In Pennsylvania, in order for a student to be eligible for special education services, the student must meet two requirements:

1. First, the student must be identified as having one of the thirteen disabilities listed in the IDEA: autism, deaf-blindness, deafness, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, intel­lectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, or visual impairment.
2. Second, the student must also require specially-designed instruc­tion as determined by an evaluation team. Specially-designed instruction refers to the special methods, equip­ment, materials, and adaptations that are needed for students to be successful in school and to achieve their IEP goals. This may involve accommodations and/or modifica­tions to the general education curriculum.

What does the evaluation process determine?
The Evaluation determines whether your child has an educational disability AND whether your child requires specially designed instruction and/or related services. The report that is compiled and written by the evaluation team (which includes you, the parent) is called an Evaluation Report (ER).

Who participates in the evaluation?
The evaluation is conducted by an evaluation team.

• Under Pennsylvania regulations, the evaluation team must include a certified school psychologist when evaluating for these disabilities: Autism, emotional disturbance, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, other health impairment, specific learning disability and traumatic brain injury.
• Parents must always be part of an evaluation team.
• The regular education teachers are also a part of this team because they have been teaching the child, and know how the child performs in relation to his or her peers.
• A special education teacher, special education supervisor or other instruction specialist could also be a member of the evaluation team, because of their expertise.

School psychologists are uniquely qualified members of school teams who apply expertise in mental health, learning, and behavior to help children and youth succeed academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. Your School’s Psychologist will assist the multi-disciplinary evaluation teams to determine your child’s eligibility to receive special education services.

How long does the evaluation take?
From the date that the parent/guardian signs and returns the PTE form to their school, that school has 60 calendar days to evaluate your child and notify you of the results. Note: The 60 calendar days do not include the summer months after a school year has ended.

How do I get my child evaluated if I suspect my child is eligible for special education?
School districts must identify and evaluate all students who are thought to have a disability and who may be eligible for special education or related services. If you suspect your child is eligible, you can submit a request, in writing, to the Principal at your child’s school to start the process. Once you make the request, the school will either issue a “permission to evaluate” (PTE) or explain, in writing, why a PTE may

What happens after an evaluation?
An evaluation team reviews all materials and writes a report called an Evaluation Report (ER) that states if your child has a disability and if your child needs special education. It makes recommendations about the type of services your child may need. The said recommendations will be developed at an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting that you (the parent) will be invited to participate in.

Note: The evaluation or reevaluation, will inform you of additions or changes (i.e, Accommodations, Modifications) that are needed to help your child meet the goals in your child’s educational program described in your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).

• Accommodations are teaching supports and services that the student may require to successfully demonstrate learning. Accommodations change the “how” of learning, but do not change expectations to the curriculum grade levels. Accommodations may involve special seating, frequent breaks, or extended time on tests.
• Modifications are changes made to the curriculum expectations in order to meet the needs of the student. Modifications are made when the expectations are beyond the student’s level of ability. Modifications may include modified homework assignments, alternate forms of assessment such as portfolios, and changes to the curriculum. Modifications change the “what” of learning.

As a parent, you are uniquely qualified to know your child’s learning strengths and weaknesses. School professionals will utilize your knowledge in designing a special education program for your child’s benefit.

NOTE: Children who have disabilities that substantially limit their participation in or access to school programs, but who do not need special education, may qualify for reasonable accommodations in the general classroom under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and other Pennsylvania education regulations. The rules – called Chapter 15 – that apply are different from those for students needing special education who qualify by meeting the two-part criteria listed above.

Special education is a service—not a placement.
If your child qualifies for special education services, the next step is to determine where those services will be provided.

Your Rights Under IDEA

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that school districts provide:

• A Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
• In the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

This means services must be offered in settings that allow students with disabilities to learn alongside their non-disabled peers whenever possible—at no cost to families.

How Placement Decisions Are Made

Placement is decided by the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team, which includes:

• You, the parent or guardian
• Teachers and school staff
• Special education professionals

The team determines the most appropriate setting based on your child’s specific needs, goals, and required services.

What is the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)?

LRE is a continuum of educational settings. It starts with the general education classroom and progresses to more specialized environments as needed.

• The IEP team must consider the most inclusive setting first.
• A student is typically placed in the school they would attend if not disabled—unless their IEP calls for something different.
• Placements can change over time as a student’s needs evolve.

Out-of-District Placements

If a student needs more intensive support than their home school can provide, the IEP team may consider an out-of-district placement.

Approved Private Schools (APS)

An APS is a private school licensed by the state and approved to serve students with significant needs. These schools:

• Offer highly structured, specialized environments
• Serve students whose disabilities cannot be fully supported in public school settings
• Require a referral and IEP team determination for eligibility

Early Intervention is the process by which children from the ages of three to five receive services through an Early Intervention agency due to a developmental delay of at least twenty-five percent.

• It is the District’s responsibility to determine if children who are age-eligible for Kindergarten in the Fall of any given year will need academic assistance.
• It is important to note that the services received through an Early Intervention agency are based on developmental needs, while services provided by the School District are determined by academic needs.

The questions that need to be answered are “Will a child need assistance to access the curriculum?” and if so “What type of assistance?”

Early Intervention Services

Early Intervention consists of services and supports designed to help families with children who have developmental delays.

Early Intervention services can include:

• information on how children develop; parent/caregiver education, support services, and developmental therapies that assist in child development
• ideas for how the family can help their child at home and in the community and is individualized to enhance the child’s growing and learning

Services and supports are embedded in the learning opportunities that exist in the child’s typical routines and within the home and community and/or other early education programs such as child care centers, nursery schools, prekindergarten programs or Head Start.

Transition services are activities that prepare students with disabilities to move from school to post-school life. The activities must be based on the student’s needs, preferences, and interests. Transition planning begins no later than age 14, in middle school or early high school, as students explore what they want their post-school outcomes to be. The purpose of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is “to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment and independent living.

What does transition planning accomplish?
Transition planning helps students and their families think about the future and jointly plan with the school and supporting agencies to make the school experience contribute directly to achieving the necessary skills for a successful adult life.

Why is it important to do secondary transition planning?
Transition planning is required by federal law (IDEA 97) and Pennsylvania regulations (Chapter 14). The purpose of transition planning and programming is to encourage students to pursue education and/or training and to seek employment beyond high school.

When does secondary transition planning start?
Transition planning must start by age 14, though it may begin at an earlier age if the IEP team decides that early planning is appropriate. Beginning no later than age 14, the IEPs of students must include a course of study, transition services and/or activities and goals and objectives that support the students’ post-school goals for education and training, employment, and independent living.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) – is an IDEA requirement indicating that children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, must be educated with children who are not disabled, to the maximum extent appropriate. Removal of children with dis­abilities from the general education environment occurs only when the nature and/or severity of their disabilities are such that education in general classes, with the use of supplementary aids and services, cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

Local Education Agency (LEA) – is a school district, charter school, or other educational entity responsible for providing a free, appropriate public education in accordance with Pennsylvania Department of Education statutes, regulations, and policies with or without support from other agencies.

Supplementary Aids and Services – are aids, services, and other supports provided in general education classes or other education-related settings to enable children with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled children to the maximum extent appropriate.

Types of Special Education Support – Learning Support, Life Skills Support, Emotional Support, Deaf and Hearing Impaired Support, Blind and Visually Impaired Support, Speech and Language Support, Physical Support, Autistic Support, Multiple Disabilities Support

Amount of Special Education Support – The following words and terms have the meanings listed unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

• Full-time. Special education supports and services provided by special education personnel for 80 percent or more of the school day.
• Supplemental. Special education supports and services provided by special education personnel for more than 20 percent but less than 80 percent of the school day.
• Itinerant. Special education supports and services provided by special education personnel for 20 percent or less of the school day.

January: Attend an Early Intervention Transition Meeting with the School District and Elwyn Early Learning Services (see the schedule.

JANUARY – MAY – Please register for Kindergarten at Your Neighborhood School. Be sure to tell the School Secretary that your child receives Early Intervention (EI) Services.

Families can reach out to their Local Education Agency (LEA) for more information at Elwyn Early Learning Services (ELS)Regional Contact Information (215) 222-8054.

Remember to Bring:

• Proof of Identity
• Proof of Residence
• Proof of your Child’s Age
• Proof of Immunization

Kindergarten Transition

For any inquiry related to Kindergarten transition: Elwyn.Kindergarten@elwyn.org

As part of the Transition Process – Be sure to sign and return any documentation provided by your Special Education Compliance Manager to your neighborhood school.

** As necessary – Update your neighborhood school with any changes in address or contact information.

There are 13 different disability categories as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), under which 3- through 22-years-olds may be eligible for services.

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Deaf-Blindness
• Deafness
• Emotional Disturbance
• Hearing Impairment
• Intellectual Disability
• Multiple Disabilities
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other Health Impairment
• Specific Learning Disability
• Speech or Language Impairment
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Visual Impairment, including Blindness

After a school evaluates a student and determines that the student is eligible for special education, an Individualized Education Program (IEP)  team meeting is held. This important meeting by law, must be within thirty (30) calendar days of an eligibility determination via the evaluation results.

During the meeting, the student’s needs are discussed and the evaluation results are explained. Then, the parents and members at the meeting discuss the services and supports necessary to help a child make progress in school; this information is put into the IEP document for implementation. 

IEP Meeting a Quick Summary

• The evaluation results will be explained 
• Schools are required to hold an IEP meeting, if appropriate 
• The purpose of the meeting is to discuss, develop, and review a student’s academic needs
• Parents/legal guardians, are part of the IEP team and work jointly with school staff to ensure the IEP, meets the student’s needs
• The IEP, must be developed with-in thirty (30) calender days of the finalized evaluation report
• The IEP, must be put into action, as soon as possible but no later than ten (10) school day(s) after the IEP is approved

Related Services

Related services are supportive services that are required for a child to benefit from special education. Related services help children with disabilities benefit from their special education by providing extra help and support in needed areas, such as speaking or moving.

Related services can include but are not limited to, any of the following:

• Speech and language, pathology and audiology services
• Interpreting services
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Vision Support Services
• Orientation and mobility services

How often should a student receive a related service?

The IEP team determines the frequency, location, and duration of related services based on a student’s individual needs. Parents are an integral part of the IEP team. The related service provider often provides the support to teachers and classroom staff so that the related service can take place in the classroom throughout the day.

How is a student’s need for related services determined?

Each student’s need for related services, just as the need for special education, is determined by the student’s IEP team as part of the individualized education program (IEP) process.

My child receives one of the services named as special education. Is this a related service?

Speech/language, deaf/hard of hearing and vision support can either be the student’s special education support in the general curriculum or the support can be the related service supporting the IEP. The student must have a disability in the specified area(s) and be in need of specialized instruction to receive support in the specified area(s) in order to be successful in the curriculum.

May I speak to the school psychologist without my child being evaluated for special education?

The psychologist is a member of the school team. You may make an appointment anytime to speak with the psychologist without having to have your child evaluated.

An assistive technology device is any piece of equipment that is used to increase, maintain or improve the functional capabilities of children with disabilities.

Who is responsible for determining what assistive technology services a student should receive?
The IEP team is responsible for determining if an assistive technology device and/or service is necessary for a child with a disability to receive FAPE (Free And Appropriate Education).

When a student moves from school to school, does the assistive technology device move with the student?
If the assistive technology device is necessary for a student to receive FAPE (Free And Appropriate Education), the device must be provided to the student in his new school.

How is assistive technology integrated into the delivery of the general education curriculum?
The IEP team will discuss how the student will use the device and how it will be integrated into the general education curriculum. This information will be shared with the general education teachers so that they will be aware of how it will be used.

Is the School District responsible for retaining, repairing or replacing assistive technology devices?
If purchased or secured by the school District, they will repair or replace assistive devices, as long as the student requires them in order to receive FAPE (Free And Appropriate Education).

• We partner with our families to build trusting relationships and create opportunities for children to develop communication, social, emotional and academic skills in order to reach their greatest potential.

• Programs we use in classrooms include STAR Autism curriculum in grades Kindergarten-5th, Links curriculum in grades 6th-12th including Transition Age, and Direct Instruction programs: Language to Learning, Language to Thinking, Language to Writing, Reading Mastery, Connecting Math Concepts across all grade spans.

• We partner with our families to provide support services for students with a disability of visual impairment including blindness.
• The student may require services to address needs primarily in the areas of accessing print and other visually-presented materials, orientation and mobility, accessing public and private accommodations, as well as the use of assistive technologies designed for individuals with visual impairments or blindness.

• Programs we use in classrooms include: The Teacher of the Visually-Impaired (TVI) provides specific student accommodations as outlined by the 504 Accommodation Plan to access the curriculum, and as a member of the the IEP team, the TVI will provide specially designed instruction to the student in order to meet IEP goals that will strengthen the student’s skills in the nine areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) for students with visual impairments

• The Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS or O&M) provides support as outlined within the Individual Education Program (IEP), as a member of the IEP team. Orientation and Mobility is a related service support that will ensure a student learns safe independent travel skills to the greatest extent possible according to their ages and levels of functioning

• We partner with our families to build trusting relationships and create opportunities for academic growth so our Deaf/Hard of Hearing students can reach their full potential.
• Programs we use in classrooms include: We use a variety of specifically designed interventions/curriculums for our Deaf/Hard of Hearing students in addition to the required curriculum from the District. We use Bedrock, Bilingual Grammar Curriculum and Visual Phonics, among others.

• We partner with our families to support students that have Emotional Behavior Disorders in a manner that is encouraging, supportive, and effective. We provide professional development and support to all Emotional Support Programs and teachers in order to foster environments where students with Emotional Behavior Disorders can learn and thrive.
• Our programming adds another layer of support for students who have Emotional Support services in their Individual Education Program.

• We partner with our families to enhance and strengthen collaboration between the IEP team members. This includes the parent, the special education teacher, the general education teacher, any related service provider, and designated administrators. Collaboration at the school level continues throughout the school year to ensure that the big ideas and concepts in the general education instructional program are reflected in the LS supports.
• Programs we use in classrooms include those high leverage practices found to be most effective for students in special education such as: direct, explicit, and systematic instruction; ample opportunities for practice and generalization of learning; immediate feedback; scaffolded supports; flexible grouping; active student engagement, and more.

• We partner with our families to support and to provide students with growth experiences in language development, self-help skills, social development, functional academics and vocational skills. Parents are an important part of the school team when developing IEP goals and strategies.
• Programs we use in classrooms. In our Complex Needs classrooms, the teachers and students use the Unique Learning System (ULS) for functional academics (literacy, math, social studies, science). This program is data driven and research based and was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to best meet the academic needs of our students.

• We partner with our families to support and to provide students with growth experiences in language development, self-help skills, social development, functional academics and vocational skills. Parents are an important part of the school team when developing IEP goals and strategies.
• Programs we use in classrooms. In our Complex Needs classrooms, the teachers and students use the Unique Learning System (ULS) for functional academics (literacy, math, social studies, science). This program is data driven and research based and was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to best meet the academic needs of our students.

• We partner with our families to support students with an educationally-based Speech or Language Impairment that impacts their ability to communicate effectively during academic, social and/or vocational activities
• Programs we use in classrooms. The Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP) will provide therapeutic related speech/language services or a primary speech/language support as a member of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team, in order to address a variety of communication disorders such as articulation/phonology disorders, language expression, voice, fluency, language comprehension and pragmatic language that adversely affect your child’s access to the curriculum of the learning environment.

A surrogate parent has all the rights of a birth parent and has the duty to represent the child throughout the special education process.

• • The surrogate parent familiarizes herself or himself with the child’s needs and educational history, receives notices about the child’s educational program, and participates in the development of the Individualized Education Program (IEP).
  • The surrogate parent can approve the IEP and the Notice of Recommended Educational Placement (NOREP) or disapprove one or both and initiate Special Education Due Process procedures. Only a birth parent, a person who is acting as a parent (such as a grandparent or foster parent), or a surrogate parent has these legal rights and responsibilities.

The surrogate parent has a right to review the child’s school records and to get copies when necessary. He or she can also visit the student’s class, talk with the teachers, and generally obtain any information necessary to represent the child adequately.

In Pennsylvania, each School District is responsible for locating all children who need surrogate parents and for assigning a surrogate parent to each.

Surrogate parents cannot have any conflict of interest with the child and must have the knowledge and skills necessary to represent the child adequately.

Please reach out to your school counselor for help and assistance in obtaining a surrogate parent in the School District of Philadelphia.

• Notice of Parental Rights for Gifted Students
• Pennsylvania Department of Education – Gifted Education
• The National Association for Gifted Children
• PA Association for Gifted Education (PAGE)
• Glossary of terms regularly used in gifted education

Transition planning helps students and their families think about the future and jointly plan with the school and supporting agencies to make the school experience contribute directly to achieving the necessary skills for a successful adult life.

Transition planning is required by federal law (IDEA 97) and Pennsylvania regulations (Chapter 14). The purpose of transition planning and programming is to encourage students to pursue education and/or training and to seek employment beyond high school.

Transition planning must start by age 14. Transition planning may begin at an earlier age if the IEP team decides that early planning is appropriate. Beginning no later than age 14, the IEPs of students must include a course of study, transition services and/or activities and goals and objectives that support the students’ post-school goals for education and training, employment, and independent living.

The IEP team determines the frequency, location, and duration of related services based on a student’s individual needs. Parents are an integral part of the IEP team. The related service provider often provides the support to teachers and classroom staff so that the related service can take place in the classroom throughout the day.

Each student’s need for related services, just as the need for special education, is determined by the student’s IEP team as part of the individualized education program (IEP) process.

Speech/language, deaf/hard of hearing and vision support can either be the student’s special education support in the general curriculum or the support can be the related service supporting the IEP. The student must have a disability in the specified area(s) and be in need of specialized instruction to receive support in the specified area(s) in order to be successful in the curriculum.

The psychologist is a member of the school team. You may make an appointment anytime to speak with the psychologist without having to have your child evaluated.

An assistive technology device is any piece of equipment that is used to increase, maintain or improve the functional capabilities of children with disabilities.

The IEP team is responsible for determining if an assistive technology device and/or service is necessary for a child with a disability to receive FAPE (Free And Appropriate Education).

If the assistive technology device is necessary for a student to receive FAPE (Free And Appropriate Education), the device must be provided to the student in his new school.

The IEP team will discuss how the student will use the device and how it will be integrated into the general education curriculum. This information will be shared with the general education teachers so that they will be aware of how it will be used.

If purchased or secured by the school District, they will repair or replace assistive devices, as long as the student requires them in order to receive FAPE (Free And Appropriate Education).