Ky. General Supervision Enhancement Grant

The Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute at the University of Kentucky, in partnership with the Kentucky Department of Education, the Department for Public Health in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, the Urban Studies Institute at the University of Louisville, and United Partners in Kentucky (a coalition of organizations promoting parental involvement in education) seek to address 3 focus areas within the Office of Special Education Program's (OSEP) General Supervision Enhancement Grant (GSEG) in order to improve services to children and students with disabilities. The first component of the project will address the first two focus areas of the GSEG in order to continue the development of outcome indicators for Part C and Part B, particularly preschool programs within Part B. Kentucky is one of five states across the country that has developed and implemented universally designed child standards for children from birth to age 5. These standards are linked with both the K-12 standards (Program of Studies) and the Head Start Outcomes. In addition, Kentucky has developed an assessment system to help local program determine if children are meeting these standards. This places Kentucky in a unique position to determine and track the extent to which young children with disabilities are meeting these standards. As part of this project, we will pilot a process that can help programs implement a Comprehensive Assessment System that can be used for children, birth to five, with and without disabilities, in group settings across multiple delivery systems (public school, inclusive private and non-profit child care centers). These systems will be designed/refined and evaluated to ensure that programs can measure the extent to which young children with disabilities are being included in the assessment system and the extent to which they are meeting the state standards. Being able to track the extent to which young children with disabilities are meeting the state standards can facilitate smoother transitions for young children between Part C and Part B, a high priority of Kentucky at this time. Therefore, the second component of this project will address the development of a coordinated data management system that supports the transition process. Currently in Kentucky, this transition is dependent on the extent to which Part C Primary Service Coordinators provide families with information about available Part B services, inform the school districts of potential students, and report on successful transitions via the Central Billing and Information System (CBIS - the Part C data system). In addition, since Part B and Part C do not share common student identifiers, it is difficult to evaluate how well the state has performed in improving the transition success of children between Part C and Part B. Our third component addresses the third focus stated in the GSEG application, with the intent of enhancing Kentucky's alternate assessment system to meet federal guidelines, as well as preparing for upcoming changes in Kentucky's assessment and accountability system. GSEG funds will be used to assess the technical adequacy of the current alternate assessment system, as well as convening an expert stakeholder group, with strong parent and teacher involvement, to explore potential changes to the current assessment. At the end of the funding period, a model alternate assessment system will be developed, that could be implemented in 2007. Our proposal is based on findings from both Part B and Part C's most recent Annual Performance Reports and OSEP verification visits. We have included parents in the development of the proposal through the coordination efforts of United Parents in Kentucky. The planning and coordination efforts we have proposed will provide Kentucky with a strong basis for making data-based improvements in services for children and students with disabilities.