SPAULDING HIGH SCHOOL UNION DISTRICT                          CODE:  __INA____

POLICY MANUAL

First Reading: 7/6/2010

2nd/Final Reading:8/16/2010

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 EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT SYSTEM POLICY

 

 

The goal of the Educational Support System (ESS) is to provide students with additional assistance needed for them to succeed or be challenged in the general education environment.  This is the collective responsibility of everyone in the school.

 

It is the policy of the Spaulding High School District to provide a comprehensive Education Support System designed to increase the ability of the school to meet the needs of all students in the general education environment.

 

This policy will comply with the requirements of 16 V.S.A. §§2901, 2902, and 2904, and Rules 2194 and 2120.8.1.3.1 of the Vermont State Board of Education.

 

Definitions

 

  1. General education environment means school and non-school environments used for education purposes by students with and without disabilities such as regular classrooms, school libraries, learning centers and community job sites.
  2. Accommodations means those evaluation procedures, curricula, materials or programmatic adaptations, behavior management interventions and supplemental aids and services that are necessary for a student to benefit from his or her education or to participate in co-curricular activities.
  3. Supplementary aid and services means special assistance, material, equipment and other supports that are provided in regular education classes or other education related settings to enable students to be educated in the general education environment.

 

Implementation

 

The school shall develop an Educational Support System (ESS), designed to assist teachers in accommodating children in the regular classroom.  The system shall consist of an Educational Support Team composed of school staff and shall incorporate a range of referral, support and remedial services as well as the means to determine the effectiveness of accommodations or services recommended by the Educational Support Team (EST).

 

1.                  The Education Support System shall:

 

A.                    Be integrated to the extent appropriate with the general education curriculum;

B.                    Be designed to provide students with needed accommodations and supplementary aids and services regardless of their eligibility for categorical program;

C.                    Assist all students in working toward attainment of the Vermont Framework or comparable standards;

D.                    Collaborate, to the extent appropriate, with families, and community health and human service agencies to assist educators in meeting the academic needs of all students; and

E.                     Provide clear procedures and methods for handling a student who disrupts a class, including provision of education options, support services and consultation or training for staff where appropriate.

 

2.                  The Educational Support Team shall:

 

A.                 Assist teachers in planning and providing supplementary aids and services  and other accommodations to students in need of classroom supports or enrichment activities;

B.                 Develop a means to determine the effectiveness of accommodations and supplementary aids and services provided through the ESS;

C.                 Collaborate, to the extent appropriate, with families and community health and human services agencies to assist educators in meeting the academic needs of all students;

D.                 Maintain a written record of its actions; and

E.                  Ensure that a student suspected of having a disability is properly referred for an appropriate evaluation.

 

3.                  The Principal or his/her designee shall:

 

A.                 Appoint the members of the school’s Educational Support Team;

B.                 Provide professional development and other resources needed to enable the Educational Support Team and other school personnel to implement the Educational Support System;

C.                 Develop and maintain written administrative procedures in accordance with state Board regulations to implement this policy;

D.                 On an annual basis provide information regarding the existence, purpose and function of the Education Support System to parents;

E.                  Complete and submit reports required by the commissioner of Education to comply with Vermont statutes and regulations;

F.                  Provide to the school board an annual report on the status of the ESS to be used in the planning and budgeting process for the school.

 

Legal References(s):   

                        Act 230 of the 1990 Vermont Legislature

                        Act 157 of the 1996 Vermont Legislature

                        Act 177 of the 2000 Vermont Legislature

                        16 V.S.A. §§ 2901, 2901, 2904

                        16 V.S.A. §§ 2961 et seq.

                        Vt. State Board of Education Manual of Rules and Practices, §§2120.8.1.3.1, 2194