The SOPM

Standard Operating Procedures Manual

Highlights

Initial Referrals (p 25)

• May only be made by• Parent• school district designee• designee of public agency (with responsibility for child’s

education)

• designee of education program affiliated with a child care institution with CSE responsibility

Initial Referrals con’t

• Initial Referral Request Form in SOPM (pg 164-165)

• May be requested by• School professional staff member• Licensed physician• Judicial officer• Professional staff member of a public agency

with responsibility for wealth, health, or education of children

• Student 18 y.o. or older or emancipated minor

Reevaluations (p 30)

• Only one per year• Unless parent & school district designee agree

otherwise

• If teacher requested, the form on p 168 must be submitted

• The IEP team should convene a meeting to review all current student information

Reevaluations con’t

• The team may determine• A mandated Three Year Reevaluation is not

necessary (form p 173)• The reevaluation will occur but no additional

testing is required (form p 180)• The reevaluation will occur and additional

testing is required

**Necessary assessments maybe conducted if after 7 days the parent hasn’t responded to the consent for testing request. Appropriate outreach must be documented.

IEP Mandated Members

• Mandated participant roles on p 63-66

• Parents have a right to have a Parent Member present at a Full Committee meeting. If they opt not to, the waiver must be signed (p 187)

• Subcommittee vs Full Committee chart on p 68

• If considering change in language of instruction, at least one member must be bilingual

Mandated Member Excusal (p 69)

• May be requested by school or parent

• Parent must sign the Notice of IEP Meeting/Member Excusal Form (p 177)

• Mandated member must still provide the information (in writing) they would have shared if they attended the meeting

• Not applicable for student, parent or parent member

• Use sparingly

Amending the IEP (p 71)

• Modifications may be made without another meeting

• Waiver of IEP Meeting to Amend IEP (p 185) must be sent

• All proposed changes should be discussed with the parent and stated explicitly on the form

• If signed waiver is returned, changes are made to IEP, initialed and date agreed noted

• New IEP must now be re-distributed to parent and teachers

Exit Summary (p 89)

• Must be completed for all students with an IEP

• Completed when services will terminate in the current year because the student will earn an IEP, local, Regents diploma or turn 21

• Includes information to support accommodations and supports necessary for post-secondary success

• Form inSOPM (p218-223)

Interim Speech in English

(p 90-91)• Applies to students with speech services

mandated in a language other than English

• All efforts to secure a bilingual provider must have been exhausted

• Not appropriate for students who have no communication skills in English and are fluent in another language

• No ISP – instead an IEP meeting is convened and provision of interim services in English is noted on p 9 of the IEP

Deferring Placement (p 94)

• Placement is deferred if doing such is determined by the IEP team to be in the student’s best interest

• Rationale for deferring placement must be documented by the IEP team

• Decision to defer placement must be recorded on the Conference Result form and the Notice of Deferred Placement (p 201 or 203)

• Date when deferred placement will begin is indicated on page 2 of the IEP: Projected Date of Initiation of IEP

Annual Goals Are…(p 106-107)

• SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and time-bound

• Aligned to the student’s PLOP

• Skills, knowledge and behaviors the student could reasonably achieve in one year and that would allow them to make progress in the general education curriculum

Annual Goals Are Not(p 106-107)

• Curriculum/content specific

• A replacement for the general education curriculum

• A list of everything the student needs to learn

**Short term objectives are only necessary for students eligible for NYSAA

Students with Out of City IEPs

(p 138)

• If a student has an IEP from within NYS:• CSE and parents meet to discuss comparable

services• All relevant documents must be obtained

immediately • Authorization to Attend a Special Education

Program as Comparable Service form must be sent to parent and signed (p 206)

• An IEP must be developed within 30 days

Students with Out of State IEPs

(p 138-139)

• Student must be provided with FAPE and comparable services in consultation with parents

• All relevant records must be obtained immediately – within 5 days

• IEP team meets to determine whether or not to adopt the most recent evaluation conducted by last school district

Students with Out of State IEPs con’t

• If adopted and the team determines that the student meets criteria for special education eligibility, an IEP must be developed

• If the evaluation is not adopted, the student must be evaluated immediately

• In both cases, the student must be provided with comparable services and the Authorization to Attend a Special Education Program as Comparable Service form must be sent to the parent

Impartial Hearings (p 141-145)

• Principals may request for the following reasons:• To require parent to consent to initial evaluation• To defend the decision to deny a parents’ request

for payment for an independent evaluation• To request placement in an IAES for a student (if

student deemed to be harm to self or others)• To defend the decision to effectuate a change in

the student’s program recommendation and placement as a result of reevaluation or annual review (not initial)

MDR (p 147-153)

• May be necessary if: • discipline will consist of a Superintendent’s

suspension of more than 10 consecutive days (after the hearing, principal will receive notification from SOHO to schedule the MDR)

• teacher removal/principal suspension of an aggregate of 10 days in a 40 day period (principal must determine if behavior is a pattern then schedule MDR and note in SOHO)

• MDR forms in SOPM beginning on p 280

MDR con’t

• If the result of the MDR is Yes, then the student returns to school (unless SOHO notifies the principal that an AIES applies and then a suspension plan must be developed)

• If the result of the MDR is No, then the suspension is upheld and a suspension plan must be developed

• Suspension Plan form in SOPM p 287

MDR – Deemed to Know

• Deemed to know applies:• Parent submitted in

writing to teacher or CSE that student is in need of special education services

• Parent has requested an evaluation

• Teacher or other staff have expressed concern (in writing) about student’s behavior

• An expedited evaluation (within 15 days) must be conducted

• Deemed to know doesn’t apply:• Parent of the student

has refused evaluation• Parent refused special

education services• It was previously

determined by the IEP team that the student didn’t have a disability

Other Items of Note

• Students in Foster Care p 36

• The FBA and BIP p 50

• Classifiable Disabilities p 81-84

• Recommending Home Instruction p 101

• The Related Service LTA Register p 128