Buckeye Local School District - Special Education

Special Education

What is Special Education?

Special education means specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. Special education services are available for children over the age of three through age 21 who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) provides the legal grounds for children with disabilities to receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). These services are administered by the school district where the child lives.

What is an "IEP"

An Individualized Education Program (IEP) outlines the educational services provided to a student with disabilities. In creating an IEP, the IEP team, along with the student's parents, look at the current level of educational achievement and the identified educational needs of the student to develop goals and objectives for academic growth for the school year. The IEP is a written document that establishes the supports and services to be provided to the child. An initial IEP cannot be implemented until a parent signs and agrees with the document.

IEP Referral

If a child is struggling then a parent (or teacher) will typically make a referral to the school. Once a referral is made, often referred to as a “Parent Request”, the school has 30 days from that date to complete a Prior Written Notice (PR-01) to give to the parent. Our school district holds a meeting with the parent and team to discuss the concerns of the child. At this meeting, the Pr-01 is written which summarizes the contents of the meeting. The Buckeye Local School District has a comprehensive Multi Tiered System of Support (MTSS) to ensure that all students are making progress (a teacher may also make a request for a student to be evaluated and hold a meeting to discuss concerns or review MTSS data). At the meeting we will discuss interventions that are in place and if there is applicable data. If there are not interventions in place, then supports will be put into place and monitored closely. The team may need to re-meet to determine if there is a response to intervention or if there is a disability suspected. Your child may just need extra support and interventions in place to be successful.

Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS)

The Buckeye Local School District has a comprehensive Multi Tiered System of Support (MTSS) in place to ensure that all students are making progress. The MTSS process is referred to when a request for an IEP/504 is made.

The Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is a framework that helps educators identify students' academic, behavioral, and social-emotional strengths and challenges and provide differentiated support for students based on their needs. It is a process that provides high-quality, research-based instruction targeted to learner needs. Needs are identified by monitoring students' progress. Adjustments to instruction and interventions are based on students' performance and rate of success.

The first step in the MTSS process is that the teacher starts intervention based the student's needs.The teacher will provide these interventions for at least six weeks and progress monitor to collect data. The next steps in the MTSS process depend the on the data and response to intervention.

The team can decided to modify the intervention, continue with the same intervention, phase out the intervention, or request assitance.

Who can qualify for an IEP?

If the team suspects a disability based on the data presented, then an Evaluation Team Report (ETR) will be conducted. A referral for evaluation will be completed and a planning meeting will be set up with the parent to discussion evaluation procedures that will take place. After an ETR planning meeting, the parent will need to sign a "Consent to Evaluate" form. An initial ETR evaluation cannot take place without parent's consent. Once consent is given, the district has 60 days to complete the evaluation.

A student must fall under one the IDEA'S 13 Disability Categories:

Autism Spectrum Disorder
Deaf-Blindness
Deafness
Emotional Disturbance
Hearing Impairment
Intellectual Disability
Multiple Disabilities
Orthopedic Impairment
Other Health Impairment
Specific Learning Disability
Speech or Language Impairment
Traumatic Brain Injury
Visual Impairment, including Blindness

At the end of the meeting, the team determines whether or not the child qualifies for Special Education Services.

If the child qualifies for services, another meeting will be scheduled within 30 days to develop and implement an Initial IEP plan

A reevaluation of the ETR takes place every 3 years

A review of the IEP takes place annually

An IEP is driven from the ETR

What is a 504?

If your child does not qualify for an IEP, he/she may qualify for a 504 plan.

These plans provide support and accommodations in the general education setting.

Unlike an IEP, 504 plans do not include goals and objectives or specially designed instruction.

Just because your child does not qualify for an IEP, it does not mean they automatically qualify for a 504. There is still an evaluation process to receive a 504 but it is not as complex as an IEP evaluation.

Section 504 defines someone who qualifies for a 504 plan as an “individual with a disability … which substantially limits one or more of such person’s major life activities.”