Hill Country Summer Institute

Monday, June 13th

Face to face and Livestream

Tuesday, June 14th Schedule

Livestream only

Sessions are ordered by conference schedule

Legal Update for Evaluation Staff

Jim Walsh, Attorney at Law

This legal update will cover critical information evaluation personnel need to know in order to stay legally compliant.

Related Service Counseling-Legal Nuts and Bolts

Keya Saleh, M.A. LSSP, NCSP

Many LSSPs are trained in counseling, but that focus is often centered around understanding the theory and background of various counseling frameworks. While this information is critical, it is also critically important that counseling service providers understand the relevant legal, regulatory, and local policy issues surrounding related service counseling. Having a good working knowledge of these fundamentals will help service providers feel comfortable in addressing questions related to evaluation, eligibility, implementation, and termination of services.

Building your Special Education Leadership Tool-Kit

Lori Merrell, MS., CCC/SLP

Are you interested in learning more about the administrative side of special education? Whether you are thinking about next steps or would just like to better understand the inner workings of special education – this session is for you! Participants will learn how special education is funded, how TEA monitors compliance, and how data is reported to the Texas Education Agency through platforms such as TEAL, TSDS, and the Legal Framework.

Identification of Specific Learning Disabilities: A Summary of Research on Best Practices

Jeremy Miciak, Ph.D.

Specific learning disability (SLD) is the most common eligibility category through which students receive special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. In this session, we review evidence for different frameworks for SLD identification, including cognitive discrepancy frameworks and frameworks based, in part, on instructional response. We then discuss a “hybrid” identification method based on documentation of three criteria for eligibility: (1) low academic achievement; (2) inadequate instructional response; and (3) a consideration of exclusionary clauses. The session ends with recommendations for comprehensive assessment regardless of the framework employed.

Selective Mutism

Christopher Kearney, Ph.D.

This workshop covers the primary characteristics and assessment and intervention strategies for children with selective mutism.

Designing SLD Evaluations that include Dyslexia and Dysgraphia Via C-SEP

Tammy Stephens, Ph.D

Core-Selective Evaluation Process™ (C-SEP™) calls for a comprehensive assessment using multiple sources of data and an integration of targeted and purposeful norm-referenced testing. This session will provide a brief overview of the C-SEP framework and discuss the use of the model when conducting an SLD evaluation that includes dyslexia and dysgraphia evaluations. Special attention will be placed on the integration and interpretation of multiple sources of data during C-SEP’s Review Step. A discussion of using the multiple sources of data to establish a testing plan will be conducted. Finally, tying all the data together for decision making will be highlighted.

Designing Evaluations for Secondary Students with Significant Support Needs

Sarah Roberts Carlson, Ph.D.

This session will address strategies for designing evaluations for secondary students with significant support needs that describe the impact of their disability, identify their critical needs, and support the development and provision of meaningful supports. Throughout this session, we will discuss: (a) the domains to be addressed by evaluations for secondary students; (b) utilizing information gathered from commonly administered measures to support transition planning; (c) measures that can be administered to gather information about a student’s intensity and pattern of support needs; and (d) strategies for developing a meaningful PLAAFP.

An Introduction to School-Based Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Reducing Reactivity and Building Resilience in Students

Alycia Dadd, Ph.D.

With the rising rates of student mental health needs and barriers to accessible outpatient care, related services counselors have become the front lines of mental health intervention. As the needs of our students have increased significantly over the past decade, comprehensive, effective, and generalizable social-emotional interventions are of the utmost importance. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a multimodal intervention that teaches students targeted skills to increase mindfulness, regulate emotions, decrease impulsive behaviors, think flexibly, and improve interpersonal skills. The skills-based nature of DBT provides a universal platform that allows for the instruction and generalization of skills across diagnostic and learning profiles. This workshop will provide an overview of DBT theory, principles, and skills and its adaptation as a school-based intervention. The differentiation of CBT and DBT strategies will also be highlighted.

Analyzing and Interpreting Data- A Case Study Approach using the C-SEP™

Tammy Stephens, Ph.D

Special education policy requires that a comprehensive evaluation, using multiple sources of data, be conducted for all students referred for special education. During the assessment process, the multiple sources of data are collected and organized the evaluator must analyze and interpret the data. Triangulation of the data is key when analyzing the data. Looking beyond the standard scores to understand the learner is crucial. This session will highlight the various types of data (criterion-referenced data, NRT data, parent/teacher information, CBM, etc.) and discuss the importance of comparing and contrasting data sources across a construct. The importance of digging deeper into the task demands and considering results through different lenses (e.g., RPI) will also be discussed. A case study will be used to demonstrate the analysis and interpretation.

The Neurobiology of Bilingualism in Language Learning and Literacy

Monica Oganes, Ph.D

This workshop will review the neurobiology of bilingualism, including the mechanisms that are fundamental to the observed differences between bilinguals and monolinguals and to managing the processing load inherent in literacy development and second language learning. We will review the research on bilingualism to determine the extent to which bilinguals can “turn one language off” in language production and the degree in which bilinguals can suppress their native language when learning to read in English. We will cover the benefits of bilingualism to facilitate comprehension tasks and highlight the typical errors that may be observed in language production to identify issues such as transfer, silent period, code-switching, language loss, and phonetic patterns. We will explain typical issues of bilingualism in vocabulary, meaning, pronunciation, grammar, and other acquisition patterns to differentiate them from reading disorders. We will review interventions for phonics, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and other strategies in a multi-tiered system of supports for the provision of culturally and linguistically responsible services that improve equitable outcomes for multilingual students.

Participants who are unable to attend the above conference on 6/13 and 6/14/22 may register for à la carte sessions (individual recorded sessions) through eCampus.

À la carte sessions are considered asynchronous professional development and will have quizzes and engagement features embedded in the Canvas course. Participants will earn 3.0 hours of eCampus CEs/NASP CPDs per session.

À la carte sessions will be available 6/22/22 through 8/15/22 for $45.00 a session. These individual sessions are not in the eCampus registration system yet, but will be added soon. These sessions will all start with the title, "HCSI 2022.."