Special Services

The vision of the Office of Special Services and Student Equity is to provide a quality education to every child in an instructional setting appropriate for his or her needs. This vision is supported by the district’s mission to educate all students in the least restrictive environment. The federal mandates Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) are intended to support the idea of quality education by emphasizing the necessity of relying on research-based instructional practices.
 

Evaluations must be considered at least every three years after the child has been placed in special education or more frequently if conditions warrant, to determine if the child continues to be a “child with a disability”.

• Occupational therapy
• Physical therapy
• Art therapy
• Music therapy
• Transition support
• Preferential intervention

• School Social Workers
• School Psychologists
• Speech Therapists

• Student will be referred to the Instructional Support Team (IST)
• All pertinent data will be collected from district and state assessments and response to scientific, research-based intervention.
• A ‘Review of Existing Evaluation Data’ (REED) meeting will be conducted to provide guidance and structure for the development of both initial evaluations and re-evaluations.
• Student will be evaluated by a multidisciplinary team, which may include, but is not limited to school psychologist, teacher consultant, social worker, teacher, and parent input.

In order to determine the existence of SLD, a student does not:

• Achieve adequately for the student’s age or to meet State-approved grade-level standards in one or more of the areas identified at 34 CFR§300.309 (a)(b)(1)(i) when provided with learning experiences and instruction appropriate for the student’s age or State-approved grade level standards; and
• Make sufficient progress to meet age or State-approved grade-level standards in one or more of the areas identified at 34 CFR§300.309 (a)(b)(1)(i) when using a process based on the student’s response to scientific, research-based intervention.

The assessment must document a weakness in one or more of the following achievement areas:

• Oral expression
• Listening comprehension
• Written Expression
• Basic reading skills
• Reading fluency skills
• Reading comprehension
• Mathematics calculation
• Mathematics problem-solving