Crucial Conversations: High Stakes Discussions During IEP Meetings (Tools for Talking)

This interactive workshop integrates Crucial Conversations principles with DBT interpersonal effectiveness skills, providing special education administrators with practical tools for navigating high-stakes discussions about eligibility, services, and programming. Discover how to present challenging evaluation results while maintaining family trust, facilitate consensus among professionals with conflicting opinions, and manage your own emotional responses when conversations become heated, including non-eligibility determinations, service disagreements, and team conflicts. Leave with ready-to-use communication scripts, quick-reference guides, and a comprehensive model for handling the most difficult moments in special education administration.

Eric Fine, Center for Special Education Service

Jamie Mckay

Manifestation Determination Playbook: Schemes for Legally Complaint Discipline

In this presentation, Amy A. Matthews and Betsy Lucas Barnes intend to arm both new and veteran directors with the proper “plays” to assist them in conducting legally compliant manifestation determination conferences focusing on both the conference itself and the decision the team makes, avoiding common “penalties” when disciplining students with disabilities and provide guidance to attendees on how to make effective “play calls” in collaboration with building administrators.

Elizabeth Lucas Barnes, Church Church Hittle + Antrim

Amy A. Matthews, Church Church Hittle + Antrim

Future-Ready Minds: A K-12 Framework for Special Education in the Age of AI

Discover how specially designed instruction can intersect with AI-infused strategies to empower students with disabilities across K–12 settings. This session introduces a developmental, AI-Ready Framework that supports diverse learners through accessible pathways in computational thinking, data fluency, creative problem solving, decision-making, and user-centered design. Participants will explore how intentional SDI—such as scaffolded learning sequences, adapted materials, multimodal representations, and flexible performance options—can open doors for students to engage in future-focused, authentic tasks connected to emerging technologies.

Grounded in real classroom examples from inclusive and specialized environments, the session highlights how educators can nurture curiosity, strengthen independence, and build critical thinking by aligning SDI to the framework’s progressive learning bands. Whether you are a classroom teacher, interventionist, specialist, or district leader, this session provides practical strategies and future-ready tools to ensure all students can participate meaningfully and confidently in an AI-influenced world.

Dr. Melissa McIntire, Clinton Central School Corporation

Dr. Corey Smith

Building Inclusive Classrooms Through Integrated STEAM: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Supporting Students with Behavioral Needs

Leaders will gain clarity on how integrated STEAM instruction can serve as a foundational, cross-setting model that improves student engagement and behavioral stability. Directors will identify structural supports needed to ensure alignment between self-contained and general education settings, strengthen transition practices, and enhance inclusive access for students with behavioral needs.

Hope Lugar, Madison-Grant United School Corporation

Suzie Klee, Madison-Grant United School Corporation

Superhero leadership qualities: Stories from the field

Come meet our superheroes! This presentation will provide the participants with real case stories from a variety of different contexts across the state and country. The case stories are drawn from our own experiences with leaders we have worked with and will highlight the strategies, the leadership styles, the challenges and the successes. The session will engage the participants in a reflection of their own leadership style and a discussion of their own stories of leading.

Sandi Cole, Indiana University

Hardy Murphy, Indiana University

 

Power-Up Your Practice: Writing IEPs that Hold Up

Practitioners need to understand legal standards and best practices for IEP development. Join education attorneys from Lewis Kappes to review common due process hearing claims challenging IEP compliance when not individualized or targeted for student needs. Presenters will review recent case law impacting IEP development. Practitioners will better understand what documentation and key indicators support a strong approach for drafting defensible IEPs.

Monica Conrad, Lewis Kappes

Joe Larimer, Lewis Kappes

From Classroom to Career: AT Tools and Strategies That Empower Students with Visual Impairments

This session highlights essential assistive technology skills for academic and transition success, with practical demonstrations integrated throughout. Administrators will learn why AT proficiency matters, what core skills should be prioritized, and how to support effective instruction across grade levels.

Nicholas Leon, Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

James Michaels, Superintendent ISBVI

From Data to Action: A Replicable MTSS Framework for Targeted Intervention and Tiered Student Support

Learn how one elementary school built a sustainable, schoolwide MTSS model that strengthens Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports, streamlines student identification, and drives improved outcomes. Participants will explore our rank-and-sort process, bottom-20% protocols, intervention cycles, diagnostics, and progress monitoring routines. Walk away with templates, tools, and a practical system ready to implement in your building.

Amy Sander, Greenwood Community School Corp.

Julie Moore

Jaime Oeffinger

Running the Right Plays: Proactive Approaches to State Complaints and Repeat Filers

A review of Indiana’s recent “game film” on State Complaint and trends, key plays learned from past filings, and strategies schools can add to their playbook to reduce complaints -- including those from repeat filers. This session will provide practical guidance for strengthening systems and communication so teams can identify issues early, avoid unnecessary penalties, and stay aligned with Indiana’s game plan for student success.

Amy Fox, Church Church Hittle + Antrim

MacKenzie Watson, Church Church Hittle + Antrim

How to score a TOUCHDOWN with Virtual conferences.

Virtual case conferences don’t have to feel like a scramble. This session gives schools a solid game plan for running smoother and more collaborative meetings. We break down the fundamentals—preparation, communication, and follow-up—and show how small adjustments can help your team stay in formation and avoid unnecessary penalties. You’ll learn practical ways to support families, manage the “field,” and keep the whole team focused on advancing student success.

Sarah Holmes, IN*SOURCE

Nicole Hicks, IN*SOURCE

Strategic Staffing; Building Sustainable Evaluation Teams with School Psychologist Shortages

Learn how one Educational Diagnostician-School Psychologist team addresses critical staffing shortages through strategic collaboration.

Rachel Briscoe, MSD Washington Township

Samantha Johnson

Language Deprivation, the Brain, and Working Memory

This session applies an Evidence-Informed, Neuroscience-Aligned Leadership Strategy with a Family-Guidance Component to equip new and veteran directors with the knowledge and tools necessary to prevent language deprivation in deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The presentation emphasizes how early, accessible language—especially during the critical 0–5 window—shapes brain development, working memory, and long-term learning, and how delayed access fundamentally alters the way children process and retain information. In addition to examining these brain-based foundations, the session will explicitly explain working-memory strategies that support retention, including visual scaffolding, chunking, explicit language modeling, intentional repetition, and structured wait time. By grounding placement and instructional decisions in neuroscience and strengthening directors’ ability to clearly communicate these concepts to families, this strategy ensures families are empowered to make informed decisions about communication modalities and educational environments that provide full access to language and effective learning.

Yvonne Weinstein, Indiana School for the Deaf

Cara Barnett

Thriving Through Organization: Tools for Special Education Leaders

Participants will acquire adaptable organizational tools and templates designed to enhance efficiency, consistency, and effectiveness in the oversight of special education services. Resources will include, but are not limited to, a Special Education Playbook, a Director’s Dashboard, and step-by-step instructions and templates for using Autocrat to streamline Google forms/sheets. During the session, participants will be able to create copies of these tools, begin customizing them for their own programs, and leave with ready-to-use products to implement immediately.

Chrissy Giraud, Valparaiso Community Schools

Options to Due Process - Alternative Dispute Resolution

Presentation will address options such a facilitated IEPs and mediation and what school practitioners need to know.

Monica Conrad, Lewis Kappes

Maidena Fulford, Esq Mediator/IEP Facilitator

Dawn McGrath, Executive Director of IN*Source

Advanced Behavior Assessment: Data-Driven Strategies for Complex Cases

Explore systematic approaches to behavior assessment that address multi-function behaviors, trauma-informed practices, and motivation/preference analysis. Learn practical tools for data collection and decision-making to improve outcomes for students with complex needs.

Tiffany Neal, HANDS in Autism Interdisciplinary Training and Resource Center, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Indiana University

Audrey Pitzer, HANDS in Autism

Scaffolding Behavior: A Level-Based Approach to Prevention and De-Escalation

A visual and conceptual framework that organizes student behavior across five escalating levels—from calm to crisis—and assigns corresponding staff strategies for each stage. This model helps staff recognize early signs of dysregulation, apply proactive interventions, respond safely during escalation, and support effective de-escalation and post-crisis recovery.

Melissa Dubie, Melissa Dubie Consulting LLC

Empathy Interviews to Deepen Engagement: Ensuring Fairness, Belonging, and Multigenerational Connections

Session Outcomes:

-Understand the purpose and value of empathy interviews

-Identify the core components of an effective empathy interview

-Reflect on high-quality empathy interview techniques

-Begin to develop empathy interview questions

Heather Hester, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation

Natalie Hicks

Building Belonging in Rural Schools: Leading Access for English Learners with Disabilities

English Learners with disabilities are an understudied group in Indiana; collaboration between ENL and special education teachers often goes unsupported. By attending, teachers and administrators will learn about common gaps in service delivery and will learn how to rethink their siloed systems for better student outcomes. Findings from a recent study of ELs with disabilities in rural areas will be shared with attendees, as well as the resulting recommendations.

Lucy Fischman, Center on Education and Lifelong Learning

Maria Stevenson, Center on Education and Lifelong Learning

Building Behavioral Health Pathways: Tools to Reduce Suspensions and Expulsions Locally

Learn how to use Charting the LifeCourse tools and collaborative frameworks to set behavioral health goals, map resources, and guide decision-making. This interactive session offers practical strategies for administrators and practitioners to strengthen family engagement and reduce exclusionary practices.

Tiffany Neal, HANDS in Autism Interdisciplinary Training and Resource Center, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community (IIDC), Indiana University

Kristan Sievers-Coffer, Mounika Gottipati

The Next Step: Building effective pathways from clinics and other restrictive placements to classrooms

Autism is neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by impairments in social communication and presence of rigid and restricted behavior. The goal of ABA focused interventions is to build durable and meaningful skills to allow the child to be successful in the least restrictive environment. For many students, the transition to school is the first benchmark in the school process. The presentation will provide an overview of how an ABA community therapy provider facilitates the transition to school. More specifically, the presentation will discuss the COMPASS model and how it can be used to improve the outcomes for the child in the transition from the clinic to the school setting. It will also review a Caregiver Guidance manual that can be used to help the caregiver with the transition from the clinic to school process.

Ashley Walke, Hopebridge

Jana Sarno, Hopebridge

What's your "GP"? Finishing Strong, Starting Stronger.

In this session, participants will engage in a structured reflection on the first three quarters of the school year—celebrating wins, analyzing challenges, and identifying areas for growth. Using a game-day approach, we will walk through a guided “film review” of current practices and outcomes, followed by a collaborative “team huddle” to identify shifts that can strengthen systems and supports.

Participants will then draft their own Fourth Quarter Call Sheet, outlining targeted goals, key priorities, and actionable next steps to close the year with purpose and momentum. The session will end with strategies to ensure that a strong finish this spring becomes a strong start next fall.

Jessica Vogel, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation

Jill Lambert, Greensburg Community School Corporation

Get Your Discipline Game Plan On!

You need a game plan for anticipating challenges to disciplinary actions imposed by your school administrators. Join us to learn the best practices for avoiding the frequent pitfalls and preparing your staff to best utilize disciplinary procedures that are effective and defensible.

Karen Glasser Sharp, Lewis Kappes

Grace Lundy, Lewis Kappes

Routines-Based Family Engagement: Integrating High Quality Practices into Busy Special Educators' Lives

This session explores practical ways special educators can integrate family engagement into everyday routines rather than treating it as an additional task. Grounded in Dr. Karen Mapp’s Dual Capacity-Building Framework, participants will learn strategies that promote two-way communication, brief and accessible messaging, and relational trust. Emphasis will be placed on small, sustainable shifts within existing practices such as IEP meetings, conferences, and daily communication that strengthen family partnerships, improve follow-through, and enhance outcomes for students with disabilities.

Katie Herron, Early Childhood Center, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community

Curtis Slater, TILL360 Consulting