Maple Valley School District

Special Education
Newsletter
(Information for
Parents & Guardians)
2014-2015

A Guide For Parents / Guardians

Special Education

Every student can learn, just not on

the same day, or in the same way.
~George Evans

What is Special Education?

Special Education is the education of physically or mentally handicapped
children whose needs are not met in the general education classroom
without extra assistance. Special Education requires that extra services be
provided to these children to help them be successful, not only in the
classroom, but in everyday life.

S P E C I A L E D U C AT I O N T I M E L I N E

Step 1. Child Find

~ Each State is required by IDEA to identify, locate, and evaluate all children
with disabilities in the state who may need special education and other related
services.
~ When a child is identified as possibly having a disability and needing special
education, parents may be asked for permission to evaluate their child.
~ Parents are also able to call the Child Find office and ask for their child to
be evaluated.
Step 2. Screening/Observation
~ Universal Screening is performed in the classroom. This means that everyone in
the general classroom takes an assessment test.
~ Teachers may also use an informal or formal response to intervention to get
more information on a student to decide if they may need more assessments to
confirm if they require special education and other related services.
Step 3. Referral/Permission
~ Parents must give permission for a referral to special education and for more
assessments to be performed.
Step 4. Assessments
~ Evaluation must conducted within 60 days of receiving parental consent for the
evaluation.
~ Parents may request an evaluation at any time, and the request must be in
writing.
~ There are 3 out of 4 assessments that can be used with students. This ensures
that the evaluations are as correct and helpful as possible.
~ These assessments are multifactored, which means that students will be given
the tests that best fit them so they can be as successful as possible.
Step 5. Identification with an Evaluation Report
~ A multi-disciplinary team gets together to look at the students assessments to
decide if the child needs special education and other services.
~ The MDT includes a certified school psychologist to evaluate the child.
~ When the MDT writes the evaluation report, it must be given to parents at
least 10 school days prior to IEP meeting

S P E C I A L E D U C AT I O N T I M E L I N E
CONTINUED...

Step 6. Invitation/IEP
~ IEP team meets 30 calendar days after the evaluation report is completed and
given to parents.
~ Parents should receive an invitation to the IEP meeting and it is scheduled for
when it best suits you.
~ Parents have right to bring someone with them to the IEP meeting.
~ The IEP is developed with the entire team and parents. It must not be written
prior to the meeting.
~ Parents have the right to review the IEP and take some time looking at it before
they sign it.
Step 7. Placement/Progress Monitoring
~ The IEP determines the best classroom placement for the child (Least Restrictive
Environment).
~ Throughout the year, teachers and specialists continue to observe and assess the
students to make sure that they are doing well in their placement and meeting their
IEP goals.
Step 8. Annual Review
~ There is a yearly review of the IEP with parents and the special education
teacher.
~ Uses data from Progress Monitoring throughout the year to determine if the child
successfully completed their IEP goals.
Step 9. Re-evaluation
~ Students get re-evaluated every 2 years for an intellectual disability and 3 years
for others.
~ Specialists use the 3 out of 4 nondiscriminatory and multifactored assessments
again.

The 6 Principles of IDEA

IDEA Is:
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is the nations federal special education law the makes sure public schools
serve all educational needs of students with disabilities.
Zero Reject:
No matter the severity of your childs disability all students have the right to a
public education in all schools.
Between the ages of 6 and 17 your child can be provided special education no
matter the disability.
The states education agency locates, identifies, and evaluates all students with
or without disability to help find students with disabilities or who are suspected
of having a disability. This process is called the child find system.
Nondiscriminatory Evaluation:
Your child will be evaluated to find out if the individual has a disability by your
school.
The tests will be nonbiased and use multifactor methods. The tests will be in
your childs native language and not discriminate based on their race or culture.
Your child will be tested on at least three out of the four assessments to be
identified for special education. The four types of assessments are summative,
formative, benchmark, and diagnostic.
Appropriate Education:
All children with disabilities will receive free and appropriate education.
As a parent this is at no cost for you. The services and education your child
needs with be at the schools expense.
As a parent you and the school will develop an IEP for your child. This IEP will
list the unique related services and accommodations your child will need to be
successful in school, future employment, and independent living.
Least Restrictive Environment:
IDEA mandates that your child with a disability should be educated in the
general education classroom with supplementary aids or services, if needed, to the
maximum extent appropriate.
In your childs IEP it can list the amount of time or to the extent you would
like your child to participate with non-disabled peers whether it was in the
academic curriculum, nonacademic curricular or with extracurricular activities.
If the nature or severity of your childs disability is not satisfactory in a
general education classroom then your child can be placed in next least
restrictive environment.
Procedural Due Process:
To protect your rights as a parent and for your child with a disability the
schools provides a safeguard due process.
The safeguard for due process gives you the right take action and sue in court
if needed.
You as a parent you have to give consent for any re-evaluations and placement
decisions for your child.
All of your childs records will stay confidential and will be available to you.
When there is a disagreement between you as their parent and the school you
may request to have a due process hearing or have mediation with a third party.
Parental and Student Participation:
Schools must work together and collaborate with you as the childs parent and
your child with disabilities during the special education process and deciding on
the services needed for your child.
During an IEP meeting you as a parent and your child, if appropriate, will give
input on goals, relation services, and placement in classroom decisions.
As a parent you do have the right to refuse further evaluation of the special
education process.

13 Categories of IDEA
Autism: developmental delay

with school or personal

using language (spoken or

that affects your childs verbal

and nonverbal communication

problems

written). This may cause

complications with listening,

and social interactions typically

before the age 3
Deaf-blindness: both hearing
and visual impairments that
combined cause severe
communication, developmental,
and educational needs that
cannot be accommodated solely
for children with deafness or
blindness.
Deafness: a hearing impairment
that is so severe that the child
is impaired in processing
linguistic information through
hearing with or without
amplification
Emotional Disturbance: a
condition exhibiting 1 or more
of the following characteristics
over a long period of time
Inability to learn cannot be
explained by intellectual,
sensory or health factors
Inability to build or maintain
interpersonal relationships with
peers or teachers

**Includes schizophrenia
Hearing Impairment: impairment
in hearing, whether permanent
or fluctuating
Intellectual disability:
significantly below average
intellectual functioning,
occurring with deficits in
adaptive behavior and are clear
during the developmental period
Multiple disabilities: more than
one impairment which causes
such severe educational needs
that cannot be accommodated
solely for one of the
impairments (does not include
deaf-blindness)
Orthopedic impairment: a severe
physical limitation- includes
impairments caused by a birth
anomaly

calculations.
Speech or language impairment:
a communicative disorder such
as stuttering, impaired
articulation, a language
impairment, or a voice
impairment
Traumatic Brain Injury: an
acquired injury to the brain
caused by an external physical
force, resulting in total or
partial functional disability or
psychosocial impairments or
both. Applies to open or closed
head injuries resulting in 1 or
more areas
Cognition, language, memory,
attention, reasoning, abstract
thinking, judgment, problem
solving, sensory, perceptual and

include:

motor abilities, physical

Asthma, ADHD, ADD, diabetes,

functions, information,

epilepsy, heard condition,

processing and speech.

hemophilia, lead poisoning,

Visual impairment including

circumstances
unhappiness or depression

spelling, or doing mathematical

Other health impairments: These

leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic

Inappropriate types of behaviors fever, sickle cell anemia,
or feelings under normal
Tourette syndrome
General extensive mood of

speaking, reading, writing,

blindness: an impairment in
vision that even with correction
affects a childs educational
performance

Specific Learning Disability: a

**includes partial sight and

disorder in one or more of

blindness

Tendency to develop physical

basic psychological processes

symptoms or fears associated

involved in understanding or in

**ALL DISABILITIES MUST NEGATIVELY AFFECT THEIR EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE**

Special Education
Services
Where are services
received?
There are three main types of
placement where services can
be received. These include fulltime, itinerant, and
supplemental. Children can
receive services in a general
education classroom and
special education classroom.
With the general education
classroom, students may be
provided with an aid so that
they can continue to work with
their peers with the
appropriate amount of
assistance they may need. The
special education classroom
focuses on children with
disabilities and many different
services can be applied here.

What services are offered?

Full-Time
Special education supports
and services are provided by
special education staff for
80% or more of the school
day.

Itinerant
Special education
supports and services
provided by special
education personnel for
20% or less of the school
day.

Supplemental
Special education
supports and services
provided by special
education personnel for
more than 20% but less
than 80% of the school
day.

What is an IEP?
IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. An IEP is used to set reasonable goals for a child, and
to identify the services that the school district will provide for the child. All professionals and specialists
working with the child must read it and follow it.

Who develops the IEP?

There are many members of an IEP team. The required members are the parents/guardians, the special
education teacher, the general education teacher, school administrator, public agency representative, and
the child at age 14.

What are the parts of the IEP?

Present level of academic achievement or functional performance
Annual goals
Childs progress
Special education and related services
Individual accommodations
Amount of time with non-disabled peers

Questions Parents Should Ask

What accommodations can the teacher make for my child?
What can I do to help more at home?
How frequently is my childs progress monitored?
Is my child making progress towards his or her goals?
If the services provided are not enough, should we explore more options?

Who Can Parents Bring to the IEP Meeting?

Parents have the right to invite anyone they want to the meeting. Parents can bring someone that has
expertise to contribute to the meeting or special knowledge about their child. Parents do not need to
notify that they are bringing someone but as part of teamwork and having good communication, it would
be courtesy to do so.

Tips for Parents about an IEP

Parents have the right to refuse services that are brought up during an IEP meeting.
We recommend that parents do not sign the IEP when the meeting is over. Take some time to look
through to make sure that everything works best for you child and you agree upon everything.