BENTON SPECIAL EDUCATION PROCEDURES MANUAL JULY 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page Topic
4 Special Education Overview
5 Accommodation & Modification
6 Assessment Procedures for Special Education Students
6 Behavior
6 Behavior Specialist
7 Child Find
7 Comprehensive Evaluation
8 Confidentiality & Ferpa
10 Consent
11 Discipline
15 Extended School Year
16 Functional Behavior Assessment & Behavior Intervention Plan (FBA & BIP)
17 Hearing & Vision Screening
17 Homebound Instruction
17 Inclusion
18 Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
23 Least Restrictive Environment
23 Lesson Plans
23 MSIS
25 Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MET)
25 Parent
26 Parent Involvement
26 Parent Survey
26 Placement
27 Procedural Safeguards (PS)
28 Professional Development (PD)
28 Purchases
28 Re-evaluations
28 Red Tag Equipment / Fixed Assets
29 Related Service
30 School Based Administrative Claiming (SBAC)
31 SEAS
31 State Mandated Assessment
32 Student Records
32 Transition
33 Transportation
34 White Binder/Student File
34 Written Prior Notice
35 Appendix A: Forms
41 Appendix B: IEP
46 Appendix C: SEAS
59 Appendix D: Initial & Out of State Request for Evaluation Procedures Ages 3-5
67 Appendix E: Initial & Out of State Request for Evaluation Procedures Ages 6-20
75 Appendix F: Re-evaluation with Assessment Procedures
83 Appendix G: Re-evaluation without Assessment Procedures
87 Appendix H: Educational Environment/Placement
97 Appendix I: MAAECF Notes
98 Appendix J: Sped Calendar
100 Appendix K: Assessment Procedures – Elementary Sped
101 Appendix L: Assessment Procedures – Middle & High Sped
102 Appendix M: Discipline Flow Chart
SPECIAL EDUCATION OVERVIEW
The Benton County School District (BCS) is dedicated to identifying, locating and assessing all students within the district from three (3) to twenty-one (21) years of age who may have disabilities and providing appropriate support and/or related services to those students determined eligible through the process of a comprehensive assessment.
The District is committed to providing eligible students with disabilities a free and appropriate public education consistent with federal and state laws, including those students enrolled in private schools, wards of the state, highly mobile students with exceptional needs, etc.
These services are provided based on the individual needs of the student. After a team comprised of educational professionals and the parent(s) determines a student’s unique needs and considers a variety of factors, an Individual Education Program (IEP) is created. An IEP is a legal document that describes how the BCSD provides services to a student with exceptional needs. Special Ed support and services are provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004).
From this point forward, a student with a disability shall be documented as a “SWD.” Furthermore, IDEA supersedes the local school district in defining parent. In this document, the term parent reflects the definition of parent according to federal law (IDEA, 2004):
(A) a natural, adoptive, or foster parent of a child (unless a foster parent is prohibited by State law from serving as a parent);
(B) a guardian (but not the State if the child is a ward of the state);
(C) an individual acting in the place of a natural or adoptive parent (including a grandparent, stepparent or other relative) with whom the child lives, or an individual who is legally responsible for the child’s welfare or
(D) except as used in sections 615(b)(2) and 639(a)(5), an individual assigned under either of those sections to be a surrogate parent.
615(b)(2) Procedures to protect the rights of the child whenever the parents of the child are not known, the agency cannot, after reasonable efforts, locate the parents, or the child is a ward of the State, including the assignment of an individual to act as a surrogate for the parents, which surrogate shall not be an employee of the State educational agency, the local educational agency, or any other agency that is involved in the education or care of the child. In the case of--(i) a child who is a ward of the State, such surrogate may alternatively be appointed by the judge overseeing the child's care provided that the surrogate meets the requirements of this paragraph; and (ii) an unaccompanied homeless youth as defined in section 725(6) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(6)), the local educational agency shall appoint a surrogate in accordance with this paragraph.
639(a)(5) Procedures to protect the rights of the infant or toddler whenever the parents of the infant or toddler are not known or cannot be found or the infant or toddler is a ward of the State, including the assignment of an individual (who shall not be an employee of the State lead agency, or other State agency, and who shall not be any person, or any employee of a person, providing early intervention services to the infant or toddler or any family member of the infant or toddler) to act as a surrogate for the parents.
ACCOMMODATION & MODIFICATION
The term "accommodation" may be used to describe an alteration of environment, curriculum format, or equipment that allows a SWD to gain access to content and/or complete assigned tasks. Accommodations allow a SWD to pursue a regular course of study with the same learning expectations as students without disabilities. Since accommodations do not alter what is being taught, the same grading scale and grading procedures are implemented for SWD as they are for students without disabilities. Examples of accommodations include: sign language interpreters for students who are deaf; computer text-to-speech computer-based systems for students with visual impairments; extended time for students with fine motor limitations, visual impairments, or learning disabilities; large-print books and worksheets for students with visual impairments; preferential seating and trackballs and alternative keyboards for students who operate standard mice and keyboards. Accommodations are allowable for SWD based on individual needs regardless of graduation track.
The term "modification" may be used to describe a change in the curriculum. Modifications are made for a SWD who is unable to comprehend all of the content. Examples of modifications include: fewer objectives; reducing assignments and assessments, so a student only needs to complete a limited number of problems; revising assignments or assessments to make them easier such as deleting half of the response choices on a multiple-choice test; etc. Modifications are not appropriate for a SWD on a high school diploma or GED track.
The following is the process to be completed by the last working day in August for the Accommodations & Modifications Notification for General Ed form:
1. Complete a form for each student.
2. Make enough copies of the form for each of the student’s general education teachers to have one.
3. Meet with each of the student’s teachers and explain their responsibilities with regards to accommodations and modifications.
4. Have the general education teacher sign the original form.
5. Give a copy of the form to each of the student’s general education teachers prior to the first student day of school.
6. File the original in the white binder with the IEP.
7. If accommodations or modifications change during the year, repeat these steps.
The Accommodations & Modifications Notification for General Ed form also documents the general education teachers receipt of the Assessment Procedures for the student (see Assessment Procedures – Elementary Special Education and Assessment Procedures – Middle & High Special Education.
ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS
A copy of the Assessment Procedures document is provided to each of the student’s general education teachers prior to the first student day of school. One document outlines details regarding assessment of elementary special education students and a separate document outlining details for middle and high school special education students. The teacher’s signature on each student’s Accommodations & Modifications Notification for General Ed form provides documentation that the general education teachers received a copy of the Assessment Procedures for special education students.
BEHAVIOR
SWD whose behavior interferes with their learning or the learning of others must be provided behavioral interventions; therefore, the IEP Committee is required to address interventions on each student’s IEP when behavior is considered a factor in providing educational services. This includes children whose disabilities impact their behaviors, such as children with autism or traumatic brain injury, children with low cognitive ability, and children with learning disabilities who exhibit behaviors that impact their participation in the regular education environment.
Prevent behaviors from becoming problems. Be proactive. Anticipate behavior issues. Address behavior on the IEP as goals/objectives. Teach appropriate behavior. Always keep track of days of removal, include brief notes of what happened (fact not opinion), determine and communicate who will do what, and maintain records to be filed in student file.
Punishment alone generally will not solve the problem. Develop a positive behavior system or consequences for unacceptable behavior. Allow for individual needs and differences. Make the punishment fit the school/district’s code of conduct violation.
MS Code Sections 37-11-67 and 37-11-69, as sent to the Governor, is an act to prohibit bullying or harassing behavior in the public schools; to define bullying or harassing behavior; to define hostile environment and to require all local school districts to adopt a policy prohibiting bullying and harassing behavior as required by this act; and for related purposes.
BEHAVIOR SPECIALIST
A positive behavior specialist (PBS) is a licensed professional with specialized training and experience in behavior management and positive behavior interventions in the educational setting. Individuals who may satisfy the requirements to become a PBS include psychologists, teachers, or counselors who hold a valid, professional license from Mississippi Department of Education or other State Agency. Other professionals such as social workers may also have specialized training and experience in behavior management and in designing positive interventions in the educational setting. The special education department shall designate the PBS annually. It is the responsibility of the special education teacher to communicate needs of students with the PBS and invite him/her to the applicable IEP meetings. The Sped PBS is a related service provider and a member of the IEP committee for students with disabilities regardless of eligibility category whose behavior interferes with their learning or the learning of others as such students require FBA, BIP, and/or behavioral goals.
CHILD FIND
All children with disabilities residing in the State, including children with disabilities who are homeless children or are wards of the State and children with disabilities attending private schools, regardless of the severity of their disabilities, and who are in need of special education and related services, are identified, located, and evaluated and a practical method is developed and implemented to determine which children with disabilities are currently receiving needed special education and related services. Any person with knowledge of the child may make a request for comprehensive assessment by notifying the school principal or Director of Special Education.
COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION (Appendices D & E)
An evaluation for special education should always be conducted on an individual basis. When completed, it is a comprehensive assessment of the child's abilities. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, no single procedure is used as the sole criterion for determining an appropriate educational program for a child. Further, the child must be assessed in all areas related to the suspected disability. These areas include, where appropriate, health, vision, hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status, and motor abilities. In light of these mandates, a comprehensive assessment should normally include many of the following:
(a) An individual psychological evaluation, including general intelligence, instructional needs, learning strengths and needs, and social–emotional dynamics
(b) A thorough social history based on interviews with parents and student
(c) A thorough academic history with interviews or reports from past teachers
(d) A physical examination, including specific assessments that relate to vision, hearing, and health
(e) A classroom observation of the student in his or her current educational setting
(f) An appropriate educational evaluation specifically pinpointing the areas of deficit or suspected disability including, but not limited to, educational achievement, academic needs, learning strengths and needs, and vocational assessments
(g) A functional behavioral assessment to describe the relationship between a skill or performance problem and variables that contribute to its occurrence. The purpose of a functional behavioral assessment is to gather broad and specific information in order to better understand the specific reasons for the student's problem behavior
(h) A bilingual assessment for students with limited English proficiency
(i) Auditory and visual discrimination tests
(j) Assessment of classroom performance
(k) Speech and language evaluations, when appropriate
(l) Physical and/or occupational evaluations, when indicated
(m) Interviewing the student and significant others in his or her life
(n) Examining school records and past evaluation results
(o) Using information from checklists completed by parents, teachers, or the student
(p) Evaluating curriculum requirements and options
(q) Evaluating the student's type and rate of learning during trial teaching periods
(r) Evaluating which skills have been and not been mastered, and in what order skills not mastered need to be taught
(s) Collecting ratings on teacher attitude toward students with disabilities, peer acceptance, and classroom climate
If, at any point, a staff member, teacher, parent, or other person with knowledge and concern for the student (such as a guardian, family member, or health care provider) expresses concern that the student has a disability that requires special education and related services, a written request to the principal for a Comprehensive Evaluation is recommended. The principal will notify the Director of Special Education immediately. The Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MET) will convene within 14 calendar days of the request (including holidays and the summer; however, the Christmas break is excluded from this fourteen (14) calendar day timeline.
Once parental permission for a comprehensive assessment is obtained, the district is allowed up to sixty (60) calendar days to hold eligibility determination meeting.
CONFIDENTIALITY and FERPA