Placement Determination Special Education Placement Determination Placement determination is made by a group of people, including the parents, which are knowledgeable about the student, about the evaluation data, and about the placement options. Identify those team members involved in the annual placement decision and have them sign on the appropriate signature line. Placement Meeting Participants: Typically placement determination happens at the end of the IEP meeting with all the IEP participants having input. Occasionally placement determination may be conducted between IEP meetings. When conducting placement meetings, the parent of a child with a disability and the LEA may agree to use alternative means of meeting participation, such as video conferencing and conference calls. Make sure to document a team members participation if other than in person. If parent is unable to attend the meeting make sure to document attempts to include them in the meeting on the Meeting Notice or on a contact log. Continuum: A continuum of placement options must be available to meet the needs of students with disabilities for special education and related services. The continuum includes:
Instruction in regular classes with special education instruction or support less than 20% of the instructional day
Instruction in regular classes with special education instruction or support in the Resource Room for 20-60% of the student’s instructional day.
Special classes (more than 60% of the student’s instructional day)
Special schools (Oregon School for the Blind/Deaf)
Instruction in hospitals and institutions
Home instruction tutoring provided by Cascade School District #5 Placement options must be available to the extent necessary to implement the individualized education program for each student with a disability. Placement decisions must be made in conformity with the least restrictive environment (LRE) provisions. These provisions direct that to the maximum extent appropriate, students with disabilities be educated with students who are nondisabled, and that special classes, separate schooling or other removal of students with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only if the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. 1

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The placement must be made in the school that the student would attend if not disabled unless the team feels it is not appropriate to do so. A student with a disability cannot be removed from education in age-appropriate regular classrooms solely because of needed modifications in the general education curriculum. The law tells us to use the following questions to guide our discussion with respect to placement determination:
What is the academic impact of the placement on the student’s education?
What is the non-academic impact of the placement on the student’s education?
What is the impact on other students in that setting? Placement must be:
Determined at least annually
Based on the student’s IEP
Made as close as possible to the student’s home unless the IEP requires another placement or the parent agrees otherwise To document Placement Determination, the Placement Team should review the current IEP and the services identified that are to be provided, and review current evaluation information. Any evaluation information used in determining placement should be identified. (List the tests, records and procedures considered as part of the placement decision if they are not referenced in the IEP or evaluation report attached to the IEP.) After reviewing the IEP and evaluation data, identify the placement option or options considered. For each of the placement options considered, describe: 1. the benefits of this placement; 2. the possible harmful effects on the child and/or on the services in this placement option; 3. the modifications/services that were considered to reduce the harmful effects identified in #2 above. Document which placement option is selected, especially when a variety of options are considered. If the Placement Team is documenting that a regular classroom placement is appropriate to implement the services identified on the IEP, the Team may, but is not required to consider additional placement options that would be considered more restrictive. If more than one option is considered, the team must indicate which is selected or rejected and the reasons each was selected or rejected. If the placement removes the student from the neighborhood school, explain why. Provide the parents with a copy of the documentation of the placement determination. 2 Woodburn SD #103 7/14/2010 LP

The annual placement decision does not require consent. The names of the team members participating in the annual placement meeting may be listed on the form. Best practice is to obtain signatures or participant initials. Any changes in placement, made during the subsequent annual placement review, require Prior Written Notice. The Team can provide this notice by using a Prior Notice of Special Education Action. The district must also provide Prior Written Notice of refusal if the parent requests a placement that the Team refuses.

Changing a student’s placement to a special class is serious decision that requires convincing data, a thoughtful process, and careful communication. Contact the Director of Student Services EARLY in the process!!! Never bring this option up with parents before you have discussed it with the Director.

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Four Factor Test for Change of Placement Oregon Department of Education

Following the annual IEP review meeting and interim revisions, the IEP team needs to consider whether changes to the IEP or Placement Determination are significant enough to constitute a Change of Placement. If significant changes have been made to the IEP and/or Placement, Prior Notice of Special Education Action must be completed and a copy sent to the parent(s) and to the Special Services Office.

1) Has the percentage of time with nondisabled peers changed? (Nonparticipation Justification) (This is particularly important when reducing the length of a student’s day or placing a student in home instruction (tutoring).) This would be a change of IEP and might also be a change of placement if the change meets the criteria in #4. 2) Did the IEP change, particularly the amount of services? (Cover Page) Again, this would be a change of IEP and might also be a change of placement if the change meets the criteria in #4 below. 3) Did the student’s opportunity to engage in extracurricular activities with nondisabled peers change? The team must consider whether a student’s behavior plan or IEP services interfere with or necessitate his/her exclusion from extracurricular activities. If so, this should be clearly delineated in the Nonparticipation Justification statement and rationale. 4) Has the student’s special education placement moved on the placement “continuum”, such as to or from self-contained (special education services at least 60% of instruction), to or from resource room (special education services 20-59% of instruction), to or from regular education (special education services less than 20% of instruction)?

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Special Education Placement Determination This form is used to: •

Document the IEP/Placement team’s consideration of placement options and placement determination in accordance with the least restrictive environment requirements of 20 USC §§ 1412, 1413, and 1414. Meet the requirements of OAR 581-015-2190, 581-015-2195, 581-015-2240, 581-015-2245, 581-015-2250, and 581-0152255. Document that the parent has been given a copy of the placement form.

• •

Overview of requirements: Placement determination is made by a group of people, including the parents that are knowledgeable about the student and knowledgeable about the evaluation data and placement options. A continuum of placement options must be available to meet the needs of students with disabilities for special education and related services. The continuum includes:








instruction in regular classes (with or without resource room support) special classes special schools instruction in hospitals and institutions home instruction

Placement options must be available to the extent necessary to implement the individualized education program for each student with a disability.

Placement decisions must be made in conformity with the least restrictive environment (LRE) provisions. These provisions direct that to the maximum extent appropriate, students with disabilities be educated with students who are nondisabled, and that special classes, separate schooling or other removal of students with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only if the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. The placement must be made in the school that the student would attend if not disabled unless unique circumstances prevent this placement. A student with a disability cannot be removed from education in age-appropriate regular classrooms solely because of needed modifications in the general curriculum. Placement must be:
determined at least annually
based on the student’s IEP
made as close as possible to the student’s home Directions: 1. Identify meeting participants: List all members participating in the placement decision. This can be accomplished by gathering signatures of participants, or by simply listing the names of individuals that participated. Signatures are not required on a placement determination form. 2.

To document Placement Determination, the Placement Team reviews the current IEP and the services identified that are to be provided, and the current evaluation information. Any evaluation information used in determining placement should be attached or listed under “other”.

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3.

4.

After reviewing the IEP and evaluation data, identify and document all placement options considered. For example: • Regular class (e.g. regular class with in class support, regular class with consultation) • Regular class with resource room support • Special or separate class (e.g. life skills class, behavioral support class) • Special or separate school (e.g. OSD day student, OSB day student, therapeutic program located in separate school) • Residential placement (e.g. classroom instruction with residential placement, OSD or OSB residential, residential treatment program) • Hospital/Institution (classroom instruction in hospital, individual instruction in hospital) • Home Instruction For each of the placement options considered, describe: a. The benefits of this placement (e.g. academic benefits, nonacademic benefits); b. The possible harmful effects on the child or on the services in this placement option; c. The modifications/services that were considered to maintain the student in a less restrictive option (before selection of a more restrictive option). Note: If the Placement Team is documenting that a regular classroom placement is appropriate to implement the services identified on the IEP, the Team may, but is not required to, consider more restrictive placement options. Note: The team should consider placement options specifically requested by the parents.

5. Document which placement option is selected. 6. Give the parents a copy of the placement determination form. Note: All initial placements require Prior Written Notice and Consent. Any changes in placement, made during the subsequent annual placement review, require Prior Written Notice. The Team can provide this notice by using a Prior Notice of Special Education Action. The district must also provide prior written notice of refusal if the parent requests a placement, the team considers but does not reach consensus, and the district resolves the lack of consensus by refusing the parent’s requested placement. 7. After making the placement determination, enter the Federal Placement Code for the placement selected. See SECC Process and Content Manual, posted on the ODE website at: http://ode.state.or.us/data/schoolanddistrict/funding/sped/secc/manual.doc.

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Woodburn School District Special Class Placement Consideration: Review Process and Packet Philosophy of SLP/LSP Placement: • • •

•

Most students can and should progress in the general education setting with the supports provided from the SPED Resource Team. Students with disabilities should be integrated in the general education setting to fullest extent possible. The IEP team should provide increasing supports and modifications so a student can be successful in the general education setting and maintain documentation of them. Students in special class placement require individual behavioral/emotional support and academic support in a structured, safe and predictable environment. Changing a student’s placement to a special class is a serious decision that requires convincing data, a thoughtful process, and careful communication. The following should be considered when the IEP team determines a special class placement is something they want to pursue for a student: 1). Behavioral/emotional needs of the student, 2). Academic needs of the student, 3). Social needs of the student, and 4). Impact of the student’s behavioral and academic needs have on the other students, but not the student’s impact on the teacher.

Steps for SLP/LSP Placement Consideration: 1. When an IEP team is requesting special class placement consideration, contact the Student Services Department EARLY in the process. Never bring this option up with parents before you have discussed it with the director. Provide the name, grade, eligibility category/categories and if you are requesting placement for the current school year or the beginning of the next school year. 2. A Review Packet will be sent to you from the Student Services Department. 3. Fill out Review Packet: Leave no section blank – write “Not an Area of Concern” in sections where concerns do not exist. Be specific when answering questions and writing the narrative. Attach most recent Functional Behavior Analysis and Behavior Plan, if behavior is an area of concern. Attach Intervention Log with Progress Monitoring data for current and previous interventions implemented (e.g., indicating how service has increased/intensified over time) 4. When completed send the Review Packet to the Student Services Office. The Director of Student Services or the Special Education Coordinator, or a designee will observe the student in one or more settings related to concern(s). 5. A review team that includes the Director of Student Services, the Special Education Coordinator, representative(s) from the IEP team and at least one unbiased team member from an uninvolved school building (administrator, special education teacher, Speech/Language Specialist) will meet to discuss, ask questions and make recommendations, including if a special class placement is an appropriate option for the student. Bring to the meeting: SPED file and working file with artifacts demonstrating the student’s current level of performance (work samples – do NOT copy and send with the packet).

After given a recommendation that SLP is an option that can be considered for the student, the IEP team meets to discuss Placement Options with the parents. The team should make sure to review all options in detail, both the advantages and disadvantages. The team should give the parent an opportunity to visit an SLP classroom in all instances; especially when the parent is reluctant or unsure about the placement option before the team makes a final decision.

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Components of the Review Packet • • • • •

Demographic Information Current Daily Schedule and Related Services Schedule Data about Student Ability and Performance Outside evaluation information, health concerns (conditions, medications and protocols, if any), parent involvement, transportation needs, outside agency involvement Narrative --- as a team describe the following: 1. Academic Benefit of general education and instructional setting outside regular classroom 2. Nonacademic benefit (measured by observations in nonstructured time, interview with students and parent) of general education setting and instructional setting outside regular class 3. Disruptive Effect (measured by safety issues - referrals, discipline measures, injury potential, distraction - observations, medical info)

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