Source: https://ctspecialednews.org/tag/birth-to-three/
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 16:35:15+00:00

Document:
The Birth to Three System has undertaken a recent review of their policies, procedures and practices specific to a number of cost saving measures proposed by their Birth to Three providers. Some of the proposed measures are specific to the transition of age-eligible toddlers with disabilities to their school district. The Birth to Three System administration has undertaken a careful and considerate review of the proposed measures and has provided written guidance to their providers in response.
The obligation of convening a Transition Conference is the responsibility of the child’s service coordinator in the Birth to Three System. With parent consent, a representative of the school district will be invited to the Transition Conference. The IDEA Part C regulations require that meeting arrangements be made with, and written notice provided to, the family and other participants early enough before the meeting date to ensure that all will be able to attend (C.F.R. §303.342(d)(2)). The IDEA Part B requires a school district representative participate in the Transition Conference (20 U.S.C. 1412 Sec. 612(9)).
The date, time and location of the Transition Conference is based upon the IDEA Part C requirement that the meeting be convened at a setting and at times that are convenient for the family (C.F.R. §303.342(d)(i)). There are no requirements in the Birth to Three System about where a Transition Conference should or must be held. Rather, the decision regarding the Transition Conference location is made by the child’s family. Meeting locations could include the home as well as a school facility.
The IDEA Part C identifies a number of required activities that would assist in supporting the transition of a child and family from the Birth to Three System. Included is discussions with, and the training of parents, regarding future placements and other matters related to the child’s transition; and ways to prepare the child for changes in service delivery, including steps to help the child adjust to, and function in a new setting (C.F.R. §303.344(h)(2)(i)-(ii)). To that end, the Birth to Three System identifies that consideration should be given to holding the Transition Conference at a school location as a way to introduce the child and family to the school facility, school personnel and the school community. This and other types of introductions to upcoming changes for the child and family can be planned next steps to assist the child and family in becoming acquainted with and establishing relationships with new service providers in their school district.
There is nothing in the IDEA Part C or in the Birth to Three procedures that require Birth to Three programs to provide child specific evaluation reports to the child’s school district. The Birth to Three System’s procedures do identify that programs “may”, upon the request of a school district, provide updated child information to support the child’s transition. The Birth to Three System requires that programs complete a curriculum-based assessment three (3) months after receipt of Birth to Three services, as part of the ongoing assessment of a child’s strengths and needs and prior to the child’s exit while enrolled in the Birth to Three System. Birth to Three programs can provide any updated curriculum-based assessment summaries or other child specific information that might be helpful to the child’s school district in understanding the strengths and needs of the child. The obligation for the initial evaluation to determine a child’s eligibility for special education belongs to the child’s school district under the IDEA Part B provisions (C.F.R. §300.301, §300.305, §300.306).
Under the IDEA, Part B, the school district, at the request of the parent, must invite the child’s service coordinator or other representatives of the Birth to Three System to assist with the smooth transition of services (C.F.R. §300.321(f)). The Birth to Three System encourages their providers to attend the PPT meeting to assist in contributing to the determination of a child’s eligibility for special education. The family, with the support of the child’s service coordinator, can provide child specific information about a child’s strengths and needs and child progress made during receipt of early intervention which can contribute to the PPT discussion and decision-making.
The new IDEA Part C regulations also resulted in a new Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) form. For children who may be transitioning to the school district, districts will note a very different IFSP form over the coming months. The changes are related to the new Part C regulations along with current best practice in early intervention to produce a more functional plan that focuses on the family’s priorities developed to address the family’s daily routines and activities with their child. The new form can be found on the Birth to Three System website at http://www.birth23.org/providers/Forms.html and the IFSP Handbook is at http://www.birth23.org/providers/IFSPhandbook.pdf.
In July 2012, new regulations went into effect for Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA). One of the changes in the revised Part C regulations requires notification to the State Education Agency (SEA) and Local Education Agency (LEA) of those children potentially eligible for special education who are exiting the Birth to Three System (34 CFR Section 303.209(b)).To meet the new federal notification requirement, beginning July 1st, 2012, the Birth to Three System has been populating the Birth to Three Notification Reports on a daily basis. This means the child specific information contained in the Birth to Three Notification Reports is now ‘live data’ rather than ‘point in time data’.
1. Children who have been referred to the school district – This report includes children enrolled in Birth to Three and whose parents have signed a written referral to the school district (Birth to Three Form 3-8) requesting that their child be evaluated to determine the child’s eligibility for special education and related services. A school district planning and placement team (PPT) meeting should be convened for the children listed in this report.
2. Notification of children over age 2 ½ who have not been referred and whose parents have not signed a release of information to the school district – This report includes children enrolled in Birth to Three who are over 2½ years of age and whose parents have not referred nor signed a release of information. This list also includes data of children who are over 2½ years of age whose parents have revoked consent for their child’s special education referral. A school district would be required to conduct child find activities to outreach to parents for the children listed in this report.
3. Children with a release of information to the school district – This report includes children enrolled in Birth to Three services whose parents have signed a release of information form but who have not referred their child for evaluation to determine their child’s eligibility for special education and related services. Children listed in this report require no immediate action on the part of the school district until the child nears the age of three.
4. Children under age 2 ½ with no signed release of information nor a referral to the school district – This report represents de-identified information of children who are under 2½ years of age and whose parents have not referred their child for an evaluation nor signed a release of information to the school district. Children listed in this report require no immediate action on the part of the school district.
Please note that the information in the Birth to Three Notification Reports is intended to assist school districts with their child find obligations under the IDEA Part B. The provision of information in these reports does not replace a district’s responsibility to identify and know where all the children are in the special education process once referred or known to a school district. A school district should not solely rely or over-rely on the information presented in the Birth to Three Notification Reports.
Access to the Birth to Three Notification Reports is through the Department of Education’s secured website, SEDAC, under REPORTING: Statewide Reports. Districts, particularly administrators and coordinators of early childhood special education must work through their SEDAC data person to access this information. Questions specific to a school district’s responsibilities as it relates to the information in the Birth to Three Notification Reports, can be directed to Maria Synodi at maria.synodi@ct.gov.
Because the Birth to Three Notification Reports are provided by the Birth to Three System, the State Department of Education does not attest to the accuracy of data contained in these reports. Simply said, the data in the reports is another agency’s data. For questions that are specific to the data in the Birth to Three Notification Reports please contact the child’s Birth to Three Program as identified on the report or Lynn Johnson, Assistant Director of the Birth to Three System at lynn.s.johnson@ct.gov.

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