 2013-2014 which will be released during the summer.  At this time, the Kindergarten Assessment Accommodations Table is located at http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=487 .

·       The Test Administration Manual outlines the required policies and procedures pertaining to the Kindergarten Assessment which are included in Parts I, II, IV, and VI and Appendix L of the Preliminary Draft 2013-14 Test Administration Manual located at http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?=486 .

Ruby Sandberg, Executive Assistant
Office of Student Learning & Partnerships
Oregon Department of Education
503-947-5738   FAX: 503-378-5156
ruby.sandberg at state.or.us<mailto:ruby.sandberg at state.or.us>
The Oregon Department of Education is an equal opportunity agency and employer.
Messages to and from this email address may be made available to the public under Oregon law.

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