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GROSSE POINTE PUBLIC SCHOOLS                        Department of Student Services

                                                                             20090 Morningside

                                                                             Grosse Pointe Woods, MI  48236

                                                                             432-3853

                                                                             Fax:  432-3852

Dear Parent/Guardian,

The success of your child’s education is a shared responsibility with you and the school team.  Your input, involvement and support are important.  Teachers and parents must work and plan together in this partnership for your child.

This handbook is designed to help you understand and actively participate in the special education process on behalf of your child.  It contains information about the Grosse Pointe Public Schools’ programs and services as well as information about State and Federal special education laws.

As you may know, access to special education is controlled by many legal definitions, time lines, and due process steps.  We must follow certain procedures and complete detailed paperwork required by law.  Yet we always remember our ultimate goal, which is to provide an appropriate, quality education for all students in our school district.

We have a continuum of service and programs available, and each child is planned for as an individual.  The importance of your role as a parent cannot be overstated.  Nobody knows your child like you do, but also recognize that he or she may perform differently in a classroom setting than in your home.  Throughout your child’s school years, you need to:

ASK QUESTIONS

It is important that you understand how the staff sees your child’s development, skills, abilities, and daily performance as well as their recommendations for your child.  It is also important that you understand the special education process, your and your child’s rights, and the continuum of services and programs available.

SHARE INFORMATION

Share your goals and expectations for your child with school staff.  Share any information that will help them better understand and meet the needs of your child.

BE INVOLVED

Your continuing involvement in providing input and feedback is critical, whether your child is in first grade or high school.  Please attend all Individualized Educational Planning Team (IEPT) meetings about your child.  Your child will know we are working together to insure success.  The special education staff will consult with you to schedule the IEPT at a time and date that is good for you.

Your child will be spending at least thirteen years in school and even longer if eligible for special education as a preschooler or post-high school age student.  Think about that significant length of time, let’s make it as positive and productive as possible.

We will work together, with you as a team in planning and implementing an individualized program to meet the unique needs of your child.

Please do not hesitate to ask questions of the teachers, counselor, principal, or Student Services’ Staff.  Please call if you have question, concerns, or recommendations.

Sincerely,

Pamela A. Lemerand, Ph.D.

Director of Student Services

Mission Statement

Partnership for Different Learners is an organization of parents, educators and administrators who are committed to sharing information and resources in a collaborative manner to promote educational excellence for students with special needs to reach their maximum potential.     

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Navigating the special education process on behalf of our children can sometimes be overwhelming.  The Partnership for Different Learners has joined together with the Student Services Department of Grosse Pointe Schools to produce this handbook in an effort to make that process easier to understand and negotiate.

It is proven that when parents actively participate in partnership with their student’s teachers and staff in the educational process, the outcomes for the student are better.  This is especially true if the student has special needs.  We encourage your involvement in your child’s education.  You are the expert on your child and the one constant in your child’s life.  You know your child best and will be there in the beginning, middle and end of their educational experience. 

We invite you to join the Partnership for Different Learners PTO.  You will have the opportunity to network with other parents, teachers and administrators to share information, resources and problem solve.  You are not alone. 

Sincerely,

Board of Directors

Partnership for Different Learners

Contact us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PartnershipForDifferentLearners

Grosse Pointe Public School residents have a long-standing belief that all children are entitled to the full benefits of a public education.  This belief is now supported by state and federal laws that recognize that every individual is unique and different.  That is, our ability to learn and the rate at which we learn varies from one person to another.

Just as people are different, so too are disabilities.  They vary from one person to another.  Some disabilities may be severe, while others are mild.  Each disability, however, has one thing in common.  Whether physical, cognitive or emotional, disabilities interfere with typical classroom learning.  Therefore, special education programs are designed to minimize this interference and to help students with special needs reach their maximum potential.

For these reasons, teachers with specialized training work with children with disabilities in school.  The special education programs and services they provide are designed to meet each student’s individual needs.

In Michigan, these services are provided to individuals from birth through age 25 years who are determined to be eligible for special education services.  Students eligible to receive special education services will be provided with appropriate programs and/or services by the Grosse Pointe Public School system and/or the intermediate school district or through an approved contract agreement with another school district.  The types of services provided vary for each child.

As you read through this handbook, you will find a description of the special education process.  This process is based on specific state and federal rules that protect you and your child.  This handbook was designed to provide you with the basic information you need to become involved in the next phase of your child’s growth, development and education.  This “legal process” of special education can be overwhelming for parents.  There are a lot of meetings and detailed paperwork that can seem very confusing – even intimidating.  But it’s your child’s education being discussed at the center of all this.  Stay centered, don’t be afraid to ask questions, make comments, agree or disagree, and most important, stay involved.

THE INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATIONAL PLANNING TEAM PROCESS

(This flow chart will be explained in depth throughout this handbook)

The Individualized Educational Planning Team Process

The steps which follow outline for you the procedures used to determine eligibility and recommendations for special education programs and services.  Prior to a referral for a special education evaluation, the school team will try multiple modifications, accommodations and other comprehensive interventions within general education, to resolve the student’s learning delays and/or behavior problems.

Step 1: Referral and Parent Notification

The school team and/or parent suspect the child has a disability.  A request is made to the Department of Student Services to begin the evaluation process. The parent is formally notified of the referral and the district’s intent to evaluate and is invited to participate in the evaluation review meeting.

Step 2: Evaluation Review Meeting (ERM)

The school team and parents meet to review all existing evaluation data such as observations, developmental, educational and medical history, formal and informal testing results, parent input/information, accommodations and interventions that have been tried and the results of those efforts.

Based on that information, a multidisciplinary evaluation plan is developed to answer the following questions;

1. What is the student’s present level of educational performance and educational need?

2. Does the student have an educational disability and what is the disability?

3. As a result of this disability, does the student need special education in order to make appropriate developmental and/or educational progress?

This plan is defined in writing and the parent MUST provide signed consent for this initial evaluation to take place.  Parental rights and due process procedures are explained to the parents and a copy of that information is provided.

After the initial ERM, MET and IEPT meetings, a new ERM will be held every three years to determine what if any evaluation data is needed to reconsider the questions above.  An ERM may convene sooner than every three years if requested by the parent or other team members.

Your Rights

Ø      Receive notification in writing (Referral/Evaluation Review/Consent form) before the school evaluates your student as to why an evaluation is being considered and what it hopes to accomplish.

Ø      Give your written permission for the evaluation.  Additionally, provide any information that may be helpful to the evaluation.

Ø      Talk with any educational staff involved in the evaluation process before the evaluation takes place to understand exactly what will occur.

Step 3: Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MET) Process

The multidisciplinary team completes a comprehensive evaluation of your child’s strengths and weaknesses based on the ERM plan. Each evaluator prepares a written report.  One special education team member serves as a “case manager”, conferring with all team members, including the parents, chairing the team meetings, collecting all the reports and opinions and, preparing a summary of the evaluation results.

The MET must make a written recommendation of eligibility.  The results and recommendations are shared at the Individualized Educational Plan Team (IEPT) meeting.

If this is the first time a student has ever been evaluated, the team will make every attempt to informally share the preliminary results with the parents prior to the IEPT. This is so the parent has time to reflect on the information and be prepared for the formal discussion and decision making at the IEPT meeting.

After the initial MET process is completed, subsequent METs are generally conducted only if the IEPT is considering a change in eligibility for special education.

Your Rights

During the MET process you have the right to:

Ø      Have an initial evaluation conducted by a multidisciplinary evaluation team within 30 school days after the school has received your written permission to evaluate.

Ø      Have more than one test or evaluation procedure used to determine eligibility and the appropriate education program for your child.

Ø      Be assured testing does not discriminate on the basis of language or culture.

Ø      Have all outside evaluation data considered along with school data.

Ø      Be notified of each evaluation procedure the team uses in determining eligibility and need for special education programs or services.

Ø      Have a vocational evaluation before your child receives vocational education.

Ø      Have an evaluation and any recommended review meeting evaluations every three years or more frequently if conditions warrant, or if you or the teacher requests it.  (see Step 7).

Step 4: Individualized Educational Plan Team (IEPT) Meeting

Parents and school staff meet to review the evaluation findings and determine if the student is eligible for special education.  This meeting is convened with 30 school days after the parent signs the consent to evaluate. This meeting is to be scheduled at a time and place mutually agreed upon by the parents and school team.

If the student is found “not eligible” for special education, the school team helps develop a plan for accommodations and modifications within general education that would support the student’s success.

If the student is eligible for special education, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is developed.  The IEP includes such things as:

Ø      A description of the present level of educational performance (PLEP) in all areas of education that are affected by the disability.  This statement makes clear why this student needs specially designed instruction that cannot be provided by general education.  The PLEP addresses how the student’s progress in the general curriculum (or, in appropriate activities for preschoolers) is affected by the disability and in what areas of the curriculum she/he needs specially designed instruction.

Ø      A statement of the annual goals and measurable short term instructional objectives in the areas of curriculum and/or development that are affected by the disability. These are the areas that need specially designed instruction.  These goals and objectives are “bench marks” reflective of overall progress.

Ø      The criteria and evaluation procedures to determine if the measurable instructional objectives have been met.

Ø      A statement of the special education programs and services to be provided.  The placement must be in the least restrictive environment (LRE) in which the student can make satisfactory progress toward the IEP goals and objectives.

Ø      Identification of the amount of time the student will attend classes in both general education and special education settings and, the extent to which s/he will be involved/progress in the general education curriculum.   The IEPT must also identify the extent to which the student will have the same opportunity as general education students to participate in nonacademic and extracurricular activities.

Ø      A description of any specific modifications, supplemental aids, services and supports, as well as special considerations the student may need to enable the student to be educated with students who are non-disabled.

Ø      The date projected for the initiation and duration of the services.

The IEPT must be convened at least annually to review/revise the IEP.  The IEPT can be convened sooner if requested by the parent, student or staff. 

Beyond the standard elements of every IEPT meeting described above, there are age-specific components that are added to the IEP. 

• Beginning at age 12 years, the IEPT must consider the student’s prevocational and vocational needs. The student’s course of study is described.

• Beginning at age 14 years, a transition plan is added to the overall IEP.  This plan focuses on what transition services are needed to assist the student to prepare for the transition from high school to post-high school life.  Parents are given very specific information about transition services as the student approaches 14 years old.

• Additional steps in the IEP process may occur when the child is an infant or preschooler, or if the student is age 18 years or older.  When a student is in one of these age groups the parents receive more detailed, written information about what to further expect during the special education process.

Your Rights

Concerning the IEPT you have the right to:

Ø      Be notified before an IEPT meeting is held, and have the purpose of the meeting explained to you.

Ø      Have the IEPT meeting scheduled at a mutually convenient time.

Ø      Be invited to the meeting and be involved in any decision made concerning your student.

Ø      Review school records prior to the IEPT.

Ø      Have your student attend if appropriate.

Ø      Have a person(s) accompany you to the meeting.

Ø      Participate in the development of your student’s IEP.

Ø      Receive a copy of the IEP.

Ø      Obtain an Independent Educational Evaluation.

As a parent, you have the right to obtain an independent educational evaluation at your own expense.  You also have the right to have the results of that evaluation considered in any decision made for determining eligibility or providing services to your child.

If you disagree with the evaluation conducted by the school district, you may request a similar independent evaluation at public expense.  This request is to be made at or following the Individualized Educational Planning Team meeting (IEPT) where evaluation results are presented.  The district must notify you in writing within seven days of its intent to honor the request.  If the school district feels its evaluation is sufficient, a hearing officer may be asked to review the appropriateness of your request for an independent evaluation.

As a parent, you also have the following rights regarding independent educational evaluation:

Ø      To be told where an independent educational evaluation may be obtained.  You may also elect to use evaluators other than those identified by the school district as long as those evaluators meet the qualifications.

Ø      To be provided information regarding examiner qualifications, procedures for reimbursement, and reasonable expected costs.

Ø      To obtain an evaluation at your own expense.

Step 5: Written Parent Permission for Programs, Services and Placement

At the conclusion of the IEPT the District representative must determine if the District is in agreement with the IEPT recommendations.  (Although this determination is almost always made at the conclusion of the IEP, the district has seven calendar days to make a decision.) Once the district makes a commitment to implement the IEP, the parents are again informed in writing of all due process rights and procedural safeguards.  The parent is asked for written permission to implement the IEP.  If the parents need more time to consider this decision, they may take up to ten calendar days to provide written consent.  If the parents are not in agreement with the recommendations of the IEP they may take one or more of the following steps (these steps are described in more detail later in the handbook): 

Ø      Sign in disagreement but allow the IEP to be implemented.

Ø      Sign in disagreement and request a meeting with the Director of Student Services to discuss/resolve the disagreement.

Ø      Sign in disagreement and request mediation as defined by state law

Ø      Sign in disagreement and request a due process hearing as defined by state law

Step 6: IEP Implementation

The IEP is implemented and the teachers collect continuous assessment information that guides instructional decisions.  Parents are regularly informed in writing, of the student’s progress toward the goals.  This information is typically provided 2-4 times per year unless otherwise determined by the IEP.

Step 7: Re-evaluation

At least every three years a comprehensive evaluation review meeting is conducted by the multidisciplinary team and includes parental input.  At that time an evaluation plan is developed again.  After a review of all existing evaluation/assessment information, the team decides what, if any, additional information is needed to determine:

1. The student’s present level of educational performance and educational needs.

2. Does the student continue to have an educational disability?

3. Does the student continue to need/require special education and related services?

4. Does the IEP need any modifications or additions to enable the student to meet the IEP goals and to participate, as appropriate, in the general curriculum?

 If the team decides no additional information is necessary in order to proceed to the next IEP, the parent must be informed of this in writing as a part of the ERM.   The parent has the right to request further evaluation to determine whether the student continues to have a disability.