The federal law for the education of students with disabilities is the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  IDEA explains how students with disabilities will receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE).  IDEA recognizes the importance of a parent’s knowledge of their child’s needs to assist in creating an education plan for their child.  Parents and school must work in partnership to determine the child’s needs, develop a written plan to address those needs, and provide services identified in the plan at no cost to the parent.  This document is called an Individualized Education Program. 

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individual education program

A student's disabilities and needs are determined by an Individual Education Program Team comprised of individuals familiar with the student and knowledgeable in special education.  Teams may  include: general education teachers, special education teachers, school psychologists, parents, related services personnel and school administrators.  This team determines if a student qualifies as a student with a disability and what services are needed. 

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The Department of Student Services provides comprehensive and individualized programs for students with disabilities. Services are provided to students ages three through high school and to some students until age 21. Approximately, 200 students currently benefit from these services. Students are identified in accordance with Federal and State laws governing public schools. The Student Services Department provides specialized instruction and physical education, related services and supplementary  aides and services based on the student's written plan called an Individualized Education Program (IEP).  Students with the following impairments and a need for special education may receive special education services.

Special Education and related services may also be provided to a child who, by reason of his or her significant developmental delay, needs special education and related services. The following are some of the supportive and related services provided as needed to assist an individual child to benefit from special education: 

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important timelines

Someone is inquiring that your child may have a disability that is affecting your child’s education and has made a written referral to explore this possibility.  The district has 15 business days to notify you that a written referral has been made and work with you to identify possible evaluation assessments that would help the team make this determination.  After this discussion, a notice will be sent to you asking for your written consent to conduct these assessments.  Upon receipt of this notice, granting us permission, the district has 60 days to complete the evaluation and hold a meeting to determine if your child meets the Wisconsin state criteria in at least one area and needs special education to benefit. If the team determines that your child does not meet the criteria for special education, the team will brainstorm ideas on how to continue to support your child. If the team determines that your child has a disability and needs special education, then the team may either immediately develop a plan (IEP) or hold another meeting within 30 days to complete the plan.  Before the plan is implemented your written consent must be provided. This process could take 3 months.

referral process

Evaluation takes place 60 days from date consent is received by the district to complete testing and hold IEP meeting.
IEP Team decides:

1. Does the child have an impairment?
2. Does the child need special education?

IEP team writes IEP together. This includes deciding what services the child needs.
IEP team decides on placement.
LEA implements the IEP and placement.
IEP team reviews the IEP and placement at least annually.
IEP team does a reevaluation at least every three years, unless parents and school agree not to

• All decisions listed above are connected to one another and centered on the needs of the child. For example, when the IEP team talks about evaluation, they also think about what services the child will need and where the child will get the services. For some children the decision can be made in one meeting. For other children the team may need to meet more than once.
  
  

who is on the iep team?

The determination of eligibility is made by a team of qualified professionals and the parent. You will be provided a copy of all reports and a summary of the meeting explaining the team’s decision following the meeting.  

resources

As a parent, you will need to learn all you can about special education.  The district is here to help you by providing learning opportunities and connecting you to other resources, including reading materials and parents. There are also many good resources available on the internet.

The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
The Learning Disabilities Association of America
Find more information on Dyslexia and Related Conditions- Wisconsin's Informational Guidebook

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