Description of Special Education Services
BCPS provides a variety of services for students with disabilities.
Special education staffing is determined by set ratios applied to
student counts within specific program titles. The current Special
Education Staffing Plan language reflects the philosophy that special
education is a service to students, not a place. Input obtained from
parents, administrators, and school-based staff was used in developing
the new descriptions of service. Below is a description of each service
available within the school system. Decisions for how students are
to receive the services are made by an Individual Education Plan
(IEP) team, and are based on the services needed to implement the
students’ IEP in the least restrictive environment (LRE).
Decisions regarding service delivery models
for each student are made on an individual basis through the IEP
team process and are based on student needs. Services may include one
or a combination of any of the following:
Adapted
Learning Support (ALS) Grades 1 - 12
Students with IEPs in
need of adapted learning support services are those whose complex
learning needs impact their academic progress in core academic
areas, and their ability to make sufficient progress toward IEP
goals in spite of significant accommodations and modifications made
to the general education curriculum and/or setting. Services
offered may include: adaptations and modifications to the
complexity and amount of the general education curriculum,
specialized instructional strategies and materials, adjustments in
pacing, reduction in output, and alternative methods for
demonstrating skill acquisition.
Behavior and Learning Support (BLS) Grades 1 - 12
Students with IEPs in
need of behavior and learning support services are those whose
significant social, emotional, behavioral, and learning difficulties
adversely impact their ability to be successful in the general
education setting in school. Students requiring these services
usually have normal intelligence, but may not be achieving
academically due to emotional and behavioral difficulties. Services
offered may include: a structured learning environment, behavior
management system, implementation of behavior intervention plans,
social skills instruction, counseling, conflict resolution, and
availability of crisis intervention.
Communication and Learning Support (CLS) Ages 3 - 21
Students with IEPs in
need of communication and learning support services are those whose
complex communication, socialization, and learning needs are a
result of having been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Students requiring these services typically have significant delays
in the areas of cognition, communication, social/emotional, and
adaptive behavior. Services offered may include: a highly
structured learning environment, use of visually based strategies,
emphasis on the development of language and social skills, use of
sensory processing techniques, and the development of individualized
behavioral strategies.
Early
Childhood Learning Support (ECLS) Ages 3 - 5
Students with IEPs in
need of early childhood learning support services are those students
who demonstrate significant delays that impact their ability to
learn in the areas of cognition, communication, social/emotional,
motor, and adaptive skills. Services offered may include: a highly
structured learning environment, use of developmentally appropriate
practices, specialized instruction as identified by a student’s IEP
team, use of multi-sensory lessons, and positive behavioral
supports.
Functional Academic Learning Support (FALS) Ages 3 - 21
Students with IEPs in
need of functional academic learning support are those who
demonstrate significant delays in measured intelligence, adaptive
functioning, communication, and academic functioning. Services
offered may include: instruction in a functional life skills
curriculum including personal management, community,
recreation/leisure, career/vocational, and
communication/decision-making. Students are provided with extensive
modification of objectives and learning materials, and more time to
learn.
Inclusive
Education (IE) Preschool - Grade 12
Students requiring these
services have varied disabilities and multiple needs that can be met
in the general education setting with support and related services.
Services offered may include: instruction in home settings, in
parentally-placed community preschool, pre-kindergarten, and/or
licensed childcare settings; instruction in the general education
curriculum with modifications; small group pullout resource support;
co-teaching; and consultation with general education teachers.
Learning
Support for Students who are Deaf & Hard of Hearing (D & HH)
(Ages 3 - 21)
Students with hearing
loss may require support through alternative communication
interventions, specialized instructional strategies,
auditory listening devices (ALDs),
and related services.
Services may include: communication development, speech
and language therapy, aural rehabilitation,
instructional support,
use of auditory listening devices (ALD),
and specialized accommodations/modifications.
Communication modalities used in the instructional
setting will include one of the following: 1) total communication
with simultaneous sign and speech presentation, or 2) oral
communication that may include a cued speech transliterator or oral
interpreter. Students
with a diagnosed hearing loss may or may have other disabilities
that require additional services.
