“The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.”
Archive for March, 2011
AGING OUT OF C.S.E. – graduating and transition time…
March 16th, 2011I received an interesting email this week and the question is an important one:
“Our son David is scheduled to graduate from Summit school this coming June. Because of all the support and special education he has received, he has passed either Regents exams or RCT exams and therefore qualifies for a real high school diploma. Yet, because of all of David’s issues he can’t attend a regular college and we found a special education post high school program that offers support, small classes and life skills. It is not a degree program and we were told that there were several students whose school districts were funding or contributing towards the tuition. Are we eligible for this once he graduates from Summit?”
The quick answer is only if you are willing to sacrifice David’s receiving a true and genuine high school diploma. New York State Commissioner’s Regulations state that a child is eligible to receive a free appropriate public education until the end of the school year in which the student turns twenty-one (21) or until receipt of a regular high school diploma. Since David is eligible to receive a regular high school diploma this June, as soon as he does so, he is no longer eligible for services from your school district. You might explore what if any services he can receive from VESID, but it is highly unlikely that he will receive funding for this program. (www.vesid.nysed.gov)
This question opens a larger issue and one that continues to haunt parents – WHAT DO YOU DO AFTER HIGH SCHOOL? The first publication of my career was in 1982 when I co-authored and published a book with that exact title. It was a parent handbook of programs and services for the learning disabled. The book was revised in 1984 and again in 1986. I stopped working on it when I went to law school. The times have certainly changed and post high school opportunities are as varied as the students they serve. All of the private special education schools consult with parents about ex-missions and the network of special college programs and independent living programs continues to grow. As the autistic population ages the need for group homes and supervised living arrangements grows. These programs are harder to find and to gain entry to. They are usually under the auspices of Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (www.opwdd.ny.gov).
I am happy to answer questions like these both in your emails and as blog postings.
AGING OUT OF EARLY INTERVENTION
March 11th, 2011When children leave the federal program of Early Intervention (E.I.) by virtue of their age, their parents are often faced problems concerning eligibility, services and programs recommended by their CPSE. Below is a question from a client with just that issue:
“Our child is in Early Intervention (E.I.) as a result of her having a complex congenital syndrome. She receives wonderful services and has an effective and busy home program with providers that we are very pleased with. We are seeing real progress. She turns three in May and ages out of the E.I. and has to enter CPSE. We have learned through our E.I. service coordinator that our school district and the CPSE administrator assigned to our case is going to recommend that our daughter be placed in a center based program without any home services. We strongly disagree with this. Is there such a thing as “pendency” for Early Intervention so that she can stay in EI for another year while we fight the CPSE?”
This is a complicated question that deals with eligibility, conflicts between school districts and something known as pendency.
For those of you that are not familiar with the term pendency it’s a stay put provision invoked and ordered when a parent (usually through their attorney) files for a due process/impartial hearing. Simply put: During the course of the pending hearing and any subsequent appeal the child shall remain in his or her last agreed to placement (IEP).
The rules defining when a child ages out of the EI program are clear and governed by public health law. A child ages out of E.I. on his or her third birthday, unless the child receiving EI services has been referred to the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) and determined to be eligible for preschool special education programs. In these instances the child can continue to receive early intervention services if requested by the parent(s), but only as follows:
- Children, who turn three years of age between January 1st and August 31, are eligible to continue receiving early intervention services until September 1st of that calendar year;
- Children who turn three years of age between September 1st and December 31st are eligible to continue receiving early intervention services until January 2nd of the following calendar year.
There are absolutely no further extensions of E.I. services. Sometimes a parent will argue a premature birth, but this does not apply only the actual recorded birth date governs.
SURVIVING THE TURNING FIVE PROCESS
March 11th, 2011THE LAW OFFICES OF REGINA SKYER AND ASSOCIATES
INVITES YOU TO
JOIN US FOR our ANNUAL
evening presentation
“SURVIVING THE TURNING FIVE PROCESS”
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2011
6:00p.m. to 7:45 p.m
At The
Grand Room
Located at the NY Open Center*
22 East 30th Street (between Madison and 5th)
The following topics will be covered:
CPSE vs. CSE: a whole new ball game (classifications, program recommendations, related services)
PRIVATE SCHOOL PLACEMENT: how to maximize your chances of funding or reimbursement
PENDENCY: it is NOT a placement option, but is the “last agreed to placement” during the “pendency” of a legal proceeding
IMPARTIAL HEARING PROCESS: the nuts and bolts of filing for an impartial hearing and how to best prepare for the best chances of winning
Please RSVP by email to:cvientos@skyerlaw.com
‘”This event is not affiliated with the NY Open Center