Special Education

This web page has been developed to assist parents and students in understanding the programs and services provided for students within the Hamburg Area School District who are in need of special education services. The Special Education Program Overview reviews the process students go through in order to receive special education services. An explanation of each program is provided. The formal language used to identify each step in this process is briefly explained. Should your child qualify for special education services, an individualized education program, called the IEP, will be developed to meet your child's needs. If you have any questions at any time, please do not hesitate to contact:

Mrs. Cynthia Zerr, Special Education Coordinator

Hamburg Area School District

Windsor Street

Hamburg, PA 19526

(610) 562-3990 ext. 6

NOTICE TO PARENTS

IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, provides the following:

• A free and appropriate public education (FAPE) is provided regardless of the nature or severity of the disability.
• The least restrictive environment (LRE) is based on the needs of the child. IDEA reiterates support for the continuum of alternative placements designed to meet the unique needs of the child.
• Parental input is part of the evaluation/re-evaluation.
• Parental participation is included in placement decisions.
• Parents must be given periodic reports on the child's progress toward the annual goals in the IEP as well as progress in the general education curriculum.

SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Determining Eligibility

The Hamburg Area School District is committed to providing an appropriate program for all students including those students with disabilities who are eligible for special education. As a parent, you are uniquely qualified to know your child's learning strengths and weaknesses. School professionals will utilize your knowledge in designing a special education program for your child's benefit.

Your child may be eligible for special education if your child:

1. Has a physical, sensory, mental, or emotional disability and
2. Needs special education as determined by an evaluation team.

Your child must meet both qualifications in order to be eligible for special education.

Indications of Physical, Sensory, Mental, or Emotional Disability

Some indications that your child may be a child with a disability in order to meet the first part of the two-part definition are:

• Exhibition of an emotional disturbance over a lond period of time which affects your child's ability to learn
• Consistent problems in getting along with others
• Difficulty communicating
• Lack of interest or ability in age-appropriate activities
• Resistance to change
• Difficulty in seeing or hearing that interferes with the ability to communicate
• Health problems that affect educational performance

Need for Special Education

Your child may need specially designed instruction that isn't normally needed by other children in the general education classroom to make progress in school. This need for speical education is the second part of the two-part decision to qualify a child for special education services.

The Hamburg Area School District has a screening process in place that identifies students who may need special education. This process may include:

• A review of the student's records including attendance and report cards.
• A review of the student's vision and hearing.
• An assessment of the student's functioning in the curriculum including curriculum-based adn performance-based assessments for students with academic concerns.
• A systematic observation of the student's behavior in the classroom or area in which the student is displaying difficulty.

For students with academic or behavior concerns, an intervention must be developed based on the results of the screening. The student's response to the intervention is looked at closely and if screening activities have produced little or no improvement within 60 school days, the student will be formally referred for evaluation for special education.

The Evaluation

The evaluation process gathers the information that will be used to determine if your child needs special education and, if so, the types of programs and services needed. Your child may be evaluated by a school psychologist. Other evaluations may include tests by a hearing specialist for a child with a hearing problem, or an evaluation from a doctor for a child with a health concern. The evaluation must also include input from a therapist if certain related services, such as physical or occupational therapy, may be needed.

A child may be referred for the first evaluation in several ways:

1. You may ask your school to evaluate your child for special education at any time. This can be done by sending a letter to the principal of your child's school. A "Permission to Evaluate" form will be sent to you.
2. The school may also contact you and must ask permission to have your child evaluated. You must consent in writing to your child's evaluation. School officials cannot proceed without your written permission.

A reevaluation is conducted at least every three years unless your child is disabled due to mental retardation, in which case reevaluations are conducted at least every two years. When additional data is needed to complete a reevaluation to dtermine whether your child continues to be a child with a disability and needs to continue to receive special education, then the school must seek your permission to perform the additional evaluation. If the school district has made what it believes are "reasonable attempts" but failed to receive your permission, it may proceed with the reevaluation. Reasonable attempts may consist of:

• telephone calls
• registered letters with return receipts required
• visits to the home or parents' place of business.

Also, if the school determines that no additional data is needed, they will notify you of this decision.

All evaluations needed to determine your child's need for special education will be provided by your child's school district at no charge. Results of the evaluations will be made available for your review. You may also get evaluation reports from professionals outside the school system and send them to your child's school. The results of these outside evaluations will be considered in determining if your child has a disability and needs special education.

What the Evaluation Will Tell You

The evaluation will include information about your child's skills, social behavior, learning problems, learning strengths, and educational needs. All evaluations and reevaluations must include a review of the testing and assessments that were conducted, information from the parents, classroom observations and the observations of teachers and related service personnel. The evaluation or reevaluation must also tell you what additions or changes are needed to help your child meet goals which will be described in your child's IEP, and to take part in and progress in the general curriculum.

An evaluation team reviews all materials and writes a report called an Evaluation Report (ER) that tells if your child has one or more disabilities and if your child needs special education. It may recommend the type of programs and services your child needs. The ER may state that your child is not eligible and does not need special education services.

The entire evaluation process must be completed within 60 school days from the date you give permission by signing the "Permission to Evaluate" form given to you Hamburg Area School District. A copy of the Evaluation Report must be given to you and a summary of the report will be communicated to you.

If your child is being evaluated for a learning disability, parents (as members of teh evaluation team) will be given an opportunity to sign the report. Next to your signature you will indicate whether or not you agree with the report. If you do not, you may submit a statement of your own conclusions. This will become part of the final ER. A copy of the final ER must be given to the parents.

Your Child's Individualized Education Program (IEP)

The IEP team writes the Individualized Education Program. This plan will be written at a meeting and will include a description of all the programs and services necessary to help your child be successful. The IEP team uses information that is contained in the ER to write the IEP.

As a parent, you are an IEP team member. It is important that you attend these meetings. Meetings will be scheduled to fit in with your schedule and school officials' schedules. You will get a written notice of when, where, and why the meeting will be held and a list of the other people who are invited to attend. The IEP meeting is to be scheduled at a time and place that is mutually agreed upon by you and the school district. If the date or time is not convenient, you may ask for a change. Parents may also be included by telephone if it is impossible for them to attend the meeting in person.

The IEP team will review all the evaluation material and will determine how your child is performing in school now. The IEP team will write annual goals that can be measured and are designed to meet the needs of your child. The IEP team will determine:

• The special education services and programs to be provided to your child which will be sued to meet the individual needs of your child.
• Where, what kind of, how much, and how often special education and related services will be provided.
• The date services and programs will begin and how long they will last.
• The tests or other methods of evaluation that will be used to decide if the student is meeting the annual goals and how and when this progress is reported to you.
• How much, if any, the student will not participate in the general class, or in the general education curriculum.
• The accommodations in the general education setting, if any, for your child to succeed in the general education class.
• The accommodations needed, if any, for the child to participate in state-wide or district-wide tests. If the child is not able to participate, even with accommodations, another assessment will be done that will show the child's skills. Participation in this alternative assessment will be documented in the IEP.
• The need for Extended School Year - In some cases, interruptions in the school schedule, such as summer break, will result in children with disabilities losing many of their basic skills and taking a long time to get those skills back once school begins again. Extended School Year (ESY) services are to be provided during breaks in the educational schedule to prevent this loss as part of a free appropriate public education.

In developing the IEP, the team must consider:

• Your concerns.
• Whether a child exhibits behavior that interferes with the child's learning or the learning of others and therefore needs a behavior management plan.
• The needs of children with limited English language skills.
• The use of Braille for children with visual problems.
• The communication needs of students, including students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Whether the child needs assistive technology devices or services to communicate or participate in the activities which are going on around the child.

As your child gets older, the IEP team will design a program to help your child prepare for life when your child is finished with school. This is called transition planning because planning is done through the IEP to facilitate the transition from school to the world of work or other activities in which the young adult may be involved. In planning for the transition from school to adult living, the IEP team must discuss what you and your child want your child to be doing when high school is completed. These plans must include the kind of education or training your child will receive, the kind of job your child might have, and where your child will live.

Notice of Recommended Educational Placement (NOREP)

Once the IEP is developed, you will receive a Notice of Recommended Educational Placement (NOREP). The NOREP explains the educational placement or class recommended for your child. You must approve the IEP and educational placement in writing for your child's first special education placement before the school is allowed to begin implementation.

Hamburg Area School District will provide parents with a copy of Procedural Safeguards, written information regarding their rights during this referral-to-placement process. Confidentiality of student records and information is assured throughout and beyond every student's school career and especially during the process of referral and identification for special education services. Special education programs and services may be provided directly by the school district or may be contracted through an educational service agency. All personnel, whether district or contracted, will have the appropriate qualifications and experiences for providing quality education to eligible students.

Programs include:

• Deaf/Hearing Impaired Support
• Emotional Support
• Learning Support
• Life Skills Support
• Speech and Language Support
• Blind/Visually Impaired Support

Deaf/Hearing Impaired Support

Students whose hearing ability is 35 dB or higher at two or more frequencies on the threshold test are eligible for more in depth testing and may be educationally identified as deaf or hearing impaired by a multi-disciplinary team. A significant hearing impairment can affect a student in many areas in addition to academics. Programs are geared to provide support in socialization and communication based on recommendations of a multi-disciplinary team and the IEP. Audiological services include:

• Auditory trainer monitoring and maintenance
• Hearing aid monitoring and maintenance
• Speech reading
• Auditory training
• TDD instruction
• Sign language interpreting

Most students with hearing impairment or deafness receive their primary instruction in the regular class with supportive services. Students enrolled in classrooms for the hearing impaired participate in regular education wherever possible. Interpreters can be provided to assist students.

Emotional Support

An emotional support program aides exceptional students whose primary identified need is for emotional, social, and behavioral help. To enable these students to benefit from academic instruction, emotional support is provided through affective education and program to meet their individual needs. The IEP is developed to address academic, social, and emotional goals. Sample goals might include:

• Development of positive self-related behaviors suchs as self respect, acceptance of responsibilty and appropriate goal setting
• Development of positive task-related behaviors, for example: recognizing steps within a task, completing the task, prioritizing tasks, self-motivation for task completion, etc.
• Behavior management which is non-aversive and designed to increase positive social interaction and learning
• Aquisition of academic skills
• Social skills including respect for property and individuals, as well as ability to work in small groups

Instruction in all goal areas is carried out in the regular class whenever possible with support provided by the emotional support teacher.

Learning Support

A learning support program is for students whose primary identified need is academic learning. Students whose primary educational needs are academic, yet have been identified as exceptional and in need of specially designe instruction, are served in learning support programs. The curriculum is based on individual student needs as stated in the IEP developed by the IEP team. An effort is made to parallel the regular class curriculum as much as possible and maintain the student in the regular education environment. Learning support is frequently provided through:

• Adapted materials and tests
• Consultation with the regular education teacher
• An emphasis on teaching techniques which provide multiple modality approaches
• Guided practice with peer support

Life Skills Support

The life skills support program is provided for students with exceptionalities whose primary educational need is independence in living. The curriculum for life skills support classes revolves around functional activities in all areas of development. Specific skills are taught in the most normalized settings possible. Parent participation is vital to help construct an individualized program that meets the student's needs at home and in the community. Upon completion of the IEP, the student will receive a regular high school diploma. The student may remain in school until the age of twenty-one to fulfill the goals of the IEP. Instructional areas of focus are listed below:

• Personal Management
• Interpersonal Communication
• Recreation & Leisure
• Functional Academics
• Community Orientation
• Home Management
• Sexuality Education and Social Skills
• Vocational Skills
• Preparation for Adult Life
• Community Independance

Speech and Language Support

Speech and language support is supplied for students whose speech and/or language is impaired significantly enough to impact on their academic achievement. Speech/language support can be the primary service a student receives, or it can be a related service for a student with another exceptionality. Speech/language support can be provided on an individual or group basis, a pull-out basis, a consultive basis, or in an integrated therapy basis. IEP's for students with speech/language impairments may focus on one or more of the following areas:

• Intelligibility
• Articulation
• Voice
• Fluency
• Rate
• Language
• Listening Skills

Blind/Visually Impaired Support

Blind/visual support is a program most frequently offered in the regular education setting for students who primarily need vision services to support academic learning. Visual support may also be provided as a related service to the student with additional special needs. Visual support services include:

• Evaluation of visual efficiency including funtional vision acuity; required print size; gross and fine motor activity; body and spatial awareness; auditory and tactile awareness and discrimination; and daily living skills
• Instruction in Braille, typing, abacus, talking calculator, orientation and mobility, listening skills and low vision stimulation training
• career education consultation
• Assistance in obtaining large print, Braille, taped textbooks, and/or other classroom materials
• Assistance in obtaining equipment such as tape recorder, Braille, typewriter, slate, stylus, magnifiers, and closed circuit television
• Consultation with school nurses, teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, psychologists, physicians, and other professional personnel regarding vision programs and their educational implications
• Liaison between school and agency resources

Publications and Resources

Glossary of Special Eucation Terms

Assistive Technology Device: A piece of equipment or product which is used to increase, maintain, or improve the way a child with a disability interacts and communicates with the world around them.

Assistive Technology Services: Services to help a child with a disability use an assistive technology device. These services include evaluating the needs of the child; providing the device; and then training the child, the child's family and the professional who work with that child in the use of the device.

Chapter 14: The state law pertaining to the delivery of special education services and programs. It is called a regulation or sometimes called a rule.

Child with a Disability: A child evaluated as having mental retardation, a hearing impairment including deafness, a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment including blindness, emotional disturbance, or orthopedic impairment, autisim, traumatic brain injury, another health impairment, a specific learning disability, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities, and who as a result of the disability needs special education and related services.

Due Process: The procedure that parents can use to disagree with the decisions of school district officials concerning special education. The parent is informed of this right by written notice, which describes the options of a pre-hearing conference, a formal hearing, and appeals.

Evaluation: The process used to determine if a child has a disability and if special education is needed. The evaluation looks at how the child learns, the kinds of instruction that would be successful and the kinds of instruction that have been tried and have not resulted in success.

Evaluation Report (ER): The report that is compiled and written by the evaluation team (which includes parents) following an evaluation. It contains all of the information gathered from the team members, including the results of assessment. From the report, the evaluation team determines the student's eligibility and need for special education programs.

Evaluation Team: A team of educators, other professional individuals, and the child's parents that reviews all formal testing of a child and all other evaluation material. The evaluation team must issue a written report stating if the child is a child with a disability who needs special education and making suggestions about the program and services needed.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE): A program of education and related services for a child with a disability tha tis designed to meet the child's special education needs and which allows the child to make meaningful progress in the educational setting. It is provided without charge to parents.

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): The federal law which governs the provisions of special education services and the rights of parents of a child with a disability.

Individualized Education Program (IEP): The plan written by the IEP team (including parents) that specifically describes the programs and services necessary for a free appropriate public education for the child with a disability.

Notice of Recommended Educational Placement (NOREP): The form issued to parents to inform them of the placement recommended b the IEP team.

Related Services: Services necessary to provide specially designed instruction to ensure the child benefits from the special education programs. Examples are special transportation, counseling, school health services, and physical therapy.

Special Education: An educational program individually designed to meet the unique education needs for a child with a disability. A special education professional is directly involved as either a consultant or a provider of services.

Specially Designed Instruction: Adapting the content, methods, or delivery of the instruction as is appropriate based on the unique needs of the child with a disability.

Transition Services: Specific planning in school that helps to prepare students with disabilities to participate more effectively in higher education or job training, community participation, independent living, continuing and adult education, and employment when they leave school.