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CSE Information

The District provides special education services and programs to students with disabilities pursuant to applicable federal and state laws. Any parent or person in parental relation who suspects that his/her child has a disability may refer the child for an evaluation by the District’s Committee on Special Education (CSE) for eligibility for special education services and programs. More detailed information on this process is available in A Parent’s Guide to Special Education, which is published on the New York State Education Department’s website in English and Spanish.

If you are a Parent or person in parental relations to a student with a disability and you are seeking additional information regarding an IEP, referral to special education, or the Committee on Special Education, please contact your child’s school psychologist, Dr. Moscicki (District CSE Chairperson), or Ms. Von Eschen (Director of Special Education and PPS). 

About the Special Education Department

Provision of Appropriate Special Education Services to Enable Involvement and Progress in the General Education Curriculum

All students with disabilities who reside in the school District shall be provided with an appropriate individual educational program (IEP) that meets the student’s unique educational needs as determined and recommended by the Committee on Special Education (CSE) and arranged for by the Board of Education. This IEP shall be designed to enable involvement and foster progress in general education to the extent appropriate to the needs of the student. In designing the IEP, the CSE will consider the present levels of performance and the expected learning outcomes of the student. The student’s academic, social development, physical development, and management needs will be the basis for written annual goals and short-term objectives.

In keeping with this policy, the CSE will consider continuum of special education services at each initial, program or annual review for the student as well as the appropriate support or related services needed for the student to make educational progress within appropriate educational environment. Progress or educational benefit shall be indicated by successful academic progress, including improvement in skills, achievement on State mandated examinations, ability to perform activities of daily living and an increase in adaptive bsehavior. Progress will also be considered in the social areas, including relationships with peers and adults, feelings about one’s self, and the adjustment to school and community environments. Physical development areas such as the student’s improvement in motor or sensory areas, health, vitality and physical skills and the decrease of management needs that require environmental modifications or human resources shall also be considered as progress.

The District will ensure equal access to a diploma for all students with disabilities through its establishment of heterogeneous Regents classes, inclusion classes, and special education classes that provide equivalent instruction. Appropriate academic intervention services shall also be considered and determined by the building principal to assist students with disabilities in meeting their academic goals. These services shall be in addition to the special education services deemed appropriate by the CSE. No student, by virtue of designation as a student with a disability, shall be precluded from receiving equivalent instruction unless the CSE has determined that the student requires Skills and Achievement Commencement Credential for students with severe disabilities program. If the student has the potential to achieve a regular high school diploma but requires a restrictive environment outside of the District, the CSE will seek placement in a program that provides equivalent instruction.

The District will also ensure equal access for students with disabilities to after school activities such as clubs, sports, or evening activities and will provide, as recommended by the CSE, appropriate services to enable this participation. Students who are receiving education in out-of-District facilities, as recommended by the CSE, shall also have an equal opportunity to participate in these activities, as deemed appropriate to meet their individualized needs.

Access to Programs and Extra-Curricular Activities

Students with disabilities residing in the District have the opportunity to participate in all programs and activities administered by the District and available to other students enrolled in district public schools, too the maximum extent appropriate, provided that the students seeking to participate are otherwise qualified to participate in such programs and activities. In the event that special arrangements are required to enable a child to participate in an extracurricular activity at a placement provided by the District,
application may be made to the CSE. The CSE will meet with the child’s parent to review the child’s placement needs and, if appropriate, recommend special services.

In compliance with the Commissioner’s Part 100 Regulations and to ensure full access to District programs, all students with disabilities will be provided:

•    access to regular elementary and secondary school programs, services and activities which are prerequisite to earning a high school diploma to the extent that such programs and services are appropriate to the student’s special education needs, and
•    appropriate curricular and extracurricular opportunities to benefit from regular education experiences and to achieve those learning standards which are held for all students in New York State.

It is the policy of the District to encourage students with special education needs to pursue a high school diploma. To achieve a diploma, students must earn the minimum number of credits and fulfill the requirements specified by the Regents of the State of
New York and the Board of Education. To assure that students with disabilities are encouraged and assisted to achieve the credits and the skill levels necessary for attaining a diploma, the District has adopted the following procedures:

•    At each annual review, the CSE will consider the student’s current level of achievement, learning rate, and the recommendations of the parent and the student.
•    At each annual review, the CSE will consider whether the student’s disability is likely to prevent accurate testing of competency required by the Regents. If applicable, the Committee will recommend appropriate testing modifications as a component of the student’s IEP. Testing modifications will be individualized to meet the specific needs of the student’s disability in accordance with standards established by the Regents.
•    The District will offer appropriate remedial instruction.
•    The CSE will consider and recommend support services and supplementary instruction.
•    The CSE will consider whether the student’s special education needs will prevent completion of the requisite number of units of credit within four (4) years of entry into high school. If so, a plan will recommended for completion of the required units before June 30 of the school year in which the student reached his/her twenty-first (21st) birthday.