Programming for students is
most effective when teachers and parents cooperate closely and
function as a team in all aspects of decision making. ASB employs a
special education supervisor to promote better cooperation between
parents and teachers, to optimize communications, and to insure that
parents' rights of due-process as guaranteed in PL 94-142 and
subsequent regulations are respected. If you have any questions
regarding the content of this page; if you have questions in regard
to your rights as a parent; or if you need clarification in regard
to written communications which you receive concerning evaluation or
educational programming for your child, please contact
Teresa Doan,
Special Education Supervisor: (501) 296-1810, or
Sharon Berry.
Types of Conferences
The Committee
Written Communications
New Students
Re-Evaluation Conference
Annual Review Conferences
IEP Conferences
Separate Programming
Conferences
Rights of Due Process
Types of
Conferences
Parent conferences are scheduled frequently to discuss evaluation
results ("Re-Evaluation" Conference); to review a students progress
at the end of the school year ("Annual Review" Conference); to
develop an educational plan for the coming school year ("IEP"
Conference), or to modify the current IEP ("Separate Programming"
Conference.) All students are re-evaluated every three years and
re-evaluation conferences are held to discuss the evaluation
results. A student may be re-evaluated more often if the committee
feels that a re-evaluation might provide information which would
facilitate the development of a more appropriate IEP. Annual review
conferences are held at the end of the school year, and IEP
conferences are held annually. These conferences are scheduled for
the convenience of parents, since parent attendance is essential in
order to develop a comprehensive approach for meeting a student's
individual needs. For the convenience of parents who live great
distances from ASB, whenever possible, two or more types of
conferences are scheduled on the same day
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The Committee
The makeup of the conference committee varies depending on the type
of conference, the age of the child and the expressed desires of
parents and teachers. The committee is made up of a minimum of three
persons, but in most instances is much larger. The student's regular
classroom teacher and special education teacher must attend all
conferences. Parents are invited to all conferences and are strongly
urged to participate in decision making and programming. Students
who are fourteen years of age or older are invited to conferences
and urged to participate, and younger children often attend
conferences at the request of parents or teachers. The student's
principal should attend all conferences as well. The student's advocate
will be invited to attend a conference at the request of parents;
and, in instances where students are fourteen years of age or older,
the vocational counselor from the Division of Services for the Blind
is invited and urged to participate. Also, The Special Education
Supervisor from the school district in which the student resides is
invited to conferences. When re-evaluation conferences occur, all
persons who provided evaluation data are invited to discuss the
results. The Special Education Supervisor, Teresa Doan, reviews the
makeup of all conference committees to insure that the student's and
parents' due process rights are respected and that the makeup of the
committee is appropriate for identifying and addressing the
student's needs.
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Written
Communications
ASB communicates regularly with parents to insure that due process
rights are respected and to insure that parents receive the
information which they need to function as team members in making
program decisions. Prior to re-evaluations, parents are notified in
writing that their child is to be evaluated, what evaluations will
be administered and the purpose for each assessment. Parents receive
three written notices of scheduled conferences. The notices inform
parents of the type of conference scheduled, the date and time for
the conference, the purpose for the conference and what information
will be discussed at the conference. Included with the notices is an
enclosure for parents to fill out and return to ASB indicating their
intentions in regard to attending. Parents may indicate their
intention to attend the conference, specify a date and time when
they want the conference to be re-scheduled, or advise ASB that they
will not attend the conference. The staff at ASB values parent
participation in program decision-making. Therefore, every effort
will be made to respect parents' wishes as to scheduling
conferences. Finally, included with conference notifications is a
copy of parents' due process rights which are guaranteed by law.
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New Students
New students are usually referred to ASB by their local school
district, and the IEP which was developed for the student serves as
the child's IEP for a period of up to thirty days at ASB until a new
IEP can be developed. If an IEP is not provided for a new student by
the local school district, a temporary IEP is developed for the
student based on available records and parent input. If current
evaluation data is not available for the student, or if data is
incomplete, extensive evaluations are conducted within thirty days,
and the results are discussed at an Evaluation Conference. An IEP
conference is then held to develop a permanent Individual Education
Plan.
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Re-evaluation
Conference
Re-evaluation conferences are held to discuss the results of
evaluations which are done every three years for all students. A
student may be evaluated more often when teachers or parents feel
that more current data is required to better-facilitate IEP
development. The assessments which are administered to a particular
student vary and are governed by a number of factors, such as
his/her reading medium, level of functioning and nature of
disability. When a student is scheduled for re-evaluation, a written
notice is mailed to the student's parents explaining which
assessments are to be administered and the purpose for each
assessment. If parents need clarification concerning the assessments
to be given, they should contact the ASB special education
supervisor, Teresa Doan. (refer to the contact information above)
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Annual Reviews
An annual review for each student is held in May. The student's
progress in attaining the goals which were set forth in the IEP for
the current school year is reviewed along with any relevant
information which might be provided by a member of the committee.
Parents are encouraged to participate fully in the annual review
conference in order for the committee to develop a clear
understanding of the student's educational performance during the
school year. Any goals which were not met may be included in the
Individual Education Plan for the coming year, or the committee may
modify or discontinue the goals as it deems appropriate.
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The IEP Conference
Based on the results of the annual review conference and/or the
results obtained at the Evaluation Conference, the IEP team develops
a comprehensive Individual Education Plan for the coming school
year. The IEP includes the following information: student's
strengths, weaknesses and learning style, special needs of the
student, related services which will be provided and the frequency
and nature of those services appropriate goals for meeting his/her
needs, persons responsible for implementing specific goals,
modifications which will be made to accommodate for a student's
disability, a comprehensive student schedule, methods which will be
employed to measure performance, what standardized tests will be
administered and what modifications will be used to insure fairness,
whether the student is able to comply with the ASB discipline code,
or (in the event that the nature of his disability prohibits his
doing so) what forms of discipline will be employed.
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Separate
Programming Conference
Separate Programming Conferences are held when the committee feels
that an IEP should be modified. There are many reasons for
scheduling separate programming conferences. The conference might be
convened to address a behavior problem, to determine if a goal is
appropriate or should be discontinued. Occasionally, a student may
experience a loss of vision, and the committee might need to modify
the IEP as a result. The same steps which are followed in convening
an IEP conference described above are implemented when the convening
of a separate programming conference is warranted.
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Rights of Due
Process
Click here to view the rights of due process which are
guaranteed by law to all parents:
