2024 Montana Special Education Law Conference, October 21-22, Helena, MT
Agenda at a Glance
Location: Best Western Great Northern, Helena, MT
Cost: $125
Renewal Units: Up to 11 OPI Professional Development Units available
This conference is designed for general and special education administrators and teachers, service providers, parents, advocates, lawyers, and others involved in developing and supporting special education services for children with disabilities and their families.
Most sessions will require attendees to have a background in special education procedures and practice in order to apply the information to work or advocacy responsibilities.
Post-School Survey Reporting Deadline
DEADLINE…September 30, 2024
The 2023-2024 Special Education Post School Survey reporting window opened in May 2024.
REMINDER…Post-School Survey is completed for students who were reported as Exiting during 2022-2023 as graduated, dropped out, reached maximum age, etc. The post-school survey provides data for OSEP's Indicator 14: Percent of youth who had IEPs, are no longer in secondary school and who have been competitively employed, enrolled in some type of postsecondary school, or both, within one year of leaving high school [20 U.S.C. 1416(a)(3)(B)].
NOTE…Completion status is a factor included in District Level Determinations.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION…Special Education Post School Survey
For Education Reporting Questions or Assistance, contact Kristie Sears, 406-444-4430.
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Special Education Endorsement Project
Have you recently hired an educator to teach Special Education as a paid intern in your district (teaching Special Education under a current Montana educator license while attending school to obtain the SPED Endorsement)?
Is your district not yet financially supported through the OPI SPED Endorsement Project?
If you answered yes to these questions, please reach out to Annette Viciedo Young (406-444-0299; ayoung3@mt.gov) for information on how the SPED Endorsement Project may be helpful to your new hire.
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Scholarship Opportunity with SIMS Scholars
Funded by OSEP (Office of Special Education Programs), SIMS (Specialized Interventionists for Montana Schools) Scholars is an opportunity for future special educators and speech-language pathologists to be fully funded through their programs (2 years). In return, they work for Montana schools for four years. View the SIMS Scholars Abstract here.
Open to all students eligible for admission into the University of Montana Teacher Education Program, and those admitted to the speech-language pathology graduate program. These are the specialized course sequences for SIMS Scholars:
For questions, contact Jennifer Schoffer Closson or Morgan Alwell.
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Pick one event to attend and get your Middle and/or High School student team of leaders registered!
Great Falls, October 6th & 7th, 2024
Butte, October 27th & 28th, 2024
A two-day youth leadership event including talks, activities, workshops, and community service in partnership with Montana Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools. This event is open to all Middle & High School students in Montana. Each public school district traveling greater than 50 miles each way will be reimbursed, at the state rate, for up to 4 lodging rooms and two vehicles. If your district requires additional rooms or vehicles, that will be the district's responsibility.
REGISTRATION and more information are available on the 2024 MTSS Youth Days website.
For questions, please contact Anne Carpenter, at 406-465-0922 or Tammy Lysons, at 406-431-2309.
(formerly Special Education Community of Practice)
3rd Tuesday of each month, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Starts October 15th – May 20th
These meetings are one-hour sessions held on the third Tuesday of the Month from 3:30-4:30. There will be a short 10-20 minute presentation on a topic followed by a discussion around that topic. The purpose of these meetings is to provide technical assistance and support for Special Education teachers as well as help build a network for teachers throughout Montana.
For more information, go to the Special Education Learning Community website and learn about what the monthly topics will be.
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Montana Empowerment Center
2024 IEP Bootcamps for Families
The Montana Empowerment Center is Montana's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center under IDEA Part D. You can register for the location by the registration links above. MEC has invited multiple stakeholders to join and bring information about the IDEA process to families, caregivers, and outside agencies that work with families that have children with disabilities. Invited agencies include early intervention agencies for young children as well as the Pre-ETS and Vocational Rehabilitation, MT OPI, MT's Independent Living Centers, MSDB, MonTECH, and community partners in each area.
Please share this information with any families with children with disabilities from ages birth to 26 and any professionals who may be interested in this training. The training will include information on the IEP process, assessments, transition from high school, IDEA law, the Office for Civil Rights 504s, parent's rights and responsibilities, as well as information from our community partners about supports and services available for families.
Let MEC know if you have any questions or need additional information or reasonable accommodations. For questions, contact: Info@mtempowermentcenter.org or 1-877-870-1190.
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Explore virtual and in-person training options on our CSPD website. Some upcoming trainings are also highlighted below.
September 12, 19 & 26, 2024, 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Presented by Carrie Cole
This training will focus on the explicit instructional delivery strategies with the highest effect sizes for increasing student achievement, resulting in powerful teaching for teachers AND powerful learning for students. Educators will walk away with tangible, easy-to-implement tools that they can embed into any lesson and content area to increase student engagement and boost student learning of content.
September 23rd | 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM | Great Falls Hampton Inn
Presenter: Tessie Rose Bailey
Data literacy is an essential component of an effective and sustainable multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS). This interactive session will clarify the four elements of data literacy and provide scaffolded opportunities for teams to use their fall screening data for Tier 1 and supplemental intervention decision-making. Access to fall screening is required for full participation in the session.
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Monday, Sept. 23 - Introductions and Intention of the Series and Intro and Navigating Infinite Campus
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Monday, Sept 30 - SPED Procedures, Applications, Review of Samples; Presented by John Gorton, OPI Special Education Monitoring Unit Manager
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October 7, 2024 - Secondary Transitions; Presented by Desiree Johnson, OPI School Improvement Specialist
This series of virtual meetings is geared toward providing basic trainings for case managers and Special Education personnel to become better acquainted with the navigation and use of Infinite Campus and the writing/development of various Special Education documents addressing procedural recommendations and the How To’s of the various components of Special Education. The intended audience is school administration, Special Education teachers, and related service providers. There is a lot of material to cover as a result we will need to hit the ground running.
Oct. 11-12 | 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Havre Best Western Inn and Suites
- 11 OPI Renewal Units are available for this free Region 2 CSPD training
The Mandt System builds on skill development through a system of gradual and graded alternatives for de-escalating and assisting people using a combination of interpersonal communication skills, conflict resolution strategies, and physical interaction techniques. The goal is to assist others in managing themselves and the safety of all involved through skillful and nonphysical means. Physical strategies are also taught to provide additional “least restrictive” options in the event the person poses a clear threat of substantial harm to self or others if physically unassisted. The Mandt System focuses on prevention.
This is a two-day training, and attendance is required on both days. Those recertifying also need to attend both days. Saturday involves learning the physical part of the training. Groups are limited to 10 people by the MANDT Company. If we reach our maximum of 20, our presenter will break participants into two groups on Saturday of the training (a.m. and p.m.)
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October 17 & 18 | 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM | Sidney High School
Shawna and Hank will present keynotes and breakout sessions on Thursday.
Friday will consist of more specific breakouts and a closing session and time made available to work in teams with Shawna and Hank. Teams/Schools attending will receive Hank's book on MTSS.
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Shawna Heiser is a Senior Lecturer at Montana State University, working with children, families, and professionals in positive support. Her teaching interests include Behavioral and Applied Psychology principles such as learning theories, positive behavioral support, and BCBA certification procedures. Strong emphasis on teaching principles for people with autism and other behavioral difficulties.
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Hank Bohanon is a professor at Loyola University of Chicago. His work focuses on supports for high school settings related to positive behavior support, response to intervention, social and emotional learning, school-based mental health, and school improvement. He is the co-author of Implementing Systematic Interventions: A Guide for Secondary Schools.
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Montana Montana Autism Education Project (MAEP)
Katie Mattingley is the statewide Coordinator of the Montana Autism Education Project (MAEP).
The OPI Montana Autism Education Project provides the following services to Montana public schools:
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Consultation services for any student with an Individual Education Plan (consultations are not limited to students with autism.)
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Trainings in Autism Spectrum Disorder, Applied Behavior Analysis, and related topics.
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A web site (blog) that provides information on autism and behavior management trainings in Montana, current research news, archived webinars, and resources for educating students with ASD, their teachers, and their peers.
SAVE – the – DATE
November 6 – 8, 2024, Great Falls Heritage Inn
Welcoming youth with disabilities, families, educators, and service providers for an unforgettable and fun learning experience. The MYT conference offers the resources to help you create successful transition plans for independent living in the adult world.
Another great training opportunity:
Special Education and Related Training through WMPLC
The Mandt System Training, DeSmet School, Missoula, October 17 & 18, 2024
The Mandt System is a comprehensive, integrated approach to preventing, de-escalating, and if necessary, intervening when the behavior of an individual poses a threat of harm to themselves and/or others. Registration fee: $299/per person or $223/person for just Relational or just Technical. Register for Mandt Training here. For more information, contact jjohnson@mtplc.org.
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Special Education General Information:
Contact Kelley Brown, at 406-444-5661 or check out our webpage.
Danni McCarthy, Montana's State Special Education Director, 406-594-3610
The OPI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, require an alternate format, or have questions concerning accessibility, contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov, Relay Service: 711.
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