Anonymous wrote:Thanks.

Does anybody know if there is a specific process to petition for a special education program to be started at an elementary school? A simple email to the regions PSL or school board member?

Which district?

Thanks.

Does anybody know if there is a specific process to petition for a special education program to be started at an elementary school? A simple email to the regions PSL or school board member?

This is the responsibility of the LEA, not the individual school itself. The courts have also established that the location of services is an administrative decision at the discretion of the LEA and is not an IEP team decision. In other words, they can decide that an ID classroom is the LRE and that decision should incorporate parent input and be challengeable, but the parent does not get to demand that this classroom be provided at the home school when the LEA has established one within a reasonable distance elsewhere as part of its logistical planning, and does not get to decide that they want the ID classroom at Smith ES instead of the one at Jones ES.

The responsibility to create programs is on the county. It’s not something an individual school can do even if they want to.

I’m wondering if there are any guidelines/numbers on when a school needs to open their own special education program (specifically at the elementary level)?

For example- Elementary schools A and B don’t have an EAC or ID/IDS classroom so students placed in these programs are bussed to school C. The self contained classes at school C are now comprised of 75-80% students from a different base school and has to turn away “base school” students due to class-size limits. Why isn’t the responsibility on the base school to create a program when there is clearly a need?