2/18/2020 Mail - Webb, Shelby - Outlook Re: Houston Chronicle RE: Special education data Mida Milligan Fri 2/14/2020 3:53 PM To: Webb, Shelby So sorry, Shelby, but we do not have a copy of the guidance le er. Response to your ques on is below: Would a parent or teacher have to say whether they should have been referred previously in order for them to qualify in that category? Yes, that is our understanding. Sincerely, Mida Mida Milligan, Ed.D. Execu ve Director of Communica ons and Public Rela ons Garland Independent School District 501 S. Jupiter Road Garland, TX 75042 972.487.3256 From: "Webb, Shelby" Date: Friday, February 14, 2020 at 10:30 AM To: Mida Milligan Subject: Re: Houston Chronicle RE: Special educa on data CAUTION: This email originated from outside Garland Independent School District. DO NOT click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. If you are unsure or know the email is a potential scam, please contact GISD Technology Support by email at helpdesk@garlandisd.net or by phone at 972-494-8566. Hi Mida, Thanks for this info. Would you happen to have a copy of the old and revised guidance le ers? I tried looking for guidance about SPP Indicator 11 on TEA's website/ To the Administrator Addressed le ers but didn't have much luck. Also, one quick follow-up ques on about students who may have needed to have been referred for tes ng before 18-19: Would a parent or teacher have to say whether they should have been referred previously in order for them to qualify in that category? For example, would a mother need to say her child should have been evaluated sooner at the me she requests an FIE, or need to say she requested an evalua on previously? I found some guidance to that effect in Region 4 but wanted to make sure that's the same understanding in other regions. Thanks again! Best, Shelby Webb Shelby Webb https://outlook.office.com/mail/inbox/id/AAQkADc3ZmU5OGNlLWY2MGEtNGIzNi04OTJhLWM5MGEwMjhjYTQ0ZgAQADCOMquJmCROtlV7XC%2Fk… 1/4 2/18/2020 Mail - Webb, Shelby - Outlook Educa on reporter Houston Chronicle Office: (713) 362-7136 Email: shelby.webb@chron.com Twi er: @shelbywebb From: Mida Milligan Sent: Friday, February 14, 2020 9:40 AM To: Webb, Shelby Subject: Re: Houston Chronicle RE: Special educa on data Hi Shelby: I am unable to get someone via phone, but I do have informa on below that provides the details you requested. When comple ng the State Performance Plan (SPP) Indicator 11 for the 2018-19 school year, Garland ISD used the TEA guidance document to complete the addi onal informa on that was being collected. The guidance document/Q & A was reviewed and indicated that any service above what the student was currently receiving would be indicated in the ques on pertaining to students receiving addi onal services. All students who are eligible for special educa on receive addi onal “specially designed instruc on.” This is the reason students are iden fied for special educa on; they require addi onal services (i.e., speech, resource, inclusion support, related services, supplemental aides, etc.). Special educa on staff reached out to the evalua on consultant at ESC Region 10 who relayed the same understanding of TEA’s guidance. I believe this reflects what the other district directors shared with you. Garland ISD had only one student whose parent indicated that the student was referred in the 17-18 school year. That student was referred in the 18-19 school year and did not qualify for services. As a result, there were no GISD students that required compensatory services. That was reported to TEA via SPP 11. The new TEA guidance document (July 2019) has been revised, and it has added some clarifica on for what addi onal services means for repor ng that will be done in July of 2020. Please let me know if you need any addi onal informa on. Thanks, Mida Mida Milligan, Ed.D. Execu ve Director of Communica ons and Public Rela ons https://outlook.office.com/mail/inbox/id/AAQkADc3ZmU5OGNlLWY2MGEtNGIzNi04OTJhLWM5MGEwMjhjYTQ0ZgAQADCOMquJmCROtlV7XC%2Fk… 2/4 2/18/2020 Mail - Webb, Shelby - Outlook Garland Independent School District 501 S. Jupiter Road Garland, TX 75042 972.487.3256 From: "Webb, Shelby" Date: Wednesday, February 12, 2020 at 4:45 PM To: Mida Milligan Subject: Houston Chronicle RE: Special educa on data CAUTION: This email originated from outside Garland Independent School District. DO NOT click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. If you are unsure or know the email is a potential scam, please contact GISD Technology Support by email at helpdesk@garlandisd.net or by phone at 972-494-8566. Hi Mida, My name is Shelby Webb, and I'm a reporter with the Houston Chronicle. I hope you're having a great week! I'm working on a story about special educa on and have some ques ons about data I received from the TEA about State Performance Plan Indicator 11 (related to special educa on and child find). More than a dozen districts, including Garland and Houston ISDs, reported that the number of kiddos found to qualify for special educa on is equal to the number of students who were found to be eligible for "addi onal" or "compensatory" services (for y'all, that means it was reported that 1,035 students were found eligible AND 1,035 were found eligible for "addi onal" or "compensatory" services). This seems odd, because Garland ISD and others also reported that they found five or fewer students who should have been evaluated for special educa on prior to 2018-2019 and that no students had evalua ons that were completed outside the state's mandated meline. I spoke to two special educa on director in other districts who told me they took "addi onal" services to mean all students who were found eligible for special educa on services (thus receiving more services than they did before they were iden fied). I was just wondering if this was also the case in Garland ISD. Is there anyway I could speak to someone in the special educa on department or PEIMS about how this data was reported? I'm trying to see whether the TEA's data on this subject is accurate or if there were issues in interpre ng what they were looking for. This is the first year the state has collected some of this data, so I imagine there may be some confusion. If you have any ques ons or would like to chat, feel free to call my office at 713-362-7136 or my cell at 941-549-4098. I'm trying to get this cleared up by the end of the week. Thank you so much, and I hope to hear from you soon! Best, Shelby Webb Shelby Webb Educa on reporter Houston Chronicle Office: (713) 362-7136 Email: shelby.webb@chron.com Twi er: @shelbywebb https://outlook.office.com/mail/inbox/id/AAQkADc3ZmU5OGNlLWY2MGEtNGIzNi04OTJhLWM5MGEwMjhjYTQ0ZgAQADCOMquJmCROtlV7XC%2Fk… 3/4 2/18/2020 Mail - Webb, Shelby - Outlook If this message is spam or you wish to add the sender to your blocklist, please Login to Securence to make the desired changes. If this message is spam or you wish to add the sender to your blocklist, please Login to Securence to make the desired changes. https://outlook.office.com/mail/inbox/id/AAQkADc3ZmU5OGNlLWY2MGEtNGIzNi04OTJhLWM5MGEwMjhjYTQ0ZgAQADCOMquJmCROtlV7XC%2Fk… 4/4