EC Administrators Weekly Update 04.23.25

North Carolina Public Schools sent this bulletin at 04/23/2025 01:10 PM EDT

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April 23, 2025

EC Administrators Weekly Update

General Information

NEW LOOK: EC Administrators Weekly Update

As a result of the NCDPI’s efforts to ensure accessibility, the GovDelivery version of the Weekly Update will be embedded rather than attached. However, a printable version will be available in our OEC Resources shared google drive.

UPDATE: Regional Summer Institutes

Thank you for encouraging registration for the Regional Summer Institutes. Please continue to share the OEC Summer Institutes Guide within your PSU so that others can take advantage of this opportunity.

We have received some cancellations and have been filling seats from our “Wait List” for Regions 5 and 6 and will continue to accommodate those requests as a priority. On May 1st, remaining seats will be made available to everyone in the state regardless of the region they are employed.

Data as of April 22, 2025 at 9:13 am

Program Administration

2025 Data Collection: Indicator 14 - Secondary Transition

Beginning 2025, NC will be collecting Indicator 14 data by census. This means all PSUs will collect Indicator 14 data for reporting in 2025.

It is recommended that PSUs obtain a list of students to be surveyed by pulling your exit data for the previous year (2023-24) during the months of April and May.
Additionally, PSUs should review and/or designate PSU caller(s) who will contact student with disabilities who have exited one year after graduation. Callers will use the Post School Outcomes survey to collect and report data in ECATS.

All resources including training slides and data entry instructions are located on the Data and State Performance Plans page.

Planning ahead for 2026 Data Collection: Indicator 14: Prepare your students who will be exiting high school this semester by discussing the survey with students; explaining the purpose; and defining the timeline for conducting the survey (PSUs will call this group of exiting students in 2026 - one year after graduation).

2026 IDEA Grant Update

The 2026 IDEA Grant opened on April 22, 2025, and is due by 5:00 pm on May 31, 2025.

CCEIS

The Significant Disproportionality Mandatory CCEIS list has not been published. As a result, the CCEIS Application Supplement is not active in the grant system. However, all LEAs can continue to draft and submit local grant applications without the CCEIS section.
When the list is released, there will be training for those required to complete the CCEIS Application Supplement and the section will open.

LEA Risk Assessment

The annual LEA Determination will be used to complete the LEA Risk Assessment. Please do not complete the LEA Risk Assessment until this updated information has been released. For LEAs that have already completed the Self Risk Assessment, the fiscal consultants will review the responses and if the status on the LEA Determination has changed, the LEA will be notified to submit a new one.

UPDATED REGISTRATION LINK! Joint Part C and Part B Preschool Transition Office Hours and Check-In

NOTE: The NC Infant-Toddler Program has updated the registration link for this event due to unforeseen circumstances with the original platform. Re-registration is required.

Please join us virtually for a joint Part C and Part B Preschool Transition Office Hours and Check-In on Monday, April 28, 2025, from 10:00am to 12:00pm. This joint event will provide an opportunity for the Part C and Part B teams to come together to:

review implementation of transition practices and processes since July 1, 2024,
receive state and program-specific transition updates and information,
hear about successes from CDSAs & LEA/PSUs, and
provide time for catchment areas to collaborate.

We recommend that at least one representative from each CDSA and PSU attend. Registration to attend is required. With the change in platforms, there is no longer a registration limit.

Program Instructional Support

Recruitment for WIDA Alternate ACCESS Exit Criteria Panelists

The Office of Accountability and Testing is recruiting English Learner teachers and specialists with expertise teaching students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are taught using the Extended Content Standards (ECS) to participate in a one-day session to make a recommendation on exit criteria for the WIDA Alternate ACCESS test.

The goal is to recommend which performance level from the WIDA Alternate ACCESS test is sufficient to provide students with the most significant cognitive disabilities meaningful access to North Carolina extended content standards in reading, math, and science at their respective grade.

This meeting will be held on Thursday, May 22, 2025, from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, in room 150 at the NCDPI. Participants will be provided background information and supporting documentation from the test publisher for the WIDA Alternate ACCESS test and standard setting work completed in summer 2024. Panelists will use their knowledge of the ECS and ELD standards to help define an exit criteria recommendation.

Travel expenses will be reimbursed at the state rate and the NCDPI will pay for any substitute teachers needed.

Educators who have expertise in instructing students identified as English Learner (EL)/Multilingual Learner (ML) and Exceptional Children (EC) are encouraged to apply to participate by completing this recruitment form by Friday, May 2, 2025. Submitting an application does not guarantee participation in
the session.

We appreciate your time and value your input as we work to support instruction and assessment. Selected nominees will be contacted Friday, May 9, 2025.

Courtesy FYI: 2025-2026 Delivery of Revised FoM and RRtCP Courses

FoM and RRtCP courses are currently undergoing revisions, and we are planning to release the revised traditional courses in the Fall/Winter of 2025. To aid districts in planning for future professional development and ensure that there is no confusion about which course participants have attended, we wanted to provide an update for offering the FoM and RRtCP courses in the traditional and blended formats.

All TRADITIONAL courses offered in PSUs for FoM and RRtCP must be completed by December 31, 2025, including make-up dates.
After January 1, 2026, only the revised traditional courses for FoM and RRtCP will be offered once instructors have been recertified.
The current BLENDED courses for both FoM and RRtCP may continue to be offered until the revised blended courses are available

We will be communicating this information to NCSIP Coordinators and Instructors next week. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your regional consultant, Melissa Towery, or Ginger Cash.

ECATS

ACTION REQUIRED - Access Rights to ECATS LEA Admin 4 Permission Types

When ECATS was implemented in 2019, Public School Units (PSUs) identified and permissioned individuals who required high-level access to ECATS with the “LEA Admin 4” permission type. These users could complete tasks associated with the active management of users or students. Over time, as PSUs requested LEA Admin 4 access for new staff, the Office of Exceptional Children (OEC) required the successful documented completion of the EC Process and ECATS Courses before granting LEA Admin 4 permission.

Because ECATS Power Users (including LEA Admin 4, LEA Admin 4- All Programs, LEA Admin 4- BTA, or any role with LEA Admin 4 in the title) have access to confidential student information, a routine review of permissions and completion of appropriate training must occur to ensure data security.

To ensure data security and to streamline role provisioning for ECATS Power users, the OEC will be rolling out a new process per the timeline below:

[April 21, 2025] Adopting a new process to request “ECATS Power User” permission from the OEC to include the successful completion of the new “ECATS Power User Course”.
[April 21, 2025] Launching one training module titled “ECATS Power User Course” to replace the previously required “EC Process and ECATS Course” required for new ECATS Power Users post-implementation of ECATS. This training module is approximately 4 hours long and is worth .4 CEUs.
[Spring 2025 - Fall 2026] Ensuring existing users complete the “ECATS Power User Course” within a one-year timeline.
[June 26, 2026] Verification of ECATS Power Users as appropriately permissioned and trained prior to initiating a statewide clean-up of inactive or unauthorized users.
[June 30, 2026 - July 1, 2026] Deletion of inactive or unauthorized ECATS Power Users.

Information on how to request an ECATS Power User role can be found on the NCDPI ECATS Power User webpage.

ICYMI

April/May Regional EC Administrator Meetings: April 29 - May 2, 2025

Registration for the April/May Regional EC Administrator Meetings is now open and each PSU may register up to two participants. Regional Meeting topics include Alternate Assessments, Cultivating Successful Partnerships between Administrators & Related Service Providers, EC Director Planning Toolkit, and an IDEA Grant work session. Objectives for the topic area can be found in the OEC Activities Book The link for registration is listed below.

April/May 2025 Regional EC Administrator Registration

PSUs awarded PRC 029 Behavior Support funds have the flexibility to use these dollars for a variety of activities including Professional Learning and support materials. These professional learning experiences should be tailored to support your Precise Problem Statement and align with the specific needs outlined in your grant objectives.

In an effort to expend all of these funds, consider leveraging this flexibility by completing the PRC 029 Prioritization of Funds form by April 30, 2025 to invest in additional targeted, impactful professional development that drives progress toward your identified goals.

2024-2025 PRC 029 Recipients

Applications Available: K-12 Math Standards Writing Teams

The NC Department of Public Instruction K-12 Math and Exceptional Children Team are excited to announce the NC State Board of Education has approved to transition from the review phase of the N.C. K-12 Math Standard Course of Study to the revision phase. The process is guided by the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (NCSCOS) Procedures Manual, adopted by the Board of Education in February 2022.

The first step is establishing the Standards Writing Team (SWT). Working in grade-level/content area groups, the SWT considers possible revisions to K-12 Math when and where applicable. This may involve slight modifications, major modifications, deletions, additions, or no changes to current standards. The SWT Scope of Work provides a full explanation of the requirements for the SWT.

All SWT members will be asked to participate in an in-person kick-off event July 29th - 31st in Asheboro, NC. NCDPI will reimburse for any travel costs associated with the training.
SWT applications are due by 8:00am EST, Monday, May 12, 2025. Applicants will be notified of their selection status between Monday, June 16, 2025, and Wednesday, July 2, 2025.

Please contact Dr. Charles Aiken, Section Chief for Math, Science, and STEM, with any questions regarding the K-12 Standard Course of Study Standards Writing Team or Matthew Martinez, IDEA Consultant: Intellectual Disabilities, with any questions regarding the K-12 Extended Content Standards Writing Team.

Click here to apply: K-12 Math Standard Course of Study Standards Writing Team Application or K-12 Math Extended Content Standards Writing Team Application.

Draft 2 of the Proposed ELA Extended Content Standards General Survey

State Board of Education policy specifies that the NC Department of Public Instruction will formally collect feedback on the draft revised standards from educators, administrators, parents, students, institutions of higher education, business/industry representatives, and other education agencies.

The purpose of the Draft 2 General Survey for Extended Content Standards is to obtain input from educators and stakeholders familiar with the English Language Arts (ELA) Standard Course of Study in order to inform further revision decisions. As such, the ELA team requests your thoughtful input and comments on the draft revised academic standards for ELA to inform the revision process.

The Survey Companion Document has been created to serve as a companion for your review and explains key changes and updates found in Draft 2 of the proposed 2025 ELA ECS standards. This document highlights specific additions and provides context for these revisions. This is essential because the Extended Content Standards are aligned to the Standard Course of Study and must take those revisions into account when writing the alternate academic achievement standards.

This survey is estimated to take about 10 to 20 minutes to complete. We thank you for your time and input. Your feedback is extremely valuable to the ELA standards revision process.

This survey closes on May 7, 2025.