2023 KASEA Winter Conference Program

2023 KASEA
WINTER CONFERENCE
February 21-22, 2023
Bishop Professional Development Center
Topeka, KS

THANK YOU TO OUR
EVENT SPONSORS!
PLATINUM LEVEL
DIAMOND LEVEL
GOLD LEVEL
Special thanks to Greenbush &
School Specialty for sponsoring
our Tuesday evening social, and
Lumen Touch for sponsoring our
Monday evening Membership
Meeting!

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21
7:30-8:00 - Registration, Vendor Showcase, Light Breakfast/Snacks
8:00-8:20 - Conference Welcome and Logistics - Ann Matthews, KASEA Executive Director
Platinum Sponsor Presentation - PCG
8:20 - 8:30 - Introductions - Doug Anderson, KASEA President
Diamond Sponsor Presentation - eLuma
8:35-8:50 - Welcome - Bert Moore, State Director of Special Education
8:50-10:15 - Keynote - Dr. David Bateman
10:15-10:25 -Logistics - Lena Kisner, KASEA President Elect
Diamond Sponsor Presentation - Presence Learning
10:25-10:45 - Vendor Showcase/Break
10:45-11:30 - Breakout Sessions 1
11:30-12:15 - Lunch (Provided by Greg’s Blowin’ Smoke BBQ)
12:15-12:30 - Vendor Showcase/Break
12:30-1:15 - Breakout Sessions 2
1:15-1:20 - Transition time
1:20-2:05 - Breakout Sessions 3
2:05-2:20 - Vendor Showcase/Break
2:20-3:05 - Breakout Sessions 4
3:05-3:30 - Vendor Showcase/Break
3:30 - Tentative Guest Speaker
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
7:30-8:00 - Registration, Vendors, Light Breakfast included
8:00-8:30 - Conference Begins
Partner organizations (KASB, USA)
8:30-9:15 - KASEA Legislative Advocacy
9:15-9:30 - Vendors/Break
9:30-11:00 - Special Education Legal Updates - Mark Ward & Brian Dempsey
11:00-11:15 - Vendor Showcase/Break
11:15-12:00 - Special Education Finance - Craig Neuenswander
12:00 - Conference Ends

OPENING KEYNOTE
DR. DAVID BATEMAN
David F. Bateman, Ph.D., is a Principal Researcher at the American Institutes for
Research. He is a former due process hearing officer for Pennsylvania for hundreds of
hearings. He uses his knowledge of litigation relating to special education to assist
school districts in providing appropriate supports for students with disabilities and to
prevent and to recover from due process hearings. He has been a classroom teacher of
students with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, intellectual disability, and
hearing impairments. Dr. Bateman earned a Ph.D. in special education from the
University of Kansas. He has recently co-authored the following books: A Principal’s
Guide to Special Education, A Teacher’s Guide to Special Education, Charting the Course:
Special Education in Charter Schools, Special Education Leadership: Building Effective
Programming in Schools, Current Trends and Legal Issues in Special Education, and A School
Board Members Guide to Special Education.

BREAKOUT SESSION 1 10:45-11:30
The Grant and Madison rooms are available all day for small group conversations/teamwork.
IEP'S: GREATER DETAIL - BIG ROOM
(200)
Dr. David Bateman
Repeat Session
Dr. Bateman will dive deeper into the topic of IEPs in this session.
EARLY CHILDHOOD OVERVIEW -
SUMNER (56)
Julie Rand, Kansas ECSE Coordinator; Amanda Peterson, Director, Kansas Early Childhood; Gay
Younkin, TASN Technical Assistance Team
This session will include a description of Early Childhood services in Kansas, including an
introduction to APR Indicators 6,7 and 12, categorical aid; specifically as it is impacted by LRE,
and the relationship between Early Childhood outcomes and student achievement in the early
grades.
ADULT JAIL SELF-MONITORING -
GARFIELD (50)
Doug Tressler, Assistant Director, TASN General Supervision Timely and Accurate Data Project;
Stacie Martin, Consultant, Special Education and Title Services, KSDE
This session will provide an overview of the Adult Jail Self-Monitoring tool with an explanation
of the expected timelines for completion. Question and answer time will be provided for
questions on the self-assessment as well as a description of how compliance with the tool will be
determined and the technical assistance that will be provided if an LEA is found to be noncompliant.

BREAKOUT SESSION 2 12:30-1:15
BASICS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
BUDGET & FINANCE - BIG ROOM A
(70)
Lena Kisner, Executive Director, Reno County Educational Cooperative RCEC; Larry Clark,
TASN Technical Assistance Team
This session will focus on the basics of special education finance. We will discuss how to
understand budgets and provide foundational understanding of creating budgets. We will
provide an overview of special education funding and review important resources on the KSDE
website.
Materials: Device to access the KSDE website.
IEP'S: GREATER DETAIL - BIG ROOM B
(70)
Dr. David Bateman
Repeat Session
Dr. Bateman will dive deeper into the topic of IEPs in this session.

BREAKOUT SESSION 2 12:30-1:15
PARAS: SPECIALLY DESIGNED
INSTRUCTION IN THE INCLUSIVE
SETTING - BIG ROOM C (70)
Rebekah Helget, Director of Special Education, The Learning Cooperative of North Central
Kansas; Amy Haussler, Director of Special Education, Holton Special Education Cooperative
With para shortages and budget constraints, there is no better time than now to get to the heart
of what specially designed instruction (SDI) looks like for paras in the inclusive setting. Inclusion
utilizes a significant amount of human resources. When SDI is not utilized, it has significant
impacts on resources, but most importantly, it’s harmful to kids!
EARLY CHILDHOOD: WHAT DOES MY
DATA MEAN? UNDERSTANDING
INDICATORS 6 & 7 - SUMNER (56)
Julie Rand, ECSE Coordinator; Gay Younkin TASN Technical Assistance Team
This session will be a deeper dive into the Early Childhood indicators that involve LRE and
positive OWS outcomes. You will learn how the data is reported, how your data can inform your
decisions.
Materials:
Your MIS clerk should run the most recent data set on 2 reports to bring with you: The
Entry/Exit Report (from OWS system) and the Indicator 6 Report from SPED PRo. You may also
need your data dictionary to use the setting codes specific for Early Childhood and your Early
Childhood Report from the APR report even though that data is older.

BREAKOUT SESSION 3 1:20-2:05
BUDGETING FOR COOPERATIVES
AND INTERLOCALS - BIG ROOM A (70)
Lena Kisner, Executive Director, Reno County Educational Cooperative RCEC; Larry Clark,
TASN Technical Assistance Team
This session will focus on understanding the budgeting process for cooperatives and interlocals.
We will discuss ideas regarding how to calculate district contributions for the 2023-2024 school
year including where you are at in the budgeting process.
Materials: Bring your interlocal or coop budget
WHO KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO
HAVE SO MANY HR DUTIES AS A
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR? - BIG
ROOM B (70)
Katie Wolfgang, Director of Human Resources, Wamego Public Schools
Repeat Session
Join me as I break down complex HR items, into bite size pieces, that you can apply to your
position as a school administrator. Topics will include personnel management, employee
reprimands, terminations, evaluations, documentation, FMLA and ADA processes, and worker's
compensation. If these dry topics aren't enough to convince you to join this session, then my
stellar personality and sense of humor ought to push you right over the edge! Take a seat, and
just try not to enjoy this session.

BREAKOUT SESSION 3 1:20-2:05
USING AN IMPROVEMENT APPROACH
TO ADDRESS STAFFING SHORTAGES -
BIG ROOM C (70)
Elena Lincoln, Senior Technical Assistance Consultant with American Institutes for Research
(AIR)
Repeat Session
It’s been three years since you’ve filled all your paraeducator positions. You’ve just heard from
one of your special education teachers that they are resigning at the end of the year. You just
lost a speech pathologist because his spouse was transferred out of state for work. Every special
education leader has faced staffing challenges at one time (or many). But, the challenges of
staffing shortages are about more than filling positions.
In this session, we’ll apply a continuous improvement mindset to addressing staffing shortages,
taking a look at the data underlying the staffing challenges in your system and talking through
practical steps to filling the gaps.
MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT: MAKING
THE MOST OF EXCEPTIONS - SUMNER
(56)
Christy Weiler, Coordinator, Special Education and Title Services, KSDE
Materials: Staff lists for 2021-22 and 2022- 23, vacancies that you know of for 2023-24. Ideas
of large purchases you might claim as exemptions, 2022-23 budgets to consider different ways
of using SPED funds for the last quarter of this year.

BREAKOUT SESSION 3 1:20-2:05
EDUCATE KANSAS: RECRUITMENT -
GARFIELD (50)
Cris Seidel, Program Director, Educate Kansas
Educate Kansas is a KSDE project supporting Educator recruitment and retention for the state
of Kansas. The project has a special focus on diversity, equity and inclusion as well as the
recruitment of educators for hard to fill positions such as special education.
Districts and Interlocals are supported through a strategic marketing campaign involving the
development of infographics, recruitment cards and a promotional video. These can be
embedded onto the district landing page on the Educate Kansas website as well as through the
district or interlocal's individual platforms. Finally, Educate Kansas offers professional learning
around the "art of recruiting" The Recruitment Toolkit.
ORGANIZING & TRACKING SPECIAL
EDUCATION BUDGETS - BELVOIR (30)
Lee Hanson, Director of Special Services, DeSoto Public Schools
This session will focus on strategies when organizing and tracking short and long term
expenditures related to special education budgets at the district level. Participants will have an
opportunity to review and discuss the benefits of these tools to help drive the decision-making
process in management of resources.
Materials: Bring your special education budget.

BREAKOUT SESSION 3 1:20-2:05
ROUND TABLE 1: SUPPORTING
TEACHERS - CURTIS (30)
Rebekah Helget, Director of Special Education, The Learning Cooperative of North Central
Kansas; Amy Haussler, Director of Special Education, Holton Special Education
Cooperative; Melissa Strathman, Executive Director of Special Education, McPherson County
Special Education Coop; Bryan Candea-Kromm, Targeted Improvement Coordinator, Topeka
Public Schools
This session will give participants a chance to share and learn from each other. Topics will
include supports for new and waiver teachers and mentoring strategies.
ROUND TABLE 2: EARLY CHILDHOOD
LRE - PIERCE (24)
Bryan Wilson, Director, Maize Special Education Coop
This session will give participants a chance to share and learn from each other. Topics will
include providing services to preschool students in general education settings, providing related
services in “push in” models, and other strategies that impact the LRE calculation.

BREAKOUT SESSION 4 2:20-3:05
SPECIAL EDUCATION STRUCTURES -
BIG ROOM C (70)
Doug Tressler, Assistant Director, TASN General Supervision Timely and Accurate Data Project
This session will provide an overview of current special education structures in Kansas (Stand
alone, Cooperative, Interlocal) and how to explain that structure to your board and
stakeholders. Examples of how budget changes impact local structures and why they vary
between systems will be discussed.
WHO KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO
HAVE SO MANY HR DUTIES AS A
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR? - BIG
ROOM B (70)
Katie Wolfgang, Director of Human Resources, Wamego Public Schools
Repeat Session
Join me as I break down complex HR items, into bite size pieces, that you can apply to your
position as a school administrator. Topics will include personnel management, employee
reprimands, terminations, evaluations, documentation, FMLA and ADA processes, and worker's
compensation. If these dry topics aren't enough to convince you to join this session, then my
stellar personality and sense of humor ought to push you right over the edge! Take a seat, and
just try not to enjoy this session.

BREAKOUT SESSION 4 2:20-3:05
USING AN IMPROVEMENT APPROACH
TO ADDRESS STAFFING SHORTAGES -
BIG ROOM A (70)
Elena Lincoln, Senior Technical Assistance Consultant with American Institutes for Research
(AIR)
Repeat Session
It’s been three years since you’ve filled all your paraeducator positions. You’ve just heard from
one of your special education teachers that they are resigning at the end of the year. You just
lost a speech pathologist because his spouse was transferred out of state for work. Every special
education leader has faced staffing challenges at one time (or many). But, the challenges of
staffing shortages are about more than filling positions.
In this session, we’ll apply a continuous improvement mindset to addressing staffing shortages,
taking a look at the data underlying the staffing challenges in your system and talking through
practical steps to filling the gaps.
EDUCATE KANSAS: RETENTION -
GARFIELD (50)
Cris Seidel, Program Director, Educate Kansas
Educate Kansas is a KSDE project supporting Educator recruitment and retention for the state
of Kansas. The project has a special focus on diversity, equity and inclusion as well as the
recruitment of educators for hard to fill positions such as special education.
Educate Kansas currently offers support to school districts and interlocals through the process
of analyzing data around retention through a research based survey developed in partnership
with K-State. Additionally, districts and interlocals can access professional learning
opportunities around teacher retention through this project.

BREAKOUT SESSION 4 2:20-3:05
ROUND TABLE 3: ABSORBING ESSER
- SUMNER (56)
Lee Hanson, Director of Special Services, DeSoto Public Schools
This session will give participants a chance to share and learn from each other. Topics will
include budgeting and staffing decisions in the context of the upcoming reduction in federal
funds.
ROUND TABLE 4: VIRTUAL SERVICES
- BELVOIR (30)
April Hilyard, Director Butler County Special Education Interlocal
This session will give participants a chance to share and learn from each other. Topics will
include providing services to students in virtual settings.
ROUND TABLE 5: LEGISLATIVE
DISCUSSION - CURTIS (30)
Patty Carter, Chair, KASEA Legislative Committee
KASEA needs your support with our legislators! Come learn and share how you can be involved;
either a little, or a lot! We will write a personal note to your legislator at the table.

ADDITIONAL CONFERENCE
INFORMATION
WIFI Network: tps-guest
WIFI Password: tpsguest

2024 KASEA WINTER
CONFERENCE
SAVE THE DATE!
February 20-21, 2024
Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview
Wichita, KS
THANK YOU TO OUR CONFERENCE
PLANNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS!
Doug Anderson
Doug Tressler
Vicki Vossler
Rebekah Helget
Amy Haussler
Kathy Kersenbrock-Ostmeyer
Patty Carter
Lena Kisner
Cris Seidel
April Hilyard
Angie Karraker
Jason Wright