Special Education

Educational Diagnosticians are here to assess and diagnose students' learning problems. The assessment will determine if the child is eligible for special education, or bilingual education programs. Once the problem has been identified our diagnosticians will plan an appropriate program for that student. Then support personnel will counsel the children, teachers and parents on the child's progress. It is the Diagnostician’s responsibility to see that the program is implemented to ensure students' success.

Recommendations may include:

          - Child be allowed extra time during tests
          - Child may be required to take tests orally if they struggle with written communication
          - A distractible child may be moved to the front of the classroom near the teacher's desk

Special Education

We am committed to ensure that students with disabilities are fully involved in all areas of campus life and make progress in the general curriculum successfully and appropriately as a result of teachers, parents, and administrative staff effectively implementing modifications, adaptations, and/or accommodations.

We believe Special Education should meet the individual needs of each student and that it should be based on assessment results.

Consider…

• Learning rate
• Learning style
• Cultural/Ethnic/Linguistic Differences
• Be outcome-oriented
• Be linked to the strategies and curriculum of the general education classroom
• Be monitored regularly and modified when necessary
• Create a level playing field for all students

Evaluation

Once it has been determined that a student continues to experience difficulty in the general education curriculum after appropriate interventions have been provided, the student may be referred for a Full Individual Evaluation (FIE) to determine if a disability is present and if there is a need for specially designed instruction through special education. A referral for a FIE may be initiated by the parent or school personnel through the RTI Committee or School Counselor. In GPISD, evaluations are conducted by highly qualified personnel which may include: Educational Diagnostician, Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP), and/or Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP).

Once written consent is obtained to evaluate your child, GPISD has 45 school days to complete the FIE and then 30 calendar days from the date of the FIE to convene an Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) meeting to review the results of that evaluation. A child between the ages of three and twenty-one must meet the criteria for one or more of the disability categories listed below to be considered for special education services:

• Autism
• Deaf-Blindness
• Deaf or Hard of Hearing
• Emotional Disturbance
• Intellectual Disability
• Multiple Disabilities
• Non-Categorical Early Childhood (age 3-5)
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other Health Impairment
• Specific Learning Disability
• Speech or Language Impairment
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Visual Impairment

Parent consent for an evaluation is required. A parent may refuse to sign the consent for evaluation or revoke consent for the evaluation once the evaluation has started. Any information obtained prior to the revocation will be reported. 

If a parent wishes to request an initial evaluation, the request must be made in writing to a District Administrative staff member (i.e. Campus Principal and/or Executive Director of Special Education). GPISD campus administrator then has 15 school days to respond to this request by setting up an RTI meeting to either obtain consent or provide written response of refusal.

Eligibility

Eligibility for special education services is determined based on two criteria: (1) a student must have a disability in one of the areas listed above, and (2) as a result of the disability, the student must demonstrate an educational need and therefore require specially designed instruction through special education. As part of considering eligibility, the evaluation must determine that the student has had appropriate instruction and that the academic or behavioral difficulties cannot be explained by other factors such as frequent absences, limited English proficiency, or other factors that could be the primary cause of the difficulties. 

Re-evaluation

A re-evaluation must occur at least once every 3 years, unless the parent and the district agree that a reevaluation is not necessary. 

Related Services

The term “related services” refers to an array of support services that are an integral part of the special education program for students with disabilities. Their purpose is to allow the child with disabilities to benefit from his/her program. Each child’s need for related services must be determined on an individual basis and included in the child’s IEP. It must determine first that a disability is present and need for special education exists before a related service can be considered through special education. GPISD supports the following related services in the school setting. 

• Music Therapy
• Occupational and Physical Therapy in the School Setting
• Orientation & Mobility Services
• Psychological Services
• Special Education Counseling in the School Setting
• Transportation

Speech-Language Therapy encompasses a wide array of communication disorders. Therapy may focus on management of articulation, phonological, language, fluency or voice disorders demonstrated by children.

Articulation
Children receiving articulation therapy are taught the motor component of speech and speech sounds. Correct and incorrect speech sounds are practiced in therapy. Phonological therapy focuses on the linguistic aspect of speech production.

Language
Children with language disorders may have difficulty understanding concepts being presented and/or expressing themselves. Language therapy focuses on strengthening the child’s receptive and expressive language skills that will help them succeed in the classroom. Comprehension, production, semantics, morphology, syntax, pragmatics and phonology are different areas of language that may be addressed in speech therapy.

Stuttering
Children who are seen for fluency or stuttering disorders experience an abnormally high frequency and/or duration of stoppages in speech. Different strategies or techniques are taught to help the child have smoother, more fluent speech.

Voice Disorders
Children with voice disorders may experience disturbances in pitch, loudness, or quality of voice. These children learn strategies to help the quality of their voice.