Special Education FACTS and FAQs
Office of Institutional Education Programs
FACTS:
 Required IEP team membership includes:
 1 general education teacher
 1 special education teacher
 Administrator (Document any alternate method) (Ex: phone)
 The Student (when considering post-secondary goals/transition)
* See Policy 2419
 Services listed on the Service Page of an IEP must be provided to students as
written. If you have a different schedule for summer session, you will need to:
1) Contact parents
2) Discuss changes for summer
3) Document changes on amendment page
4) Document initiation date & duration date
5) Mail documentation to parents (as determined through conference and marked on amendment page)
 If a student is NOT of transition age, you do NOT have to complete the
Transition page.
 OIEP schools will select “NO” within the ESY section of the IEP.
(No additional explanation is necessary)
 The Woodcock Johnson is an Achievement Test which can provide data that
we use at Eligibility meetings. It would be appropriate to mention results from
this test in the Present Level statements, but should NOT be listed under the
Summative or Formative Assessment Sections.
 “Present Levels” is the place where you document student strengths, needs
and weaknesses. This section should be well written and provide a clear,
global picture of how the student is functioning.
 If an accommodation is deemed necessary for testing and listed on the
Statewide Assessment page, one would expect to see the same “modification”
listed within Part VI Services: Section “A” as being necessary for success in
the General Education Environment. (Be specific – Unit/Summative tests)
 When a student with an IEP exits special education (via graduation or age-out),
it is the responsibility of the special education teacher to have the student
access and complete the exit interview at: http://wvde.state.wv.us/osp/Transition/20082009surveys.html
* Exit Interviews can be completed online or printed & mailed.
* When possible, have parents complete parent survey.
 A major area of concern is reporting progress. Each school needs to
determine the “How” and “When” of progress reporting, then develop a
plan/process for providing it. One suggestion would be to set the last day of
the month as the day to report progress. Reporting Progress includes the
following steps: Enter the Student Progress Code, record the date and get a
copy to the appropriate person. (A copy of the goal page with mastery documented is a sufficient progress report)
*** (Remember, OIEP does not use nor report Mastery Codes, as they are for ESY determination).
FAQs:
1.
How current does documentation have to be for Other Health Impaired (OHI)
eligibility or reevaluation?
Best practice – get the most current documentation possible (within one year)
Minimum requirement – MUST have a written diagnosis from a licensed physician regardless of date on
written documentation
2.
What about offering related services in the summer (for 220 and 240-day facilities)?
All services must be provided for the entire school term (regardless of 200, 220 or 240-day calendar) as
described in the IEP, unless a student is dismissed from a related service and no longer requires that service.
This may require a school/facility to contract with a different provider for the summer months.
3.
Can a special education student refuse a testing accommodation listed on the
IEP (especially for WESTEST 2?
A student under the age of 18 cannot refuse an IEP accommodation. The IEP Team needs to determine
appropriate accommodations. If the student is adamantly opposed and is not regularly receiving this
accommodation (on all tests) then the team might consider its effectiveness (given the student’s lack of
cooperation). The IEP Team can choose to remove this accommodation from the IEP. The purpose of the
accommodation is to get the best results possible for each student. (Assessment results should not be discounted.)
4.
How are OIEP facilities classified for LRE purposes?
All DJS facilities are considered Correctional…LRE Code 9 on the IEP.
Other schools serving both general education and special education students use LRE Codes 0, 1 or 2
(General Education Full-Time, General Education Part-Time or Special Education Separate Class).
Potomac Center LRE will be determined on an individual basis (based on % of time in public school vs. PC)
50%+ at Potomac Center = (6) Special Education: Residential Facility
5.
What if the student’s Eligibility Committee Report is not included in the records?
It is Acceptable to print out the WVEIS eligibility to include in the special education file.
6.
What if we know that some of the WVEIS information is not accurate?
Verify to determine the correct student information and contact the central office. We can correct it.
7.
What if an IEP service page states that a student will receive speech services;
however, the provider is a county employee who is on summer vacation?
In our OIEP/year-round schools, services listed must be provided through the summer.

8.
Solution: Write services as Minutes/Month to allow flexibility in service provider scheduling.
What if we don’t have access to a student’s Summative or Formative
Assessment data?
Document reason the assessment sections are blank. (Ex: NO SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT DATA)
(Ex: Student dropped-out and has returned)
9.
What if a parent (or adult student) requests to be dismissed from special
education and/or stop receiving special education services?
This would be considered a request to revoke consent and would need to be initiated through a written
statement declaring a desire to be removed from special education and no longer receive special ed. services
(signature required).
An appropriate response would be to suggest a conference or a time to meet and discuss the ramifications of
such a decision. (They need to understand that once dismissed, in order to re-gain special education services,
the student would have to go through the entire special education process.
You would then provide Prior Written Notice, complete with as much documentation as you can collect that
would explain the consequences of revoking consent. After sending PWN, there would be 10 days to change
their mind.
No meeting necessary. The WVEIS code for this scenario would be 35.
10. What steps are required when a student with an IEP graduates from our school
(or ages out of special education)?
You will need to complete a Summary of Performance and Exit surveys (available on-line or paper/pencil).
For exit surveys, visit http://wvde.state.wv.us/osp/Transition/20082009surveys.html (on-line or paper/pencil
versions available).
NOTE:
If the graduating/exiting student has an IEP and/or EC that expires in May,
(1 month prior to graduation or exit) you do not need to write a new IEP or EC.)
* If the IEP/EC dates are earlier than May (of the year of graduation/exit) we will need to
establish EC and/or develop an IEP.
11. When writing an IEP in the spring (for the following year), do you write with
current grade level CSOs in mind (since the IEP will be in effect for the
remainder of the year, or do you write it with the following grade level CSOs in
mind (since that is a longer amount of time for usage)?
One thing is for sure… you can write broad goals that apply to “grade level content” and then the grade
of the student becomes less important; however, the answer to this question is not black and white and
will vary from one student to the next. Decisions should be made on a case by case basis.
12. If a student who is about to exit special education (via graduation or age-out)
and their EC/IEP are due in May, what do you do?
The rule of thumb is May! If the IEP and/or EC are due in May, and you are sure the student is going to
graduate/exit, you simply need to complete a Summary of Performance. Expiration dates prior to May
require the appropriate paperwork to be completed.
13. Do we have to send Prior Written Notice if a parent attends the IEP
meeting in person or via conference call?
Currently, Prior Written Notice (PWN) must be sent after all meetings without exception, regardless of
parent participation.
14. How will the service page allow for a summer schedule that is different
than the rest of the school year (for which the IEP was written)?
In preparation of a “different” summer schedule, you will need to contact the parents and explain the
difference. This phone-obtained parental agreement should be documented on the Amendment page
along with a description of the schedule variations. (Remember to take care of this at least 10 days prior
to summer session to allow for due process… Initiation date should be the first day of summer term date and
you need to document the duration as the date of the last day of the summer term). In this process, no parent
signature or PWN is required.
** The only other way to handle this would be to write the variations in summer term service into the
IEP initially… which would only make sense if you knew the student would be with you through the
summer term.