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Early Childhood Special Education Transition Series

Includes:

Child Find

3-year-old program services

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Tidbits

Transition Part C to Part B is one of the layers of child find.
Child Find outside Transition C to B
No changes with special education requirements even with the addition of ECECD standards, professional learning, etc. We operate using IDEA and NMAC
Special Education is not a stand-alone program. Our children are general education students first and foremost. We work in conjunction with general education staff, curriculum, standards…..

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Child Find

It is not an event…..

Year round: continuous

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Child Find and Early Identification

A legal requirement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for both Part C early intervention programs and Part B programs.

States and jurisdictions must actively identify, locate and evaluate children as early as possible children birth to twenty-one who may have disabilities or suspected to have disabilities, as early as possible, see timelines for evaluation.

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Federal Guidelines

§ 300.111 Child find.
(a) General.
(1) The State must have in effect policies and procedures to ensure that -
(i) All children with disabilities residing in the State, including children with disabilities who are homeless children or are wards of the State, and children with disabilities attending private schools, regardless of the severity of their disability, and who are in need of special education and related services, are identified, located, and evaluated; and
(ii) A practical method is developed and implemented to determine which children are currently receiving needed special education and related services.

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Screening�

Under Part C, screening is conducted using appropriate instruments, administered by trained personnel, by the lead agency or an early intervention program (FIT).
The Initial (CME) Evaluation requires parental notice and consent, must be performed within the 45-day timeline, and, at a parent's request and with consent, will begin and the EI program must conduct an initial evaluation of the infant or toddler even if the results of the screening do not identify the child as suspected of having a disability. NM
Under Part B, screening may be conducted as part of child find activities in order to ascertain whether the child should be referred for an evaluation to determine if the child has a disability and needs special education AND related services.
For Transition Part C to Part B, children go directly to the Part B eligibility and determination process (evaluation, if more information if needed).

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See the Initial Comprehensive Evaluation for Part B section in the Transition Guidance Document

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§ 300.8 Child with a disability.

(a) General -
(1) Child with a disability means a child evaluated in accordance with §§ 300.304 through 300.311 as having an intellectual disability, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment (including blindness), a serious emotional disturbance (referred to in this part as “emotional disturbance”), an orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, an other health impairment, a specific learning disability, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities, and who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services.
(2)

(i) Subject to paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of this section, if it is determined, through an appropriate evaluation under §§ 300.304 through 300.311, that a child has one of the disabilities identified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, but only needs a related service and not special education, the child is not a child with a disability under this part.
(ii) If, consistent with § 300.39(a)(2), the related service required by the child is considered special education rather than a related service under State standards, the child would be determined to be a child with a disability under paragraph (a)(1) of this section.
(b) Children aged three through nine experiencing developmental delays. Child with a disability for children aged three through nine (or any subset of that age range, including ages three through five), may, subject to the conditions described in § 300.111(b), include a child -
(1) Who is experiencing developmental delays, as defined by the State and as measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures, in one or more of the following areas: Physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development; and
(2) Who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services.

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(3) Specially designed instruction means adapting, as appropriate to the needs of an eligible child under this part, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction -

(i) To address the unique needs of the child that result from the child's disability; and

(ii) To ensure access of the child to the general curriculum, so that the child can meet the educational standards within the jurisdiction of the public agency that apply to all children.

The eligibility category of Developmental Delay (DD) can only be used by LEA personnel for children who do not qualify for special education under any other disability category following the initial comprehensive evaluation. Being classified as DD will not, in itself, qualify a child for special education; it must be documented that being developmentally delayed adversely affects educational performance. To be eligible for special education and related services under this category, a child must have a documented disability and require specially designed instruction. As a result of the disability, there must be an adverse effect on the child’s educational performance to the degree that the child requires special education and related services.

22) Can a child be determined to have a developmental delay if the only area of need is in the physical development, which may be delays in fine and/or gross motor? Discussion Yes. A child must be eligible as having developmental delay that adversely affects educational performance and as a result of that disability requires special education and related services. If the child does not require special education services, and only requires a related service by an occupational therapist or physical therapist, then the child is not considered to have a disability, and, thus, is not eligible to receive special education services.

Special education services for a child with a developmental delay in the area of physical development may include instruction in the development of age-appropriate skills such as being able to navigate the educational environment and completing everyday tasks, such as getting dressed, completing puzzles, and grasping objects, including writing and using utensils.

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Three-year-old children �

Once the child meets prong one and prong 2, ages 3-21, they have all rights that the special education student is entitled and then the IEP would determine the LRE, service time and services.

If an IEP team gives less than full day, full week, it must be documented in the IEP why the team determined LRE, service time, and services that is not full-time program or what general education offers.

If you have abbreviated day or week, this must be documented in the IEP and PWN. It cannot be because the LEA or Charter school does not have the staffing. Remember we have to offer the number of hours the general education student gets.

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Transition �Part C to Part B

A MOU is required and should outline the early childhood transition process in detail for both Part C and Part B to ensure that children and their families have a smooth transition process and that FAPE will be provided to children entering the Part B program. The MOU should address specific procedures at the local level in order to promote a smooth and effective transition for the children and their families. The MOU should be reviewed, and revised as necessary, at least annually. Developing an MOU is a process of ongoing meeting and dialogue between partners to gain an understanding of the requirements each partner is obligated to meet, the internal procedures each agency follows to meet those requirements, and the agreement each partner makes to support efforts to have a smooth and effective transition experience for each child and family. The MOU Work Sheet (see Appendix K) is a tool available to support teams to develop a community MOU that will meet the unique needs of their team and partners.

MOUs must be signed by stakeholders only. Stakeholders include LEAs (ensure all LEAs are included), Part C providers, and agencies providing services (to include Regional Education Cooperatives (RECs), NMSBVI and the NMSD. Parent advocacy groups and other partners are encouraged, but are not required to sign the MOU.

The LEAs submitting their annual IDEA Part B funding applications will be required to adhere to the following: 1. LEAs must meet assurances annually. 2. LEAs must submit any revisions to their MOU with their annual IDEA B funding applications. 3. MOUs will continue to be tied to LEA funding. 4. Changes to the MOU will require an addendum signed by the LEA, Part C providers and any other agency providing services. 5. LEAs must submit the four-year revision of their MOU as part of their IDEA Part B funding application.

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Only potentially eligible children will be transitioned to an LEA for an evaluation determination process. A parent can request their child’s information be sent to the LEA for evaluation,

The Family, Infant, and Toddler (FIT) will support families to find all potential programs they may qualify for.

ECECD

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Resources

Community Based Transition Teams

Transition-Team-Coaches-10_2022.pdf

Transition Steering Committee Members

CURRENT-membership-steeringcommittee-1.doc

Parent Choice�Brochure: Transition Options Part C to Part B

CtoB_IncformationalBrohure-FINAL.pdf

Parent Choice Brochure Insert: Transition Options Part C to Part B

CtoB_Options-INSERT.docx

Transition Team Tool Kit

transition-team-tool-kit-2020.pdf

Transition Team Tip Sheet

EarlyChildhoodTransitionTeamTipSheetWJ.pdf

Transition Planning Tip Sheet

EarlyChildhoodTransitionPlanningTipSheetwj1.pdf

Transition MOU Tip Sheet

earlychildhoodtransitionmoutipsheetwj.pdf

Transition Conference Tip Sheet

EarlyChildhoodTransitionConferenceTipSheetwj.pdf

Timeline of Steps for Early Childhood Transition

timeline-of-steps-for-ec-transition.pdf

Frequently Used Acronyms

FrequentlyUsedAcronyms.pdf

FAQs Steering Committee Parent Representative

faqs-parent-rep-nm-transition-steering-committee.pdf

Transition Initiative Org Chart

transitionalInitiativeOrgChartwj.pdf

Transition Partnership Tip Sheet

partnershipTipwj.pdf

Explanation of Transition Teams

explanationofearlychildhoodtransitionstermstipsheet5wj.pdf

UNM CDD: Autism Briefs

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The purpose of this guidance document is to provide clarifying information on steps in the transition process that relate to initial evaluation and eligibility determination practices for the transition of young children and their families from Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C Early Intervention into IDEA Part B special education preschool services. This guidance is meant to assist the New Mexico Family Infant Toddler (FIT) Program and New Mexico Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) to facilitate smooth and effective transitions for eligible families and children. New Mexico will measure the success of transition for children and their families through the IDEA performance measures as outlined in the State Performance Plans (SPP) for the Public Education Department, Special Education Bureau (PED-SEB) and FIT agencies. It should be noted that transition planning occurs with parent(s) of ALL children to ensure a smooth transition from the FIT program to preschool or other settings. FIT family service coordinators must follow the same transition requirements and timelines for children transitioning to other early care and learning settings, including Head Start

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What are the planning activities that need to occur by FIT Providers and LEA staff prior to the transition conference?

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Plan ahead for summer birthdays

Coordinate among parents, FIT, LEA on conference date.

The family service coordinator will work with the family; the IFSP team, which includes parent(s) and two or more individuals from separate disciplines or professions, one of whom must be the family service coordinator; LEA representative(s); and other key providers to determine a date for the transition conference (must be at least 90 days prior to the child’s third birthday and no more than 9 months prior) that will work for everyone, and the family will receive prior written notice of the transition conference.

Provide written invitation to transition conference to LEA and all parties.

With parental consent, the family service coordinator will send a written invitation to the LEA at least 30 days prior to the transition conference (Appendix D) and any other potential preschool providers with the details about the conference (e.g., Head Start, Home Visiting, tribal entities, early care providers, NMSBVI, and NMSD).

To support the use of Part C information in determining Part B eligibility, the FIT Transition Assessment Summary Form (Appendix C) will be completed by the child’s FIT team. The FIT team is encouraged to update the Infant-Toddler Developmental Assessment (IDA) information, including scores from the IDA and using Table 5 to determine if the child has at least a 30% delay. It is important that ALL attachments to the form include the child’s current IFSP, most recent ECO, and any current pertinent assessment information, including present levels of development in all areas/evaluation reports, ECEP report (if applicable), and other information that may support a Part B eligibility determination. Once the form is completed and attachments are gathered, parental consent will be obtained, and all will be sent to the LEA at least 30 days prior to the transition conference. Only information that originates with the FIT Program shall be sent. Assessment information is defined by FIT as current if it is within 6 months of the transition conference. Information should be as current to the date of completion of the Transition Assessment Summary Form as possible and can include information from the IDA, domain specific tools, and/or ongoing assessment tools, whichever is most current. FIT assessment tools may include: - The IDA - The HELP - The AEPS - The Oregon (for children with Visual Impairments)

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7.30.8.13 G. Transition conference

The transition conference shall:
(1) be held with the approval of the parent(s);
(2) be held at least 90 days and no more than nine months prior to the child’s third birthday;
(3) meet the IFSP meeting attendance requirements of this rule;
(4) take place in a setting and at a time that is convenient to the family;
5) be conducted in the native language of the family, or other mode of communication used by the family, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so;
(6) with permission of the parent(s), include other early childhood providers (Early Head Start/Head Start, childcare, private preschools, New Mexico School for the Deaf, New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, etc.).

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6.31.2.11 A. (3) (b)

The Part B eligibility determination team shall review current assessments and shall determine the additional data and assessments needed for the comprehensive evaluation.

Current assessments are defined as assessments, other than medical assessments, conducted no more than six months prior to the date of the meeting of the Part B eligibility determination team.

If the child’s third birthday falls within the summer months, transition activities need to occur early enough to allow sufficient time for all transition activities to take place so that the LEA is prepared to provide Part B needed special education and related services.

The transition team participants may need to consider meeting earlier in order to meet all timelines. Consideration needs to be made for family scheduling and availability for all activities.

Transition activities include referral to the LEA (60 days prior to the transition conference)

coordinating the transition conference, including
sending a written invitation and the Transition Assessment Summary Form to the LEA (at least 30 days prior to the transition conference),
the transition conference (at least 90 days prior to the third birthday, not more than 9 months prior),
and the Initial Evaluation for Part B (within 60 days of parental consent and prior to the child’s third birthday).

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The FIT program is legally responsible for convening the transition conference.

It is the responsibility of the family service coordinator to send a written invitation to the LEA representative to attend the transition conference (at least 30 days prior to the conference) with the approval of the parent(s).

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It is the legal responsibility of the LEA representative to participate in the transition conference if it is determined that the child may be potentially eligible for Part B services. Again, if the parent requests to see if their child is eligible, the LEA must attend this conference.

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LEA RESPONSIBILITY

The LEA is responsible for obtaining written informed written parental consent and conducting the evaluation within 60 days.

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The initial comprehensive evaluation process will be conducted in all areas of suspected disability. The purpose of the initial comprehensive evaluation is to determine if the child is a child with a disability and if the child requires special education and related services to benefit from the education program. Prior to conducting evaluations to determine eligibility, the LEA team must review any existing data, including evaluations and information provided by parents and the ‘FIT Program, assessments, and teacher observations.

As part of the Part B evaluation procedures, the team must use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather functional and developmental information about the child, including information from the parents and information related to enabling the child to be involved, and progress, in age-appropriate activities. Other factors to consider are health, vision, hearing, social emotional development, academic readiness, cognitive, communication, adaptive behavior and physical development. The LEA may consider the assessments that the FIT Providers have provided, including the information provided on the Transition Assessment Summary Form and attachments. Specific evaluations considered necessary for determining eligibility but not available from the FIT Provider are the responsibility of the LEA to complete, including hearing and vision.

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EDT and IEP

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Eligibility is determined after the initial evaluation procedures are complete, including the careful review of existing evaluation and assessment information, observations, and input from the parents. (Appendix G) A team of qualified professionals, including the parents, determines whether the child meets the New Mexico Part B eligibility requirements. The LEA may choose to use the state-recommended Eligibility Determination Worksheet in the NM TEAM. The LEA must, at no cost to the parent, provide a copy of the evaluation report and the documentation of the child’s eligibility at the meeting. With parent consent, documentation of the eligibility determination for Part B will also be sent to the referring FIT provider. LEAs will document parent consent in prior written notice.

The eligibility category of Developmental Delay (DD) can only be used by LEA personnel for children who do not qualify for special education under any other disability category following the initial comprehensive evaluation. Being classified as DD will not, in itself, qualify a child for special education; it must be documented that being developmentally delayed adversely affects educational performance. To be eligible for special education and related services under this category, a child must have a documented disability and require specially designed instruction. As a result of the disability, there must be an adverse effect on the child’s educational performance to the degree that the child requires special education and related services .Since the NMAC statutory changes in 2009, 31 it is no longer possible for a child to be eligible under this category solely based on professional judgment. If a district has opted to use Developmental Delay2, then a group of qualified individuals is required to review all data collected through the initial comprehensive evaluation to determine if the child is a child with developmental delays in at least one of five areas in accordance with the NM Administrative Code for Part B: communication development, cognitive development, physical development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. It is important to consider developmentally appropriate skill levels and behaviors for the child’s age level. For clarification of the five recommended areas, a checklist is available in the NM TEAM. (See NMAC definition below and NM TEAM)

The initial IEP meeting for a preschool child with a disability must occur within 30 calendar days from the determination that the child is a child with a disability and eligible for special education and related services. For the child transitioning from the FIT Program, an invitation to the initial IEP team meeting must, at the request of the parent, be sent to the FIT family service coordinator or other representatives of the FIT system to assist with the smooth transition of services. This occurs through the parental notice required prior to the IEP meeting. The notice includes, but is not limited to, information about time, location and purpose of the meeting, and that the parents may invite the Part C family service coordinator or other representatives of the Part C system to the initial IEP team meeting. The IEP team is required to consider the content of the of the child’s IFSP when developing the child’s first IEP.

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NMAC 6.31.2.11 (A) (3)

To ensure effective transitioning from IDEA Part C programs to IDEA Part B programs,

each public agency must conduct a full and individual initial comprehensive evaluation, at no cost to the parent, and in compliance with requirements of 34 CFR Secs. 300.300, 300.301, 300.302, 300.304 and 300.305, and other department rules and standards, before the initial provision of Part B special education and related services to a child with a disability.
(a) The initial comprehensive evaluation process shall be conducted in all areas of suspected disability.

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Be prepared at the conference to obtain third party information: Permission to obtain medical information consent form and any other evaluations.

Evaluation teams are required to follow the NM TEAM to guide their efforts. The NM TEAM includes specifics on what comprises an initial comprehensive evaluation in each of the eligibility categories as well as Initial Evaluation Eligibility Worksheets that are provided to assist LEAs as they work through the initial evaluation eligibility process.

As a part of the initial comprehensive evaluation, a group of qualified professionals must review existing evaluation data on the child including:

 Any evaluations, assessments, and information provided by the parents and

 Information provided by FIT, including the Transition Assessment Summary Form and accompanying documentation that will include information gathered through the use of assessment tools, parent interviews, and observational information.

The LEA must review existing evaluation data, completed within six months of the consent for evaluation, as part of the initial evaluation.. The LEA is required to draw information from a variety of sources such as parent input and teacher recommendations as well as information about the child’s physical condition, social or cultural background, and adaptive behavior.

This may include existing IDEA Part C assessment data conducted within six months. Part C programs have substantial, pertinent information, both qualitative and quantitative, if it has been collected within six months of consent for Part B evaluation.

However, IDEA Part C data cannot be the sole source for determining eligibility for IDEA Part B services. No single measure or assessment can be the sole criterion for determining whether a child is a child with a disability or for determining an appropriate educational program for the child. Information provided by the parents of the child and observations by service providers are other sources of information that may support a determination that the child is a child with a disability and the educational needs of the child. NM TEAM page 30.

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Late Referrals

What should occur with late referrals (i.e., children referred to the FIT program within 90 days of their 3rd birthday)?

For children referred to the FIT program fewer than 45 days before the child’s third birthday, the early intervention provider agency will not conduct intake or an evaluation to determine FIT eligibility.
The FIT program will let the family know of preschool options available in the community, e.g., preschool special education, Head Start, private preschools, etc., and will assist with a referral to the LEA with the consent of the parent(s).

If the child is referred to the FIT Program between 45 and 90 days of the child’s third birthday and, therefore, the transition conference cannot be held at least 90 days before the child’s third birthday, the family service coordinator will discuss the process for transition with the family during the intake process and the transition plan will be incorporated into the initial IFSP. If the child is determined eligible under “Established Condition” or “Developmental Delay,” a referral must be sent to the LEA, with parental consent, as soon as possible.

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the family service coordinator will discuss the process for transition with the family during the intake process and the transition plan will be incorporated into the initial IFSP. If the child is determined eligible under “Established Condition” or “Developmental Delay,” a referral must be sent to the LEA, with parental consent, as soon as possible.

If the FIT provider determines that the child is potentially eligible for Part B services, the referral may be made prior to FIT eligibility determination and the development of an IFSP and transition plan, again with the parent’s consent. The family service coordinator should check the box 9“0 day timeline for this meeting cannot be met due to child not being enrolled in the FIT Program at that time” on the Transition Referral Form. LEA staff is required to document the date of a late referral in the STARS database and the corresponding noncompliance reason code.

The FIT provider and the LEA need to work together to establish arrangements regarding who in the LEA will be receiving referrals and other information through the summer months and specific dates when LEA personnel will be available. The FIT provider is responsible for meeting all timelines for Part C and will follow the transition process in working with the family. It is important that the family be given resources and understand the Part B evaluation process, Part B procedural safeguards, the IEP process, and how to follow up with the LEA. The family service coordinator will contact the LEA representative at the beginning of the school year to confirm receipt of FIT information, debrief on the current status, and support all efforts of determining Part B eligibility and, for the child who is Part B eligible, begin school as early as possible. The child shall transition from the FIT program when he or she turns three years old.

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§ 300.1 Purposes.
The purposes of this part are -
(a) To ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living;
(b) To ensure that the rights of children with disabilities and their parents are protected;
(c) To assist States, localities, educational service agencies, and Federal agencies to provide for the education of all children with disabilities; and
(d) To assess and ensure the effectiveness of efforts to educate children with disabilities.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1400(d))

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Basic Timeline

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IEP on or before 3rdbirthday

Initial Evaluation: 60 days of Parent Consent

LEA be prepared TC: REED, Informed Parent Consent, Permission to Obtain third party records, Parent Right

Invitation to TC no less than 30 days w/all documents to LEA

Transition Conference

No less than 90 days to 3^rd birthday No more than 9 months

Notification: Data on potentially eligible children sent to LEA. Local level data shared

See late referral information in the guidance document.

PED and ECECD MOU data shared to check dates reported from

Notifications: Some districts notify on a monthly basis and the providers work closely teaming to support each other in timeliness. Building those relationships are critical.

Remember the law allows up to 9 months prior to 3^rd birthday. The summer planning is a great time to ensure all evaluations are done and you do not get yourself into corrective action for missed deadlines. We know well that last minute and a family or school crisis can crop up and the timeline is missed.

Please call your FIT community agency if you are not getting things in a timely manner. Work as a team and even have more frequent meetings to support one another. Refer to the MOU the transition teams have developed for the agency agreements and if needed during your transition team meetings, update the MOU with new agreements if solutions are needed.

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Reminders:

Educational Impact:

In Preschool we are determining how the disability affects the child’s participation in age-appropriate activities.

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Questions/Discussions

Contact:

Catherine Quick

Early Childhood Special Education (619) Program Coordinator

Catherine.Quick@ped.nm.gov

CELL: (505) 470-9013

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