Introduction
Many times parents may not understand all of the services that their child with special needs is offered. While parents may indicate they understand, this Parent Teacher Conference Handout ensures that they walk away with the knowledge they need to understand this special education service.
What types of services are included in the definition of related services?
Related services are those that assist a student in benefiting from other special education services or assist the student in accessing the general curriculum. Related services means developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a student with a disability.
Related services include, but are not limited tospeech-language pathology, audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling services, orientation and mobility services, evaluative and diagnostic medical services to determine if the student has a medically related disability, parent counseling and training, school health services, school nurse services, school social work, assistive technology services, appropriate access to recreation, including therapeutic recreation, other appropriate developmental or corrective support services, and other appropriate support services and includes the early identification and assessment of disabling conditions in students. (NOTE: Further Parent Teacher Conference Handouts will discuss each of these separately.)
Are services for surgically implanted devices, including cochlear implants, a related service?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 and federal regulations made it clear that related services are not services that “apply to children with surgically implanted devices, including cochlear implants.” This means that the school district is not responsible for maintaining any medical device that is implanted, including optimizing the device’s functioning or mapping it (e.g., cochlear implants), or replacing the device. However, this does not limit the right of a student with a surgically implanted device to receive related services that are determined by the CSE or CPSE to be necessary for the student to receive a free appropriate public education.
However, the school district is responsible to routinely check an external component of a surgically implanted device to make sure it is functioning properly. The school district is also responsible for monitoring and maintaining all medical devices that are needed to maintain the child’s health and safety in school and during transportation to and from school. This includes devices that are needed to maintain breathing, nutrition, or other bodily functions (e.g., nursing services, suctioning a tracheotomy, urinary catheterization) if the services can be provided by trained personnel and are not the type of services that can only be provided by a licensed physician.
May orientation and mobility services include the use of a service animal?
Yes. 34 CFR section 300.34(c)(7) was amended to add that orientation and mobility services includes teaching students to use a service animal to supplement visual travel skills or as a tool for safely negotiating the environment for children with no available travel vision.
What information must be specified in an IEP for a student with a recommendation for related services?
Related services as recommended by the CSE to meet specific needs of a student with a disability must be indicated in the IEP and must identify the frequency, duration and location of each service.
Do the requirements relating to grouping by similarity of need (question #5) apply to the provision of related services?
Yes.
What is the maximum number of students with disabilities that can be grouped together for the purpose of providing a related service?
When a related service is provided to a number of students at the same time, the number of students in the group cannot exceed five students per teacher or specialist depending on the state guidelines.
Is there a minimum frequency/duration for related services to be provided to a student with a disability?
For students with disabilities determined to need speech and language services, such services must be provided for a minimum of two 30-minute sessions each week. The total caseload of such students for teachers providing such services shall not exceed 65 or a number determined specifically by state guidelines.
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