LeGare For Parents Step by Step Process

What is LeGare? The LeGare Consent Decree (1995) mandates: That each student with a disability or English Language Learner (ELL) have an equal opportunity to participate in the high schools and high school programs that are available to students generally Reasonable accommodations that do not alter the program substantially Students may not be excluded on the of admission criteria if they can participate successfully, given reasonable accommodations

LeGare & Special Education All decisions concerning the accommodations and supports needed by a student with disabilities are to be made by a team of knowledgeable persons, based on the school-based Multiple Disciplinary Evaluation (MDE) of the student’s needs and abilities

LeGare & ELL All decisions concerning the accommodations and supports needed by an ELL student are to be made by a team of knowledgeable persons, based on the student’s English Language Development (ELD) level

The LeGare HS Advocacy Process Is for Application to Special Admissions & City Wide High Schools Only LeGare does not cover applications to: Comprehensive High Schools or Charter Schools or Non Public High Schools

School Based LeGare Team

School Based LeGare Team Parent Special Education Point of Contact Teacher of Record Special Education Teacher ESOL Teacher Principal or Designee

School Based Team Duties Informing school based team and parents of HS Admissions Criteria & Timelines for Special Education and ELL students Inform Parents & Students of the HS Fair Coordinate the dissemination of HS Admissions Application Materials Provide both oral and written translation for parents who need it

School Base Team Duties (continued) Assists Parents & Students with HS application process (if necessary) Electronically Input & send HS application to the Office of Student Placement Prepare Student Advocacy folders to be sent out to the perspective high schools and to the 440 LeGare Review Team

What Doe Advocacy Look Like?

The High School Advocacy Addendum Form Provides the reviewers with information that allows the reviewers to make their decisions based on a larger body of information that considers the accommodations of students with disabilities and English Language Learners Is prepared for each student with an IEP, student with a 504/Chapter 15 Service Agreement, and each English Language Learner student as well as students still in post-exit monitoring

A school CANNOT waive everything! Advocacy Waiver The waiver is the central piece of the advocacy process. The school team recommends that the selecting school waive selection criteria for students with disabilities and English Language Learner students when the team (which includes the student’s family) has documentation (must attach to addendum) that the student can be successful in the program with reasonable accommodations and services A school CANNOT waive everything!

Advocacy Folder Content Special Education Liaisons & ESOL Teachers will create a student advocacy folder for every student that includes the following documents: High School Application Easy IEP at a Glance or 504/Chapter 15 Service Agreement or ELL History Screen (S-21) Copy of Student Data Transcript that includes all of the following: grade 7 attendance, punctuality, grades, PSSA scores, and behavior Addendum Form that includes a statement requesting a waiver of specific admission criteria or indicates that a waiver was considered, but not recommended Advocacy forms (letters of recommendations, supporting documentation for a waiver recommendation, essays)

Areas of Advocacy: Examples Attendance: student was absent for 30 consecutive days because he/she was hospitalized Punctuality: student is taking a new medication that causes nausea and vomiting. Student comes to school late rather than missing the entire day Grades: student’s reading and/or math grades are not based on accommodations (i.e.: IEP Goals or Can Do Descriptors (ELL)) Behavior: student’s behavior is improving due to a recently added behavior plan Standardized Test Scores: student’s test scores have improved due to an IEP amendment that indicates that student should take the PSSA with accommodations or ELL student’s English language proficiency affected the PSSA reading score

Supplemental Information

Student Essay Student’s should write an essay to each of the high schools they are applying to that explains: Who Am I? What do I Want to Get Out of My High School Experience? What Can I Contribute to the School? The essay should be written (or typed) early enough to have been reviewed by the teacher for content and grammatical errors Central HS & Constitution HS require written essays

Letters of Recommendation Student’s should ask for recommendations from people who: Know them Write Positively about the type of person they are and their strengths Why the student would be a good fit for the specific school Parent should consider writing a Recommendation

Interviews & Auditions For schools that require an interview and/or audition as part of their application process, both parent & school are responsible for contacting each school to schedule an audition and/or interview Exception: Science Leadership Academy Parent MUST contact school to schedule interview

Statement of Non-Participation If a student chooses ONLY to apply to a Comprehensive High School, Charter School, or Non-District high school, the parent must fill out the Statement of Non-Participation in LeGare Process No advocacy folder should be sent to the 440 LeGare Team LeGare. Sending Schools should submit an advocacy folder to the comprehensive, charter or non-district school

Impartial Review If a Special Education or English Language Learner student is not accepted to any of the HS’s he/she applied to, the parent will be notified by mail if their child is eligible for Impartial Review Upon receipt of the Impartial Review letter, a parent has 10 days from receipt of the letter to contact OSIS & OMPC to request an Impartial Review A 440 Team who did not previously review Student Advocacy folders will review Impartial Review request folders and make a determination

Additional Information

Additional Information Mentally Gifted (MG) Students are not considered under the LeGare process unless there is a secondary diagnosis English Language Learners student’s who are part of the post-exit monitoring process (exited less than 2 years) qualify for LeGare Students who begin their school year at a school and transfer to another school in October, the school he/she began the year at, MUST transfer the Advocacy Packet to the new school

Additional Information (continued) Students are NOT eligible for LeGare if they were not considered as “Thought To Be” prior to October A student can ONLY apply to ONE program in a HS. A student CANNOT use all of their application choices to all the programs in one HS i.e.: CAPA Dance, Vocal, Art, etc

Points of Contact If you have any questions start with your LeGare School Based Team. You may also e-mail your questions to: General Questions: legare@philasd.org Special Education: astrange@philasd.org English Language Learners: rluckshecht@philasd.org Please watch the webinar entitled The LeGare Consent Decree Advocacy Folder Contents for more information. This webinar includes the waiver process and the folder contents. 24