November 17, 2005
DOE Division of Exceptional Learners
(These minutes are considered a draft until approved at the next scheduled meeting.)
MEMBERS PRESENT: Cindy Pittman (President), George Van Horn (Past-President), Tom Adams (President-elect), Vendetta Gutshall (Treasurer), Gary Collings (Secretary), Patti Kem (NC), Dave Chastain (E), Saundra Lange (SW), Margie Labelle (C), Cheryl Corning (SE), Pat Pierce (NW), Theresa Oberley (NE).
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
OTHERS PRESENT: Bob Marra, Jim Durst, Brett Bollinger, John Hill
I. Approvals
A. Minutes Cindy Pittman called the meeting to order and requested a motion to approve the October 19, 2005 minutes. MOTION: Patti Kem moved that the minutes be approved. After a second by Theresa Oberley, the motion was approved.
B. Treasurer's Report and Claim Docket Vendetta Gutshall distributed handouts for the Financial Report. The November 2005 Docket was presented in the amount of $29,254.73. MOTION: Cheryl Corning moved to approve the Docket as presented. After a second by George Van Horn, the motion was approved. Vendetta reported that of the $110,660 budget, $38,623.44 had been expended to date. She has filed the required annual IRS paperwork.
Vendetta noted the balance in the Scholarship Fund of $9,387.53 has yet to be transferred to the Indiana Scholarship Fund with CASE. She proposed that golf be a scholarship activity in the Fall, and the auction of baskets be limited to the Spring Conference. A member suggested that costs of baskets be limited to $100 or less. Others noted a need to review some silent auction etiquette as a prank ended up being costly for a bidder as well as disappointing for other bidders.
Gary Collings requested a $500 donation for the 2006 Midwest Educational Leadership Conference for which he is a planning committee member. Several Indiana directors have attended this conference over its 22 year history. MOTION: Vendetta Gutshall moved to provide the $500 donation. After a second by Patti Kem, the motion was approved.
C. Membership Committee Vendetta reported she is seeking dates to convene members with Smekens. She is working on the credit card application for product purchases as well as conference registrations.
D. Roundtable Topical Proposals Tom Adams submitted the revised master schedule for topicals through 2011-12. The intent is to ensure at least one topical in both the fall and spring. Vendetta Gutshall recommended that the current topical template be updated for registration and bookkeeping purposes.
Patti Kem presented a North Central topical proposal on Transitions for March 1, 2006. The date, however, conflicts with the previously approved East topical. Since the two roundtables are adjoining regions, members thought it best that North Central seek a different date and re-submit the proposal.
E. Strategic Plan Officers have yet to meet as a task force to review the plan and make suggestions for consideration by the members of the Executive Committee.
II. Strategic Plan: 2002-2005
Goal I Encourage communication, support, and recognition of special education
Objectives:
1.1 increase communication among colleagues
1.2 provide ongoing support to special educators
1.3 broaden our membership to include all eligible professionals
A. Report: Conferences
1. Fall Conference 2005: September 28 30, 2005 Cindy Pittman reported she is compiling the evaluations to be presented at the next meeting. Vendetta Gutshall reported the profit for the Fall Conference with 267 registrants to be approximately $27,000 if all expenses have been submitted.
2. Spring Conference: February 16 - 17, 2006 Tom Adams said he is seeking a second speaker for the morning and working on related details at the Radisson.
3. Fall Conference 2006: September 27-29, 2006 Tom Adams commented he is exploring facilities in both Lafayette and Merrillville that can accommodate our anticipated numbers.
4. CEC/CASE Board Update At the November CASE board meeting, Cindy Pittman said she volunteered ICASE for a donation of $140 for file cabinets for the St. Christina, Louisiana public school district. MOTION: George Van Horn moved to provide the $140 donation. After a second by Tom Adams, the motion was approved.
Vendetta Gutshall said she would give her full CASE report at next month's meeting. Cindy Pittman noted the CASE board request for a $1,000 donation for the common good of the organization. MOTION: George Van Horn moved to approve the $1,000 donation to CASE. After a second by Theresa Oberley, the motion was approved.
Cindy Pittman recognized Theresa Oberley's presentation at the CASE seminar on Fort Wayne's reading initiative (Closing the Gap) and the ISTAR presentations by Dawn McGrath, Sharon Knoth, and Kristen Schunk.
5. Vendor Committee No report
B. Standing Committee Reports
1. Porter Scholarship Cheryl Corning suggested that the Executive Committee members might wish to increase the amount of each of its two scholarships for next year in lieu of adding a third one.
2. Recognition/Awards MOTION: George Van Horn moved to recognize XXXX with the Distinguished Service Award. After a second by Pat Pierce, the motion was approved. Gary Collings will order the plaque to be presented at the Spring Conference in February.
3. Past Presidents' Council No report
4. Nominations Tom Adams, as President-elect, chairs this committee, which includes two other members (George Van Horn and TBA). The vacancies include President-elect for 2006-07 and Secretary (even years).
5. Roundtable Activities - Pat Pierce (NW) said they had talked about the academy, IDEIA, private school issues, NCLB affects on urban districts, Article 7 changes, and honored Fred McNulty upon his retirement. In behalf of the NW roundtable, Pat Pierce requested $800 - $900 of its funds to be used for a May 5 planning session at the Holiday Inn in Michigan City to discuss Article 7 issues and plan for next year's roundtable activities. MOTION: George Van Horn moved to approve the NW request. After a second by Margie Labelle, the motion was approved.
Saundra Lange (SW) said they met with Jan Henry about the new training program plans at Vincennes University as well as to discuss private schools, RTI, HQT, and ways to influence PL 221 plans. Dave Chastain (E) said they met last week to discuss the BSU restructured training programs, HQT, preschool changes, and their topical. Lynn Gosser will replace Dave as their representative with an alternate yet to be selected. Margie Labelle (C) said they discussed RTI projects and the need for a future sharing session. Her group would like to develop a plan on how to better communicate with families and ways districts might collaborate on parent training.
Goal II Advance the improvement of education for all students
Objectives:
2.1 develop stronger partnerships with general education
2.2 provide staff development on effective best practices
2.3 influence teacher preparation programs
No current activities in this area
Goal III Support the development of public policy to address the needs of all students
Objectives:
3.1 advance our legislative platform
3.2 connect and collaborate with other professional organizations, state agencies, and the Indiana DOE for policy development
A. Report: Division of Exceptional Learners Bob Marra reported that Hank Binder will be distributing instructions with the child count packet that data for Highly Qualified Teachers will not be collected or reported in December as anticipated. OSEP did not get permission from the federal Office of Management and Budget to collect such data in December.
Bob was pleased with the input from the November 16 Academy on Early Childhood. Members expressed appreciation for having received the related questions prior to the session. The January 19, 2006 Academy will focus on learning disabilities, response-to-intervention, and assessment. Members requested this session start at 9:00 AM to allow more time for discussion of these inter-related topics. Bob noted the March 15 Academy is open to topics at this point. Members suggested private schools be included in this session.
The Division has formed a Rule 26 Committee (Eligibility) related to the future Article 7 revision. Nina Brahm is chairing it with the following members: Cheryl Corning, Karol Farrell, Jill Slavins, Julie Steck, Rebecca Martinez, Leah Nellis, Sheron Cochran, Dawn McGrath. Alexandra Curlin and Becky Bowman will also be forming a Due Process Review Committee to discuss systems for hearings, mediations, resolutions, and the current two-tier review process.
Bob is now hearing that federal IDEIA regulations may be available in April or May 2006. Private schools, learning disability, and highly qualified seem to be the major issues.
In reply to a question, Bob confirmed that out-of-state students attending Indiana private schools can be counted for special education funding purposes. He will ask Hank Binder to include this clarification in the child count packet. George Van Horn suggested directors accept the practice of notifying fellow directors when their resident students are attending a private school in another district.
Bob explained that ISB and IERC are working on both Braille and Large Print production. Jim Durst was in attendance to discuss new initiatives from the Indiana School for the Blind. He is working on a ten year strategic plan to expand outreach and involvement in local districts while maintaining a residential component. Jim noted the need to eliminate the distinction of local and state school students. He wants to move ISB away from this dichotomy toward a collaborative system and change how the ISB does business in the future. He wants the ISB to be more responsive to local districts by providing support and building its statewide capacity. The challenge is how to fund the re-allocation of resources to a local district service model.
ISB will be implementing a pilot project with two instructors in Orientation & Mobility as a broker of services model for local districts with a fee to cover costs. The pre-low vision evaluations and low vision aids and appliances with ISB staff follow-up in the local district at no cost have been well received too. ISB would like to branch out its vision assessments with local districts including expanded training.
Jim commented on the success of the summer short courses involving Braille and Nemeth skills for local district students. He sees an emphasis on math and sciences perhaps through a year round school model in light of the complexities of both the Braille and Nemeth Code, which is a specific code for mathematics. The IERC will serve as the clearinghouse for acquiring such coded materials through the federal NIMAS Project.
John Hill announced that the National Alliance for Medicaid Education conference will be held in Indianapolis on October 4 6, 2006. He and Brett Bollinger reported on the Employability Skills Work Group, which originated from the SB 290 task force. The assessment model of the WorkKeys System became the catalyst for discussions with Dawn McGrath and a potential interface with ICAN. The group is seeking to standardize employability skills for employment certification or a portfolio of employability proficiencies.
Bob made a preliminary announcement that the State Board of Health has made the decision to close Silvercrest as of April 16, 2006. He will send an official letter to directors regarding the details. Bob has requested a budget offset amount be made available for respite care.
B. Report: Public Policy and Legislative Committee Tom Adams reported on the KWK contact for January December 2006. He noted there are no changes to the contract from the current one, including the annual fee of $18,000 with monthly billings. MOTION: George Van Horn moved to approve the 2006 contract as submitted. After a second by Pat Pierce the motion was approved.
C. Other Business Vendetta Gutshall distributed a flyer about last year's legislative bill, HEA 1098, which affords ISHA members the equivalency of the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) with the National Board Certification for Teachers among other stipulations. It was noted districts, such as Monroe County, are reportedly offering a monetary award to board certified teachers and thus must provide the same award to speech pathologists with the CCC designation.
Pat Pierce asked if there was a way for ICASE to have an Article 7 Committee. She said that Bose McKinney attorneys will compensate the time to be involved with such a committee. Members discussed how the academy is giving directors an opportunity to influence the future language on selected topics and also noted representation on the Division's Rule 26 Committee and State Advisory Council with Karol Farrell as liaison. Members seemed to concur that a committee would be beneficial once a draft of the revised state regulations is available.
As the liaison to IN*SOURCE, Patti Kem reported that it wants to develop a single training module as a consistent message in multiple media on the final Article 7 to be used in conjunction with other associations such as IPIN, COVOH, P&A, IIDC, etc.
III. NEXT MEETING: December 14, 2005 (8:30 AM) DOE Division of Exceptional Learners