CONTINUUM OF SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES FOR SCHOOL-AGE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

FROM:James P. DeLorenzo
SUBJECT:CONTINUUM OF SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES FOR SCHOOL-AGE STUDENTS WITHDISABILITIES
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance on the continuumof special education services for school-age students with disabilities.Effective July 1, 2007, the Board of Regents approved amendments tosection 200.6 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Educationrelating to the continuum of special education services. Theseamendments have raised questions from the field as to the definitionsand related requirements for each of the special education servicesoptions. Please note that this field memorandum does not describe thecontinuum of special education services options for preschool studentswith disabilities. To support research based instructional practices and special educationservices provided to the maximum extent possible in classrooms withtheir non-disabled peers, in July 2007 the Board of Regents approvedamendments to section 200.6 of the Regulations of the Commissioner ofEducation relating to consultant teacher, resource room and integratedco-teaching services as follows (underlined language is new): Section 200.6 (d) Consultant teacher services. Consultant teacherservices, as defined in section 200.1(m) of this Part, shall be for thepurpose of providing direct and/or indirect services to students withdisabilities who attend regular education classes, including career andtechnical education classes, and/or to such students' regular educationteachers. Such services shall be recommended by the committee onspecial education to meet specific needs of such students and thestudent's individualized education program (IEP) shall indicate theregular education classes in which the student will receive consultantteacher services. Consultant teacher services shall be provided inaccordance with the following provisions:(1) . . . (2) Each student with a disability requiring consultant teacherservices shall receive direct and/or indirect services consistent withthe student's IEP for a minimum of two hours each week, except that thecommittee on special education may recommend that a student with adisability who also needs resource room services in addition toconsultant teacher services, may receive a combination of such servicesconsistent with the student's IEP for not less than three hours eachweek. Section 200.6(f) Resource room programs. Resource room programs shallbe for the purpose of supplementing the regular or special classroominstruction of students with disabilities who are in need of suchsupplemental programs.(1) Each student with a disability requiring a resource roomprogram shall receive not less than three hours of instruction per weekin such program except that the committee on special education mayrecommend that for a student with a disability who also needs consultantteacher services in addition to resource room services may receive acombination of such services consistent with the student's IEP for notless than three hours per weekThe change in regulation to the minimum level of service requirementsfor students receiving both consultant teacher services and resourceroom programs authorizes Committees on Special Education (CSEs) torecommend, consistent with the individual needs of the student, acombination of these services that total a minimum of three hours perweek. Prior to this regulatory amendment, resource room programsrecommended for a student needed to be provided for a minimum of threehours per week, and consultant teacher services two hours per week. Thecombination of these two services is expected to result in increasedstudent time in the general education classrooms for many students.Questions and answers relating to consultant teacher services andresource room programs are also addressed in pages 6 - 11 of theattachment to this memorandum.Section 200.6(g) A school district may include integrated co-teachingservices in its continuum of services. Integrated co-teaching servicesmeans the provision of specially designed instruction and academicinstruction provided to a group of students with disabilities andnon-disabled students.(1) The maximum number of students with disabilities receivingintegrated co-teaching services in a class shall be determined inaccordance with the students' individual needs as recommended on theirIEPs, provided that effective July 1, 2008, the number of students withdisabilities in such classes shall not exceed 12 students.(2) School personnel assigned to each class shall minimally include aspecial education teacher and a general education teacher.(3) Additional personnel, including supplementary school personnel,assigned to such classes by the district, may not serve as the specialeducation teacher pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subdivision. One of the fastest growing practices nationally is the provision ofco-teaching. "Integrated co-teaching services" as used in theRegulations of the Commissioner of Education means a general educationteacher and a special education teacher jointly providing instruction toa class that includes both students with and students withoutdisabilities to meet the diverse learning needs of all students in aclass. While this option, unlike other continuum options, is notrequired to be available for all students with disabilities, schooldistricts are strongly encouraged to phase this practice into itsschools. Questions and answers regarding integrated co-teachingservices can be found on pages 11 - 13 of the attachment to thismemorandum. For further information on co-teaching, see www.k8accesscenter.org/index.php. The attached question and answer document should assist school personnelto understand the regulatory requirements under which each service mustbe provided and to assist in the determination of which of these specialeducation services might be most appropriate for an individual student.Questions regarding this memorandum may be directed to the SpecialEducation Policy Unit at 518-473-2878 or to the local Special EducationQuality Assurance (SEQA) Office at: Central Regional Office (315) 428-3287Eastern Regional Office (518) 486-6366Hudson Valley Regional Office (518) 473-1185 or (914) 245-0010Long Island Regional Office (631) 884-8530New York City Regional Office (718) 722-4544Western Regional Office (585) 344-2002Nondistrict Unit(518) 473-1185Attachment________________________________Continuum of Special Education Services for School-Age Students withDisabilitiesApril 2008The University of the State of New YorkThe State Education DepartmentOffice of Vocational and EducationalServices for Individuals with DisabilitiesAlbany, N Y 12234FORWARDResearch on specially designed instruction clearly supports high qualityinstruction provided to the greatest extent possible to meet thestudent's individualized education program (IEP) in the generaleducation classrooms where students with disabilities have the greatestlikelihood of receiving curriculum content delivered by highly qualifiedteachers. Schools may utilize a variety of combinations of specialeducation supports and services to serve students with disabilities ingeneral education settings and promote meaningful access, participationand progress in the general curriculum, including consultant teacherservices, paraprofessional support, resource room services andintegrated co-teaching.Access to and participation in the general education curriculum does notoccur solely because a student is placed in a general educationclassroom, but rather when students with disabilities are activelyengaged in learning the content and skills that define the generaleducation curriculum. Meaningful access to the general educationcurriculum means that a student with a disability has the appropriatesupports, services and accommodations to address his or her disabilityin consideration of the content of the curriculum, instructionalmaterials, how the curriculum is taught to the student, the physicalenvironment and how the student's learning is measured. It is theconsideration of the individual needs of the student and the support,services and/or modifications needed to the general educationcurriculum, instructional methods, instructional materials and/orinstructional environment that determine which of the service deliveryoptions would be most appropriate to assist the student to meet his/herannual goals and to meet New York State's (NYS) learning standards. This document should assist school personnel to understand theregulatory requirements under which each service must be provided and toassist in the determination of which of these special education servicesmight be most appropriate for an individual student. Questions regardingthis document may be directed to the Special Education Policy Unit at518-473-2878 or to the local Special Education Quality Assurance (SEQA)Office at: Central Regional Office (315) 428-3287Eastern Regional Office (518) 486-6366Hudson Valley Regional Office (518) 473-1185 or (914) 245-0010Long Island Regional Office (631) 884-8530New York City Regional Office (718) 722-4544Western Regional Office (585) 344-2002Nondistrict Unit(518) 473-1185