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The purpose of this handbook is to explain the procedures and the practices Special Services has to offer . This handbook addresses many frequently asked questions and areas of concern that arise throughout the school year. Additional requests for information or questions may be directed toward the student's case manager, the Program Supervisor, or the Director of Special Services.
Individualized Education Plan
Students who receive Special Education Services have been evaluated by the school district and found to be eligible for special education services according to the federal law, IDEA, and Illinois State Board of Education procedural guidelines. In accordance with IDEA, all eligible students have Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).
A student’s IEP states:
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The present level of performance and how it affects them in the general education curriculum.
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The annual goals and the short-term objectives that are necessary to enable the student to benefit from their education. In addition, it states how these goals and objectives will be measured and reported to the student’s parents.
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The special education services, related services, and supplementary services that the student requires to benefit from their public school education. It states the dates such services are to begin and the frequency, location, and duration of the services.
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The accommodations and modifications the student requires to succeed in the general education curriculum.
Special Education services are provided in accordance with each student’s IEP. The school district is obliged by federal laws to develop and to implement an IEP with obtainable goals to ensure the student will benefit from a public school education. The IEP is not a guarantee that the student will receive specific letter grades or grade point averages or that a student will receive credit for all academic courses attempted at the high school.
Case Management Responsibilities
Each student receiving Special Education services is assigned a case manager. Generally, the student’s case manager is the special education teacher who is seen throughout the week. The student’s case manager will contact the parents during the first few weeks of school to identify themselves and to answer any questions the parent may have about their child's IEP or schedule.
The case manager’s responsibilities are to:
- Implement and evaluate the annual goals and objectives of their student's IEP.
- Provide an explanation of their student's IEP to parents and other teachers.
- Provide instruction toward the achievement of the goals in their student’s IEP.
- Assist in making the IEP accommodations which are necessary for students to benefit from their courses by providing written copies of IEP accommodations to general education teachers.
- Regularly communicate with each student’s parents and other school staff as necessary to implement the student’s IEP.
- Grade the student in the Learning Resource Program (LRP)/Teaching Appropriate Behavior Program (TAB) (CREDIT/NO CREDIT). If requested by the student’s other teachers, assist them in evaluating (grading) the student’s academic performance in their courses.
- Grade the student in self-contained academic courses (letter grade).
- Develop study and test-taking strategies for individual students.
- Provide an understandable explanation to the student of their disabling condition and discuss ways to cope with the disability in various settings.
- Conduct informal parent conferences, IEP meetings, and Annual Reviews.
Student/Parent/Guardian Responsibilities
The students in Special Education will:
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Be treated fairly and given equal opportunity to receive an appropriate education based on their IEP.
- Receive a complete explanation of their IEP accommodations.
- Receive assistance and/or guidance from their case manager in matters relating to their education and success in school.
- Communicate their academic difficulties to their case manager as soon as possible.
- Be honest with others regarding their educational abilities and difficulties.
- Put forth their best work effort in all of their courses.
- Follow all school rules.
- Make a sincere effort toward meeting the goals of their IEP.
- Bring coursework and assignment books to their scheduled LRP/TAB resource classes each school day.
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Attend stuffings/meeting that concern their education.
Parents/guardians of students receiving special education have:
- All the rights set forth in the federal law IDEA as amended in 2004.
- A right to request a parent conference with their student’s case manager, or an IEP meeting with the Program Supervisor.
- A right to expect a timely response to their inquiries, concerns, and requests for information and assistance in understanding their student’s IEP and school schedule.
Special Education Services
The services that students receive are designed to assist academic performance and progress that are written in their IEP. The students case manager, with the assistance from the student's teachers, implement and evaluate the IEP. The case manager also serves as the contact person for parents/guardians and other faculty.
When in the resource room students are not limited to working with only their case manager to accomplish the goals of their IEP. They may receive assistance from any available staff member. If students need additional assistance, they may utilize any or all of the following resources: the IRC, the Write Place, regular education teachers, guidance counselors, the special education transition planner, and the college counseling office.
Many activities take place in the resource rooms to assist students in meeting the goals of their IEP. These activities include, but are not limited to:
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Review respective IEP goals with each student periodically throughout the school year.
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Instruct students in organizational, study, and test-taking skills.
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Assist students in applying skills to their actual daily course work and homework assignments.
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Work with students to gain an understanding of their learning strengths and weaknesses.
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Provide strategies to improve their ability to cope with these difficulties.
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Help students understand the accommodations written in their IEP and assist them in accessing these accommodations.
The Learning Resources Program
The eligibility and placement of students into the Learning Resource Program (LRP) is determined at an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meeting. The purpose of the LRP is to implement goals so that students may:
- Complete the graduation requirements of Vernon Hills High School.
- Become independent by learning study skills and applying them to daily coursework and assignments.
- Become a self-advocate within the school setting.
- Be able to achieve placement in the student’s post-secondary site of choice.
Students in the LRP display a variety of learning characteristics. Many of these students exhibit a discrepancy between their intellectual ability and their academic achievement. Frustration and disorganization sometimes lead to a lack of motivation, behavioral problems, or minimal success within mainstream classes. The LRP attempts to bridge student learning styles and traits with regular education classes and to foster academic progress.
The LRP meets student’s special educational needs by providing services through:
- LRP classes are a resource room which is a regularly scheduled course attended by students daily for one fifty-minute class period. Students are taught study and test taking strategies and are assisted in applying them to actual course work. It is not a study hall, and for the most part, students will not be able to complete all school assignments without additional study time at home. Students will receive a .5 credit per semester and a grade of CREDIT or NO CREDIT for the course.
- Self-Contained Academic Courses are taught in English, Geography, Government, Mathematics, Science Skills, Consumer Education, Current Events, Critical Reading, and United States History. Self-contained academic courses follow the goals and objectives of similar general education courses. These courses are taught by special education teachers and class sizes are limited to allow each student to receive individual instruction. Students receive a .5 credit per semester and a letter grade for these courses.
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Consultation is for students who do not require the LRP on a daily basis and who have demonstrated an ability to progress in school with little or no assistance from a special education teacher. Consultation students are assigned an LRP teacher. This teacher monitors their grades, course accommodations, and IEP (when applicable).
For some special education students, a combination of LRP classes and Self-contained courses are appropriate for meeting their educational needs.
Educational Specialist Program
The Educational Specialist provides one-to-one services to students and offers them the opportunity to remain totally in their regular education program while receiving the special education support they need. The specialist serves as a support to district staff and parents. They maintain consistent, ongoing communication with their students' parents/guardians. The Educational Specialist serves as a liaison between the students, their families and school personnel.
Teaching Appropriate Behaviors (TAB) Program
This program provides a positive structure for students with behavior/emotional disorders. The goal of the program is to provide a structured setting that focuses on instruction, behavioral expectations, guidance toward the completion of a high school diploma, and preparation for appropriate post high school options. Courses in this program will be offered on an as needed basis, in accordance with the students IEP and may not be available every year.
Speech-Language Program
The Speech-Language Pathologist provides services to students with deficits in articulation, language, fluency, and voice. Approximately 98% of the students receiving speech and language services at the high school level have difficulty processing receptive and expressive language in their primary language, English. They have trouble understanding what is being said to them and/or formulating responses and explanations. IEP goals focus on supporting the curriculum as well as targeting functional communication.
Educational Life Skills Program (ELSP)
The Educational Life Skills program serves students with a range of mild to moderate to severe cognitive disabilities and/or physical disabilities including Down Syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and others. The students receive training in independent living which includes personal health, hygiene, cooking, and problem solving. The curriculum also includes functional academics such as reading community words, telling time, and using money. The class participates in frequent community outings to assist them in generalizing these skills. Eligible students receive speech and language, social work, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and prevocational training services. The focus of the program is to build as much independence as possible and provide them with the skills necessary to live and work in the community.
Accommodations
The purpose of IEP accommodations is to remove barriers to a student's success in appropriately selected general education courses. An appropriately selected course is one for which a student has the entry level thinking skills and language skills, but may not have all the performance skills necessary to complete the course successfully.
Students with accommodations written in their IEP are encouraged by teachers to use them in their courses. Despite this encouragement, students occasionally choose not to take advantage of all their accommodations. This may adversely affect their academic success in some courses. Please encourage your child to use IEP accommodations and contact their case manager if there are questions about how to effectively use these accommodations.
Many special education students have testing accommodations written into their IEP. These accommodations may be for extended time to take a test or for a test to be read aloud to the student. These accommodations may require arrangement of a separate classroom or for another teacher to proctor the exam. Students are directed to give their general education and case manager at least one day notice before a test so that appropriate arrangements may be made. When students come to the resource room to take a test, they are to check in with a special education teacher prior to beginning.
Many general education teacher will make testing accommodations, especially for extended time, in their own classrooms. This is often preferable to students taking their tests in the resource room, because the teacher is available to answer any questions students may have about the test. General education teachers providing testing accommodations in their classroom are in compliance with the IEP.
A great deal of time is necessary to coordinate classrooms, teachers, tests, and test readers during the final exam period. In order to meet the requirements of administering many different exams to students who are eligible for testing accommodations within the resource room, students will be directed two weeks prior to final exam to sign up for a time in the resource room to take each of their exams.
Progress Reports
Progress reports are sent out by case managers to students' teachers at least four times each semester. Reports are shared with students and filed in the case manager's cumulative file. Copies of the reports are mailed to students' parents/guardians.
There is a period of several days from the time progress reports are requested from teachers to the time the copies are sent home. Therefore, the progress reports should be used as an indication of how a student is doing in a class at a given time. The progress report is not a guarantee of the grade a student will earn for the course.
Parents who have any questions or concerns regarding the information on the reports are encouraged to contact the case manager or the general education teacher. Parents who would like to be updated more frequently should first check PASS before contacting the case manager or teacher.
Grading of Special Education Regular Classes
After IEP accommodations have been provided to students, they will be graded in the same way as other students in a course unless the student's IEP specifies a modified grading system be developed. Despite the efforts of the student's case manager, there may be instances when a student fails a course. This may happen for a variety of reasons; for example
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The student may not be fully utilizing available IEP accommodations.
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The student may not be utilizing their resource room time, applying effective study skills, completing homework assignments, or setting aside enough time to review for quizzes and tests.
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The course itself may be very challenging for the student, or the student may have inappropriately taken the course against the advice of their guidance counselor.
If at any time you have concerns about how your child is progressing in a course or about the appropriateness of selected courses, please contact your child's case manager or teacher.
Transition
Transition is the process of preparing a student for a post secondary setting, (e.g. work site, job training, community college, or university). The transition coordinator will be working with the special education students to help them develop their individual transition plan.
Student Handbook/Behavior
Unless there is a specific behavioral component in the IEP, special education students are expected to follow the rules and disciplinary procedures listed in the District 128 Student Handbook. The handbook can also be used as an assignment notebook.
ACT Examinations
The ACT exam will be administered twice during the school year with special accommodations. Once in the fall semester and again in the spring semester. Students who apply to take the ACT will be notified by mail about test dates, locations, and procedures for registering for the test. The ACT Exam Board makes final determination of eligibility for special testing and test locations.
Homework
Students in District 128 should expect an average of two hours of homework a day. Students will also have "implied homework," which is not specifically assigned, but should be done. Case managers will regularly remind students to do "implied homework."
"Implied homework" would include activities such as outlining chapters, rewriting class notes, or reviewing course handouts and teacher provided notes. One period a day in resource will not be enough time for students to do all of their homework and to review their course work for quizzes and tests. Students should be encouraged to have a regular study time at home each day and to use their time in resource to get help with specific questions or assignments. A natural consequence of not completing homework is possibly failing the class.
Teacher and Parent Expectations
It is easier for teachers and parents to work together if we can begin with the same reasonable expectations for student success.
Generally speaking, those students who benefit most from their education and make consistent progress in their academic skills, self-advocacy skills, and independence are those who take an active part in their education. An active learner is one who uses special education assistance and IEP accommodations to gradually increase their initiative in seeking help independently. It is our hope that this program can provide some tools to overcome learning and organizational challenges.
Motivation
Many parents express the hope that teachers will be able to motivate their student to work harder and to apply themselves more completely to their academic studies. Unfortunately, there is no quick and easy answer to reaching students who are unmotivated. As teachers, we hope that students will feel a sense of accomplishment on assignments or projects in which they perform well, in turn leading to further success. The teaching staff will make every effort to help the students meet their IEP goals and to experience success in their courses.
Student Perceptions of LRP
Occasionally there are students who are reluctant to be in special services or to make use of its services. The special education staff will try to help when some of these students' anxieties by raising their awareness of their individual learning abilities and educational needs. In addition, efforts will be made to increase confidence and motivation by providing strategies and skills to cope with their educational needs. Students will be encouraged to think of special education as an opportunity to become a better student. It is an opportunity we hope all of our students will use to their greatest advantage.
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