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The Rochester Public Schools Special Education Advisory Council (SEAC) developed this
Parent Guidebook for Special Education in collaboration with the Rochester Public
Schools Student Support Services Department. It is designed to help parents of children who have special needs become better advocates for their children.
This guidebook is written for parents by parents who have children in special education in the Rochester Public Schools. It is designed for parents to learn how the special education process works within the district.
This guidebook has information to help parents be active participants in their child’s special education programming and planning. Parents are encouraged to use this information to take an active role in planning with the school team for their child’s education. All children benefit when their parents participate in their education.
Please direct questions about the guidebook to the Rochester School’s Offices of Student
507-328-4310. Or find more information on the Web at: http://www.rochester.k12.mn.us/se3bin/clientgenie.cgi?schoolname=school85&statusFlag
=goGenie&geniesite=225 .
The Rochester School District’s Student Support Services supervisors are listed on pages
16-17 in this guidebook. The Interim Director of Student Support Services is Karla
Bollesen, who is located at the Edison Building, 615 Seventh St. S.W., Rochester, MN
55902, 507-328-4310; or e-mail at kabollesen@rochester.k12.mn.us
.
The purpose of Special Education Advisory Council is to advise the Student Support Services Director and District administration in the area of special education. It provides a forum for discussion of district, local, state and national programs and policies that affect special education services. SEAC also provides input and recommendation regarding special education services. The council establishes and implements annual goals and provides information and education on special education topics.
The Rochester School Board established SEAC in 1980.
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If you are just beginning to work within the special education system, know that there are a variety of people and organizations that can provide you with assistance. SEAC is one of those organizations. Members of SEAC are parents of children receiving special education services in the Rochester district, along with representatives of local organizations that work with students with special needs.
Your child may be young and just starting in the school system or perhaps you have moved from another district and want to learn about what is offered in Rochester. This manual is written to help you learn what is and will be happening to your child. The more you know the more you can work with the school personnel and help your child succeed.
Every child in the system has a unique set of strengths and needs. Children who qualify for special education services are served under an Individualized Education Program (IEP), which is jointly created by you, the parents, with your child’s educators. The IEP’s purpose is to explain the services the child will receive at school. The IEP designates the school’s roles and responsibilities for educating your child so it is important to understand the IEP process and be able to work with the school staff. Students will work with their teachers, and possibly other staff including physical, speech and occupational therapists. They may have assistance from the district’s paraprofessionals to help them throughout their day.
This book is organized to take you through the typical process of an IEP so you feel comfortable with the process and then help your child get the best possible education.
Anyone may request that a student to be assessed for special education services. It could be the child’s doctor, a teacher who sees him/her struggling, parents or school personnel. If it appears that a student may need special education services, a request — called a referral
— is best understood if put in writing. A referral is a formal process for reviewing information about students who are suspected of having a disability and show signs of potentially needing special education and/or related services. It includes reviewing pre-referral intervention results and other information to determine the need for a comprehensive educational evaluation.
For children age birth to 3, referrals are made to Rochester Intake Team (RIT) at (507)
287-1679. The RIT includes the Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Program
Lead, ECSE Supervisor, a private provider representative, a county social worker, a Public
Health Nurse and a parent advocate. It is the responsibility of RIT to receive and process referrals for children birth through 2 years of age who have developmental concerns. The team meets on a weekly basis to discuss new referrals. If an evaluation is needed it must be completed within 45 calendar days of the date the referral is received.
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For children age 3 to 5, but not yet in kindergarten, students are referred to Melissa Stenke,
Rochester School’s Early Childhood Special Education Program Lead at 507-328-4100; or e-mail at mestenke@rochester.k12.mn.us
.
For children older than 5 (school age), referrals typically begin with your school setting.
Once a referral has been made, the building’s Child Study Team (CST) begins the process.
The Child Study Team, which is comprised of a number of educational professionals, may include a building administrator, regular education teacher(s), special education teacher(s), school psychologist, and other support staff. The Child Study Team will review the response to the two interventions and decide whether or not to conduct a formal educational evaluation.
Before a student is referred for a special education assessment, the district must conduct and document at least two instructional strategies, alternatives or interventions while he/she is in the regular classroom. Pre-referral interventions are planned, systematic efforts by regular education staff to resolve an apparent learning or behavioral problems. The team also decides which areas of suspected disability will be evaluated.
The referral is the starting point of the special education process. It does not necessarily mean the student has a disability — it is the first step in determining if educational concerns are due to a disability.
Before the evaluation can begin, parents must give written consent for their child to be evaluated.
For an overview of the special education process, beginning with the request for an evaluation, the Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights (PACER) offers the download http://www.fape.org/pubs/FAPE-10.pdf
. PACER is a nonprofit organization that provides families with valuable information on special education laws and services and is based on the concept of parents helping parents.
Before your child receives special education services, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEiA), which is the nation’s special education law, requires that your child’s strengths and needs be assessed. An evaluation is the first step to beginning special education services.
This evaluation includes a review of records, information from parents, special medical concerns, interviews with parents and school staff, and specific tests when needed. If you have independent assessment information, you may choose to share it with the school.
A staff member will be assigned to coordinate the evaluation and will be the parents’ primary contact during the evaluation process. The results of the evaluation will be used to determine if your child is eligible for and in need of special education and/or related services in school. IDEiA defines the minimum legal requirements for special education, but
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legal requirements among states vary. The State of Minnesota has very specific criteria that must be met for your child to receive special education services.
In Minnesota, the Department of Education is responsible for the rules and regulations affecting special education. You may obtain more information about Minnesota laws, regulations, and statutes on the state Web site at: http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/Legislation/index.html
.
The state of Minnesota has developed specific eligibility criteria for 13 categories of disability and your child may be assessed for needs in one of more of those, which are:
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS : A behaviorally defined group of disorders characterized by an uneven developmental profile and a pattern of qualitative impairments in social interaction, communication, and restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interest, and activities, with onset in early childhood.
BLIND/VISUALLY IMPAIRED : A medically verified condition accompanied by limitations in sight that interfere with acquiring information or interaction with the environment.
DEAF/HARD OF HEARING : A diminished sensitivity to sound that is expressed in terms of standard audiological measures.
DEAF/BLINDNESS : A medically verified visual impairment coupled with medically verified hearing impairment that, together, interferes with acquiring information or interacting in the environment. Both conditions need to be present simultaneously and must meet the criteria of both vision and hearing impairment.
DEVELOPMENTAL COGNITIVE DISABILITY : Significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning resulting in or associated with concurrent deficits in adaptive behavior: either Mild to Moderate
(MMI) or Severe-Profound (MSMI).
DEVELOPMENTALLY DELAYED (Early Childhood Special Education, Birth to 7 only) : A substantial delay or disorder in development or an identifiable sensory, physical, mental or social/emotional condition or impairment known to hinder normal development.
EMOTIONAL/BEHAVIORAL DISORDER : An established pattern characterized by severely aggressive or impulsive behaviors, severely withdrawn or anxious behaviors, generally pervasive unhappiness, depression or side mood swings or severely disordered thought processes manifested by unusual behavior patterns, atypical communication styles or distorted interpersonal relationships.
OTHER HEALTH DISABILITIES : A broad range of medically diagnosed chronic and associated acute health conditions that may be accompanied by limited strength, endurance, and alertness, including heightened or diminished alertness to environmental stimuli that adversely affect educational performance to the extent special education and related services may be needed.
PHYSICALLY IMPAIRED : A medically diagnosed chronic physical impairment, either congenital or acquired, that adversely affects physical or academic functioning.
SEVERELY MULTIPLY IMPAIRED : Severe learning and developmental problems resulting from two or more disability conditions.
SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY : A significant discrepancy between one’s general intellectual abil-
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ity and academic achievement in one or more of the following areas: oral expression, listening comprehension, mathematical calculation or reasoning, basic reading skills, reading comprehension and written expression.
SPEECH/LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENT : A communication disorder in fluency, voice, articulation or language.
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY : An acquired injury to the brain caused by external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition, language, memory, attention, reasoning, abstract thinking, judgment, problem-solving and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or brain injuries induced by birth trauma.
Parents must provide written consent for an initial evaluation. Upon receipt of that consent for a special education evaluation, the school district has 45 calendar days to complete the evaluation and provide you with the evaluation results for children birth to age three, and
30 school days for older children.
Parents and guardians naturally may have questions regarding the evaluation process.
Some questions you may want to ask school staff regarding the evaluation include:
•
Why do you want to evaluate my child?
•
What do you think you may find from the evaluation?
•
What kinds of tests will you give?
•
What areas are you going to evaluate?
•
What will happen if I say no?
•
Will I get a copy of the evaluation results?
•
What if I disagree with the results?
For helpful information about the results of tests used in the evaluation, read more from the
National Association of School Psychologists at www.nasponline.org/communications/spawareness/testscores.pdf.
Following the evaluation, the staff member who coordinated your child’s evaluation will contact you to coordinate a time to review the results. Members of the evaluation team, at least one general education teacher, and sometimes the student also will attend this meeting. It is helpful to ask for the assessment results before the meeting so you have time to read them over.
You may also bring along a friend or family member to the meeting to give you another set of “ears”. The student’s participation is determined on an individual basis. A student in middle or high school often attends as his/her input can be valuable.
The results of the evaluation are summarized in a draft report, which will document the
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student’s educational needs and determine eligibility for special education. You will have input into the final report.
At the meeting, the group will decide if the child meets the criteria for one of the disability areas and, if so, a meeting to write an IEP will be planned. As a parent, you may wish to have the IEP meeting at a later time so you can digest the information and think about your preferences for your child’s plan.
If you have questions about the assessment, the district will inform you of your rights to dispute the outcome. The assessment also may provide you with new information about other agencies that may be able to help your child. A Web link to the many agencies in the
Rochester area that may offer support to your child is in the back of this guidebook.
If it is determined that the student qualifies for services, he/she may have an IEP written for special education services. Or the student may have Section 504 Plan. A Section 504
Plan is a law that protects individuals with a disability from discrimination and ensures that a student with a disability has equal access to an education. Read on for more information about both plans.
If it is determined that the student qualifies for and is in need of special education services, an Individualized Education Program (IEP) is developed. In private schools, your child will have a “Service Plan”. If your child is in this setting, see http://www.ped.state.nm.us/seo/library/services.plan.pdf
for more information.
If a student does not qualify for special education, but is still experiencing problems in school, you should discuss your concerns with your child’s teacher and building principal.
Your child may be entitled to reasonable accommodations under Section 504 of the American with Disabilities Act.
The contact for Section 504 in the Rochester School District at the elementary level is your school’s principal. At the secondary level, it is the school counselor. The Human Resources Director is the district contact.
A critical member of the school’s IEP team is the IEP manager , frequently referred to as the case manager
. Your child’s case manager at the school is responsible for his/her overall special education program and maintaining her/her official special education records.
The case manager will schedule and conduct the IEP meetings and coordinate all special
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and related services for an individual student. He/she also will inform the student’s general education staff members of individual needs and their responsibilities related to implementation, and coordinate ongoing communication with parents. The case manager should be the parents’ primary contact regarding the student’s special education.
IDEiA emphasizes the importance of parents and staff working cooperatively as a team.
The development of the IEP team is facilitated by the school district. IDEiA requires, by law, that the IEP team include general educators, special educators and a district representative who is knowledgeable about special education. That representative of the school district is empowered to make decisions on its behalf.
With the combined knowledge and resources of these individuals, students will be assured greater support and subsequent success. Parents/guardians must be invited to attend IEP meetings, but cannot be required to do so. Beginning in ninth grade or age 14, students are encouraged to participate.
Other school staff and related service providers also may attend the IEP meetings. Parents may bring anyone they wish to the meetings. As a courtesy, it is suggested that you inform the school district if you plan to bring additional guests or advocates to the meeting. In such cases, the school district will ask that you sign a Consent to Release Private Data form to allow private educational information to be shared.
Through the Notice of Team Meeting , the school district will inform you of the date, time and location of the meeting, along with the names of those who will attend. It is possible that all people who are invited to the meeting may not attend. The district can invite only persons with direct educational involvement with the student. The IEP process should be a collaborative process among parents, school staff members, and other professionals who are involved with your child.
Parents have the right to ask that all of the required team members — general educator, special educator and administrator — stay for the entire meeting. And if you wish for a particular staff member to attend, such as your child’s speech therapist, let your case manager know.
As a parent, you have a unique and important perspective on your child’s learning style, strengths and needs. The school staff should ensure that you feel comfortable when communicating with them about your child. Parents have the right to be involved in all meetings that discuss the identification, evaluation, IEP development and educational placement of your child. The law ensures that you and school personnel are equal partners in all steps of the IEP process.
As students get older, they may want to become more and more active at their IEP meetings. Their needs, interests and preferences should determine the direction for the identified goals and services in the IEP. Supporting active student participation in the IEP process also assists them in developing self-determination skills that are necessary in adult life. Although it is not mandatory for a student to attend his/her IEP meeting, the district
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must ensure that the student’s preferences and interests are considered.
When students turn 17, school districts are required to advise them of the rights they will have as adults. School services are available to students up to age 21 based on their IEP goals.
The IEP documents and meeting follow a particular format. The order of the document is the same order as the order of the meeting. You will follow through the document as the
IEP meeting progresses. Certain items that must be included on the IEP document and will be discussed at the meeting include:
Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)
The IEP must state how the student is currently performing in school. This information is gathered from many sources and may include evaluation information, classroom tests and assignments, teacher observations, and information provided by parents. The PLAAFP must also include how the student’s disability affects his/her involvement and progress in the general education curriculum. For children from age 3 to kindergarten entrance, the
PLAAFP must describe how the child’s disability affects his/her participation in developmentally appropriate activities. The present levels for students age 14 and older are described in the “Secondary Transition Needs and Services” section on the next page.
Annual Goals and Short-Term Objectives
The goals and objectives on your child’s IEP must focus on the skills and behaviors your child needs to learn in order to be involved in and progress within the general education curriculum .

Goals describe the skill or behavior your child is expected to accomplish within one year. The goals must be measurable, identify the skill or behavior to be changed, state the direction of change, and expected annual ending level of performance. If you have specific goal areas that you believe should be addressed, discuss these with your child’s IEP team.

Objectives are steps leading to the attainment of the goal. Each goal should have at least two objectives. These objectives should identify the skill/behavior to be performed, circumstances under which the behavior is to be performed, and what will be used to measure performance.
Measuring Progress
The IEP must indicate the frequency and manner in which you will be informed of your child’s progress toward annual goals. As a parent of a child with a disability, you should be informed of your child’s progress at least as often as parents of children without disabilities. At the IEP meeting, you will discuss how often progress will be reported to you about your child’s progress towards his/her goals and objectives. You also have the right to talk
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to the case manager at any time for an update, or even call an IEP meeting if your child’s needs have changed.
Special Education and Related Services
This area lists all specialized services the district has agreed to provide, including indirect and direct services. This area also defines where the student will receive services, the specific amount of time, and the frequency of the service. These services may be provided individually or in a group setting.

Indirect means the service provider consults with other team members, but does not work face-to-face with the student. For example, the special education teacher may consult with a speech therapist to discuss communication needs.

Direct service is the time that the student is personally involved with the service provider.
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Explanation
The IEP must explain how students with disabilities will be educated — to the maximum extent possible — with students without disabilities. Your child may be learning in a variety of settings throughout the school day. If you’re exploring various settings within the school building, it may be important to include that building’s administrator in those decisions.
The IEP meeting will determine which settings are appropriate and how much time your child will spend in each area. If the student will not participate fully with non-disabled students in school activities, the IEP must include a statement indicating the reason(s) for the alternate environment.
Participation in State and District-wide Tests
Most states require achievement tests to be given at various grade levels. The IEP must state the modifications or accommodations to be provided when state or district tests are administered to the student. If the tests are not appropriate for a student, the IEP must state the reasons why and what alternative testing will be used. An accommodation allows students to do the same work as the other students but with a change that allows them to be more successful — it does not alter the rigor of the material. A modification lowers the rigor of the material and individualizes the measure of success.
There are some students with cognitive disabilities for whom the regular assessment, even with accommodations, is not an appropriate measure of their academic performance. If a student’s IEP Team determines that the regular assessment is inappropriate, the student must be administered an alternate assessment linked to grade-level Minnesota Academic
Standards in reading, mathematics and science. Alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards such as the Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS) represent a reduction in the complexity of the standards.
Secondary Transition Needs and Services
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School districts are required to prepare students with disabilities to progress and move from high school to community life and employment. Secondary transition areas include:

Jobs and job training

Recreation and leisure

Post-secondary education and training

Home living/daily living skills

Community participation
At age 14, the IEP will begin to incorporate the five transition areas. The IEP must address the course of study that promotes the movement toward the student’s post-school goals.
Transition needs must be addressed in each subsequent IEP. The IEP must identify instructional and related services to support the five areas of transition and identify interagency responsibilities related to post-school goals.
The transition IEP may include the opportunity to work at a job that may be combined with, or replaced by, time spent in the classroom. The team should determine if the work time or class time would be in the best interest of the student.
Transition services may include helping students learn to safely use public transportation, help students and families connect with other community services, and arrange employment opportunities. Transition services continue for students through age 21 who have not received their high school diploma. Students continue to work on the IEP goals in the transition areas. They are then able to receive their high school diploma by achieving their IEP goals.
As the IEP Team plans your child’s last years of high school, it will determine an appropriate education plan through age 21. You will also learn about several programs that will help your child after that age.
The Rochester Community Transition Interagency Committee’s (CTIC) mission is “To connect young adults with disabilities and their families to community resources, empowering them to strengthen advocacy skills in order to navigate their life plan.” The CTIC has more information about the transition on the Rochester School’s Web site at http://www.rochester.k12.mn.us/ctic
.
Transfer of Parent Rights at the Age of Majority
In the year prior to a student’s 18 th
birthday, the student must be informed that all rights will transfer to him/her upon reaching the age of majority. The student will become his/her own guardian at age 18 unless that is changed legally. The school district must provide you and your child with a written notice of these rights.
Assistive Technology
IDEiA requires that every IEP team consider and document a student’s need for assistive technology. Assistive technology (AT) includes both devices and services. AT services directly assists a student with a disability in the selection, acquisition or use of an assistive technology device. Assistive technology devices can range from low-tech pencil grips to
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high-tech computer systems. Assistive technology services may include:
 Evaluation of student’s needs

Training and technical assistance for the student using the device

Training and technical assistance for those involved with the student

Device selection

Aid in acquisition of the device
The IEP team may also determine that an Assistive Technology Evaluation is necessary. If the team determines that your child needs assistive technology, keep in mind that many devices may be tried and rejected before the one that benefits your child is found. When the essential assistive technology device is identified, it should be described in the IEP.
There may be more than one assistive technology device described to help your child.
The Rochester Public Schools has an Assistive Technology Coordinator to support IEP
Teams in determining a student’s assistive technology needs. If you have questions related to your child’s assistive technology needs, please contact your case manager.
Accommodations and Modifications
An adaptation refers to both accommodations and modifications. Some students with disabilities may be able to participate in the regular classroom and be successful with the use of some accommodations or modifications .

An accommodation gives the student equal access and opportunity to benefit from the regular educational curriculum. His/her schoolwork is the same as other students’. However, consideration is given to the student’s needs due to his/her disability. For example, a child who is easily distracted may need to take a test in a quiet room.

A modification
alters what is expected of the student. For example, the student may do only part of an assignment or the teacher may assign an easier task.
Accommodations and modifications should be written into a student’s IEP. The agreedupon changes should fit the student’s individual needs. It is important to involve the student, as appropriate, in this process to get his/her ideas on what changes would be helpful.
More information about accommodations and modifications is available from PACER at http://www.pacer.org/parent/php/PHP-c91.pdf
.
Extended School Year
Extended School Year (ESY) refers to special education services needed outside the regular school year to help students maintain progress toward their IEP goals. This service is offered during summer break, but is not summer school — eligibility is very specific and school districts are required to provide ESY services. The IEP Team decides annually whether Extended School year Services are needed to assist students. The criterion for
ESY is:
1) If there is significant regression of a skill or acquired knowledge from the student’s level of performance on an annual goal that requires more than the length of the break in instruction to recoup unless the IEP Team determines a shorter time for recoupment is more appropriate;
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2) ESY services are necessary for the student to attain and maintain self-sufficiency because of the critical nature of the skill addressed by an annual goal, the student’s age and level of development, and the timeliness for teaching the skill; or
3) The IEP Team otherwise determines, given the student’s unique needs , that ESY services are necessary to ensure the student receives a free appropriate public education (an example being a student that has a medical/health condition that prevents the student from accessing educational programming for extended periods of time).
The purpose of ESY is to maintain a student’s year-end skill level. The IEP Team may determine eligibility by observing the student’s regression over breaks (either summer break or scheduled school-year breaks), and the time needed to recoup skills. If the IEP Team determines Extended School Year services are needed, they decide the summer goals, objectives and amount and type of service needed. ESY services should emphasize maintaining existing skills as stated in the IEP. Methods may be altered in order to maintain — as opposed to acquiring — new skills.
More detailed information is on the Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes Web site at https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/?id=3525.0755
.
Program Placement Decisions
Once all the elements of the IEP are determined, including services and supports, the IEP
Team makes a placement decision. The first placement option considered for each student with a disability must be the general education classroom with the provision of necessary aids and supports. Some students with special education needs will continue to attend their current school but spend all or part of their day in a special education classroom. At times it may be necessary for a student to attend another school in the district or a program outside of the district. A student’s specific needs will determine the setting and location for the provision of the services.
In addition to following an IEP, students receiving special education services must be reevaluated every three years, or more often if there are significant changes in need. The purpose of reevaluation is to:

Determine if your child continues to qualify for and is still in need of special education and related services;

Identify how your child is doing in school, review current educational needs and identify new educational needs;
 Determine if any changes need to be made in your child’s IEP to help your child to meet the annual goals and objectives that are in the IEP and participate, as appropriate, in the general curriculum.
Reevaluation does not necessarily mean more testing. If you ask for a reevaluation in writing to see if your child needs additional services, or if it is time for the three-year re-
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evaluation, your child’s case manager will contact you to discuss an evaluation plan. You are a member of this team. Generally these are the steps:
1) Team members will review the information and test results that have been gathered, including information that you provide to the school. The review will also include observations made by teachers and other school staff, and current classroom-based assessments.
2) The members of the team will decide if there is a need for additional testing to determine whether your child continues to be a “child with a disability” and in need of special education and related services.
3) School personnel will document the agreed-upon evaluation procedures on an Evaluation Plan.
4) Parents will receive a copy of this Evaluation Plan. Parent signature will be requested to provide consent. If you do not agree to the additional testing, you must indicate so in writing. However, your signature is not needed for the school district to proceed with the re-evaluation. If the school district does not receive written agreement or disagreement within 14 calendar days, the school district will initiate the proposed testing. The team has several options in planning a re-evaluation, which are: a) No additional data is needed. An evaluation report documenting qualification and current needs will be written. An IEP Team meeting will be scheduled to develop or update the existing IEP. b) Additional testing is needed. The evaluation team will conduct the evaluation and write the evaluation report within 30 school days.
5) As a result of the information obtained during the reevaluation, the school may determine that your child shows no evidence of a disability or is no longer in need of special education and related services. If you do not agree with the school’s determination, you have the right to due process, which may include conciliation, mediation or a facilitated
IEP. Additional testing or an Independent Evaluation may also be requested.
You have the right to view your child’s special education records. The school district shall comply with your request within 45 days. You must put your request in writing to the Director of Student Services and the district must respond within 10 school days.
The district must keep a log of who accesses your child’s educational records. Parental consent is needed for records to be released.
If you feel there is information in your child’s records that is incorrect or misleading, you have the right to request that the information be removed or changed. If the district does not agree, it must inform you in writing and offer a meeting to resolve the differences. If an agreement cannot be reached, you have the right to a hearing to challenge the district’s position. A hearing officer will make the decision. You can also add your information to what is in question in the student’s file.
Before any educational records regarding your child are destroyed, the district needs to inform you of its intent.
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Section 504 is a civil rights law that protects individuals with a disability from discrimination for reasons related to their disability and ensures that all students have equal access to their education. Section 504 defines a person with disabilities if he/she:
 has a physical or mental impairment that limits one or more of the person’s major life activities (caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working);
 has a record of such an impairment; or
 is regarded as having such an impairment.
When a condition significantly limits a major life activity, an accommodation plan must be developed for that student. A team determines services under Section 504.
The requirements to qualify for a 504 Plan are somewhat less restrictive than special education criteria. A 504 Plan is most often utilized for students who are diagnosed with some form of physical, mental health, or medical condition (such as attention deficit disorder), but otherwise do not meet eligibility requirements for special education services. A 504
Plan is a written plan that provides for accommodations for the student, but not for specially designed instruction.
For more information about 504 Plans, visit the Web site: http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/2777 .
You have the right to disagree with the school district’s decisions concerning IEPs, evaluations or educational placements of your child.
Occasionally parents have issues about what is written in the IEP. Carefully review the proposed IEP to ensure that all items proposed at the IEP meeting are included. If you think an agreed-upon item is missing, contact the case manager to discuss this prior to giving written consent. If you have concerns about the services provided to your child, you should contact his/her teacher and/or case manager. You can ask for another meeting with the building’s supervisor. The next step is to speak with the Student Support Services supervisor for your child’s school and education level (see next section) .
Usually parents and school staff can resolve issues without resorting to a formal process, but there are options when parents and the district are unable to resolve the differences.
PACER, http://www.pacer.org/ , and the Arc of Southeastern Minnesota, http://www.arcsemn.org/ , are two advocacy groups that have information about dispute options. If you have a concern about an education system issue, you may also contact a SEAC member.
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Kathy Accurso. kaaccurso@rochester.k12.mn.us
; 507-328-4524
Bamber Valley
Bishop
Churchill-Hoover
Elton Hills
Folwell
Gage
Gibbs
Jefferson
Longfellow
Pinewood
Sunset Terrace
Shawna Felton, shfelton@rochester.k12.mn.us
; 507-328-4526
Early Childhood Special Education
Nicole Mueller, nimueller@rochester.k12.mn.us
; 507-328-4521
Friedell
John Adams
Kellogg
Lincoln K-8
Willow Creek
Karl Bakken, kabakken@rochester.k12.mn.us
; 507-328-4522
Century
John Marshall
Mayo
TAP
TLC
Steve Felton, stfelton@rochester.k12.mn.us
; 507-328-3931
Franklin
Riverside
Washington
ALC
Campus School (JDC and Von Wald)
Lifelong Learning Center/ESC
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Schools are responsible for the educational needs of students. Some students with disabilities, and their families, have needs that extend beyond the school. The Rochester Special
Needs Organizations Committee (SNOCs) has compiled a guide of resources available in the area. The guide can be downloaded at http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/departments/Special-Needs-Organizations .
For Minnesota Administrative education rules for children with a disability, click on https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/?id=3525 . The Web site for special education at the
Minnesota Department of Education is http://education.state.mn.us/Special_Education .
The mission of the Minnesota Disability Law Center, http://mndlc.org/ , is to advance dignity, self-determination and equality of individuals with disabilities. This includes services for students with disabilities who are in school (birth to 21).
SEAC members are just like you — their children are students in the Rochester School
District. This is just the tip of the iceberg of information available to help you and your child throughout his/her school experience. But this will get you started.
In the 2008-9 school year, a SEAC member subcommittee worked on creating this guide with the help of the district. Subcommittee members were Becky Fluegel, SEAC chairman;
JoAnn Lawler of Arc Southeastern Minnesota, Tammy Bonnicksen and Maka Boeve.
Helping from the school district (with their 2008-9 titles) were Karla Bollesen, Early
Childhood Special Education supervisor; Karl Bakken, Early Childhood Special Education psychologist; and Cory McIntyre, director of student support services.
ASD
Autism Spectrum Disorder
ASR
Assessment Summary Report
AT
Assistive Technology
BIP
Behavior Intervention Plan
BST
Basic Skills Tests
D/HH
Deaf and Hard of Hearing
DAPE
Developmental Adaptive Physical Education
DCD
Developmental Cognitive Disability
DCD-MM
Developmental Cognitive Disability – Mild to Moderate
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DCD-SP
Developmental Cognitive Disability – Severe to Profound
DD
Developmental Delay
EBD
Emotional or Behavioral Disorders
ECFE
Early Childhood Family Education
ECSE
Early Childhood Special Education
ESY
Extended School Year
FAPE
Free Appropriate Public Education
FBA
Functional Behavior Assessment
IDEiA
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
IEE
Independent Education Evaluation
IEP
Individualized Education Program
IFSP
Individual Family Service Plan
IIIP
Individual Interagency Intervention Plan
LRE
Least Restrictive Environment
MCA
Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments
OHD
Other Health Disabilities
PCA
Personal Care Attendant
PI
Physically Impaired
PLAAFP
Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance
RRT
Referral Review Team
S/L
Speech or Language Impairment
SEAC
Special Education Advisory Council
SLD
Specific Learning Disability
SMI
Severely Multiply Impaired
TBI
Traumatic Brain Injury
VI
Visually Impaired
Accommodation – Allows the student to do the same work as the regular education students with a change (i.e. taking tests in a quiet room) that helps them be more successful.
This change does not change the rigor of the material being taught.
Adaptations
– Word used interchangeable with accommodation.
Assistive Technology Device
–
Any item, piece of equipment, or product system used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of children with disabilities .
Assistive Technology Service
–
Any service that directly assists a student in the selection, acquisition or use of an assistive technology device.
Child Study Team
– Team that determines if an evaluation is warranted.
Consent
– Means that you say “yes”. Consent means that you understand and agree in
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writing to the activity that is being requested, such as an evaluation or an IEP.
Curriculum
–
The coursework being taught.
Direct service – Service provided directly to the student from the professional.
Evaluation
–
Testing and observations used to determine the eligibility of the student for special education services.
IDEiA
–
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEiA) is the nation's special education law. IDEiA provides federal funding to help states and local communities provide special education opportunities for students.
Inclusion-Full
–
Student who qualifies for special education and spends the entire school day in the regular education classroom.
Inclusion-Partial
– Student who qualifies for special education and spends part of the school day in the regular education classroom.
IEE (Independent Educational Evaluation) – An evaluation provided by a mutually agreed upon independent professional who is not employed by the school system, at no cost to you. The school district is required to give you several choices of qualified professionals to perform the IEE. You can then choose which professional conducts the IEE. To request an IEE, you need to notify, in writing, the Director of Student Support Services that you disagree with the district’s evaluation and are requesting an IEE. Keep a copy for yourself as well. You also have the right to a second opinion at any time at your own expense. The school district must consider this information.
IEP – An Individualized Education Program is a specially designed program of services, instruction, and support designed to meet the individual needs of students who require special education and related services.
IEP Case Manager
–
The person at the school who coordinates a student’s IEP and sees that it is carried out. This person is the first point of contact for any issues or concerns that you may have. If you work with other agencies, you may work with others who are called case managers.
IEP Team – The group of people responsible for defining a student’s educational plan.
The Team must include:

A parent.

A representative of the district who is authorized to assign resources.
 At least one of the student’s special education teachers.

At least one of the student’s regular education teachers.

There may be more team members as appropriate.
IFSP
–
An Individual Family Service Plan is a specially designed program of services or supports to meet the needs of children, birth through age two, who need special education.
IIIP
–
Individual Interagency Intervention Plan (IIIP) form is for students from age 3 to
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21. The development of the IIIP should be completed within 30 school days from completion of the assessment.
Indirect service
–
Consists of work on the student’s behalf that ensures access, accommodations and service coordination. It is not direct service, as it does not occur face-to-face with the student on a regularly scheduled basis.
LRE (Least Restrictive Environment) – the educational setting that provides an appropriate program, including special supports needed for the student, in as typical a school environment as possible.
Modification
– a change that lowers the rigor of the material and changes what a test or assignment measures.
PCA (Personal Care Attendant) – A staff person hired to help a child learn skills so he or she can be more independent at home and in the community.
Positive behavior intervention
–
A plan to address problem behaviors; it addresses both the source of the behavior and ways to deal with the behavior so the student can behave more appropriately.
Pre-referral interventions
– Before referring a child for an evaluation the classroom teacher may plan strategies to see if your child’s performance improves with simple changes in curriculum or environment. These are called “pre-referral interventions”. At least two pre-referral interventions must be tried and documented. If the child’s performance improves, an evaluation may not be needed. If problems continue, an evaluation will help identify more specific ways to help the child learn.
Referral – Anyone can make a referral for a special education evaluation. When classroom interventions are not successful, the classroom teacher may make a referral to the Referral
Review Team who will consider whether the child should receive further evaluation. This team, including the parent, decides the areas to be evaluated and the types of evaluation to be completed.
Related Services – Services required to allow a child to benefit from special education. An example may be transportation or occupational therapy.
Respite Care – Care provided for the child so parents can have a break.
Resource room
–
A student may receive his/her special education and related services in the resource room, rather than a regular education classroom.
Special Education – Instruction specially designed to meet the unique needs of a student with disabilities, at no cost to parent(s).
Updated September 2010
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