In accordance with Section 200.6 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, the district provides a continuum of services which allows placement of preschool and school-age students in the least restrictive environment consistent with their needs and which provides for placement of students on the basis of similarity of individual needs.

Special education students participate in the same school calendar as their general education peers. School days means calendar days unless otherwise indicated as school day or business day.

1. School day means any day, including a partial day that students are in attendance at school for instructional purposes. The term school day has the same meaning for all students in school including students with disabilities and students without disabilities, except that, during the months of July and August, school day means every day except Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays.
2. Business day means Monday through Friday, except for Federal and State holidays (unless holidays are specifically included in the designation of business day).

When specified in a student’s Individualized Education Program, transitional support services are provided to a teacher on a temporary basis to aid in the provision of an appropriate educational program to the student with a disability who is transferring to a general education program or to a less restrictive program or service. These services may be provided by the building psychologist, a special education teacher, a speech/language therapist, physical therapist, occupational therapist or other appropriate professionals who understand the specific needs of the student with a disability.

Consultant teacher services will be for the purpose of providing direct and/or indirect services to students with disabilities enrolled full-time in general education classes including career and technical education.  Such services shall be recommended by the Committee on Special Education to meet specific needs of such students and shall be included in the student’s individualized educational program (IEP). Consultant teacher services shall be provided in accordance with the following provision:

• Each student with a disability requiring consultant teacher services shall receive direct and/or indirect services consistent with the student’s IEP for a minimum of two hours each week.
• The total number of student with disabilities assigned to a consultant teacher shall not exceed 20
• Program Goals:
  1. To assist school staff in understanding different learning styles and modifying and adapting the general education curriculum as necessary to meet the needs of individual students.
  2. To strengthen students’ organization and study skill application within the general education setting.
  3. To teach students techniques needed to compensate for areas of weakness.
  4. To introduce and strengthen student self-advocacy behaviors and independent functioning skills.
  5. To increase self-awareness and self-acceptance of students with disabilities and general education students through their understanding that all individuals benefit from additional assistance at times.
  6. To provide remedial instruction in math, reading, writing or other academic need areas specified on the IEP without removing the student from the general education setting.
  7. To provide testing modifications as needed.
  8. To assist parents in understanding their child’s learning needs and to provide home support.

Related services means developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a student with a disability and includes speech and language pathology, audiology, interpreting services, psychological services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, medical services as defined by regulations, parent counseling and training, school health services, school social work, assistive technology services, other appropriate developmental or corrective support services, appropriate access to recreation and other appropriate support services.

• The frequency, duration and location of each service shall be in the IEP, based on the individual student’s need for the service.
• When the related service is provided to a number of students at the same time, the number of student in the groups shall not exceed five.
• For students with disabilities determined to need speech and language services such services shall be provided for minimum of two thirty minute sessions each week.
• A student with a disability may be provided with more than one such service in accordance with the need of the student
• Related services may be provided in conjunction with general education program or with other special education programs and services.

The resource room program is for the purpose of supplementing the general or special classroom instruction of students with disabilities who are in need of such supplemental programs.  Resource room services shall be provided in accordance with the following provisions.

• The instructional group in each resource room period does not exceed five students.  Each resource room period is instructed by a certified special education teacher.
• Students shall spend a minimum of 3 hours per week and not more than 50 percent of the day in the resource room program.
• The total number of students assigned to a resource room teacher will not exceed 20 at the elementary level and 25 at the middle and high school levels.
• The composition of instructional groups shall be based on similarity of the individual needs of the students according to academic levels and learning characteristics, levels of social development, levels of physical developments and the management needs of the students in the classroom.
• Resource room services may be provided either in a pull-out or push-in program or a combination of both.

The Integrated Co-Taught program provides specially designed instruction and academic instruction to a group of students with disabilities and non disabled students.

• The maximum number of students with disabilities receiving integrated co-taught service in class shall not exceed 12 students.
• Each class shall minimally include a special education teacher and a general education teacher
• Additional personnel including supplementary school personnel assigned to such classes by the district my not serve as the special education teacher.

A special class is defined as a class consisting of students with the same disabilities or with differing disabilities who have been grouped together because of similar individual needs for the purpose of being provided a special education program. The chronological age range of students who are less than 16 years of age will not exceed 36 months.  A student with a disability shall be placed in a special class to the extent indicated in his/her IEP.

Students with disabilities whose needs are too intensive to be addressed appropriately in an in-district special education program, may be placed in one of the following, listed from least restrictive to more restrictive:

• special class operated by another school district
• a BOCES program
• an approved Private School (day)
• 4201 or State Operated school
• an approved Residential Placement

Students with disabilities who are recommended for home and/or hospital instruction by the CSE shall receive instruction as follows:

• Instruction for elementary school students will be provided a minimum of 5 hours per week;
• Secondary school students will receive a minimum of 10 hours of instruction per week, preferably 2 hours daily.
• Students who are awaiting placement may be assigned, on an interim basis and with their parent’s consent, to alternate-site instruction. This instruction is identical to home teaching except that the actual instruction takes place outside the home.

Students exiting special education may be considered for declassification services. Declassification support services are defined in the Part 100 Regulations. Testing modifications may be continued as recommended by the CSE. If a student has been receiving special education services but the Committee on Special Education determines that the student no longer requires such services and can be placed in a general education program on a full-time basis, the recommendation shall:

• identify the declassification support services,
• indicate the projected date of initiation, and
• indicate the frequency and duration of such services, not to be continued for more than one year.