"There was an agreement at the last board of education meeting to expand the department and make it more inclusive for students who are experiencing difficulties or who require additional support to reach their full academic potential," said Dr. John DiGiovachino, director. "The department, Special Education and Student Support Services, is new to the district."
According to DiGiovachino, the department will make services accessible to those students who have been classified as special education and to those who are not but still require some remediation or support in certain areas of their learning capacity. Child study teams will continue to see if students need special education classification.
"It’s required by federal and state law," he explained. "The mandate’s goal is to prevent having those students from being referred to child study teams for special education that don’t require it. However, it requires those students to receive remediation strategies within the general class environment. The remedies supplied will be based on each student’s individual needs."
DiGiovachino added that non-special education students are examined by a 504 committee, which is like a child study team designed to help general education students. The committee bases their action on a plan which is designed to accommodate the unique needs of an individual with a disability as required by the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA).
"An example would be if a child is asthmatic and the school administration would be instructed by the 504 committee to place that child in an air-conditioned environment. It will also enable a child to have extra academic help if necessary without disrupting the child’s daily routine. Homework modification or directing the child to guidance counseling agencies if they are experience any major family problems are some remedial strategies.
"Basically, it’s for children who do not meet the criteria for special education but still need assistance," he said. "All school districts need to provide these services by law. It is also mandated not only in schools but for adults in the workplace ever since the ADA was enacted into law in 1990."
As a result of state and federal mandates, more is being done on the forefront to help general ed students, DiGiovachino explained.
"This is why assistance to all students has expanded, not just for classified special education students," he said. "Research has shown that when early strategies and intervention is done to assist the general ed student, they usually do not need special ed classification. Our focus is to utilize more of our resources to help more children in the general ed environment."
