DEPARTMENT OF PUPIL SERVICES
The Student Support Services Department, located at the Rosedale Union School District office, is the department supporting the school sites in handling exceptional student issues, such as academic delays, behavior problems, and general assessment and evaluation. This department supports the special education programs, Section 504 Program, psychological services, speech-language pathology services, general assessment and evaluation services and District testing programs such as the Proficiency Testing Program. This department also acts as the District liaison with outside agencies in matters such as mental health.
Special Education Services
Our District provides instructional and related services for children who have certain handicaps, as defined by the federal Individuals with disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which prevent them from successfully accessing the general education curriculum. These services are provided for mildly handicapped students on our campuses, and for children with more intensive needs, through programs operated by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS). District programs are for students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade. Speech services begin at age three.
Here are some facts parents should know about special education services:
1. Children must qualify for special education services via a psycho-educational evaluation that shows that a child has one of the handicaps specified by federal (IDEA) and state law.
2. Before a child is evaluated for eligibility for special education services, the
school and the parent must try to remediate the academic problems, and those
attempts must be documented. This is most often accomplished through the Student Study Team (SST) process. This involves a meeting or series of meetings with the parent for the purpose of designing solutions for the child’s problems. This may involve classroom/instructional modifications, parent involvement, etc.
3. A child qualifies for special education services based on two criteria: (1) need,
and (2) eligibility. A child’s “need” is determined by the degree to which the child’s educational performance is below that of his/her grade-level peers. Eli-
gibility is determined by whether or not, via an evaluation conducted by the school district or its designee, it can be determined that a child is handicapped as defined by IDEA. Many children may “need” services, but not all children “qualify” for services under the law.
4. “Child Find”, is a component of IDEA that requires states to identify, locate and
evaluate all children with disabilities, age’s birth to 21, who are in need of early intervention or special education services. Our District complies with this requirement via teacher and parent referral. If your child is too young to be enrolled in our Kindergarten Program, you may initiate the “Child Find” (also called Search and Serve) by calling the Kern County Superintendent of Schools at 661/636-4884.
Section 504 Services
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is designed to ensure that individuals with disabilities are not excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefit of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving financial assistance, such as a school district. A Section 504 Plan is a written plan outlining accommodations necessary for a person with a handicap to access general educational services. Such plans are developed through the Student Study Team (SST) process at the school sites. Qualification for a 504 Accommodation Plan requires evaluation data on the student to determine eligibility. The school principal is the Site Section 504 Coordinator.
Psychological Services
Psychological services are available to students who are having learning problems, or whose behavior is such that it interferes with learning. Psychological services include conducting assessments as part of special education eligibility of determination, consultation with teachers and parents on managing behavior and referral and liaison work with outside agencies, such as Child Guidance Clinic or other social service agencies.
Speech-Language Pathology Services
Speech-language pathologists conduct assessments of and provide therapy for, speech (articulation) and language difficulties. Receiving therapy from a speech pathologist is a special education service for which children must qualify under state and federal law. One major factor in determining eligibility is whether or not a child’s articulation or language skills are negatively impacting their performance in the classroom. A child with a speech dysfluency, yet who copes well in the classroom would not necessarily qualify for speech language services. The development of strong language skills is perhaps the most important prerequisite for learning language arts (reading, writing, etc.) in school. Speech-language pathologists are an excellent resource for teachers and parents in helping children, especially young children, in developing competent language skills.
Outside Agency Evaluations
Sometimes parents will have their children evaluated by an outside agency, such as a physician, a private psychologist or other mental health professional, or a private school or educational agency. Often times the outside evaluator will give the child a diagnostic label (as in the case of mental health professionals and physicians) and in the case of a physician, sometimes prescribe medication. It is important for parents to understand that only Rosedale School District – not an outside evaluator – even a physician- retains the right to determine whether or not a child needs and qualifies for special education or Section 504 services. Special education law states that school districts must “consider” the evaluation results of outside evaluators in making special education eligibility decisions. In making such considerations, here are some guidelines Rosedale Union School District will follow:
1. In case of an outside mental health evaluation conducted by a
psychologist, social worker, Marriage Family Therapist (MFT) or other mental
health agent that results in a diagnosis of any kind:
a. Rosedale Union School District will consider whether or not that agent has used assessment methods/procedures that would be considered appropriate under IDEA and local policy. And, whether or not the resulting diagnostic classification falls under the umbrella of IDEA.
Assessment methods/procedures that are not acceptable under either IDEA (i.e. methods that are not validated for the purpose for which they are used) or local district policy (i.e. use of projective or other high-inference assessment methods) would be weighted less heavily than research supported methods. Likewise, diagnostic labels that do not fall directly under IDEA, such as Conduct Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, ADHD, etc. will not automatically gain a child entrance to special education programs. However, all evidence will be considered by the IEP team.
2. In the case of an evaluation conducted by physician (psychiatrist or otherwise)
resulting in a diagnosis that has no clear or directly measurable biological
cause, Rosedale Union School District will request from the physician via the
parent the evidence on which the diagnosis is based. For example:
a. If a physician diagnoses a child as ADHD, Rosedale Union School District will
weight that diagnosis more heavily if the physician has received input from
school personnel (classroom teacher, school psychologist) in making the
diagnosis. The fact that a child is given medication for a suspected disorder in
the absence of any objective evidence for the disorder will be weighted less
heavily in making eligibility determinations.
b. A psychological diagnosis of any type made in the absence of any rating
scales, direct behavioral observations in the natural environment or other
objective evidence, despite prescribing medication for the condition, will be
weighted less heavily in making eligibility determinations than if the
diagnosis was made in a more objective fashion.