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Special Needs |
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For Castro Valley Unified School
District, the Department of Special Services is the
agency responsible for ensuring that special education
services are provided to eligible children in the Castro
Valley school district from infancy to 22 years of age.
The current director of Special Services is Susan
Parker. Her office is at 4400 Alma Avenue. Her phone
number is 537-3000.
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IDEA |
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The Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), is the federal
law that mandates special education for children
with disabilities. Eligible students are children
with one or more of 13 disabilities listed in the
law and who because of the disability need special
education as determined by evaluation. These
students have needs so great that modifications to
general education have proven unsuccessful. For
more information, click on the document below.
Special Education Rights of Parents and Children
(pdf - 75kb)
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Where to Begin * |
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Special Needs: Finding Help for
your child
Having a child who is struggling in school or not meeting grade level standards
can be a frustrating, lonely experience. Maybe this was not expected, or maybe
your child’s difficulties are the result of a known disability. In either case,
there are things that you can do to help your child get back on track and
progress in school.
There are more than five million children nationwide who receive special
education services, about half of whom have learning disabilities. The others
may have speech and language or autistic spectrum disorders, attention deficit,
vision, hearing, or mobility problems, mental retardation, emotional
disturbances, or brain injury disorders. Some children will need more help than
others to progress in school.
Remember that you are an important part of your child’s special education team,
as well as his ultimate advocate.
When to Seek Help
Nearly every child has trouble learning in school at one time
or another. For example, a large jump in expectations from your child’s teacher
this year as compared to last year may take some adjustment time.
The best place to start is with
your teacher and principal. Depending on the age of your
child, the specific problems he’s experiencing, and how
far behind he is, you may decide to wait and see (give
him time to mature and possibly retain him in his
present grade level), work with his teacher to provide
classroom and home support and modifications. In
addition, the elementary schools have resource teachers
for reading and speech who can offer help at school.
Educate Yourself
Begin now to educate yourself on learning disabilities,
especially if you already suspect that your child may have one. What are they?
What do you look for? Are there classic signs and predictors? What’s the latest
information on how to diagnose and treat them?
Become as informed as possible on
your child’s learning problems (and areas of strength -
build on these) and convey your concerns to district
personnel. Observe your child and take notes on his
behavior when doing homework and interacting with
others. Inputs from your child’s current and previous
teachers may also be helpful. Put all of this
information together with any previous evaluations
(speech, academic, medical) to begin to create a file of
information on your child that you can share with the
team.
The Law
Federal law gives parents the right to be directly involved
in all decisions regarding their child’s education. In 1975 Congress enacted our
first special education law, which has evolved and been revised many times over
years. The latest revision is called the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act), which was signed into law on December 3, 2004. Before 1975,
disabled children were often excluded from school or separated from their
non-disabled peers. IDEA changed that by stating that there should be high
expectations for children with disabilities, and they should be allowed access
in the general curriculum to the maximum extent possible. The U.S. Department of
Education is responsible for issuing special education regulations that serve to
clarify the law.
Every state also has its own laws
and regulations that must be consistent with federal
law. States statutes and regulations may provide more
special education rights than federal law but may not
take away rights provided by federal law. You should be
prepared to work with your school district for the
benefit of your child, but also know that you have the
right to challenge any decision made regarding his
eligibility, assessment, and placement for special
education.
Starting the Process
If your child needs more help, you may refer him for a
special education assessment to see if he is eligible for special education
services. The assessment process is guided by state and federal law.
There are two ways to initiate the
process. You can write a letter to the school principal
or directly to the CVUSD Special Services Office. The
letter should state your concerns and say that you are
making a referral for assessment for special education
services. Or you may make an appointment to speak with
the staff at the special services office and to fill out
a Referral for Consideration of Special Needs form
(which is another way to formally request an
assessment).
After receipt of your written
request, the school district has 15 days to provide you
with a written proposed assessment plan and a copy of
the notice of parent rights. However, if a referral for
assessment is made within 10 days of the end of the
school year, the assessment plan must be developed
within 10 days after school starts the following school
year. Don’t wait until the very end of the school year
to request an assessment as it may not be completed
until two months into the next school year.
The Assessment Team
The names and titles of the professionals who will evaluate
your child should also be included in the assessment plan. A staff member who
will oversee your child’s case (called a Program Specialist) may be assigned at
this time. These professionals, along with parents and your child’s regular
schoolteacher, make up your child’s special education team.
Remember you are also an integral
part of the team.
The Assessment Plan
Review the proposed assessment plan carefully. Are all areas
of concern addressed? Areas tested may include, but are not limited to,
academics, social/adaptive behavior, psychomotor development, communication
development, intellectual development, and a health assessment (for example,
vision and hearing). Are the persons who will be assessing your child
appropriately trained and qualified to do the testing? Does the assessment
include a classroom observation of your child?
The assessment plan should also
indicate the names of the tests that will be given to
your child. Educate yourself on these tests and what
they measure. Understand the different ways tests can be
scored, and norm-referenced versus criterion-referenced
tests. (Norm-referenced tests measure a child’s
performance as compared to a group. Criterion-referenced
tests determine if a specific criterion is met, without
reference to a norm group. You need to know how your
child compares to other children his age and grade
level, as well as his raw test scores).
When your child is assessed again
after special education help is given, look to see not
only if his scores increase, but is he gaining (and not
losing) ground (i.e., how does he now compare with other
children his current age and grade level?). Objective
testing before and after any kind of special education
help is given to your child will allow you to know
whether he is making real progress.
Assessing Your Child
With your written agreement, the district then has 50 days in
which to complete the assessment (excluding days that school is not in session)
of your child and develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), should he
qualify for special education. After the assessment is completed, the special
education team will meet to discuss the results. The professionals who
administered the tests will create a report of their findings, and you are
entitled to receive copies of these reports prior to the meeting. Together, the
team will review a form called a Summary Report for Eligibility Determination.
This form includes basic information on your child such as his developmental
history, school history, etc. and his present levels of performance in the areas
evaluated. The team will also discuss whether or not your child is eligible for
special education, and the reasons for that determination.
Should your child be eligible, the
team will create an IEP for him. An IEP is a document
that must be carefully written according to procedures
outlined by state and federal law. We will not discuss
every detail of what should be included in your child’s
IEP here, as each child’s IEP should be determined by
his unique needs. In general, the IEP should include
information on your child’s present levels of
performance and how his disability affects his progress
in school, measurable annual and short-term goals, and
specific special education services to be provided to
help him meet those goals.
Many kinds of support may be included in your child’s IEP.
- He may be taken out
of the regular classroom for a certain amount of
time per week to work with a resource specialist.
- He may spend the
entire day in a special day class.
- He may receive help
from an assistant in the regular education
classroom.
- He may be provided
assistance from a computer to help him complete
assignments. Speech or occupational therapy may be
provided.
- Special
transportation help may be given.
- Modifications may be
made to work assignments.
- Special help may be
provided in learning organizational skills.
- Classroom changes
may be made, such as where he sits and being allowed
to use a calculator.
Your child’s IEP should be reviewed at least once per year by
the special education team to determine whether he is meeting goals.
What if Your Child Doesn’t
Qualify?
If the IEP team finds that your child does not have a
disability that qualifies him for special education services, great! There are
still many things that can be done to help him progress in school. Work together
with his teacher to come up with ways to build on his strengths and talents and
to provide modifications and accommodations where possible to help in areas
where he is struggling.
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Links for More
Information |
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A good web site to visit to learn more about IDEA is
www.wrightslaw.com.
You can learn more about California state special education
law on the California Department of Education web site
www.cde.ca.gov.
Visit
www.wrightslaw.com,
www.ed.gov, and
www.nichcy.org to learn how to write a quality IEP.
Two excellent web sites to visit for more information on
assessment testing are
www.Schwablearning.org and
www.ldonline.org.
Article Information: This
information is provides and published by CVParents. The
CVParent Board has reviewed the content but assumes no
responsibility or liability whatsoever for the content. |
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