We Will . . .
Actively seek to identify, locate and evaluate students who may be in need of special education and/or related services.
Whenever a child is suspected of having a disability, regardless of whether they are advancing from grade to grade or otherwise appear to be making reasonable progress toward district standards and benchmarks, the district will request the parent’s written consent to conduct a full and individual evaluation to assess the child’s eligibility for special education services.
Use objective and sound data to determine whether students are eligible for special education and/or related services.
Trained professionals will assess whether a child has a skills deficit, health or physical condition, functional limitation, or pattern of behavior that adversely affects their academic performance. They will also assess whether educational interventions that are required by the student to be successful can be sustained without special education services. All eligibility decisions will be based on a student’s progress (i.e. performance over time), discrepancy (i.e. performance as compared to grade level expectations or developmental norms) and need of services.
Ensure each entitled student receives a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is reasonably calculated to provide meaningful benefit to each entitled student.
This will be done through the development of an Individualized Education Program (IEP). A team of individuals, including the student’s parents, with a vested interest in the student’s success, will develop the student’s IEP. In developing the IEP, the team will consider the student’s strengths, the parent’s concerns for enhancing the education of their child, the results of the student’s initial or most recent evaluation, and the academic, developmental and functional needs of the student.
Educate entitled students alongside their typical peers to the maximum extent appropriate (i.e. Least Restrictive Environment).
Entitled students will be removed from the general education setting only when the nature or severity of their disability is such that their needs cannot satisfactorily be met in regular classes, even with the use of supplementary aids and services [281—41.114(2)b]. When a student’s needs cannot adequately be met in the general education setting, they will be served in an environment that provides the least possible amount of segregation from the student’s non-disabled peers. The district will provide a continuum of services to ensure entitled students are educated in the least restrictive environment. This continuum includes a variety of alternate placement, including instruction in regular classes, special classes, special schools, home instruction, and instruction in hospitals and other institutions. It also includes supplementary services, such as resource rooms and itinerant instruction, to be provided in conjunction with student’s regular class placement.
Implement procedural safeguards to ensure informed parent consent, guarantee meaningful parent participation in decisions regarding educational programming and placement, and provide parents an opportunity to challenge district decisions.
Parents will be notified of these procedural safeguards at least once each year and upon initial referral or parent request for evaluation. Parents will also be provided prior written notice whenever the district initiates, proposes, or refuses a change in the identification, evaluation or placement of a student. This notice will include an explanation of what the district proposes or refuses; why the district is proposing or refusing the action; a description of the assessment data used in determining the appropriateness of the action; and a description of other options that were considered.
Provide specially designed instruction and a comprehensive system of supports to accelerate learning and close the achievement gap between entitled students and their typically developing peers.
Entitled students will receive more instruction than non-IEP students. This includes direct systematic instruction in their specific area(s) of need, in addition to the same core instruction that other students receive. Some student will receive pre-teaching and extra instruction on concepts they may need to benefit from core instruction. Teachers will use structured research-based strategies and materials and rely on formative assessment data to guide their instruction. Teachers will maintain high expectations for student learning and consistently demonstrate belief in the potential of their students and their capacity to learn at high levels.