November 2, 2017 | National Conference Center, East Windsor, NJ Exploring Disproportionality: Discovering Root Causes and Solutions-Based Approaches Sponsored by: 2 New Jersey Special Education | ANNUAL SUMMIT TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 Schedule of Events 5 Welcome 6 PCG White Paper Executive Summary Reducing Disproportionality in New Jersey Schools: Practical Ideas and Promising Strategies for Interven- tion & Referral Services (I&RS) Teams 7 Sessions 8 Keynote Speakers 10 Featured Speakers 14 Participating Schools & Districts 3 8:00AM – 8:30AM Welcome Breakfast 8:30AM – 8:35AM Opening Remarks 8:35AM – 9:05AM Keynote: Dr. David Kirkland Advancing Culturally Responsive Education in New Jersey Schools 9:05AM – 9:35AM Keynote: Dr. Sharon Lohrmann NJPBSIS and the Implementation of Tiered Intervention Systems for Behavior and Conduct Needs 9:35AM – 9:55AM Coffee Break 9:55AM – 11:05AM Breakout Sessions A: Utilizing NJTSS (MTSS) - Planning & Delivery of I&RS to Ease Teacher Workloads and Improve Student Outcomes B: Family and Community Engagement C: Disproportionality: Understanding the Law D: At the School Level: Systemic Use of Data and SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Support to Address Significant Disproportionality 11:10AM – 12:20PM Breakout Sessions A: PBSIS Exemplars B: Family and Community Engagement C: Universal Design, Disproportionality, and Social Justice D: Disproportionality and LAUSD: A Case Study 12:20PM – 1:05PM Catered Lunch 1:10PM – 2:10PM Breakout Sessions A: At the School Level: Systemic Use of Data and Support to Address Significant Disproportionally B: Universal Design, Disproportionality, and Social Justice C: Utilizing NJTSS (MTSS) - Planning & Delivery of I&RS to Ease Teacher Workloads and Improve Student Outcomes 2:15PM – 2:45PM Moderated Panel, Q&A 2:45PM – 3:15PM Closing Remarks 4 New Jersey Special Education | ANNUAL SUMMIT Public Consulting Group (PCG) is proud to sponsor the New Jersey Special Education Annual Summit. With over 30 years of experience supporting states, districts, educators, and students, PCG has a long history of supporting the success of all students across the United States. For more than a decade, PCG has been a close partner to each public school district and charter school in New Jersey through a mix of state and district contracts. We provide professional development and technical assistance to teachers and administrators, and education data systems that help guide policy, programs and instructional practice – with a deep focus on special populations. Through our extensive experience working with schools and districts across the country, we know that over-identifying students of a specific racial or ethnic group can have long term consequences. Students affected by disproportionality suffer in their academic achievements, are less likely to access a rigorous curriculum, experience limited post-secondary opportunities, and face marginalized employment opportunities thereafter. We also understand the importance of developing comprehensive, district and school-based strategies to mitigate disproportionality. We are excited that you have chosen to participate in this Special Education Summit on “Exploring Disproportionality: Discovering Root Causes and Solutions-Based Approaches.” This event provides a forum for Superintendents, Special Education Directors, Supervisors of Special Education, and other special education professionals to discuss and learn about this complex and critical issue. We hope the conversations that begin today will continue back in your classrooms, schools, and district offices. Thank you, Bill Mosakowski President & CeO PubliC COnsulting grOuP New Jersey Special Education | ANNUAL SUMMIT 5 PCG is proud to announce the release of our latest white paper: Reducing Disproportionality in New Jersey Schools: Practical Ideas and Promising Strategies for Intervention & Referral Services (I&RS) Teams. A copy of this white paper is available at the registration desk. In the education field, the concept of racial achievement gaps on standardized tests has been widely reported. Education equity advocates, however, point out that there is a lesser known–yet far larger and more complex parallel issue–that is dramatically impacting the ability of schools to teach and support struggling minority students. It’s simply known as “disproportionality,” an overrepresentation of students from certain racial/ethnic groups, particularly Black/African American and Hispanic students, in special education programs. Affected students are disproportionately isolated, spending more time in restrictive environments relative to their non-affected peer students and facing greater rates of suspension and expulsioni. Because affected students are less likely to access a rigorous curriculum, these students experience limited post-secondary opportunities and marginalized employment opportunities thereafterii. Furthermore, affected students are significantly more likely to be incarcerated–both as juveniles and as adultsiii. While determining exactly how disproportionality is calculated is subject to much scholarly and policy debate, the evidence is clear: this substantial issue has long-term implications for affected students both locally in New Jersey, as well as nationally. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Fortunately, there are a number of widely recommended steps that school teams can take to address and prevent overrepresentation issues. PCG offers a theory of action for remediating disproportionality, centered on the notion that highly functioning problem-solving teams, utilizing a consistent documentation tool and progress monitoring within a framework of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), have the potential to target and provide appropriate academic and behavioral supports for struggling learners and, thereby, positively affect the culture of a district. In this paper, we provide educators with current data and basic information about the root causes of disproportionality; discuss related policy, procedural, and practice issues both within the local New Jersey context and nationally; and offer recommendations within the framework of our theory of action about how I&RS teams can use data and technology system to provide, and monitor the fidelity of, targeted interventions to students. Our purpose in developing this paper is simple: to demystify disproportionality and offer strategies that I&RS teams in New Jersey can employ to begin resolving it. i Gartner, A., and Lipsky, D.K. (1999). Disability, Human Rights, and Education: The United States. In F. Armstrong & L. Barton (Eds.),Disability Human Rights, and Education: Cross Cultural Perspectives, 100-118 ii Harry, B., and Klingner, J. (2006). Why are so many minorities in special education? Understanding race and disabilities in schools. New York: Teachers College Press. iii Annamma, S., Morrison, D., and Jackson, D. (2014). Disproportionality Fills in the Gaps: Connections Between Achievement, Discipline, and Special Education in the School-to-Prison Pipeline.Berkeley Review of Education. 5, 53-87. 6 New Jersey Special Education | ANNUAL SUMMIT SESSIONS Advancing Culturally Responsive Education Disproportionality and LAUSD: A Case Study in New Jersey Schools Sharyn Howell Dr. David Kirkland This breakout session will look at disproportionality This keynote will engage participants in the complexities from a large, urban school district perspective. of achieving culturally responsive education and the Participants will study the most compelling systemic complex social and economic forces necessitating it. drivers for change in the second largest school district The goal of the presentation is to raise awareness of the in the US. Disproportionality will be studied as it relates effects of relevance in the lives of youth. to IDEA as well as the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. NJPBSIS and the Implementation of Tiered Intervention Systems for Behavior and Universal Design, Disproportionality, and Conduct Needs Social Justice Dr. Sharon Lohrmann Kirk Behnke This keynote will provide a grounding orientation in This breakout session will review the intersections using a Tiered Intervention to address behavior and between Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and conduct needs within the context of the New Jersey Social Justice. Participants will gain an appreciation Positive Behavior Support in Schools initiative, a for the UDL framework as a means of mitigating partnership with the NJ Department of Education, disproportionality by supporting all learners – Offices of Special Education. With an established regardless of socioeconomic, cultural, gender, language, framework and a compelling base of evidence, Tiered cognitive, physical, and emotional background— by Intervention Systems offer an opportunity to address providing exceptional, rigorous learning opportunities. the range of behavior and conduct needs present in schools using systematic decision making and positive Disproportionality: Understanding the Law and proactive practices. Sue Gamm, Esq. Utilizing NJTSS (MTSS) - Planning & Delivery This breakout session will review state and federal definitions around disproportionality and how they of I&RS to Ease Teacher Workloads and Improve impact district policies and practices. In particular, Student Outcomes it will address the recent change in definition of Mollye Kiss disproportionality by the US Department of Education This breakout session identifies key success factors in Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the the implementation