Special Education Programs
Canton Union School District #66 provides for its special education services by membership in the West Central Illinois Special Education Cooperative. www.wcisec.org
Canton Schools offer a free and appropriate education to all children. Any child, ages 3- 21, whose parents or legal guardians reside in the school district is eligible for special education if the child’s impairment is determined to interfere with his or her education progress as determined by a multidisciplinary team. The kinds of impairments for which services can be provided are visual, hearing, physical, speech/language, specific learning disability, emotional/behavioral, health impaired, autism, traumatic brain injury and intellectual disability.
Students with disabilities who do not qualify for an individualized education program as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act may qualify for services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 if the child (i) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, (ii) has a record of a physical or mental impairment, or (iii) is regarded as having a physical or mental impairment. (105 ILCS 5/14-6.01). For information regarding the identification, assessment, and/or placement of such students, please contact the Director of Student Services, 20 West Walnut, Canton, IL (309) 647-1418
PARENT REFERRALS
Any parent with concern regarding their child may refer that child for an evaluation. Such referrals should be made in writing to the building Principal. The Principal should then sign and forward the request to the Director of Student Services, including any comments or additional information to assist in processing the request.
Upon receipt of the parent’s request, the Director of Student Services will provide the Parent with an Explanation of Procedural Safeguards Available to Parents/Guardians of Students with Disabilities (Form 34-57 J) along with a Parent Request for Special Education Evaluation form to gather additional information regarding concerns.
A Parent request for evaluation may result in referral to the Problem Solving Team for building based intervention and data collection, the scheduling of a domain meeting to discuss as a team the need for additional information, or denial of the request. Upon this determination, the Decision Regarding Referral- Form ISBE 34-57A will be sent to the student’s Teacher, Parent, and building Principal by the Director of Student Services with information including the rationale for accepting or denying the request.
PROBLEM SOLVING TEAM (PST)/ CASE STUDY REFERRAL PROCEDURE
1. The referring teacher completes the Problem Solving Team (PST) Conference Request Form and gives it to the Student Assistance Team Leader.
2. The Problem Solving Team Leader or Principal sends a letter to the Parent/Guardian to inform them of the referral.
3. The referring teacher meets with the Problem Solving Team, including parent.
4. The Team discusses the concerns and selects an area for intervention. The Team will analyze data, develop strategies to be used, determine how long to implement, how frequently to measure and when to review progress. This information is recorded on the PST Conference Summary Form.
5. After multiple interventions have been attempted, the team may reach a consensus that the child is not responding to the interventions and that a special education case study evaluation is warranted.
6. If the team decides that a case study evaluation is appropriate, the referring teacher completes the Referral for Case Study Form* and gives it to the Principal for approval. The Referral for Case Study Form must be complete (no blanks), and include copies of PST information as well as data demonstrating the effectiveness of interventions used. Referrals approved by the Principal will be sent to the Director of Student Services.
*Referral for Case Study Forms are available on the secure teacher forms section of the District website, or can be requested electronically by emailing the Director of Student Services directly.
7. The Director of Student Services will review the referral and may consult with the School Psychologist, Social Worker or other individuals to determine if the referral should result in an evaluation. Additional information may be collected as needed. When a decision has been made, the Decision Regarding Referral- Form ISBE 34-57A will be sent to the student's Teacher, Parent and building Principal by the Director of Student Services. A copy of this form should be placed in the students file.
8. If an evaluation is appropriate, the Director of Student Services, or designee, schedules a Domain Meeting to begin the assessment process. Parents and appropriate staff are invited to this meeting.
9. At the Domain Meeting, the Multidisciplinary team shall review and evaluate existing information about the child, decide relevancy in each of the eight domain areas, and determine if additional information is needed and from what sources it can be obtained.
10. Parent/Guardian Consent for Evaluation (Form 34-57B) is obtained to either review existing data or gather additional data as specified on the Domain Page. The date of consent begins the 60 day time line for completion of the evaluation.
11. When all components of the assessment have been completed, the Director of Student Services, or designee, schedules a meeting to review the case study components. Eligibility is determined at this time. If appropriate and upon parental agreement, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) will be developed for eligible students within 30 days.
Canton Schools offer a free and appropriate education to all children. Any child, ages 3- 21, whose parents or legal guardians reside in the school district is eligible for special education if the child’s impairment is determined to interfere with his or her education progress as determined by a multidisciplinary team. The kinds of impairments for which services can be provided are visual, hearing, physical, speech/language, specific learning disability, emotional/behavioral, health impaired, autism, traumatic brain injury and intellectual disability.
Students with disabilities who do not qualify for an individualized education program as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act may qualify for services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 if the child (i) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, (ii) has a record of a physical or mental impairment, or (iii) is regarded as having a physical or mental impairment. (105 ILCS 5/14-6.01). For information regarding the identification, assessment, and/or placement of such students, please contact the Director of Student Services, 20 West Walnut, Canton, IL (309) 647-1418
PARENT REFERRALS
Any parent with concern regarding their child may refer that child for an evaluation. Such referrals should be made in writing to the building Principal. The Principal should then sign and forward the request to the Director of Student Services, including any comments or additional information to assist in processing the request.
Upon receipt of the parent’s request, the Director of Student Services will provide the Parent with an Explanation of Procedural Safeguards Available to Parents/Guardians of Students with Disabilities (Form 34-57 J) along with a Parent Request for Special Education Evaluation form to gather additional information regarding concerns.
A Parent request for evaluation may result in referral to the Problem Solving Team for building based intervention and data collection, the scheduling of a domain meeting to discuss as a team the need for additional information, or denial of the request. Upon this determination, the Decision Regarding Referral- Form ISBE 34-57A will be sent to the student’s Teacher, Parent, and building Principal by the Director of Student Services with information including the rationale for accepting or denying the request.
PROBLEM SOLVING TEAM (PST)/ CASE STUDY REFERRAL PROCEDURE
1. The referring teacher completes the Problem Solving Team (PST) Conference Request Form and gives it to the Student Assistance Team Leader.
2. The Problem Solving Team Leader or Principal sends a letter to the Parent/Guardian to inform them of the referral.
3. The referring teacher meets with the Problem Solving Team, including parent.
4. The Team discusses the concerns and selects an area for intervention. The Team will analyze data, develop strategies to be used, determine how long to implement, how frequently to measure and when to review progress. This information is recorded on the PST Conference Summary Form.
5. After multiple interventions have been attempted, the team may reach a consensus that the child is not responding to the interventions and that a special education case study evaluation is warranted.
6. If the team decides that a case study evaluation is appropriate, the referring teacher completes the Referral for Case Study Form* and gives it to the Principal for approval. The Referral for Case Study Form must be complete (no blanks), and include copies of PST information as well as data demonstrating the effectiveness of interventions used. Referrals approved by the Principal will be sent to the Director of Student Services.
*Referral for Case Study Forms are available on the secure teacher forms section of the District website, or can be requested electronically by emailing the Director of Student Services directly.
7. The Director of Student Services will review the referral and may consult with the School Psychologist, Social Worker or other individuals to determine if the referral should result in an evaluation. Additional information may be collected as needed. When a decision has been made, the Decision Regarding Referral- Form ISBE 34-57A will be sent to the student's Teacher, Parent and building Principal by the Director of Student Services. A copy of this form should be placed in the students file.
8. If an evaluation is appropriate, the Director of Student Services, or designee, schedules a Domain Meeting to begin the assessment process. Parents and appropriate staff are invited to this meeting.
9. At the Domain Meeting, the Multidisciplinary team shall review and evaluate existing information about the child, decide relevancy in each of the eight domain areas, and determine if additional information is needed and from what sources it can be obtained.
10. Parent/Guardian Consent for Evaluation (Form 34-57B) is obtained to either review existing data or gather additional data as specified on the Domain Page. The date of consent begins the 60 day time line for completion of the evaluation.
11. When all components of the assessment have been completed, the Director of Student Services, or designee, schedules a meeting to review the case study components. Eligibility is determined at this time. If appropriate and upon parental agreement, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) will be developed for eligible students within 30 days.