YCJUSD Student Services Department

35912 Avenue H, Yucaipa, CA 92399 main: (909) 790-8550 • fax: (909) 790-8541

leslie_burghardt@ycjusd.us

Welcome to Student Services! We are devoted to assisting students who have unique needs. This support includes special education as well as Section 504 students. Services include specialized academic instruction, language and articulation programs, adaptive PE, psychological and mental health support, and health needs (including immunization services). We provide a full range of services designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities residing within the district. These services are provided at every school site in the district, although some students may need to attend a campus outside of their own neighborhoods to access more intensive support. Please contact us if we can be of assistance. -- Leslie Burghardt, Executive Director

Special Education Info & Eligibility

a year ago

What is Special Education?


The California Education Code (Section 56031) defines special education as: Specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of individuals with exceptional needs, whose educational needs cannot be met with modification of the general instruction program; and related services that help individuals with special needs to benefit from specially designed instruction. Special education is an integral part of the total public education system. Other features of special education are:

  • It is provided in a way that promotes maximum interaction between students with and without disabilities in a manner which is appropriate to the needs of both.
  • Services are provided at no cost to parents.
  • It provides a full range of program options to meet the educational and service requirements of individuals with exceptional needs in the least restrictive environment (LRE). The LRE is generally the setting that is most similar to those attended by general education students.

Special education for eligible students provides necessary specially-designed instruction, aids, and services, as determined by the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team.  Children with disabilities younger than three are served by an IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan).  Special education services can include:

  • Modified Curriculum
  • Behavior Plans
  • Speech and Language Instruction
  • Various Accommodations
  • Adapted Physical Education
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Educationally-Related Mental Health Services
  • Consultation with Various School Specialists

Examples of specially designed instruction include:

  • Systematically teaching a student to attend
  • Use of pictures in a lecture-type lesson
  • Use of manipulatives in an Algebra lesson

Examples of specialized aids include:

  • Books on tape
  • Textbooks with enlarged print
  • Auditory training equipment

The IEP team, of which the parent is an important member, determines a student's eligibility and identifies any needed program, aids, services, and instruction considered necessary for the student to progress in school. The needed program, aids, and services must be provided in the least restrictive environment (LRE).  Members of the student's IEP team meet at least once a year to: (1) review the student's progress, the IEP, and the appropriateness of the placement, and (2) to make any necessary changes in the child's program. Remember that special education is a service, not a place.  Special education is NOT for students with learning difficulties that are due primarily to cultural or economic differences, lack of familiarity with the English language, or limited school experience.  In addition, special education is not designed to meet the needs of students who have temporary physical disabilities.

Who is eligible for Special Education?


A student, ages 3 through 22, having one or more of the following fourteen federally defined disabling conditions that adversely affect his or her educational performance may be eligible to receive special education services:

  • Autism
  • Deaf-Blindness
  • Deafness
  • Established Medical Disability (birth to five years-old only)
  • Hearing Impairment (Hard of Hearing)
  • Intellectually Disabled
  • Multiple Disabilities
  • Orthopedic Impairment
  • Other Health Impairment
  • Serious Emotional Disturbance
  • Specific Learning Disability
  • Speech and Language Impairment
  • Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Visual Impairment
Eligibility is determined through an assessment process that identifies one or more impairments that prevent a student from achieving at his or her potential.  A student may be performing significantly below the district's standards and additional interventions may be necessary for the student to maximize access to the educational program.

How does a Student Get Special Education Services?


Several procedural steps are required for a student to be identified for special education services (and for reviewing the ongoing need for these services).  These steps are: 

  • Student Intervention Team (SIT) Meeting
  • Interventions in General Education (RtI – Response to Intervention)
  • Assessment Plan
  • Assessment Period
  • Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team Meeting
  • IEP Implementation
  • Annual Review IEP
  • Triennial Assessment

What is a Student Intervention Team (SIT)? 


Sometimes a child does not make sufficient progress in the general school program, even with modifications and remedial instruction.  Under current federal and state law, anyone can refer a child when he or she suspects a child has special needs.  The child can be referred to the school's Student Intervention Team (SIT).  The SIT, which typically includes the parent or guardian, develops a plan of modifications and/or interventions to be implemented in the general education classroom over a period of time.  If these modifications/interventions are not successful, the SIT may ultimately refer a child for consideration of special education eligibility.

The SIT process is not meant to delay a necessary special education assessment.  Rather, the SIT meeting provides a forum for discussing identified concerns.  Once concerns are identified, it is a time for problem-solving. Typically, an intervention is designed, implemented, and monitored.  This process is sometimes referred to as Response to Intervention (RtI).  During this time, the student’s progress is monitored at regular intervals while he receives scientifically-based interventions.  The purpose of this process is to identify the level of support and types of educational conditions that improve a student's progress toward the district standards.

One outcome of the SIT process may be a special education assessment.  However, many students are successful after the SIT process and do not require special education services.  Parent participation in the SIT is particularly valuable.  Parents bring important information to the SIT and also receive important information from school personnel. Parent participation helps ensure that a full discussion of a child's educational performance takes place.

How Does the SIT Process Work?


Consultation: First, the parent or guardian and the teacher discuss the student, identifying strengths and weakness, and possible interventions. The school counselor and/or administrator are welcome to participate in this consultation.

Referral: If the interventions that have been developed and implemented are unsuccessful, the parent or guardian, or the teacher, makes a referral to the SIT.  If a parent requests a SIT meeting or an evaluation for special education services, the meeting will be held within two weeks of receipt of the written referral.

Initial SIT Meeting: School staff schedules and invites the parent or guardian to a SIT meeting. The team members may include the parent, psychologist, teacher(s), counselor, and school principal. The SIT commonly adheres to the following six steps and approximate time requirements. It's important to note, however, that SITs may vary from school to school and from case to case:

Step 1: Overview -- The team reviews information about student's strengths and areas of need, preferences, interests, and general health and well being.  All relevant information is examined and discussed, including any outside evaluations the parent or guardian may have gathered. Information is collected through team discussions, review of records, work samples, observations, and interviews.

Step 2: Problem Identification -- The team lists instructional and/or behavioral concerns, prioritizes them, and defines the concerns in terms of one or two measurable behavioral goals. The goals may be based on district content standards, peer performance, or developmental standards.

Step 3: Define Intervention -- The team brainstorms possible interventions to meet the goal(s) identified in Step 2. Interventions are then selected based on their feasibility, likelihood of success, and scientific evidence to support their use. Creative uses of both community and district resources (e.g. the reading specialist, after school tutoring, counseling, etc...) are considered in determining the feasibility of each intervention. Next, the duration and intensity of the intervention are established. The individuals accountable for providing the interventions are identified. In addition, a liaison (i.e., someone to assist the interventionist(s) in fine-tuning the intervention) should be selected.

Step 4: Identification of Monitoring System-- The team establishes a continuous monitoring technique. Information on the student's progress toward the identified goal(s) will be collected and recorded frequently.  Adjustments to the interventions are made based on this information. Progress may be charted. The responsibility of monitoring student progress is assigned to one or more team members.

Step 5: Schedule a Follow-up Meeting -- A date is selected for reconvening the SIT team.  Most interventions take from 10 to 12 weeks to see an effect.

Step 6: Hold the Follow-up Meeting-- The follow-up meeting will be held to determine the success of the intervention.  The team will decide whether to:

  • discontinue the intervention because the goals have been achieved;
  • modify the interventions;
  • develop an additional intervention or consider other options.

In making such decisions, the team will consider:

  • the discrepancy between actual and targeted behaviors before and after the intervention;
  • progress toward district content standards and performance indicators;
  • the intensity, duration, and effectiveness (e.g. whether it was implemented as planned) of the intervention;
  • and the amount of resources required to implement the intervention.

Assessment for special education is probably not warranted in cases where the intervention results and other information reviewed by the SIT suggest that the student does not have a disability of such severity that the identified needs cannot be met in general education, with or without accommodations.  If parents or guardians disagree with the SIT decision that special education assessment is not necessary, the team will provide them the basis for its decision in writing. The notice may be completed at the conclusion of the initial SIT or follow-up meeting and given to parents or guardians, or mailed to them shortly after the meeting. The notice letter must include:

  • A copy of the Special Education Parents Rights and Procedural Safeguards;
  • A description and explanation of the district's position as well as a description of any options the district considered and the reasons why those options were not selected;
  • A description of each evaluation procedure, test, record, or report the district used as a basis for its decision; and
  • A description of any other factors that are relevant to the district's decision.

How is Eligibility for Special Education Determined?


STEP ONE:  The Assessment Plan
The primary assessment provider (e.g. school psychologist, speech therapist, occupational therapist, etc.) will complete an assessment plan. The parent or guardian must sign an assessment plan before the school can begin an individual assessment of a student. Parents must be informed about the assessments' purpose, the methods or techniques which will be used, and the people (by title) who will be conducting the assessment.  The purpose of the assessment is to answer one or more questions identified on the assessment plan. The assessment questions are designed to identify the type of services and level of support that will assist the student in attaining the district standards.  If a parent does not approve an assessment plan when the district believes an assessment is needed, the district or parent may purse complaint procedures or proceed to due process.

STEP TWO: The Assessment Process
The assessment of a student is conducted to determine whether or not the student has special needs that qualify him or her for special education services and to assist in instructional planning.  Testing should result in identification of the student's present skill levels and interventions that are likely to be successful.  The final step in the process is a team meeting where the separate components of the assessment are brought together.  The assessment involves collecting important information from parents or guardians and from qualified district personnel.  Information can include:

  • Formal/informal test(s) administered in a one-on-one setting.
  • Review of school records and district assessments.
  • Parent interview
  • Teacher interview
  • Observation of the student in the classroom and possibly other setting, such as the playground
  • Health and developmental history

In addition, the assessment will include reviewing any outside evaluations that have been obtained and made available to the school district.  Data gathered during the assessment process will be summarized in written assessment reports. IEP members may want to consider the following questions as they review the assessment reports: 

  • Based on what we know about the nature of the student's needs, is the assessment thorough?
  • Does the assessment provide a clear picture of how the student performs in critical skill or developmental areas? Does the assessment describe the student's areas of strength as well as his or her weaknesses?
  • Do the assessment results help to develop instructional or behavioral goals?
  • Do the assessment results help to identify interventions that are likely to help the student reach these goals?
  • Did the assessment process answer the questions on the Assessment Plan?
Assessment team members include:

Parents who:  (1) review and approve the Assessment Plan, (2) provide health and developmental history, (3) describe the child's responses to tasks and social interactions in the non-schools settings of home, neighborhood and community, and (4) release existing assessment reports if available, including physician's reports.
 
Teachers who inform the team about the student's academic achievement, physical/motor performance, and social behavior in the classroom.
 
Health Technician who reviews the student's medical background and physical development, as well as screens hearing and vision.

Speech-Language Pathologist who provides relevant information speech and language development (if a need is suspected in this area).
 
School Psychologist who examines the student's social, emotional, academic, and intellectual development.
 
Adaptive PE Teacher or Occupational Therapist who examine the student's physical and sensory/motor development (if a need is suspected in these areas).

What is an Individualized Education Program (IEP)?


The Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is a legal document that must be written for each child who is eligible for special education services. The IEP helps ensure that special education services are provided as planned, and that their appropriateness is evaluated regularly.  IEP specifies services to be provided by the school district. It describes anticipated long-term goals and short-term objectives for a student, and serves as a "blueprint" for instruction in the school environment. It is not, however, a daily lesson plan. 

The IEP must be reviewed and updated annually. However, parents and/or teacher(s) can request a review more frequently.  Note: there is no such thing as an emergency IEP.

Who should attend an IEP team meeting?  Current law stipulates that, at a minimum, the following persons must attend an IEP team:

  • the parent(s) or guardian(s);
  • a teacher knowledgeable about the student (a student's general education teacher participates to the extent appropriate);
  • an administrator, or designee;
  • the student, when appropriate, (usually middle and high school students attend); and
  • special education teacher.

Who else may be members of an IEP team?

  • School psychologist, speech therapist, adapted physical education specialist
  • advocates from organizations or agencies, such as a Regional Center counselor;
  • non-school therapists or specialists who work with a child; and
  • a friend or relative who will provide moral support and take notes for the family
The team approach to developing an IEP involves communication and cooperation among parents, teacher(s), and other specialists with different kinds of skills who may work for the school district or outside agencies. Together, the team prepares an IEP that best suits the student's present educational needs. The team develops the IEP at a meeting that is held at a time and place that is convenient for parents and the school personnel.

What must the IEP document contain?  In addition to eligibility information, the IEP document always includes the following components:
 
A statement of the student's present levels of educational performance
Statements about what the student can and cannot do are based on assessment information. These may include information about academic, social, language, motor, self-help, and pre-vocational skills. Statements should describe the student's classroom performance and how the disability affects his or her participation and progress in the general curriculum. They should not list only test scores.
 
A statement of the student's annual goals & short-term instructional objectives
Based on the student's identified learning needs, the IEP specifies skills the student will work on. The IEP must specify annual goals (i.e., what the student can reasonably be expected to accomplish within one year). Short-term objectives are measurable, intermediate steps between where the student is now (i.e., present levels of performance) and the annual goals. The objectives are developed based on a logical breakdown of the skills necessary to achieve the goal. The objectives serve as a guide for planning and implementing instructional activities in the classroom and as milestones for measuring progress. The IEP identifies a few learning goals in each area, however, these goals are not the only skills the student will learn during the year. The student will receive instruction in many other skills beyond those identified by his/her IEP. Progress toward attaining the annual goals will be reported to parents at least three times a year. For children who are limited English proficient (LEP), the goals and objectives must address English language development.
 
A statement of specific education and related services to be provided to the student. Some services may include when appropriate:
  • assistive technology,
  • extended school year services,
  • shortened day services,
  • adaptive physical education,
  • transition services,
  • community experience,
  • employment and post-school living, and
  • acquisition of daily living skills and a functional vocational evaluation, if appropriate.
A description of the extent to which the child will participate in the general education program and a description of the program to be provided.
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Participation in state or district-wide Assessments, with accommodations where necessary.
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Projected dates for initiation of services and the anticipated duration of services.
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Annual and Triennial Date
The IEP will be reviewed at least once per year. The annual review date indicates the date that the IEP must be reviewed. A triennial review, which closely examines the appropriateness of the student's program, is conducted every three years. This three-year review may entail an informal consultation between the parent(s), the teacher and the school psychologist or a more formal assessment. The IEP should include objective criteria, evaluation procedures, and schedule for determining whether short-term and long-term educational objectives are being achieved.
 
Signatures and Parent/Guardian Approval
Persons attending an IEP team meeting are asked to sign the IEP to indicate their participation; however, only the parent/ guardian is asked to approve the IEP. This is because an IEP cannot be implemented without parent approval.

HELPFUL LINKSDISCLAIMER--Persons accessing www.yucaipaschools.com assume full responsibility for the use of the information. The resources offered at this site are not intended to be a substitute for an evaluation or treatment by a qualified professional.  The Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District does not endorse any sites it links embedded in this site.  The linkes are intended to help the user find more pertinent information.  Users are advised to seek the advice of their local professionals in their schools, community, and health care systems.  The Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District assumes no liability whatsoever for direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages relating in anyway to the use of information provided here.

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Section 504 Information

a year ago

Section 504 is the part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that applies to persons with disabilities. It is a civil rights act that states that no otherwise qualified individual with a disability can be excluded from or denied benefits of any program receiving federal financial assistance.

Section 504 is a general education responsibility.

Unlike the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, 2004, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 1973 provides no funding for special programs or services.

How Does Section 504 Define “Disability?”

A person who qualifies for a 504 plan has a mental or physical impairment which substantially limits one or more of a person’s major life activities. For an impairment to be substantially limiting it must impede student access to a “large or considerable degree.” Common examples include such things as communicable diseases (HIV, TB), medical conditions (Attention Deficit Disorder, asthma, allergies, diabetes, heart disease, seizure disorders, traumatic brain injury, etc.), temporary medical conditions due to illness or accident, and psychological disorders.

What is a Major Life Activity?

This includes functions such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working. At school “learning” is frequently identified as the area of difficulty.

How do we know if a Student is Eligible for a 504 Plan?

If school staff have reason to believe that because of a disability as defined under section 504, a student needs special accommodations or services in the regular classroom in order to participate in the school program, then staff must evaluate the student. This is not necessarily the same as an evaluation for Special Education. Staff may use existing information such as grades, attendance reports, cumulative folder information, observation, and formal or informal test information. Information about current classroom functioning is critical. Parents may provide information from private doctors, therapist, etc.

What Does Making Accommodations Mean?

Accommodations are adjustments made by the classroom teachers and other school staff to help students benefit from their educational program to the same degree that non-disabled students benefit. It is important that the plan specify accommodations that are necessary at this point in time to place the student at an equal starting level with the non-disabled student. Plans are reviewed yearly to evaluate their appropriateness.

Originally, concerns regarding issues of “access” for persons with disabilities centered on physical access – ramps, curb cuts, elevators, rest rooms, etc. Within the last several years the Office of Civil Rights has become active in broadening the definition of “access” to include the implementation of special accommodations in the classroom in order to allow a disabled student to benefit from his or her education.

Referral Process:

It is not sufficient for parent and/or physician alone to determine that a disability substantially limits a child’s learning. The school must conduct its own evaluation to determine if this is the case. Our referral process is as follows:

  1. Request from the parent to the school site counselor or administrator
  2. Student Intervention Team Meeting
  3. 504 evaluation conducted
  4. 504 accommodation plan developed
  5. 504 accommodation plan disseminated
  6. Periodic review/revisions or termination of plan
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Health Services

a year ago

Students who attend schools in the Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District are fortunate to have access to the services of health technicians or assistants at every school site.  Each health technician is a licensed vocational nurse who strengthens and facilitates the educational process by improving and protecting the health status of children. The major focus of health services is the prevention of illness as well as the early detection and correction of health problems.

  • Vision, hearing, and scoliosis screening
  • Immunization record checks for students
  • First grade physical and kindergarten (or TK) oral health assessment communication and documentation
  • Communication with primary care providers
  • Incorporating plans directed by a physician to meet the needs of the student
  • In-service training resource person to teachers, administrators, and staff
  • Student and parent counseling regarding health-related attendance problems
  • Assistance to parents, pupils, and school staff to understand and adjust to physical, mental, and social limitations
  • Immunization clinic services
HEALTH SERVICES STAFF
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Heather O'Bier -- District Nurse
Marikate Carlisle -- Calimesa Elementary
Daniela Stevens -- Ridgeview Elementary
Kimberly Levesque -- Chapman Heights Elementary
Cindy Gustafson -- Dunlap Elementary
Suzzette Mace -- Valley Elementary
Jayne Carson -- Wildwood Elementary
John Fredregill -- Mesa View Middle
Lisa Martella -- Park View Middle
Rosalinda Reyes -- Yucaipa High
Brandy Osborn -- Competitive Edge Charter
Lora Sheeler - -Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC)
Kathryn Challis -- Green Valley High & Oak View High
Dan Coyle -- Student Services
Theresa Schaefer -- Student Services
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Special Education Terms & Acronyms

a year ago

Accommodations

            Changes in how test is administered that do not substantially alter what the test measures; includes changes in presentation format, response format, test setting or test timing.  Appropriate accommodations are made to level the playing field, i.e., to provide equal opportunity to demonstrate knowledge.

Achievement Test
            Changes in how test is administered that do not substantially alter what the test measures; includes changes in presentation format, response format, test setting or test timing.  Appropriate accommodations are made to level the playing field, i.e., to provide equal opportunity to demonstrate knowledge.

Affective
            A term which refers to emotions and attitudes.

Americans With Disabilities Act
            Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).  Legislation enacted to prohibit discrimination based on disability.

Annual Goals
            A required component of IEP.  Goals are written for the individual student and can be for a maximum of one year.

ADD/ADHD
            Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD).  Child with ADD or ADHD may be eligible for special education under other health impairment, specific learning disability, and/or emotional disturbance categories if ADD/ADHD condition adversely affects educational performance.

Assessment
            Systematic method of obtaining information form tests or other sources; procedures used to determine child’s eligibility, identify the child’s strengths and needs, and services child needs to meet these needs.

Assistive Technology
            Equipment used to maintain or improve the capabilities of a child with a disability.

Audiology
            Related service; includes identification, determination of hearing loss, and referral for habilitation of hearing.

Autism
            Developmental disability that affects communication and social interaction, adversely affects educational performance, is generally evident before age 3.  Children with autism often engage in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resist environmental change or change in daily routines, and have unusual responses to sensory experiences.

Basic Skill
            Skills in subjects like reading, writing, spelling, and mathematics.

Behavior Disorder
            See Emotional Disturbance.

Behavior Intervention Plan
            A plan of positive behavioral interventions in the IEP of a child whose behaviors interfere with his/her learning or that of others.

Chronologically Age Appropriate
            A standard by which children’s activities may be evaluated.  Instruction and material should be directed at the student’s actual age rather than to the interests and tastes of younger children.

Cognitive
            A term which refers to reasoning or intellectual capacity.

Continuum of Services
            The range of services which must be available to the students of a school district so that they may be served in the least restrictive environment.

Deaf Blindness
            IDEA disability category; includes hearing and visual impairments that cause severe communication, developmental and educational problems that adversely affects educational performance.

Deafness
            IDEA disability category; impairment in processing information through hearing that adversely affects educational performance.

Disability
            In Section 504 and ADA, defined as impairment that substantially affects one or more major life activities; an individual who has a record of having such impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment.

Emotional Disturbance
            Disability category under IDEA; includes depression, fears, schizophrenia; adversely affects educational performance.

EMR
            Educable mentally retarded.

Extended School Day
            A provision for special education student to receive instruction for a period longer than the standard school day.  This sometimes includes “double kindergarten”, later afternoons or earlier start times.

Extended School Year
            A provision for a special education student to receive instruction during ordinary school “vacation” periods.

FAPE
            “Free Appropriate Public Education.”  Provision as required under IDEA.

Handicap
            Pejorative term no longer in accepted use.
           
IDEA
            The Individuals with Disabilities Education Acts of 1997.

IEP
            Individualized Education Plan.  The document developed at an IEP meeting which sets the standard by which subsequent special education services are usually determined appropriate.

Inclusion
            Practice of educating children with special needs in regular education classrooms in neighborhood schools.  See also “mainstreaming” and “least restrictive environment.”

Learning Disability
            See “Specific Learning Disability”

Mainstreaming
            Practice of placing special needs children in regular classrooms for at least a part of the children’s educational program.  See also least restrictive environment and inclusion.

Manifestation Determination Review
            If child with disability engages in behavior or breaks a rule or code of conduct that applies to nondisabled children and school proposes to remove the child, the school   must hold a hearing to determine if the child’s behavior was caused by the disability.

Mediation
            A voluntary dispute resolution process for which a mediator will be provided on request.

Mental Retardation
            Disability category under IDEA; refers to significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning with deficits in adaptive behavior that adversely affects educational performance.

Modifications
            Substantial changes in what the student is expected to demonstrate; includes changes in instructional level, content, and performance criteria, may include changes in test form or format; includes alternative assessments.

Multiple Disabilities
            Disability category under IDEA; concomitant impairments (such as mental retardation-blindness, mental retardation-orthopedic impairment, etc.) that cause such severe educational problems that problems cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments; does not include deaf-blindness.

OCR
            Office of Civil Rights.

Occupational Therapy
            Related service; includes therapy to remediate fine motor skills

Orthopedic Impairment
            Disability category under IDEA; orthopedic impairment that adversely affects child’s educational performance.

Other Health Impaired
            Disability category under IDEA; refers to limited strength, vitality or alertness due to chronic or acute healthy problems that adversely affects educational performance.

Physical Therapy
            Related service; includes therapy to remediate gross motor skills.
           
Placement
            The setting in which the special education service is delivered to the student.  It must be derived form the IEP.

Present Levels of Educational Performance
            A required IEP component that examines how the student is currently achieving.

Related Services
            IDEA requires that school districts provide whatever related services (other than medical care which is not for diagnostic purposes) a child needs in order to benefit from his or her special education program.

Remediation
            Process by which an individual receives instruction and practice in skills that are weak or nonexistent in an effort to develop/strengthen these skills.

Section 504
            Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination due to disability by recipients of federal financial assistance.
           
Special Education
            Specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability.

Specific Learning Disability
            Disability category under IDEA; includes disorders that affect the ability to understand or use spoken or written language; may manifest in difficulties with listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, and doing mathematical calculations; includes minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

Speech-Language Pathology Services
            Related service; includes identification and diagnosis of speech or language impairments, speech or language therapy, counseling and guidance.

Speech or Language Impairment
            Disability category under IDEA; includes communication disorders, language impairments, voice impairments that adversely affect educational performance.

Standardized Testing
            Norm-referenced test that compares child’s performance with the performance of a large group of similar children (usually children who are the same age).

Transition Services
            IEP requirements; designed to facilitate movement from school to the workplace or to higher education.

Traumatic Brain Injury
            Disability category under IDEA; includes acquired injury caused by external physical force and open or closed head injuries that result in impairments; does not include congenital or degenerative brain injuries or brain injuries caused by birth trauma.

Visual Impairment including Blindness
            Disability category under IDEA; impaired vision that adversely affects educational performance.

SPECIAL EDUCATION ACRONYMS

 
ACSA
Association of California School Administration
ADHD
Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder
ADR
Alternative Dispute Resolution
AH
Aurally Handicapped
APE
Adapted Physical Education
ARC
Association for Retarded Citizens
AU
Administrative Unit (Same as RLA)
AUT
Autism
BIP
Behavioral Intervention Plan
CAC
Community Advisory Committee
CANHC
California Association of Neurologically Handicapped Children
CAPS
California Association of Program Specialists
CARS
California Association of Resource Specialists
CASP
California Association of School Psychologists
CATS
Career and Transition Services
CBI
Community-Based Instruction
CCS
California Children’s Center (An agency that provides physical and occupational therapy for eligible students.)
CEC
Council of Exceptional Children (A professional organization for parents, teachers, administrators, and others who deal with handicapped children.)
CH
Communicatively Handicapped
MH
County Mental Health
CSB
California School for the Blind
CSCD
Community Service Center for the Disabled
D/B
Deaf/Blind
DHH
Deaf and Hard of Hearing
DIS
Designated Instruction and Services (Educational programs and services not normally provided in a regular classroom, special class, or resource specialist program.)
DR
Department of Rehabilitation
EC
California Education Code
ECATS
Early Childhood Assessment & Team Services
ELL
English Language Learner
ESL
English as a Second Language
HH
Hard of Hearing
HI
Hearing Impaired
IP
Instructional Paraprofessional
IDEA
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
IEP
Individualized Education Program
IFSP
Individualized Family Service Plan
IST
Intervention Support Team
ITP
Individual Transition Program
LCI
Licensed Children’s Institute
LEA
Local Education Agency
LH
Learning Handicapped
LRE
Least Restrictive Environment (an appropriate educational placement which permits a pupil to participate as fully as possible with normal peers providing both he/she and they can still be successful.
LSH
Language, Speech and Hearing (specialists)
MH
Multi-handicapped
MIS
Management Information System
NPS/NPA
Nonpublic School/Nonpublic Agency
O&M
Orientation and Mobility
OCR
Office of Civil Rights
OH
Orthopedically Handicapped
OHI
Other Health Impaired
OSEP
Office of Special Education Programs
OT
Occupational Therapy/Therapist
PH
Physically Handicapped
PS
Program Specialist
PT
Physical Therapy/Therapist
Region C
Regional Coordinating Council
RTI
Response to Intervention
ROP
Regional Occupational Program
RS
Resource Specialist
RSP
Resource Specialist Program
SDC
Special Day Class (Instructional settings in which the student receives special instruction more than 50% of the day.)
SDL
Severe Disorders of Language
SED
Seriously Emotionally Disturbed
SEEC
Special Education Early Childhood
SELPA
Special Education Local Plan Area
SH
Severely Handicapped
SLD
Specific Learning Disability
SLI
Speech and Language Impaired
TASH
The association for Persons with Severe Handicaps
TBI
Traumatic Brain Injury
TDD
Telecommunications Device for the Deaf
TEACCH
Treatment & Education of Autistic and Related Communicatively Handicapped Children
TPP
Transition Partnership Project
VH
Visually Handicapped
VI
Visually Impaired
WAI
Work Ability I
 

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