This page contains answers to common questions about Special Education.
- What do I do if I suspect my child may need special education services?
- What happens after a referral to special education has been made?
- What types of special education services are provided by the school?
- What is an A.R.D. meeting?
- What is an I.E.P.?
- If my child receives services, will he/she always be in special education?
- How does the school address auditory processing difficulties?
What do I do if I suspect my child may need special education services?
Discuss your concerns with your child's teacher. He or She will need to try
some modifications and/or accommodations that target the difficulties that
your child is having. If your child continues to struggle even with
modifications and accommodations, a referral to special education may need
to be made.
What happens after a referral to special education has been made?
The assessment personnel (diagnostician, speech pathologist, or lssp) will
schedule a time with the student's teacher to observe and assess. The
assessment personnel has 60 days to complete the assessment. It doesn't
often take that much time, but that is what the law allows. A report will
be written within 30 days of the completed assessment, and a meeting will be
scheduled to review the results of the report and to discuss any
recommendations.
What types of special education services are provided by the school?
A student who has been identified as having an academic need for special
education services can receive services from the resource classroom, the
SAIL (student assistance in learning) classroom, inclusion services provided
by the resource and SAIL teachers, after school homework assistance, speech
therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, music therapy, adaptive
p.e., vision services, hearing services, orientation and mobility services,
and special education counseling. See the SAIL, Resource, and Speech FAQ
sections of this site for specific information on those three most often
utilized services.
What is an A.R.D. meeting?
An A.R.D. (Admission, Review, or Dismissal) meeting is a meeting of the
members of a student's special education committee. This committee is made
up of the student's parents, general education teacher/s, special education
teacher/s, therapists, a campus administrator, and anyone else who has an
involvement in the student's education. The committee meets a minimum of
once per year to discuss progress on goals, discuss the need for any further
evaluation, recommend new goals if needed, and to add, delete, or change any
part of a students program. Any member of the student's ARD committee may
call an ARD meeting to make changes to the program.
What is an I.E.P.?
An I.E.P. (Individualized Education Plan) is a set of goals and objectives
that need to be met in order for a student to fill in their "gaps" and
return to the general education setting. IEP goals are recommended
at ARD meetings and worked on by the student and the teachers for a maximum
of one calendar year. After that time the goals will be reviewed, mastered,
changed, or discontinued.
If my child receives services, will he/she always be in special education?
It is a myth that a student who receives special education services will
always have to stay in special education. It is the goal of all of the
teachers, special education teachers, and therapists to return a student
back to the general education population as soon as a student's
needs have been met, and he/she is able to be successful in the general
education setting. Some students who have severe disabilities will continue
to receive special education services throughout their school careers.
How does the school address auditory processing difficulties?
Auditory processing is the ability to understand what is being said. A
child with a central auditory processing disorder may have difficulty
distinguishing speech from background noise. Often children with auditory
processing problems can remember general information, but have trouble
recalling details. This problem is addressed in the school by giving the
child accommodations in the classroom that will allow the student to
experience more success. Things such as reducing classroom noise,
preferential seating, or providing notes of classroom discussions can help a
student with processing difficulties. There is not a specific special
education service for processing problems. If a child has qualified for
special education services under another disability, i.e. speech impaired or
learning disabled, he/she may be given more specific accommodations than
what a general education teacher may normally give.