Special Education Programs and Services
The District, in cooperation with the Grant Wood Area Education Agency, will provide a free appropriate public education program and related services to students identified in need of special education. These programs and services shall comply with federal and state statutes, as well as the rules prescribed by the Iowa Department of Education.
Eligible children from birth through age 2 and children ages 3 through 5 are provided comprehensive special education services within the public education system. The District will work in conjunction with the area education agency to provide services, at the earliest appropriate time, to children with disabilities to ensure a smooth transition of children entitled to early childhood special educational services. Special education services shall be provided until the student completes an appropriate educational program, reaches age twenty-one or reaches maximum age allowable in accordance with the law. The appropriate education for each student is written in the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).
Eligibility for special education services shall be made on the basis of educational progress, discrepancy, and need through a team process involving parents, District and Grant Wood Area Education Agency personnel. The entire District shall be considered an attendance area for purposes of special education placement.
Students requiring special education instructional services shall receive their educational services in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) which includes attending regular education classes, participating in non-academic and extra-curricular services and activities, and receiving services in a regular education setting to the maximum extent appropriate for the needs of each individual student. The District recognizes that all children benefit when children with disabilities are educated with or in close proximity to their age-appropriate peers in regular school programs.
Special education students shall meet the graduation requirements set forth in Board policy, or the requirements, as modified, in their individualized education programs.
Public Law: 108-446
Iowa Administrative Code: 281.41
- Reviewed: 11-13-89
- Approved: 12-11-89
- Revised: 01-11-93
- Reviewed: 04-08-96
- Revised: 02-22-99, 05-24-04, 12-10-12
- Reviewed: 08-27-18
- Revised: 03-28-22
- Documents: 400.8
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