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4Remedial
Services for Students and Special Education
Procedures for
Identifying Students Who Need Remedial Support, Accommodation
Plans or Special Education
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1) Preschool Age Children
(3 and 4 year olds)
Preschool children who may need special education services are
generally referred by their parents to the District’s Committee on
Preschool Special Education (CPSE). Often the parents are
encouraged by a pediatrician to refer their child to the CPSE. In
other cases, parents take their child to a special education
screening offered by a local preschool provider. If the provider
finds evidence that the child may have a disability, they
encourage the parents to refer the child to the CPSE. The CPSE
consists of a special education teacher, the Director of Special
Programs, a parent representative, a representative from the
agency that conducted the evaluation, a county representative and
the child’s parents.
Once a child is referred to the CPSE, the parents select a
preschool special education evaluator, based on recommendations
from the county, to test the child’s cognitive, social, physical,
and speech development areas. Our local preschool providers and
evaluators include CloverPatch of Fulton-Montgomery (The Creative
Learning Center), the HFM BOCES, Capital District Beginnings,
Whispering Pines Preschool of Delanson and Cobleskill, Child
Program and Family Resource Center, Community Health Center,
Crossroads, New Meadow, and Schonowe Preschool. If the child is
seriously deficient in one or more functional areas related to
cognitive, language and communication, adaptive, socio-emotional,
or motor development, the CPSE identifies the child as a preschool
child with a disability. An individualized education plan (IEP) is
developed for the child and a special education provider is
chosen. The county pays for the preschool special education
evaluation, programs and transportation. (top)
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2) School Age
Children (Grades K-12)
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Remedial/Academic Intervention Services
The District offers a wide range of non-special education
remedial support services for students in grades K-8 in such
areas as reading, mathematics, science, social studies, and
study skills as well as for high school students who need help
in reading or to pass particular State Education Department
Tests. Students qualify for these services if the results they
receive on state tests in grades 4, 8 and high school fall below
a given level. They may also qualify for remedial assistance if
they do poorly on achievement tests in grades 1-3 and 5-7 on a
community based standardized exam, and/or if they score one year
or more below on an age/grade equivalent based diagnostic
assessment. In addition students may be offered remedial
services at the request of their classroom teacher at a child
study team meeting (CST), along with strong consideration given
to parent requests.
In most cases, students receive remedial support in a given
subject for three thirty to forty minute periods per six day
cycle. At present we have eight full-time remedial teachers and
sixteen regular education teachers who, on a part-time basis,
provide remedial academic intervention services to middle school
and high school students . There are 13 middle school teachers
who provide AIS remediation and 3 high school teachers who do
the same. (top)
- Child
Study Teams
Usually when a student has learning problems, the student’s
parent or teacher refers the student to the child study team.
The CST is run by a grade level chairperson or team leader. The
CST, consisting of the student’s teacher(s), a school
psychologist, an administrator and a guidance counselor (grades
5-12) meet to review the student’s records including progress
reports and recent grades. The group discusses various factors
that might affect the student's performance. Discussions
involving all aspects of the student's life are discussed to
formulate a plan to assist the student in achieving success. If
behavior is an issue, they will devise an informal behavior plan
to assist the student in making more appropriate decisions. They
may call for further evaluations to learn more about the
student’s particular needs. After receiving the results of the
evaluations the CST may decide that the student needs remedial
reading, math or other services.
The CST is an intervention strategy used to help students
achieve and deal with their unique needs before investigating
whether or not the student has a handicapping condition. If,
however, strategies do not work for the individual student,
there is a possibility that a screening is done instead of a
full CSE evaluation to generate data. This data may be used to
pursue a full CSE evaluation if warranted. (top)
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Section 504 Committee
If a student has a physical or mental impairment which
substantially limits one or more of such person's life
activities, has a record of an impairment, or is regarded as
having an impairment, which does not affect his ability to
learn, but for which the District must provide accommodations,
he is referred to the Committee on Special Education to discuss
Section 504. Section 504 extends its benefits to disabled
individuals who, with or without reasonable modifications to
rules, policies, or practices, the removal of architectural,
communication or transportation barriers based on the provision
of available aids and services, meets the essential eligibility
requirements for receipt of services or the participation in
programs or activities provided by a public entity. Such
disabilities include mild hearing loss, orthopedic disabilities,
mild visual impairments, attention deficit disorder, severe
asthma, and other conditions. Section 504 is a portion of the
Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It requires public
schools to provide accommodations to students with disabilities
without classifying or labeling students with a disability.
The CSE, when looking at Section 504 services, consists of the
Director of Special Programs, a psychologist, the child’s
teacher, the child’s parents, and other professional staff such
as the remedial teachers, Department of Social Services social
worker, or school nurse depending on the student’s needs.
Upon receiving a Section 504 referral, the CSE convenes a
meeting at which time they decide whether or not the student has
a disability affecting a major life activity such as seeing,
hearing, walking, breathing, etc., and if so they develop a
written accommodation plan to meet the student’s needs.
Typically the plan, which must be updated annually, calls for
practical measures to ensure that a student with disabilities
has full access to school district programs, e.g. for an
orthopedically impaired or HIV-related conditions, a scribe may
be necessary for a motor control issue, offering his/her
writing, or preferential seating near the teacher for a hearing
impaired student. (top)
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Committee on Special Education
Committee on Special Education Procedures
If a student is suspected of having a disability, he/she is
referred to the District’s Committee on Special Education (CSE).
Referrals to the CSE are sent to the Office of Special Programs.
Special Education is governed by the Federal Law known as the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that was
reauthorized by the U.S. Congress in 1997, and New York State
Education Part 200 and Article 89 which are vehicles that
implement federal law governing the rights of children with
disabilities in New York State. A disability is defined as an
impairment that affects a major life activity such as mental
retardation, hearing impairment including deafness, speech or
language impairment, visual impairment including blindness,
emotional disturbances, orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic
brain injury (TBI), or other health impairments or learning
disabilities. From the date of the referral, the CSE has 30
school days to evaluate the student, meet with the parents and
make a recommendation concerning whether or not the student is
disabled and if so, the special education service(s) the student
needs.
A CSE evaluation consists of a psycho-educational evaluation of
the student’s intelligence and academic achievement as well as
other evaluations as needed in such areas as speech, language,
gross motor skills, fine motor skills.
The CSE consists of the CSE chairperson or the designee, the
psychologist, student’s parents, the student’s general and/or
special education classroom teacher, and a parent of a disabled
child who resides in the District. It may also include related
services providers, (i.e. speech therapist, occupational
therapist, physical therapist). The school physician or the
student's physician may also be invited to CSE meetings when a
student has a serious medical condition that affects their
education. After the evaluations are completed, the CSE meets to
determine whether or not the student has a disability and if so,
the CSE must identify the particular disability and develop an
Individualized Education Program (IEP) to meet the student’s
needs. The CSE formally includes each child’s parents in the CSE
process. Parents are sent written invitations to all CSE
meetings and meetings are scheduled to accommodate parents’
schedules.
The CSE develops the IEP, which is a multi-page document that
lists the student’s disability, describes the student’s
achievement, lists the placement where the student will be
educated and the special education program and services the
student will receive. The IEP also lists the educational goals
and objectives the student will work to achieve in each area of
need. The IEP must include:
• The classification of the student's disability.
• The present levels of the student's educational performance
and the individual needs of the student, according to the
child's level of academic or educational achievement and
learning characteristics, levels of social and physical
development, and management needs.
• The recommended special education program; the class size, if
appropriate; and the extent to which the student will
participate in regular education programs and an explanation of
the extent to which the child will not participate with
non-disabled children in the regular class and in
extracurricular and nonacademic activities.
• The measurable annual goals, including benchmarks or
short-term objectives, related to involving the child in the
general curriculum.
• A statement of how the child's progress toward the annual
goals will be measured and how the child's parents will be
regularly informed of the child's progress.
• The special education, related services and supplementary aids
and services to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the
child.
• The program modifications or supports for school personnel
that will be provided for the child to advance appropriately
toward attaining the annual goals, be involved and progress in
the general curriculum and to participate in extracurricular and
other nonacademic activities; and be educated and participate
with other students with disabilities and non-disabled students.
• The individual modifications needed in the administration of
state or district-wide assessments of student achievement for
that child to participate in such assessments.
• The projected date the student will begin receiving special
education and related services, the frequency, location and
amount of time per day he or she will receive services, whether
the student is eligible for a 12-month educational program (and
the name of the service provider for July and August), and a
projected date to review his or her need for these services.
• The case manager (usually special education teacher) is
responsible to include some type of documentation relating to
transitioning. All students are re-evaluated every three years
(called Reevaluation Review). Through this re-evaluation
process, recommendations are made as to the appropriateness of
placement and classification.
• Beginning at age 14 and updated annually, a statement of the
transition services needs of the child under the applicable
components of the child's IEP that focuses on the child's course
of study during the student's secondary school experience such
as participation in advanced placement or vocational education
courses.
• Any necessary transition services beginning at age 15 (or
younger, if appropriate), which focus on activities designed to
promote the child's movement from school to post-school
experiences and any needed linkages.
• Beginning at least one year before the child reaches age 18, a
statement that the child has been informed of his or her rights
under IDEA, if any, that will transfer to the child on reaching
18.
• The student's recommended placement.
After the CSE has met, the Committee has reached consensus upon
the plan and developed recommendations regarding the student’s
disability status and educational program, those recommendations
are sent to the Board of Education for their approval. The Board
must consider the CSE’s recommendations in each case within 60
days of the referral date and if they accept the
recommendations, they must see to it that the student’s IEP is
implemented.
Every year the students’ IEP must be reviewed (called Annual
Review) and updated as needed. Students who have made excellent
progress and no longer need special education are declassified
and returned to general education classes. If needed,
declassification support services, such as counseling, resource
room, testing modifications and classroom modifications can be
provided to newly declassified students to help them transition
into general education. (top)
- Least
Restrictive Environment and Free and Appropriate Public
Education
As the CSE meets and develops IEPs for students with special
needs they must follow two important legal principles: the IEP
must reflect the least restrictive environment and the education
must be free to the student’s parents and be appropriate to meet
the student’s needs.
The requirement that students with disabilities be educated in
the least restrictive environment (LRE) appropriate to their
individual needs means that to the maximum extent appropriate,
children with disabilities must be educated with non-disabled
children, as close as possible to their home. Children with
disabilities may not be removed from regular classroom
instruction unless it is determined that they cannot be educated
satisfactorily in that environment, even with the use of
supplementary aids and services. These are aids, services and
other supports that are provided in regular education classes or
other education-related settings to enable children with
disabilities to be educated with non-disabled children to the
maximum extent appropriate, in accordance with the LRE
requirement. They may include, but are not limited to, specially
designed instructions and consultant teacher services and other
group or individual supplemental or direct special education
instruction. LRE requirements apply as well to nonacademic and
extracurricular activities including, for example, meals and
recess periods, athletics, transportation, recreational
activities and school sponsored clubs.
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) means that the parent
of a special needs student does not have to pay any of the costs
of their child’s education and the District has a responsibility
to offer the student an appropriate placement and program to
meet the student’s special educational needs. (top)
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