Children who are Eligible for Special Education
Language from the Implementation Manual: Local districts may determine, through the IEP team that
the GSRP is the least restrictive environment for children who qualify for special education services. A
child may be placed in a GSRP classroom in two ways:
1. By qualifying for GSRP and receiving additional ECSE services
2. Through the blending of programs and braiding of GSRP and ECSE funding.
In any case, the IEP team should have representation of parents and the GSRP teacher as it considers the
following questions:
 Do all parties feel that the IEP fully meets the child's needs?
 Does the IEP declare the GSRP as the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)?
 Was the GSRP teacher a part of the IEP team?
 Are consultation meetings between special education staff and the GSRP teaching team written
into the IEP?
 Can the child’s needs for special services be met in the context of GSRP?
 What additional support or accommodations will be necessary so the child can participate fully
in the activities and environment of GSRP?
 What percent of children in the classroom have IEPs? Individual classroom needs and resources
are taken into consideration, such as the variety and degree of disability as well as adult/child
ratio in a classroom. Best practice for inclusive classrooms limits the percentage of children with
IEPs to no more than 25 percent.
Planning for a child to attend both part-day GSRP and part-day ECSE, is not typically supported. If
discussed as a possibility, there are many additional considerations. Transition between programs is
critical to consider. Is it in the child's best interests to participate in two programs, possibly with
different facilities, staff, peers, routines, behavior, and academic expectations? Could the child's needs
be met with placement into GSRP and special education services occurring in a play-based setting,
within the GSRP classroom? If the child transfers each day between programs, how are his/her lunch
and rest period accomplished?
Guidance: Oakland Schools in partnership with its subrecipients has reviewed the requirements in the
Implementation Manual. In addition to following MDE requirements, Oakland Schools requires
subrecipients to consider the issues, clarifications, principles, considerations, and recommendations
outlined below.
Procedure: All subrecipients will review the issues, clarifications, and recommendations below to ensure
compliance with both MDE and Oakland Schools
1. Utilization of early childhood special education teacher to be early childhood specialists in
GSRP programs
 If special education personnel are used as early childhood specialists, the percentage of
their time used as a specialist (using the MDE formula that 15 classrooms = 1FTE) cannot
be paid by special education funds.
These materials were developed under a grant
awarded by the Michigan Department of Education.
Page 1
2. The School Aid Act stipulates that a child with an IEP which recommends a placement in an
inclusive preschool environment will be considered for GSRP programs as if they had the
greatest level of poverty.
Clarifications:



This only applies to children who are age eligible for GSRP (year before kindergarten)
This only applies to children who should be fully enrolled in GSRP for the entire length of the
session.
A district may receive both GSRP and Special Education funding for a child with an IEP who is
fully enrolled in a GSRP program and receiving services under Michigan Rule 340.1755.
Principles:




The decision on whether a child with an IEP is placed in GSRP should be based on what is
best for the child and not on what is easiest/preferred for any of the adults involved.
Placement should be based on needs of child and not what kind of service needed.
Special education services necessary to meet the goals of the child will be provided within
the context of the GSRP program.
If a child with an IEP who is in a GSRP classroom requires additional adult support in the
classroom, such support should be provided by Special Education. (Special Education funds
can be used to provide adult support for a child with an IEP.)
Considerations:



IEP teams need to consider if an inclusive placement is necessary for the child to receive
FAPE. Districts need to be aware that a placement in GSRP is NOT guaranteed. GSRP may
be full or not work for another reason. Districts need to provide what is on the IEP
regardless of whether GSRP is available or not. In other words, if an IEP requires services in
an inclusive placement, the district is responsible for providing that, whether GSRP is
available or not.
Children with IEPs recommending an inclusive placement are considered for (not
guaranteed) a GSRP placement. Children who live in households at 50% of poverty level,
who are homeless, or who are in a foster placement are also considered at this same level.
If there are not enough GSRP placements for all children at this same level of consideration,
additional risk factors (as defined by MDE) need to be considered when determining who
will be placed in GSRP.
Typically, if an IEP offers ECSE Services (R340.1755), one could assume that the child would
receive services in an inclusive environment. This may indicate that GSRP is an appropriate
placement but the district must understand what kinds of children benefit from such
placements and make the decision based on child rather than adult factors.
o Further clarification regarding the use of rule 340.1755 and GSRP
 A child may be eligible for GSRP due to low household income, being a
foster child, or being homeless (this is regardless of IEP). In such case, a
child could receive ancillary services (such as 340.1745 speech services)
within the GSRP program. However, if a child’s IEP team recommends an
inclusive placement on the IEP, a child may be considered for GSRP
regardless of household income. Oakland Schools has provided guidance
These materials were developed under a grant
awarded by the Michigan Department of Education.
Page 2

that an IEP which offers ECSE Services (340.1755) is recommending an
inclusive placement, therefore, these children may receive their ECSE
Services in a GSRP program and be considered at the highest level of need
for GSRP. It is important to note that an IEP which offers 340.1755 does not
guarantee placement into GSRP and a school district would need to be
prepared to provide the ECSE services in another preschool program if GSRP
was already full. If the IEP team recommends speech services only
(340.1745), this is not indicative of needing an ECSE teacher to supervise the
content of the instruction, thereby, indicating that the child would not
require an inclusive preschool program as a component of FAPE. If an IEP
team identifies an ECSE Program (340.1754) that means that the team
believes the child requires specialized instruction for the bulk of his or her
day. This would also not be a GSRP placement.
Districts need to be prudent in considering how to utilize GSRP placements.
3. Preschool children, including those in GSRP, are to receive Child Find and Special Education
Services in their district of residence. Some children, however, attend GSRP across district or
even across county line.
Recommendations:
 Oakland County children who have IEPS and attend GSRP in another Oakland
County district should receive services from the district where the GSRP is
located.
 Children who attend GSRP in districts where they do not reside and are
recommended for Special Education evaluations should be evaluated in their
home districts.
 If Oakland County resident children receive IEPs during the course of GSRP, they
should be served by the program they are attending if it is school based. If they
are in a community based program, the resident school district should provide
services.
 If non Oakland County resident children receive IEPS during the course of GSRP,
they should be treated as K-12 students who receive IEPs while attending
Oakland County schools. The school can purchase services such as VI and HI
from Oakland Schools. Children with high incidence disabilities may need to be
dis-enrolled and returned to the county of residence.
These materials were developed under a grant
awarded by the Michigan Department of Education.
Page 3