APS Percentage on IDP and Gifted

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I looked at the dashboard, OP, and it does not list IEPs, IEPs does NOT = disabled population.
I've not seen APS list #IEPs (or #504s) for that matter.

However, I'm also interested in this data, and whether APS also compiles # of simultaneous GIFTED/Advanced AND IEP - was not aware they are available.

Yes. On OP’s link.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title8/agency20/chapter81/section10/

“Child with a disability" means a child evaluated in accordance with the provisions of this chapter as having an intellectual disability, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment (including blindness), a serious emotional disability (referred to in this part as "emotional disability"), an orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, an other health impairment, a specific learning disability, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services. This also includes developmental delay if the local educational agency recognizes this category as a disability in accordance with 8VAC20-81-80 M 3. If it is determined through an appropriate evaluation that a child has one of the disabilities identified but only needs a related service and not special education, the child is not a child with a disability under this part. If the related service required by the child is considered special education rather than a related service under Virginia standards, the child would be determined to be a child with a disability. (§ 22.1-213 of the Code of Virginia; 34 CFR 300.8(a)(1) and 34 CFR 300.8(a)(2)(i) and (ii))

These are the implementing regulations for the IDEA in Virginia, the law that governs IEPs. There are also two more laws, Section 504 and the ADA, under which disabled students in public schools have rights.

But in practice when APS uses the term SWD or students with disabilities, they often are just referring to students with IEPs, not those with 504 plans.

Right. Kids who need services, as described in the definition above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 2 of the 477. Happy to answer questions op.

per day or week, how much specialized instruction does your student get as a SWD or GT student?

my DD is neither, so she gets whatever is left over, and with such a huge population of both, I worry that being in the middle means you get a lot of independent study time.

Huh? That's not how it works. With the changes this year, APS isn't offering any services to gifted students that it isn't offering to all students. The Advanced Academic Coaches are now working with classroom teachers to do whole class enrichment. They do not do anything specific for the tagged students.

In reality this means that average students are engaged in appropriate learning, while students who are gifted likely have a ton of downtime after they finish their work with nothing more to do. My elementary school student has been reading several hundred pages of her book each day at school for most of the year. She finished one SOL this week and then read for 3.5 hours while everyone else finished. There's a ton of wasted time with no additional challenge for advanced and gifted students in the APS system.

So essentially GT had been eliminated?

No. GT enrichment work is available to all.

In practice, this means an extra worksheet is available to everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title8/agency20/chapter81/section10/

“Child with a disability" means a child evaluated in accordance with the provisions of this chapter as having an intellectual disability, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment (including blindness), a serious emotional disability (referred to in this part as "emotional disability"), an orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, an other health impairment, a specific learning disability, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services. This also includes developmental delay if the local educational agency recognizes this category as a disability in accordance with 8VAC20-81-80 M 3. If it is determined through an appropriate evaluation that a child has one of the disabilities identified but only needs a related service and not special education, the child is not a child with a disability under this part. If the related service required by the child is considered special education rather than a related service under Virginia standards, the child would be determined to be a child with a disability. (§ 22.1-213 of the Code of Virginia; 34 CFR 300.8(a)(1) and 34 CFR 300.8(a)(2)(i) and (ii))

These are the implementing regulations for the IDEA in Virginia, the law that governs IEPs. There are also two more laws, Section 504 and the ADA, under which disabled students in public schools have rights.

But in practice when APS uses the term SWD or students with disabilities, they often are just referring to students with IEPs, not those with 504 plans.

Right. Kids who need services, as described in the definition above.

That definition doesn't do what you think it does, but okaaay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 2 of the 477. Happy to answer questions op.

per day or week, how much specialized instruction does your student get as a SWD or GT student?

my DD is neither, so she gets whatever is left over, and with such a huge population of both, I worry that being in the middle means you get a lot of independent study time.

Huh? That's not how it works. With the changes this year, APS isn't offering any services to gifted students that it isn't offering to all students. The Advanced Academic Coaches are now working with classroom teachers to do whole class enrichment. They do not do anything specific for the tagged students.

In reality this means that average students are engaged in appropriate learning, while students who are gifted likely have a ton of downtime after they finish their work with nothing more to do. My elementary school student has been reading several hundred pages of her book each day at school for most of the year. She finished one SOL this week and then read for 3.5 hours while everyone else finished. There's a ton of wasted time with no additional challenge for advanced and gifted students in the APS system.

So essentially GT had been eliminated?

No. There are extension activities or additional parts of a rubric that ID’d kids are required to do (at my kids’ schools, anyway) but that are available to any kid who is up for the challenge. In middle school the advanced classes have taken the place of clustering and differentiating content.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 2 of the 477. Happy to answer questions op.

per day or week, how much specialized instruction does your student get as a SWD or GT student?

my DD is neither, so she gets whatever is left over, and with such a huge population of both, I worry that being in the middle means you get a lot of independent study time.

Huh? That's not how it works. With the changes this year, APS isn't offering any services to gifted students that it isn't offering to all students. The Advanced Academic Coaches are now working with classroom teachers to do whole class enrichment. They do not do anything specific for the tagged students.

In reality this means that average students are engaged in appropriate learning, while students who are gifted likely have a ton of downtime after they finish their work with nothing more to do. My elementary school student has been reading several hundred pages of her book each day at school for most of the year. She finished one SOL this week and then read for 3.5 hours while everyone else finished. There's a ton of wasted time with no additional challenge for advanced and gifted students in the APS system.

So essentially GT had been eliminated?

Of course not. But if you want specific and separate programs for gifted kids in elementary, you will need to move to FCPS. That's not the APS model.

Or you will need to push for APS to change its delivery model and allot a lot more money for gifted instruction. Good luck with that.