Reply to Early PK3 via Early Stages question

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]"Given the fact that Early Stages and My School DC quote the same thing about this only being for DCPS schools, and given that the OSSE guidance goes into excruciating detail about what happens to students that are level 4 enrolled at charters after the April 1 lottery, I almost think that line about students being able to enter any LEA at age three is a mistake. Either that or they meant it, but then literally no one at OSSE or My School DC considered what that meant for children with birthdays between October 1-April 1."

What on earth does this mean? You can forget to include something by "mistake." You can issue conflicting written guidance by "mistake." Issuing the correct guidance as your sole policy: there is no universe under which this can be hand-waved away as a "mistake." It was both deliberate and accurate. The only existing published guidance correctly acknowledges the legal reality: that there is no distinction between public and charter schools in terms of the universe of students they serve or admissions policies. It's correct! How on earth is that a "mistake"?

And re: "Either that or they meant it, but then literally no one at OSSE or My School DC considered what that meant for children with birthdays between October 1-April 1." Well, it means the same exact thing for those children as it says on the page, and as it does in practice for the hundreds of them that attend DCPS under this policy. Why would they need to "consider" it? They wrote a policy that is in compliance with current law. It was vetted and published. Now, all they need to do is follow it. That, or they can unilaterally decide that charter schools, which take public money, should be required to reject a group of special needs students DCPS is required to accept - even if those charter schools WANT to follow the same inclusive policy as DCPS, and even if such a bifurcated policy violates existing city regulations.[/quote]

It seems that it is a mistake given some of the other statements in the policy. What law is it in compliance with?

[i]3. What should a public charter school LEA do if a parent or stakeholder contacts the LEA with special
education or developmental delay concerns about a child under the age of six who is not enrolled or
enrolling in the LEA?
If the child is two years and nine months old or older, the public charter school LEA should make a
referral to DCPS Early Stages (contact information for DCPS Early Stages is provided at the end of this
document). DCPS Early Stages will proceed with documenting the student’s referral in the Special
Education Data System (SEDS) and making reasonable efforts to obtain parental consent to conduct the
initial evaluation. If the child is younger than two years and nine months, the LEA should assist the
parent in contacting Strong Start at the contact information available at the close of this document.
4. When will DCPS Early Stages contact a public charter school LEA about a child who is enrolling in the
public charter school LEA?
DCPS Early Stages will ask the parent for a letter, email, or other documentation from the parent or the
public charter school LEA confirming that the child is registered in the public charter school LEA (stage
four enrollment) or that the child is attending the public charter school LEA (stage five enrollment).
Once DCPS Early Stages has received evidence of stage four or stage five enrollment, it will contact the
public charter school LEA to effectuate the appropriate transfer of student records. [/i]

Plus the policy is just poorly written. Charter LEAs can't enroll children who turn 3 after September 30 so there would be no stage 4 or stage 5 pre-school enrollees at a charter in this group (3 after September 30). Thus, per the policy, only DCPS would have responsibility for this group.

[i]IEP Development
15. Is a public charter school LEA responsible for developing an IEP for a student who is stage four
enrolled for the following school year?
Public charter school LEAs are responsible for developing an IEP by the third birthday for all children
who are currently enrolled in the LEA or have completed the registration process for the next school
year (stage four enrollment). [b]DCPS has this responsibility for any child who is a resident of the District of
Columbia who is not stage four or stage five enrolled in a public charter school LEA.[/b]
For children who are stage four enrolled in a public charter school LEA for the following school year, the
LEA must:
• Ensure the development of an IEP by the child’s third birthday; and
• Ensure the provision of special education and related services by the child’s third birthday or, if
the child turns three on a non-school day, within the timeframe described in question 21.[/i][/quote]

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