English Learner Students with Disabilities

1. English Learner Students with Disabilities Fall 2014 Office of Learning Equity, Assessment, and Student Services Units

2. Questions and Answers on English Learners (ELs) with Disabilities (SWD) 2014 Collaborative Federal Programs Conference July 25, 2014 Mayflower Hotel Supreet Anand, Supervisor, Title III State Consolidated Grant Group Ruth Ryder, Deputy Director, Office of Special Education Programs Millie Bentley-Memon, Education Program Specialist, Title III State Consolidated Grant Group Rhonda Weiss, Attorney, Office of the General Counsel Jane Simons, Attorney, Office of the General Counsel U.S. Department of Education

3. Contributing Offices • Student Achievement and School Accountability (SASA), Office of Elementary and Secondary Education • Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services • Office for Civil Rights • Office of Policy, Evaluation, and Program Development • Office of English Language Acquisition • Office of the General Counsel

4. Qs and As – Purpose & Scope Purpose – to help States and LEAs address challenges of: 1) Ensuring all ELs with disabilities participatein the annual State ELP assessment; 2) Ensuring that the ELP assessment accurately measures the ELP of SWDs, including providing where necessary: • Appropriate accommodationsfor the annual ELP assessment and • Implementing alternate assessmentsif a student cannot take the regular ELP assessment with accommodations; and 3) Determining how to include ELP assessment results for ELs with disabilities in making Title III accountability determinations.

5. Qs and As - Definitions • The ESEA defines the term “limited English proficient” (LEP) in part as students “…whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language may be sufficient to deny the individual the ability to meet the State's proficient level of achievement on State assessments…” (ESEA section 9101(25).) • The IDEA defines a student with a disability as a child evaluated in accordance with 34 CFR §§300.304 through 300.311 as having mental retardation, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment (including blindness), a serious emotional disturbance (referred to in this part as “emotional disturbance”), an orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, an other health impairment, a specific learning disability, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities, and who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services. (Part B of the IDEA 34 CFR §300.8.)

6. General Obligations – Federal Requirements

7. 53 Oregon Data(13/14 LEP collection SPED Flag = Y) Total ELs 57,376 Total ELs with SPED Flag = Y 10,200 (17.78%)

8. Oregon Data(13/14 LEP collection SPED Flag = Y) 43,655 ELs grades K-5 6,149 K-5 SPED flag = yes (14.1%)

9. Oregon Data(13/14 LEP collection SPED Flag = Y) 7,538 ELs grade 6-8 2,524 ELs with SPED flag = Yes 33.48%

10. Oregon Data(13/14 LEP collection SPED Flag = Y 6,183 ELs grades 9-12 1,527 ELs with SPED Flag = Yes 24.7%

11. General Obligations – Participation in ELP Assessment* EL SWDs participate in the ELP assessment as determined by their IEP Teams: a) in the regular ELP assessment with no accommodations, b) in the regular ELP assessment with one or more accommodations as indicated in the IEP; or c) in an alternate assessment, if the IEP Team determines the student cannot participate in the regular ELP assessment even with accommodations. *Per USDOE

12. Role of the IEP Team – Responsibilities The IEP Team makes decisions about what is in the IEP of each EL with a disability. This includes details about any accommodations needed, or alternate assessment if needed.

13. Role of the instructional staff – Responsibilities Once the IEP decisions have been made, including accommodations for each ELSWD, the team should communicate to the student’s teachers. The plan for the student that is sent to the teachers should include assessment and other techniques that will be also used during testing so that the student can make those practices a daily occurrence.

14. The IEP Team - Membership

15. Role of the IEP Team – Assessment Participation Can the IEP Team state in an IEP that an EL with a disability will not participate in the annual State ELP assessment? All ELs must participate in the annual State ELP assessment, with or without accommodations, or must take an appropriate alternate assessment, if necessary. NO.

16. Accommodations for the ELP Assessment • IEP Team decides which accommodations on a case-by-case basis. • IEP Team considers the student’s language needs as they relate to that IEP. • Accommodations on the ELPA should be the same as those used in the classroom. • Accommodations could be specified for just one part of the ELP assessment or for the entire ELP assessment.

17. Individualized Considerations • First determine if the student has productive and/or receptive language skills (In primary language and in English). • This could be a combination of limited productive and/or receptive skills that the student uses to communicate at home and at school • Based on that determination – decide which ELPA language domain(s) would be most appropriate for the student. Then apply the designated supports for the student allowable based on the Oregon Accessibility Manual

18. Example 1 – Deaf or Hard of Hearing • An English learner who is deaf or hard of hearing can participate in the ELPA with accommodations. • First, (depending on hearing ability or lack thereof) adjust the volume on the computer to the highest setting. Does this make the assessment accessible? If yes, the student could be able to participate in at least 3 domains. • Note that the setting for the student’s ELPA might need to be personalized if the very high volume disturbs other test takers (This is a non-embedded designated support, Table 4 ELPA in OAM). • Second, determine if the student speaks using verbal language. If yes, student could be able to participate in the Speaking domain as well. If both of these situations are “yes,” then student would be exempted ONLY from the Listening domain.

19. Example 1 Continued: Deaf or Hard of Hearing • If adjusting the speakers does not make the assessment accessible, and if the student does not produce verbal language, the student would still be able participate in the Reading and Writing domains. In this situation, student would be exempted from both the Listening and Speaking domains but would fully participate in Reading and Writing domains. Once the correct domains are determined, refer to the Oregon Accessibility Manual to personalize the supports for this student.

20. Example 2 – Visually Impaired/Blind • An English learner who is visually impaired/blind can participate in the ELPA with accommodations. • Adjust the screen magnification to the maximum setting for the student who is visually impaired. Does this accommodation makes the assessment accessible? If yes, the student should be able to participate in all domains. • Use of projection (Non-embedded Designated Support, Table 4 ELPA). Does the use of an allowed visual magnification device make the assessment accessible? If yes, the student should be able to participate in all domains. • If screen magnification does not make the assessment accessible, the student can still participate in the listening and speaking domains. Once the correct domain(s) are determined, refer to the Oregon Accessibility Manual to personalize the supports for this student.

21. Example 3: Life-skills Student • A student who is in a life skills class can participate in ELPA. • First determine the receptive and/or productive language skills: • If receptive skills – the student can participate in listening • If productive skills – the student can participate in speaking and writing • If both – the student should participate in all appropriate domains • Considerations • The IEP may need to include making a choice from 4 options (i.e., a/b/c/d on a multiple choice question) as one of the student’s goals. • The IEP may need to include practice speaking into a microphone or other device with TA assisting with starting/stopping as allowed. • The student should participate in the proctored practice test, possibly multiple times, prior to the operational assessment.

22. Test Administrator Assistance • A test administrator (TA) is permitted to use the mouse to select a student’s response and drag/drop for any student who is unable to use the mouse as long as the TA selects only the response the student indicates (see Section 8.0 of Test Administration Manual, Table 18). • Students can point to their selection on the screen, tell the TA, or any other method of communicating a choice to the TA which item to choose (see Section 8.0 of Test Administration Manual, Table 18). • NewDesignated Support: Based on the nature of a disability, the TA may initiate clicking of all audio icons (see Table 4 ELPA of the Oregon Accessibility Manual). • For these options, the student’s IEP should include this practice in the student’s daily instructional program.

23. Other Thoughts to Consider • Pause the ELPA often • There are 45 days to complete the assessment once it starts. • Use the Proctored Practice Test (more information follows) • This allows you to practice only the specific language domains with the student. Note: Domain exemptions must be set in TIDE prior to the practice test administration for this to work properly. • Make sure to provide plenty of time for the student and TA to become familiar with the ELPA testing environment. • Consider testing these students later in the testing window to provide additional practice time (in class and in the ELPA practice environment). • The test window will close on April 15, 2015. • Think about how we can to make this assessment accessible, not about what a student can’t do.

24. Great for finding out what accessibility supports a student needs Great to practice printing of reading passages Excellent for practicing with students who have domain exemptions, because they will see only the domains they are eligible for during Practice Students log in with their individual SSIDs, so they can pause the practice test and not have to start over each time (Proctored practice tests means there is a test session with a TA approving the practice tests) Proctored Practice Test Sessions

25. TA screen for a Test Session

26. Student with 1 domain exemption

27. Student with 2 domain exemptions

28. Exit from EL Status

29. Oregon Reminder– this is not “suspension of services” • Exiting an English Learner student with disability from ELD services is not “suspending” ELD services. • Exiting is determined when a student has obtained academic English proficiency, based on the district’s EL plan (Section 6). • “Suspension of services” is a practice that is not endorsed by ODE and is in conflict with OCR.

30. AMAOs – AMAOs 1, 2, & 3

31. Next steps - OREGON • ODE staff are working together to create resources to assist districts with supporting ELSWD. • District staff are asked to forward student scenarios to ODE to be included in the document. • Please include your student-specific plans for assessing the students mentioned in the scenarios (but remember to keep all information impersonal and personally unidentifiable). • Please send these scenarios to Kim Miller

32. For more information ELSWD Web page • http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=4255 Student Services Web page • http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/results/?id=40 Oregon Accessibility Manual link • http://www.ode.state.or.us/teachlearn/testing/admin/alt/ea/updates/oregonaccessibilitymanual.pdf

33. Who to contact for questions • For questions on English Learner Students with Disabilities contact • EL contact • Kim Miller • Kim.a.miller@state.or.us • Student Services contact • Mitch Kruska • Mitch.kruska@state.or.us