Attendance & Membership

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The Bottom Line

To receive funding for Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE), our districts must accurately report student Attendance, Membership, and Special Education Service Hours (SESH). This is done in three specific scenarios:

Claiming Evaluation Hours: We must claim the hours spent on evaluations for students ages birth-preschool.
Claiming Attendance, Membership, and SESH for Part C & B ECSE Students: We claim attendance for students who receive services outside of our district’s preschool program. This applies to Part C families (early intervention for infants and toddlers) and Part B students (preschool-aged children).
Documenting Absences for Part B ECSE Students: We document absences for Part B ECSE students who receive services within our district’s preschool program. Special education service hours will be pulled from the service grid of the IEP.

Go-To Tools

The handy tools that help you get the job done efficiently.

MDE_Procedure 6-EC Reporting_2024.10.1

MARSS Procdure 6

Reporting Early Childhood (EC) Special Education Students

Membership, Attendance and Special Education Service Hours

Purpose of Attendance and Membership:
Every ECSE student's attendance and membership count! This information is vital for securing the funding that supports their education and provides them with the specific resources they need. In other words:

DATA = $$$

What are the data sources for calculation membership, attendance, and special education service hours (SESH)?

SESH = Direct + Indirect SCHEDULED special education services

Special education service hours (SESH) include the direct and indirect time of teachers and other certified and licensed personnel that are scheduled to be provided. SESH will be calculated using the data provided in the services grid of the IEP. Because SESH are not reduced by the absence of the provider or the child the data necessary for SESH calculation is the service grid of each child’s IEP.

MEMBERSHIP = Attendance + Absences

Membership is the number of hours a CHILD IS SCHEDULED to receive special education services or to participate in regular education programs through their IEP or IFSP for which the district expends resources. Membership includes the time students were scheduled for service or participation but were absent for up to 15 consecutive school days. It also includes indirect service time to the extent that time is documented on a child’s IEP and the time for initial evaluation and assessment activities.

ATTENDANCE = Time student was scheduled and participated

Attendance hours include time that students were both scheduled to attend and actually participated in the planned instructional activities. Eligible indirect services are included in the calculation of attendance, even when the student is absent. The formula for the calculation of attendance is membership minus absence.

WHAT activities generate revenue?

WHAT CAN services???

WHAT ACTIVITIES CAN BE CLAIMED FOR AN EVALUATION?

WHAT CAN WE INCLUDE FOR AN INITIAL EVALUATION?

- Working directly with the child
- Obtaining information from the parent/guardian
- Observing the child, including language samples or systematic observations
- Meeting with the parent/guardian
- Writing the evaluation report
- Up to two hours of IEP/IFSP writing

*Note for Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) students: VPK students being evaluated for special education can ONLY generate membership hours for the evaluation time outside of their VPK classroom time (i.e. parent brings child in for evaluation testing on a non-preschool day, evaluation write-up time, or IEP meeting when child is not at preschool).

WHAT CAN WE INCLUDE FOR PART C TO B EVALUATIONS OR RE-EVALUATIONS?

Any evaluation activities listed above that are completed outside of the child's typical special education services generate membership and can be claimed through attendance and membership.

i.e. A child is transitioning from Part C to Part B and the Part B evaluation testing is completed outside a regularly scheduled home visit time.
i.e. A preschooler attends preschool and receives special education services Tuesday and Thursday. The parent brings the child in for evaluation testing on a Wednesday

FAQ: Can I lump hours or do they have to be specific?

DOCUMENTATION

WHEN and HOW to DOCUMENT

Attendance, Membership, and SESH need to be documented in 3 different situations:

Documentation for EVALUATIONS (for both Part C and Part B ECSE)
Documentation for services when a child is not enrolled in District Paid Preschool, i.e., Part C services, Part B ECSE services outside of district-paid preschool placement
Documentation for services when a child is enrolled in preschool, paid for by the district

Documentation for Evaluations (Part C and Part B ECSE)

Step 1:

Click the 'Attendance' link under the 'Enrollment and Attendance' folder. It will automatically bring you to today's date. Toggle between months at the top if needed.

Step 2:

Click the 'Add' button to add a record.

Step 3:

Make sure to include the following items:

Provider number (it may autofill)
Change drop down to 'Evaluation'
Attendance minutes and membership minutes (these should be the same for the evaluation)
A brief description of the evaluation activity

Click 'Save'

Documentation of Services (ATTENDANCE LOGS)

Use this section when child is NOT enrolled in a district-paid preschool program

Part C services
Part B ECSE services when child is placed outside of district-paid preschool

Step 1:

Click the 'Attendance' link under the 'Enrollment and Attendance' folder. It will automatically bring you to today's date. Toggle between months at the top if needed.

Step 2:

Click the 'Add' button to add a record.

Step 3:

Make sure to include the following items:

Provider number (it may autofill)
Choose 'Attendance' for the drop down
Enter the number of minutes for Attendance and Membership and Special Education Minutes - direct and/or indirect (This should match what is in your IFSP/IEP under the service grid)
Choose the 'Service'
Give a brief description

Click Save

*There is a delete button if needed.

Examples:

Part C Home Visit

Lead provider:

Special Notes:

Part C does not have indirect minutes. This should always be 0.

At least 1 provider should always claim attendance and membership on joint visits.

Part C Joint Home Visit

Other providers on joint visit:

Highlights:

If there is more than one provider at the home visit, the secondary provider should never claim attendance and membership minutes. Direct minutes should be the only box filled for secondary providers.

Part C Home Visit Absence

Lead provider:

Reminders

If possible, make best attempt to reschedule cancelled home visits. Claiming absences should be infrequent.

An absence is only able to be claimed when a family cancels the visit, not when a provider cancels.

Part C Home Visit Absence

Other providers on planned joint visit:

Tips:

When entering an absence, the only difference from entering an actual visit will be the Attendance type dropdown box, which will say Absent instead of Attendance.

Part B ECSE Services - Providing services solo! (outside of district-paid preschool placement)

Things to remember:

Your indirect and direct minutes should add up to your attendance and membership minutes.

Part B ECSE Services - Related service provider joining visit (outside of district-paid preschool placement)

Things to note:

In the Attendance minutes box and Membership minutes box, only include your indirect minutes. Your direct minutes have already been included in the primary service attendance and membership.

Part B ECSE Services - Providing services solo! (outside of district-paid preschool placement) - Absence

Reminders

Your indirect and direct minutes should add up only to your membership minutes. Your attendance minutes should always be 0.

Part B ECSE Services - Related service provider joining visit (outside of district-paid preschool placement) - Absence

Reminders

Attendance minutes should always be 0. You will enter your indirect time for membership as well as your planned indirect and direct minutes.

Documentation for Services (ABSENCE LOGS)

Use this section when a child is enrolled in preschool paid for by the district

Attendance for preschool students with IEPs who are enrolled in district-paid preschool programs is tracked via student ABSENCE logs.

**Note: Do not track staff absences or missed service time if the child was present at school.

Case managers should track absences using the following directions:

STEP 1:

Click the absence log for the student who was absent

STEP 2:

Click the '+ Add' button in the upper right corner to add an absence

Fill in the date of the absence and the number of minutes they were absent

*IEPs must be finalized in SpEd Forms in order for absence reports to pull correctly for children enrolled in a district-paid preschool program.

*If you don't see a drop-down option for a preschool class, please reach out to your Early Childhood Services Coordinator

Guidance for Entering Data into Sped Forms

Reminders:

IEPs must be finalized in SpEd Forms in order for absence reports to pull correctly for children enrolled in a district-paid preschool program.
It is recommended that attendance and membership (and absences) be entered in at least monthly.
If you don't see a drop-down option for a preschool class, please reach out to your Early Childhood Services Coordinator

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