HCSD School Age Special Education

School Age Special Education (C.S.E.)

Special Education means specially designed instruction, programs, and services provided to help meet the unique needs of students with disabilities, as determined by the Committee on Special Education (CSE).

Committee on Special Education

The Committee on Special Education (CSE) is a multidisciplinary team that is approved by the Board of Education. This committee meets after a referral has been made and a multidisciplinary evaluation has been completed to review the information and determine if a child has a disability. This committee is responsible for students who are between the ages of 5-21. The committee determines eligibility, develops and Individualized Education Plan (IEP), and places the student in the least restrictive environment. If a student is eligible for classification, this committee will meet at least once a year to review the student's programs and services. Every three years a student will undergo a re-evaluation process to ensure that the student continues to require special education services.

Multidisciplinary Team

The multidisciplinary team consists of the following people:

District representative
Parent(s) of the student
Regular education teacher
Special education teacher
School Psychologist
An individual who understands and can explain evaluation results and how the results affect instruction
A parent member who has a child with a disability, unless the parent requests that the parent member not be present
School physician, if requested by the parent
Any other people who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the student, as requested by the parent or the school district
The student, if appropriate

It is important that the parent(s) be at the student's meetings. The parents are the key to helping this whole process be successful and we encourage you to be a part of it all. Please let us know what we can do to make sure that you are informed and a part of all that we do to help your child.

Multidisciplinary Evaluation

After a referral has been made, many professionals must evaluate the student to determine his/her strengths and weaknesses. The professionals include, but are not limited to: School Psychologist, School Nurse, Service Providers (Speech/Language, Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, etc.), Guidance Counselors, School Administrators, and School Physician.

Initial Evaluation

An initial evaluation must be completed within 60 days of receiving parental consent for the evaluation. This evaluation will include:

A physical examination
An individual psychological evaluation, except when a school psychologist determines after an assessment of a school-age student, that further evaluation is unnecessary
A social history
An observation of the student in the current educational placement
Other appropriate assessments or evaluations

Eligibility

The student must meet the qualifications for at least one of the 13 classifications established:

Autism
Deafness
Deaf-blindness
Emotional disturbance
Hearing Impairment
Learning disability
Mental retardation
Multiple disabilities
Orthopedic impairment
Other health-impairment
Speech or language impairment
Traumatic brain injury
Visual impairment

A student cannot be determined eligible for special education if:

There was a lack of appropriate instruction in reading
There was a lack of instruction in math
Limited English proficiency