The Michigan City Area Schools Board of Education (the “Board”), pursuant to the above referenced federal and state special education rules, directs the Superintendent to establish, maintain, and implement written procedures that ensure the location, identification, and evaluation of all students three (3) years of age, but less than twenty-two (22) years of age, who are in need of special education and related services.

PROCEDURE: Locating and identifying students who are in need of special education and related services.

The Board shall continually make an effort to locate students who are in need of special education and related services, regardless of the severity of their disabilities, including students who:

1. Have legal settlement within the jurisdiction of MCAS;
2. Attend a nonpublic school, are served by an agency, or live in an institution located within the jurisdiction of MCAS;
3. Are homeless students as defined at 511 1AC 7-32-46;
4. Are wards of the state;
5. Are highly mobile students, including migrant students; and
6. Are suspected of being students with disabilities in need of special education even though they are advancing from grade to grade.

The Board shall provide special education and related services and supplemental aids and services as may be necessary for a student with a disability to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the general education classroom, if that is the least restrictive environment appropriate for the student.

The Board directs the Superintendent to plan, implement, and coordinate a comprehensive special education program in accordance with Federal and State law.

The Board may enter into an agreement with other school boards to form a special education cooperative to provide all or any part of the education program required by this policy.

The Superintendent shall prepare whatever administrative guidelines are necessary to ensure effective implementation of the special education program maintained by this policy.

MCAS, through use of its website, and notices through local radio, newspaper, and nonpublic school newsletters, shall inform the public of its child find responsibilities and provide instructions and contact information in order to cooperate with parents, advocates, and school and agency personnel to assist the Board’s efforts in locating students who may be in need of special education.

When parent(s) decide to enroll their school-aged student in a nonpublic (private or religious) school or facility, including home schools, s/he can expect the Board to take the following three actions:

1. Locating, identifying, and evaluating all students with disabilities;
2. Consulting with nonpublic school representatives and representatives of the parents of nonpublic school students with disabilities; and
3. Making available special education and related services to all students with disabilities.

PROCEDURE: Evaluating students who are in need of special education and related services. A student’s parent(s) or school personnel working with the student may make a referral or a request for an educational evaluation. If the parent(s) make the request, the request may be made verbally or in writing to licensed personnel such as teachers, school counselors, building principals, and other administrators.

If the parent(s) does not request a copy of the educational evaluation report before the case conference committee meeting, then the evaluation report will be provided to them at the scheduled meeting.

EVALUATION: An initial educational evaluation must be comprehensive. Information must be gathered in all areas related to the suspected disability, including information and input from the parent(s). Each disability category lists what is to be included as part of the individual student’s comprehensive educational evaluation in the categories of:

• Development;
• Cognition (ability to acquire knowledge);
• Academic achievement;
• Functional performance or adaptive behavior;
• Communication skills;
• Motor skills and sensory responses; and
• Social and developmental history.

The educational evaluation must include a review of any available medical and/or mental health information, other assessments, or information that will help the case conference committee make its determination of eligibility. A multidisciplinary team, sometimes called the M-Team, conducts the educational evaluation. This team is a group of qualified professionals that may include a principal or assistant principal, a counselor, a general education teacher, a special education teacher, a school psychologist or speech language pathologist, or other qualified professionals based on the student’s unique needs or suspected disability. Parents play an important role with the M-Team by providing input and information about the student.

The M-Team must complete its evaluation AND the case conference committee must convene within 50 school days from the date written parental consent is provided to licensed school personnel, except in five situations:

• If the student has completed the comprehensive and coordinated early intervention services process and not made adequate progress within an appropriate period of time, the school has 20 school days from the date licensed personnel receive written parental consent to conduct the evaluation.
• There is a similar 20 school day timeline if the parent requests an initial evaluation during the time a student is suspended or expelled. This is often referred to as an expedited evaluation.
• For a student who is receiving First Steps early intervention services (from birth to age 3) and transitions from the First Steps program to the MCAS early childhood program the timeline is different. In this situation, the initial educational evaluation must be completed, the case conference committee convened, and any necessary special education services made available for the student no later than the student’s 3rd birthday.
• If the parent provides written consent for an educational evaluation in one school district and then the student moves to MCAS while the evaluation is still pending, MCAS must complete the educational evaluation as quickly as possible and within a time period agreed upon by the school and the parent.
• If the parent repeatedly fails to make the student available for the educational evaluation the school must document these events and will not necessarily be held to the 50 school day timeline.

The M-Team compiles the information into an evaluation report, and the school sends a written notice to the parent that includes:

• A summary of the evaluation results;
• The school’s proposal regarding the student eligibility; and
• An explanation of the reasons for the school’s proposal.

The school must prepare the written notice at least five (5) school days before the case conference committee meeting, in the event the parent is requesting a copy be made available prior to meeting with the school. Although the written notice describes what the school proposes in regard to the student’s eligibility, the ultimate decision about the student’s eligibility is made by the student’s case conference committee.

The final step in the evaluation process is the initial case conference committee meeting. The case conference committee reviews the evaluation results and other information, determines if the student is eligible, and, if so, develops an individualized education program (IEP). In the case of a nonpublic school student, a service plan will be developed.