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The Youth Reengagement application is accessed through the Education Data System (EDS). If you need access to the application, please contact your District Data Security Manager.
For full information on the responsibilities and access to the Open Doors End-of-Year Reporting, please refer to our August 4th Open Doors Update.
Provision of special education, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 accommodations, and transitional bilingual instructional program.
How are you supporting the needs of ALL students?
Students who enroll in an Open Doors / Reengagement program who are eligible for special education services and have either an outdated or current IEP, are still entitled to receive special educational services. Special education services are determined by an IEP team and must include post-high school transition services. The provision of special education services by the resident district must be consistent with state and federal law pursuant to WAC Chapter 392-172A.
Students who come to your program with a 504 plan, as determined in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, must have those plans followed in the provision of your instructional services.
In addition, services must be provided for students who are eligible for transitional bilingual services and are qualified for Open Doors.
IEP & 504 Awareness
What are your processes for identifying if a student has had, currently has, or needs an IEP or 504 plan? Is the student not successful because of specific educational needs, or due to lack of access (e.g., due to non-attendance)?
If you identify that a student might be in need of special education services, what is your district's process for initiating that evaluation? Have you checked for documentation referencing prior attempts at an evaluation? Be sure to remember special education initial evaluation and reevaluation timelines under WACs 392-172A-03005 and 392-172A-03015.
For students on a 504 plan, how current is the plan? What has been done to revise the plan over the years if the student has not been successful in previous educational facilities? How might the 504 plan need to be revised and updated to meet student needs in light of the structure of your program and the individualized nature of education services provided?
The IEP Team
You may be required to make one or more staff members available to participate on an IEP team for the purposes of creating an IEP. Staff members who participate on the IEP team should be one of the student's instructors and/or knows the student and their needs well.
IEP Teams include at a minimum: at least one general education teacher of the student; at least one special education teacher of the student; a school district representative; and individual who can interpret what evaluations mean for instruction; an individual with special expertise or knowledge of about the student; the student; and the parent(s)/guardian(s) if the student is under 18 years old.
The student must be invited to the IEP team meeting when the purpose of the meeting will be the consideration of the post-secondary goals for the student and the transition services needed to assist the student in reaching those goals.
Transition Services
For all students in reengagement programs, the IEP must include appropriate measurable post-secondary goals and the transition services, including courses of study, needed to assist the student in reaching those goals. Transition services are defined as follows:
WAC 392-172A-01190
(1) Transition services means a coordinated set of activities for a student eligible for special education that:
(a) Is designed to be within a results-oriented process, that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the student to facilitate his or her movement from school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education, vocational education, integrated employment, supported employment, continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation;
(b) Is based on the individual student's needs, taking into account the student's strengths, preferences, and interests; and includes:
(i) Instruction;
(ii) Related services;
(iii) Community experiences;
(iv) The development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives; and
(v) If appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and provision of a functional vocational evaluation.
(2) Transition services for students eligible for special education services may be special education services, if provided as specially designed instruction, or a related service, if required to assist a student eligible for special education services to benefit from special education services.
- You may be already providing many of these services inherently through your reengagement program and/or through the High School & Beyond Plan. Be sure to document them in the student's IEP; these services can also support weekly status checks and IAPs if the services are provided directly through your Open Doors program.
Arranging for special education services and receiving funding
How is your district providing special education services to your students?
- Are the services provided onsite, or will students need to go to another site for services?
- Is the specially designed instruction aligned to the student's post-secondary goals and transition services? Their High School & Beyond Plan?
- What opportunities will the student have access to that offer "hands on" or practical learning experiences?
- What must be put into place for the student to develop and/or improve their independent living skills?
Students who are actively receiving specially designed instruction can be added to the special education headcount for enhanced funding and FTE may be shared up to an AAFTE of 1.0 to provide that specially designed instruction.
For non-district programs (ESD, college) that have a consortium or cooperative agreement with the school district, work with the district IEP team and the district registrar to best determine location of services and FTE split based upon minutes for providing those services:
- District: #SpEd minutes/1665 total weekly minutes = % of FTE;
balance of FTE to the Open Doors program.
Best Practices for students with special needs
- Have a clear communication system between the district-designated special education staff and your program so that: (1) you have all the information available about the student's academic needs; and (2) that special education staff are informed about how your program operates.
- Affirm that your program will have the support (staffing, equipment, etc.) necessary for the student to access your instructional program.
- Coordinate the student's specialized instruction so that the student's IEP goals and daily and weekly schedule align with their time spent in the reengagement program.
LoLA
The purpose of the Leaders of Learning Alternatives (LoLA) Focus Area Network is to support collaboration between ESDs and OSPI/OSSI to organize and support regional networks for alternative learning leaders, including:
1) Advancing understanding of best practices;
2) Collaborating with, and learning from colleagues, as well as ESD/OSPI partners;
3) Exploring tools for establishing equity-based, anti-racist, and student-centered school communities;
4) Learning strategies for strengthening data use to inform continuous improvement and system change; and
5) supporting regional reengagement programming.
LoLA Contacts:
ESD 101 - Dianna Harrington, dharrington@esd101.net
ESD 113 - Russ Rice, rrice@esd113.org
ESD 121 - Arthur Dennis, adennis@psesd.org
ESD 123 - Lori Scott, lscott@esd123.org
ESD 189 - Gayle Everly, geverly@nwesd.org
Statewide network, coordinated by ESD 123 – Lori Scott, lscott@esd123.org
WALA
The Washington Association of Learning Alternatives (WALA) is a private nonprofit organization that also provides regional networking options and supports. For more information visit www.walakids.com.
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McKinney-Vento Liaison Virtual Training: Register for the 2nd Autumn session December 9, 2020.
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GATE Equity Webinar Series - Regular monthly webinars. Information and registration available through the GATE website.
2020-2021 Newsletters
August: Fall Considerations
September: Fall Updates and High School & Beyond
October: Strengths-based Focus
Contact Liz Quayle for previous years' newsletter topics.
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