- Will assist the PAC in providing workshops and presentations to other parents
(n) A description of the fiscal and staff resources that shall be secured or allocated to the Parent Advisory Committee by the ISD to make it effective and efficient in operation.
- The Mason-Lake Intermediate School District Board of Education has approved a budget to accommodate travel and conference expenses for PAC members who attend special conferences and workshops that are approved by the Director of Special Education. Postal expenses and secretarial services are also approved and available to the Parent Advisory Committee. The Mason-Lake ISD also provides for a meeting room for all PAC meetings and workshops.
ADDITIONAL PLAN CONTENT:
1. Because the Mason-Lake ISD covers a large geographic area with a relatively small but widely scattered population base, low incidence and diverse ages dictate that classroom programs for students in low incidence programs, such as classroom programs for SXI, Severely CI, and Moderately CI students, have an expanded age range as allowed under Rule 340.1733(d).
2. Programming of the more severely handicapped is provided by center programs available to the local districts for student placement, such as Moderately CI, Severe CI,
SXI, and ECDD. In these programs, students spend a majority of their time in a special
education placement with less time spent in general education. The Mason-Lake ISD
also provides two elementary and two secondary CI programs for students with
moderate cognitive impairment. The Mason-Lake ISD also provides one ECDD
program and one EI program.
3. Progress reports for each student receiving homebound and/or hospitalized services will be determined by each student’s IEP Team and indicated within the IEP.
4. Surrogate Parents. The Mason-Lake Intermediate School District will abide by the State Board of Education Policy for the Appointment of Surrogate Parents in those instances when the parent (s) or legal guardian (s) of a child, with a known or suspected disability, cannot be identified or located. Surrogate parents will be a recognized part of the Individualized Educational Program form.
o Verification Procedure. If no parent or legal guardian can be identified to represent the interest of a suspected or known disabled person under the age of 18, a surrogate parent will be appointed. If there is a conflict related to whether a child is in need of a surrogate or if there is a question as to the existence of a conflict of interest associated with the proposed surrogate parent, such matters must be determined on a case by case basis.
o Development of Surrogate Pool, Appointment Procedures, and Financial Considerations: For students who are wards of the court or state, the agency having responsibility for the general care of the student has the responsibility to appoint a surrogate parent conforming to the requirements of the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). If the agency responsible for the general care is also responsible for the special education of the child, then that agency again would appoint a surrogate. If the public agency responsible for the general care of the child is different from the public agency that provides the special education then the agency responsible for the special education shall appoint the surrogate parent. The Mason-Lake ISD assures the development and maintenance of a pool of surrogates with knowledge of special education programs, services, and procedures. The Mason-Lake ISD will provide training in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Education. The ISD will reimburse the trainees for mileage expenses. The ISD Parent Advisory Committee members will serve in that capacity on a volunteer basis when no person such as a grandparent, stepparent, or permanent foster parent is available and willing to serve in such a capacity.
o Role and Function of the Surrogate Parent-Confidentiality: The surrogate parent may represent the child in all matters relating to the identification, evaluation, and educational placement of the child and the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child.
o Change, Revocation, or Termination of Parent Surrogacy: Change, revocation, or termination of parent surrogacy can take place in the following situations: (a) parent is identified or located, (b) public agency initiates a change, or (c) surrogate requests a change.
5. Each local district is encouraged to follow the following pre-referral “flow chart”. However, all parties will be informed of their right to initiate a direct referral for special education services at any time. No pre-referral procedures shall circumvent or delay the referral process.
6. Special Education personnel who are authorized to conduct evaluations of students suspected of being handicapped may provide pre-referral consultation to regular education personnel in accordance with procedures established by the Michigan Department of Education.
7. The Mason-Lake ISD area utilizes a parent, school team meeting as a starting point for most referrals. This meeting is called an Educational Planning Meeting (EPM); which is a regular education meeting and procedure. Once teachers, administrators, and parents feel that they have exhausted regular education programming alternatives and wish to proceed to a meeting with the parents, principal, and special education diagnostic specialists, an EPM may be scheduled. During that meeting referring persons have an opportunity to discuss their reasons for wanting to make a referral and review the interventions they and other regular education school personnel have employed for what is usually a minimum of 30 school days. Parent input is secured at that time. Typically, a school psychologist, teacher consultant, speech and language provider, etc. (depending on the type of concerns and the nature of the referral) have an opportunity to participate. One possible outcome of the EPM is for the staff and parents to either continue with current regular education interventions or develop new alternatives within the regular education realm. The other possible outcome of the EPM is for the team to agree that a referral for special education is warranted. At that point in time parents are provided with a copy of the Mason-Lake ISD “Parent Rights Handbook”, which includes their procedural safeguards. Then, the parent, regular education teacher, and/or principal complete and sign an initial referral for special education services form. Once the referral is completed and signed, the EPM may proceed to filling out an Evaluation Review as long as the required IEP Team members (district representative, regular education teacher, special education teacher, and evaluation representative) are present. If the required IEP Team members are not present, then a separate Evaluation Review Meeting must be scheduled. The IEP Team completes the Evaluation Review form. On that form, the IEP Team must consider the required sources of information listed on the Evaluation Review form. Next, the IEP Team decides what evaluations and assessments are needed to address the four questions listed on the Evaluation Review form. Parents are a part of this discussion and process, and are encouraged to provide input. Once the Evaluation Review has been completed, parents are asked to sign in agreement or disagreement, and check additional boxes indicating that the parents have been given the opportunity for input; and have been informed of their due process rights and procedures. The date of this signature begins the time lines for processing special education referrals. Referrals for students suspected of being handicapped will not be delayed or circumvented by any general education pre-referral process.
8. Rule 340.1713 states that an IEP Team may determine that a child has a special learning disability if the child has a “severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in 1 or more areas” listed in the rule. For initial evaluations, the Mason-Lake ISD defines a severe discrepancy as 20 points difference between a student’s IQ or intellectual quotient obtained on a standardized test of intellectual functioning (reported as a standard score) and standard scores obtained on standardized tests of academic achievement. Additionally, the Mason-Lake ISD utilizes a regression model for determining IQ standard scores. The regression model adjusts the actual IQ score closer to the mean, or average, to take into account the statistical correlation between IQ and achievement.
9. All constituent local school districts, public school academies and the ISD must use the Initial Referral form, Parent Referral form, Evaluation Review form, Transfer Student form, MET cover sheet forms, IEP forms, Transition form, Manifestation Determination form, Interim Alternative Educational Setting form, and Procedural Safeguards developed by the Mason-Lake ISD. The Mason-Lake ISD assures that all these forms meet the notification and consent requirements of Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education and IDEA regulations. None of these above forms can be modified or changed by the local school districts.
The Mason-Lake ISD has also developed pre-referral forms, parent invitation forms, release of information forms, etc., that may be used by the local school districts. However, if a local school district modifies or develops their own version of these forms and letters, they must have those forms and letters approved by the Mason-Lake ISD Coordinator of Planning and Monitoring and Data Collection to ensure compliance.
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FEDERAL AND STATE REGULATIONS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION: Dick is the person to contact when there are questions about Special Education Federal or State Rules and Regulations.
Please click on this following link to take you to the Michigan Department of Education website.
http://www.michigan.gov/mde/1,1607,7-140-5235_6785_7376---,00.htm
LINK TO PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS for Parents:
MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION: Office of Special Education and Early Intervention Services
http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-5235_6785_6786---,00.html
SPECIAL EDUCATION: Workshops and Training:
Contact Dick to find out more about special education workshops and training sessions. Dick is willing to set up a workshop or training at any time and place within the Mason-Lake ISD area for any of the following:
- Parents
- Foster Parents
- Teachers
- Administrators
- Classroom Aides
- Community Agencies
Do you have any questions? Concerns?
If any parent, teacher, administrator, or other person has a question or concern they should contact Dick. He will attempt to answer the questions and solve any concerns. Contacting Dick is the one of the first steps that parents should do when they have questions or concerns. Dick has a long history of helping parents and usually can get an answer or solve a problem quickly.
Complaint Process:
If your concerns cannot be resolved at this level, you may file a formal complaint by contacting Dick. He will assist you in this process in his role as the ISD Complaint Investigator.
The following is a link to the Michigan Department of Education Complaint Procedures: (you will need Adobe Acrobat to open) http://www.michigan.gov/eMI/Agency/CDA/agy_CDA_Frame/1,1630,7-140-5235_6785_7363-17192--,00.html?frameURL=/documents/MDE-P6_2000-10_ComplaintProcedures_9921_7.pdf
Contacting Dick Bourgault:
Dick can be reached at the following:
Dick has a website that deals with rules, regulations, procedures, and workshops. You can click on the following to take you to this site.
http://www3.eboard.com/eboard/servlet/BoardServlet?ACTION=BOARD_SHOW&SITE_NAME=Destination&BOARD_NAME=stolenpeaches
You can also access this site by going to www.eboard.com. When you get there, just type in "stolenpeaches" as the password.