Special Education FAQ (Frequently asked questions)

1.) Why do forms change every year?

Forms are the method most districts use to document they are in compliance with the regulations governing special education. As those regulations change, forms must change to match the newest requirements. Major judicial decisions in both state and federal jurisdictions can impact the way special education services are delivered and therefore, can result in a change to the forms.

2.) Is it true that no students can have accommodations on district assessments?

The ARC for each individual student must discuss whether or not the student needs accommodations on the CATS and/or the district assessment. The Inclusion of Special Populations in the State-Required Assessment and Accountability Programs document guides the ARC in making that determination. Students may participate in one of three ways:

1. With no accommodations,
2. With accommodations, and
3. Through an alternate portfolio.

The general conditions for using accommodations in the instructional process shall:

1. Be both age appropriate and related to the student’s verified disability and specially designed instruction,
2. Be part of the student’s ongoing instructional program,
3. Be for the purpose of the student accessing the general education curriculum and demonstrating what they know and are able to do,
4. Be consistent with the instructional strategies, assertive technology devices, and services identified in the student’s IEP, and
5. Not inappropriately impact the content being measured.

To address this last condition for each student, the ARC must know how the assessment is designed and what it is trying to measure. If the assessment is measuring the student’s ability to decode and/or recall words, an oral presentation of the assessment would probably not be appropriate. However, if the assessment is designed to measure levels of comprehension and/or understanding of content, an oral presentation would be less likely to impact what the student knows or understands. Each ARC must use what they know about the student and what they know about the assessment to determine if accommodations should be provided and what those accommodations should be.

3.) How can schools provide services to students with mental health needs?

Public schools are responsible for the education of every student living within the boundaries of that district. Some students attending public schools have medical, physical, and mental health issues that the school is not responsible for treating. That does not change the district’s responsibility to educate the students. The school may be responsible for seeing that a child who is diabetic receives a morning snack, that a child who is bipolar receives lunchtime medication, and that a child who has spina bifida receives assistance with catherization. The school, however, is not responsible for determining the dosage of insulin, the amount of medication, or the method of catherization — those decisions are left to the medical providers.

The challenge for schools serving students with mental health needs is determining how to address the mental disorders as they are manifested in school. Even though several students may have the same diagnosis, the way that diagnosis manifests itself can be very unique to the student. Directors, principals, teachers, counselors, FRYSCs, school psychologists, and resource specialists use school data, parent input, and medical information to develop an individual intervention plan for the student. Staffing allocations (detailed in Fact 6) provide each school with flexibility to develop the environment most appropriate for the student.

4.) Is it true that all students with IEPs must receive science and social studies instruction in the general education classroom?

Each and every ARC must first consider implementing each student’s IEP in the general education classroom on a full time basis. When the ARC determines this cannot be done, a clear description of the modifications and supports considered, and why those would not be successful, must be outlined. ARCs most often find that the areas of disability are in reading and math. Intense instruction in those areas is needed. Science and social studies are two content areas that are most often impacted by the student’s low reading level. However, content material can be presented in an oral fashion either through books on tape, someone reading to the student, or text reading software. For these reasons, science and social studies are the content areas students and teachers find to be most successful for students in the general education classroom.

5.) Is it true that students cannot receive services in a special education classroom for the entire school day?

A continuum of services must be available for any student. The IEP is the driving force behind the decision concerning where services should be provided. The present level of educational performance (PLEP) along with goals and objectives should guide the ARC in its placement decision. Each and every ARC must first consider implementing each student's IEP in the general education classroom on a full time basis. When the ARC determines this cannot be done, a clear description of the modifications and supports considered, and why those would not be successful, must be outlined. While few students should need to receive all services in a special education environment, there may be some who do need that level of support. The ARC must document why none of that support can be provided in the general education environment.

6.) Is it true that service delivery is limited to the resource room only?

The process for determining the amount of service delivery is described in question 5 above. The principal determines how those services will be organized in the building based on the needs of the students. One reason Fayette County allocates special education staff at approximately half what is allowed by regulation is to give schools some flexibility in how classrooms and services are organized based on the needs of their students.

A school with 20 students would be allocated two special education teachers. Based on the needs of the students, each teacher may work with all the students at different times during the day, each teacher may work with 10 students, or one teacher may work exclusively with five students for the majority of the day while the remaining 15 are served by the other teacher. Those five may be with one teacher for the majority of the day but other students may come to that teacher for shorter periods of time based on the needs of the students. The school would determine if this should be a resource room where some students go in and out or should become a self-contained classroom where students receive the majority of their instruction. The school has the flexibility to make that decision as the needs of their students change.

7.) Is it true that students with severe disabilities must be included in regular education classes?

After the IEP is developed, the ARC must use that information about the individual student to determine where components of the IEP will be implemented. Full time in the general education classroom must be the first placement option considered. The processes outlined in Facts 5 and 6 above should be followed for each student, regardless of the severity of the disability.

8.) Why are severely disabled children students put in regular classrooms rather than self-contained units. Will this policy stay the same next year (2003-2004)? What are some definitive changes coming for Special Education?

The procedure is based on state and federal regulations that require each and every student be in classes with their non-disabled peers as much as possible. The responsibility of each student's ARC is to determine what needs to be in place for students to be able to participate in those general classrooms. The federal law (IDEA) is up for reauthorization this year. No changes in this area are anticipated. As this point no definitive changes in Special Education are known. The last reauthorization of IDEA in 1997 had significant changes that greatly impacted many states. KERA had required Kentucky to make most of those same changes in 1990. As a result, our schools were not as greatly impacted as those in other states.

Last update: 8/5/2005 8:15:05 AM