Beyond the Evaluation

Parentally-Placed Private School Students Beyond the Evaluation a parent s guide Seattle school district 2016-17

SERVICE OPTIONS Parentally-placed private school students may be eligible to receive special education services through an IEP or Service Plan. The following information describes the two types of services available to parentally-placed private school students, and identifies which students may be eligible for each service. Students may not simultaneously have an active IEP and Service Plan. Service Plan (SP) OVERVIEW A Service Plan (SP) is an alternative to an IEP and is available to select parentally-placed private school students enrolled in approved, non-profit private schools,* eligible for special education and not enrolled in the district for school-based or IEP services. The District is obligated to provide equitable services to the group of parentally-placed private school students and will identify specific students within that group to receive those services directly. Identified students may receive equitable services at their private school site and services will be provided before, during or after school. These students are not entitled to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and do not have an individual right to receive some or all of the special education services they would receive if they were enrolled in the district as a full- or part-time student. Furthermore, equitable services may vary from year-to-year and services may not be provided in all areas of eligibility or to all students. These services are funded through a calculated proportional share of federal funds received by the District to serve all district students with disabilities. SERVICES Equitable services to parentally-placed private school students may be provided by a district special education teacher or therapist (speech, OT, PT, etc.), an outside contracted agency or private school teacher serving under a Personal Services Contract with the District. Services may be offered at a public school, private school or otherwise agreed upon location. Services funded through Proportionate Share are not guaranteed throughout the school year. If the allocation is depleted, services may be discontinued for the remainder of the school year. Services in all areas of eligibility may not be available through Service Plans and service availability may change from year to year. The specific services and location(s) of services available to students on Service Plans are determined annually, through a collaborative consultation process with private school administrators and representatives of parents of parentally-placed private school students. For information on the services available at this time, please contact the Private School Program Specialist assigned to the region in which your child s school is located (see attached contact information). Your child s private school Administrator or Service Plan Coordinator may also be able to provide that information. The service determination for each school year is made by May 1 st of the prior school year. Parents may contact the District after May 1 st for information on service availability for the following school year. Students who are homeschooled, attend non-approved or for-profit private schools are not eligible to access equitable services. ACCESSING SERVICES If you are interested in equitable services for your child, you may contact the Private School Program Specialist assigned to the region in which your child s private school is located (see attached contact information). The Program Specialist will respond within five (5) business days to let you know if your child is eligible to receive services at that time. The District is obligated to provide equitable services to the group of parentally-placed private school students with disabilities. Since private school students have no individual right to services through a Service Plan, it is possible that a Service Plan will not be made available to your child. If equitable services are not available, parents may elect to dual-enroll their child to receive IEP services (please see IEP section for further service information). ELIGIBLE STUDENTS Service Plans are available to students designated by the District to receive equitable services. To be eligible for a Service Plan, a student must be enrolled and attending an approved, non-profit private school located within the Seattle School District 1 (regardless of District of residence). 1 A complete list of approved, non-profit private schools is attached. This list may also be found on the website for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). www.k12.wa.us

Individual Education Plan (IEP) OVERVIEW Any private school student residing within the Seattle School District may access part-time special education as a dualenrolled (private/public) student. Students enrolled in this manner are entitled to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), which is offered through an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Parents may elect to receive services in any or all areas of eligibility. The District remains obligated to provide FAPE in all eligibility areas in which the parent requests services. Therefore, while parents are entitled to choose specific area(s) in which their child will receive service, negotiating the number of minutes offered in each chosen area is not an option. Students are offered the same amount of service in each area as they would if they were a full-time district student. Private school representatives are invited to the IEP meeting and encouraged to participate in the development of the IEP. The IEP will reflect the services the student will be accessing through part-time enrollment. SERVICES IEP services are provided at a Seattle Public School. Services are offered during the public school day and transportation is provided as necessary. For services provided by a special education teacher (academics, social skills, etc.), the school assignment is determined in accordance with the district Student Assignment Plan, using the private school address rather than the home address. School assignment for services provided by a therapist (speech, OT, PT, etc.), is based on therapist availability and capacity at each building. If parents are able to transport their child to the service location, an assignment to another school may also be an option. When determining the schedule of services, the special education teacher and/or therapist are not required to consider the scheduling needs of the private school or family. Services will not begin prior to the student s enrollment in the District. ACCESSING SERVICES Parent/Guardian should follow the regular district enrollment process, including completion of the Admission Form, Certificate of Immunization Status, Photo ID of Parent/Guardian, Birth Certificate (K&1 st only) and two current address verification documents. The enrollment forms can be found on the Seattle School District website (seattleschools.org), within Schools/Enrollment. Enrollment paperwork and documentation can be faxed, emailed or submitted via US Mail. The delivery options are outlined on the front of the Admission Form. Parents should also include the Enrollment Referral Form, and should request that form from the appropriate Team Leader or Program Specialist (see attached contact information). This form is critical, as it alerts the Enrollment Center that the student should be admitted only and does not need a full-time school assignment. Students should not receive a school assignment immediately following submission of this paperwork. Parents should notify the appropriate Team Lead and/or Program Specialist once the enrollment paperwork has been submitted. An assignment to a Seattle Public School will be made at that time and, once an IEP meeting has been held and transportation is arranged, services may begin. ELIGIBLE STUDENTS All private school and homeschooled students have the option of enrolling part-time in their resident district to receive special education services through an IEP. If a student attends school within the Seattle School District but resides out of district, part-time enrollment for special education services is not an option. Students must request IEP services from their District of residence.

Approved, Non-Profit Private Schools 2016-17 Academy for Precision Learning Alfajer School Assumption St. Bridget Bertschi Billings Middle School Bishop Blanchet High School Bright Water School Christ the King School Concordia Lutheran School Epiphany School Fairview Christian School First Place School Giddens School Hamlin Robinson School Her Academy Holy Family Bilingual School Holy Names Academy Holy Rosary Elementary Hope Academy Hope Lutheran School Kapka Cooperative School Lake WA Girls Middle School Lakeside School Laurel Academy Makkah Islamic School Matheia School Meridian School MMSC Day School Morningside Academy North Seattle French School Northwest Montessori Northwest School O Dea High School Our Lady of Fatima School Our Lady of Guadalupe School Our Lady of the Lake School Pacific Crest School Puget Sound Community School Root Academy Seattle Academy of Arts & Sciences Seattle Amistad School Seattle Area German American Sc. Seattle Classical Christian School Seattle Country Day School Seattle Hebrew Academy Seattle Jewish Community School Seattle Jewish Girls School Seattle Lutheran High School Seattle Nativity School Seattle Preparatory School Seattle Urban Academy Seattle Waldorf School Solve for X School Spruce Street School St. Alphonsus St. Anne St. Benedict St. Catherine St. Edward St. George St. John St. Joseph St. Matthew St. Paul School St. Therese Catholic Academy The Bush School The Gift Learning Academy The Lake and Park School Tilden School Torah day School of Seattle University Child Develop. School University Cooperative School University Preparatory Villa Academy Westside School

Frequently Asked Questions! I m not sure which IEP services I want my child to access, and it will probably depend on the available schedule. Can I find out the schedule of services before deciding if I want an IEP? Yes, you may contact district personnel associated with the specific services you are considering. They will either contact the potential service provider and relay the proposed service schedule to you, or facilitate communication so you may speak directly to the service provider. **see attached district contact information! How will scheduling be determined if my child receives equitable services through a Service Plan? Academic services are currently provided through two 45-minute sessions per week. Scheduling options will be presented by the agency or provider, at which time parents may select one of the options or decline services. The student remains eligible for services and parents may choose to dual-enroll their child to access IEP services. Parents may also choose to request a Service Plan again at a later date (keeping in mind that the services offered through Service Plans, as well as the students eligible to receive those services, may change from year to year).! Will my child s eligibility status remain current if I don t accept special education services in any, or all, areas of eligibility? Yes, your child will remain eligible in all areas identified within the evaluation report for the duration of the eligibility period, whether or not services are accepted. Evaluations are considered current for three years.! Is a reevaluation automatically conducted after three years? A 3-year reevaluation is automatically conducted for any student enrolled in the District full- or part-time and receiving special education services via an IEP. If you have declined services for your child, or your child is receiving services via a Service Plan, a 3-year reevaluation will not be automatically conducted. Parents may request a 3-year reevaluation by contacting the Private School Department at 206-252-0800 or emailing the request to privateschoolservices@seattleschools.org. Please request the reevaluation at least 10 weeks prior to the expiration date to avoid an interruption in services.! I enrolled my child in the District, but I haven t been contacted by anyone about services. Is there something else I should be doing? If you would like to request services through dual-enrollment, please contact the District personnel assigned to coordinate services in the areas of service your child will be accessing (see attached contact information). If you are requesting speech, OT and/or PT, please contact those Team Leaders individually, as they each coordinate their own services. The Private School Program Specialist assigned to the region in which your child attends private school can facilitate the coordination of all other teacher-based services.! If my child attends an approved non-profit private school, can the IEP services be delivered at the private school? Any student who is dual-enrolled in the District receives their IEP services during the school day at a Seattle Public School site, regardless of their private school s approval or non-profit status.! Is it true that my child will receive services at their private school if they are on a Service Plan? All students on Service Plans currently receive services at their private school. However, a new service determination is made each year, at which time the location of services is subject to change. In addition, there is no guarantee that the private school will be able to accommodate the provision of services on-site, or that the service schedule will allow for services to be provided at the private school, even if the Service Plan provider is willing to do so. In the event that services can t be provided at the private school, they will be offered at the contracted agency s location or SPS site. Parents may always request services at an agency site, rather than the private school.

! We don t live in the Seattle School District. Can we only access services through our district of residence? If your child attends an approved non-profit private school, equitable services may be provided through the Seattle School District via a Service Plan, even if you reside in another school district. However, your child must be eligible in the service areas(s) available through a Service Plan and be identified to receive equitable services. If your child does not receive equitable services through a Service Plan, an IEP through the district of residence is the only option for accessing special education services.! My child isn t eligible in any of the areas offered through Service Plans this year. Is it possible that he/she might be able to access a Services Plan next school year? Yes, the services available to students through Service Plans may change from year to year. By May 1 st each year, a determination is made regarding equitable services for the following school year. To find out which service areas are available and which students have been selected to receive services each year, parents may contact the Private School Program Specialist assigned to the region in which their child attends private school (see attached contact information).! How is the school assignment determined for IEP services? For academics and other subjects taught by a special education teacher, the SPS assignment is made in accordance with the District s Student Assignment Plan, using the private school address, rather than the home address (please see attached spreadsheet for identified school assignments). If your child is homeschooled, the home address will be used to determine assignment. Speech, OT and PT services may not be available at the school identified through the Student Assignment Plan. School assignment is based on therapist availability and capacity, though the school identified through the Student Assignment Plan is always considered first. Speech, OT and PT service sites are determined by the District Team Leads for each therapy service.! If I select academics and speech services through dual-enrollment, will my child receive all of their services at the same Seattle Public School? Since teacher-based services are always assigned in accordance with the Student Assignment Plan, and therapy-based services are not always available at every school, there is a chance that the services will be provided at separate locations. If that is the case, parents may choose to accept the offered services at both sites or decline services at one of the sites. If parents are able to provide transportation, other locations may be considered in an effort to identify a school in which all requested services can be provided.! Can my child have an IEP and a Service Plan in place simultaneously? No, students may access services through a Service Plan or an IEP; not both. It may be an option, however, to switch from one plan to the other. Please contact the Private School Program Specialist assigned to the region in which your child attends school.! Will transportation be provided for my child to access IEP services? Yes, transportation is provided as necessary to the assigned school for services. If you would prefer that your child access services at a school other than the assigned school, transportation will not be provided. If your child attends private school outside the District, transportation will only be available if a drop-off and pick-up spot can be identified within the District boundaries.! What are the main differences between an IEP and a Service Plan?

" RIGHT TO ACCESS SERVICES o An IEP offers your child a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in whichever areas you choose to enroll your child for services, and you have the option of requesting services in any or all areas of eligibility. Your rights are identified in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and are outlined in the Special Education Procedural Safeguards at each meeting. o Students on Service Plans are not enrolled in the District and aren t entitled to FAPE. The District determines which students are designated to receive equitable services and which services will be available through Service Plans. No parentally-placed private school child with a disability has an individual right to receive some or all of the special education and related services that the child would receive if enrolled in a public school. The District s obligation is to the group of parentallyplaced private school students; not individuals. " ASSURANCE OF SERVICES o Your child has the right to receive special education services outlined in an IEP without interruption during the school year. o Students receiving services via a Service Plan run the risk of services being discontinued prior to the end of the school year. When the funding source for the provision of Service Plans is depleted, services are immediately discontinued until the following school year. We do, however, take this into consideration when determining which services will be provided throughout the year. Our goal is to provide services through the entire school year. The provision of specific services may not be available from year-to-year; sustainability of services is not guaranteed. " SERVICE PROVIDERS AND SCHEDULING o Services offered through an IEP are delivered by a District special education teacher or therapist during the school day, at a Seattle Public School site. The schedule of services is determined by the special education teacher and the District is not obligated to consider the student s existing schedule. o Students on Service Plans may receive services at their private school, a Seattle Public School site or an agency location. Services may be provided outside of the student s day, as agreed upon by the school, parent and service provider. Services will be provided by a district special education teacher or therapist, private school teacher, or a private agency provider. Similar to scheduling for dualenrolled students, the District is not obligated to consider the student s existing school or family schedule when developing the student s schedule of equitable services. " SERVICE DELIVERY o Students on IEPs receive services through a special education teacher and receive the number of service minutes they would if they were enrolled full-time in the District. These services are often provided in a small group format, but may be one-on-one or in an inclusion setting in a general education setting. Services are provided in the same manner they would be if the student were enrolled full-time. o Students on Service Plans receive services in a one-on-one setting for a predetermined number of minutes, which is typically less than what would be provided through an IEP. Provision of equitable services may vary from year to year, depending on the determination made annually by the District, in collaboration with the private school representatives. Currently, services in the area of social skills are provided in a group setting. Services may be provided by a contracted agency or individual provider. A private school teacher may apply to become a contracted individual private provider for the purpose of serving students within their own school.

District Contacts Enrollment Center/Service Center.....206-252-0760 enrollservices@seattleschools.org! Contact for enrollment status, readmission requirements (for returning students), or other enrollment related issues Transportation Department.........206-252-0900 transdept@seattleschools.org! Contact for transportation status, to report transportation issues, or to cancel, suspend or amend transportation Private School Department... 206-252-0800 privateschoolservices@seattleschools.org! Initial contact for any private school issues, questions or requests (will be routed accordingly) Private School Services NE & NW Regions Stephanie Rincon, Private School Program Specialist (NE & NW)...206-252-0860 skrincon@seattleschools.org! Contact with student-specific issues related to students attending private schools located in the NE or NW regions Private School Services Central, SE & SW Regions Kristy Szablya, Private School Program Specialist (Central, SE & SW) 206-252-0862 klszablya@seattleschools.org! Contact with student-specific issues or questions related to students in private schools located in the Central, SE or SW regions Private School Supervisor, Robin Olney......206-252-0870 reolney@seattleschools.org Speech/Language Services All District Patricia Whitmore, District Team Lead for Speech & Language..206-252-0808 pwhitmore@seattleschools.org! Contact to request an IEP for Speech/Language services via dual-enrollment! Contact to determine where services for your child are likely to be provided Occupational Therapy Services All District Kelley Couvillion, District Team Lead for OT....... 206-252-0834 kacouvillion@seattleschools.org! Contact to request an IEP for OT services via dual-enrollment! Contact to determine where services for your child are likely to be provided Physical Therapy Services All-District Chris Bryhan, PT Coordinator....206-252-0853 cjbryhan@seattleschools.org! Contact to request an IEP for PT services via dual-enrollment! Contact to determine where services for your child are likely to be provided