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P6164.9
ST. LOUIS BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICY INSTRUCTION ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE AND SECONDARY Instructional Services Individual and Remedial Services - Search/ldentification/Classification of Students with Disabilities – Child Study Team It shall be the policy of the St. Louis Board of Education to identify,
locate, and review, on an annual basis, all students with disabilities
under the age of twenty-one (21), who live in or whose parent(s)/legal
guardian(s) live in the St. Louis Public School District as required by
state and federal laws pertaining to the education of individuals with
disabilities. Child study teams shall consist of professionals in such fields as psychology, school social work, school health services, school counseling, elementary and secondary education, and school administration. The specific composition of a given child study team shall be determined by the nature of the suspected disability and the particular evaluative information required. References Legal: P.L. 94-142 State Plan for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, As Amended by Public Law 94-142 St. Louis Public Schools Annual Compliance Plan for Special Education Policy adopted: June 26, 1990 Revised: February 8, 1999 R6164.9 ST. LOUIS BOARD OF EDUCATION REGULATION INSTRUCTION ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE AND SECONDARY Instructional Services Individual and Remedial Services - Search/Identification/Diagnosis of Students with Disabilities – Child Study Team According to Board of Education Policy P6164.9, the following child identification activities shall be conducted on a continuing basis through the joint efforts of the administrative units designated by the superintendent. Awareness The executive director of special education shall be responsible for ensuring that the public is informed of the rights of students with disabilities and that the district is responsible for providing a free appropriate education to all students with disabilities between the ages of three (3) through twenty-one (21). These awareness efforts shall be conducted annually and shall be consistent with the district's current Annual Compliance Plan for Special Education. Major awareness activities shall include: (a) one newspaper notice to the community; (b) one public announcement on the radio and/or television; (c) posters/notices displayed in administrative buildings, school buildings, and other public buildings; (d) notice twice a year to all patrons of the district distributed in newsletters, student handbooks, and flyers. Annual Census The executive director of special education is responsible for an annual census of students with disabilities and students suspected to have a disability under the age of twenty-one (21) living in the district or whose parent(s)/legal guardian(s) live in the district. The census report shall conform to state requirements and shall be forwarded to the division of special education, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) each year as required by DESE. Screening The St. Louis Public School District shall continuously screen its general student population to find those who may have a disability. Screening consists of systematic procedures that are organized in such a manner that all areas of development in students are examined routinely. Screening only indicates the possible existence of a disability. Specific disabilities can be determined only through formal evaluation. Screening for students who may have disabilities shall be conducted in accordance with the schedules and procedures described in the district's Annual Compliance Plan for Special Education and Manual for the Screening, Referral, Evaluation, Diagnosis and Placement of Disabled Students, which shall be consistent with applicable state plans and state and federal laws and regulations. Under the direction of the superintendent or designee, the divisions of student support service, evaluation and research, and special education shall have primary responsibility for developing and modifying plans for the district's screening program. Alternative Intervention Strategies When screening procedures indicate that a student may have a disability,
the school based committee or child study team shall review the screening
data to identify what can be accomplished in the regular educational program
to address the student's problems. Specifically, the school based committee
should assist the student's teacher in planning and implementing modifications
and adaptations (alternative intervention strategies) which may alleviate
the student's difficulties before the student is referred for a full comprehensive
evaluation. a psychological examiner or school psychologist, a school social worker, the student's regular education teacher(s) if the student is enrolled in a regular education program, other professionals at the discretion of the school administrator. Depending on the suspected disabilities and administrative discretion, other professionals (both internal and external) may be members of particular child study teams. Child study teams shall function in a manner consistent with the current St. Louis Public Schools' Annual Compliance Plan for Special Education, and the Manual of Operations, Screening, Referral, Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Placement of Students with Disabilities and state and federal regulations pertaining to the identification of students with disabilities. Alternative intervention strategies must be in effect for long enough to provide sufficient time to have the desired effect. Also, these efforts must be documented before a child study team shall consider whether a formal evaluation of a student is warranted. Pre-referral activities and conferences for child study teams shall be consistent with procedures explained in the district's current Manual of Operations for the Screening, Referral, Evaluation, Diagnosis and Placement of Disabled Students. Alternative intervention strategies apply to all students suspected of being disabled who are enrolled in the St. Louis Public Schools and private or parochial schools, or state-operated facilities within the district, and to students not yet enrolled in school. Alternative intervention strategies are not normally required for the following: (a) students who are suspected of having a significant impairment (e.g. blind and/or deaf) for which there is medical documentation; (b) when the parent(s)/legal guardian(s) have requested an initial evaluation and the child fails screening in one or more areas; (c) child is a participant in First Steps. Formal Evaluation School-based committees shall conduct comprehensive examinations of a child's functioning related to the suspected disability using multiple procedures which, include, but are not limited to, formal testing. Multi-disciplinary evaluation procedures are to be followed for all candidates for special education services with the exception of single discipline speech and language services. The suspected student with a disability shall be afforded mandated procedural safeguards during the formal evaluation process consistent with the following guidelines: (a) Consent of parent(s)/legal guardian(s) must be obtained before the student is evaluated after proper notice. (b) Assessment tools and strategies must be administered in the student's native language. (c) Assessment tools and strategies must be validated for the purpose for which they are intended. (d) Assessment tools and strategies must be administered by individuals trained in their use. (e) Assessment tools and strategies must measure the student's aptitude and achievement, not just the effects of an impairment of sensory, manual, or communication skills. (f) Assessment tools and strategies must be selected and administered so as not to be discriminatory on a racial or cultural basis. (g) A child shall not be determined to be a child with a disability if the determinant factor is lack of instruction in reading or math or limited English proficiency. Diagnostic Staffing Conference An interdisciplinary meeting concerning a student's current functioning and the presence of a disabling condition will occur to review the information obtained through the screening and diagnostic process. School-based committees are responsible for conducting diagnostic staffings in accordance with procedures set forth in the district's Annual Compliance Plan for Special Education and the Manual of Operations for the Screening, Referral, Evaluation, Diagnosis and Placement of Disabled Students. A student shall be evaluated within forty-five (45) days after parental/legal guardian consent for the evaluation is obtained. The school-based committee shall provide written information related to the existence, nature, and extent of a disability. They shall also provide detailed information on the student's ability to function so that, if the student is found to have a disability, the IEP committee can develop an individual educational plan tailored to the needs of the student. When making a diagnosis of a student with a disability , the school-based committee shall categorize the student's disability(s) according to established eligibility criteria under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The district's categorical eligibility criteria shall be consistent with and not more restrictive than criteria set forth in the state plan for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities, Act As Amended by P.L. 94-142. Categories to be considered are: mental retardation, hearing impairments, speech/language impairments, visual impairments, emotional disturbance/behavior disordered, physically and other health impaired, autism, deaf/blind, multiple disabilities, or traumatic brain injury and, who because of that disability, required special education and related services. Re-evaluation All students assigned to special education programs shall be reevaluated every three (3) years by their IEP teams. Formal assessment may be conducted at any time at the written request of the parent/legal guardian or the IEP team. Parental/legal guardian requests for reevaluations may not exceed one per year.
Legal: P.L. 94-142 Regulation approved: June 26, 1990 Revised: December 07, 1999
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