Charter Schools, Alternative
Programs, Supplemental
Educational Services, and McKinney-Vento Homeless
M E M O R A N D U M
| TO: |
Alternative Education Contacts |
| FROM: |
Molly
Chamberlin, Director |
| DATE: |
March 16, 2007 |
| RE: |
Special Education and Alternative Education Programs |
There has been some confusion about how special education interfaces with alternative education programming. This memo is intended to clarify that relationship.
One of the questions asked most often is whether it is legal to deny a special education student access to the alternative education program/school? The answer is that access to the alternative program/school should be an option available to eligible students including students with disabilities. That is, students with disabilities should not be excluded on the basis of their disability. The case conference committee should make the recommendation based on what constitutes a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) for the student. If the alternative program/school is that place, then the student should be served. However, alternative education programs are not intended as special education programs so the case conference committee would need to determine whether the student meets the eligibility criteria listed in IC 20-30-8-10.
A key issue would be whether the services indicated in the IEP could be delivered at the alternative school. Also, the Teacher of Record (TOR) requirement would have to be met (e.g. a properly certified teacher in the student's exceptionality area) although the TOR would not necessarily have to be physically located at the alternative school. If these conditions were not met, the school might be out of compliance which could jeopardize special education funding or open the school corporation to litigation.
Finally, it is important to understand how funding is affected when a special education student is enrolled in an alternative school. Though it might seem reasonable that special education dollars would follow the student, it is not a requirement. Rather, the state funding support generated by a special education student goes into the general fund and is drawn upon as needed, or in conjunction with other funding sources, to provide special education and related services for the student. The federal funds generated flow to the special education planning district to provide overall administrative support and provide eligible resources (instructional materials, transportation, etc.) and related services.
Sometimes a student is placed in an alternative education program because it is the least restrictive environment but the student does not truly meet the eligibility criteria for alternative education. In this case, an alternative program/school cannot claim that student for alternative education funding even though the student attends the program. For example, if placement was simply because it was the LRE and the student did not meet any of the alternative education eligibility criteria, then the student could not be counted for alternative education funding purposes but would still count for special education funding. However, if a student entered the alternative program/school because she was pregnant (alternative education eligibility criteria) and she also happened to be a special education student, then the program could claim both alternative education and special education funding.