Beaufort County Schools Programs for Student with Disabilities Renee Boyd, Director of Programs for Exceptional Children 1 1

Introduction The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) is the federal law and Article 9, Section 115C of the North Carolina General Statutes is the State law concerning the education of students with disabilities. Part B of the IDEA refers to the part of the law for children with disabilities who are ages three through 21.

The goal of the State is to provide appropriate educational opportunity to all children with disabilities who reside in North Carolina.

The purposes of NC 1500-1.1 are-- To ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepares them for further education, employment, and independent living;

To ensure that the rights of children with disabilities and their parents are protected; To assist the local educational agencies, including state operated programs and charter schools, to provide for the education of children with disabilities; and To assess and ensure the effectiveness of efforts to educate children with disabilties.

Child with a disability means a child evaluated in accordance with NC 1503-2 through NC 1503-3 as having Autism Deaf-blindness Deafness Developmental Delay Serious Emotional Disability Hearing Impaired Intellectual Disability Multiple Disabilities Other Health Impaired Orthopedic Impairment Specific Learning Disabilities Speech and/or Language Impairment Traumatic Brain Injury Visual Impairment

Beaufort County Schools 984 EC Students 51 EC Teachers 4 Speech Language Therapists 20 EC Teacher Assistants 3 Personal Care Assistants 2 School Psychologist PK Coordinator 1 Transition Coordinator 3 Behavior Support Specialists 1 Curriculum Specialist 1 CECAS Manager 1 Administrative Assistant Homebound Teacher (PK/EC) 3 Behavior Technicians

General Education Responsibility SST- Student Support Team Problem Solving Team Child Study Team Student Assistance Team MTSS- Multi-Tier System of Support

You are legally required to provide appropriate interventions in the classroom setting as part of the special education referral process

Research Based Interventions http://ec.ncpublicschools.gov/policies/forms/statewide-forms/research-interventions.pdf Minimum of 2

Evaluation Process 90 days to complete Required screenings Required evaluations Social/developmental history Observations across settings

To be determined eligible in the disability category Must have a deficiency or Must demonstrate characteristics Must have documentation

The disability must: Have an adverse effect on educational performance, and Require specially designed instruction.

The evaluation process takes time

The IEP is a legal document intended to level the playing field

Individualized Education Plan A written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in a meeting. Must include: the child’s PLAAP, annual goals, the child’s progress toward annual goal, statement of the special education and related services, and an explanation of the extent to which the child will be removed from the nondisabled peers.

All teachers are mandated to follow the requirements of the IEP All teachers are mandated to follow the requirements of the IEP. It is the law. We do not have a choice!

Continuum of Services Regular – 80% or more of the day with nondisabled peers Resource – 40% - 79% of the day with nondisabled peers Separate – 39% or less of the day with nondisabled peers Separate School Residential Home/Hospital

You are legally required to provide accommodations listed on the IEP in the regular classroom Hand out Testing Accommodations form and go over

Accommodations Classroom Testing http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/accountability/policyoperations/tswdguide1314.pdf.

IEP Team Meetings Required to meet once every 365 days Must have LEA, regular teacher, and EC teacher Need any related services personnel Would like to have Parent or Guardian

At least one regular classroom teacher is required to be a member of the IEP Team Talk about how vital your input is and do not feel outnumbered or intimidated by the other team members. You are just as important. It might take experience to feel comfortable giving your input. 22

Some meetings are difficult and sometimes you feel like this…..

Get to know the Support Staff in your School They are here to provide assistance to your students with disabilities Director of Exceptional Children’s Programs EC Curriculum Support IEP Chairman at each school Special Education Teachers Teacher of visually impaired and hearing impaired Teacher Assistants Personal Care Providers School Psychologists Occupational Therapists Speech/Language Therapists Occupational Therapist School Nurses Behavior Support

Questions?