The Exceptional Student Services Unit (ESSU) of the Colorado Department of Education serves students with exceptional educational needs. This monthly e-newsletter is sent to administrators, educators and support staff throughout Colorado. To access a calendar of upcoming events, training sessions and other important dates, click here.
In this email:
Recent News
CDE to search for vendor for Statewide IEP and Data Management System
The Colorado Department of Education has two years remaining in its contract with Frontline, the vendor for both Enrich Statewide IEP, and the Data Management System. The department plans to renew the Frontline contract for each of the remaining years on the contract that expires June 30, 2021.
Because the current contract with Frontline expires June 30, 2021, and cannot be renewed beyond that date, CDE is legally required to conduct a solicitation to find a vendor for beyond June 2021. Soon CDE will begin formally gathering information from vendors about technologies, pricing, system functionalities and services currently available for an online IEP and data management system. This information will be used in drafting a Request for Proposal (RFP) solicitation. The department will also reach out to some Administrative Unit (AU) representatives to serve on the evaluation committee to help select a vendor. The selected vendor will be the one whose proposal is most advantageous to the state, taking into consideration the price and the evaluation factors set forth in the RFP.
CDE is aware that numerous vendors with capabilities to provide the types of services requested will be able to submit a proposal based on the RFP. As we work through this process over the next two years, ESSU remains committed to providing the option of a Statewide IEP and secure Data Management System to the AUs of Colorado and will include transition support as part of the RFP to ensure a supported process into a new system that impacts so many educators across the state.
If you have questions, please reach out to Toby King at 303.866.6964 or king_t@cde.state.co.us or Heidi Derr at 303.866.6109 directly derr_h@cde.state.co.us.
Information on Post-School Outcome data collection process - Indicator 14
Post-School Outcome individual student records will be in the Data Management System Friday, May 31.
Office hours are scheduled from 11 to noon on Wednesday, May 22, for a Q&A session regarding this year’s post-school outcome data collection process. Click here to participate.
Access information regarding the Post-School Outcome interview timeline and access resources here.
Access the new 2019 Post-School Outcome Interview protocol from this link.
Here are the new competitive employment definitions to be used for the upcoming post-school outcome data collection.
Recruitment options for speech-language pathologists or assistants
If you anticipate having open positions for speech-language pathologist or speech–language pathology assistant for the coming school year and want to be added to the listserv to receive notices about potential candidates, please email Tami Cassel at cassel_t@cde.state.co.us and ask to be added to the SLP list.
If you want to post positions in the employment and recruitment section of the SLI webpage with CDE, email Amanda Nieser at nieser_a@cde.state.co.us and ask for the link to post a school-based SLP or SLPA position.
Preschool Outcomes Data Quality Profiles
Data quality profiles for each Administrative Unit’s 2017-18 Preschool Outcomes (Indicator 7) results are posted in the ESSU Data Management System. These profiles allow for a deeper dive into multi-year trends as well as the entry/exit scores and progress categories that comprise the overall summary statements. To find your AU’s profile, navigate to the attachments area and look for “2017-18 Ind7 Descriptive Statistics and Data Quality.”
Julia Wigert moving to CU Denver
Julia Wigert, a school psychology specialist at ESSU, announced she will be moving to the University of Colorado at Denver’s School of Public Health in the role of program manager for Project ECHO.
Wigert said she is proud and thankful to have served the state of Colorado in an organization that supports school mental health and school psychology. She also feels fortunate to have worked on behalf of diverse stakeholders across the state. Meanwhile, she remains involved in leadership at the state level as president of the Colorado Society of School Psychologists (CSSP). Her last day is today, May 10. If you would like to stay in touch with her, she can be contacted through her LinkedIn account.
Training and Professional Development
Anxiety and depression training June 18
CDE, the Colorado Society of School Psychologists and the University of Denver are partnering for this year’s annual Colorado Society of School Psychologists (CSSP) Summer Institute on June 18 titled "Anxiety, Depression, and Our Students: Advocacy through Assessment, Interventions, and an Ecological Systems Lens!"
This workshop for school psychologists and school mental health providers presented by Dr. Barbara Gueldner will cover signs of internalizing problems such as anxiety and depression that often go undetected, yet impact our students, including those with disabilities, at a relatively high rate of occurrence. For more information and registration, please visit the CSSP website Contact Londi Segler at segler_l@cde.state.co.us with questions.
Educational Surrogate Parent workshops on May 7 and 28
These workshops are designed to provide an understanding of the principles of an IEP for a student receiving special education services under IDEA. Facilitated by PEAK Parent Center and CDE, participants will learn about the requirement for the assignment of an Educational Surrogate Parent (ESP) for students in need and an understanding of the special education process.
Learn about how you can be involved, what to expect in the IEP process, and how to participate in the educational planning for a student. Intended audience is anyone who is interested in learning about or becoming an ESP. Each workshop will be held at from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both days at CDE's offices at 1560 Broadway in Denver.
Please register for a training by clicking on the following links:
May 7 -http://bit.ly/IEPmay7
May 28 -http://bit.ly/IEPmay28
Summer PD webinar about overcoming reading difficulties
A free on-demand webinar is being offered through CDE's Learning Management System centered on David Kilpatrick’s book, Assessing, Preventing and Overcoming Reading Difficulties. Access the CDE Moodle site and sign in as a guest. Follow this link for more information and a link to the course. Contact Veronica Fiedler with questions at fiedler_v@cde.state.co.us.
Support for district leaders supervising deaf and hard of hearing programs
Do you oversee deaf and hard of hearing programming in your district? Would you be interested in knowing how other leaders throughout the state are supporting students with this low incident/high cost disability? Starting in August Shauna Moden, the principal D/HH consultant for CDE, will host four meetings through the school year to help support leaders in the area of managing deaf education programming. This will be an opportunity to learn about different resources, take a deeper dive into the NASDSE’s guidelines for deaf education, get advice from colleagues who are experiencing similar barriers, gain knowledge about perceived barriers throughout the state and be a part of a community that will improve educational outcomes for students. If you are interested in joining this group please fill out this Google form and Shauna will be in contact with you over the summer.
Summer institute on deaf-blindness and significant support needs
The 2019 Summer Institute on Deaf-Blindness and Significant Support Needs will be held in Denver on June 19-20. The focus will be on “Responding to Challenging Behavior: Developing Meaningful and Functional Strategies.” Click here for the registration link. For more information, please contact Tanni Anthony at (303) 866-6681 or anthony_t@cde.state.co.us.
Special Education Director Leadership Academy with Judy Elliott
Join this summer's Special Education Directors Leadership Academy in Vail July 17-19 led by Dr. Judy Elliott, who will focus on how to create consensus to build infrastructures necessary necessary for successful implementation of data driven instructional practices. Participants will explore, share and problem solve real-life examples and experiences of what these practices look like in action. Registration materials will be coming soon.
Deadlines
June 1- Deadline for completing all record reviews: Early Childhood, School-Age, and Transition-Age
June 1 - Indicator 13: Secondary Transition File Reviews – data window closes. Please review the 2018-2019 Indicator 13 Checklist for File Reviews and Data Submission for completing the reviews.
Preschool Outcomes Certification - Certification forms for Preschool Outcomes (Indicator 7) will be posted to the ESSU Data Management System (DMS) in late May. OSEP exits and Preschool Outcomes certifications are due by July 15. Click here for more information. Note that some school districts and programs may still be completing OSEP exits into June. Please connect with your preschool counterparts to see when they expect to be done. If they need more time after the late-May preliminary snapshot, contact Nicholas Ortiz 303-866-3368 or ortiz_n@cde.state.co.us for help reposting the certification form with the latest numbers.
2019-20 Results Matter Assessment Checkpoint Calendar - The 2019-20 assessment checkpoint schedule for Results Matter has been released. The deadlines are Oct. 25 for the fall; Feb. 7, 2020, for the winter; May 15, 2020, for the spring; and Aug. 14, 2020, for the summer, which is optional. Click here to download a PDF copy. Note the additional detail on Page 2 clarifying what to do when children enter mid-checkpoint and other attendance issues.
May:
- 13, 2019-20 Federal Application Narrative Window open.
- 20, 2019-20 Federal Application Budget Window open.
June:
- 1 2018-19 Standard Record Review due in Data Management System (DMS) (all age groups)
- 7 2019-20 Federal Application Narrative is due
- 28 2019-20 Federal Application Budget submission is due
- 28 2019-20 Special Education Fiscal Info & Assurances are due
July:
- 12 2018-19 Idea Federal Application Performance Reports are due
OSEP Monthly Update
April 2019: In This Issue
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