Featured Speakers
- Beckie Davis, Senior Program Associate, WestEd
- Robin Chait, Project Director, WestEd
- Kate Nagle, Senior Program Associate, WestEd
Host
- Kelly Wynveen, Project Director and Senior Project Manager, WestEd
Kelly Wynveen:
Good afternoon, all. Thank you so much for joining. We are so excited to kick off this project and bring together so many charter school leaders, teachers, special education directors, and support providers all in one space on this call today. My name is Kelly Wynveen, I am with WestEd, and we are excited to kick off this project with you all. As we wait for everyone to join, start to think of what are three words that come to mind when you think about what it feels like to be a leader in the special education space in a California charter school.
Don’t hit send yet, but type in your three words into the chat box and I will tell you when to hit enter, and we’ll do a little waterfall chat in just a minute. This webinar is brought to you by the Statewide Technical Assistance for Charter Schools or STACS, which is a sub-grant brought to you by the California Department of Education’s Federal Charter Schools Program Grant. The sub-grants purpose is to provide technical assistance to schools on best practices in California charters for increasing academic achievement in five topic areas, English learners, special education, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, CTE, and innovative strategies.
WestEd is excited to support the TA related to special education, but we highly encourage you to also check out the TA provided in these other strands of STACS. We’ll drop a link into the chat so you can check out CDEs website. Click on the links for other organizations and take advantage of the technical assistance offered in these other strands if they are areas of interest for your school. Really quickly, I’ll provide a little background on who WestEd is. WestEd is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that provides research, development, and technical assistance to schools, districts, state departments, and other organizations, primarily in the K-12 education space.
Our mission is to promote excellence and improve learning opportunities for children, youth, and adults. And we have a close to 1000 employees on staff across the country and are headquartered in San Francisco, California. I’m really excited to bring together some WestEd experts for this project. On the call today, you have myself, Kelly Wynveen. I am the Project Director and a senior project manager, Beckie Davis, a Senior Program Associate, Robin Chait, a Project Director, and Kate Nagle, a Senior Program Associate. We are excited to bring you this TA today, and we’ll dive into content in just a minute.
Before we jump into content, just a few working agreements for all of us on this call. The content today is focused on special education foundations. So for many of you, this will be a review and a refresher of content that you live and breathe every single day. For others, you may be coming today because you’re new to your position, or you may not have as deep expertise in special education and came to learn more about compliance. But no matter your experience or your expertise level, we are so excited and grateful to have you here today. We ask that during our time today, this hour will go by quick. Please stay present.
Today’s session will be pretty content heavy, but we will then follow up this session with our first continuous improvement network meeting in April where we will do far less talking and you will hear from your peers and have time to really actively engage with one another. Please assume good intentions of everyone who showed up today, stay engaged during our time together. By all means, feel free to come off mute, chime in with questions or comments, utilize that chat, raise your hand, but when you’re not speaking, just try and stay muted so we can focus on the content being delivered today.
And finally, just a quick review of where we’re going with this TA center over the next three years. And we know that California Charter schools are unique. WestEd was so excited to have the opportunity to develop some targeted training related to special education to support continuous improvement of the charter school special education sector. So through the STACS program, WestEd will offer a series of free professional development webinars related to special education over the next three years. We’ll have some targeted webinars that will cover a range of topics such as our webinar today, really focused on special education compliance foundations. We have an upcoming webinar that’s focused on creating student-centered IEPs.
But we’ll also follow up each webinar with a continuous learning network that I mentioned before, and that will be a time where charter leaders can really learn from one another across the state to hear best practices, problem solve with peers, and collaborate with one another to try and find some solutions to some common challenges you all face. The STACS, like I said, the purpose of the subgrant is to provide TA to schools on best practices to increase academic achievement. And that’s what we’re really focused on today.
Here is our agenda for our time. We will start today by looking at the major provisions of federal and state law related to special education. Then we’ll take an overview look or an overview of students with disabilities in California charter schools and discuss responsibilities of serving special education students. We’ll have a quick breakout room to discuss some common challenges related to special education and charters and share some key resources. And by the end of the call today, we will share out a variety of resources, this PowerPoint and all materials provided to you through the STACS program will be on our website for your reference. And we’re excited to dive into some content.
Our objectives for our time together are listed here. We will review again the major provisions of law that impact California charter schools related to special education. We’ll begin to understand what charter schools are responsible for related to serving students with disabilities. We’ll identify some common challenges and solutions, many charters face related to serving students with disabilities, and provide you a variety of resources to address some of those challenges. So let’s dive in. I will pass it to my colleague Beckie, to get us started.
Beckie Davis:
Thanks, Kelly. So, as Kelly said, this is kind of a level setting webinar. We will be throwing more content at you than normal. We wanna make sure that everybody is using a common language. We know how confusing it can be if we’re using different words to refer to the same thing. Next slide. So the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, you know, we refer to as IDEA, and in special ed we are the kings and queens of acronyms. We can take anything and initialize or make an acronym out of it. And that includes the name of the federal law.
The main provisions of the law and the purpose are to ensure access to a free, appropriate public education, a FAPE, to students with disabilities that include special education and related services. Another purpose is to ensure and protect the rights of students with disabilities and their parents to assist states, localities, educational agencies that include districts, and federal agencies in educating students with disabilities and assessing and ensuring the effectiveness of those efforts to educate students with disabilities. Next slide.
One, a more recent federal ruling that has come down in 2017 is worth mentioning. It’s usually referred to as the Endrew F. versus Douglas County School District. And in that ruling, the Supreme Court stated and clarified what constitutes adequate educational benefit. And this particular case set forth a new educational benefit standard. Not just minimal, but the student’s IEP should be reasonably calculated to enable the student to make progress appropriate in light of his or her circumstances. So to develop an IEP that confers FAPE, of free appropriate public education, the school has to follow the IDEA required procedures when identifying, evaluating, and developing programming for students and develop an IEP that’s reasonably calculated to enable the student to make progress appropriate in light of his or her circumstances. And I’m gonna turn it over to Robin to talk about California specific requirements.
Robin Chait:
Thanks, Beckie, so I’m gonna provide a little bit of grounding in the major provisions of California state law. This is not gonna be exhaustive, but just provide a little bit of detail. California law adds structure on top of IDEA. The structure affects the logistics, the how special education is delivered, but not the responsibility. So the what. So we’re gonna focus on how this shows up in the day-to-day work of schools. So go back one, please, Kelly.
So in California, the purpose of charter schools is set out in education 47-601, which is part of the Charter Schools Act of 1992. The intent is very specific and it goes beyond just choice. So the purpose of charter schools in California is to encourage innovation in public education, expand learning opportunities for students, increase school level autonomy in exchange for accountability, promote parental choice within the public school system, and then also to improve student learning and achievement. So the statute explicitly frames charter schools as a strategy to improve student outcomes, not as an alternative system.
So California law is very clear, this is part of California law, that charter schools must admit all students who wish to attend, including students with disabilities. And the only exception to that is when there are capacity limits to the schools and then they have to have a random lottery. So this is really important. A school can’t deny enrollment based on whether it currently has a specific program or service in place. So under both federal law and California Education Code, students have an obligation to enroll students with disabilities.
So this chart shows some data on the difference between the percentage of students with disabilities enrolled in traditional public schools and in charter schools. The data’s a little bit old, but the main point here is, as you can see, that the gap in the percent of students with disabilities enrolled in charter schools and traditional schools varies a lot by states. So, you know, some states have the traditional public system enrolls a much higher percentage of students with disabilities and other states the difference is very small. Overall, according to the most recent data available, there are 14.1% of students in traditional public schools are students with disabilities. And 11.5% of students in charter schools are students with disabilities.
So here you can see data for California only, and this is data from 2024. And this is the percentage of students with disabilities enrolled in California charter schools and then in all public schools. So what do you notice about the differences in enrollment of students with disabilities between charter schools and all public schools and what might account for these differences? So go ahead and put your response in the chat. What do you notice about the difference and what do you think might account for these differences? And Kelly put the question in the chat. Giving people a little bit of time to think, what do you notice about the difference in enrollment of students with disabilities between charter schools and traditional public schools? And what do you think might account for the difference?
Okay, we have response here. Public schools may have more resources for special education. Yeah, traditional public schools may have more resources for special education. That certainly may be the case. Any other thoughts about that? Families are not aware of their options. That’s another good point. That also may be the case. Families may not know that there are charter schools that they can enroll in. And then another comment about the location of the schools and the availability of transportation. That can be a barrier for all students, including students with disabilities in particular. Okay, those are all great answers. Let’s continue on.
So under California law, charter schools have two options for the delivery of special education services. They can operate as a school of the district for special education purposes, or they can become an LEA for special education purposes. So under option one, if they’re a school of the district, then the district is responsible for ensuring that all special education services are delivered to students of the charter school in the same manner as traditional district schools. In most cases, the district assumes full responsibility for providing services to students in charter schools. In exchange, the district retains the full amount of state and federal education funding that it receives from the SELPA on behalf of each charter school. In addition, the state education code also requires each charter school operating under this model to contribute financially to district-wise special education costs. And this contribution is typically referred to as the fair share contribution.
So the second option is where the charter is the LEA. So if a charter school chooses to be its own LEA for special education purposes, it would either join a SELPA as a member of its authorizer SELPA or it can join another SELPA. And by becoming an LEA for purposes of special education, the charter school has more autonomy in funding oversight and service delivery. But then it also has more responsibility for all of those areas. One unique thing about the California charter landscape is the presence of the SELPA. And as charter schools began to enter the California landscape, they faced challenges in joining a traditional SELPA. So, you know, in the past, SELPAs were either not allowing or couldn’t allow charter school LEAs to become SELPA members. And this was particularly true of State Board of Education authorized charter schools. So to address this challenge, there are now a number of SELPAs that serve charter schools only. So there are five charter only SELPAs in California.
Okay, so here’s another activity. Here’s the scenario. A charter school operates as part of a CMO and participates in a charter SELPA. A student with an IEP enrolls mid-year and services are delayed. Who is the LEA? Who is responsible for ensuring services start immediately. And who is most at risk if timelines are missed? So go ahead and drop your thoughts in the chat. There are no perfect answers. So who is the LEA? Who is responsible for ensuring services start immediately? And who is most at risk if timelines are missed? So someone says LEA on all, that is correct. The LEA is responsible in all cases. And who is the LEA? We have another response, LEA is the charter school and is responsible and at risk. Yes, exactly right. The charter school is the LEA and the charter school’s at risk. Great that, you know, the SELPA may provide some support, but it’s the LEA’s responsibility. Okay, let’s move on.
So charter schools are not all the same in California or in any state. It’s important to remember that, you know, charter schools are not one size fits all. In California, charters range from single site schools to charter management organizations, alternative programs, and schools serving students with higher levels of need. And these differences affect how systems operate, but they don’t change students’ rights under IDEA or who’s ultimately accountable. Next slide.
So as I mentioned earlier, California charter schools were created to encourage innovation and expand opportunity within the public system, but they weren’t intended to reduce student protections or legal obligations. So charter schools have flexibility with respect to curriculum, staffing, schedules and budgeting, but they don’t have flexibility with respect to academic standards, participation in statewide assessments, or compliance with federal and state special education, civil rights, and health and safety laws. And I’m now gonna turn it back to Beckie who’s gonna talk about the LEA’s responsibilities.
Beckie Davis:
Thanks, Robin. So let’s talk about how this happens as we review LEA responsibilities. And someone had asked in the chat, What is an LEA? LEA again, special ed is the king and queen of acronyms, stands for local education agency. And in federal law you’ll see LEA used instead of district. In the real world, we typically talk about districts, but you’ll also hear districts referred to as LEA. So they’re pretty much the same thing. So what are the LEA’s responsibilities? The answer to this question is the same answer to almost all questions in special education. And I’m sure most of you know that answer any question you come up with in special education, the answer typically is, it depends. The bottom line is that the responsibility of the LEA, whoever that is, whether it’s the SELPA, the local traditional district, or the charter school itself, is to ensure that all the requirements of federal and state laws related to students with disabilities are carried out in accordance with those laws and codes. Next slide.
So let’s talk about how this happens. The LEA, or district, must monitor the implementation of all aspects of special education. And again, regardless of whether it’s the traditional district, the charter school, or the SELPA, the LEA has to ensure that Child Find, the provision of FAPE, IEP development, implementation, educating the students in the least restrictive environment, and all compliance happen in accordance with the federal and state regulations. The LEA also has to support teachers in developing IEPs and ensuring that all timelines are met. The LEA has to conduct ongoing needs assessments and collect and analyze the data to refine and improve the operational functions and services. In other words, engage in continuous improvement. And they have to evaluate special education pupil services and initiatives again to ensure that students with disabilities are improving outcomes.
So free appropriate public education or FAPE means the special education and related services that are provided. We all know that the IEP is the foundation and cornerstone of IDEA. If it’s written, the school owns the implementation. Even when services are contracted or coordinated through a SELPA. When you look at staffing challenges, that does not pause obligations. If any of you were providing special education during Covid, you know that the federal government allowed no (inaudible), no pause in the provision of special education services. And so there are no legitimate excuses for not providing services. And Kate, thank you. IEP is the individualized education program. So IEP teams have to have the right people there and the decisions are made by that team. No decisions regarding a special ed student’s education is made unilaterally. Placement has to be based on the student’s individual needs, not on what the charter can easily offer. Charters have to provide access to the full continuum of services, whether it’s from very mild support and consultation up to significant intensive supports and instruction either directly or through contracts. The discipline protections that are in IDEA, things like manifestation determinations, services during disciplinary removals, all fully apply to students in charter schools.
And Child Find is what we refer to as locating, identifying, and evaluating all children with disabilities that are in need of special education for school-aged children. We’re talking three year olds through 21. The district, or the LEA, is required to notify parents about how to request services for their students if the parent thinks that their child has a disability. It’s not a program, it’s an attitude. So even if a parent emails a teacher with a concern or expresses a concern during a parent-teacher conference or just passing in the hall, that counts as a trigger to look to see whether there’s a reason to suspect that that child may have a disability. So think about how your schools respond to Child Find requests, whether the request is formal or informally. Kind of keep that in the back of your mind as we go through some of the next slides.
When we talk about evaluation, there are two types of evaluation. There’s the initial evaluation and a triennial or three-year reevaluation. With initial evaluations, you have to evaluate any child that you have reason to suspect may have a disability. Next slide. With initial evaluations, the purpose is to determine whether the child meets the criteria under one or more of the disability categories in IDEA and just as importantly, to determine the student’s educational needs. So evaluations have two-fold purpose, to determine whether the child meets the criteria under one or more of the disability categories, and at the same time, to determine what that child’s educational needs are. The evaluation has to be comprehensive, meaning that it has to involve multiple assessment tools and data sources, not just one test. Has to assess the child in all areas of the suspected disability. Has to gather relevant, academic, developmental, and functional information. Use valid, reliable, and technically sound instruments during the evaluation, be conducted in the child’s native language or mode of communication and be sufficiently comprehensive so as to identify all of the child’s educational needs. So you can see on the screen the initial timelines in California. There are 15 days from receiving the referral to getting parent consent, developing the assessment plan. And then the evaluation has to be completed within 60 days of receiving that written parent consent. Within that 60 days, you’re gathering all of your information, which includes whether or not the child meets disability specific criteria, determining what the child’s educational needs are, and then you’re holding the IEP meeting if that child is eligible for services. Okay, next slide.
Reevaluations typically occur at least every three years. And the purpose of those is to determine whether or not the child continues to have a disability, continues to need special education and related services. So you’re looking at the child’s present levels of performance and whether any changes in the child’s services are needed. And you can see California’s reevaluation timelines here. So at least every three years, unless the parent and the district agree a reevaluation is not needed, it’s not just a checking in. It really is determining continued need for services and specific needs of that child. If the child graduates with a regular high school diploma, then that ends his eligibility for special education. If the child ages out at age 21, that also ends the district’s obligation to provide special education. So clear tracking of all timelines, whether it’s initial evaluations or triennial reevaluation dates are extremely important. And I’m gonna turn it over to my friend Kate to talk a little bit about IEPs.
Kate Nagle:
Sure. Hi, everybody. We did warn you that this is gonna be a content heavy webinar, so thank you for still bearing with us. Okay, so LEA responsibilities for IEPs. So the LEA must ensure that the IEP team reviews the child’s IEP periodically, and that’s not less than annually. And the reason for this is that sometimes the IEP goals could be more, more, more difficult than the IEP team initially thought. So there’s a need to take a look at those IEP goals and to see if the child isn’t making progress. You don’t want to just take a look at the IEP goals every year and find out that the child hasn’t made progress. Conversely, neither do you want to have a child achieve their IEP goals in three months and then lose the rest of the time in school. So you have to look at the IEP goals, monitor them and revise them as appropriate. Next slide, great.
So each IEP must include student annual goals. And these goals include academic and functional goals in the areas that the child is experiencing difficulties. The IEP should include all special education services, any related services, and also supplementary aids that the student may need to have access to the general education curriculum. Also, the IEP must list the accommodations that are going to be used in instruction and also in assessment. So that could be extra time, it could be separate setting, it could be noise canceling headphones, anything that the child needs in order for them to access that general education curriculum. Next slide.
A specially designed instruction, the cornerstone of special education. The LEA needs to ensure that students with disabilities who are enrolled in charter schools receive the same protections that they would receive at traditional public schools so that families know their procedural rights that they receive prior written notice. If the charter school doesn’t offer the type of special education or related services necessary to provide FAPE, once that child has been enrolled, then the charter school, as Robin pointed out, they need to arrange to provide the services directly or to contract with another service provider. That could be your SELPA or it could be a nearby district if the charter school is the LEA. And those services should be provided at no cost to parents. Next slide.
Each public agency must ensure that students with disabilities are general education students first, that they feel that they belong in the school and that they have access to the same education that students without disabilities has. And what this means is that placement decisions, that’s where the child will receive their education, those decisions aren’t made based on the child’s disability category, but they’re made based on the child’s needs. And before a child is removed from the general education setting, the IEP team has to think about, well, what supports could we provide to that child? Maybe they would need some positive behavioral intervention and supports. Maybe they need a behavior intervention plan for example. May be having a part-time aide would enable them to stay in the regular education classroom. Next slide.
It’s so important that the family and parental involvement, again, is one of the cornerstones of special education. So really maintaining those open lines of communication regarding special education services is very important and can often real, really kind of help to make that child and that family feel included in the school. And if there are any issues with the child’s education, then families who feel welcomed and feel valued are much more likely to bring any issues to the school before going to something more dramatic such as dispute resolution. So the LEA and the school should respond to a parent and advocacy organizations. And I was taken with some of your comments in the chat about the three words that come to mind and noticing that compliance came up on several occasions. So yeah, maintaining those special education records is very important. And then also reporting data that the LEA needs because the LEA then needs to report that data to the SEA. Next slide.
So closing, charter schools must provide families of children with disabilities with their rights and protections and provide a free, appropriate public education to students with disabilities in accordance with a properly developed individualized education program in the least restricted environment. So there you go. I know my acronyms guys. Next slide.
Okay, so this can be a big challenge, okay? Let’s look at where we find those challenges. So from CDE compliance data from charter schools, areas that are difficult are Child Find and completing evaluations on time, developing the IEP on time, implementing IEP services, having discipline practices that are inconsistent with the IDEA, predetermining the services or placements of a child, often based on their disability category. And then procedural violations tied to staffing where it’s just so hard to stay within timelines when you can’t find a psychologist to conduct a diagnostic evaluation on a child. Next slide.
We looked at the SELPA monitoring and technical assistance data again related to charter schools. There can be confusion about the LEA and then the charter school’s responsibility. There can be coordination challenges between districts and contractors who are maybe providing related services to students with disabilities. Weak tracking of timelines and services. There needs to be a way to track when evaluations are taking place, track how often a child needs to have a particular service, and then there can be inconsistent communication with families. Next slide.
And we then looked at advocacy and oversight reports, and they report that families can face enrollment barriers or discouragement once their child has been enrolled. Then it becomes apparent that there’s an IEP in play, and that’s where some families have said that they are being cancelled out. There can be formal removals and shortened school days. This happens in traditional public schools as well when mom or dad received a telephone call that little Sally’s having a bad day and probably better at home. Delays in evaluations or services. Again having qualified staff to conduct the evaluations and then interpret those evaluations. It can be hard to find them. And it can be just difficult in navigating the charter special education system itself. As one person in the chat pointed out, just understanding about special education and charter schools can be hard for families. Okay, I believe now I’m signing off and sending this to Robin or Beckie.
Beckie Davis:
I think it’s me Kate.
Kate Nagle:
Beckie. Beckie. Sorry Robin. See Robin went pale then.
Beckie Davis:
So based on what we’ve talked about, the challenges for charter schools pretty much fall into four major categories. It’s weak Child Find practices, not identifying students with disabilities in a timely manner. It can be IEP decisions made outside of meetings. Remember I said that all decisions regarding a child with a disability special or education are made by that team. It can be missed or inconsistent services for a variety of reasons, Kate mentioned not having adequate staff. Or it may be disciplinary missteps. We’re gonna go into small groups, into breakout rooms. Think about what you see as one of these challenges in your particular school and talk about what in your system may be contributing to this difficulty, and then what’s one realistic change that you think you might make to overcome this barrier. So you’re going to choose one of the common pitfalls. Think about what is it within your system that might be contributing to the pitfall, and then what’s one realistic change that you can make. We’re gonna take about six to seven minutes and then come back and ask for a couple of share outs.
Kelly Wynveen:
Great, thanks Beckie. And don’t sign off. I know a lot of times you hear breakout room and you’re like, Oh man, I’m not ready to be on camera. It’s fine to stay off camera. It will be a really quick break breakout room and just a taste of what’s to come when we have our first continuous improvement network meeting in April. But wanted to just set aside a little bit of time for you all to just connect with at least one other peer. So we’ll open breakout rooms, you don’t have a facilitator. I’ll put the questions in the chat for everyone as well, and we’ll come back in about seven minutes. We’ll see you on the other side. Great. Welcome back, everybody. Thank you all for, I know that probably wasn’t enough time, but thank you all for participating. Welcome back to the main room. I’m gonna pass it back over to Beckie to keep us going.
Beckie Davis:
Thanks, Kelly. Would one or two of you be willing to come off mute or put in the chat what you talked about? Either what you think contributes to the issue or what you think might be a possible solution?
Wendy:
I can come out of chat or off of mute.
Beckie Davis:
Thank you, Wendy.
Wendy:
So I actually work for the El Dorado Charter SELPAs. So we have over 450 charters, and I could cover all these but I kind of took over our meeting, I apologize. But one of the things, a weak Child Find, what we find is notorious, and it’s not necessarily, I don’t know if it’s always just charter, but it’s not necessarily the students within their LEA, it’s the students that transfer in, and charter schools are notorious for kiddos that move around quite a bit. And if LEAs are dependent on their registration forms, they are completely behind the times. We can’t be dependent on that parent checking, yes they have an IEP. I’ve worked in the charter school, a tiny one where I’ve had them scraped off a car floor and here’s one page of the IEP, good luck.
But we do have tremendous data systems that we have resources with. And if your data stewards are not using CALPADS, as soon as that kiddo walks in the door, your Child Find is kind of lost in which kind of dominoes into late services, no services in a timely management, and also IEP decisions, right? Because now you have to compensate for missing services and you have to do your offer of FAPE. So it just kind of, I think it stems from that and then the knowledge of that you do have a special education student within your boundaries, within your door.
Beckie Davis:
Yeah, those are great points, Wendy. And you did, you covered a good many of the barriers. Sometimes parents don’t understand that their child had an IEP. I’ve had a parent tell me, “He doesn’t have an IEP, he’s not special ed. He just goes to see the speech teacher.” Not understanding that speech language impairment can be a category of disability. Or I’ve also had the parent tell me, “Yeah, I just wanted to see how he would do in this new setting to see if things would be better.” So you are right, it’s the school that is receiving the child that has a responsibility for finding out if that child in fact has an IEP, and you offered some great suggestions there as well.
So it is usually a systems issue and being clear with roles and responsibility in writing helps. This helps not only to onboard new employees, but it gives everyone written procedures that they can refer back to at any time. Wendy mentioned the tracking system. Having a tracking system to monitor your due dates, initial evaluation timelines, re-evals, annual reviews is critical. It helps prevent missed deadlines and reduces the risk of state complaints and other findings of noncompliance. Building capacity and support for classroom staff to implement accommodations and other services in the IEP is critical. Establishing and maintaining documentation, you will live and die by your documentation. This prevents miscommunication, it provides evidence of compliance with the IEP, and then establishing clear and consistent documented communication practices with families. That strong communication system with family supports parent participation and engagement and really goes a long way when you do encounter issues if you’ve already got a strong relationship with the family. So, great. I know you had some great discussions, and Kelly’s gonna tell us a little bit more about how we’re gonna be able to continue with those great discussions.
Kelly Wynveen:
Great. Thank you all and thank you, Beckie. So the bottom line, just a quick recap is that strong systems, training, good documentation are the best safeguards. Charter schools have this autonomy in California, and they are responsible for meeting the needs of students with disabilities. And when that autonomy is paired with inclusive practices, strong leadership, and accountability, then we know that charter schools do what they can do best and provide effective, equitable special education services. We’ve got tons of resources for you within this deck. This PowerPoint will be emailed to everyone who registered for the call and it will also be posted on our website within one week of every webinar that we host. So there’s QR codes here, I know you don’t have time to pull them all up, so we will send this deck out to you all so that you can access some of the great resources out there. Some of these are national resources, some of these are California-specific resources. Connect with your SELPA if you haven’t already. We’re so lucky to have El Dorado on this call, which a lot of you are part of, but make sure you are connecting with your SELPAs cause they’ve got great information for you too. We hope to partner with them and share some of their expertise on our upcoming technical assistance as well.
And then we’ve got some more events coming up. So like we mentioned, today was very content heavy, but on April 14th we have our first continuous improvement network meeting. This will be far less of us talking and really a time for you to connect with your peers. We’re hoping to highlight some best practices because you all are doing amazing things in your schools to support students with disabilities. Also have some problems of practice protocols. So if you’re struggling with something and you wanna share it and get some feedback from other peers, other school leaders, other SPED directors, that’s what we’re doing April 14th. So please register for that one. And then our next webinar is May 19th where we are gonna dive even more specifically into IEP development and implementation. Both of those registration links are in the chat. The only other thing that we ask for you is we’ve got an exit survey. It’s super quick. Please just take a minute to grab this link before you sign off. Give us your feedback on this webinar today. And also there is a space there if you are interested in sharing a problem of practice with the group.
Our first continuous improvement network, you can volunteer to share your problem and get some feedback from peers and other school leaders. Again though, just thank you all so much for your time. We know that there’s a ton going on as school leaders, as teachers, as SPED directors, as support providers. There’s always a million asks coming your way, and we really are just grateful that you took the time to join us today and hope to see you on a future continuous improvement network meeting or a future webinar. If you have any questions, we’ll hang on for a minute. But thank you all for joining. Take the exit survey, and we hope to see you next time.