Family Voices Indiana

DEFINITION: Case Conference Committee (CCC) – The case conference committee (CCC) is the group of people including the parent(s) and school personnel, who share the responsibility of making educational decisions for a student with a suspected or identified disability. In the CCC meeting the parent(s) is an equal partner with the representative of the school. In the case where the student with a disability has attained adult legal status, the student will act on his/her own behalf thus assuming all of the functions and rights given to the parent(s).

The CCC must include: 

• A representative of the school (sometimes referred to as the public agency representative or PAR) who: 
o Knows about the school’s resources and has the authority to commit or expend them, 
o Knows about the general education curriculum, and 
o Can provide or supervise the provision of specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities; 

• The student’s teacher of record (TOR) or a teach…

Rachael Alaniz is one of our specialists residing in Yorktown. She will serve the Muncie area. She earned her Bachelors in Social Welfare from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her Masters in Public Administration and Masters in Social Work from Florida State University.  While her professional experience is in grants, legislative planning, and social program evaluation, Rachael chose to start a family and take on a new career as a stay-at-home mom when she and her husband, Kevin, moved to Indiana in 2008 for his job as a Professor of Finance and Insurance.   Rachael is the mother to two children with rare genetic conditions, Daisy and Aria.  Daisy is six years old and has a CASK gene mutation which affects her neurologically, opthalmologically, metabolically, and causes autism.   Daisy has received extensive intervention since birth ranging from OT, PT, SLP all the way through intensive ABA intervention and is now a mainstreamed kindergarten student receiving additional service…

Article 7 permits schools to implement a process known as comprehensive and coordinated early intervening services (CCEIS). Early intervening services are provided to students who have not been identified as needing special education and related services, but who need additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in the general education classroom. 

As part of early intervening services, many schools are utilizing a systematic process referred to as response to intervention (RtI). The RtI process utilizes screening and periodic monitoring of progress of all students. Through this process students identified as needing additional educational or behavioral assistance are provided help through interventions to support each student’s unique needs for success. Students who do not make adequate educational gains with the supports are provided more structured and intensive supports with progress monitoring. If students are still in need of support, a referral for special education eva…

DEFINITION: Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) – an evaluation conducted by a qualified professional who is not an employee of the school. If the parent(s) disagrees with the results of the school’s educational evaluation, the parent(s) may request an IEE at public expense. In this case, the school pays for the IEE or otherwise assures that it is at no cost to the parent(s). If the IEE is at public expense, the parent(s) is allowed only one IEE each time the school conducts an evaluation.

Should the parent(s) requests that the school pay for an IEE, the school must provide information about where the parent(s) can get an IEE for the student, as well as the school’s criteria for an IEE. The parent(s) may choose a different independent evaluator so long as the evaluator is qualified and meets the school’s criteria. The school may ask the parent(s) why an IEE is necessary, but the school may not delay its response to the parent(s) request if the parent(s) chooses not to answer the s…

from DDRS:

On June 13, 2016, the Indiana Family and Social Service Administration (FSSA) Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services (DDRS) intends to submit a proposed amendment to the Community Integration and Habilitation (CIH) Waiver and the Family Support Waiver (FSW) to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for consideration. 
The waiver amendments are available for review and public comment on the DDRS Draft Policies for Public Comment Web page. The amendments include information regarding provider rate increases. 
Pursuant to legislative mandate, Indiana House Enrolled Act 1001, effective July 1, 2015 - section 137, page 169, a 2.5 percent rate increase for providers, which may impact waiver participants’ overall amount of services, is scheduled for the following services: Family Supports Waiver:  Community Based Habilitation – Individual  Facility Based Habilitation – Individual  Respite Community Based Integration and Habilitation Waiver:  Community Ba…

The school must consider the potential need for reevaluation for each student receiving special services at least once every three (3) years. Because the CCC is responsible for ensuring that the student’s individualized education program (IEP) addresses his/her educational needs, the CCC should routinely review existing information and determine if additional information is required in order to continue to develop an appropriate IEP. In addition, a reevaluation may be requested to determine if the student is eligible for special education under a different or additional eligibility category or to inform the CCC of the student’s developing needs, like the need for assistive technology or a related service. 

The CCC may decide that a reevaluation is needed or the parent(s) or teacher may request a reevaluation. If the parent(s) requests a reevaluation, the request may be made verbally or in writing to licensed personnel. It is always a good idea for parents to put the request in writing.…

If the parent(s) meets with the school and disagrees with the educational evaluation there are a few options available. The parent(s) may explain to the school personnel the specific reason(s) for the disagreement. The parent(s) may also want to seek input from other professionals who know the student well or have worked with the student in the past. These discussions should occur in the CCC meeting so that all who are involved with or familiar with the student may provide input as well. Finally, the parent(s) may ask the school for an independent educational evaluation to be conducted at public expense

NOTE: Students suspected of having a specific learning disability cannot be found eligible for special education on the basis of a specific ‘point discrepancy’ between the student’s intellectual ability and classroom performance. To find a student eligible as a student with a specific learning disability, the CCC must review and consider data that, in addition to the documentation of ap…

The M-Team compiles the information into an evaluation report, and the school sends a written notice to the parent(s) that includes: 
• A summary of the evaluation results, 
• The school’s proposal on the student’s eligibility (at 511 IAC 7-42-4 it states the written notice must include a description of any action that may be proposed),
An explanation of the reasons for the school’s proposal. 

The school must prepare the written notice at least five (5) school days before the CCC meeting, in the event the parent(s) is requesting a copy be made available prior to meeting with the school. Although the written notice describes what the school proposes in regard to the student’s eligibility, the ultimate decision about the student’s eligibility is made by the student’s CCC.

 The final step in the educational evaluation process is the initial CCC meeting. The CCC reviews the evaluation results and other information, determines if the student is eligible, and if so, develops an individualized e…

A multidisciplinary team, sometimes called the M-Team, conducts the educational evaluation. This team is a group of qualified professionals that may include a general education teacher; a special education teacher; a school psychologist or speech language pathologist; or other qualified professional(s) based on the student’s unique needs or suspected disability. Parent(s) play an important role with the M-Team by providing input and information about the student. 

The M-Team reviews existing information, identifies the suspected disability or disabilities for which the student should be evaluated, and determines what, if any, additional information is needed to help the CCC determine whether the student is eligible for special education services. After this review, if additional data is needed to make an eligibility determination, the M-Team gathers the additional information identified. This process may include administering tests, conducting observations, and collecting information f…