Task Force on Blind Student Academic and Vocational Performance
Blind Task Force (BTF)
Minutes
Regular Meeting of Committee Representatives
November 7, 2017
For information on the BTF, visit http://dese.mo.gov/special-education/advisory-panels.
Members in Attendance:
Pam Alberti, Public School Special Education Administrator
Geoffrey Barney, Superintendent, Missouri School of the Blind
Dr. Stephen Barr, DESE, Office of Special Education
Jennifer Carmack, Consumer Organization: National Federation for the Blind
Linda Coccovizzo, Parent of Blind or Visually Impaired Student Attending Public School in MO
Joy Frazier Boyle, Parent of Blind or Visually Impaired Student Attending Public School in MO
Stacy Hamlett, Public School Building Principal
June Lenk, Consumer Organization: Missouri Council of the Blind
Bonnie Lenz, Teacher of the Visually Impaired
Adrian Marcos, Student
Shari Scott, Institution of Higher Education
Brent Sharp, Public School Special Education Administrator
Reeda Rippee, Orientation & Mobility Specialist
Louise Whitworth, Teacher of the Visually Impaired
Angie York, Employer
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Guests:
Julie Anderson-Ituarte, Blind Skills Specialist, Truman State University, NE Region
Susan Bonner, Deafblind Project Director, Missouri Deafblind Technical Assistance Project, Missouri School for the Blind
DJ Butcher, Blind Skills Specialist, Southwest Missouri
Jessica Hall, Blind Skills Specialist, Truman State University, NE Region
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Members Not in Attendance:
Donna Borgmeyer, Rehabilitation Council of the Blind
Ian Shadrick, Department of Social Services
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· Call to Order at 10:20 a.m. – B. Lenz
· Roll Call – L. Whitworth
· Introductions – B. Lenz
Welcome Jennifer Carmack, Consumer Organization representative, National Federation for the Blind
· Approval of November 7, 2017 Agenda – B. Lenz
Motion to approve and accept – J Lenk; Seconded – R Rippee
· Approval of August 1, 2017 Minutes – B. Lenz
Motion to approve and accept – L Coccovizzo; Seconded – R Rippee
Blind Skills Specialists (BSS November Reports) –
· DJ Butcher, Blind Skills Specialist, Southwest Missouri
· Julie Anderson-Ituarte, Blind Skills Specialist, Truman State University, NE Region
Also presented brief PowerPoint presentation discussing current efforts to improve and design digital online professional development training across the state while partnering with Project Access to learn how to best facilitate available video production equipment.
· Susan Bonner, Deafblind Project Director, Missouri Deafblind Technical Assistance Project, Missouri School for the Blind
· Jessica Hall, Blind Skills Specialist, Truman State University, NE Region
WORKING LUNCH – Q & A regarding the Blind Skills Specialists November reports.
Missouri Blind Literacy Study for November 2017 – S. Barr
https://dese.mo.gov/sites/default/files/se-data-blind-literacy-2017.pdf
DESE Update – S. Barr
State Budget - State Board of Education approved a Department budget proposal for the 2018-19 school year. The proposed budget was forwarded to the Governor’s budget office as part of the standard budget process. The Governor will accept, modify or change the proposed budget and submit to the legislature for discussion and approval with or without additional changes.
Federal Budget - Currently operating under a continuing resolution (CR) which is a stop gap measure to keep the government running.
Part B State Plan - https://dese.mo.gov/special-education/state-plan-special-education
Proposed changes to the organizational structure were approved by the State Board of Education with one minor modification. The modified plan was submitted to the Joint Committee for Administrative Rules (JCAR) and then to the Secretary of State to be published in the Missouri Register. New proposed changes will soon be published for a period of 60 days with more than 30 days provided for public comment. Two webinars will be held to discuss the proposed changes. Those changes include
· modifications to the process of identifying, referring and continuing student placement at the State Operated programs;
· modifications to eligibility requirements for speech/language (removes cognitive referencing and replaces with a standard deviation of 1.75 below the mean);
· changes to criteria for sound system disorder and fluency; and
· revisions to criteria for visual impairment to be consistent with the Office of Special Education Program (OSEP) memorandum of May 22, 2017 indicating that state established standards must not narrow the definitions of the IDEA.
Proposed change currently being considered to allow the category of Young Child with a Developmental Delay (YCDD) to continue through age 8. There was significant support for the change. However, when we ran the statistics we found that about 25% of YCDD students were never identified under any other category in the future. The proposal is being tabled for further research and discussion with groups that supported the proposal.
State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) recipient - The Office of Special Education submitted and was approved for a new SPDG that should amount to around $7 million over four years. The focus of this grant is to take the effective practices of the Collaborative Work to the district level which should position the state to allow for statewide implementation. Around 15 districts with former Collaborative Work buildings volunteered to expand to the district level for the pilot phase. The Missouri Model District is the title for the pilot district implementation. The districts will use a new virtual platform being developed which will allow access to resources including on-line professional development 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. We intend to offer districtwide implementation to most of the remaining CW districts for the 2018-19 school year.
Data Planner and School Technology Specialists - The Office of Special Education hired one data planner and two school technology specialists. These positions are unique in that they provide services to all of the State Operated Program schools. All are administered by the Data section of the Office of Special Education. The data planner is located in Jefferson City and the technology specialists are located at Missouri School for the Deaf (MSD) and Missouri School for the Blind (MSB).
Significant Disproportionality - The Office of Special Education conducted several regional meetings to help 57 districts understand the regulations related to their potential identification for significant disproportionality. These are new regulations established by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).
Alternate Assessment Participation - New statutes under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) https://dese.mo.gov/quality-schools/federal-programs/essa-plan limits the participation of students on the state’s alternate assessment to 1% of total test takers. Missouri’s alternate assessment (MAP-A) is embedded in the Dynamic Learning Maps. We are surveying the current participation levels to try to determine which districts might be exceeding the 1% participation. The 1% is a limit at the state not local level.
Superintendent at Missouri School for the Deaf - We are still in the process of identifying a superintendent for the Missouri School for the Deaf. A second round of interviews is scheduled for November 17.
Dyslexia Report - State law required a Dyslexia Task Force to convene and to develop a report to guide decisions of the State Board of Education related to screening, instruction, interventions, teacher certification, preservice and in-service professional development, and data reporting. The Task Force report was presented by Rep. Kathy Swan to the SBOE at its October 31 meeting. The Board will have further action during its next scheduled meeting in early December. A copy of the full report is posted on the DESE website under the area of State Board of Education agenda for October. https://dese.mo.gov/sites/default/files/DyslexiaTaskForceOctober2017.pdf
State Board of Education - The State Board of Education added four new members over the last several months. New members include Eddy Justice from Poplar Bluff; Claudia Onate Greim, Kansas City; John D. “Doug” Russell, Lebanon; and John T. “Time” Sumners, Joplin. An orientation to the Department was provided on October 30.
Missouri School for Blind - A facilities review is being conducted to help us determine the feasibility of continuing upgrades of the building.The review should be completed by the end of December.
Parent’s Guide to Special Education - User friendly version of the Parent’s Guide to Special Education close to being finalized. A new version will be available along with the legal version to help parents better understand the special education process and their rights.
https://dese.mo.gov/sites/default/files/Parents-Guide-to-Special-Education-November-2017.pdf
Subcommittee Updates:
Academic and Vocational Services – L Whitworth –
· More discussion centered on data collection in the school districts to gain a more accurate representation of testing for our visually impaired students.
· S Barr to bring the Blind Skills specialists together and create a group to discuss suggestions on how to reach out and communicate with larger groups and/or businesses in the area of technology.
· Add Jennifer Carmack to this committee.
Rules – L. Coccovizzo – Nothing to report.
Student Achievement – B Lenz – Nothing to report.
· Add B Sharp and J Boyle to this committee.
Children’s Vision Summit – I Shadrick – B Lenz gave a report in I Shadrick’s absence.
· Add L Whitworth to this committee.
· 89 attendees (included vendors, parents, etc.)
· No formal evaluation provided for feedback. CVS Committee Chairman will be sending out Survey Monkey for feedback at a later date.
· Suggestions to consider for future planning
o better communication and collaboration;
o reconsider date, month and day of the week when scheduling next summit;
o district participation was low;
o focus primarily on parent scope;
o make more information available about the summit through publication and online so that people can access;
o plan sessions around age group, topic sessions;
o make contact information available from the presenters for follow up opportunities;
o utilize the website by posting sessions and agendas ahead of time;
o partner with another conference that guarantees better attendance (PowerUp);
o provide a Blind Task Force booth at next year’s PowerUp Conference and be very clear as to the message you will want to convey;
o design a survey to provide feedback for future summit (topics, presenters, focus groups, hands on activities); and
o space and breakout rooms that would allow for group activities without interfering with other sessions taking place at the same time.
o What would students like to see more of?
§ Hands on activities (IPad w/ voiceover; braille readers) A booth that would allow students to “come and play” with different forms of technology.
§ Clinics and/or workshop style sessions.
§ Separate session tracks that would allow more freedom for students and parents to attend separately or together.
§ Create an environment (event space) where the parent feels comfortable allowing their child to participate in sessions on their own or with peers.
§ Provide student guides to help the students move more independently to and from sessions of their choosing. (Delta Gamma, Boy Scouts, Calvary Lutheran youth groups)
Blind Task Force Membership/Vacancies/Updates – B Lenz
Current vacancies include 2 Student slots; 1 Principal slot; 1 Parent slot
Suggestions as to how we might go about filling these slots?
· Student issues related to transportation and participation (time from classroom)
· Word of mouth
· Nomination process (Form - https://dese.mo.gov/sites/default/files/btfnomform15.pdf)
· B Lenz has agreed to serve a second consecutive term and L Whitworth has agreed to serve a third consecutive term.
2018 Nominations/Election of Officers – B Lenz
· Chairperson
J Lenk made a motion to nominate B Lenz to serve as Chairperson for a second term – R Rippee seconded the motion – B Lenz accepted nomination and motion carried.
· Vice Chairperson
R Rippee made a motion to nominate L Whitworth to serve as Vice Chairperson for a second term – L Coccovizzo seconded the motion – L Whitworth accepted nomination and motion carried.
· Secretary
L Whitworth made a motion to nominate R Rippee to serve as Secretary for the 2018 term – J Lenk seconded the motion – R Rippee accepted nomination and motion carried.
2018 Meeting Dates/Location/Catering – B Lenz
· Meeting dates for the 2018 term are as follows:
o February 6
o May 1
o August 7
o November 6
· Location
o First preference: Regina will work with Ian Shadrick to secure Room 202 in the Howerton Building for the 2018 scheduled meetings.
o Second preference: If Room 202, Howerton Building is not available, members requested that Regina see if reserving Room 139 at the James C. Kirkpatrick Center on 600 W. Main in Jefferson City, MO is an option.
Current Workshops/Events in the State 2017-2018:
Nov. 7-9 VIISA Course I, Session I Serving Infants (Birth-2) with Vision Impairments in Center-based Settings, Hampton Inn & Suites, Chesterfield, Susan Bonner, Outreach Coordinator
Nov. 9 APH Products, 1 PM – 3 PM, Presenter: Yvonne Ali, Alpha pointe, Kansas City, contact: Julie Anderson-Ituarte
Nov. 15 Building Space for Active Learning, 9:00 a.m. - Noon, Missouri State University, 117 Park Central Square, Rm 112, Springfield, DJ Butcher, Blind Skills Specialist
Nov. 16 Building Space for Active Learning, 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM, Alpha pointe, Kansas City, Julie Anderson-Ituarte, Blind Skills Specialist
Jan. 10 Creating Literature for Children with CVI, 9:00 AM – Noon, Missouri State University, 117 Park Central Square, Rm 112, Springfield, DJ Butcher, Blind Skills Specialist
Jan. 18 Creating Literature for Children with CVI, 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM, Alpha pointe, Kansas City, Julie Anderson-Ituarte, Blind Skills Specialist
Jan. 23-24 Hand In Hand Session II: Understanding Deafblindness, Blue Springs School District, Susan Bonner, Outreach Coordinator, Missouri Deafblind Technical Assistance Project
Mar. 6 Effective Strategies to Implement with Students with Combined Vision and Hearing Loss and Multiple Disabilities for Connecting and Communicating with Other Persons, Stoney Creek Inn, Columbia, Susan Bonner, Outreach Coordinator
Mar. 6 Using Switch Device with iPad, 9:00 AM – Noon, Missouri State University, 117 Park Central Square, Rm 112, Springfield, DJ Butcher, Blind Skills Specialist
Mar. 8-10 Conference on the Young Years, Tan-Tar-A, Osage Beach, Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
Mar 21-23 VIISA Course I, Session II Serving Infants (Birth-2) with Vision Impairments in Center-based Settings, Hampton Inn & Suites, Chesterfield, Susan Bonner, Outreach Coordinator
Apr. 11-12 Hand In Hand Session III: Understanding Deafblindness, Blue Springs School District, Susan Bonner, Outreach Coordinator, Missouri Deafblind Technical Assistance Project