An Alternate Assessment measures an ESE student’s level of achievement and mastery of the Florida ESE Sunshine State Standards. The decision for an ESE student to participate in Alternate Assessment is made by the IEP committee. There are specific criteria that a student must meet in order to be considered for Alternate Assessment. The student must be unable to master the grade-level Sunshine State Standards, even with appropriate and allowable course accommodations. The student’s demonstrated cognitive ability must be the primary reason for the inability to master grade-level standards. The ESE student must be participating in a modified or functional curriculum based on the competencies in the Sunshine State Standards for Special Diploma for all academic areas. The student must also require extensive direct instruction in functional academics and vocational competencies as well as domestic, community living and leisure activities. Additionally, the student must have deficits in adaptive behavior, as demonstrated by the inability to function effectively and independently in everyday living skills across a variety of settings.

If an ESE student’s intellectual ability, independent functioning level and educational setting match ALL of the criteria areas identified and described above, then he/she may be considered/recommended for Alternate Assessment by the IEP committee.

Charter Schools

Alternate high school 4-year progression for ESE students

The program is designed to serve students 3 to 22 years with the main focus on children 3 to 5 yrs. of age who are not involved in public schools programs and who may need and benefit from ESE programs and services.

Extended School Year (ESY) refers to specially designed instruction and related services that are provided to a student with a disability beyond the normal school year. Extended School Year services are provided when the student’s IEP team determines, on an individual basis, that the services are necessary for the provision of FAPE to the student.

Criteria used to determine whether a student requires ESY may include, but are not limited to, the following:

*Data indicates the student has significant regression or delay in recoupment of critical skill areas as evidenced by past performance.

*The student has a critical need for continuity to maintain current performance in critical life skills: self help, motor, communication, social and/or vocational.

*The student has a critical need for a highly structured program to maintain established behavioral controls, and reduce serious, interfering behavior.

*The student is at a critical point of instruction.

*Special circumstances as determined by the IEP team.

The Extended School Year (ESY) consideration should be viewed as an instructional effort to insure continuity, consistency, and accountability for meeting the student’s unique educational and/or social-emotional needs.

The measurement process used to determine severe regression and slow / delayed recoupment of critical skills should be an inherent component of the on-going instructional program. Formal and Informal assessment should be utilized to determine the extent of regression and recoupment of critical skills identified on the IEP. The documentation of student performance will assist teachers and administrators in making recommendations for ESY services.

Amanda Mann is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst for the Escambia County School District. Her job is to provide support to the teachers and parents of exceptional education students who are experiencing disruptive or problematic behaviors in the school setting.

School Medicaid - Coordinates the billing for services provided students in the district. Oversees training, Random Sample forms, and medicaid eligibility.

Parent Liaisons - Serve as a source of support and information for parents and educators of students in any exceptional student education program by fostering communciations between families, educators, and the community on issues related to special education.

One social worker is employed at the district level. Her primary responsibilites include Child Find, Surrogate Parents and working with district level initiatives. She is available to work on school-based cases by referral from a school principal, guidance counselor, intervention specialist or ESE district staff. Classroom teachers may call with questions about the appropriateness of a referral.

Start-to-Finish® Core Content — the newest considerate reading solution in the Start-to-Finish Publishing product line. Addressing the needs of striving readers, Start-to-Finish Core Content gives students a complete picture of a topic and successful expository reading experience, compared to the incomplete information and summaries they receive with traditional textbooks . The goal of the software "...is to provide all students who are several years behind their peers with a successful, engaging experience in the content areas."

Class sets of Core Content will be distributed to each of the middle school science and social studies teachers in our district who participate in the two-day summer training by ECATT.

• Identify individual student needs
• Differentiate between accommodations and modifications
• Select and design appropriate accommodations
• Implement and monitor accommodations, and
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the accommodations to increase success in the general education curriculum for individual learners.

Particiants will implement accommodations in their classroom and report on their effectiveness as a requirement of the workshop. Substitutes will be paid for Escambia County participants by the ESE Department for general and ESE teachers. Educators can sign up for the workshop on the FDLRS website.

Fast ForWord is an auditory processing remediation program available in 16 of the Escambia County schools. It takes about 12 weeks to complete and consists of a series of"sound exercises" that must be completed five days a week for fifty minutes a day.

This math intervention software program uses research-validated methods to help struggling students develop fluency with basic math facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Using the FASTT system (Fluency and Automaticity through Systematic Teaching with Technology), the software provides a continuously adaptive program that efficiently increases math fact fluency in customized, 10-minute daily sessions. Developing automatic recall of basic math facts enables students to focus on higher-order math skills such as advanced computation, problem solving, and algebra. FASTT Math also includes prescribed print activities for those students who need additional instruction in the conceptual foundation of numbers and operations.

Secondary teachers in our county participated in a successful year-long pilot of the software during the '05-'06 year. Those participating schools received further copies of the software during the '06-'07 year. In addition, several of those schools piloted the follow-up math program, GO SOLVE, which trains students in the engaging software program which teaches students to recognize mathematical situations in word problems, comprehend problems with the aid of graphic organizers, and plan solutions with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Literacy Links is a year long professional development training designed for teachers in grades K-3. The purpose of this project is to provide participants with a deeper understanding of the five areas of early reading instruction and to “link” that instruction to the effective use of technology to reinforce reading skills. In addition to being provided with the most current research information on early literacy instruction for struggling readers, participants in Literacy Links also receive literacy center materials including technology tools and software to use in their classrooms. Literacy Links is offered once each school year and acceptance into the training is granted through an application process.