The District will adhere to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, its implementing regulations, and the Missouri State Plan for Special Education. The District will observe the following guidelines in providing special education and related services to identified students with disabilities.

Determination of Eligibility for Children Ages 3 Through 5

To determine whether children ages 3 to 5 (not kindergarten-age eligible) are children with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the District will identify all such children using any IDEA disability category except that of Young Child with a Developmental Delay.

Transition Services

Beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect when the child is sixteen (16), and updated annually thereafter, the District will implement appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills and the transition services (including courses of study) needed to assist the child in reaching those goals.

In addition, when a student with a disability reaches age eighteen (18), the District will provide to parent(s) of qualified disabled students under the IDEA a statement that the child has been informed of his or her rights under Part B of IDEA and that those rights will transfer to the student upon reaching the age of majority.

Extended School Year (ESY)

The IEP team will determine on an annual basis whether the student requires extended school year (ESY) services.  If appropriate, the notice of the IEP meeting will include that the team will consider ESY services.

In determining whether the student requires ESY services, the IEP team may consider, among other factors, whether the student will suffer regression to such a marked degree that the student's skills may not be recouped in a reasonable time at the inception of the subsequent school year, the degree of impairment, the ability of the student's parents/guardians to provide educational structure at home, the student's rate of progress, the student's behavioral and physical problems, the availability of alternative resources, the ability of the student to interact with students without disabilities, the areas of the student's curriculum that need continuous attention, or the student's vocational needs.

If an IEP team determines that a student requires ESY, decisions regarding the type of special education and related services and their frequency, intensity and duration shall also be determined by on an individualized basis and by the student’s IEP team.

The IEP will reflect that the IEP team considered ESY services.  If the IEP team determines that ESY services are required, the team will be responsible for preparing an appropriate ESY IEP or determining that the regular school year IEP will be implemented.

PLACEMENT - STUDENTS VOLUNTARILY ENROLLED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS BY THEIR PARENTS

The District's activities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) regarding the location, identification, and evaluation of parentally-placed private school students with disabilities will be comparable to the activities undertaken for students in public schools.

However, a student with a disability voluntarily enrolled in a private school by his/her parents/guardians does not have an individual right to receive some or all of the special education and related services that the student would receive if enrolled in a public school.  Students with disabilities voluntarily enrolled in private schools by their parents/guardians are not entitled to a free appropriate public education.

In order to meet its obligations under the IDEA to students with disabilities voluntarily enrolled by their parents/guardians in private schools, the District will spend, for children ages 5 through 21, an amount that is the same proportion of the District's K-12 entitlement under Part B of the IDEA as the number of private school children with disabilities ages 5 through 21 residing in the District is to the total number of children with disabilities ages 5 through 21 residing in the District.  For children ages 3 through 5, the District will spend an amount that is the same proportion of the District's Preschool entitlement under Part B of the IDEA as the number of private school children with disabilities ages 3 through 5 residing in the District is to the total number of children with disabilities ages 3 through 5 residing in the District.  Expenditures for child find activities will not be considered when determining whether the District has met its obligation.

The District will consult with representatives of the  private schools located within the District to decide which disabled students will receive services, what services will be provided, how and where the services will be provided, and how the services provided will be evaluated.  The District will make the final decisions regarding the services to be provided to private school children with disabilities.

For each private school student designated to receive services, the District will prepare a service plan that describes the specific special education and related services that the District will provide to the student.  The District will ensure that a representative of the private school attends meetings to develop, review, and revise a services plan, or, if the representative cannot attend, will use other methods to ensure participation by the private school.  To the extent appropriate, the services plan will be developed in a manner consistent with the requirements under the IDEA for an IEP.

Missouri case law and the Missouri Constitution prohibit the provision of personnel, services, materials, and equipment on the premises of a student’s private school unless they are provided in a neutral site.  The private school may be considered a neutral site if the setting of the services is secular and void of ideological items.  The District will determine how and where services will be provided to students with disabilities attending private or parochial schools.

Due process rights for students with disabilities voluntarily enrolled in private schools and their parents are limited.  Only issues related to child find, including evaluations, can be raised in a due process complaint.  There is no due process right to challenge the services that a student receives. The District is responsible for child find and the provision of services for disabled students attending private schools within the District but NOT for resident students whose parents choose to enroll the student in a private school in a different school district.