FAQ
1. I get confused by all of the meetings. Can you explain the different types of meetings that occur before and after classification?
Answer:
I&RS Meetings: The I&RS Team process is a collaborative school effort between district personnel and parents to intervene when a student has been identified as making minimal academic and/or emotional progress in the general education setting. The team or committee collects and evaluates relevant data in order to determine or identify specific barriers to student performance.
Identification Meeting: This meeting provides the opportunity for the school and/or parents to convey concerns related to the student's educational progress. The full CST is in attendance and will determine if an evaluation is warranted. If an evaluation is warranted, the CST will develop an evaluation plan and present it to the parents for their consent. If the parents consent to the plan, the CST has 90 days to complete the assessments, determine the child's eligibility, and have the child placed in a program.
Eligibility Meeting: At this meeting, the case manager presents the findings from the completed assessments, reviews the student's eligibility status, and if eligible, develops appropriate programming for the student in collaboration with the IEP team.
IEP Meeting: In this meeting, the IEP team reviews the student's progress in the current program and then plans for future programming based on the information presented.
2. At what point is my child considered classified?
Answer: After the eligibility meeting is held that deems the student eligible for special education and related services.
3. Does my child have to be classified to have speech/language services?
Answer: Yes, either as eligible for special education and related services or al eligible for speech/language services.
4. Should my child have goals and objectives for in-class resource program?
Answer: Goals and objectives are established for students based on areas of deficit or weakness.
5. Are parents part of the team who decides eligibility for special education and related services?
Answer: No. Although parental input is utilized in making eligibility determinations, the CST is responsible for determining eligibility for special education and related services and consent is not required.
6. What do I do if I just want Occupational Therapy?
Answer: Occupational Therapy is a related service and is only required to be provided if a student is determined as eligible for special education and then found to be in need of occupational therapy, as determined by the IEP team based upon an occupational therapy evaluation.
7. When is a child eligible for Extended School Year (ESY) services?
Answer: The IEP team determines eligibility for ESY services by reviewing several factors. One factor to be considered includes the regression/recoupment analysis which considers the amount of regression a student experiences as a result of an interruption in educational services over the course of the summer with the amount of time required to regain the prior level of skill upon the student's return to school in the fall.