Transcript Student Services

Special Education
Linda S. Chase, Director of Student
Services
Ellen Sugita, Director of Special
Education
New Organizational Structure
(proposed for next year)
Elimination of Student Services Department and Director of
Student Services Position
Special Education Department
Ellen Sugita, Director of Special Education
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Addition of a full time Assistant Director of Special
Education (Kay Slusser)
Elimination of K-8 Supervisor positions
Addition of 3 Evaluation Team Supervisors at K-5 – one per
elementary school (TBD)
Guidance and School Counseling
Valerie Viscosi, K-12 Director of Guidance
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Addition of a full time Assistant Director of Guidance (.75
LHS, .25 district wide, TBD)
Health Services
Jill Gasperini, Coordinator of Health Services
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Federal and State Disability Laws
MA Public Education Law Section
28.00
 guarantees free and appropriate
education in the least restrictive
environment regardless of
disability
 implies inclusion
 requires evaluation and Team
development of IEP
 implies access to general
curriculum and State Frameworks
Federal and State Disability Laws
Federal Rehabilitation Act: Section 504
 Organizations who receive federal funds
such as public schools must provide
equal opportunity and access for all
people with disabilities, i.e., reasonable
accommodations
Americans with Disabilities Act: 1990
 Mandate for elimination of
discrimination against individuals with
disabilities, i.e. transportation, public
accommodations
Federal and State Disability Laws
Individuals with Disability Education
Act IDEA
 guarantees free and appropriate
education in the least restrictive
environment regardless of
disability
 implies inclusion
 requires evaluation and Team
development of IEP
Life before an IEP
Principal’s role:
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ensure that efforts have been made or will be
made to meet the needs of diverse learners in
the general education program.
promote instructional practices responsive to
student needs and shall ensure that adequate
instructional support is available for students
and teachers.
Instructional support shall include remedial
instruction for students, consultative services
for teachers, availability of reading instruction
at the elementary level, appropriate services
for linguistic minority students, and other
services consistent with effective educational
practices and the requirements of
M.G.L. c. 71B, § 2.
Life before an IEP (cont’d)
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Such efforts and their results shall be
documented and placed in the student record.
Additionally, if an individual student is referred
for an evaluation to determine eligibility for
special education, the principal shall ensure that
documentation on the use of instructional support
services for the student is provided as part of the
evaluation information reviewed by the Team
when determining eligibility
Response to Intervention
– Tiered intervention
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Child Study
– Request Child Study for other areas of concern
Response To Intervention
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Appears in Federal Special Education Law and
regulations – use of RTI to determine
eligibility for Specific Learning Disability.
RTI is a systematic and collaborative method
of academic intervention designed to provide
early, effective assistance to children through
early intervention, frequent progress
monitoring, and increasingly intensive
instructional interventions. It is a model
within general and special education areas.
RTI has three basic components: school-wide
screening, progress monitoring, and tiered
service delivery.
General education responsibility
Disability Categories

Autism (Asperger’s, Pervasive Developmental Disorder,
Autism)
– disability affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and
social interaction
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Developmental Delay (ages 3-9)
– receptive /expressive language, cognitive abilities, physical,
emotional, adaptive functioning, self-help skills
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Intellectual Impairment
– slower rate of learning, mental retardation
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Sensory Impairment - hearing, vision, deaf-blind
– capacity to hear, see, or concomitant hearing and vision is
limited, impaired or absent
Disability Categories (Cont’d)

Neurological Impairment - traumatic brain injury
– use of memory, control and use of cognitive functioning,
sensory and motor skills, basic life functions
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Emotional Impairment - serious emotional
disturbance
– inability to build or maintain interpersonal relationships,
physical symptoms or fears associated with personal problems,
over a long period of time and to a marked degree
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Communication Impairment expressive/receptive language
– conveying, understanding, using spoken, written or symbolic
language that adversely affects ed. performance
Disability Categories
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(Cont’d)
Physical Impairment
– severe orthopedic impairments, congenital anomaly,
cerebral palsy, basic life functions
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Health Impairment
– limited strength, vitality, alertness, heightened alertness to
environment, asthma, leukemia, epilepsy, add/adhd
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Specific Learning Disability
– psychological processes in understanding or using spoken
or written language, inability to think, speak read, write,
write, spell or do mathematical computation, must meet
federal requirements
Individual Education Program (IEP)
Evaluation data
Disability category/ies
Current performance level
Classroom accommodations
MCAS accommodations
Special education services
Reviewed annually
Three year reevaluation
The IEP
Legal contract between school district and
parents/student(18)
 Special Ed teacher obligated to
implement.
 General Ed teacher obligated to read,
implement accommodations, consult with
service providers and attend TEAM
meetings
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Special Education Programs
Pre-school program
Integrated preschool classrooms
Intensive Learning Program (ILP)
PDD/Autism program
Resource Room Services
All schools
Specialized Reading
All schools
PDD/Autism program
Intensive Learning Program (ILP)
Pre-school, Fiske, Diamond, Hastings,
Clarke, and LHS
Special Education Programs
Emotional/Behavioral disorders
Therapeutic Learning Program (TLP)
(PALS – Bridge, CARE - Estabrook, COMPASS Clarke, Diamond Program and MST - LHS)
Language Based Learning Disabilities
Language Learning Program (LLP)
Bowman, Diamond, Clarke and LHS
Intellectual impairments
Developmental Learning Program (DLP)
Harrington and Clarke
Transition Program
For students 14-22
Special Education (Cont’d)
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Related Services
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Speech and Language Therapy
Occupational Therapy
Physical Therapy
Applied Behavioral Analysis
Adaptive Physical Education
Counseling
Orientation and Mobility
Assistive technology
The IEP
Internal consistency – each section is built
upon the previous section(s)
 Special Educators and service providers
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– All components of IEP
– Responsible for service delivery and progress
reporting
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General Educators –
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Profile
Accommodations
MCAS accommodations
Current performance
Service delivery
Additional information
Proposed Intensive Learning Programs
2014-2015
Cost of In-House
Programs
Cost Avoidance for Out-of-District
Programs
2014-2015
2014-2015
Tuition for 23 students
$2,274,815
6 Teachers
$458,010
9 Support Staff
$303,903
Day school tuition $98,905 per student
4 Related Services Staff
$305,340
Transportation*
1 BCBA
Sub-total
$74,282
Tuition + Transportation
$2,529,065
Proposed Program
$1,262,581
$1,141,535
In-town transportation*
$121,046
Cost of program
$1,262,581
Estimated # of students = 23
$254,250
Cost Avoidance
*Monitors not included
$1,266,484
Questions…