On December 11, 2017, the Part B 619 Advisory Committee, which discussed the proposed transition of special education and related services for children ages 3 to 5 from Child Development Services to the public schools, held its final meeting. Over the course of the Committee’s six meetings, multiple issues related to the proposed transition were identified and discussed. The final product of the Committee’s work is a list of recommendations, for the Commissioner’s consideration, which focus on funding, staffing, facilities, and regionalization opportunities.

A complete list of the Committee’s recommendations can be found at: http://www.maine.gov/doe/cds/guidance/documents/PartB619AdvisoryCommitteeRecommendations-Final.pdf

Any questions regarding the recommendations may be sent to the Child Development Services State Director, Roy Fowler, at roy.fowler@maine.gov

In 2015, the federal Office of Special Education (OSEP) required the Maine Department of Education-Office of Special Services to revise its policies and procedures for excess cost determinations and for allocating federal funds consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

OSEP also required that the Maine Department of Education notify grant sub-recipients of the revisions under Criteria 1.1 and 2.2 of OSEP’s fiscal monitoring letter dated, October 27, 2015. The Maine Department of Education is hereby notifying all grant sub-recipients of the revisions as follows:

Criterion 1.1

1. Child Development Services (CDS) received the correct sub-grant a local educational agency (LEA) in Federal fiscal years (FFYs) 2014 and 2015 under section 611 and section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); and
2. Allocations under IDEA 611 to eligible LEAs, including CDS, are consistent with 34 CFR
3. §300.705(a).

Criterion 2.2

LEAs comply with the excess cost requirements in 34 CFR §300.16, 300.202(a)(2) and (b), and Appendix A to 34 CFR Part 300.

• Procedures to allocate the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act-Part B, sections 611-619 sub grants to eligible LEAs based upon the corrected formula;
• Procedures to ensure that LEAs use IDEA funds only to pay the excess costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities.

The Maine Department of Education is hereby notifying all LEAs that the Office of Special Services’ policies and procedures in these two areas are in compliance with federal requirements. No further action by the Maine Department of Education or Local Education Agencies is required. The link to OSEP’s letter of compliance can be found here:

http://www.maine.gov/doe/specialed/support/fiscal/documents/OSEPFindingsComplianceLetterDec2017.pdf

Questions may be directed to Janice E. Breton, State Director of Special Services, Birth – 20 at Janice.Breton@maine.gov.

The Maine Department of Education’s Office of Special Education would like to remind special educators about the provision of specially designed instruction on IEPs.  

 When students are out of school because of discipline, an abbreviated school day, or medical reasons, tutoring may be provided as a short-term measure to ensure that students receive instruction. Tutoring is not specially designed instruction.  

Schools should make every effort, including re-entry plans and proposals for definitive placements, to ensure that students with disabilities are enrolled and attending school. The IEP must be revised to add tutorial instruction.  

For more information view Maine Unified Special Education Regulation (MUSER) or contact Maine Department of Special Services Director, Jan Breton at Janice.breton@maine.gov . (207) 624-6676.

The Maine Department of Education’s Office of Special Services would like to request Directors of Special Education and other school personnel to check the information in the Department’s data system, NEO, to ensure that special education teachers are correctly coded in the system. Please check to see that:

• There are no missing codes.
• The coding for each teacher is correct.
• Teachers who were granted a one-year extension for certificates expiring on July 1, 2017 per Commissioner Hasson’s priority notice dated May 5, 2017 should not be coded as having a waiver.
• Special education teachers who teach children with a number of disabilities should not be coded as teachers of children with Multiple Disabilities unless the students are coded with that disability.
• Educational technicians should not be coded as special education teachers or teachers.

This is an important correction for SAUs to make since we are trying to determine capacity needed to address the alternate pathways requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and Maine’s newly revised certification rule, Chapter 115 which became effective on August 12, 2017.

Log in processes to NEO can be found at the following link: https://neo.maine.gov/DOE/NEO/Accounts/Account/Login?ReturnUrl=%2fDOE%2fneo%2fAccounts%2fHome%2fHome.

For questions about logging into NEO, contact the Maine DOE Help Desk at MEDMS.Helpdesk@maine.gov or 207-624-6896.

Child Development Services (CDS) is currently responsible for the state-wide administration of special education services for children with disabilities who are birth to 5 years (or in the school age range) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Recently, the Department of Education has developed a new model for providing these services, the intent of which is to move the provision of children with disabilities ages 3 years to school age range from current State run programming to the public schools systems. Under this model, all aspects of special education services for this age group would become the responsibility of the local district. This includes case management, child find, evaluation, eligibility determination, IEP development, and the provision of special education and related services.

The impetus for this change is to transform the current model to better address the needs of children with disabilities by decreasing their transitions between programs at an early age, providing more frequent, appropriate and timely services closer to home, and introducing an earlier integration into their local schools.

At this point in time, Maine is one of the only states in which the public school does not assume responsibility for eligible children upon their 3^rd birthday.

Under the current model, flat state funding, rising costs in special education and inadequate management of resources have caused not only a multimillion dollar deficit within the CDS program, but also a shortage in state level special education service which has impacted hundreds of Maine children who are currently not receiving the services they need.

Also under the current model, children and families experience two transitions within the State’s CDS program: the first from CDS’ early Intervention program to CDS’ program for children ages 3 to 5/school age range, and then another transition to the public school system. Under the legislation, children and families would experience only one transition – from CDS’ early intervention program to the public school system. Also, unlike the current model, eligible children will have the opportunity to attend their local, neighborhood school rather than being transported, sometimes significant distances, to attend out-of-district, center-based programs.

The transformation is anticipated to address these issues by providing earlier integration into local districts, and by better use of resources already in place within districts, including existing district-employed special education teachers, therapists, human resource and finance staff, and transportation infrastructure.

The Department recognizes that the proposed transition presents a significant paradigm shift, and that there is a need for a measured, tiered implementation, as well as ongoing fiscal and technical support including direct state funding to local districts.

As part of a working plan to create a smooth transition for local districts, the Department is currently working with one district that is planning to pilot a program that will offer special education services for children ages 3 to school age in their district. A number of other districts have approached the Department eager to take on the responsibility as well. The transition process is expected to take a couple of years.

Department is gathering questions and information from local districts and other stakeholders. Further communications will be available to help answer to frequently asked questions and this information will be used to help inform the process. In addition, a stakeholder group, including district leaders and parents will be formed to advise the proposed legislation and transition plan.

The proposal will be reflected in proposed departmental legislation submitted for the Legislature’s consideration during the 2018 short session.

While this proposed transition may present some initial challenges, the Department is confident that it is ultimately in the best interest of Maine’s children with disabilities.

For more information contact Roy Fowler, CDS State Director for the Maine Department of Education at Roy.Fowler@maine.gov.

For those interested, there is a unique opportunity for schools to receive a free research-based curriculum regarding transition services to students with emotional disabilities.  This curriculum is being offered by the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition and UMass Medical School. Participating schools will receive a stipend for utilizing and evaluating the program. 

More detailed information about this opportunity click on this link to download an information sheet: http://www.maine.gov/doe/specialed/support/technical/documents/TransitionCurriculaInfoSheetfromNTACT.docx or contact Roberta Lucas, Maine DOE Federal Program Coordinator at Roberta.Lucas@maine.gov.

The Maine Department of Education is notifying educators, parents and others about a new resource, Five Questions Parents and Educators Can Ask to Start Conversations About Using Terms like Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, and Dysgraphia that might be especially useful for those who talk with parents about children with specific learning disabilities.

This resource is designed to help with terms used in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to describe children who have a disability in reading, writing, or math – also sometimes referred to as dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia.  The guidance might assist parents and educators when discussing eligibility for special education services.

For more information, contact Janice E. Breton, Director of Special Services Birth – 20, Maine Department of Education  janice.breton@maine.gov.