Attendance: Marilyn Baird, Randy Schelble, Bunny McCoun, Ken Hennefer, Ronda Menlove, Pam Hudson, Jennie Gibson, Brenda Broadbent, Tom Burchett, Mary Vaughn Jill Weight, Harriet Dickerson.

• Approval or changes to minutes previous meeting

Need to clarify when the minutes from task forces will be posted on the web page. The minutes should go out to taskforce members to be reviewed within a week of the meeting. They should then be reviewed and finalized before being put on the Web page. Minutes from previous accepted as written.

• Report from Planning Committee

Tom Burchett, Randy Schelble, and Ronda Menlove presented task force report to the committee in Park City. There was a fair amount of discussion about what the general curriculum is, what all students are expected to learn, and the activities in the classroom during the day. We decided that the general curriculum cannot be limited to just the core curriculum. We could add to a glossary definitions that could be accepted for general curriculum but decided not to add to the purpose statement.

General curriculum is defined as the skills and concepts all students are required to learn through the school day. Decided to use glossary to define the required skills and concepts. The general curriculum for preschool has not been defined. The statement should apply to ages 3-21. How the disability impacts ...Examples and nonexamples will give more meaning to the wording.

We decided that when we can't get agreement, we will pose the question on the website to get response/feedback/ideas.

Question to discuss: is purpose statement applicable to ages 3-21? Need to include applied skills, community experience for older students.

Write up the IEP first and then use goals and objectives to make up the lesson plan. Purpose statement alone cannot provide more information that has been available in the past. Once goals and examples are written it will provide that information.

References to specific sections of the Statute discussed.

PURPOSE STATEMENT: Present level of educational performances (PLEP) is intended to describe how the child's disability ... Group as a whole agreed that this is an appropriate PLEP statement.

• Meeting schedule

Next meeting scheduled for October 22, 9:30 -12:30 at the Jones Center Multicultural room. Break for lunch - reconvene 2:00 at State Office of Education room 241. Original meetings were scheduled for twice per month for half days. It was suggested that it would be easier for some individuals to come once a month for an entire day. Marilyn recommended that the taskforce reconsider the meeting schedules. Should respect the individuals who have to travel to attend the meetings. Be flexible to their needs. Will maintain the schedule. It was comfortable for all in attendance.

• Discussion Notes Suggestions for the State Rules (asked for at the Planning committee meeting in Park City). Bigger timeline issue to have rules ready in April rather than get examples/nonexamples.

• References to specific sections of the Statute discussed Purpose Statements for Goals/Benchmarks/Objectives

Purpose statements serves for springboard for checklist items and an explanation of Federal and State regulations. To show the rationale for that particular requirement. If it wasn't required, why would we want to do it?

Are goals meant to be thing the student achievement, or things the teacher will do, or both? Tom has understood that objectives are thing the student is responsible for accomplishing.

Definition of measurable: Can observe and/or collect data used to document progress toward the Annual goal. (Wait to see what regs say)

Need to be careful to accommodate goals for preschool through high school students. The test is to be sure the goal meetings compliance, not what the goals is itself. It needs to be specific to the student.

Using the PLEP as the foundation, the IEP team will identify the projected learning by the student for the duration of the IEP and how it will be measured.

Make on the annual goal observable and not the objectives? To help reduce the paperwork for teachers. But now it sounds like you have to make the annual goal objectives as well as the short-term objectives measurable. Can have more than one annual goal.

Measurable annual goals and short-term objectives or

Measurable annual goal and benchmark

Cannot list only measurable annual goals, but must also include short-term objective or objectives.

Examples:

Annual goal: By the end of first grade, Johnny will be able to be in first grade without yelling out or throwing temper tantrums.

Benchmarks: Johnny will not throw temper tantrums for three months.

Johnny will not throw temper tantrums for six months.

Annual goal: By the end of the year I want ___ to be able to determine areas of vocational training that he is interested in.

Benchmarks: Job shadow

Interest inventory filled out

Interview activities

1. Are the annual goals written?
2. Do the annual goals relate to the student needs identified in the PLEP?
3. Are the annual goals measurable through observation and/or data collection? (vii STAT 85)
4. Are benchmarks and/or short-term objectives included to indicate progress toward the annual goal?

Should develop wording for the checklist items that will produce high inter-rater reliability or produce good examples/nonexamples.

Teachers are drowning in paperwork, and regular educators are also starting to be nervous about new rules and taking on the additional responsibility of students. In simplying for process it becomes easier for Sped as well as regular educators. With the increased use of SEPs and SEOPs, people are becoming more accustomed to writing goal and objectives.

Need to decide on definitions for BENCHMARK, MEASURABLE, and SHORT-TERM OBJECTIVE.

Need to write as broad of descriptions as possible so that teachers can write goals specific to individual student needs and not be constrained to one specific way.

• SUMMARY Summary of Recommendations

Have come up with good purpose statement.

Ideas for items to be on the checklist.

At next meeting, when other members attend, do you need to go back over the things already discussed and agreed on, to get other input? Get information back from planning meeting. Let those who didn't attend get the information from the minutes they will be sent. Task force will make recommendations to the Planning Committee and then wait for their feedback. To some extent there needs to be room for input.

• Glossary Terms

General Curriculum: The general curriculum is defined as the skills and concepts all students are expected to learn through activities and classes of the school day. For example, sources of general curriculum can include: The USOE core curriculum, district-adopted curriculum, the life skills curriculum, social and character education, typical growth and development and activities for preschool-aged children, vocational (ie. Applied Technology Center, work experience) and community-based activities..

Measurable annual Goals: Goals that are observable and/or for which data can be collected.

• Titles of Critical Reference Materials used during the meetings

Schrag, J. A. (1996, September) The IEP: Benefits, challenges, and future directions

• Questions for OSEP visit:

What is the "general curriculum?" How is the general curriculum defined? What did

Congress intend when they included the general curriculum?

What are benchmarks? How are benchmarks different from short term objectives?

The statute states that measurable annual goals must be written? Must benchmarks

• Action Steps to be taken by the Co-Chairpersons or others

Minutes will be mailed by the co-chairpersons to all committee members within one week. Minutes will not be posted on the web site.

OSEP questions will be sent to the USOE.

Agendas will be mailed to all committee members prior to the next meeting.

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