Data Collection - Is Your Child’s Special Education Plan Supporting Their Needs?
Is your child receiving MTSS interventions? Does your child have a 504 Plan or Individualized Education Plan? Does your child receive speech or language therapy, occupational therapy, or another related service within their educational environment? If so, are you receiving the appropriate data collection towards your child’s interventions, accommodations, goals and related services?
At this point in the school year, your child’s special education plan is likely in place. Some children are in the process of initial eligibility and evaluations, re-evaluations, IEP reviews, and receiving special education services. As a parent, half of the battle is ensuring that your child is receiving the proper education plan to support them, and the other half of the battle is ensuring that once your child has that plan, it is being followed and is supporting their needs.
How Do I Know If My Child’s Special Education Plan Is Being Followed?
You can determine if your child’s education plan is being followed through communication with the appropriate school staff and with data collection.
What Is Data Collection?
Data collection can come in many forms and depends on your child’s education plan. Here are a few examples of the type of data collection and information that you should be looking for from your child’s teachers, support staff, and ESE specialists.
Multi-Tiered Support System (MTSS)
Verification of your child’s placement within the MTSS Tiers
Identify the interventions that are in place for your child
Request Information (data) collected by the teacher to show progress (or lack of) with the implementation of the interventions
After reviewing the data, determine if the interventions are supporting your child and progress is being made
If your child is not excelling, consider new interventions and the placement within the tiered system
504 Plans
Ensure you have a copy of the most up to date 504 Plan for your child
Identify the accommodations listed on your child’s plan
Request information (data) as it pertains to each of your child’s accommodations
After reviewing the data, determine if the current accommodations are helping your child achieve success within their educational environment
If you find that the accommodations listed on your child’s 504 plan are not helping him/her excel, determine if new accommodations should be added for additional support or if there is the need for more intensive, individualized support
IEP (Individualized Education Plan)
Ensure you have a copy of the most up to date IEP for your child
Identify each goal, short-term objective, benchmark and related service listed on your child’s plan
Request information (data) as it pertains to each IEP goal and related progress monitoring for related services (such as Speech, Occupational, or Behavior therapy)
IEP goals should be measurable. Ensure that each goal is being measured through data collection
Determine if your child is on track to meet their goal, not on track, or has already met their goal. Data collection of each goal and related service will help you to determine if your child’s IEP should be updated and/or it’s currently supporting their needs within their educational environment
As a parent, you have the right to this information and data as it pertains to your child and their special education plans. Now is the time. Reach out to your child’s school to ensure that their education plan is properly supporting them.
Are you unsure of how to collect data and information pertaining to your child’s special education plan? Do you need assistance interpreting the data once you have collected it? Is your child’s current plan not supporting their needs? For assistance with data collection, interpretation and special education planning, contact our team today!!
Here are a few great resources regarding data collection as it pertains to your child’s specific education plan:
Multi-Tier Systems of Support (MTSS)
Individualized Education Plans
If you need further information or support, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Jessica Barisano
Founder, Collaborative Corner for Exceptional Children
jessica@collaborativecorner.org