NORTHFIELD BOARD OF EDUCATION FILE CODE: 6171.4
Northfield, New Jersey
Regulation
SPECIAL EDUCATION
FREE AND APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION
A free and appropriate public education is available to all students with disabilities between the ages of three and twenty-one including students with disabilities who have been suspended or expelled from school.
Procedures regarding the provision of a free and appropriate public education to students with disabilities who are suspended or expelled are as follows:
A. School officials responsible for implementing suspensions/expulsions in the district are the following: (List school officials/designees by district organizational level.)
1. 5-8 Principal;
2. Pre-K – 4 Principal.
B. Each time a student with a disability is removed from his/her current placement for disciplinary reasons, notification of the removal is provided to the case manager by the Principal or designee. (Notification must be in written format for documentation.)
C. Each Principal or designee will ensure that a system is in place to track the number of days a student with disabilities has been removed for disciplinary reasons. Documentation will include:
1. Student’s name;
2. The infraction;
3. Time suspended; and
4. The cumulative days suspended including removal for a portion of the school day which is counted proportionately.
D. When a student is suspended from transportation:
1. Suspension from transportation is not counted as a day of removal if the student attended school.
2. Suspension from transportation is counted as a day of removal if the school district does not make available an alternate means of transportation and the student does not attend school.
3. Suspension from transportation may be counted as a day of absence rather than a day of removal if the district made available an alternate means of transportation and the student does not attend school.
E. When a student with a disability participates in an in-school suspension program, the Principal or designee shall ensure that participation in the program is not counted as a day of removal if the program meets the following criteria:
1. The student has the opportunity to progress in the general curriculum,
2. Services and modifications specified in the student’s IEP can be provided in the in-school suspension program,
3. Interaction with non-disabled peers to the extent they would have in the current placement, and
4. The student is counted as present for the time spent in the in-school suspension program.
F. When a series of short-term removals accumulate to more than ten school days in the year:
1. The Principal/Vice Principal or designee and the case manager will consult to determine whether the removals create a change of placement according to N.J.A.C. 6A:14-2.8(b)2. Written documentation of the consultation shall be maintained by the case manager.
2. If it is determined that there is no change in placement, the Principal/Vice Principal or designee and the case manager, and special education teacher will consult to determine the extent to which services are necessary to:
a. Enable the student to progress appropriately in the general education curriculum;
b. Advance appropriately toward achieving the goals set out in the student’s IEP; and
c. Written documentation of the consultation and services provided is maintained in the student’s file.
G. When a disabled student is removed from his/her current placement for more than ten days and the removal does not constitute a change in placement, the case manager shall convene an IEP meeting to:
1. Review the behavioral intervention plan and its implementation;
2. Determine if modifications are necessary; and
3. Modify the behavioral intervention plan and its implementation as appropriate. The plan will be modified to the extent necessary if at least one member of the team determines that modifications are necessary.
The case manager will document the date and the outcome of the meeting.
The documentation will be placed in the student’s file.
Procedures Regarding the Provision of a Free and Appropriate Public Education to Preschool Age Students with Disabilities
To ensure that preschoolers with disabilities who are not participating in an early intervention program have their initial IEP implemented no later than age three, a written request for an initial evaluation shall be forwarded to the district.
The following procedures will be followed:
A. A parent of a preschool-age student suspected of having a disability, who requests a Child Study Team (CST) evaluation by telephone, will be advised to submit a written request for an evaluation to the Coordinator of Special Services;
B. Upon receipt of the written request the request shall be dated and signed by the recipient;
C. A file will be initiated for the potentially disabled preschooler;
1. The preschool case manager will convene a planning meeting within twenty calendar days (excluding school holidays but not summer vacation) of the date recorded on the request;
2. A “Notice of Planning Meeting” (Identification Meeting) will be sent to the parent(s);
3. The notice will contain “Parental Rights in Special Education” (PRISE) Booklet;
4. The meeting will be attended by the CST, including a speech language specialist, the parent(s), and a teacher who is knowledgeable about the district’s program; and
5. A program shall be in place no later than ninety calendar days from the date of consent.
Procedures Regarding the Provision of a Free, Appropriate Public Education to Students with Disabilities Who Are Advancing From Grade to Grade
The Coordinator of Special Services through in-service training shall ensure students with disabilities who are advancing from grade to grade with the support of specially designed services, continue to be eligible when as part of a reevaluation, the IEP team determines the student continues to require specially designed services to benefit from education and progress in the general education curriculum; and the IEP team will use functional assessment information to support the determination to continue eligibility.
Procedures Involving Procedural Safeguards to Students Not Yet Eligible for Special Education
Disciplinary procedural safeguards will apply to students not yet eligible for special education. Parent(s) or legal guardian(s) and/or adult students may assert any of the protections of the law if the district had knowledge the student was a student with a disability before the behavior that precipitated the disciplinary action occurred.
Adopted: October 20, 2008