VDOE Resources
Special Education Evaluation Process Video Guide
The Video Guide to the Special Education Evaluation Process for Families provides additional guidance to support accurate and consistent eligibility determinations and access to special education services across school divisions.
For questions regarding these video modules, please contact Bonnie English, Specialist-Related Services, Evaluation and Eligibility, at (804) 750-8181 or Bonnie.English@doe.virginia.gov; or Dr. Zenia Burnett, Director of Instructional Services, at (804) 750-8666 or Zenia.Burnett@doe.virginia.gov. For general inquiries, email spedinstruction@doe.virginia.gov.
These video modules will provide parents, families, and other stakeholders with a brief but comprehensive overview of the special education process on the following topics:
Each module is designed to be viewed as a stand-alone resource or viewed in succession.
SC Division Leader Meeting Summaries & Resources
Direct Counseling Tool of the Month & Additional resources
Tool for helping students (K-12) learn to define a problem, determine its size, and then develop a plan for working towards a solution/goal. Included in this packet are strategies for incorporating this into presentations with school staff.
Theoretical Alignment: Solution Focused Brief Counseling and Motivational Interviewing
Summer Camps and Transition Programs: Looking for a smooth transition to postsecondary education? Explore postsecondary bridge programs and summer camps! These programs are designed to help students bridge the gap between high school and college, providing them with the skills, knowledge, and support needed for success in higher education. With engaging activities, workshops, and mentorship opportunities, students gain valuable insights into college life, academic expectations, and career readiness.
A little background: As you may know, we have some LPCs, Psychologists, and LCSWs who have been provisionally licensed to serve as school counselors under a recent change to VA Code. (See the Re-Sepcialization Pathways document for more information). In order for these candidates to apply for a renewable Pupil Personnel License they must complete coursework that addresses gaps in their training/experience.
The question is: Are there any VA IHEs that are offering coursework unique to LPCs, LCPs, and LCSWs who are seeking a Pupil Personnel License with the School Counselor PreK-12 endorsement?
New Resource for Families of Students with Disabilities
A Facilitated Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting is a voluntary process that may be requested when the IEP Team agrees that the presence of a neutral third party would assist in facilitating communication and problem-solving.
The VDOE's Facilitated IEP Resource Document provides you with valuable information about this process and includes a link to download a request form for this service.
(VCCS-VDOE)
As high schools and their partner colleges develop dual enrollment plans, special attention should be paid to the transferability of the courses selected, the application of those credits to the students’ future plans, and the overall purpose of students earning college credits.
Students should be encouraged to explore areas of interest and to open doors for future study through dual enrollment course offerings. Attention to the depth and quality of learning is important in preparing students to enter into a cohort of students.
The Transfer Virginia (TVA) Dual Enrollment Guides provide in-depth information for staff and students to consider when having discussions and making decisions related to transfer level dual enrollment.
This document and more can be found in the Transfer VA Documents Folder.
Resources from Sarah Bazemore & OSS
- Padlets with resources for every category
VA SCHOOL COUNSELING NEWSLETTER CLICK HERE to subscribe!
The following resources are intended to assist school leaders, teachers, and other educators in implementing social emotional learning in their school buildings and classrooms. Educators are encouraged to confirm alignment with the needs of your students and local division policy before implementing any suggested activities, strategies, or lessons.
Additional SEL implementation resources can be found in the Go Open Virginia SEL Group.
The SEL Vocabulary Cards are intended to help educators make abstract or difficult to understand concepts more relatable.
Each card has a developmentally appropriate definition and many include blackline illustrations. While not all vocabulary words have illustrations, those that don’t still have space for student drawn illustrations. Each vocabulary card can be printed as a worksheet for students to decorate or one that teachers can add to a word wall or bulletin board.
Words are organized under the five core competencies: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Decision-Making.
Each set contains over 40 words for educators to select from as they integrate SEL concepts into their curriculum and daily routines.
Educators can use the Emotions Wheel to help students learn to identify their feelings and the feelings of others. Inspired by Robert Plutchik’s wheel of emotion, each wheel of emotion illustrates a variety of emotions that are connected to primary ones. Each version of the wheels expand on a student's emotional vocabulary as they advance from grade to grade. The suggested grade levels are flexible as every student develops at their own pace.
Check out the Emotions Wheel Guide for more information and printable emotions wheel posters.
Parents and caregivers can use the Wheel of Emotions to enrich conversations with their child. Using a Feelings Wheel: Why it’s Helpful and How it Works is an excellent article by Parent Cue with helpful tips for both educators and caregivers alike.
CHECK THIS OUT!!!!
We encourage you to utilize the resources in the Learning Center located on VDOE's OSS VA Career and Learning Center for MH Professionals Website.
SEARCH TOPICS LIKE
Depression/Anxiety. Resilience . SEL . Suicide Prevention . Trauma AND MORE!
Best Practices and Resources for Welcoming Afghan Refugee Students and Their Families
When Anxiety Affects Education: Strategies for Helping Students Series - To access this series, visit the Virginia Student Services Learning Center and select “When Anxiety Affects Education: Strategies for Helping Students Series” under the course dropdown menu.
English Learner Resource Document for School Counselors, English Language Learner Educators, and Administrators: The Office of Humanities and the Office of School Counseling are pleased to provide school counselors, English language learner educators, and administrators with best practices, technical guidance, and resources to support the identification, placement, and scheduling of ELs in grades K-12. School divisions should use the document linked below as a resource to support English Language Learners. Resource Document
2021 Suicide Prevention Month Theme Resources
Week One: #AskVA
Week Two: #BeThereVA
Talking to Someone You're Worried About (Beyond Blue)
School Connectedness (Military Child Initiative)
School Connectedness (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
How to Better Support Your Marginalized Students Article by Nick Gehl on how to support marginalized students.
Every Student Matters: Cultivating Belonging in the Classroom (Edutopia)
Preventing Youth Suicide: Tips for Parents and Educators (National Association of School Psychologists)
Week Three: #KeepThemSafeVA
Week Four: #HelpThemConnectVA
Week Five: #FollowUpVA
Intervention Resources Developed to Compliment the VDOE Suicide Prevention Guidelines:
Suicide Risk: Tips for Making Parent/Guardian Contact (Word)
Suicide Risk Assessment: Planning Guide and Checklist (Word)
Slide Deck: PowerPoint, PDF
List of Additional Trainings to Recognize and Respond to Students at Risk
- Training for Suicide Risk Assessment Teams or School-Based Mental Health Providers
- Mental Health and Suicide Prevention During COVID-10 for Parents, Caregivers and Teachers
OSS RESOURCE OF THE MONTH
Suicide Prevention Public Service Announcements: The DCJS Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety (VCSCS) is committed to the safety and well-being of all students in the Commonwealth. Information regarding available training, programs, and resources related to mental health and trauma support is provided on the VCSCS Mental Health and Trauma Support website. As part of a campaign to promote suicide prevention across Virginia, the VCSCS partnered with a media group to create Suicide Prevention PSA’s for television, radio, and social media. Please share with your school communities, when possible.
VDOE Suicide Prevention Webpage - Schools can play a key role in suicide prevention. The task of all professionals involved in and dedicated to the education of children is to help prevent death by suicide whenever possible. When school personnel, families, and communities take an active role in suicide prevention lives can be saved.
Educational Equity in VA
- Equity in CTE Programs: Reflecting on Policies, Procedures, and Practices to Avoid Disparate Impact
Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools
Professional Development for Increasing Cultural Awareness of Refugee and Immigrant Students (Superintendent's Email): As part of the VDOE’s ongoing effort to support school and division personnel as a result of the Afghan refugee crisis, professional development opportunities are available at no cost to participants. The courses will provide valuable information on how school divisions can support their refugee and immigrant students and families as they integrate and adjust to the U.S. overall, specifically within schools.
NEW Supporting LGBTQ Youth Webinar Series
(especially for school counselors)
WEBISODE #1, WEBISODE #2, WEBISODE #3
At the end of webisode 3 there is a link/QR code to access a knowledge check and receive a certificate of completion.
Cultural Synchronization Questions: This list of questions developed by the National Equity Project (2021), can help build rapport and relationships with all of your students and their families.
Supporting Transgender Students webinar, Overview of the VDOE Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students Slides, Complying with HB145/SB161 (2020) Slides & Safer Schools: Supporting Trans & Non-binary Youth Slides
Equity and Cultural Responsiveness
The American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) supports increasing cultural competence among SLPs. The ASHA Leader Live's Consider a Cultural Audit provides ideas and resources to improve our professional practices including vital steps, such as:
Check yourself: Take a self-assessment on bias using the Harvard Implicit Bias Test. We all have biases and being aware of our own provides an opportunity to think critically about their potential impact on our actions.
Examine your materials: Do your materials reflect the diversity in your community? Look at the images in your space or on your website. Do they reflect a variety of gender expressions, including non-binary? Do you have varied familial structures? Check your assessment and intervention materials. Which language(s) are represented? Do your materials acknowledge the existence of various English dialects? Examine materials to ensure that they do not favor or solely reflect one language, dialect, familial structure, gender, value, or perspective.
Important Superintendent's Memos
VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION UPDATES
Timeline for Reporting 2023-2024 Accountability Results: The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has established the following preliminary timeline for the release of accountability reports that are based on data from the 2022-2023 school year. The timeline is preliminary and subject to change. Chronic Absenteeism Indicator in Accountability Years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 (PDF)
Response to Intervention/Multi-Tiered System of Supports May Not Be Used to Delay or Deny Special Education Evaluations: The United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) recently reissued its guidance previously shared in OSEP Memoranda 11-07 and 16-07. These memos address the prohibition of the use of Response to Intervention (RtI) to delay or deny evaluation for education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for school-aged and preschool children, respectively. The most recent reminder from OSEP reiterates that the prohibition of utilizing RtI to delay or deny evaluations of students suspected of having disabilities applies to all tiered systems of support, including multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS).
Superintendent’s Memo 061-23: 2023-2024 Virginia Assessment Program Test Administration Date: The statewide 2023-2024 Virginia Assessment Program Test Administration Dates are now available on the Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE’s) Standards of Learning (SOL) Test Administration & Development webpage and detailed within this memo.
Superintendent’s Memo 058-23: Jobs for Virginia Graduates Competitive Grant Award Application for School Year 2023-2024: The primary mission of the Jobs for Virginia Graduates (JVG) program is to assist high school students who are at risk of dropping out of school or have other barriers to graduation and provide additional support that enables students to graduate and to secure and retain quality jobs. Appropriated JVG grant funds total $2,243,776. Individual grants may not exceed $30,000 per site and do not require a local match. These funds must be used to expand services in existing JVG programs and to add additional JVG programs in local school divisions based on the Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG) national model.
Superintendent’s Memo 056-23: Announcing Career and Technical Education (CTE) Experience Works 2023: Pathways for the Future: The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is offering a live virtual professional development opportunity for CTE High-Quality Work-Based Learning (HQWBL) stakeholders, “CTE Experience Works 2023: Pathways for the Future,” to be held June 28-29, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day. The targeted audience includes CTE Work-Based Learning (WBL) coordinators, CTE teachers, administrators, school counselors, career coaches, and business and industry leaders.
High-Quality Work-Based Learning (HQWBL) Web Page and Resources, The new CTE Resource Center HQWBL web page is now available. It includes resources for marketing HQWBL to parents, students, and communities. Connect with any Regional Work-Based Learning Specialist for more information or assistance with your HQWBL program.
Special Considerations when Enrolling Students from State Operated Academic Programs
The majority of students who enroll in a State Operated Academic Program housed within a state hospital or state mental health facility are enrolled for a short period of time. Enrollment and participation in the SOP academic program allows the student to be counted present and continue in coursework for the academic year. However, many of these students and their families experience difficulty upon release from the facility when attempting to return to the home school. Best practice would be to allow these students to return to classes as quickly as possible, similar to students returning after an illness or hospitalization in a hospital without an SOP academic program. Students who face medical and mental health crises already have a significant number of challenges. Requiring parents or guardians and students to submit to a lengthy enrollment procedure after a short stay in a state facility delays re-engagement with the school community and creates additional burdens on families who are already facing multiple medical, counseling, and court appointments.
For additional information, contact the SOP SEFFE staff at VDOE:
Scott Cheatham scott.cheatham@doe.virginia.gov, 804-225-2768
Laurie Cooper laurie.cooper@doe.virginia.gov, 804-786-1812