Gayle Garbolino-Mojica, County Superintendent of Schools Barbara Morton, Executive Director, SELPA COUNCIL OF SUPERINTENDENTS (COS)

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1 Gayle Garbolino-Mojica, County Superintendent of Schools, Executive Director, SELPA Location Date/Time Placer County Office of Education November 20, 2014 Burns Room 9:00am 360 Nevada Street Auburn, CA Call to Order and Establish Quorum AGENDA 2. Public Comment This is the time in which anyone in the audience may address the Council on any items not on the Agenda. Comments will be limited to three (3) minutes unless the Council agrees to extend the time beyond three (3) minutes. The Council has the discretion to restrict public comments to those matters it deems relevant to the subject matter jurisdiction. 3. Action/Discussion Items: 3.1 Approval of Minutes Approval of the minutes from the September 18, 2014 meeting is requested. 3.2 Approval of Amendments to Low Incidence Policy and Procedures Approval of changes to the current policy and procedures is requested. 3.3 Approval of Reimbursement Request from the SELPA Reserve Fund - Approval for reimbursement of unanticipated costs to a district is requested. 3.4 Approval to Seek a Legal Opinion - Approval to seek additional legal advice regarding use of mental health funds is requested. 3.5 Approval of the Executive Council of Superintendents (ECCOS) Chairperson Approval of the recommendation by ECCOS is requested. 3.6 Approval of ECCOS Vice-Chairperson Approval of the recommendation by ECCOS is requested. 4. Information Items: 4.1 Charter School Update An update on exit notifications and sanctions will be provided. 4.2 Statewide Special Education Task Force Update An update regarding potential recommendations will be provided. 1

2 COS Agenda November 20, 2014 Page Two 4.3 Executive Director Report Updates on committee meetings and other current SELPA activities will be shared. 4.4 Comments/Reports from Committee Members Accommodating Those Individuals with Special Needs In Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Placer County SELPA encourages those with disabilities to participate fully in the public meeting process. If you have a special need in order to allow you to attend or participate in our public meetings, please contact our office at (530) , well in advance of the regular meeting you wish to attend, so that we may make every reasonable effort to accommodate you, including aids or services. Documents distributed for public session items, less than 72 hours prior to the meeting, are available for public inspection at the Placer County Office of Education, 360 Nevada Street, Auburn, CA 2

3 PLACER COUNTY SPECIAL EDUCATION LOCAL PLAN AREA AGENDA ITEM NO. 3.1 SUBJECT: Approval of Minutes. X ACTION/DISCUSSION Information... REQUEST FOR ACTION: Staff requests approval of the minutes for the September 18, 2014 Council of Superintendent s meeting.... BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY: Minutes for the September 18, 2014 COS meeting are attached for review. 3

4 PLACER COUNTY SELPA Gayle Garbolino-Mojica Superintendent, Executive Director SELPA Minutes for COS September 18, Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Gayle Garbolino-Mojica, COS Chairperson, at 9:03am in the PCOE Main Burns Conference Room. Members Present: Gary Yee-Ackerman Charter School District Gayle Garbolino-Mojica-Placer County Superintendent of Schools (Chair) Lisa Graham-Alta Dutch Flat School District Laura Grassmann-Auburn Union School District Gabe Simon-Colfax Elementary School District Brad Tooker-Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District Linda Rooney-Eureka Union School District Shannon Jacinto-Foresthill Union School District Craig Heimbichner-Horizon Charter/ Partnerships for Student-Centered Learning (PaSCL) Gordon Medd-Loomis Union School District Kathi Daugherty-Newcastle Elementary School District Steve Schaumleffel-Placer Hills Union School District George Sziraki-Placer Union High School District Roger Stock-Rocklin Unified School District Derk Garcia-Roseville City School District Ron Severson-Roseville Joint Union High School District Robert Leri-Tahoe Truckee Unified School District Scott Leaman-Western Placer Unified School District Others Present: -Executive Director, SELPA Melanie Purdy-Administrative Secretary, SELPA Suzie Arcuri-PCOE Renee Regacho-Anaclerio-PCOE Cynthia Wood-Horizon Charter/PaSCL Members Absent: 2.0 Public Comment There was no public comment. 3.0 Action/Discussion Items: 3.1 Approval of Minutes Linda Rooney moved to approve the minutes from the COS May 15, 2014 meeting. Roger Stock seconded the motion. It was carried unanimously with aye votes: Gayle Garbolino-Mojica, Lisa Graham, Laura Grassmann, Gabe Simon, Brad Tooker, Shannon Jacinto, Craig Heimbichner, Gordon Medd, Kathi Daugherty, Steve Schaumleffel, George Sziraki, Derk Garcia, Ron Severson, and Scott Leman. 4

5 3.2 Approval of new Executive Committee of the Council of Superintendents (ECCOS) Member ECCOS recommended Laura Grassman, Auburn Union School District as the new K-8 ECCOS member. Gordon Medd moved to approve Laura Grassmann, as the new ECCOS member. Steve Schaumleffel seconded the motion. It was carried unanimously with aye votes: Gayle Garbolino-Mojica, Lisa Graham, Gabe Simon, Brad Tooker, Linda Rooney, Shannon Jacinto, Craig Heimbichner, Kathi Daugherty, George Sziraki, Roger Stock, Derk Garcia, Ron Severson, and Scott Leman. 3.3 Approval of SELPA Staff Assignments Per Local Plan requirements the SELPA Program Specialist assignments for were provided for member review and approval. Gordon Medd moved to approve the SELPA Staff Assignments for as presented. Linda Rooney seconded the motion. It was carried unanimously with aye votes: Lisa Graham, Laura Grassmann, Gabe Simon, Brad Tooker, Shannon Jacinto, Craig Heimbichner, Kathi Daugherty, Steve Schaumleffel, George Sziraki, Roger Stock, Derk Garcia, Ron Severson, and Scott Leman. 3.4 LEA Compliance Sanctions All LEAs in the SELPA participated in the Special Education Self-Review (SESR) process in Due to changes at the federal Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) the California Department of Education (CDE) has designed a new process, Data Identified Noncompliance (DINC) which is expected to replace SESR. CDE s focus now includes both compliance and results/performance and CDE staff has stated it is more likely to invoke fiscal sanctions than in the past. As a result of the SESR, Horizon Charter School (HCS) was the only LEA in the SELPA and one of only 7-9 across the state selected for a Verification Review (VR) due to the large number of noncompliant items identified by the SESR. There were 165 student-level noncompliance items and 50 district-level noncompliance items. Some items have been corrected but HCS is currently at the level of systemic non-compliance as defined in the Local Plan. Their status is due to on-going issues identified in SESR, VR and subsequent DINC cycles as well as a student complaint that was not resolved in a timely manner. Local Plan policy 0300, Local Compliance Assurances and various documents showing SESR, VR and DINC activities as well as SELPA assistance provided to HCS were reviewed. ECCOS has monitored the compliance issues at HCS on an on-going basis and has recommended that COS invoke fiscal sanctions. COS has several options including monitoring only, invoking partial or temporary sanctions and invoking full sanctions. Full sanctions would delay the monthly State cash allocation until HCS demonstrates 100% compliance. In addition, if sanctions are imposed a decision on how to determine that sanctions will cease should be made. Since the time ECCOS made the decision to recommend sanctions, CDE issued a letter to HCS regarding the 2012 non-compliance items. The letter provides partial clearance but those findings must be validated by an on-site review. HCS staff has assured the SELPA that all Individual Education Plan (IEPs) are currently 100% compliant, though SELPA has not been able to verify this through spot checks in the Special Education Information System (SEIS). In addition, a new letter referencing and DINC Indicators has been received that states HCS is out of compliance on three out of the four Indicators reviewed thus far. Craig Heimbichner of HCS introduced Dr. Cynthia Wood, Deputy Superintendent of HCS. Dr. Wood provided an overview of HCS DINC & SESR information for 2011 through Dr. Wood stated there is a history of non-compliance at HCS but they are addressing the issues by working with SELPA and CDE. In addition, HCS has hired a consultant to assist with compliance. There is some question as to the consultant s area of focus as she had met with SELPA staff and informed them she was unable to 5

6 address compliance but would be mentoring HCS s interim special education director. Dr. Wood stated they are still working on becoming 100% compliant but she is certain they will have achieved 100% compliance in the follow-up review which is scheduled to take place on October 27 th. SELPA had not been informed of this date, but Dr. Wood stated HCS had been contacted by CDE confirming October 27 th as the on-site review date. Members discussed a number of issues including the impact of HCS s compliance concerns on SELPA staff, the perceived lack of urgency on the part of HCS s administration to address these outstanding issues, whether financial sanctions will negatively impact students, the length of time it will take CDE to issue a report after the October 27 th date, the importance of systemic change and whether ECCOS should identify data points or other criteria to allow sanctions to cease if put in place. Dr. Wood stated HCS is addressing systemic change and that financial sanctions will not negatively impact students. George Sziraki moved to impose financial sanctions on HCS for ongoing systemic non-compliance effective December 1, 2014 unless CDE has issued a report stating HCS has been found to be 100% compliant as a result of their on-site review of the VR items and that ECCSOS make a recommendation to COS for an exit strategy to withdraw the sanctions. Roger Stock seconded the motion. The motion carried with aye votes from Gayle Garbolino-Mojica, Laura Grassmann, Gary Yee, Steve Schaumleffel, Lisa Graham, Gabe Simon, Brad Tooker, Linda Rooney, Shannon Jacinto, Kathi Daugherty, Gordon Medd, George Sziraki, Roger Stock, Derk Garcia, Ron Severson, Robert Leri and Scott Leman and two nay votes from Craig Heimbichner of HCS and PaSCL. 3.5 LEA Vendor Communication Recently an LEA hired an outside vendor to handle their financial transactions. The vendor has requested their names be added to distribution lists. SELPA is seeking direction from COS to address this and potential future requests. If authorized, how should issues of late submission, use of systems other than Escape, and identifying a responsible party be handled? Craig Heimbichner stated HCS and PaSCL recently hired DMS on a short term contract until they can hire a Chief Business Official (CBO). Mr. Heimbichner does not feel it is necessary to open the distribution lists up to outside vendors and requested the current HCS business employee remain as the SELPA contact. COS members agreed. 3.6 Staff Development Calendar Linda Rooney moved to approve the Professional Development calendar. Gordon Medd seconded the motion. It was carried unanimously with aye votes form Gayle Garbolino- Mojica, Laura Grassmann, Gary Yee, Steve Schaumleffel, Lisa Graham, Gabe Simon, Brad Tooker, Shannon Jacinto, Craig Heimbichner, Kathi Daugherty, George Sziraki, Roger Stock, Derk Garcia, Ron Severson, Robert Leri and Scott Leman. 4.1 Role of the SELPA SELPA provided documents listing tasks and responsibilities of the SELPA as well as the Mission and Vision statements. 4.2 Charter School Update Three charter schools have submitted notification of their intent to exit the SELPA in CORE Placer and Sierra Expeditionary submitted notification in June. Rocklin Gateway submitted a request in August, 2014 for the school year. Any LEA considering exiting the SELPA is required to meet two different deadlines. The first is July 1 st when it is required that they notify the SELPA that they are exploring the option of leaving the following year. The second deadline is January 1 st to inform the SELPA they have definitely decided to exit and join another SELPA. Both CORE and Sierra Expeditionary submitted notification by the July 1 st 6

7 deadline. Rocklin Academy submitted the notification 13 months past the first deadline. Kathi Daugherty stated the request was late because the charter administration did not have all the financial information until August. It is not clear why Rocklin Academy administration did not have access to the 3 rd Interim Allocation and Advance Allocation Projections sent to LEAs in May, nor to the 1 st and 2 nd Interim Projections in November and February respectively. They also apparently did not see the Prior Year Final Allocation in February. The charter did request that COS waive the year s notice but due to the fact that this is a requirement in the Education Code and the school year has started, Rocklin Academy withdrew that request and has notified the SELPA they wish to exit at the end of the school year. 4.3 Master Contract SELPA s Master Contract has undergone legal review due to on-going changes in several areas including unbundling or itemizing mental health service charges. Non-Public schools (NPS) were asked to itemize mental health service charges so LEAs can use their mental health funds for those services. Stronger language in relation to credentials and licenses was also added. 4.4 Low Incidence (LI) Final Expenditure Report On an annual basis, SELPA provides the LI Equipment Grant Summary showing how funds were spent. PCOE submits the majority of the requests since it serves more of the most severe students. Rocklin Unified School District (RUSD) and Western Placer Unified School District (WPUSD) increased their requests due to serving more of their own severe students. SEAC will discuss potential changes to the LI procedures and/or priorities with the new state-wide assessments requiring additional equipment for Visually Impaired (VI) students. The new VI equipment is approximately $10,000 so LI funds will be quickly depleted if used for this purpose. The additional issue of how to address a shortfall in funding will also be discussed. These issues will also be discussed at the Program Business Review Committee (PBRC) meeting so recommendations can be brought forward to ECCOS and COS. 4.5 Program Design Checklist SELPA provided a draft of the Program Design Checklist requested by PBRC for LEAs planning to open or take back programs. The document will be undergoing more review before finalization later this year. 4.6 Executive Director Report SELPA has been informed that mental health SB90 reimbursement for the school year is expected though the amount has not been released. There is a new CAC chair from Auburn Unified School District. There is also a new PBRC member, Debbie Morris from Roseville City School District who replaced Tammy Forrest when she accepted a position in Sacramento. 5.0 Adjournment 5.1 The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 am. The next COS meeting is scheduled for November 20,

8 PLACER COUNTY SPECIAL EDUCATION LOCAL PLAN AREA AGENDA ITEM NO. 3.2 SUBJECT: Approval of Amendments to Low Incidence Policy and Procedures. X ACTION/DISCUSSION Action REQUEST FOR ACTION: Approval is requested for the PBRC recommendation of re-categorizing low priority items as not eligible for purchase and using a cost-sharing method to address purchases that exceed the annual grant amount.... BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY: The LI policy and procedures have been in place for a number of years and have worked well. Recently new factors have impacted the LI fund. Those factors include a decrease in LIidentified students and a resulting decrease in funding, LEAs expanding programs for more Severely Handicapped (SH) students and the loss of centralization of the equipment. As a result, discussion has taken place at SEAC, PBRC, ECCOS, and COS meetings. SEAC and PBRC have recommended that a cost-sharing procedure be implemented to address the increased amount of requests. This would consist of billing each LEA on an Average Daily Attendance (ADA) basis, for any shortfall, after the books have closed. SELPA will continue to manage the process in order to adhere to legal and compliance requirements as well as to inventory and tag the equipment. An amendment to the Local Plan or a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) would be required to implement this practice. PBRC also discussed expanding the list of equipment that is not eligible for purchase, or is considered a low priority. Prohibited items include medical equipment designed to maintain or improve health or fitness, furnishing Medical Therapy Units (MTUs), construction or alteration of facilities and providing parent education. Low priority items currently include furniture, computers, laptops, printers, expendable items such as batteries and printer cartridges and small adapted equipment such as headphones and splints. PBRC recommends COS adopt the cost-sharing method for excess costs and to categorize equipment currently labeled low priority as not eligible for purchase. 8

9 PLACER COUNTY SPECIAL EDUCATION LOCAL PLAN AREA AGENDA ITEM NO. 3.3 SUBJECT: Approval of Reimbursement Request from the SELPA Reserve Fund. X ACTION/DISCUSSION Information... REQUEST FOR ACTION: Staff requests COS members approve a recommendation from ECCOS to reimburse Roseville City School District (RCSD) for the room and board costs of a Residential Treatment Center (RTC) placement for a student who recently moved to RCSD from another SELPA.... BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY: In the summer of 2014 a family moved to RCSD from another SELPA. Their 6 th grade daughter is residing in an RTC in Georgia as the result of an offer of a Free, Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) made by the sending SELPA. The student was adopted from out of the country so there is no recourse to access funds from the Adoption Assistance Program (AAP). In addition, it appears that the County Mental Health Agency was either not involved or only minimally involved in the decision. The State s Extraordinary Cost Pool prohibits reimbursement for the cost of room and board. The student has a complex history and was found eligible for special education services as meeting criteria as Emotionally Disturbed. RCSD has calculated the costs and potential revenue as follows: $36,522-NPS Cost - RCSD Special Education Funds $54,385-Mental Health Services - RCSD Mental Health Funds $71,905-Room & Board Request assistance from the SELPA Reserve Fund The section of the Allocation Plan that addresses use of these funds is included for reference. 9

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11 PLACER COUNTY SPECIAL EDUCATION LOCAL PLAN AREA AGENDA ITEM NO. 3.4 SUBJECT: Approval to Seek a Legal Opinion. X ACTION/DISCUSSION Action... REQUEST FOR ACTION: Approval is requested to seek a legal opinion regarding use of mental health funds as recommended by PBRC.... BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY: The SELPA has followed legal advice received 3 to 4 years ago in crafting guidelines for spending both state and federal mental health funds. Those spending parameters are very narrow resulting in a growing increase in funds across the SELPA that cannot be spent. Both CDE and other SELPAs appear to interpret the legal requirements more loosely and SELPA is seeking direction on obtaining additional legal advice which reflects any changes since our initial opinion was written and could result in more flexibility. 11

12 PLACER COUNTY SPECIAL EDUCATION LOCAL PLAN AREA AGENDA ITEM NO. 3.5 SUBJECT: Approval of the Executive Council of Superintendents (ECCOS) Chairperson. X ACTION/DISCUSSION Information... REQUEST FOR ACTION: Staff requests approval of the appointment of an ECCOS Chairperson for BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY: The Local Plan requires ECCOS to recommend and COS to approve the election of a Chairperson annually. ECCOS recommends that Scott Leaman of Western Placer Unified School District be elected as the Chairperson for the school year. The pertinent section of the Local Plan is included for member review. 12

13 The Executive Committee of the Council of Superintendents will assist the Council of Superintendents with its work. Membership of the Executive Committee will consist of eight members representing the County Superintendent, high school and/or unified districts, elementary districts, direct service districts and one Local Education Agency Chief Business Official of the county in accordance with guidelines approved by the Council of Superintendents. Regional representation will be considered when making appointments for membership on the Executive Committee of the Council of Superintendents. All members must be superintendents with the exception of the Chief Business Official and the County Superintendent, who may appoint a designee at their discretion. Membership on the Executive Committee will be on a voluntary basis for a minimum two year term. A Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson will be elected annually. 13

14 PLACER COUNTY SPECIAL EDUCATION LOCAL PLAN AREA AGENDA ITEM NO. 3.6 SUBJECT: Approval of ECCOS Vice-Chairperson. X ACTION/DISCUSSION Information... REQUEST FOR ACTION: Staff requests approval of the appointment of an ECCOS Vice-Chairperson for BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY: The Local Plan requires ECCOS to recommend and COS to approve the election of a Vice-Chairperson annually. ECCOS recommends that Gary Yee of Ackerman Charter School District be elected as the Chairperson for the school year. 14

15 PLACER COUNTY SPECIAL EDUCATION LOCAL PLAN AREA AGENDA ITEM NO. 4.1 SUBJECT: Charter School Update. Action/Discussion PRESENTING TO COUNCIL: X INFORMATION BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY: Three charter schools notified the SELPA of their wish to explore exiting the SELPA in An update on the exit notification from Rocklin Academy Gateway will be provided. In addition, the status of sanctions tentatively due to begin on December 1 st for systemic noncompliance at Horizon Charter School will be given. 15

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17 PLACER COUNTY SPECIAL EDUCATION LOCAL PLAN AREA AGENDA ITEM NO. 4.2 SUBJECT: Statewide Special Education Task Force Update. Action/Discussion PRESENTING TO COUNCIL: X INFORMATION BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY: An update regarding fiscal and other recommendations that are expected to be made will be provided. 17

18 PLACER COUNTY SPECIAL EDUCATION LOCAL PLAN AREA AGENDA ITEM NO. 4.3 SUBJECT: Executive Director Report. Action/Discussion PRESENTING TO COUNCIL: X INFORMATION BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY: Updates on committee meetings and other current SELPA activities will be shared. 18

19 SPECIAL EDUCATION LOCAL PLAN AREA AGENDA ITEM NO. 4.4 SUBJECT: Comments/Reports from Committee Members. Action/Discussion PRESENTING TO COUNCIL: X INFORMATION BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY: Committee members can share any important information and/or reports with other members. 19