Texas Transition and Employment Guide

In this area of our scholar’s educational journey, Transition is addressed, if your child is 13 years old or turned 13 by the next ARD meeting. This is a mandatory section of the IEP that is completed by the Special Education Teacher.  The parent and scholars are provided a Transition Inventory Form to complete so the information is shared in the IEP. Transitional information will be addressed through their years of education, till graduation.

Transfer Student from an Interstate school or out of State

A temporary placement ARD committee will determine if any additional evaluation data is needed and the evaluation will be completed within 45 school days from the temporary placement ARD date. The ARD Committee determines that the IEP objectives of the student can be met on the home campus and agrees on temporary placement for 30 school days. If an evaluation is pending in the previous district, coordination will occur to ensure expeditious completion. If the Temporary ARD Committee determines that the IEP objectives of the student cannot be met on the home campus and the student will need placement on a different campus, the student will temporarily continue to receive services on the home campus. The campus special education staff will contact the appropriate special education administrator. An ARD will be scheduled to include appropriate staff from the possible receiving campus to discuss appropriate placement options for the least restrictive environment.

What if my child needs to be evaluated for school related services?

The process of our scholars entering our Special Education program. If the parent(s) or general teachers have educational concerns through classroom observations, family history, physician/phycologist reports and a request for a diagnostic evaluation is needed, the Special Education Department is notified. The next step is for the guardian to sign a consent form for the requested related service for the scholar to evaluated for. Our scholars are provided with an extensive evaluation by a license diagnostician to determine what type of school-based services that will be provided to our scholar while in school. Another vital service provided to our Kindergarten, 1^st graders and 2^nd graders is Dyslexia Screening.

What does Dyslexia mean?

Dyslexia is a type of learning disability. A scholar with a learning disability has trouble processing words or numbers. There are several kinds of learning disabilities. Dyslexia is the term used when scholars are having trouble learning to read, even though they are smart and want to learn.

The process for providing this service is an internal School-Based process.  It begins with an indictor tool called screening, observation, and monitoring. With these types of paperwork, the next step is to bring it the attention of the parent to request for written consent for an evaluation. The referral and written consent form signed by guardian is provided to the License Specialist School Psychologist (LSSP). Then the LSSP contact the guardian and starts her process by using assessment battery testing. The Special Education Department is provided the results. The guardian is contacted and an ARD meeting is scheduled to discuss the outcome of the test results.  If the scholar is eligible for Dyslexia services, the process begins with the scholar receiving School-Based services by a certified Dyslexia teacher for determined minutes per week recommended in the ARD meeting. The teacher and scholar will develop goals based on the results of the evaluation. The scholar will be provided with accommodations. The teacher will review with scholar on what the purpose is for using the accommodations. The goals will be evaluated every 6 weeks to determine the scholar’s progress, along with worksheets, test, other forms. The progress with be provided to the parents every 6 weeks. The teacher will have a personal folder to keep all the scholar’s paperwork.  The program used is Reading by Design to assist with the levels the scholar will achieve through the school years. 

Also, other specific areas are:

Dysgraphia - a neurological disorder of written expression that impairs writing ability and fine motor skills. It is a learning disability that affects children and adults, and interferes with practically all aspects of the writing process, including spelling, legibility, word spacing and sizing, and expression.

Dysphasia - also called aphasia, is a language disorder. It affects how you speak and understand language. People with dysphasia might have trouble putting the right words together in a sentence, understanding what others say, reading, and writing.

Another program that intertwines with our Special Education service is Bilingual/English Second Language (ESL).

What is Bilingual/ESL and how does it relate with Special Education?

English Language Learner (ELL) with a disability is a scholar who is eligible for both special education and English as a second language (ESL) or bilingual education services. There are different identification issues associated with each service, creating variability in the definition of an ELL with a disability. These services will be determined by guardian consent, ARD committee, and diagnostic testing results; the same process to ensure all Bilingual/ESL scholars are provided with accommodations, with services from the Special Education Department, if recommended to be academically successful.

Terms written as services in an Individual Service Plan (IEP)

Less Restrictive Environment- students who get special education should be in the same classrooms as other students as much as possible. This is the scholar’s goal is to be provided services in a less restrictive environment. Through the ARD committee and related services evaluations determines the instructional code setting.  

Inclusion services- Inclusion serves to scholars are with a Special Education teacher going into a general class with the General teacher. This is a joint effort to ensure academic instruction is being received, understood, and completed assignments are performed by our Special Population’s scholars.

Accommodations – Accommodation are written in the scholars IEP. These are classroom services provided by general teachers and special education teachers. These are to help the scholar with all his 4 content subjects in every classroom.

Modifications- Modifications are changes in what scholars are expected to learn, based on their individual abilities. If a scholar cannot achieve success at the targeted level, using modifications to make the material more manageable for the scholars is an important part of teaching. Modifications allow scholars to learn at their present level rather than failing to comprehend information above their understanding.

Supplemental Aids- Supplementary aids and services means aids, services, and other supports that are provided in regular education classes, other education-related settings, and in extracurricular and nonacademic settings, to enable scholars with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled scholars to the maximum extent appropriate.

Transition -Transition prepares our scholars to move from high school to adulthood. Transition in Texas begins before a student’s 14th birthday, or earlier if the admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee decides it would be right for you. As you get close to beginning high school, you will need to talk about what you want to do after graduation. Your transition services will be based on your needs, preferences, and interests. The ARD committee (which includes you and your parents) writes the transition plan as part of your Individualized Education Program (IEP).

If you need more information in regarding Special Education terms and definitions, you can search this website

http://framework.esc18.net/display/Webforms/ESC-FW-Glossary.aspx