“Parent’s Guide to Special Education Services” Consultation Group

1. “Parent’s Guide to Special Education Services” Consultation Group Thursday, February 27, 2014

2. What Process is Used to Determine if Students are Designated as Having Special Needs? There are specific Ministry criteria and documentation requirements for designation in each category of students with special needs. The Categories are: • Level One: Categories A and B (Physically Dependent; Deaf/Blind) • Level Two: Categories C, D, E, F and G (Mod/Prof. Intellectual Disability, Physical Disability or Chronic Health Impairment; Visual Impairment; Deaf or Hard of Hearing; Autism) • Level Three: Category H (Intensive Intervention/Serious Mental Illness) • High Incidence Students: Categories K, P, Q and R (Mild Intellectual Disability; Gifted; Learning Disability; Moderate Behaviour/Mental Illness) The District has a “Registry Review” process conducted three times a year (September, February and May) • This documentation is critical for Ministry of Education compliance and accountability audits. 2

3. How is Special Education Funded? • Level One: $ 36,600. per FTE student • Level Two: $ 18,300. per FTE student • Level Three: $ 9,200. per FTE student This funding is for specialized supplemental services to enable the student to access an educational program. NOTE: High Incidencesupplemental funding has been rolled into the “per student” base allocation since 2003.

4. What are Supplemental Services? Specialized supplemental services may include one or more of the following (depending on level of student need and Ministry designation): • Special Education Assistants (SEAs) • Child & Youth Care Workers (CYCWs) • District Itinerant Staff (e.g. Hearing, Vision, CDBC Team, Low Incidence Resource Teacher, OT and PT)

5. How are Specialized Supplemental Services Allocated to Classrooms? During the Registry Review process, the School-Based Team and District Administrator for Student Services discuss: • the overall level of student need (individual and collective*); • class placements; • total SEA / CYCW needs for the school to ensure that students with special needs can access an educational program. The Principal or designate assigns the supplemental services to the classrooms. *some students with special needs will require minimal levels of support and accommodations while others may require complex and detailed planning.

6. Who and What is the School-Based Team? The School-Based Team usually includes: • The Principal/ Vice-Principal • Resource Teacher • Classroom Teacher • Counsellor It is an on-going team of school-based personnel who: • play a formal role as a problem-solving unit to assist classroom teachers in developing and implementing instructional and/or behavioural management strategies; • coordinate support resources for students with special needs; • ensure that students programs are documented in Individual Education Plans or Annual Instructional Plans and/or Personal Learning Plans.

7. Who and What is the Expanded School-Based Team? The Expanded School-Based Team (in addition to the School-Based Team) may include: • Parents • Students • District Itinerant/ Resource Staff • SEAs or CYCWs • Settlement Workers • Aboriginal Support Workers • Community Services etc. The Expanded School-Based Team is also a collaborative problem-solving and planning team.

8. Individual Education Plans and Reporting Procedures Individual Education Plans (IEP) describes individual goals, objectives and accommodations to enable students to access an educational program. The IEP reflects the complexity of the student’s needs. The IEP also includes the evaluation of the success of the individual program each term based on input from the resource teacher, classroom teacher and other district staff (reflected in the report card).