The SOPM Standard Operating Procedures Manual Highlights

Initial Referrals (p 25) May only be made by Parent school district designee designee of public agency (with responsibility for child’s education) designee of education program affiliated with a child care institution with CSE responsibility

Initial Referrals con’t Initial Referral Request Form in SOPM (pg ) May be requested by School professional staff member Licensed physician Judicial officer Professional staff member of a public agency with responsibility for wealth, health, or education of children Student 18 y.o. or older or emancipated minor

Reevaluations (p 30) Only one per year Unless parent & school district designee agree otherwise If teacher requested, the form on p 168 must be submitted The IEP team should convene a meeting to review all current student information

Reevaluations con’t The team may determine A mandated Three Year Reevaluation is not necessary (form p 173) The reevaluation will occur but no additional testing is required (form p 180) The reevaluation will occur and additional testing is required **Necessary assessments maybe conducted if after 7 days the parent hasn’t responded to the consent for testing request. Appropriate outreach must be documented.

IEP Mandated Members Mandated participant roles on p Parents have a right to have a Parent Member present at a Full Committee meeting. If they opt not to, the waiver must be signed (p 187) Subcommittee vs Full Committee chart on p 68 If considering change in language of instruction, at least one member must be bilingual

Mandated Member Excusal (p 69) May be requested by school or parent Parent must sign the Notice of IEP Meeting/Member Excusal Form (p 177) Mandated member must still provide the information (in writing) they would have shared if they attended the meeting Not applicable for student, parent or parent member Use sparingly

Amending the IEP (p 71) Modifications may be made without another meeting Waiver of IEP Meeting to Amend IEP (p 185) must be sent All proposed changes should be discussed with the parent and stated explicitly on the form If signed waiver is returned, changes are made to IEP, initialed and date agreed noted New IEP must now be re-distributed to parent and teachers

Exit Summary (p 89) Must be completed for all students with an IEP Completed when services will terminate in the current year because the student will earn an IEP, local, Regents diploma or turn 21 Includes information to support accommodations and supports necessary for post-secondary success Form inSOPM (p )

Interim Speech in English (p 90-91) Applies to students with speech services mandated in a language other than English All efforts to secure a bilingual provider must have been exhausted Not appropriate for students who have no communication skills in English and are fluent in another language No ISP – instead an IEP meeting is convened and provision of interim services in English is noted on p 9 of the IEP

Deferring Placement (p 94) Placement is deferred if doing such is determined by the IEP team to be in the student’s best interest Rationale for deferring placement must be documented by the IEP team Decision to defer placement must be recorded on the Conference Result form and the Notice of Deferred Placement (p 201 or 203) Date when deferred placement will begin is indicated on page 2 of the IEP: Projected Date of Initiation of IEP

Annual Goals Are… (p ) SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, results- oriented, and time-bound Aligned to the student’s PLOP Skills, knowledge and behaviors the student could reasonably achieve in one year and that would allow them to make progress in the general education curriculum

Annual Goals Are Not (p ) Curriculum/content specific A replacement for the general education curriculum A list of everything the student needs to learn **Short term objectives are only necessary for students eligible for NYSAA

Students with Out of City IEPs (p 138) If a student has an IEP from within NYS: CSE and parents meet to discuss comparable services All relevant documents must be obtained immediately Authorization to Attend a Special Education Program as Comparable Service form must be sent to parent and signed (p 206) An IEP must be developed within 30 days

Students with Out of State IEPs (p ) Student must be provided with FAPE and comparable services in consultation with parents All relevant records must be obtained immediately – within 5 days IEP team meets to determine whether or not to adopt the most recent evaluation conducted by last school district

Students with Out of State IEPs con’t If adopted and the team determines that the student meets criteria for special education eligibility, an IEP must be developed If the evaluation is not adopted, the student must be evaluated immediately In both cases, the student must be provided with comparable services and the Authorization to Attend a Special Education Program as Comparable Service form must be sent to the parent

Impartial Hearings (p ) Principals may request for the following reasons: To require parent to consent to initial evaluation To defend the decision to deny a parents’ request for payment for an independent evaluation To request placement in an IAES for a student (if student deemed to be harm to self or others) To defend the decision to effectuate a change in the student’s program recommendation and placement as a result of reevaluation or annual review (not initial)

MDR (p ) May be necessary if: discipline will consist of a Superintendent’s suspension of more than 10 consecutive days (after the hearing, principal will receive notification from SOHO to schedule the MDR) teacher removal/principal suspension of an aggregate of 10 days in a 40 day period (principal must determine if behavior is a pattern then schedule MDR and note in SOHO) MDR forms in SOPM beginning on p 280

MDR con’t If the result of the MDR is Yes, then the student returns to school (unless SOHO notifies the principal that an AIES applies and then a suspension plan must be developed) If the result of the MDR is No, then the suspension is upheld and a suspension plan must be developed Suspension Plan form in SOPM p 287

MDR – Deemed to Know Deemed to know applies: Parent submitted in writing to teacher or CSE that student is in need of special education services Parent has requested an evaluation Teacher or other staff have expressed concern (in writing) about student’s behavior An expedited evaluation (within 15 days) must be conducted Deemed to know doesn’t apply: Parent of the student has refused evaluation Parent refused special education services It was previously determined by the IEP team that the student didn’t have a disability

Other Items of Note Students in Foster Care p 36 The FBA and BIP p 50 Classifiable Disabilities p Recommending Home Instruction p 101 The Related Service LTA Register p 128