Special Education

IEP is an acronym that stands for Individualized Education Program. It a written plan designed to meet a student’s unique needs. The IEP is a written document that is developed for a child who is eligible for special education services. The IEP is created through a team effort and reviewed at least once a year.

The IEP is:

• A meeting where parents and school personnel jointly make decisions about an educational program for a student with a disability.
• A document that is a written record of the decisions reached at the meeting for a student who will receive special education and related services.
• A management tool used to implement an educational program.

The IEP is not:

• The IEP is not a daily lesson plan, but it does cover an entire year.
• The IEP is not an evaluation report. An evaluation report describes your child’s strengths and needs. The information from an evaluation report is used to help write the IEP.
• The IEP is not a contract. It does describe things you and the school have agreed to do for your child, but it cannot guarantee that all the special help will be successful.
• The IEP is not a comprehensive curriculum. It relates to special considerations within your child’s overall education.
• The IEP is not timeless. As your child grows and learns and changes, the IEP will need to reflect these changes.

At the IEP meeting:

• The IEP team will discuss your child's educational needs (including strengths, concerns, and progress)
• The IEP team will create goals that will be addressed over the upcoming calendar year.
• The IEP team will determine appropriate placement and services to allow your child to achieve those goals.
• The IEP team includes parents, who are a part of this decision making process, along with school personnel.
• Before the school district may provide special education and related services to your child for the first time, the parents must give consent for those services in writing. The child begins to receive services as soon as possible after consent is given.

Parents of children who are 3-5 years old or approaching 3, who suspect their child may have a developmental delay that may affect them educationally, can:

1. Sign-up for a developmental screening. The screening measures your child's abilities in the areas of communication, motor development, cognition, self-help and social-emotional development. If the screening indicates a potential delay in any of the previously mentioned areas, it will be sent on for further review to see if an evaluation for special education is recommended.

2. If you participate in our PAT program, contact your parent educator. She will discuss your concerns with you and help you make an informed decision.

3. Contact our office at 314.213.8100 or email us at PattonvilleEC@psdr3.org.

NOTE: If your child is under 30 months of age and you have concerns about their development, we can help. We recommend starting with a developmental screening and a conference with our screening team. If the screening indicates a potential delay, the screening team can help you submit a referral to First Steps for further evaluation. Parents can also make a referral to First Steps. A screening is not required.

No. ECSE services are supported by federal funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as well as state general revenue funds. There is no cost to parents for special education services identified in a child's Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Effective early intervention programs for preschool children with disabilities can be provided in a variety of settings. The key to determining the appropriate location for services is to decide which of the several options can best meet the needs identified for that child in his/her IEP. In determining the least restrictive environment for providing Special Education services, the IEP team must first consider an environment that allows the child to participate in developmentally appropriate activities with non-disabled peers. For preschool children, this could be their current day time setting (childcare center, home, Head Start classroom, etc.) and may include the use of supplemental aids and services. Pattonville School District also has several types of early childhood classrooms and therapy services to meet the wide range of children's needs.

Special Education means specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. Services identified on an IEP might include special instruction, speech and language therapy, physical and occupational therapy, behavior intervention and other services.