Contact Person: Tonya Cox
Program Overview:
Program Overview: The PreK-12 Office of Special Education Instruction (OSEI) is committed to providing direct and indirect support to schools to ensure students with emotional and specific learning disabilities a continuum of services. This high-incidence population has access to activities in the school and community environments, as appropriate to the developmental and educational needs of each student.
Services for students with disabilities are planned with long-term outcomes in mind. Annual goals and objectives consider development in the areas of cognition/academics, communication, personal, interpersonal, and career skills. Teachers are committed to their role in planning with students and families, incorporating Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals and objectives, for students’ postsecondary education, employment, and/or residential independence. http://www.fcps.edu/dss/sei/careertransition/index.htm.
In collaboration with the Instructional Services Department, the PreK-12 Office of Special Education Instruction for students with high-incidence disabilities provides support to schools through:
- Professional development in the areas of behavioral interventions, core instruction (literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies), collaborative teaching, differentiated instruction, use of formal and informal assessments, research-based instructional strategies for teaching content, and the Mandt System of crisis intervention
- Research-based materials to match curriculum and instructional needs
- Consultations with school staff to provide school-based professional development in areas related to instruction and behavior intervention
- School consultations with administrators to address program development and staffing
- Curriculum development in areas of support for students with disabilities
- Behavioral support and planning
- Mentor coaches for new special education teachers
In addition, special education staff members attend school-based, cluster, division-wide professional development opportunities offered by the Instructional Services Department related to the general education curriculum and resources.
In collaboration with the Parent Resource Center (PRC), support for parents is provided through parent workshops and trainings. More information can be found at the following link: http://www.fcps.edu/cco/prc/
Instructional Program
The PreK-12curriculum for FCPS is guided by the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) and the FCPS Program of Studies (POS) which includes objectives that have been identified for each grade level and curriculum area. This curriculum is a tool for planning, monitoring, and evaluating students’ work and progress on a continuous basis. Specialized instructional programs for reading, writing, and mathematics, are research-based and provide students with targeted, systematic, and explicit instruction on a consistent basis as determined by the IEP team. These programs are used to supplement the general education instructional program and provide students with differentiated approaches to access the curriculum.
Teachers provide special education services across a continuum of delivery options, ranging from the least to most restrictive learning environments in the following areas:
- Home-based services for preschoolers
- Consultation with general education teachers/employers to include co-teaching with the general education teacher
- Individual and small-group support within general education classroom
- Individual and small-group pull-out services outside of the general education classroom
- Small-group self-contained classes within a general education school
- Special education schools co-located within general education sites
- Separate special education schools
When appropriate, students may also receive services in private day and residential schools, in the home, and in hospital settings. Related therapy services are available to support students in accessing the academic environment (Related Services).
STAFFING
The following staff members may provide instruction and support for students with disabilities in high-incidence programs:
Special education teachers
- plan and implement the instructional program, often in collaboration with general education teachers
- monitor student progress and direct the activities of instructional assistants
Instructional assistants
- perform teaching-related activities and non-teaching assignments at the direction of the special education teacher
Social workers and psychologists
- provide counseling services
- assist in gathering outside resources
- provide crisis intervention
Counseling resource teachers
- provide crisis intervention and short-term behavioral intervention (located in comprehensive services sites)
Special education elective teachers
- part of a comprehensive service site staff
- teach elective courses with a smaller student-teacher ratio
Related service providers
- provide services to students as determined by the IEP team
Central office specialists and curriculum resource teachers
- provide support for school staff to improve student achievement
- coordinate curriculum development
- plan and conduct professional development on topics across the curriculum
- prepare and monitor budget spending
- ensure that the philosophy and design of services reflect the current and relevant research in the field
Other staff members
- behavior intervention teachers
- procedural support liaisons
- assistive technology teachers
Budget: The FY2013 system-wide budget for this program includes funding for school-based positions, professional development, support positions, and allocation of instructional resources. A detailed description of budget allocations for this program is provided at the following link:
http://www.fcps.edu/fs/budget/documents/approved/FY13/FY2013ProgramBudget.pdf