Special Education Services

Identification and Assessment Process

Identification/Referral
Each district special education local plan area (SELPA) or county office shall provide for the identification and assessment of an individual’s exceptional needs and the planning of an instructional program to best meet the assessed needs. Identification procedures shall include systematic methods of utilizing referrals from teachers, parents, agencies, appropriate professional persons, and from other members of the public. Identification procedures shall be coordinated with school site procedures for referral of pupils that cannot be met with modification of the regular instructional program.

Assessment
Before any action is taken with respect to the initial placement of an individual with exceptional needs in a special education program, an individualized assessment of the pupil’s educational needs shall be conducted by a multidisciplinary team of educators and professionals.

Parent rights regarding assessment include:

The proposed assessment plan will be provided in the primary language of the parent, when feasible.
No assessment shall be conducted without the written consent of the parent (or the student, if he/she is 18 years of age).
The original assessment of the student must be based on a multidisciplinary assessment. No single test can form the basis for identifying him/her as an individual with exceptional needs.
School districts and county offices of education are not allowed to use intelligence tests in the assessment of black students who have been referred for a special education assessment. Alternate means of assessment shall be used.
A copy of the “Notice of Parent Rights” shall be attached to the assessment plan.

Parents are invited to participate in the assessment process by sharing their concerns regarding their child, and by providing information regarding the child’s educational performance and progress in school and overall development.

The results of the assessment are reviewed at an individualized education program (IEP) team meeting within 50 calendar days from the date the receipt of the parent’s written consent for assessment (not counting days between school sessions or terms), unless the parent agrees, in writing to an extension of the time line.

The parent is an integral member of the IEP team. The team reviews the assessment information to determine whether the child meets the State of California eligibility requirements for placement in special education.

Individual with Exceptional Needs
A student qualifies for special education when an IEP team determines that he/she is an individual with exceptional needs. Section 56026 of the California Education Code defines an individual with exceptional needs as:

Identified as a handicapped child per federal law.
Having an impairment that requires instruction, services or both when cannot be provided with modification of the regular school program.
Is between 0 and 21 years of age.
Meets one of the following eligibility criteria.

Hearing Impaired. A pupil has a hearing impairment, whether permanent or fluctuating, which impairs the processing of linguistic information through hearing, even with amplification, and which adversely affects educational performance. Processing linguistic information includes speech and language reception and speech and language discrimination.

Deaf Blind. A pupil has concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes severe communication, developmental, and educational problems.

Language or Speech Disorder. A pupil has a language or speech disorder as defined in Section 56333 of the Education Code, and it is determined that the pupil’s disorder meets one or more of the following criteria:

1. Articulation disorder.

The pupil displays reduced intelligibility or an inability to use the speech mechanism which significantly interferes with communication and attracts adverse attention. Significant interference in communication occurs when the pupil’s production of single or multiple speech sounds on a developmental scale of articulation competency is below that expected for his/her chronological age or development level, and which adversely affects educational performance.
A pupil does not meet the criteria for an articulation disorder if the sole assessed disability is an abnormal swallowing pattern.

2. Abnormal Voice. A pupil has an abnormal voice which is characterized by persistent, defective voice quality, pitch or loudness.

3. Fluency Disorders. A pupil has a fluency disorder when the flow of verbal expression, including rate and rhythm, adversely affects communication between the pupil and listener.

4. Language Disorder. The pupil has an expressive or receptive language disorder when he/she meets one of the following criteria:

The pupil scores at least 1.5 standard deviations below the mean, or below the 7th percentile, of her/her chronological age or developmental level on two or more standardized tests in one or more of the following areas of language development: morphology, syntax, semantics or pragmatics. When standardized tests are considered to be invalid for the specific pupil, the expected language performance level shall be determined by alternative means as specified on the assessment plan, or
The pupil scores at least 1.5 standard deviations below the mean or below the 7th percentile of his/her chronological age or developmental level on one or more standardized tests in one of the areas listed in subsection (A) and displays inappropriate or inadequate usage of expressive or receptive language as measured by a representative spontaneous or elicited language sample of a minimum of fifty utterances. The language sample must be recorded or transcribed and analyzed, and the results included in the assessment report. If the pupil is unable to produce this sample, the language, speech, and hearing specialist shall document why a fifty utterance sample was not obtainable and the contexts in which attempts were made to elicit the sample. When standardized tests are considered to be invalid for the specific pupil, the expected language performance level shall be determined by alternative means as specified in the assessment plan.

Visually Impaired. A student has a visual impairment which, even with correction, adversely affects the student’s educational performance.

Orthopedically Impaired. A pupil has a severe orthopedic impairment which adversely affects the pupil’s educational performance. Such orthopedic impairments include impairments caused by congenital anomaly, by disease, and from other causes.

Chronic or Acute Health Impairments. A pupil has limited strength, vitality or alertness, due to chronic or acute health problems, including but not limited to a heart condition, cancer, leukemia, rheumatic fever, chronic kidney disease, cystic fibrosis, severe asthma, epilepsy, lead poisoning, diabetes, tuberculosis and other communicable infectious diseases, and hematological disorders such as sickle cell anemia and hemophilia which adversely affects a pupil’s educational performance. In accordance with Section 56026(3) of the Education Code, such physical disabilities shall not be temporary in nature as defined by Title 5, 3001(v).

Autistic. A pupil exhibits any combination of the following autistic-like behaviors that include but are not limited to:

An inability to use oral language for appropriate communication.
A history of extreme withdrawal or relating to people inappropriately and continued impairment in social interaction from infancy through early childhood.
An obsession to maintain sameness.
Extreme preoccupation with objects, inappropriate use of objects, or both
Extreme resistance to controls.
Displays peculiar motoric mannerisms and motility patterns.
Self-stimulating, ritualistic behavior.

The definition of autism, as a new category of disability that was added to the IDEA in 1990, is currently being developed. The proposed regulations define autism as a developmental disability that significantly affects verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, that is generally evident before age three (though children who manifest the symptoms after age three can be included), and that adversely affects educational performance. Autism is not to include children with characteristics of “serious emotional disturbance“ as that category is defined in current regulations.

Mentally Retarded. A pupil has significantly below average general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, all of which adversely affect a pupil’s educational performance.

Seriously Emotionally Disturbed. Because of a serious emotional disturbance, a pupil exhibits one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree, which adversely affect educational performance.

An inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors.
An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances exhibited in several situations.
A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

Specific Learning Disability. A pupil has a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an impaired ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations, and has a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement in one or more of the academic areas specified in Section 56337(a) of the Education Code. For the purposes of Title 5, Section 3030(j):

Basic psychological processes include attention, visual processing, auditory processing, sensory-motor skills, cognitive abilities including association, conceptualization, and expression.
Intellectual ability includes both acquired learning and learning potential and shall be determined by a systematic assessment of intellectual functioning.
The level of achievement includes the pupil’s level of competence in materials and subject matter explicitly taught in school and shall be measured by standardized achievement tests.
The discrepancy shall not be primarily the result of limited school experience or poor school attendance.

Multihandicapped. Multihandicapped means concomitant impairments (such as mentally retarded-blind, mentally retarded-orthopedically impaired, blind-language handicapped, etc.) the combination of which causes such severe educational problems that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments.

Traumatic Brain Injury. The definition of traumatic brain injury, as a new category of disability that has been added to the IDEA in 1990, is being developed. The proposed definition includes children with brain injuries caused by external physical force or by an internal occurrence such as a stroke or aneurysm, with resulting impairments that adversely affect educational performance. The term includes children with open or closed head injuries but does not include children with brain injuries that are congenital, degenerative, or caused by birth trauma.

Additional Eligibility Criteria for children with Disabilities, Ages Birth to Four Years and Nine Months. A child, age birth to four years and nine months, shall qualify as an individual with exceptional needs pursuant to Education Code Section 56026(c) (1) and (2) if the IEP team determines that the child meets the following criteria:

Is identified as an individual with exceptional needs pursuant to Title 5, Section 3030 (See the eligibility criteria listed previously), and
Is identified as requiring intensive special education and services by meeting one of the following:
1. The child is functioning at or below 50% of his/her chronological age level in any one of the following skill areas:
  1. gross or fine motor development
  2. receptive or expressive language development
  3. social or emotional development
  4. cognitive development
  5. visual development
2. The child is functioning between 51% and 75% of his/her chronological age level in any two of the skill areas identified in Section 3031 (2)(A) (listed in “A” above).
3. The child has a disabling medical condition or congenital syndrome which the IEP team determines has a high predictability of requiring intensive special education services.

Additional Eligibility Criteria for Children Three to Five Years and Eleven Months. There are two options for preschool aged children, three through five years, inclusive, to be identified as an individual with exceptional needs. These two options are:

Meeting the requirements for intensive special education. These requirements are detailed in the previous section.
Meeting the requirements for nonintensive special education.

Students not Eligible for Special Education Services
Not all students who experience difficulty in school meet the state eligibility requirements for special education. Students may not be eligible if:

The student’s educational needs are due primarily to maturational, environmental, cultural, or economic factors.
Excessive absence from school or limited school experience is the main basis for the referral.
A temporary physical disability exists; that is, a disability incurred while a pupil was a regular education student and which, at the termination of the temporary physical disability, the student can, without special intervention, reasonably be expected to return to his or her regular education class.
The sole basis for referral and/or assessment is the student’s limited or non-English language status.
Social maladjustment is the main basis for the referral. California law, in accordance with Public Law 101-476, specifically excludes for special education services those students who are “socially maladjusted” and who do not qualify under any other disabling condition.

Program Options

Both federal and state laws mandate the provision of:

“... a full continuum of program options to meet the educational and service needs of individuals with exceptional needs in the least restrictive environment.”

Designated Instruction and Services (DIS)
Designated instruction and services are provided to a child when the IEP team considers them necessary in order for the student to benefit educationally from his/her special education program.

These services may include, but are not limited to:

Language and speech development and remediation
Audiological services
Adapted physical education
Orientation and mobility instruction
Special instruction for students with visual impairments
Home or hospital instruction
Designated psychological services
Physical and occupational therapy
Counseling and guidance services
Psychological services
Health and nursing services
specially designed vocational education and career development
Specialized driver training
Specialized services for low incidence disabilities
parent counseling and education.

Students may receive DIS individually or in small groups in a specialized area of educational need. DIS is normally provided by specialists and is supervised by an appropriately credentialed person, though in some cases provided by the regular classroom teacher, resource specialist, special day class teacher, or an instructional aide. DIS is offered in any appropriate setting, including the regular classroom. Services may include assistance to individual students and their teacher or parent, as specified in the IEP.

When a child’s IEP includes additional special education services (e.g. RSP), the DIS is sometimes referred to as “related services” for “support services.”

Resource Specialist Program (RSP)
Students who receive RSP instruction and services are assigned to the regular classroom for the majority of the school day and receive resource specialist services as determined by the IEP team.

Services provided by the RSP teacher include, but are not limited to:

Providing information and assistance to individuals with exceptional needs and their parents
Coordinating special education services with the regular school program for each individual with exceptional needs enrolled in the RSP program
Consulting with special and regular education teachers, administrators, and parents
Disseminating resource information and materials (for parents and regular classroom teachers) regarding individuals with exceptional needs
Monitoring pupil progress on a regular basis
Participating in the review and revision of IEPs an appropriate, and referring pupils who do not demonstrate appropriate progress to the IEP team.

Special Classes
Special classes, sometimes referred to as special day classes (SDC), serve students with similar intensive needs when the IEP team determines that the nature or severity of the student’s disability precludes participation in a regular school program for the majority of the school day. The IEP team must determine that for these children, education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

Special classes allow, the maximum extent appropriate, participation with nondisabled pupils in nonacademic and extracurricular activities, including meals and recess periods. Each special class is maintained in connection with regular education programs as much as possible.

Nonpublic, Nonsectarian School and Agency Services
A “nonpublic” school is any private, nonsectarian school that enrolls individuals with exceptional needs, employs at least one full-time teacher with and appropriate special education credential, and is certified by the California Department of Education. Nonpublic, nonsectarian school services are available to individuals with exceptional needs only when the IEP team determines that an appropriate educational program is not available through the public school systems in the child’s district of residence or adjacent district within the special education local plan area or in adjacent areas.

A “nonpublic agency” is a private, nonsectarian establishment or individual providing related services necessary for an individual with exceptional needs to benefit from an educational program.

“Nonsectarian” status means a nonpublic school or agency that is not owned, operated, controlled by, or formally affiliated, with a religious group or sect.

State Special Schools
The state operates two types of programs for students referred by their local educational agency.

Three state schools (the California School for the Blind and two California Schools for the Deaf) provide day and residential programs for visually handicapped, deaf-blind, and deaf individuals.
Six diagnostic and assessment centers provide assessment and educational planning services upon request of local districts. Services are provided after a local program has exhausted its own resources for assessment and diagnostic questions still remain. While assessment for all handicapping conditions is available, three of the centers specialize in low incidence handicapping conditions.

Early Education Program
The early education program provides services specially designed to meet the unique needs of children from birth to age 3 who are identified as requiring intensive special education and services and their families. These programs are often referred to as “Early Intervention” or “Infant Programs.”

The primary purpose of the early intervention program is to enhance the development of the infant/toddler. The program focuses on the infant/toddler and his/her family, and it may include home visits, center-based group services, and family involvement activities.

Early intervention services for the infant/toddler are specified in the child’s IEP and may include, as appropriate:

Counseling, home visits, and special instruction
Speech pathology and audiology, occupational therapy
Physical therapy, psychological services
Case management services
Medical services (for diagnostic or evaluation purposes only)
Early identification, screening, and assessment services
Health services to enable the infant or toddler to benefit from early intervention services
Social work services.

Preschool Program
The preschool program provides educational services for children between the ages of 3 to 5 years who require intensive special education services (RIS), as well as those preschool age children who require less intensive special education services (NRIS), in conformance with current state law.

The focus of the preschool program is on the young child and his/her family, and it includes both individual and small group services. Services are available in a variety of typical age-appropriate environments for children and include opportunities for active parent involvement.

Least Restrictive Environment
Each student is assured of the right to be educated in the he least restrictive environment which promotes maximum interaction with the general school population. A pupil shall be referred for special educational instruction and services only after the resources of the regular education program have been considered and, where appropriate, utilized.

Policies for implementing these rights statewide are based on the principle that individuals with exceptional needs should receive their education in chronological age appropriate environments with nonhandicapped peers. This principle maintains that both nonhandicapped and handicapped children are most successfully educated in a shared environment where qualities of understanding, cooperation, and mutual respect are nurtured.

It is also the intent of federal and state statutes and regulations that individuals with exceptional needs attend the same public school as nonhandicapped students in their neighborhood unless it is determined by the individualized education program (IEP) team to be inappropriate to their educational social needs.

Therefore, placement in an educational environment other than a regular class should be considered only when the IEP team determines that the regular environment, services, and/or curriculum cannot be modified effectively to meet the needs of the students a specified in his/her IEP.

Assignment to special classes, special schooling, or other removal of the students from the general education environment shall occur only when the nature and severity of the student’s disability is such that education in general classes, with the use of supplementary aides and/or services, cannot be achieved satisfactorily, and such information is documented in the child’s IEP.

To ensure that a full continuum of program options are available, all local educational agencies should review their current delivery systems to determine that:

Program options in regular education environments are available at local neighborhood schools.
Special education programs, to the maximum extent appropriate to student needs, are housed on regular school campuses and dispersed throughout the district.
The physical location of the program facilities enhances social interaction with nonhandicapped students
Individuals with exceptional needs have equal access to all regular education activities, programs, and facilities on the regular school site and participate in those activities as appropriate to their needs.
Administrative policies and procedures encourage the close cooperation of all school personnel to facilitate opportunities for social interaction between individuals with exceptional needs and nonhandicapped individuals.
Administrative policies and procedures allow individuals with exceptional needs maximum access to appropriate general education academic programs and school personnel are given necessary support to ensure the student’s success.
Long-range plans and commitments for physical housing on regular school campuses are made in order to avoid frequent and disruptive program relocations.
Through long-range plans and commitments for physical housing on regular campuses, individuals with exceptional needs are afforded opportunities to develop and maintain continuing relationships with nonhandicapped peers.

Consistent with the determination of an IEP team, students may be placed in residential schools or nonpublic schools and may be provided educational services in medical facilities. Administrators of those facilities and program are encouraged to provide opportunities for participation with nonhandicapped students in both educational and social activities.

In all instances, the IEP team determines the extent to which an individual with exceptional needs participates in regular education with nonhandicapped students. The determination of appropriate program placement, related services needed, and curriculum options to be offered is made by the IEP team based upon the unique needs of the student rather than the label describing the handicapping condition or the availability of programs.

The Individualized Education Program

The Individualized Education Program Meeting
A child’s program will be developed at the individualized education program (IEP) team meeting. Both federal and state laws require that an IEP be written for each student who is eligible for, and placed in, a special education setting. The IEP is a written statement about the special education and related services that will be provided for each child. The IEP is written by a team including, but not limited to:

an administrator or designee
the parent(s) or surrogate parent
the student’s teacher
a person who has conducted or is knowledgeable about and qualified to interpret the assessment results
when appropriate, other personnel such as a representative of other public nonpublic agencies.

The following usually occurs at an IEP meeting:

All assessment results and relevant information regarding the student are reviewed.
A decision is made as to whether the child is eligible for special education and whether special education services are needed
If the IEP team agrees that the child needs special education services, an IEP is written.
The team determines the kind of special education program and types of services that will meet the needs of the child. A decision is made as to how frequently these services are needed and how long they are to be provided.
The team determines what proportion of time the child will spend in special education and in general education.

If the parent agrees with the decisions made at the IEP team meeting, the IEP is signed, which indicates approval of the child’s placement in special education. If the parent does not agree, they may choose not to sign the IEP. They may request an additional meeting to discuss further the child’s needs or program. If the parent(s) and the district disagree as to the content of the IEP, either the parent(s) or the district may file for a due process hearing.

The IEP Document
The written IEP contains the following components:

Statement of present levels of performance
Annual goals and short-term objectives
Specific instruction and related services
Extent of participation in the regular program
Dates of initiation and duration of service
Objective criteria, evaluation procedures, and a schedule for determine at least annually whether objectives are achieved.
Type of physical education
Parent consent to all or part of the IEP
Transition services for students aged 16 years or over.

When appropriate the IEP contains the following items:

Prevocational career education for K-grade 6
Vocational education for grades 7-12
Differential proficiency standards for graduation
Extended school-year services if students are eligible and services are needed
Provisions for transition to regular class, including the nature and time spent on the activity
Linguistically appropriate goals, objectives, programs, and services
Specialized services, materials, and equipment for students with low-incidence disabilities consistent with state guidelines
Transition services beginning at age 14 or younger.

The parent(s), must provide written consent to the IEP before special education and related services can begin. Such consent may be revoked at any time. In addition, the parent(s) must provide written consent before a change in the child’s program occurs.

Student progress towards the IEP goals and objectives is reviewed by the IEP team at least one time each year, or sooner upon parent or teacher request. A new IEP is written at the annual IEP review meeting.

At least every three years, the student who remains in special education is reassessed by a multidisciplinary team.

The student’s program is a cooperative effort among the school, the home, the student, and, at times, other agencies. Communication between home, school, and agencies should be continues even after the formal conferences and meetings take place. Parents may request informal conferences with the student’s teacher, to visit the class or program, or communicate through notes or phone calls to learn about their child’s program and performance.