SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES

FULL Appropriate Educational Services

The St. Mary Parish School Board has adopted a policy of free, appropriate public education for all exceptional children residing within its jurisdiction.  Through its Child Find Program, the Board continues to place a priority on locating, evaluating, and placing eligible exceptional children.

 

Program Services

Special Educational Services are being offered to all exceptional children from birth to 21 years of age.  These include infants with special needs and children who have intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments, autism, multiple disabilities, developmental delays, speech or language impairments, emotional disturbances, learning disabilities, visual impairments, orthopedic impairments, other health impairments, traumatic brain injuries, and who are gifted, and/or talented. 

 

Program models include self‑contained classes, combination classes, resource room services for the disabled and gifted/talented, speech therapy, adapted physical education, preschool classes, infant home‑based program, physical therapy, occupational therapy, extended school year program, hospital homebound instruction, and hearing-impaired services. 

Other special educational services/projects include a surrogate parent program, Child Find, Special Olympics, Very Special Arts, community-based instruction, vocational transitional team, and assistive-technology. 

For additional information regarding program services, visit the Special Education Department webpages.

 

Screening Evaluation

If a child is having trouble in school (behavioral, academic, communication, medical needs, etc.) and the parent or teacher requests one, a School Building Level Committee (SBLC) meeting may be scheduled at the school to discuss the concerns.  The SBLC is a general education data driven decision making committee. Members include the child's classroom teacher, a parent or legal guardian, an administrator, the SBLC facilitator in the school, and any other persons requested by the school or the parents.  The purpose of the SBLC committee is to discuss concerns and to implement or review school-based interventions, designed to address the child's problems.  Referrals for Section 504-eligibility consideration are made through SBLC, as are referrals to Pupil Appraisal.  All requests for evaluation must be processed through the SBLC.

 

Parents are notified of the screening and if any further evaluation services are recommended, the parents are asked to sign appropriate permission forms.  The law mandates that referrals be processed as quickly as possible, and that no evaluation take more than 60 working days (about 3 months) from receipt of parental permission for the evaluation to be completed.

 

Students must be evaluated by a multi-disciplinary team and classified as exceptional before special education services can be provided.  The evaluation team may be composed of a psychologist, educational diagnostician, speech pathologist, social worker, audiologist, physical therapist, occupational therapist and/or an adapted physical education teacher.  Request for screening may come from a parent, teacher, principal, designated school personnel, physicians, or any other professionals interested in the child’s well-being.

 

If you have any concerns about screening, first call your child's teacher or the SBLC Facilitator at the school your child attends.   If you have further questions about the evaluation process, you may contact Bonnie Miller, Coordinator of Pupil Appraisal Services, at (337) 828‑1767 or e-mail bmiller@stmaryk12.net.

 

Due Process

Current federal law requires that parents be given notice before the school identifies, evaluates, places, or designs a program for any child requiring special education services.

 

An evaluation cannot begin without the parents' or legal guardians’ written consent.  Parents can refuse to have their child evaluated.  If the school believes an evaluation is in the best interest of the child and the parent refuses the assessment, an impartial hearing officer may request an informal or formal conference.  The parents may appeal this decision.

 

If the parent consents to an evaluation, the findings must be explained to the parents.  If they disagree with the findings, they may request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE).

Before placement in a special education program, an IEP‑Placement meeting must be held for writing the Individualized Educational Program for the child.  The parent is a participant in these conferences.  If the placement is to be changed, the parent must approve the changes before their implementation.

 

The above are “excerpts” from Due Process Information given to all parents who give permission for their child to be evaluated.  We encourage you to read the information whenever you have reason to request an evaluation for your child.

 

If you desire a copy of the above information, contact Debra McClarity at the Office of Special Education at (337) 828‑1767 or e-mail dmclarity@stmaryk12.net.

 

IEP Placement

IEP-Placement Conferences:  Within thirty calendar days after the written initial evaluation report is disseminated, the IEP‑Placement meeting will be held at the school the child attends.  In the case of a home-based preschooler or hospital/homebound placement, the meeting may be held in the child's home.  The IEP/ITP‑Placement Committee will be composed of a representative of the Office of Special Educational Services, (who will conduct the meeting and explain the results of the evaluation and programs available), the parents, or legal guardians, the principal, the classroom teacher (who will describe classroom behavior and performance), the special education teacher (who will write the IEP), and other individuals at the discretion of the parent or school system.  In addition, related services personnel will attend if appropriate.  The parents will be encouraged to contribute to the writing of the IEP with suggestions of what they would like their child to accomplish in the program.

 

If at any time the parent has a concern about the placement or wishes the child to be dismissed from a special education program, the parent should contact Debra McClarity, Federal Programs Director, or Bonnie Miller, Coordinator of Pupil Appraisal Services at (337) 828‑1767.  After receiving the request, another IEP-Placement meeting will be scheduled.

 

Child Find

The St. Mary Parish School Board in cooperation with other public agencies is trying to identify, locate and evaluate:

• • All children under its jurisdiction suspected of having a disability, and in need of special education and related services.
  • All children under its jurisdiction suspected of being gifted or talented in visual arts, music, or theatre and in need of special education and related services.

This includes children enrolled in public schools, private schools, public/private preschool/daycare programs, or not enrolled in a school.  Inquiries and referrals should be made to the Child Find Coordinator, Bonnie Miller, at (337) 828‑1767 or e-mail bmiller@stmaryk12.net.

 

Dropout Prevention

St. Mary Parish is striving to prevent special education dropouts.  Potential dropouts are identified, and strategies/techniques are used to prevent the students from dropping out of school.

 

An IEP Committee member is required to conduct an exit interview with the special education student who wishes to drop out and his/her parent/guardian.  Students who leave Special Education without graduating are informed of their rights and encouraged to return to school.  A letter is sent to special service dropouts once a year. For further information concerning dropouts, contact the Office of Special Education (337) 828‑1767.

 

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

St. Mary Parish has instituted assistive technology services, which provide resources for students with special communication and daily living needs. 

Through this resource, students found to be in need are provided with new and innovative technological aids that will assist them in developing functional and independent communication and daily living skills.  These services assist teachers and families to maximize the potential of their students and children that need unique training and technological aids. 

 

COMMUNITY-BASED INSTRUCTION

The St. Mary Parish School Board Department of Special Educational Services believes that every person could obtain a certain degree of functional independence across integrated environments. Toward this end of maximum self-actualization, community-based instruction is provided with the belief that every student, regardless of the severity of his or her disabilities, is capable of living and working in the community.

Community-based instruction is provided as a component of special education programming for significantly disabled secondary special education students. Developmentally age respectful vocational classroom activities are designed to teach students to become proficient in accordance with IEP goals and objectives applied in the community. Community-based participation provides adaptive, hands-on vocational and functional experiences normally performed by their “non-disabled” peers to facilitate successful post school outcomes. 

The goal of the St. Mary Parish School Board is to provide a model of community-based training that provides work-based learning opportunities for students with disabilities across environments. For further information contact Dr. Katherine Drexler at (337) 828-1767.

EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR SERVICES

Extended School Year Services (ESYS) are provided for eligible students with disabilities who require special education instruction and related services for more than 180 days.  The legal basis for extending the school year for certain students with disabilities is stated in Section 450 of Bulletin 1706:  Regulations for Implementation of the Exceptional Children's Act (R.S. 17:1941 et. seq.) and in court decisions handed down relative to the 180-day rule. These decisions have reaffirmed the Federal Legislative intent to ensure a free and appropriate education based on educational programming designed to meet those needs.

All students in Special Education, excluding the academically gifted, must be screened annually to determine eligibility regardless of previous participation or nonparticipation in the Extended School Year program.

For further information, contact Dr. Katherine C. Drexler at (337-828-1767).

SPECIAL OLYMPICS

The Special Olympics program in St. Mary Parish originated in 1974 with 18 students.  Today it provides services for the low incidence population that are mentally disabled.  The basic objectives of this program are: 

• To provide one with successful experiences in sports.
• To gain confidence and self‑mastery which will enable students to build a positive self‑image.
• To provide opportunities for socialization.
• To assist in the transfer of skills learned in the classrooms (self‑help, academics, and communication) to a more natural environment.

Over the years, this program has shown its value and worth and is now an integral part of the curriculum for the mentally disabled.

 

This program is a year-round program.  The school system participates in the following official Special Olympics sports: bowling, basketball, and track, and field.  There are levels of competition: local, area, district, state, and every four years, international.

 

Special Education teachers and volunteers who are involved in this program attend training schools throughout the year to become certified as Special Olympic coaches.

 

Special Olympics is sponsored by the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, Louisiana Special Olympic Inc., St. Mary Parish School Board (Special Education Department), and the communities throughout this parish.

 

If further information is needed, please call (337) 828‑1767 and ask for Steve Harris (sharris@stmaryk12.net).