• Career and Transition Programs and Services
• Extended School Year Services
• Integrated Technology Services
• Parent Resource Center
• Range of Services/Least Restrictive Environment
• Related Services: Audiology | Counseling | Deaf and Hard of Hearing | Early Identification and Assessment of Disabilities in Children | Medical Services | Orientation and Mobility Services | Parent Counseling and Training | Physical and Occupational Therapy | Psychological Services | Recreation | Rehabilitation Counseling | School Health Service | Social Work Services | Speech and Language Services | Transportation
• Special Considerations for Families

 Return to list

Range of Services and Least Restrictive Environment

A full range of service options is available to implement each student's individualized education program (IEP) in accordance with the principle of least restrictive environment. The term "least restrictive environment" refers to the setting determined by the IEP team that gives the child as much contact as possible with age-appropriate peers in general education settings while meeting the child's unique educational needs. It also means that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of a child with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with or without the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

Students often receive services in more than one setting. For example, a student may spend part of the day in a general education classroom and part of the day in a special education classroom. As a student's needs change, different educational environments may be appropriate.

Fairfax County Public Schools' IEPs, revised in March 1998 and again in January 2001 to reflect the changes in IDEA '97 and Virginia regulations, specify the special education services a student receives as well as the setting (including general education and/or special education classrooms) in which those services are delivered. The IEPs also specify the student's participation in general education with no direct special education support.

Fairfax County Public Schools is committed to inclusive schools in which students with disabilities can be educated with their peers while engaged in a challenging curriculum that allows for progress towards their IEP goals.

Return to list

Related Services

Students who are eligible for special education services may require the additional support of a related service, defined as a service that is required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education. (Please note that related services are available only to students who are eligible for special education services.)

Following the determination of the need for special education services, the IEP team may determine what related services, if any, are necessary for the student to benefit from the education program. The IEP team then identifies the service(s) on the IEP, decides who will deliver the support, and determines the least restrictive environment in which the service(s) can be provided. The classroom teacher or other appropriate specialists may deliver the service. The goal for related services is to provide the student with an education program based on the student's individual needs. Like all special education services, related services should support the student's access to the general education curriculum, i.e., support curriculum goals, with as little disruption as possible to the instructional program.

The following is a list of related services with a brief description of each:

• Audiology: The interpretation of audiological results; the assessment of the classroom environment and individual auditory skills to make appropriate recommendations for assistive listening devices and habilitation; consultations with classroom teachers and support staff members regarding the student's hearing loss and technical aspects of hearing loss; the monitoring of hearing aid function and middle ear status and function using a variety of audiological tests and equipment; and the provision of parent counseling and in-service presentations to parents, teachers, and staff members regarding hearing loss and technology. Audiologists may act as liaisons between the school, the community, and hearing health care professionals.

Return to list

• Counseling: Services provided by qualified social workers, psychologists, school counselors, or other qualified personnel.

Return to list

• Early identification and assessment of disabilities in children: The implementation of a formal plan for identifying a disability as early as possible in a child's life (often referred to as Preschool Child Find, it includes the identification of children of all ages).

Return to list

• Medical services: Services provided by a licensed physician to determine a child's medically related disability that may result in the child's need for special education and related services.

Return to list

• Orientation and mobility services: Provided to blind or visually impaired students to enable those students to safely move within their school, home, and community.

Return to list

• Parent counseling and training: Helping parents understand the special needs of their child and providing parents with information about child development; helping parents aquire the skills that will allow them to support the implementation of their child's IEP.

Return to list

• Physical and occupational therapy: The observation or evaluation of students to determine the impact of motor and sensory problems on the student's ability to benefit from special education services; therapists working with the student and the educational team to help the student move about the school, develop motor skills, and increase general strength and endurance needed in the educational environment; and direct assistance to the student in improving the use of his or her hands, self-care abilities, appropriate sensory processing, and the eye-hand coordination needed for the student to benefit from the individualized (special) education program. Therapists make suggestions to students and to the educational staff members about ways to make accommodations or modify the educational program and the school environment to meet the needs of the student. Physical and occupational therapists may provide information, ideas, adaptive equipment, and suggestions for activities to the educational team or the student. (State law requires that all physical therapy services have a physician referral prior to beginning services.) Parents should also note that school-based physical or occupational therapy services are different than medically based services in that the former address functioning related to educational needs.

Return to list

• Psychological services: Assessment procedures; interpreting assessment results, especially as they relate to learning; consulting with other staff members to plan school programs; and assisting in developing positive behavioral interventions.

Return to list

• Recreation: The assessment of functioning in skill areas related to recreational activities; the provision of recreation programs and services. In Fairfax County, this is typically done through the physical education program.

Return to list

• Rehabilitation counseling: Focuses on career development, employment preparation, the achieving independence, and integration in the workplace for a student with a disability. The Office of Career and Transition Services meets this need for students in Fairfax County.

Return to list

• School health services: Services provided by a school nurse or other qualified person.

Return to list

• Social work services: Preparing a social case history about a child with a disability; providing group or individual counseling with the child and family regarding problems that affect the child's adjustment in school; serving as a liaison to connect families with school and community resources; and assisting in developing positive behavioral intervention strategies.

Return to list

• Speech and language services: Identifying, assessing, and diagnosing specific communication deficits; providing habilitation for communication deficits; and counseling and guiding teachers, children, and parents regarding communication impairments.

Return to list

• Transportation: Travel to and from school and between schools; the provision of specialized equipment, accommodations, and/or supports if they are required to provide transportation for a student with a disability.

Return to list

Extended School Year Services more information

• Extended school year (ESY) services were established by a history of litigation that supports all children's rights to a free and appropriate public education. For some children with special needs that may include a program in excess of the traditional 180-day school year. Any student receiving special education services can be considered for extended school year services.
• ESY services are provided when regression during extended breaks from school is so severe that a student is unable to recoup the losses in a reasonable period of time and/or the student would be unable to attain the planned educational goals. ESY services are also appropriate when the areas of learning are crucial to the attainment of self-sufficiency and independence for the student. Additionally, ESY services are provided when, without these services, the student's degree or rate of progress will prevent the student from receiving benefit from his/her educational placement during the regular school year.
• Services may be delivered through a variety of settings and methods, which might include, classroom instruction, tutorial services, a home follow-through program and/or consultative/supervisory support. It is the responsibility of the individualized education program (IEP) team to determine the need for extended school year services, to develop appropriate goals and objectives, and to identify the nature and duration of the service.

POINTS TO CONSIDER WHEN PLANNING FOR EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR SERVICES

• Remember the question is "Does the student need Extended School Year (ESY) services in order to receive a free and appropriate public education?"
• IEP teams must consider extended school year services; an ESY brochure is to be presented to the parents by school staff members at each annual IEP meeting.
• Parents or staff may initiate a discussion about extended school year services. School staff members must initiate such a discussion at a scheduled IEP meeting when it appears the student may need these services.
• The IEP committee makes the decision as to whether extended school year services are appropriate for a child, based on evaluation data, which may include the following types of information:

· historical data · student work samples
· review of current and previous IEPs · behavior logs
· documented regression and recoupment time · parent interviews
· documented clinical evidence · attendance information
· classroom observation · other objective evidence
· progress notes · expert opinions
· standardized tests

• The decision to offer ESY services is based on individual needs, and is reflected on the IEP which includes the rationale for ESY services, specific goals and objectives, and the nature and duration of the service.
• Decisions must not be postponed until after summer to gather regression/recoupment data. The decision about the upcoming summer should be made based on the best evaluation information currently available, including data collected throughout the year and not limited to regression/recoupment data.
• ESY services might not include all the goals, services, or objectives that were addressed during the regular school year. The IEP team should consider only those services or skills that are crucial to the attainment of self sufficiency and independence and/or those skills that may be affected by regression so severe that the student will be unable to attain the planned educational goals and/or recoup the losses in a reasonable period of time.
• Related services must be offered during the extended school year if they are required for the student to benefit from his or her special education program. Related services provision must be determined in collaboration with the related service provider (e.g., P.T., O.T., speech clinician) who is assigned to the student.
• ESY services are not synonymous with summer school. It may be necessary to consider a range of service options in order to support the students' ESY needs.
• Case managers and teachers should be gathering documentation throughout the school year to assess possible concerns that may be addressed through ESY services in order for the student to receive a free and appropriate education.
• ESY services may be part of the annual IEP or written as an addendum if the annual IEP has already taken place. The IEP will include the rationale for ESY services, the specific goals and objectives, and the nature and duration of the services. In addition to all required components of an IEP, the following should be added regarding ESY services:
• The description of the student's present levels of educational performance including a description of those identified areas of potential severe regression or any of the factors, alone or in combination, that can trigger a need for ESY and that need to be addressed during the extended school year period.
• Goals and objectives for the extended school year period must be written to maintain the areas of potential severe regression, or other identified factors, identified in the student's present levels of educational performance. The review date for these goals must be the last day that the student will receive ESY services. Teachers should inform parents that they will receive a progress report at the end of the ESY services.
• ESY service(s) should be listed. The frequency, setting and duration for ESY service(s) must be included.

Parents, please note:
For ESY services to be delivered through Summer School, parents of student receiving ESY services MUST register using summer school registration forms and procedures.

Lack of Resolution

There may be times when the IEP team is unable to reach a resolution regarding a student's ESY services. When resolution is not reached, the IEP team meeting should be discontinued and standard procedures for a lack of resolution should be followed.

For more information call or email: The Parent Resource Center, (703) 204-3941,
TTY: (703) 204-3941, prc@fcps.edu

School staff members who need more information should call the Coordinator of Summer School Services at 571-423-4193.

Return to list

Special Considerations for Families

Students are entitled to an evaluation by qualified personnel. When appropriate, students are evaluated in the primary language of the home or in the primary mode of communication. Interpretation services may be requested by the school or parent.

Information to parents of special education students is provided in the primary language of the home or in the primary mode of communication (e.g., Braille) unless it is clearly not feasible to do so. Parents may also request that an interpreter be present at school meetings. Parents should request this through the school.

Translations of this handbook and other Fairfax County Public Schools documents related to special education are available from the Parent Resource Center at (703) 204-3941, TDD (703) 204-3956 or the Central Student Registration Section at (703) 876-5219.

• Children with disabilities or their parents are also entitled to:
• Nondiscriminatory testing and evaluation.
• Information on independent education evaluations.
• Annual individualized education program reviews.
• Triennial reevaluations for eligibility and placement.
• Access to student records and confidentiality of records.
• Availability of schools without architectural barriers.
• Impartial due process hearings, mediation, and/or administrative reviews to resolve disputes.

Return to list