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January 3, 2025
The captioned recording of the December 2024 Special Education Directors' Forum is now available. View the forum recording on the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Special Education Division Mediasite website. Access the links to the meeting evaluation/Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and accessible presentation slides by selecting "Info" from the menu at the lower right of the player window.
Meaningful Access to Standards for Students with Disabilities
MDE is continuing the webinar series into the 2024-25 school year. The series is provided to help support educators in the implementation of proactive and positive evidence-based strategies and resources, to highlight local examples of work that is being done to align systems of support across needs of diverse learners, to provide information on specific disabilities and to include voices of individuals and families within the community alongside educators and community organizations. We are excited to announce our next webinar in the series:
Meaningful Access to Standards
Date: January 28, 2025
Time: 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Presenters: Kelsey Black, Garrett Petrie, Stacie Stensrud, and Lauren Walker (MDE).
Register on Zoom for Meaningful Access to Standards for Students with Disabilities
This webinar will focus on examining best practices associated with providing all students meaningful access to academic standards throughout their educational career. The MDE team will start with unpacking state and federal guidance on access to standards. Participants will then have the opportunity to learn about providing appropriate depth, breadth and complexity to meet student needs. Interactive activities will be provided to give participants real world strategies for unpacking any standard or benchmark, considering what scaffolding would be required to meet individual learning needs. This webinar is the first in a series in which we will be providing foundational knowledge; future dates will include exemplars from teachers currently in the field.
In addition to the current webinar offerings, MDE has posted previous webinars that are helpful for teams to review any school year. The insights and resources here are valuable for general educators and those serving students receiving special education services. All recordings are closed captioned and include links to accessible slide shows and other materials. Access webinar recordings from the MDE Special Education webpage (https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/sped/spedtrain/)
- Alternative Delivery of Special Education Services (ADSIS) 101
- Behavior Specific Praise: Implementing, Coaching, and Measuring the Impact of this Simple yet Specific Strategy
- Check-in/Check-Out as a Tier 2 Support
- Evidence Based Practices used by School Linked Behavioral Health (SLBH) Providers and Exemplar Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Schools
- Five Practically Good Ideas for Any Reality
- Integrating PBIS and School Linked Behavioral Health Services
- Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS)
- PBIS 101
- Returning to School During and After Crisis
- Statewide Assessment General Supports and Accommodations
- Systematic Screening in the COVID-19 Era
- The Interconnected Systems Framework
Additional Resources, Webinar Slides for Medical Assistance (MA) Billing Now Available on the School Mental Health Services Webpage
The School Mental Health Services webpage has been updated to include more resources to help guide schools and staff as they prepare to bill MA for certain mental health services in a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) and Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) delivered on or after October 15, 2024.
Slides from all three training webinars are now available along with the Mental Health Services in Special Education Summary and Recommendations (DHS-8644) (PDF) and Mental Health Services in Special Education Checklist (DHS-8645) (PDF). Providers can use the Mental Health Services in Special Education Summary and Recommendations (DHS-8644) to help determine medical necessity for mental health services within an IEP or IFSP. The Mental Health Services in Special Education Checklist (DHS-8645) includes all components to be considered while reviewing a student’s special education records for the Summary and Recommendations.
MDE and the Minnesota Department of Human Services are continuing to add guidance to the School Mental Health Services webpage. Visit the webpage for additional resources as they become available or email questions to schoolmentalhealth.mde@state.mn.us.
Science Alternate Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (Alt MCA) Kickoff Meeting Recording Available
MDE has posted the November 7, 2024, recording of the Science Alternate Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (Alt MCA) Kickoff Meeting to the Alternate Assessments page of the Testing 1, 2, 3 website. The kickoff meeting focuses on:
- Preparation and administration for the new Spring 2025 Science Alt MCA operational assessment
- Tools for making decisions about test administration modes (online, paper or hybrid)
- Revised Learner Characteristics Inventory (LCI)
- Revised Alternate Assessment Eligibility Requirements
- Test design and alignment to extended benchmarks
Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS)/Alt MCA test administrators, special education directors/coordinators, and any district staff involved in administering alternate assessments are encouraged to view the meeting video.
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