Instructional Arrangements

The Mainstream setting is an instructional setting where students with disabilities receive instruction in a core content area or another curricular area in the general education classroom. The student does not receive any push-in or pull-out services for instruction from the campus-based special education teacher in that particular content. The student may receive IEP accommodations and/or modifications. These are provided by the general education teacher in consultation with the special education contact teacher.

SDI In-Class is for students who access TEKS through accommodations and/or modifications in the general education setting. A student’s IEP must include the provision of specially designed instruction such as teaching prerequisite skills, pre-teaching vocabulary, and key concepts, or re-teaching. Routine use of strategies that change the way content is accessed and the different ways that students can demonstrate their learning. Minutes on the schedule of service page are documented as weekly minutes and only serviced by a special education teacher (SDI Strategist). The SDI Strategist will collaborate with the general education teachers on a regular basis in order to effectively implement specially designed instruction and provide the necessary support for students. SDI services are individualized according to the needs of the student and based on ARD committee recommendations.

SDI Pull-Out is for students to receive intensive direct instruction from a special education teacher (SDI Strategist) in a separate setting from the general education classroom. SDI must address specific goals in the student’s IEP. IEP goals should be aligned to the grade level TEKS and identified deficit skills based on assessments. Students who receive a direct teach program should have pull-out services daily. Some students may need to be pulled out once or twice a week to address prerequisite skills, pre-teach vocabulary and key concepts, etc.

BASE is for students who have a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP), social skills, organizational or study skill IEP goal that requires interventions and academic instruction. Interventions could include social skills groups, a morning check-in and afternoon check out, direct teaching on organizational and study skill goals, etc. BASE may also be used as an administrative discipline placement. If students are placed in BASE for discipline, they will still receive academic instruction and other services.

*Students could receive a combination of SDI In-Class, SDI Pull-Out, and BASE services. SDI and BASE services are individualized according to the needs of the student and based on ARD committee recommendations.

Life Skills classes provide intensive instruction using a functional approach in areas of academic, self- help, vocational, socialization as well as daily community living skills that promote independence. Students in the Life Skills class have a cognitive disability that requires them to access the TEKS through prerequisite skills that are linked to the grade-level curriculum.

In addition to specialized academic instruction, students need support throughout the day in areas such as expressing his or her needs, getting from place to place, eating lunch, negotiating social situations, and/or taking care of personal needs.

Life Skills instruction focuses on the following:

• Assisting each student in experiencing success in academic and/or elective subjects at his/her ability level, integrating academic instruction into meaningful age-appropriate functional activities.
• Assisting each student in securing functional/self-help, vocational and job-related skills as appropriate.
• Assisting each student in obtaining socialization skills to be used in daily and community living.
• Increasing skills that lead to independence within the community.

Academic Life Skills (ALS): Students in ALS exhibit significant academic needs, which are pervasive in all core academic areas.

Academic and Vocational Life Skills (AVLS): Students in the AVLS setting exhibit severe needs in all of the following areas:

• communication,
• daily living skills,
• social skills,
• and vocational skills.

AVLS classes provide a more intensive instructional environment for functional-based skill to promote independence to the maximum extent possible in the areas of academic, self-help, vocational, socialization and daily community living.

Functional Life Skills (FLS): The FLS program provides instruction for students with severe to profound delays in the area of cognition and are generally non-ambulatory and/or medically fragile. Instruction in the FLS classroom emphasizes basic life skills with the integration of functional prerequisite academics. FLS classrooms focus on the following:

• establishing skills to tolerate environments,
• communicating needs,
• and independent self-care skills (dressing, grooming, etc.).

The FLS instructional environments promote opportunities for sensory stimulation and social interactions.

Behavior Intervention Classes are for students with severe emotional/behavioral concerns that adversely affect the student’s learning or the learning environment for other students. The needs of students in the Behavior Intervention Class cannot be met appropriately in other settings, such as general education classroom, a combination of general education classes and special education supports, or other special education settings. The BIC classroom provides an educational environment with a high level of structure and individualization to address the student’s social and behavioral skills that are needed to be successful in the general education setting. Students behavior and social skill needs are supported through positive behavior supports and the principle of applied behavior analysis (ABA) focusing on teaching deficits skills through the use of explicit instruction, modeling, practice/role play and feedback of appropriate behaviors.

COMM classes are designed to provide a highly structured instructional program for students with significant deficits in communication skills. Comm classrooms support the development of academic and communication skills based on the individual needs of each student focusing on the following:

• A verbal language (behavioral) approach to language acquisition (assumes students do not acquire language “incidentally” (i.e., just by being around others)
• A high degree of classroom structure – physical, academic and behavioral
• Emphasis on the acquisition and development of effective communication skills through specialized, direct instruction based on the principles of applied behavior analysis and Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior. This includes, but is not limited to, high rates of reinforcement, fast-paced instruction, discrete trial training and a behavioral approach to the acquisition of language. The daily schedule of activities includes intensive teaching trials with carefully arranged contingencies (prompting, fading, careful shaping, transfer of stimulus control use of motivating operation, differential reinforcement, etc.)
• Management of behavior through an individualized Behavior Intervention Plan recognizing that many children with Autism or other developmental disorders exhibit strong and persistent negative behaviors that impede teaching and learning.
• Social skills development recognizing the importance of language development in the demonstration of social skills. It is important to note that a significant component of social behavior involves verbal behavior, and if a child cannot mand (request), respond with intraverbal answers to the mands of others, or serve as the listener, social interactions will be limited.

ECSE is a program for students with disabilities ages three, four and some five-year-olds. These classes are designed to provide instruction for students with delays in cognition, communication, psychomotor, self-care, and social-emotional areas. Options for the ECSE program include self-contained, inclusive/blended classrooms and kindergarten with special education support through specially designed instruction.

The TEAMS program, located at the Purnell Support Center, focuses on the instructional and behavior management/social adjustment needs of students who have become persistently disruptive to the educational process despite reasonable attempts in less restrictive settings to help them learn behaviors appropriate for school. These students require very high levels of structure, behavior management procedures that are more restrictive than found on general education campuses, and concentration on learning to function positively in social situations requiring cooperation, compliance with rules and directions and ability to control impulses.

FOF is a community-based transition program for students with disabilities who are between 18 and 21 years of age. Individual supports for a successful transition to adult life are provided in the areas of employment, recreation activities, social relationships, and independent living. Each young adult’s schedule is based on IEP goals and objectives that have been developed after extensive coordination and collaboration with the student, his/her parents, agencies and other stakeholders.

Special Education Homebound

A student may be eligible for Homebound services through Special Education which is a temporary setting that provides Special Education and related services to eligible students who are projected to be confined to home or hospital bedside as documented by a licensed physician. Homebound instruction may also be provided to chronically ill students who are expected to be confined for any period of time totaling at least four (4) weeks throughout the school year, as documented by a licensed physician. Homebound instruction may also be used for services to infants and toddlers (birth through 2) and young children (ages 3-5) when determined appropriate by the ARD committee.

After receipt of the Homebound Needs Assessment, the written medical report (Other Health Impairment-OHI) from the physician describing the medical condition of the student, and the length of time confined to home or hospital, it is then the responsibility of the ARD Committee to determine eligibility/placement. All decisions (e.g., goals and objectives, placement services, etc.) regarding students with disabilities are made in the ARD/IEP Committee meeting.
The initial ARD Committee meeting will project the dismissal date based on information from the physician. In all cases, students receiving homebound instruction are dismissed from homebound eligibility at the end of each school year. If homebound instruction is appropriate the following year, current information must be requested and received from the physician(s). Homebound instruction ceases on the date indicated by the physician(s) unless an extension is received from the physician(s) based on a current medical assessment.

General Education Homebound 

For information regarding General Education Homebound, please visit here.

TEACHER RESPONSIBILITIES for Homebound students- Classroom teachers will coordinate lesson plans, assignments, exams and maintain student's grades.

PARENT RESPONSIBILITIES -

1. Prepare and have ready an area in the home that is conducive to learning (well lit, quiet, clean, comfortable and relatively private).
2. Ensure that a responsible adult is present at all times the homebound teacher is providing instruction.
3. Supervise your child's effort and progress on assignments, and expect that your child will need to put forth significant effort between visits by the homebound teacher.
4. Keep the homebound teacher and the campus informed of any change in medical status that would affect your child's instructional needs.

 
Due to the severity of their medical conditions, Homebound students are typically unable to participate in extracurricular and co-curricular activities, work programs, outside jobs and other activities outside the home. If students are able to participate in these activities outside the home, the ARD committee or 504 committee will likely need to meet to consider this information.

For more information, please contact Dr. Lisa Davison, davisonl@lisd.net, or Carolyn Cade, cadec@lisd.net.

Students who attend a private/homeschool within the boundaries of LISD may be referred for special education evaluation if the parent suspects the student has a disability.

• If the student resides in LISD and attends a private school in LISD, the parent may contact the school their child would attend if enrolled in LISD.
• If the student resides in LISD and attends a private school located outside of LISD, the parent should contact the school district in which the private school is located. The law changed on July 1, 2005, and requires the district in which the private school is located to provide services for parentally placed private school children (20 USC 1412 (a)(10)(A)(II).
• If the student resides outside of LISD and attends a private school in the boundaries of LISD, the parent may contact the Special Education office at 469-713-5203.

LISD consults with private/homeschools in LISD regarding the plan to expend the proportionate share funds used by the district to provide services for students. If you have a concern or comment regarding the plan for services please contact the Special Education office at 469-713-5203.