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Continuum of Services

Mineola School District provides a continuum of special education services for students classified as having a disability. Special education services are provided in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Students with disabilities placed together for purposes of special education shall be grouped by similarity of individual needs as defined in Part 200 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.

Transitional Support Services

When specified in a student's Individualized Education Program, transitional support services are provided to a teacher on a temporary basis to aid in the provision of an appropriate educational program to the student with a disability who is transferring to a general education program or to a less restrictive program or service. These services are temporary and do not continue beyond one year. These services may be provided by the building psychologist, a special education teacher, a speech/language therapist, physical therapist, occupational therapist or other appropriate professional who understands the specific needs of the student with a disability.

Consultant Teacher Services

Consultant teacher services shall be for the purpose of providing direct and/or indirect services to students with disabilities who attend general education classes including career and technical education and/or to students' general education teachers. These services shall be recommended by the Committee on Special Education to meet specific needs of students. The student's individualized educational program (IEP) shall include the general education classes in which the student will receive Consultant Teacher Services. Consultant teacher services shall be provided in accordance with the following provisions:

  • Each student with a disability requiring consultant teacher services shall receive direct and/or indirect services consistent with the student's IEP for a minimum of two hours each week, except that the Committee on Special Education may recommend that a student with a disability who also needs Resource Room Services in addition to Consultant Teacher Services may receive a combination of such services consistent with the student's IEP for not less than three hours each week.
  • The total number of students with disabilities assigned to a consultant teacher shall not exceed twenty (20).

Related Services

Related services means developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a student with a disability and includes speech-language pathology, audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling services, orientation and mobility service, medical services as defined by regulations, parent counseling and training, school health services, school nurse services, school social work, assistive technology services, appropriate access to recreation, including therapeutic recreation and other appropriate and supportive services and includes the early identification and assessment of disabling conditions in students. Related services do not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, the optimization of that device's functioning, maintenance of that device, or the replacement of that device.

  • The frequency, duration and location of each service shall be in the IEP based on the individual student's need for the service.
  • Total caseload for teachers who provide speech/language services will not exceed sixty-five (65).
  • When a related service is provided to a number of students at the same time, the number of students in the group shall not exceed five.

Resource Room

The resource room program is for the purpose of supplementing the general or special classroom instruction of students with disabilities who are in need of such supplemental programs.

The instructional group in each resource room period does not exceed five (5) students, who are grouped according to their similarity of need.

Students shall spend a minimum of three (3) hours per week, except that a Committee on Special Education may recommend that for a student with a disability who also needs Consultant Teacher Services in addition to Resource Room Services, may receive a combination of such services consistent with the student's IEP for not less than three hours per week. The student will not spend more than 50 percent of the day in the resource room program.

The total number of students assigned to a resource room teacher shall not exceed twenty (20) at the elementary level and twenty-five (25) at the middle and high school levels.

Resource room services may be provided either in a pull-out or push-in program or a combination of both.

Integrated Co-Teaching

Integrated co-teaching services means the provision of specially designed instruction and academic instruction provided to a group of students with disabilities and non-disabled students.

The maximum number of students with disabilities receiving integrated co-teaching services in a class shall be determined in accordance with the students' individual needs as recommended on their IEP's, provided that the number of students with disabilities in such classes shall not exceed 12 students unless a variance is provided. A written notice will be submitted to the commissioner to temporarily add one additional student with a disability to an integrated co-teaching class for the remainder of the school year, provided that at the start of classes in September, is in compliance and has no more than 12 students with disabilities. This variance will be on a form prescribed by the Commissioner. If the school district has enrolled one student with a disability beyond the maximum 12 students with disabilities in an integrated co-teaching services class, as described above, and it determines that there is a need to temporarily add one additional student to the class, the school district may submit to the commissioner for approval an application for a variance to enroll the one additional student in the same class for the remainder of the school year. This variance will be on a form prescribed by the Commissioner.

School personnel assigned to each class shall minimally include a special education teacher and a general education teacher.

Additional personnel, including supplementary school personnel, assigned to such classes by the district, may not serve as the special education teacher.

Special Class

A special class is defined as a class consisting of students with the same disabilities or with differing disabilities who have been grouped together because of similar individual needs for the purpose of being provided a special education program. The chronological age range of students who are less than sixteen (16) years of age shall not exceed thirty-six (36) months.

Out-of-District Placement

Students with disabilities whose needs are too intensive to be addressed appropriately in an in-district special education program, may be placed in one of the following, listed from least restrictive to more restrictive:

  • Special class operated by another school district
  • A BOCES program
  • An approved Private School (day)
  • 4201 or State Operated School
  • an approved Residential Placement

Home and Hospital Instruction

Students with disabilities who are recommended for home and/or hospital instruction by the CSE shall receive instruction as follows:

  • elementary school students will be provided a minimum of five (5) hours per week;
  • secondary school students will receive a minimum of ten (10) hours of instruction per week, preferably two (2) hours daily.

Declassification Support Services

If a student has been receiving special education services but the Committee on Special Education determines that the student no longer requires such services and can be placed in a general education program on a full-time basis, the student may be considered for declassification support services. Declassification support services means those services provided by persons appropriately certified or licensed in the appropriate area of service, to a student or student's teacher(s) to aid in the student's transition from special education to full-time regular education, including:

  • for the student, psychological services, social work services, speech and language services, counseling (other than career counseling), and other appropriate support services; and
  • for the student's teacher (s), the assistance of supplementary school personnel, and consultation with appropriate personnel.