IEP Processes & Procedures

When a student is referred for an Initial Evaluation for consideration of a special education determination, the person making the referral is directed to the appropriate staff member(s) at each level. These staff members are called "Team Chairs."

Individuals serving in the role of Team Chair are responsible for coordinating the special education team process for initial evaluations and reevaluations.

Key points in the evaluation process include:

• Assessment in all area(s) of suspected disability.
• Evaluation is student-driven and comprehensive.
• Assessment tools may vary.
• Assessments provide educationally relevant recommendations. 

When a parent/guardian requests an evaluation to make a special education determination, the Team Chair has five (5) school working days to provide a written response to the request (DESE Forms: N1 and N1A or N2).  The Team Chair gathers information including area(s) of suspected disability by completing an intake process.  If the parent/guardian is not the person making the referral, the parent/guardian is contacted by the Team Chair who shares information regarding the referral, the referral/evaluation process, and special education determinations.  The Team Chair gathers information regarding educational difficulties and areas of a potential disability.  Information shared includes the identified disability categories as defined by state and federal regulations as well as the three-prong approach to special education determinations detailed on the eligibility flowchart (ED1) and the use of potential draft Individual Education Programs (IEPs).

Note that all forms, laws, and regulations can be found on the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Special Education website. The disability definitions from the state regulations are found in the section Special Education Determinations.

The Team Chair is available to meet with the parent/guardian.  Within five school working days following a request for evaluation, the Notice of Proposed School District Action (N1) and the Evaluation Consent Form (N1A) or The Notice of School Refusal to Act (N2) along with a copy of the Parent’s Notice of Procedural Safeguard and the eligibility flowchart (ED1) are sent to the parents/guardians. If consideration is being given to a specific learning disability, the team chair will send the required state forms that would be used in such a determination.

For Initial evaluations, assessments are completed in all area(s) of suspected disability.  State regulations identify the following disability categories:

• Autism
• Developmental Delay
• Intellectual Impairment
• Sensory:  Hearing, Vision, Deaf-Blind
• Neurological Impairment
• Emotional Impairment
• Communication Impairment
• Physical Impairment
• Specific Learning Disability
• Health Impairment

Observations of a child’s interactions in a natural setting are often utilized for special education determinations of children turning 3.  Observations are a part of the assessment process when determining eligibility within the category of Specific Learning Disability.  Therefore, when a Specific Learning Disability is the suspected area of disability the Team Chair must have an observation completed and the appropriate SLD forms available for completion at the team meeting.  Note that observations for the purpose of determining disability within the category of Specific Learning may be completed by the Team Chair or other team members including but not limited to special educators or psychologists.  

As required, each person completing an assessment summarizes the procedures employed, the results, the diagnostic impression and details the student’s needs offering explicit means of meeting them.  Assessments are written in an educationally relevant manner.  

An educational assessment including a history of the student’s educational progress in the general curriculum is completed using the Educational Assessment A and B forms (28R/1) and is a mandated component of both initial evaluations and reevaluations.

Note:  The Team's responsibility is to identify an Educational Disability, as defined by law.  Eligibility for special education is based on educational disabilities, and not on a specific diagnosis.  Diagnosis is medical in nature; school teams do not diagnose.  

Reevaluations are completed at least once every three years unless the parent and the local education agency agree that a reevaluation is unnecessary.  A reevaluation shall occur not more frequently than once a year unless the parent and the local education agency agree otherwise.

The process for reevaluations is implemented by the Team Chairs and includes the following steps:

• An educational assessment including a history of the student’s educational progress in the general curriculum is completed using the Educational Assessment A and B forms (28R/1) and is a mandated component of every reevaluation.  The Team Chair oversees the completion of the Educational Assessment.
• The Team Chair, in conjunction with the liaison, reviews existing evaluation data on the child including but not limited to:
  • Evaluations and information provided by the parents/guardians
  • Current classroom-based, local, or state assessments
  • Classroom-based observations
  • Observations (verbal and/or written) by teachers and related service providers

On the basis of the review and input from current providers and the child’s parents, Team Chairs identify what additional data, if any, are needed to determine:

• Whether the child continues to have a disability
• The current educational needs of the child
• Whether the child continues to need special education and related services (specially designed instruction and related services)
• Whether any additional modifications to the special education and related services are needed in order for the child to meet the goals in the IEP and to participate, as appropriate, in the general education curriculum.

Key Points for Reevaluations:

• Do not require the completion of specific assessments other than The Educational Assessment (28R/1)
• The Educational Assessment (28R/1) is a mandated component
• The above-bulleted questions must be able to be answered through the reevaluation process

Reevaluation procedures are implemented when it is suspected that a student may no longer be eligible for special education or for a particular service or related service.

Special Education Liaisons are the Team Chairs for annual reviews within Sudbury.  Annual reviews are completed at least annually, before the anniversary date of the IEP (Individual Education Program). In between annual IEP meetings the district and parents/guardians may agree to make changes to a student’s IEP, documented in writing, without convening a meeting of the team.  These changes are documented by writing an Amendment (IEP-A1) with an accompanying Notice of Proposed School Action (N1). Note that teams may convene to discuss potential changes and amendments to current Individual Education Programs, when desired. An amendment may not be used for a placement change; the team needs to reconvene for this change.

The school district shall convene a team meeting within forty-five (45) school days after receipt of the parent/guardian’s written consent to an initial or re-evaluation allowing for time within that same period for written proposal(s) to be received by the parent/guardian. If consent is received at least thirty (30) school days before the end of the school year, the school district shall ensure that a team meeting is scheduled no later than fourteen (14) days after the end of the school year.

The school district shall convene the team and review the IEPs and the progress of each eligible student at least annually.  Additionally, every three (3) years, or sooner if necessary, the school district shall, with parental consent, conduct a reevaluation consistent with the requirements of federal law.  Special education liaisons are the Team Chairs for annual reviews and schedule those meetings. The Special Education Team Chairs schedule all initial evaluations and reevaluations within their school and/or program area. 

The "Team" includes the following members:

• The child’s parents/guardians
• Chairperson (qualified to supervise or provide special education/is knowledgeable about the general curriculum/is knowledgeable about the availability of resources in the district/a representative of the district who has the authority to commit the resources of the district)
• Regular education teacher
• Special education teacher/provider
• The student, when transition is discussed
• An individual qualified to interpret instructional implications of evaluation results
• Others determined necessary by the Administrator of Special Education
• Other individuals at the request of the student’s parents
• A representative of any public agency who may be responsible for transition services
• A person knowledgeable about placement issues

If the Team Chair is absent on the day of a scheduled initial meeting or reevaluation the principal may appoint another member of the school team as a temporary team chair, if desired, or the principal may opt to cancel and reschedule the meeting.

Parents/guardians are essential members of special education teams and outreach efforts are made by the district to enlist the involvement of all parents/guardians.  This is done by maintaining open communication regarding the team process and through scheduling team meetings with sufficient advance notice.  In addition, parents/guardians are offered alternate means of participation including conference calls and other technological communication formats.  In the event that a parent/guardian does not respond to the district’s request for participation in the team process or is unable to attend and participate, the district’s efforts are noted under additional information on the proposed IEP.  This would include dates of phone contacts, emails and letters sent.  The intent of the Sudbury Public Schools is to involve parents/guardians in the team process as fully participating team members.

If, on the day of a scheduled team meeting, a school member of the team is absent, the Team Chair will communicate this information to the parent/guardian, when possible in advance of the designated team meeting time.  With parent/guardian approval the Team Chair may utilize the Absence of Team Member Form and request the appropriate signatures.

Initial and Reevaluation Team meetings are scheduled by the Team Chairperson.  The Special Education Liaison schedules Annual Review team meetings.  The Team Chair or Special Education Liaison will send the parent/guardian the meeting invitation (N3 and N3A) at least fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting.  

When possible, the person scheduling the team meeting will call or email parents/guardians with suggested meeting times prior to sending the Meeting Invitation (N3) and the Attendance Sheet (N3A). Efforts are made by Team Chair and Special Education Liaison to determine a mutually convenient time within the constraints of school working days and hours.

Sudbury Public Schools conducts reviews at least annually and reevaluations consistent with federal law providing that a reevaluation is conducted at least every three (3) years unless the parent/guardian and district agree that it is unnecessary and a reevaluation is conducted no more frequently than once a year unless the parent/guardian and district agree otherwise.

There are three parts to the process:

1. Eligibility determination: The Team must first determine whether a child is eligible for special education services. This determination starts with the careful and thorough evaluation of the child in all areas of suspected disabilities.
2. Development of the IEP: If the Team has found the student eligible for special education, the elements of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) must be discussed, planned and then captured in a written document. Input from parents, the student, general educators and special educators is necessary to complete this service contract that sets high expectations for a student and then guides that student’s special education services for the next year. 
3. Placement Decision: Once all elements of the IEP are determined, including services and supports, a placement decision must be made. The first placement option considered for each student with a disability must be the general education classroom with the provision of needed aids and services. The law requires that students do not get placed outside of the general education classroom unless their disability requires another setting. The Team must always consider the unique needs of the student before making the final placement determination. 

Special education determinations consist of a three-prong approach to eligibility that is detailed on the state eligibility flowchart (ED1). The steps in the process are as follows:

• Determine that the student has an educational disability as defined by the state.
• Determine if the student is making effective progress.
• If the student is not making effective progress, determine whether or not the lack of progress is related to the disability.
• On an initial evaluation, if the student has a disability and is not making effective progress and that lack of progress is related to the disability, determine whether or not there is a need for specially designed instruction (special education) and/or related services.  

Specially designed instruction is defined within the federal special education law as a change in content, methodology, or delivery of instruction. Within Massachusetts regulations changes in performance criteria fall within the definition as well.

Federal law states:

Specially designed instruction means adapting, as appropriate to the needs of an eligible child under this part, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction--

(i) To address the unique needs of the child that result from the child's disability; and

(ii) To ensure access of the child to the general curriculum, so that the child can meet the educational standards within the jurisdiction of the public agency that apply to all children.

Under Federal regulations related services are defined as follows:

(a) General. Related services means transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, and includes speech-language pathology and audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, early identification and assessment of disabilities in children, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, and medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes. Related services also include school health services and school nurse services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training.

On a reevaluation, the team determines if the student continues to have a disability and is making effective progress with the current level of specially designed instruction and/or related services, and determines whether or not the student would continue to make effective progress without the provision of special education and/or related services. If the student has a disability and would make effective progress without the provision of special education and/or related services the student is not eligible.  If the student has a disability and would not continue to make effective progress without the provision of special education and/or related services then the student remains eligible.  

If the team finds the student eligible for special education and develops a partial or full IEP and recommends further assessment an Extended Evaluation may be recommended.  If the team finds the student eligible but recommends further assessment before developing an IEP an Extended Evaluation can be recommended. State regulations detail that the Extended Evaluation should be used when evaluation information is inconclusive and should not be used to deny programs or services determined necessary by the team.  The extended evaluation may extend from one to eight school weeks but no longer.  Important points follow:

• Extended evaluation may not be used to allow extra time to complete required assessments.
• Extended evaluation is not a placement.
• The team can write a partial or full IEP and utilize extended evaluation.
• The team may meet at intervals during the extended evaluation period, not to exceed eight school weeks.
• The team reconvenes promptly when the evaluation is complete and within the stated eight-week time frame to make any final decisions about IEP services.

No Eligibility: A Team may also make a finding of no eligibility. If the student does not have a disability, if the student does not show a lack of progress, if the student does show a lack of progress but it is not due to a disability or ED 1 if the student does not require special education, then the team should make a finding of no eligibility. However, as a matter of good educational practice, the Team might reasonably discuss the appropriate next steps to ensure that any identified problem or concern is addressed by the school district. Most problems are best addressed as soon as possible and such early action may well be critical to the ultimate success of the student. If the student has a disability, one possible next step may be the development of a 504 Accommodation Plan. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. This law protects a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities include walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, caring for self and performing manual tasks. Parents also have the right to appeal any eligibility determination to the Bureau of Special Education Appeals, including a finding of no eligibility. Parents may contact the Bureau directly or request district assistance in contacting this agency. 

Sudbury Public Schools Process

Team meetings are chaired by Team Chairpersons for initial evaluations and reevaluations.   For annual reviews, special education liaisons function as Sudbury Team Chairpersons.

For initial evaluations and reevaluations the three prong approach to special education determinations is followed utilizing the special education eligibility form (ED1).  If no determination of special education eligibility is found, a consideration of a Section 504 meeting to consider eligibility for an accommodation plan should be made.  

Consideration is also given to general education supports and/or the development of an Individual Curriculum Accommodation Plan (ICAP) or an Individual Student Support Plan (ISSP).

State Regulations-Disability Definitions

Disability Categories:  Disability shall mean one or more of the following impairments:
(a) Autism - A developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction. The term shall have the meaning given it in federal law at 34 CFR §300.8(c)(1).

(b) Developmental Delay - The learning capacity of a young child (3-9 years old) is significantly limited, impaired, or delayed and is exhibited by difficulties in one or more of the following areas: receptive and/or expressive language; cognitive abilities; physical functioning; social, emotional, or adaptive functioning; and/or self-help skills.

(c) Intellectual Impairment - The permanent capacity for performing cognitive tasks, functions, or problem solving is significantly limited or impaired and is exhibited by more than one of the following: a slower rate of learning; disorganized patterns of learning; difficulty with adaptive behavior; and/or difficulty understanding abstract concepts. Such term shall include students with mental retardation.

(d) Sensory Impairment - The term shall include the following:

• Hearing Impairment or Deaf - The capacity to hear, with amplification, is limited, impaired, or absent and results in one or more of the following: reduced performance in hearing acuity tasks; difficulty with oral communication; and/or difficulty in understanding auditorally-presented information in the education environment. The term includes students who are deaf and students who are hard-of-hearing.
• Vision Impairment or Blind - The capacity to see, after correction, is limited, impaired, or absent and results in one or more of the following: reduced performance in visual acuity tasks; difficulty with written communication; and/or difficulty with understanding information presented visually in the education environment. The term includes students who are blind and students with limited vision.
• Deaf/blind - Concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes severe communication and other developmental and educational needs.

(e) Neurological Impairment - The capacity of the nervous system is limited or impaired with difficulties exhibited in one or more of the following areas: the use of memory, the control and use of cognitive functioning, sensory and motor skills, speech, language, organizational skills, information processing, affect, social skills, or basic life functions. The term includes students who have received a traumatic brain injury.

(f) Emotional Impairment - As defined under federal law at 34 CFR §300.8(c)(4), the student exhibits one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects educational performance: an inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors; an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers; inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances; a general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; or a tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems. The determination of disability shall not be made solely because the student's behavior violates the school's discipline code, because the student is involved with a state court or social service agency, or because the student is socially maladjusted, unless the Team determines that the student has a serious emotional disturbance.

(g) Communication Impairment - The capacity to use expressive and/or receptive language is significantly limited, impaired, or delayed and is exhibited by difficulties in one or more of the following areas: speech, such as articulation and/or voice; conveying, understanding, or using spoken, written, or symbolic language. The term may include a student with impaired articulation, stuttering, language impairment, or voice impairment if such impairment adversely affects the student's educational performance.

(h) Physical Impairment - The physical capacity to move, coordinate actions, or perform physical activities is significantly limited, impaired, or delayed and is exhibited by difficulties in one or more of the following areas: physical and motor tasks; independent movement; performing basic life functions. The term shall include severe orthopedic impairments or impairments caused by congenital anomaly, cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures, if such impairment adversely affects a student's educational performance.

(i) Health Impairment - A chronic or acute health problem such that the physiological capacity to function is significantly limited or impaired and results in one or more of the following: limited strength, vitality, or alertness including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli resulting in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment. The term shall include health impairments due to asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, and sickle cell anemia, if such health impairment adversely affects a student's educational performance.(j) Specific Learning Disability - The term means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations. Use of the term shall meet all federal requirements given in federal law at 34 CFR §§300.8(c)(10) and 300.309.

Note:  The Team's responsibility is to identify an Educational Disability, as defined by law.  Eligibility for special education is based on educational disabilities not on a specific diagnosis.  Diagnosis is medical in nature; school teams do not diagnose. 

Development of IEP:

Parents and/or students need to give input into IEP development. Parent and/or student input becomes the first indicator for defining the IEP focus. The placement of this item as the first order of business is deliberate and in keeping with the importance given to parent input in IDEA-97. Parents need to be asked to share their biggest concerns and their hopes for their child’s accomplishments, as the parent perspective is unique and important to the Team’s work. Parents, without exception, have a view of the student that cannot be duplicated by even experienced evaluators.

Present Levels of Educational Performance must be clearly written. The Team will also use the assessment information and their discussion of the student’s present levels of educational performance (PLEP) to focus the direction of the IEP goals and services. The PLEPs must be based on current, relevant information about the student obtained from a variety of sources. The Team first clarifies the educational needs that result from the student’s disability(ies). In other words, the Team describes the impact of the student’s disability(ies) on student’s participation in the general curriculum and the school. To keep the IEP focused, only areas affected by the disability should be described. Clear descriptions of how the disability(ies) impacts progress will better assist Teams in determining the most appropriate and individualized accommodations and special education services. 

Accommodations: Some needs will be addressed through accommodations. Accommodations are modifications that are typically provided by general educators within the general education environment. Preferential seating, pencil grip use or cooperative learning strategies are some examples of these kinds of typical accommodations. Accommodations do not involve modifying the material content but do allow students to receive information in a more effective manner. 

Not every student who is eligible for special education will require accommodations. The Team must reflect on the affect the disability(ies) has on educational progress and then identify accommodations, if any are needed, for the student to make effective progress. Some students with disabilities may require accommodations in only one curriculum or program area, others may require extensive accommodations, or none at all. The Team’s attention at this point should be on what the school district can do to help the student. 

Specially designed instruction addresses more complex needs. Specially designed instruction addresses the unique needs of the student that result from the student’s disability. Specially designed instruction is a modification not regularly provided for students in the general education  program. Special education services will usually include “specially designed instruction unless the students only require a related service(s) to access the general curriculum. However, not all students will need specially designed instruction in all areas of educational need and not all students will require all types of specially designed instruction. Specially designed instruction includes modifications that affect content, delivery of instruction, methodology and/or performance criteria and are necessary to assist the student in participating and learning. This instruction is designed by or with an appropriately credentialed special education teacher or related service provider.

Current Performance Connected to Measurable/Annual Goals:  Teams must connect current performance to measurable annual goals. The IEP should be written with a direct connection between the current performance levels and the measurable annual goals. The current performance levels state what the IEP 4 student can currently do and identify key stumbling blocks. The goals state what the student will accomplish by the end of the IEP period. The current performance levels become the starting points for determining the goals and the goals become the end points for student accomplishment for the IEP period. The Team now begins to shift their attention. The Team began by paying attention to how the student participates in the school and what the school district will do for the student. Now the Team members begin to pay attention to what the school district will expect the student to do and accomplish given the assistance the student will receive over the IEP period.

IEP goals are written to make the greatest difference for students. Goals must be measurable and must specify the expected knowledge, skill, behavior or attitude to be achieved within the IEP period, typically one school year. Goal statements address priority needs and focus the instruction over the next year. The Team will have to make choices as to what can reasonably be accomplished in a single year’s time. The Team must ensure the selected goals are the ones that matter to the parent, to the future of the student and in making the biggest difference for the student in the school. Most IEPs should include only three to four direction-setting goals. However, the Team is responsible for making the final determination of the number and types of goals that are included in the IEP. Remember, though, an IEP is not a daily, weekly or monthly lesson plan but rather is a guide that supports the development of these other plans. Goals must be challenging to ensure that students with disabilities are being held to high standards and are being adequately prepared for independence and productive Massachusetts Department of Education / June 2001. Yet, they must also be measurable and attainable. If a goal is being repeated year after year, there is something wrong. Most likely, the goal is not an annual goal and is not written in measurable terms. If the same goal is being repeated year after year, the goal is too vague or too broad and, in reality, becomes meaningless to judging a student’s progress. 

Goals need not address areas that are not affected by the disability(ies). Nor should the goals clutter the IEP with specific details for each content standard. Rather the goals should focus on the strategies the student needs for making progress in the general curriculum and other areas of need. Goals must be individualized. Goals must be based on the student’s past experience, current performance, rate of learning and educational needs, which rules out simply paraphrasing curricular content areas. For example, if a student is not making progress across the curriculum due to a reading disability then a measurable, annual goal should be written for reading. However, if another student has sound reading skills but is not making progress across the curriculum due to a writing disability, then a reading goal should not be added to the IEP but a goal addressing the less well developed writing skills should be included. 
 
Measurable goals are the key to identifying progress. Fewer goals make it more possible to see the changes in a student and to determine whether the student is really making the hoped for progress. Goals, then, can be used to measure student progress but can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of aids and services. Therefore, well-written goals will help the Team more effectively consider how to adjust services and aids to prompt better results. Progress reports reflect steps taken towards annual goals. Progress reports must be sent to parents at least as often as parents are informed of their nondisabled children’s progress. By Federal regulation, progress reports must answer the following two questions for each goal: · What is the student’s progress toward the annual goal? · Is the progress sufficient to enable the student to achieve the annual goal by the end of the IEP period? 

Placement:

 Placement is decided after the IEP is written. The IEP forms the basis for the placement decision. Once the Team has decided on the student’s needs and required services, the Team decides which placement is required to implement the IEP. The placement should be chosen individually for each student from a full continuum of placement options based on the most appropriate placement to provide the services on the student’s IEP. A placement in the general education environment is presumed. IDEA-97 presumes the first placement option considered for all eligible students will be the general education classroom with the use of supplemental aids and services. Students may not be denied education in age-appropriate general education classrooms solely because the students’ education requires modification to the general curriculum. Teams must first consider if the eligible student may be served in the school and classroom the student would attend if not disabled. Other options should be considered only when the nature and severity of the disability would prevent satisfactory achievement within the general education environment. An in-district placement should always be considered and recommended before an out-of-district placement is considered. If the Team determines that an out-of-district placement is necessary, the Team must be mindful of the requirement to give preference to approved programs located in Massachusetts. It is worth noting that if the Team determines an out-of-district placement is required, most such programs are not within the jurisdiction of the public school district and specific program locations cannot be guaranteed. In such cases, the public school district must work cooperatively with the Team to implement the placement determination, and may have to consider referrals to multiple program locations. In most cases, the Team who wrote the IEP will decide the placement immediately after the IEP is developed. If the student’s needs and corresponding services are complex and the Team is considering an initial out-of-district program or a different setting for a student currently in an out-of-district placement, a subsequent meeting might be scheduled to finalize the placement decision. In all cases, the parent continues to be an equal participant in the Team process. 

Quoted and Adapted from the Massachusetts Department of Education / June 2001 IEP Process Guide

Massachusetts IEP Timeline Compliance

From www.SPEDadvocate.com/timelines/

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Upon receipt of an accepted, signed Individual Education Plan (IEP), all aspects of the IEP are immediately implemented. All Sudbury staff members are notified of the students receiving special education services within their class/program. IEPs are available for each general educator who instructs a student with an IEP and for other staff members who are working with the student.

All general education staff members are responsible for reading the IEPs of each of their students and fully implementing assigned components.

At the middle school, Special Education Liaisons meet with their general education team teachers prior to the first day of school to share pertinent information regarding students and their IEPs. IEPs are put on google docs and all teachers and staff members (administrators, nurses and other support personnel) working with particular students access their IEPs for review in this manner.  As IEPs are reviewed and updated, the Liaisons notify the student’s teachers and staff members that a new or revised IEP is available for their review.  Unified Arts teachers are notified each trimester of the students with IEPs within their classes and are then able to access and review the appropriate IEPs.

Following each team meeting, the Liaison revises the draft Individual Education Program (IEP) with changes, additions and deletions discussed and agreed upon at the team meeting. The Liaison then submits the IEP and all supporting documentation to the Team Chair, who reviews the packet for completion, assuring comprehensive information on all required components. The Team Chair signs the IEP and submits the IEP and all documentation to the central office. The IEPs are then processed and reviewed by the Director or Assistant Director of Student Services. The central office sends two copies of each IEP to the parents/guardians. During the fall of each school year and for each Initial Evaluation parents/guardians are sent a copy of the Parent's Notice of Procedural Safeguards.

Special education = specially designed instruction and/or related services

• Specially designed instruction is a change in content, methodology/delivery of instruction, performance criteria
• IEP services are not a Placement
• At Team meetings, all issues and questions are discussed.
• All Sudbury staff members are notified of the students receiving special education services within their class/program.
• All general education staff members are responsible for reading the IEPs of each of their students and fully implementing assigned components.

Upon receipt of evaluation results, if the parent disagrees with an initial evaluation or re-evaluation completed by the school district, then the parent may request an Independent Educational Evaluation.

• All Independent Educational Evaluations shall be conducted by qualified persons who are registered, certified, licensed or otherwise approved and who abide by the rates set by the state agency responsible for setting such rates. Unique circumstances of the child may justify an individual assessment rate that is higher than that normally allowed.
• Parents may obtain an Independent Educational Evaluation at private expense at any time. The special education team shall reconvene to consider the Independent Educational Evaluation within ten (10) school days from receipt of this report.
• If the student is eligible for a free or reduced cost lunch, then the school district shall provide, at public expense, an Independent Educational Evaluation that is equivalent to the types of assessments done by the school district.  In such cases, the parent may request independent assessments in one, more than one, or all of the areas assessed by the school district.
• If the parent is requesting an evaluation in an area not assessed by the school district, or if the student does not meet the eligibility standards for free or reduced-cost lunch, then the school district shall respond in accordance with requirements of federal law.  The district shall either agree to pay for the Independent Educational Evaluation or, without undue delay, proceed to Special Education appeals to show that its evaluation was comprehensive and appropriate.  If Special Education Appeals finds that the school district’s evaluation was comprehensive and appropriate, then the school district shall not be obligated to pay for the Independent Educational Evaluation requested by the parent.
• Whenever possible, the Independent Educational Evaluation shall be completed and a written report sent no later than thirty (30) days after the date the parent requests the Independent Educational Evaluation.  If publicly funded, the report shall be sent to the parents and to the school district. The independent evaluator shall be requested to provide a report that summarizes, in writing, procedures, assessments, results, and diagnostic needs of the student.  The independent evaluator may recommend appropriate types of placements but shall not recommend specific placements.
• Within ten (10) school days from the time the district receives the report of the Independent Educational Evaluation, the TEAM shall reconvene to consider the Independent Educational Evaluation and whether a new or amended IEP is appropriate.
• If the family is not eligible for free and reduced lunch, there is a voluntary sliding scale fee program. Parents are requested to submit their financial information.  Given this information, a determination is made, based on formulas dictated by the state for the fee that would be the responsibility of the parents and the fee that would be the responsibility of the district.