This fillable “All About Me” template from FFF gives families and students a simple way to share critical information with teachers, staff and others who can benefit from the essential key facts about a child or youth.
This was shared as part of our “Just So You Know… Strategies for Nontraditional Families to Share Their Information with Schools” training. It can be used by any family or student.
From the Virginia Department of Education:
The Video Guide to the Special Education Evaluation Process for Families provides additional guidance to support accurate and consistent eligibility determinations and access to special education services across school divisions.
These video modules will provide parents, families, and other stakeholders with a brief but comprehensive overview of the special education process on the following topics:
Introduction (Overview of the Series)
Identification
Evaluation
Eligibility
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
Reevaluation, Early Intervention, and
What’s Next.
Each module is designed to be viewed as a stand-alone resource or viewed in succession.
On January 28, 2021, the Board of Education revised eligibility criteria and processes for the administration of locally-awarded verified credit due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. Please see the Board of Education’s Emergency Guidelines for Locally-Awarded Verified Credits for details on locally-awarded verified credit options.
This webpage clarifies options for locally-awarded verified credits needed for Virginia’s advanced studies diploma and standard diploma requirements.
This page on the Center for Family Involvement website offers links to video and print resources designed for Virginia military-connected families who are raising children and youth wtih disabilities. Additional resources from Formed Families Forward and PEATC are also linked.
This Virginia Department of Education page links to official technical assistance and policy guidance documents related to special education in the state.
These resources were developed to provide professional development and technical assistance to parents, school personnel, and other consumers. All resources are intended to provide guidance for addressing the regulatory requirements and instructional elements needed for a student’s free appropriate public education (FAPE).
Clarifications from the US Office of Special Education Programs and the Virginia Department of Education in spring 2023 that clarifies responsibilities of schools to allow a parent or caregiver to request an initial evaluation of child suspected of having a disability. Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multitiered Systems of Supports (MTSS) cannot be used to delay or deny an initial evaluation.
This federal letter from the US Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services issued 11/10/22 to State Special Education Directors clarifies requirements for highly mobile children and youth such as military-connected children, migratory children, children who are homeless, and children in the foster care system.
Specific issues addressed are:
From the US Office of Special Education programs, this set of guidance Questions and Answers addresses special education (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA) requirements applicable to children with disabilities placed by their parents or caregivers in private schools, who are not enrolled in public school system.
This was updated in February 2022.
Released on July 19, 2022, the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) published several policy documents and guides to help public elementary and secondary schools fulfill their responsibilities to meet the needs of students with disabilities and avoid the discriminatory use of student discipline.
The resources are the most comprehensive guidance on the civil rights of students with disabilities concerning student discipline and build on the Department’s continued efforts to support students and schools through pandemic recovery.
Presented live on March 8, 2022, this webinar overviewed eligibility and evaluation processes and offered helpful strategies for foster, adoptive and kinship families to ensure appropriate assessments. Presented by Kelly Henderson and Beth Spivack of FFF.
From the Virginia Department of Education, this 2021 guidance offer is an addendum to the Virginia Department of Education’s Evaluation and Eligibility For Special Education and Related Services: Guidance Document and Guidance on Evaluation and Eligibility for the Special Education Process Appendix A (Sample Evaluation and Eligibility Forms). The Supplemental Guidance provides information about data sources that may be used to inform eligibility for special education services or a need for a related service, as well as information to assist in the local interpretation for terminology in Virginia special education regulations that are not clearly defined (e.g., determining “adverse educational impact” and determining “need for specially designed instruction”).
Originally broadcast on March 1, 2022, this webinar presented by Kelly Henderson of Formed Families Forward includes a review of the why, when, who and what of special education reevaluations or “triennials”. The 4 steps of reevaluation and the specifics of the ‘developmental delay’ category are covered.
Delivered on February 22, 2022 by FFF staff experts, this was first in the Winter 2022 Accessing Special Education: Evaluation & Eligibility Basics webinar series. This session covered initial referral and evaluation processes, timelines and requirements. Eligibility categories and approaches were shared.