DID YOU KNOW? PRESENTED BY JAMES G. BROWN POLICY 2419.

DID YOU KNOW?PRESENTED BY JAMES G. BROWN

POLICY 2419

Exceptional Student

The term “exceptional” in this policyand procedures manual refers to eligiblestudents with disabilities and eligible

studentswho are gifted.

Policies & Procedures

This manual is provided to each school district

as West Virginia Department of Education

(WVDE) approved policies and procedures

to be adopted by the district’s Board ofEducation.

FAPE

FAPE must be provided to students who are

at least three years old and are eligible for

special education services unless the parent/adult student has refused specialeducation services.

FAPE

FAPE must be provided to students who have

not yet turned twenty-one years of age prior

to September 1 and have not graduated

with a standard high school diploma.

FAPE

FAPE must be provided to students withdisabilities whose suspension(s) orexpulsion(s) results in a change of

placement.

Nonacademic Services

The district must ensure that students with

exceptionalities are afforded an equalopportunity to participate innonacademic and extracurricularservices and activities .

Full Instructional Day

Students with exceptionalities will be provided

an instructional day, a school day and

school calendar at least equivalent to that

established for students withoutexceptionalities.

Medicaid Billing

The district must obtain parent/adultstudent consent if billable services (i.e.,

type,amount and/or duration) are revised atanytime.

Child Find

The Child Find system must include allstudents suspected of needing

specialeducation and related services

within thedistrict’s geographic boundaries.

Child Find

This list includes:• Enrolled in public school;• Home schooled;• Enrolled in private schools, including religious schools,

located in the district; • Not enrolled in school, including children ages birth

through five;• Highly mobile students including migrant students;• Homeless students;• Wards of the state; or• Suspected of having a disability as defined in Chapter

4 even though the student has not failed or been retained in a course or grade and is advancing from grade to grade.

Student Assistance Team (SAT)

Within five school days of receipt of awritten SAT referral for a

multidisciplinaryevaluation, appropriate persons must

benotified of the date, time, location andspecific information needed for the

meeting.

SAT

Within ten school days of receipt of thewritten SAT referral, the SAT must

conduct areview of the area(s) of concern, collect

andanalyze available educational data and

reviewprevious interventions and make adetermination regarding further action.

Evaluation Team

The evaluation team may conduct its business

with or without holding a meeting.However, if requested by the

parent/adultstudent, a team meeting will be held. 

SAT Decision to Evaluate

Within five days of the SAT decision torequest an initial multidisciplinary

evaluation,PWN and a copy of the proceduralsafeguards are provided to the parent,

andinformed parental consent is

requested forconducting the evaluation.

Request for Evaluation

When a written request for initialevaluation has been initiated by theparent, determine whether the

evaluation willbe conducted, and provide prior writtennotice (PWN) of the decision and a copy

ofthe procedural safeguards to the

parent.

Date Consent Received

The principal, classroom teacher or otherdesignated individual is responsible fordocumenting the date written parentalconsent for initial evaluation is received

andimmediately forwarding this request to

thespecial education director or designee.

Initial Evaluation

Within eighty days of the documented date,the district must conduct a full, individualinitial evaluation and convene an eligibilitycommittee (EC) to determine the student’seligibility for special education before theprovision of special education and relatedservices to a student with an exceptionality.

The eighty-day timeline will not apply to a district if:

The parent repeatedly fails orrefuses to produce the

student foran evaluation after the

district hasmade and documentedreasonable efforts to

schedule anevaluation.

The student enrolls in anotherdistrict prior to the eligibilitydetermination and the receivingdistrict is making sufficientprogress to ensure a promptcompletion of the evaluation

andthe parent/adult student andreceiving district agree to aspecific time when the

evaluationwill be completed.

Reevaluation

Within three years of the date of the lastEC, or more frequently if the parent or

teacherrequests or conditions warrant, the districtshall conduct, as appropriate, an individualmultidisciplinary reevaluation to determine

astudent’s educational needs and continuedeligibility for special education and relatedservices.

Reevaluation Determination

The evaluation team may conduct its review

with or without holding a meeting but

must document its decisions on theReevaluation Determination form.

Eligibility

The district must also reevaluate a student

with a disability before determining that the

student is no longer eligible for specialeducation, unless:

• The student graduates with a standard high school diploma; or

• The student reaches the age of twenty-one.

Additional Evaluations

Additional evaluations requested by the EC

or IEP Team must be completed and an EC or

IEP Team meeting held within sixty days

from receipt of parental consent for theidentified evaluations.

Additional Evaluations

Upon receipt of a written parental request

for an additional evaluation, the IEP team

considers the request, with or without holding

a meeting, and within ten days of receipt

provides PWN of its response.

Evaluation/Reevaluation

Written consent must be sought for evaluation

and reevaluation.

Evaluation/Reevaluation

If the parent/adult student once again fails torespond, the district must documentreasonable measures taken to obtain

consent,which may include:

• A record of telephone calls made or attempted and the results of those calls;

• Copies of correspondence sent to the parent/adult student and any response received; and/or

• Detailed records of visits made to the parent’s/adult student’s home or place of employment and the results of those visits. 

Reevaluation

If the parent/adult student fails to respondafter the district has taken reasonablemeasures to obtain consent for assessmentsand after the passage of thirty schooldays from the initial request for consent, thedistrict may:

• As part of a reevaluation, provide PWN that the district will conduct the reevaluation; or

• As part of an initial evaluation, pursue the evaluation by using mediation or filing a due process complaint.

Areas to Evaluate

For an initial evaluation, the student shall be

evaluated in all areas related to the suspected

exceptionality.

Eligibility

Results of the multidisciplinary evaluation shallbe utilized by the EC as the primary source ofinformation to determine the student’seducational needs and whether the studentmeets the following three prongs :

• Meets the eligibility criteria in one of the designated exceptionalities;

• Experiences an adverse effect on educational performance; and

• Needs special education.

Eligibility

A student cannot be identified as a student

in need of special education services if the

primary reason for such a decision is:• A lack of appropriate instruction in

reading;• A lack of appropriate instruction in math;

or • Limited English proficiency.

Eligibility

A student who only needs a related service

and not special education is not eligible.

Primary Exceptionality

Using the results of the multidisciplinaryevaluation, the EC must determine thestudent’s primary exceptionality

whenmore than one exceptionality condition

ispresent.

Primary Exceptionality

If consensus upon the primary exceptionality

cannot be reached, the district administrator

or designee must make the decision andprovide the parent/adult student with

PWN ofthe decision.

Continued Eligibility

Districts must carefully consider thereevaluation of students initially found eligiblefor special education. Districts must considerthe effect of exiting a student from specialeducation who has received special educationfor many years and how the removal of suchsupports will affect the student’s educationalprogress, particularly for a student who is inthe final year(s) of high school.

Information to Parents

If a student meets the criteria for blindness,

low vision, deafness, hard of hearing ordeaf-blindness on the Eligibility Report,

theparents or guardians shall be providedinformation pertaining to the West

VirginiaSchools for the Deaf and Blind.

Revocation

The revocation of consent rule applies torevocation of all special education and

relatedservices. Consent cannot be revoked for

aparticular service.

Copies of IEPs To Parents

At the conclusion of the IEP Team meeting,

prior written notice and a copy of the IEPmust be provided to the parent/adult

student.

Annual Reviews

Each student’s IEP must be reviewed at least

annually, once every 365 days.

Transfer Students In State / Out State

When a student with a current WV IEPtransfers school districts within the sameschool year, and enrolls in a new school,

thedistrict must make reasonable efforts toconsult with the parent within twoschool days of initial enrollment and toinitiate FAPE for the student within

oneschool day of the parent consultation.

Transfer Students – In State

Within ten school days of the parent or

adult student consultation, the district

must adopt the previously held IEP ordevelop and implement a new IEP.

Eligibility – Transfer From Out of State

If the district decides an evaluation isnecessary to determine the transfer

student’seligibility under West Virginia eligibility

criteria,the district must conduct the evaluation

usingthe requirements and timelines for initialevaluation, including obtaining parentalconsent.

Transition Birth-to-Three

A child three through five years old who is

eligible as a student with developmental

delays must have an IEP implemented by

his or her third birthday.

Procedural Safeguards Notice

A copy of the Procedural Safeguards Noticemust be made available to the parent/adultstudent only one time a year except that acopy will also be given upon:

• Initial referral or parental request for evaluation; • The first occurrence of the filing of a due process or state

complaint; • Issuance of a disciplinary notice of suspension or

expulsion resulting in a change of placement; and• The request of a parent/adult student.

Provision of IEP Information

The student's IEP must be accessible to eachgeneral education teacher, special educationteacher, related service provider and otherservice provider who is responsible for itsimplementation. Each teacher and providermust be informed of his or her specificresponsibilities related to implementing thestudent's IEP.

General Education Teacher

According to WV State Code, the general Educationteacher is entitled to a signed copy of the IEP for thestudent prior to the placement of the student into thegeneral education classroom when the student's IEPrequires an adjustment in either the curriculum,instruction or service to be provided by the classroomteacher including modifications and supports thatmust be provided for the student in accordance withthe IEP.

Provision of Services

The district must provide a continuum ofservice options in order to respond to

theintensity and severity of students’

needs.

Provision of Services

The district must provide classrooms foreligible school age students withexceptionalities in close proximity toclassrooms for age-appropriate non-exceptional peers.

Provision of Services

The district must provide classrooms foreligible students with exceptionalities

that areadequate and comparable to the

classroomsfor students without exceptionalities.

Provision of Services

The district must provide appropriate grouping

of students with exceptionalities for speciallydesigned instruction based upon meeting thestudents’ similar social, functional and/oracademic needs, as specified in their IEPsand without regard to identified

exceptionality.

Adequate Staff

It is the responsibility of the district to provide

adequate staff to implement the IEP of each

student.

Caseload

WV Pre-k classrooms should to the extentpracticable reflect the natural proportions ofstudents with disabilities to those withoutdisabilities within the school or community,but with no more than ten students withdisabilities per session.

Integrated Classrooms

The percentage of students with disabilities,excluding those with speech/languageimpairments, receiving specially designedinstruction in general education settingsshould approximate natural proportions

thatare no more than 30% of the total classenrollment when integrated classrooms areestablished in the four core academicsubjects.

Class Size

When students with different levels ofservice need are provided instruction in thesame class, the minimum staffing ratio for

thehighest level of need applies.

These ratios do not preclude the use ofadditional staff to support a student with

LevelII or Level III service needs.

Prior Written Notice (PWN)

PWN is the act of informing a parent/adultstudent, in writing within a reasonable

amountof time, before the district proposes or

refusesto initiate or change the student’sidentification, the evaluation, educationalplacement, or provision of FAPE.

Prior Written Notice

PWN must be provided to the parent /adultstudent five days prior to implementingthe proposed action or within five daysof the refusal.

This requirement does not apply to notice ofdisciplinary removals, which must beprovided on the same day the decision toremove the student is made.

Surrogate Parent

Any person who is aware a student mayneed a surrogate parent may make a referralfor a determination to the district’s specialeducation director. The district will appoint a surrogate if:

• a parent cannot be identified;• a parent cannot be found after reasonable efforts to

locate the parent;• the student is a ward of the state; or• the student is an unaccompanied homeless youth.

Transfer of Rights

Not later than the student’s 17th birthday,the IEP Team must discuss the transfer ofspecial education rights to the student.

Special education rights will transfer from theparent to the adult student when the studentturns eighteen years of age unless a courthas appointed a legal guardian to representthe educational interests of the student.

Revocation of Services

If at any time subsequent to the initialprovision of special education and relatedservices the parent/adult student revokesconsent in writing for the continuedprovision of special education and relatedservices, the district may not continue toprovide special education and related

services,but must provide PWN.

"Sometimes when I consider what tremendous

consequences come from little things… I am tempted to think…

there are no little things.”

Bruce BartonBruce Barton

Jim Brown, Assistant DirectorOffice of Assessment &

[email protected]

Phone: 304-558-7805