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Special education services are available in all of the elementary schools to students with disabilities who meet state and federal regulations for such services. Before services can be provided, a student must have a team evaluation consisting of multi- source assessments to determine if he/ she has a disability as defined by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is not making effective progress in school, that the lack of progress is related to the identified disability and that he/ she requires specialized instruction and/ or related services in order to access the general curriculum. Upon completion of the evaluation, the evaluation team must answer the following questions:
There is a continuum of special education services available in the Lexington Public Schools. All of the elementary schools provide special education teaching and support in areas such as reading, math, writing, and organization, as well as related services such as speech/ language, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling, and adaptive physical education. The school system also offers district-wide programs at individual elementary schools to service lower-incidence populations.
State special education regulations and advisories require each district to adopt a Curriculum Accommodation Plan (CAP) for the purpose of assisting principals in ensuring that all efforts have been made to meet students’ needs in general education. The plan is a systemic plan that will be adopted by the district, and, although it does not require individual written plans, the intent is to increase the general education capacity to meet the individual needs of diverse student learners. School principals and school councils are involved in developing and implementing the CAP at the school building level.
School districts are required to provide the student’s parents an opportunity to consult with the Special Education Administrator or his/ her designee (e. g. , Evaluation Team Leader, Supervisor of Special Education) regarding the evaluators who will be used by the school district to conduct the assessments comprising the team evaluation, including the initial evaluation to determine eligibility and any subsequent reevaluations. This requirement may be met by meeting with the parent prior to an evaluation or by incorporating information on this consultation opportunity in the notice sent to the parents when a district is requesting permission to conduct an evaluation. The intent of this requirement, in conjunction with the requirement to consult with the parent on the types of assessments recommended by the school district, is to allow the parent to be involved in planning the evaluation conducted by the school district, so as to maximize parental satisfaction with the school district’s evaluation.
If you have any questions about special education regulations, please feel free to call the Direction of Special Education at 781- 861- 2490.
Parents should contact their child’s principal if they believe their child has a special need that necessitates an evaluation.