Special Education Coordinator: Mrs. Jennifer Hettiger
444 S. Locust St.
Flora, Illinois 62839
618-662-8894
Forms of interest for parents of children with special needs:
A Parent's Guide --The Educational Rights of Students with Disabilities
EXPLANATION OF PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS
(This is a PDF file. To access the file, you need to download the free PDF reader.)
Why Do We Have Special Education?
Some children have trouble doing everything required of them in school. Some make errors in the way they say words. Some have trouble understanding and following directions. Still others have trouble learning to read, write, spell or do math. There are students who have trouble following the rules of the school and the classroom. A few students have motor or sensory problems such as cerebral palsy or vision or hearing deficits which make it harder for them to function at school.
Learning problems may surface at different times. Some students need help before going to kindergarten. For others, the first signs of trouble appear when they have to learn letters and sounds. For still other students, the first few years go fairly well, but more problems show up when they enter the middle grades and more reading and writing are required. Some students make it until they get to junior high and high school where they have to deal with several different teachers – and teaching styles.
All children are different. They have different strengths, weaknesses, and needs. Sometimes they need extra help to give them a chance to be successful in school. The special education staff of Flora Community Unit District #35 provides some of the extra help for students who qualify for services.
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The Case Study Evaluation
A case study evaluation is conducted to determine if a student qualifies for special education and related services, and, if he does qualify, which services may be needed. A case study is a long, careful process involving parents, teachers, nurses, counselors, social workers, school psychologist, and of course, students. It can be intimidating and time-consuming, but it’s all done to make sure the decisions made are right for the student.
Before a case study can be completed, written parental consent must be obtained. When consent is obtained, the school staff member meeting with the parents explains their rights as well as the rights of their son or daughter. Parents are also given a brief explanation of the case study evaluation process. No case study components are completed until after consent is provided.
Some case study components involve the parents. These include the health and developmental history, consultation with the parents, and the social developmental history, consultation with the parents, and social developmental study. It is through these components that the district gathers the information needed to determine if health problems may have affected the child’s schooling, and what the child is like at home. All of these are important in determining why a student is having trouble in school and what should be done to help things go better.
A case study involves a lot of paperwork. The staff members completing the different evaluations decide why they think a student is having trouble, and they also need to communicate the results to others.
The teacher provides information on the child’s performance in the classroom. She checks over the student’s academic history and describes his/her current functioning in class. A special teacher or counselor observes in the classroom to see if there are changes that can be made to help.
School nurses check the student’s vision and hearing, and they talk with the parents to get the health history information.
The social worker reviews the information provided by the parents. He or she may want to meet the parents to talk with them about their child. Suggestions may be made to help at home as well as school.
A school psychologist also meets with the child as part of the case study. This is not your typical psychological testing. The school psychologist checks the student’s ability to do school work, looks at learning styles and processes, and talks with the student regarding his or her thoughts and feelings about school. The student’s reading, spelling, math, and writing skills are also checked. Students usually like this individual attention.
A speech/language pathologist (SLP) may work with the student to check on the way he/she pronounces words as well as his/her ability to understand and use basic language skills. Voice and fluency will also be checked.
If a child has problems with vision or hearing, teachers who work with students with these deficits will be involved. If the student has hearing problems, an audio logical evaluation will also be done. Occupational and physical therapists are involved when needed.
The case study evaluation is completed at o cost to the parents. The school is required to conduct the evaluations needed to gain a complete understanding of the child’s needs.
After all the case study components are completed, a meeting (an MDC) is held to review results and to decide what should be done to help the student. Parents are encouraged to be involved in the process. If the conference participants decide that the child is eligible for special education services, the student’s Individual Educational Program (IEP) is developed.
The IEP contains goals and objectives for the year. It also lists exactly which services will be provided and the amount of time for each of them. Copies of the conference report and the IEP are given to the parents.
The student’s IEP is reviewed at least once each year. A case study reevaluation must be completed at least every three years. This is done to make sure that the program and services provided are still appropriate and that the student is making progress.
As part of the process, parents are provided with booklets explaining their rights and the steps they can take to make sure their child is receiving appropriate services.