BOARD POLICY 5335

BOARD POLICY 310

310 - Educational Goals

A. Basic Skills

Schools should explore and implement the best possible ways for students to acquire and apply fundamental skills necessary to learning.

It is the goal of the District that the students:

1. Comprehend ideas and facts through reading, viewing, and listening. Services for reading problems shall be available in the primary grades.

2. Communicate ideas and facts through writing and speaking.

3. Use the processes of language, science, and mathematics.

4. Perform psychomotor (mental-physical) activities necessary to learning.

5. Use problem-solving techniques and processes used in decisionmaking.

B. Human Relations

Schools shall provide an environment where students, all school personnel, and other community members interrelate to seek understanding, appreciation, respect, and concern for all human beings.

It is the goal of the District that the students:

1. Desire to contribute to the well-being of society in all areas of their lives and place a higher value on people than things.

2. Understand and appreciate the value systems, cultures, customs, and history of their own heritage as well as those of others.

3. Appreciate art, crafts, music, literature, and dramatic forms and their place in historical and cultural heritage of this and other nations.

4. Possess the skills and attitudes necessary to assure the continuing development of:

a. Respect for the rights of one’s self and others.

b. The ability to form satisfying and responsible relationships with a wide variety of people.

c. Skill in group relations.

d. The ability to initiate and maintain personal friendships.

e. A recognition of the political, social, and cultural interdependence among people of the world.

310 - Educational Goals--Continued

f. An understanding of the various domestic and international lifestyles.

g. The ability to manage conflicts in values.

h. Respect for the work efforts of themselves and all others.

C. Self-Realization

The individual should develop a positive self-image within the context of the individual’s own heritage and within the larger context of the total society.

It is the goal of the District that the students:

1. Understand, appreciate, and respect themselves.

2. Recognize their strengths and limitations in setting personal goals.

3. Develop their interests and potentials in order to achieve those personal goals.

4. Have insight into their own value structure and how values affect their lives and relationships with others.

D. Mental and Physical Health

Schools will provide opportunities for students to develop self-concepts and physical skills in accordance with their potential.

It is the goal of the District that the students:

1. Have knowledge of the basic physical and mental health factors necessary for their optimum growth and development.

2. Understand the emotional and social aspects of human sexuality.

3. Understand the interrelationship of mental and physical health.

4. Have an awareness of and an incentive to use community resources essential to assure their optimum mental and physical health.

5. Have the experience and skills necessary for the creative use of leisure time.

6. Demonstrate knowledge, use and appreciation of safety principals, concepts, and practices.

7. Possess knowledge concerning the various body systems and how they are affected by dietary habits, physical and mental activity, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and poisons.

310 - Educational Goals--Continued

E. Career Education

Schools shall offer students an education that prepares them for lifelong learning and changes in their future occupation.

It is the goal of the District that the students:

1. Respect all occupations and have the desire to pursue a satisfying vocation.

2. Acquire a knowledge and understanding of opportunities open to them for preparing for a productive life.

3. Develop those occupational competencies consistent with their interests, aptitudes, and abilities which are prerequisite to entry and advancement in the work place and/or academic preparation for acquisition of technical or professional skills through post high school training.

F. Fine Arts

Students shall have opportunities to learn about various cultures, deepen their appreciation of their own heritage, and have the opportunities to express themselves in a variety of artistic ways.

It is the goal of the District that the students:

1. Demonstrate an awareness of the importance and use of cultural and recreational facilities in their community.

2. Appreciate art, crafts, music, literature, and dramatic forms.

3. Have the experience and skills necessary for participating in art, crafts, music, literature, and dramatic forms.

G. Lifelong Learning

Students shall be prepared for lifelong learning.

It is the goal of the District that the students:

1. Respond to the needs and opportunities to learn in a dynamic social, economic, and political environment.

2. Continue self development.

H. Citizenship and Political Understanding

Citizenship is an individual’s response to membership in society. The total school experience shall offer opportunities for students to learn and practice their roles, rights, and responsibilities as a citizen.

310 - Educational Goals--Continued

It is the goal of the District that the students:

1. Understand the structure, governance, and governmental heritage of society (communities, state, national, world).

2. Understand the importance of effective participation in fulfilling their obligation to society.

3. Develop the skills to participate in a democratic society.

I. Economic Understanding

Students shall understand those factors that affect their own economic condition and the economic condition of the world community.

Students shall participate in the economy as a consumer and producer of goods and services.

It is the goal of the District that the students:

1. Learn to evaluate their needs, match products to needs, and effectively use products and natural resources.

2. Understand the various systems of production and distribution, responsibility of the individual in these systems, and the ways in which these systems influence the lives of people.

3. Understand the relationship between individual consumption of goods and the effect on the environment.

4. Understand the process of obtaining employment, planning and budgeting personal income, saving and investing, and financing major purchases.

5. Be aware of the agencies which assist and protect consumers.

6. Be aware of national and international business organizations, monetary systems, and the effects of government on their economies.

J. Physical Environment

Schools shall provide experiences leading to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will enable society to develop a balanced use of natural resources that recognizes the concurrent rights of present and future generations.

It is the goal of the District that the students:

310 - Educational Goals--Continued

1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the social, physical, and biological worlds and the balance between man and his environment.

2. Develop attitudes and behaviors leading to the appreciation, maintenance, protection, and improvement of the physical environment.

K. Creative, Constructive, and Critical Thinking

The school shall provide an environment where students can develop skills of thinking and where experiences can be examined and integrated.

It is the goal of the District that the students:

1. Deal effectively with situations which are new to their experiences.

2. Think and act in an independent, self-fulfilling way while maintaining a considerate and responsible manner toward others.

3. Demonstrate the skills in the logical processes of search, analysis, evaluation, and abstract thinking.

Legal Ref.: Sections 118.01 and 121.02(1), Wisconsin Statutes

Approved: May 15, 1997

BOARD POLICY 322

322 - School Day

Operating hours for instruction of students will be reviewed and established by the Board annually in accordance with Wisconsin Statutes.

Legal Ref.: Sections 115.01(10), 120.12(15), 121.02(1)(f)2, Wisconsin Statutes

Approved: June 19, 1997

BOARD POLICY 330

330 - Curriculum

A 4K-12 curriculum shall be established and maintained in accordance with Wisconsin Statutes, the needs of society, the local community, and the individual student.

Changes are subject to approval by the Board following recommendation of the District Administrator.

Legal Ref.: Section 121.02(l)(k), Wisconsin Statutes

Approved: June 19, 1997

Reviewed: March 10, 2004

Revised: December 16, 2010, Pending Board Approval

BOARD POLICY 341.2

341.2 - Reading Instruction

A systematic K-12 developmental reading instruction program shall be made available to students at all grade levels. The reading curriculum shall be a component of an integrated language arts program that includes listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

The reading program shall be under the direction of a certified reading specialist who shall develop and implement the reading curriculum, act as a resource to classroom teachers, work with administrators to implement the reading curriculum, conduct an annual evaluation of the reading curriculum, and coordinate the reading with other support services within the District.

Legal Ref.: Section 118.015, Wisconsin Statutes

Approved: April 16, 1998

BOARD POLICY 342.1

342.1 - Responsibility to Serve Students With Special Education Needs

Whenever possible, students with special education needs will be served within the District; be offered the same basic opportunities to access the general education curriculum as their non-disabled peers, be treated with the same degree of dignity and respect as other students of the District, and their differentiated instruction be delivered as prescribed in their Individualized Education Program (IEP) plans. The District will adhere to procedures contained within the state guide “Model Local Educational Agency Special Education Policies and Procedures.”

Licensed district staff who reasonably believes a child is a child with a disability has a duty to refer the child to the School District for an IEP team evaluation. Special education referrals are available in all school buildings. Physicians, parents, or other individuals within the community may refer a child for an IEP team evaluation if they reasonably believe a child is a child with a disability. Special education referrals may be obtained by contacting the building principal, school psychologist, or the director of special education and pupil services. All building principals will be notified of referrals initiated at their building.

The School District utilizes student review teams in each of its elementary buildings. These teams examine interventions in addition to the special education referral process. Such pre-referral interventions may not delay or defer any individual’s attempt to complete and process a special education referral on behalf of a child.

Legal Ref.: Chapter 115, Subchapter V, Wisconsin Statutes

Cross Ref.: Administrative Rule 342.1 – Model Local Educational Agency

Special Education Policies and Procedures

Approved: January 17, 2002

Administrative Rule 342.1

Model Local Educational Agency

Special Education

Policies and Procedures

Elizabeth Burmaster, State Superintendent

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

· "Free appropriate public education" means special education and related services that are provided at public expense and under public supervision and direction, meet the standards of the Department of Public Instruction, include an appropriate preschool, elementary or secondary school education and are provided in conformity with an individualized education program.

· "General curriculum" means the same curriculum as for nondisabled children.

· "Hearing officer" means an independent examiner appointed to conduct hearings under § 115.80, Wis. Stats.

· "Illegal drug" means a controlled substance but does not include such a substance that is legally possessed or used under the supervision of a licensed healthcare professional or that is legally possessed or used under any other authority under that Act or under any other provision of federal law.

· "Include" means the items named are not all of the possible items that are covered whether like or unlike the ones named.

· "Independent educational evaluation" means an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the public agency responsible for the education of the child in question.

· "Individualized educational program" means a written statement for a child with a disability that is developed, reviewed and revised in accordance with § 115.787, Wis. Stats.

· "Local educational agency," except as otherwise provided, means the school district in which the child with a disability resides, the Department of Health and Family Services if the child with a disability resides in an institution or facility operated by the Department of Health and Family Services, or the Department of Corrections if the child with a disability resides in a Type 1 secured correctional facility, as defined in § 938.02(19), Wis. Stats., or a Type 1 prison, as defined in § 301.01(5), Wis. Stats.

· "Native language," for individuals with limited English proficiency, means the language normally used by that individual. For children with limited English proficiency, the term means the language normally used by the parents of the child, except that in all direct contact with a child (including evaluation of the child), the term means the language normally used by the child in the home or learning environment. For an individual with deafness or blindness, or for an individual with no written language, the mode of communication is that normally used by the individual (such as sign language, Braille, or oral communication).

· "Nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities" may include counseling services, athletics, transportation, health services, recreational activities, special interest groups or clubs sponsored by the public agency, referrals to agencies that provide assistance to individuals with disabilities and employment by the public agency and assistance in making outside employment available.

· “Parent" means any of the following: a biological parent; a husband who has consented to the artificial insemination of his wife under § 891.40; a male who is presumed to be the child’s father under § 891.41; a male who has been adjudicated the child’s father under Subch. VIII of Ch. 48, under §§ 767.45 to 767.51, by final order or judgment of an Indian tribal court of competent jurisdiction or by final order or judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction in another state; an adoptive parent; a legal guardian; a person acting as a parent of a child; a person appointed as a sustaining parent under § 48.428; or a person assigned as a surrogate parent under § 115.792(1)(a)2; a foster parent, if the right and responsibility of all of the aforementioned individuals to make educational decisions concerning the child has been extinguished by termination of parental rights, by transfer of guardianship or legal custody or by other court order; the foster parent has an ongoing, long-term parental relationship with the child; the foster parent is willing to make educational decisions required of parents under special education law; and the foster parent has no interests that would conflict with the interests of the child.

"Parent" does not include any person whose parental rights have been terminated; the state or a county or a child welfare agency if a child was made a ward of the state or a county or child welfare agency under Ch. 880 or if a child has been placed in the legal custody or guardianship of the state or a county or a child welfare agency under Ch. 48 or Ch. 767; or an American Indian tribal agency if the child was made a ward of the agency or placed in the legal custody or guardianship of the agency.

· "Person acting as a parent of a child" means a relative of the child or a private individual allowed to act as a parent of a child by the child's biological or adoptive parents or guardian, and includes the child's grandparent, neighbor, friend or private individual caring for the child with the explicit or tacit approval of the child's biological or adoptive parents or guardian. "Person acting as a parent of a child" does not include any person that receives public funds to care for the child if such funds exceed the cost of such care. The local educational agency only permits a foster parent to act as a parent of a child if the natural parents' authority to make educational decisions on the child's behalf has been extinguished under state law; and the foster parent has an ongoing, long-term parental relationship with the child, is willing to make the educational decisions required of parents under the Act and has no interest that would conflict with the interests of the child.

· "Participating agency" means a state or local agency other than the local educational agency that is financially and legally responsible for providing transition services to the student.

Ø "Participating agency," as used in the section on Confidentiality of Information in these policies, means any agency or institution that collects, maintains or uses personally-identifiable information, or from which information is obtained, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

· "Personally identifiable" means that information includes the name of the child, the child’s parent or other family member; the address of the child; a personal identifier such as the child’s social security number or student number; or a list of personal characteristics or other information that would make it possible to identify the child with reasonable certainty.

· "Private school children with disabilities" are children with disabilities enrolled by their parents in private schools or facilities.

· "Qualified" means a person has met the Department of Public Instruction-approved or recognized certification, licensing, registration, or other comparable requirements that apply to the area in which he/she is providing special education or related services.

· "Related services" means transportation and such developmental, corrective and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education and includes speech-language pathology and audiology services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, early identification and assessment of disabilities in children, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, and medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes. The term also includes school health services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training. In this definition:

Ø "Audiology" includes:

- identification of children with hearing loss;

- determination of the range, nature, and degree of hearing loss including referral for medical or other professional attention for the habilitation of hearing;

- provision of habilitative activities such as language habilitation, auditory training, speech reading (lip-reading), hearing evaluation and speech conservation;

- creation and administration of programs for prevention of hearing loss;

- counseling and guidance of pupils, parents and teachers regarding hearing loss; and

- determination of the child's need for group and individual amplification, selecting and fitting an appropriate aid and evaluating the effectiveness of amplification.

Ø "Counseling services" means services provided by qualified social workers, psychologists, guidance counselors or other qualified personnel.

Ø "Early identification and assessment of disabilities in children" means the implementation of a formal plan for identifying a disability as early as possible in a child's life.

Ø "Medical services" means services provided by a licensed physician to determine a child's medically-related disability that results in the child's need for special education and related services.

Ø "Occupational therapy" includes:

- improving, developing or restoring functions impaired or lost through illness, injury, or deprivation;

- improving ability to perform tasks for independent functioning if functions are impaired or lost; and

- preventing, through early intervention, initial or further impairment or loss of function.

Ø "Orientation and mobility services" means services provided to blind or visually impaired students by qualified personnel to enable those students to attain systematic orientation to and safe movement within their environments in school, home, and community, including:

- teaching students spatial and environmental concepts and use of information received by the senses (such as sound, temperature and vibrations) to establish, maintain, or regain orientation and line of travel (for example, using sound at a traffic light to cross the street);

- teaching students to use the long cane, as appropriate, to supplement visual travel skills or as a tool for safely negotiating the environment for students with no available travel vision;

- teaching students to understand and use remaining vision and distance low vision aids, as appropriate; and

- other concepts, techniques, and tools, as determined appropriate.

Ø "Parent counseling and training" means assisting parents in understanding the special needs of their child and providing parents with information about child development, and helping parents to acquire the necessary skills that will allow them to support the implementation of their child's individualized education program.

Ø "Physical therapy" means services provided by a qualified physical therapist.

Ø "Psychological services" includes:

- administering psychological and educational tests, and other assessment procedures;

- interpreting assessment results;

- obtaining, integrating, and interpreting information about child behavior and conditions relating to learning;

- consulting with other staff members in planning school programs to meet the special needs of children as indicated by psychological tests, interviews, and behavioral evaluations;

- planning and managing a program of psychological services, including psychological counseling for children and parents; and

- assisting in developing positive behavioral intervention strategies.

Ø "Recreation" includes:

- assessment of leisure function;

- therapeutic recreation services;

- recreation programs in schools and community agencies; and

- leisure education.

Ø "Rehabilitation counseling services" means services provided by qualified personnel in individual or group sessions that focus specifically on career development, employment preparation, achieving independence, and integration in the workplace and community of a student with a disability. The term also includes vocational rehabilitation services provided to a student with disabilities by vocational rehabilitation programs funded under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

Ø "School health services" means services provided by a qualified school nurse or other qualified person.

Ø "Social work services in schools" includes:

- preparing a social or developmental history on a child with a disability;

- group and individual counseling with the child and family;

- working with those problems in a child's living situation (home, school, and community) that affect the child's adjustment in school;

- mobilizing school and community resources to enable the child to learn as effectively as possible in his or her educational program; and

- assisting in developing positive behavioral intervention strategies.

Ø "Speech-language pathology services" includes:

- identification of children with speech or language impairments;

- diagnosis and appraisal of specific speech or language impairments;

- referral for medical or other professional attention necessary for the habilitation of speech or language impairments;

- provision of speech and language services for the habilitation or prevention of communicative impairments; and

- counseling and guidance of parents, children, and teachers regarding speech and language impairments.

Ø "Transportation" includes:

- travel to and from school and between schools;

- travel in and around school buildings; and

- specialized equipment (such as special or adapted buses, lifts, and ramps), if required to provide special transportation for a child with a disability.

· "School day" means any day, including a partial day, that children are in attendance at school for instructional purposes. The term "school day" has the same meaning for all children in school, including children with and without disabilities.

· "Secondary school" means a nonprofit institutional day or residential school that provides secondary education, as determined under Wisconsin law, except that it does not include any education beyond grade 12.

· "Special education" means specially-designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, including:

Ø instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings;

Ø instruction in physical education;

Ø speech-language pathology services, or any other related service, if the service consists of specially-designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, and is considered special education rather than a related service under Wisconsin standards;

Ø travel training if it consists of specially-designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability; and

Ø vocational education if it consists of specially-designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability.

The terms in the definition of special education are defined as follows:

Ø "At no cost" means that all specially-designed instruction is provided without charge, but does not preclude incidental fees that are normally charged to nondisabled students or their parents as a part of the regular education program.

Ø "Physical education" means the development of:

- physical and motor fitness;

- fundamental motor skills and patterns; and

- skills in aquatics, dance, and individual and group games and sports (including intramural and lifetime sports).

The term includes special physical education, adaptive physical education, movement education and motor development.

Ø "Specially-designed instruction" means adapting content, methodology or delivery of instruction:

- to address the unique needs of an eligible child under this part that result from the child's disability and

- to ensure access of the child to the general curriculum, so he or she can meet the educational standards within the jurisdiction of the public agency that apply to all children.

Ø "Travel training" means providing instruction, as appropriate, to children with significant cognitive disabilities and any other children with disabilities who require this instruction to:

- enable them to develop an awareness of the environment in which they live and

- learn the skills necessary to move effectively and safely from place to place within that environment (e.g., in school, in the home, at work and in the community).

Ø "Vocational education" means organized educational programs that are directly related to the preparation of individuals for paid or unpaid employment or for additional preparation for a career requiring other than a baccalaureate or advanced degree.

· "Substantial evidence" means beyond a preponderance of the evidence.

· "Supplementary aids and services" means aids, services and other supports that are provided in regular education classes or other education-related settings to enable a child with a disability to be educated with nondisabled children to the maximum extent appropriate.

· "Transition services" means a coordinated set of activities for a student with a disability:

Ø is designed within an outcome-oriented process that promotes movement from school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education, vocational training, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living or community participation;

Ø is based on the individual student's needs, taking into account the student's preferences and interests; and

Ø includes:

- instruction;

- related services;

- community experiences;

- the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives; and

- if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation.

· "Weapon" has the meaning given the term "dangerous weapon" under paragraph (2) of the first subsection (g) of section 930 of title 18, United States Code.

Full Educational Opportunity Goal

It is the goal of the local educational agency to provide full educational opportunity to all children with disabilities in the area served by the local educational agency. The local educational agency has available to all of its children with disabilities the variety of educational programs and services available to nondisabled children in the local educational agency, including: art, music, industrial arts, consumer and homemaking education, and vocational education or any program or activity in which nondisabled children participate. The local educational agency provides nonacademic and extra-curricular services and activities that afford children with disabilities an equal opportunity for participation.

Free Appropriate Public Education

General. All children with disabilities for whom the local educational agency is responsible, including non-resident children attending the local educational agency under the Full-Time Open Enrollment law, § 118.51, Wis. Stats., are provided a free appropriate public education. Special education and related services are provided to all resident children with disabilities, including, as required by 34 CFR § 300.121(d), children with disabilities who have been suspended or expelled from school. Children with disabilities entitled to a free appropriate public education are children age three, but not yet 21 who have not graduated from high school with a regular high school diploma and, for the duration of a school term, persons who become 21 years old during that school term and who have not graduated from high school with a regular diploma. The special education and related services provided to children addresses all of their special education and related services needs.

The local educational agency provides prior written notice of a change in placement consistent with the requirements in the law when a child with a disability graduates from high school with a regular diploma.

The local educational agency ensures that an individualized education program is in effect for each eligible child no later than the child's third birthday. If the child's third birthday occurs during the summer, the child's individualized education program team determines when the individualized education program services will begin.

If a placement in a public or private residential program is necessary to provide special education and related services to a child with a disability, the program, including non-medical care and room and board, is provided at no cost to the parents of the child.

The local educational agency admits a nonresident child if the program is appropriate for the child's disability. When a resident child is refused admittance to another local educational agency, the resident local educational agency ensures that a free appropriate public education is provided to the child. When board and lodging are not furnished to a resident child with a disability, the local educational agency provides transportation, except:

· if there is a plan of transportation under the state statute that authorizes County Children with Disabilities Education Boards, the County Children with Disabilities Education Board provided transportation and

· if the child is a non-resident child attending the local educational agency under the Full-Time Open Enrollment law, the local educational agency provides the transportation.

After a child with a disability has been removed from his or her current placement for more than ten school days in a school year, for any subsequent removals, the local educational agency provides services necessary to enable the child to appropriately progress in the general curriculum and appropriately advance toward achieving the child’s individualized education program goals. These services are provided when school personnel remove a child for not more than ten consecutive school days as long as that removal does not constitute a change of placement. In such a case, school personnel, in consultation with the child's special education teacher, determine the extent of the services.

When the local educational agency conducts a manifestation determination and determines that the behavior at issue is not a manifestation of the child's disability, the local educational agency provides services necessary to enable a child to appropriately progress in the general curriculum and appropriately advance toward achieving the individualized education program goals during a period of removal. In such a case, the child's individualized education program team determines the extent of the services.

The local educational agency provides services consistent with requirements relating to an appropriate interim alternative educational setting, if the removal is:

· for drug or weapons offenses under the law; or

· based on a hearing officer decision that maintaining the current placement of the child is substantially likely to result in injury to the child or to others.

Hearing Aids. The local educational agency ensures that hearing aids worn in school by children with hearing impairments, including deafness, are functioning properly.

Physical Education. Physical education services, specially designed if necessary, are made available to every child with a disability. Each child with a disability is afforded the opportunity to participate in regular physical education programs available to nondisabled children unless the child is enrolled full time in a separate facility, or the child needs specially-designed physical education as prescribed in the child’s individualized education program.

If specially-designed physical education is prescribed in a child’s individualized education program, the local educational agency provides the services directly or makes arrangements for those services to be provided through other public or private programs. The local educational agency ensures that a child with a disability who is enrolled in a separate facility receives appropriate physical education services in compliance with the law.

Assistive Technology. The local educational agency makes available assistive technology devices or assistive technology services, or both, to a child with a disability if required as part of the child’s special education, related services, or supplementary aids and services. If a child's individualized education program team determines that access to school-purchased assistive technology devices or services in the child's home or in other settings is necessary for the child to receive a free appropriate public education, the devices or services are provided.

Extended School Year. The local educational agency ensures that extended school year services are available to each child with a disability as necessary to provide a free appropriate public education. Extended school year services are provided when a child's individualized education program team determines, on an individual basis, that the services are necessary for the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child. The local educational agency does not limit extended school year services to particular categories of disability, or unilaterally limit the type, amount, or duration of those services.

Participation in Assessments. Children with disabilities, including non-resident children attending the local educational agency under the Full-Time Open Enrollment law, are included in state-wide and district-wide assessments with appropriate accommodations and modifications if necessary. Those children who cannot participate in state-wide or district-wide assessments participate in alternative assessments. Needed accommodations and modifications or alternate assessments are identified by the individualized education program team and are specified in the child’s individualized education program.

Methods of Ensuring a Free Appropriate Public Education. If a public agency, other than an educational agency, fails to meet its obligation under federal or state law or under state policy or interagency agreement to provide or pay for any services that are also considered special education and related services that are necessary for ensuring a free appropriate public education to a child, the local educational agency provides or pays for these services to the child in a timely manner.

The local educational agency may provide special education and related services to children with disabilities who are less than three years of age under an interagency agreement with the county agency responsible for early intervention programs.

When the local educational agency uses Medicaid or other public insurance benefits programs in which a child participates to provide or pay for special education and related services necessary for the child to receive a free appropriate public education as permitted under the public insurance program, the local educational agency does not:

· require parents to sign up for or enroll in public insurance programs in order for their child to receive a free appropriate public education under Part B of the Act;

· require parents to incur an out-of-pocket expense such as the payment of a deductible or co-pay amount incurred in filing a claim for special education and related services; or

· use a child's benefits under a public insurance program if that use would:

Ø decrease available lifetime coverage or any other insured benefit,

Ø result in the family paying for services that would otherwise be covered by the public insurance program and that are required for the child outside of the time the child is in school,

Ø increase premiums or lead to the discontinuation of insurance or

Ø risk loss of eligibility for home and community-based waivers based on aggregate health-related expenditures.

Each time the local educational agency proposes to access the proceeds of a parents' private insurance to provide services necessary for the child to receive a free appropriate public education, the local educational agency:

· obtains informed parent consent in accordance with the law; and

· informs the parents that their refusal to permit the public agency to access their private insurance does not relieve the public agency of its responsibility to ensure that all required services are provided at no cost to the parents.

The local educational agency ensures there is no delay in implementing a child's individualized education program including any case in which the payment source for providing or paying for special education and related services to the child is being determined.

Except for the circumstances provided for in § 118.51(12)(a)&(b)2 of the Full-Time Open Enrollment law, if a non-resident child with a disability is attending the local educational agency under the Full-Time Open Enrollment law, the local educational agency provides an educational placement for the child. If tuition charges are required by the placement, the local educational agency pays tuition charges instead of the school district in which the child resides.

Public Information

The local educational agency regularly publicizes information about its special education procedures and services. Further, the local educational agency makes available to any person, upon request, all documents relating to the local educational agency’s eligibility for state and federal special education funds. Any state or federal aid that is made available to the local educational agency for special education and related services are used by the local educational agency to comply with the requirements of special education law.

If the local educational agency receives a notice from the Department of Public Instruction that it is in noncompliance with respect to state or federal special education law and the Department of Public Instruction is proposing to reduce or withhold any further payments to the local educational agency until the Department of Public Instruction is satisfied the local educational agency is complying with that requirement, the local educational agency gives public notice of the pending state actions.

Child Find

General. The local educational agency identifies, locates and evaluates all children with disabilities, regardless of the severity of their disability, who are in need of special education and related services, including children attending private schools, children who are not yet three years of age, highly mobile children such as migrant and homeless children and children who are suspected of being a child with a disability even though they are advancing from grade to grade.

The local educational agency locates, identifies and evaluates all private school children with disabilities, including religious-school children residing in the jurisdiction of the local educational agency. The activities undertaken to carry out this responsibility for private school children with disabilities are comparable to activities undertaken for children with disabilities in the local educational agency. The local educational agency consults with appropriate representatives of private school children with disabilities on how to locate, identify, and evaluate private school children with disabilities. The local educational agency ensures the confidentiality of data collected and used to meet the requirements of child identification are protected pursuant to the confidentiality requirements of the law.

Referral. The local educational agency accepts and processes referrals of children suspected to have a disability. The local educational agency has written procedures for accepting and processing referrals. School personnel who reasonably believe a child has a disability are required to make a referral.

Prior to submitting a referral, the people required to make referrals inform the parents of their intent to make a referral. If the local educational agency to whom the referral is made is the local educational agency the child is attending under the Full-Time Open Enrollment law, the local educational agency provides the name of the child and related information to the local educational agency of residence. Whenever the local educational agency receives a referral for a resident child attending school in another local educational agency under the Full-Time Open Enrollment law, the local educational agency provides the name of the child and related information to the local educational agency of attendance.

The local educational agency accepts written referrals. Each referral includes the name of the child and reasons why the person making the referral believes that the child is a child with a disability. The local educational agency documents and dates the receipt of each referral.

At least annually, the local educational agency informs parents and persons required by law to make referrals about the local educational agency's referral and evaluation procedures.

The local educational agency provides information and inservice opportunities for its licensed staff to familiarize them with the local educational agency’s referral procedures.

Individualized Education Program Team

The local educational agency establishes an individualized education program team for each child referred to the local educational agency, including children attending the local educational agency under the Full-Time Open Enrollment law.

Participants. The individualized education program team for each child consists of all of the following:

· the parents of the child;

· at least one regular education teacher of the child if the child is, or may be, participating in a regular educational environment;

· at least one special education teacher who has extensive and recent training and experience related to the child's known or suspected disability or, where appropriate, at least one special education provider of the child;

· a representative of the local educational agency:

Ø who is qualified to provide or supervise the provision of special education,

Ø who is knowledgeable about the general curriculum,

Ø who is knowledgeable about the availability of and authorized to commit the resources of the local educational agency and

Ø who may be another local educational agency member of the IEP team if the criteria above are met;

· an individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, who may otherwise be a team participant;

· when determining the child's educational placement, individuals who are knowledgeable about the child and the placement options;

· at the discretion of the parent or local educational agency, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise about the child, including related services personnel as appropriate (the determination of the individual's knowledge or special expertise is made by the party [parents or public local educational agency] who invited the individual to be a member of the individualized education program);

· whenever appropriate, the child;

· when transition is being discussed, other agencies who may be responsible for the provision or payment of transition services; and

· when the purpose of the meeting will be consideration of transition services, the student.

If an invited agency does not send a representative to the meeting, the local educational agency takes other steps to obtain the agency's participation in planning transition services. If the student does not attend the individualized education program meeting, the local educational agency takes other steps to ensure consideration of the student’s preferences and interests.

Parent Participation in Individualized Education Program Team Meetings. The local educational agency takes steps to ensure that one or both of the parents of a child with a disability are present at each individualized education program meeting or are afforded the opportunity to participate, including:

· notifying parents of the meeting early enough to ensure that they will have an opportunity to attend and

· scheduling the meeting at a mutually agreed on time and place.

The notice required in this policy:

· indicates the purpose, time, and location of the meeting and who will be in attendance and

· informs the parents of the provisions in these policies relating to the participation of other individuals on the individualized education program team who have knowledge or special expertise about the child.

For a student with a disability beginning at age 14, or younger, if appropriate, the notice also:

· indicates that a purpose of the meeting will be the development of the required statement of the transition services needs of the student and

· indicates that the local educational agency will invite the student.

For a student with a disability beginning at age 16, or younger, if appropriate, the notice:

· indicates a purpose of the meeting is the consideration of needed transition services for the student;

· indicates the local educational agency will invite the student; and

· identifies any other agency that will be invited to send a representative.

If neither parent can attend, the local educational agency uses other methods to ensure parent participation, including individual or conference telephone calls.

The local educational agency conducts meetings without a parent in attendance if the public agency is unable to convince the parents that they should attend. In this case the local educational agency has a record of its attempts to arrange a mutually agreed on time and place, such as:

· detailed records of telephone calls made or attempted and the results of those calls;

· copies of correspondence sent to the parents and any responses received; and

· detailed records of visits made to the parent's home or place of employment and the results of those visits.

The local educational agency takes whatever action is necessary to ensure that the parent understands the proceedings at the individualized education program meeting, including arranging for an interpreter for parents with deafness or whose native language is other than English. The local educational agency gives the parent a copy of the child's individualized education program at no cost to the parent.

Individualized Education Program Team Duties. The individualized education program team does all of the following:

· evaluates the child to determine the child’s eligibility or continued eligibility for special education and related services, and the educational needs of the child;

· if the child being evaluated is a non-resident child attending the local educational agency under the Full-Time Open Enrollment law as part of its initial evaluation of the child and as part of any reevaluation of the child, the local educational agency's individualized education program team collaborates with appropriate personnel designated by the school board of the child's school district of residence;

· develops an individualized education program for the child;

· develops the child's individualized education program in collaboration with appropriate personnel designated by the school board of the school district in which the child resides, if a non-resident child is attending the local educational agency under the Full-Time Open Enrollment law; and

· determines the special education placement for the child, including a preschool child, in conformity with the least restrictive environment policies of the local educational agency.

Timeline. The local educational agency provides a notice of placement to the parents within 90 calendar days from the receipt of the referral or the initiation of a reevaluation. Before the expiration of the 90-day period, if an extension is needed the local educational agency informs the child’s parents of the need and reasons for an extension. The local educational agency requests the child’s parent to agree in writing to a specific extension of time beyond the 90-day period. If parental approval cannot be obtained, the local educational agency may request an extension from the Department of Public Instruction, Division for Learning Support: Equity and Advocacy, before the expiration of the 90-day period. The local educational agency informs the division of the reasons for the request and demonstrates that it has acted in good faith and that there is good cause for an extension.

At the beginning of any meeting to address the evaluation, individualized education program, or placement, the local educational agency informs the child’s parents of their right to additional time and their right to a copy of the evaluation report. If the parents of the child or local educational agency staff determines at any point during the process of evaluation, development of the individualized education program, or placement, that additional time is needed to permit meaningful parent participation, the local educational agency provides it.

Evaluation

General. As part of an initial evaluation of a child and as part of any reevaluation of a child, the individualized education program team and other qualified professionals, as determined by the local educational agency:

· reviews existing evaluation data on the child, including evaluations and information provided by the child's parents, previous interventions and the effects of those interventions, current classroom-based assessments and observations, and observations by teachers and related services providers; and

· on the basis of that review and information provided by the child's parents, identifies the additional data, if any, that are needed, and the qualifications of the evaluators that are needed, to determine:

Ø whether the child has a particular category of disability or, in case of a reevaluation of a child, whether the child continues to have such a disability;

Ø the present levels of performance and educational needs of the child;

Ø whether the child needs special education and related services, or in the case of a reevaluation of a child, whether the child continues to need special education and related services; and/or

Ø whether any additions or modifications to the special education and related services are needed to enable the child to meet the measurable, annual goals specified in the child's individualized education program and to participate, as appropriate, in the general curriculum.

The local educational agency does not require parental consent before reviewing existing data as part of an evaluation or reevaluation or administering a test or other evaluation that is administered to all children unless, before administration of that test or evaluation, the local educational agency requires consent for all children.

The local educational agency notifies the parents of the child, in accordance with the notice provisions in the law, of any evaluation procedures the agency proposes to conduct, the qualifications of the individuals who will conduct the evaluation and their names, if known.

The local educational agency obtains informed consent from the child's parent before administering tests or other evaluation materials to the child. Parental consent for the evaluation does not constitute consent for placement for receipt of special education and related services.

If the child being evaluated is a non-resident child attending the local educational agency under the Full-Time Open Enrollment law as part of its initial evaluation of the child and as part of any reevaluation of the child, the local educational agency's individualized education program team collaborates with appropriate personnel designated by the school board of the child's school district of residence.

Each individualized education program team participant who administers tests, assessments or other evaluation materials as part of an evaluation or reevaluation of a child prepares and makes available to all team participants at a team meeting a written summary of the participant’s findings that will assist with program planning.

Individualized Education Program Team Determination of Eligibility or Continuing Eligibility (Initial and Reevaluation). Following a review of existing data and administration of tests and other evaluation materials (if any), the individualized education program team determines whether the child is or continues to be a child with a disability. For a child who does not otherwise meet the eligibility criteria under state law, the individualized education program team does not determine that the child is a child with a disability solely because the child has received insufficient instruction in reading or math or because the child has limited proficiency in English. In interpreting evaluation data for the purpose of determining if a child is a child with a disability, and the educational needs of the child, the local educational agency draws upon information from a variety of sources, including aptitude and achievement tests, parent input, teacher recommendations, physical condition, social or cultural background, and adaptive behavior. The local educational agency ensures that information obtained from all of these sources is documented and carefully considered.

Reevaluation. In conducting reevaluations, the individualized education program team:

· evaluates a child with a disability in accordance with the law before determining that the child is no longer a child with a disability and

· reevaluates a child with a disability in accordance with the law if the local educational agency determines that conditions warrant a reevaluation or if the child’s parent or teacher requests a reevaluation, but at least once every 3 years.

The local educational agency obtains informed consent from the child’s parent before administering new tests and other evaluation materials. The local educational agency proceeds without consent only if the local educational agency has taken reasonable measures to obtain the consent and the child’s parents have failed to respond. Reasonable measures are the measures required for conducting an individualized education program meeting without a parent in attendance.

If the individualized education program team finds no additional information is needed to determine whether a child continues to be a child with a disability, the local educational agency notifies the child’s parents of that finding and the reasons for it, and that the parent has a right to request an assessment to determine whether the child continues to have a disability. The local educational agency conducts such an assessment if the parent requests it.

Evaluation Report. If the individualized education program team determines a child is or continues to be a child with a disability, the team prepares an evaluation report that includes documentation of the determination of eligibility. The local educational agency asks each individualized education program team participant if he or she wants a copy of the evaluation report or additional time before the team develops the child’s individualized education program. If any individualized education program team participant requests a copy of the evaluation report at any point in the process of developing the child’s individualized education program or considering the child’s educational placement, the local educational agency gives a copy of the report to each individualized education program team participant before continuing with the process. If no individualized education program team participant requests a copy of the evaluation report, the local educational agency gives a copy to the child’s parents with the notice of placement.

If the individualized education program team determines a child is not a child with a disability, the team prepares an evaluation report. The report identifies any educational needs of the child and any services offered by the local educational agency from which the child may benefit and includes information about any programs and services, other than those offered by the local educational agency, that may benefit the child. The local educational agency gives a copy of the evaluation report to the child’s parents with the notice that the child does not have a disability.

Evaluation Safeguards. When a local educational agency evaluates a child with a disability, it:

· ensures materials and procedures used to assess a child with limited English proficiency are selected and administered to ensure they measure the extent to which the child has a disability and needs special education rather than measuring the child's English language skills and

· administers such tests and other evaluation materials as may be needed to produce the data necessary to make the determinations listed above.

The individualized education program team:

· does not use any single procedure as the sole criterion for determining whether a child is a child with a disability or for determining an appropriate educational program for the child;

· uses a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional and developmental information, including information provided by the child's parent, that may assist in determining whether the child is a child with a disability and the content of the child's individualized education program, including information related to enabling the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum or, for preschool children, to participate in appropriate activities;

· uses technically sound instruments that may assess the relative contribution of cognitive and behavioral factors in addition to physical or developmental factors; and

· ensures all of the following:

Ø tests and other evaluation materials used to assess a child are selected and administered so as not to be racially or culturally discriminatory and are provided and administered in the child's native language or other mode of communication, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so;

Ø any standardized tests given to the child have been validated for the specific purpose for which they are used, are administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel and are administered in accordance with any instructions provided by the producer of such tests;

Ø the child is assessed in all areas of suspected disability; and

Ø assessment tools and strategies that provide relevant information that directly assists persons in determining the educational needs of the child are used.

The local educational agency gathers relevant functional and developmental information about the child using a variety of assessment tools and strategies, including information provided by the parent and information related to enabling the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum (or for a preschool child, to participate in appropriate activities), that may assist in determining whether the child is a child with a disability and the content of the child's individualized education program.

If an assessment is not conducted under standard conditions, the local educational agency includes in the evaluation report a description of the extent to which it varied from standard conditions (e.g., the qualifications of the person administering the test or the method of test administration).

In evaluating each child with a disability, the evaluation is sufficiently comprehensive to identify all the child's special education and related services needs whether or not commonly linked to the disability category in which the child has been classified.

The local educational agency ensures tests and other evaluation materials include those tailored to assess specific areas of educational need and not merely those designed to provide a single general intelligence quotient.

The local educational agency ensures tests are selected and administered so as best to ensure that if a test is administered to a child with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the test results accurately reflect the child’s aptitude or achievement level or whatever other factors the test purports to measure, rather than reflecting the child’s impaired sensory, manual or speaking skills (unless those skills are the skills the test purports to measure).

Additional Requirements for Learning Disabilities. For evaluation of a child suspected of having a learning disability, the following additional requirements are met:

· The determination of whether a child suspected of having a specific learning disability is a child with a disability is made by the child’s parents and a team of qualified professionals which includes:

Ø the child’s regular teacher; or

Ø if the child does not have a regular teacher, a regular classroom teacher qualified to teach a child of his or her age; or

Ø for a child of less than school age, an individual qualified by the Department of Public Instruction to teach a child of his or her age.

· At least one member of the individualized education program team, other than the child’s regular teacher, observes the child’s academic performance in the regular classroom setting. In the case of a child of less than school age or out of school, a team member observes the child in an environment appropriate for a child of that age.

· The individualized education program team evaluation report includes a statement of:

Ø whether the child has a specific learning disability;

Ø the basis for making that determination;

Ø the relevant behavior noted during observation of the child;

Ø the relationship of that behavior to the child’s academic functioning;

Ø the educationally relevant medical findings, if any;

Ø whether there is a severe discrepancy between achievement and ability that is not correctable without special education and related services; and

Ø the determination of the team concerning the effects of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

· Each individualized education program team participant certifies in writing whether the report reflects his or her conclusion. If the evaluation report does not reflect the individualized education program team participant’s conclusions, the participant submits a separate statement presenting his or her conclusions.

Determination of Eligibility

An evaluation conducted by an IEP team under s. 115.782, Stats., shall focus on the consideration of information and activities that assist the IEP team in determining how to teach the child in the way he or she is most capable of learning. Specifically, the IEP team shall meet the evaluation criteria specified under s. 115.782 (2) (a), Stats., when conducting tests and using other evaluation materials in determining a child’s disability.

A child shall be identified as having a disability if the IEP team has determined from an evaluation conducted under s. 115.782, Stats., that the child has an impairment under s. PI 11.36 that adversely affects the child’s educational performance, and the child, as a result thereof, needs special education and related services. As part of an evaluation or reevaluation under s. 115.782, Stats., conducted by the IEP team in determining whether a child is or continues to be a child with a disability, the IEP team shall identify all of the following:

Definitions