Answer:

I&RS Meeting: The I&RS Team process is a collaborative school effort between district personnel and parents to intervene when a child has been identified as making minimal academic and/or emotional progress in the general education setting. The team or committee collects and evaluates relevant data in order to determine or identify specific barriers to student performance as well as develop appropriate interventions.

Identification/Planning Meeting: This meeting provides the opportunity for the school and/or parents to convey concerns related to the child's educational progress. The full CST is in attendance and will determine if an evaluation is warranted. If an evaluation is warranted, the CST will develop an evaluation plan and present it to the parents for their consent. If the parents consent to the plan, the CST has 90 days to complete the assessments, determine the child's eligibility, and if found eligible, develop a program.

Eligibility Meeting: At this meeting, the case manager presents the findings from the completed assessments, reviews the child's eligibility status, and if eligible, develops appropriate programming for the student in collaboration with the IEP team.

IEP Meeting: In this meeting, the IEP team reviews the child's progress in the current program and then plans for future programming based on the information presented.

Answer: After the eligibility meeting is held that deems the child eligible for special education and related services.

Answer: Yes, either as eligible for special education and related services or as eligible for speech/language services only.

Answer: Yes. Goals and objectives are for replacement and related services programming. In-class resource follows the general education curriculum but may have limited goals/objectives designed specifically to the child’s need in relationship to their disability and may include subject placement/requirements.

Answer: The district's CST must consider the findings of any evaluation provided by the parents of a student receiving special education or undergoing consideration for services. In some cases, the entire report may be accepted, in other cases a portion of the report, and in some instances the CST may not accept the findings of a report. The CST should provide you with its determination in this regard and the reasons for its determination.

Answer: The fact that your child is responding to a particular strategy or method is important information of which the IEP team should be aware. To the degree possible, the district staff may wish to implement strategies that the parent identifies as productive for the child. The ability to adopt a particular method may be limited in many instances by factors such as environmental conditions (some methods that are successful in a non­school setting do not transfer to a classroom setting), specific training requirements, or a lack of supportive scientific research. For these reasons, districts are given the responsibility of choosing the method which they view to be most appropriate. However, particular methodologies are not a required component of an IEP.

Answer: No. Although parental input is utilized in making eligibility determinations, the CST is responsible for determining eligibility for special education and related services aligned with standards within N.J.A.C. 6A:14.

Answer: The CST consists of a school psychologist, a learning disabilities teacher/consultant, school social worker, and when needed, a speech-language specialist, responsible for conducting evaluations to determine eligibility for special education and related services for students with disabilities. Parents are members of the IEP team. (See glossary for definition of IEP team.)

Answer: While transportation is a possible related service, most classified students are not eligible for transportation as part of their IEP. If the IEP is placing a student at a school other than his home school, transportation would be provided.

Answer: A parent may remove their child from special education at any time through a process known as "Revocation of Consent". In such a case, the parent should put their decision in writing to the Director of Special Services. The school district is then required to respond in writing indicating they are aware of the parent's decision and will act accordingly. The decision of the parent in this regard is final.

Answer: The IEP team determines eligibility for ESY services by reviewing several factors. One factor to be considered includes the regression/recoupment analysis which considers the amount of regression a child experiences as a result of an interruption in educational services over the course of the summer with the amount of time required to regain the prior level of skill upon the child's return to school in the fall. The IEP team may also consider other factors such as the nature and severity of the child's disability.

Answer: Related services are services that are provided to help classified students benefit from their educational program. The services are specified in the student's IEP and are provided in conjunction with the special education program. Many times the related services to a special education program are provided in the classroom setting. Some examples of related services include:

• Counseling services
• Occupational therapy
• Physical therapy
• Speech/language services
• Transportation
• Parent training

Answer: The parent, adult student, or their designated representative has access to inspect and review the contents of the student's records kept by the school district. The school district's certified staff that has educational responsibility for the student has access to the student's records. Certified educational staff employed by approved private schools, outside clinics and agencies that the district employs and who has educational responsibility for the student also have access to the student records. Secretaries and clerical staff have limited access to access the student records so that they can enter or record data and conduct routine clerical tasks. Additionally, the district must obtain written consent from the parent or adult student before releasing the student's records to a person or organization that is not otherwise authorized to see them.