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  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  Addition of a full time Assistant Director of Guidance (.75 LHS,.25 district wide, TBD)  Health Services Jill Gasperini, Coordinator of Health Services

Federal and State Disability Laws MA Public Education Law Section  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 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  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. Principal’s role :

Life before an IEP (cont’d)  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  Child Study –Request Child Study for other areas of concern

Response To Intervention  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  Developmental Delay ( ages 3-9 ) –receptive /expressive language, cognitive abilities, physical, emotional, adaptive functioning, self-help skills  Intellectual Impairment –slower rate of learning, mental retardation  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  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  Communication Impairment - expressive/receptive language –conveying, understanding, using spoken, written or symbolic language that adversely affects ed. performance

Disability Categories (Cont’d)  Physical Impairment –severe orthopedic impairments, congenital anomaly, cerebral palsy, basic life functions  Health Impairment –limited strength, vitality, alertness, heightened alertness to environment, asthma, leukemia, epilepsy, add/adhd  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

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)  Related Services Speech and Language TherapySpeech and Language Therapy Occupational TherapyOccupational Therapy Physical TherapyPhysical Therapy Applied Behavioral AnalysisApplied Behavioral Analysis Adaptive Physical EducationAdaptive Physical Education CounselingCounseling Orientation and MobilityOrientation and Mobility Assistive technologyAssistive technology

The IEP  Internal consistency – each section is built upon the previous section(s)  Special Educators and service providers –All components of IEP –Responsible for service delivery and progress reporting  General Educators – –Profile –Accommodations –MCAS accommodations –Current performance –Service delivery –Additional information

Proposed Intensive Learning Programs Cost of In-House Programs Estimated # of students = 23 Cost Avoidance for Out-of-District Programs Tuition for 23 students$2,274,815 Day school tuition $98,905 per student Transportation* $254,250 Tuition + Transportation $2,529,065 Proposed Program $1,262,581 Cost Avoidance $1,266,484 *Monitors not included 6 Teachers$458,010 9 Support Staff$303,903 4 Related Services Staff$305,340 1 BCBA $74,282 Sub-total $1,141,535 In-town transportation* $121,046 Cost of program$1,262,581

Questions…