Cohort 1: Programmatic Tools and Resources to Support Preschool Children with Disabilities in the Mixed Delivery System
- Special Educator Certification, Licensure, Endorsements
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Delivery of Special Education Services for Preschool Aged Children
- Presentation: Certification Supports for Teachers of Children with Disabilities Birth to School Age 5 (282B)
Links to Certificate Requirements
- Teachers of Students with Disabilities, 0 to age 5 (282B)
- Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments, Prek-12 (291)
- Teacher of Students with Hearing Impairments, Prek-12 (292)
- Teacher of Students with Severe Impairments, Prek-12 (286)
Licensure of Related Service Providers
- Occupational Therapy Board of Occupational Therapy Practice - Licensing | Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (maine.gov)
- Physical Therapy Board of Physical Therapy | Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (maine.gov)
- Speech Language Therapy Board of Speech, Audiology and Hearing | Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (maine.gov)
- Educational Technician Title 20-A, §13019-H: Educational technician certificate (maine.gov)
- School Psychologist 093 Certificate Requirements and Application Materials 12.2022.pdf (maine.gov) Board of Examiners of Psychologists | Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (maine.gov)
- Social Work State Board of Social Worker Licensure | Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (maine.gov)
- General Education Teacher Certification and Qualification Requirements in Inclusive Settings
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Certificates in Elementary and Public PreK settings
The Early Learning Team at the Maine Department of Education created the Preschool Guidebook, providing comprehensive guidance to establish and expand public PreK in Maine. The guidebook includes standards, structures, and supports for SAUs that choose to offer high quality programming to meet diverse needs of preschoolers, families and communities. These programs are offering or have the potential to be inclusive settings for preschool children with disabilities. The following certificates qualify educators to provide early childhood general education.
Provider Qualifications in Private Childcare Programs
Preschool aged children may attend non-public, private childcare programs and receive their special education services in that location. When special education services to preschool aged children with disabilities are delivered here, they are to be designed and delivered by certified special education teachers. Children are included in and can benefit from the day-to-day learning activities in childcare programs delivered by professionals that meet licensing standards. Schools will determine if the private childcare setting meets the requirements of a Free Appropriate Public Education to ensure the education program meets the standard of the State.
Provider Qualifications in Head Start Programs
Educational programs in Head Start classrooms are also opportune locations for children with disabilities to access high quality early learning environments; they enhance early childhood services for low-income and other at-risk children and families. Educator qualifications in these settings are represented in the following document:
- Roles and Responsibilities of Early Childhood Special Education Practitioners
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Several national early childhood technical assistance organizations have collaborated to develop Early Childhood Special Education Standards of Practice. Additionally, they have made available supportive resources to ensure educator preparation programs have readily available tools to support recruitment and retention efforts and offer tools for personnel development to enhance the workforce.
Standards
- The Initial Practice-Based Professional Preparation Standards for Early Interventionists/Early Childhood Special Educators (2020) represent the first formal standards to focus specifically on the preparation of early interventionists and early childhood special educators who work with young children ages birth through 8 years of age who have or are at-risk for developmental delays and disabilities and their families, across home, classroom and community settings.
Course Development Resources
- Institutes of higher education course development resources from the national technical assistance center, Early Childhood Personnel Center, aligned programs of study to state and national professional organization personnel standards and Cross-Disciplinary Competencies, integrated Division for Early Childhood Recommended Practices (RP) into programs of study, and used evidenced-based adult learning practices to create resources to support IHE programs of study. Early Childhood Personnel Center (ECPC) Course Development and Curriculum Resources for EI/ECSE Standards
Practical Application Tools
- The Division of Early Childhood and the Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center teamed up to offer guidance on implementing evidence-based recommended practices through practice improvement tools and self-assessments for practitioners and families in both English and Spanish.
- Practitioner Recruitment and Retention
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Recruitment and retention of practitioners in early care and education is an essential element in delivering high quality programs. The following resources are designed to aid in these efforts:
- Supportive Practices Research for Recruitment and Retention of Staff
- Special Educator Engagement, Development and Support (SEEDS) Alternative Certificate Program Maine's Alternative Certification and Mentoring Program (umaine.edu)
- Early Childhood Professional Development Network's Registry: Growth Opportunities through Maine Roads to Quality
- Department of Health ECE Workforce Salary Monthly Supplement System for Practitioners in Licensed Sites
- Child Find in Early Childhood
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The IDEA requires that children with disabilities be identified, located, and evaluated. An effective child find system is an ongoing part of an SAU’s responsibility to ensure that a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is made available to all eligible children with disabilities. In early childhood, because children may not yet be in school, locating preschool age children with disabilities requires state and local education agencies to develop and support an ongoing system for notifying families and community members about evaluation opportunities when there is a concern about delays in children's development. It also requires that families and community members be familiar with the expected skills and behaviors are in early childhood, and what might constitute a delay.
Child Find in Early Childhood Special Education Maine Unified Special Education Regulations (MUSER)
- The Child Outcomes Summary (COS) Process
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The Child Outcomes Summary Process is a required assessment process to measure the growth and development of preschool age children with disabilities who receive special education services. It is a consistent way to rate a child’s functioning relative to age expected behavior at specific points in time.
Professional Development
- COS Process Overview Information Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA)
- COS Process Training Modules (ECTA)
- Cohort 1 Presentation on Child Outcomes Summary Process for:
- COS Process Fact Sheet and Q & A
- COS Parent Training and Preparation Resources to support parent participation
Practice Implementation Resources
- IDEA Part C to Part B Transition Process
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Children aged 0-3 that receive Early Intervention (EI) services from Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, have the potential to receive Part B Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) services for children ages 3-5. Timely transition activities start while in Early Intervention to describe services available once the child turns three and Early Intervention ends. Coordinated activities to ensure eligible children have an Individualize Education Program prior to age three include:
- Descriptions of available programs and services, differences between EI and ECSE,
- Sharing of information about timelines and locations for the Transition Conference, evaluation, IEP meetings with schools
- Sharing information about the parent's ability to opt-out of the notification to schools that the child is potentially eligible for special education
Overview of the C to B Transition Process
Graphic and Description of the C to B Transition Process Timeline
- Preschool Environments and Least Restrictive Environments (LRE)
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Access, participation and engagement are important goals for all children to develop the skills and behaviors needed to enter into school age learning environments. Research shows that settings in which preschool aged children with disabilities learn alongside typically developing peers have been shown to have the most impact, on both groups of children (National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance, 2022). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act states, "in determining the placement of a child with a disability, that the child is educated in the school he or she would attend if nondisabled, unless the IEP requires some other arrangement" (34 CFR §300.116(c).
Presentation: Considerations for Determining LRE in Early Childhood Special Education with Scenarios
LRE Codes Reference for Each Environment on the Continuum of Placement Options
B6 Data Tool: Using the Decision Tree to Help Find the Appropriate Category for a Preschool Aged Child
Self-Assessment of Inclusive Practices
Local Program Indicators and Elements of High-Quality Inclusion
Early Care and Education Environment Indicators and Elements of High-Quality Inclusion