NEPN/NSBA Code: ID
SCHOOL DAY
This school system
exists to provide education to the children and young people who reside within
the unit. The essence of this education
is primarily attained through the direct contact of competent teachers with
eager students in the teaching-learning setting. It is the intent of the board that the
maximum optimal instructional time for each age level within the student body
is provided during every typical school day.
The “instructional
day” is not considered to include homeroom periods, opening exercises, recess,
lunch, passing times, activity periods, intramurals, other extracurricular
activities and such like. Exceptions
shall only be made with the approval of the Superintendent. The number of school days shall meet or
exceed the state requirement and be set annually by this Board and be included
in the school calendar. Abbreviated days
to be included for in-service, conferences, etc., shall be kept to a minimum.
High School Level
The instructional day
shall consist of a minimum of four teaching periods, each 80 minutes in
length. Double or continuous laboratory
periods, modular scheduling and the like, may be approved by the
Superintendent. Appropriately conducted
study halls, individually scheduled for the needs of the students, shall be
recognized as within the instructional day.
The school year shall include at least 933 instructional hours.
Middle School Level
The instructional day
shall consist of a minimum of five hours and 0 minutes, appropriately divided
and scheduled according to the middle school philosophy of this school
unit. The school year shall include at
least 875 instructional hours.
Elementary Level
The instructional day
for grades one and higher shall consist of five hours and 0 minutes. The school year shall include at least 875
instructional hours.
Legal Reference: 20-A MRSA § 4801
Adopted:
M.S.A.D.
#4
NEPN/NSBA Code: IE
ORGANIZATION OF INSTRUCTION
Students will be
primarily responsible to classroom teachers.
The instructional and non-instructional services that are provided by
special personnel in each school will be brought into the educational program
in a manner determined by the Pupil Evaluation Team (PET) process.
All classroom
teachers, all special instructional personnel and all special non-instructional
personnel in each school will be primarily responsible to the Principal of that
school. Special personnel who work in
more than one school will be responsible to the Principal of the school in
which they are working at the particular time.
Principals will be
primarily responsible to the Superintendent for instructional and
non-instructional services and will have authority for all activities in a
given school.
Other supervisory
staff is responsible to the Superintendent for special programs within the
school system.
Adopted:
M.S.A.D.
#4
NEPN/NSBA Code: IGA
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION
Rapid social change,
technological development, and expansion of knowledge are facts of contemporary
life. Public education must respond
appropriately. Therefore, it is imperative
that individual schools, the school system as a whole, and the Board
continuously review and evaluate existing programs and practices and adjust,
modify, or change them as found advantageous in effectively meeting the best
interests of students and the community.
Therefore:
A. The Board expects the administration and
faculty to be perpetually sensitive to changing conditions that may require
changes in curriculum;
B. The Board expects all programs to be
under continuous evaluation to see that they meet the needs of children;
C. The Board expects the school system to
undertake intensive curriculum evaluation and revision from time to time as the
need for this is demonstrated;
D. The Superintendent is expected to
inspire, lead, guide and direct the process of keeping the school system
abreast of growing community aspirations as well as of advancing knowledge and
new educational approaches;
E. It is expected that curriculum
development and revision be achieved with appropriate involvement of
administration, instructional and support staff, students, community and the
Board; and
F. The Board shall review and adopt all
curriculum guides, course descriptions, and courses of study prior to their
implementation.
To enhance a sound,
basic educational program, the Board expects curriculum revision to reflect
such critical issues in our present society as:
a) the relationships between humans and their environment, b)
traditional American values relative to family and civic responsibility, c)
American and state heritage, and d) recognition that people are members of the
world community.
Curricula are to be
designed to present a realistic picture of the contributions made by the
various ethnic and racial groups in the development of our nation.
Moreover, in
recognition of our nation’s diversified cultural heritage and some of the
educational challenges that have resulted from such diversity, the Board
expects that ways of preserving that heritage will be sought through the
development of educational programs which will, among other things, ensure that
non-English speaking children shall have access to quality education while not
impeding their learning of the English language.
Curriculum development
and revision in this school system should also take into account:
A. The need to enhance existing vocational
programs and to develop new programs where needs may be unmet
;
B. The need to identify and develop the
special gifts that each child may possess, whether the child be talented
academically, artistically, vocationally or athletically, through a program of
instruction that includes diagnosis and prescription in terms of needs and
talents in order to accommodate every student ;
C. Consideration of the integration of
foreign languages and international studies at all grade levels, and the
requirement that all students in a college preparatory mode complete a minimum
of two years of foreign language study ;
D. The need to incorporate instruction in
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) into the physical education or health
curriculum as appropriate ; and
E. The need to instruct students about
AIDS, to give them factual information about its infectious risks and which
will help dispel unfounded fears and misconceptions about the disease.
Legal Reference: Chap.
127.09; 11, C; 12, A (
Cross Reference: IL
- Evaluation of Instructional Programs
Adopted:
M.S.A.D.
#4
NEPN/NSBA Code: IHBA
INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS (IEPs)
It shall be the policy of the school unit to maintain a complete individualized education program (IEP) for each student who has been identified with a disability and in need of special education services under state and federal special education laws, and who is in attendance at the school unit’s public schools. The school unit shall develop these IEPs in a manner consistent with the procedural requirements of state and federal special education laws.
Student IEPs shall be reasonably calculated to provide the identified student with educational benefits in the least restrictive educational environment. The school unit shall ensure that such IEPs are in effect within 30 days of when a student is first identified as in need of special education services and that such IEPs are reviewed at least annually, as prescribed by state and federal special education laws.
Legal Reference: 20 USC §§ 1414(d)
34 CFR §
300.340-.350 (Mar. 1999)
Adopted:
Revised:
M.S.A.D.
#4
NEPN/NSBA Code: IHBAA
REFERRAL/PRE-REFERRAL
OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
It shall be the policy of the school unit to refer all school-age students suspected of having a disability that requires special education to the Pupil Evaluation Team (PET) for an evaluation in the suspected areas of disability. Referrals of students to the PET may be made by professional school staff, by parents and by other persons knowledgeable about the child’s educational needs.
he Superintendent of Schools, in
consultation with the Director of Special Education, may develop procedures for
referral and the use of pre-referral interventions within the local school
unit, and may, from time to time, amend those procedures as necessary.
Legal Reference: 20 USC § 1400(c)(5)(F)
34 CFR Part
300, App. A., Q. 17 (Mar. 1999)
Adopted:
Revised:
M.S.A.D.
#4
NEPN/NSBA Code: IHBAA-R
School employees who are making a referral shall
do so by contacting the building Principal, or special educator and by filling
out the appropriate referral forms. Parents may at any time refer their child
to the pupil evaluation team if they believe the child may be in need of
special services. Parents may contact the building principal, child’s teacher
or special educator to make that referral. School professionals who are
informed by parents or others of a desire to refer a student should immediately
direct that person to special education teacher for initiation and discussion of
the referral process. The school professional should also document in writing
the contact with the parent or other person and should immediately forward that
documentation to the special education teacher.
Once a referral has been made, the PET members
have 15 school days to review any existing evaluation data and to determine
what evaluations may be needed as part of the referral process. That review may
occur either at a PET meeting, or through other discussions that fully include
the parent. If PET members are unable to reach agreement on necessary
evaluations outside of a PET meeting, a PET meeting shall be held to discuss
the issue.
Within 15 school days of receiving the referral,
the local school unit should send to the parent a consent
for initial evaluation form. When the school receives that consent form back
from the family with the appropriate signatures, the local school unit has 45
school days to complete the evaluation and to hold a Pupil Evaluation Team
(“PET”) meeting to determine whether the student qualifies for special
education services. If the student is identified as a child with a disability
in need of special education, the PET should develop an IEP for that child
within 30 days of the determination that the student is eligible.
Transfer students who have already been
identified as in need of special services shall on transfer and with prior
written notice to the parent be provided with special
education consistent with the IEP developed at the prior school, and shall be
referred to the PET to review the program. If the transfer student’s current
IEP from his or her prior school unit is not available, or is believed to be
inappropriate by either the parent of the school, the school should develop a
new IEP through appropriate procedures within a short time after the student
enrolls at the school.
Upon enrollment in public school, a student who
was being served by the CDS system shall be treated by the local school unit in
the same manner as are transfer students under the state special education
regulations, except that the student’s Individual Family Service Plan from CDS
will be considered as his or her current IEP until such time as a PET meets to
alter or amend that program. Placement, however, will be in the public school
system rather than at the site provided by CDS.
Professional school staff members who observe that a student is
encountering academic, social, or emotional difficulties in school that
interfere with the student’s education shall document those specific
difficulties..
A. The
school staff member shall then develop intervention strategies which may
include:
1. Individual help with: teacher, aide,
peers, volunteer, migrant tutor, parents,
tutors or other staff
2. Modifications in: groupings, seating
arrangements, testing procedures, materials, instructional presentation, types
of assignments (projects, portfolios, oral presentations...), discipline,
academic schedule, time for task completion, grading procedures, etc.
3. Reduction in: class work, homework,
written work, etc.
4. Behavior plans including: positive
reinforcements, cool down times, behavior chart, regular progress
reports home, assignment sheets, etc.
B. In the event that the student is not
responding to the combination of methods designed over a reasonable period of
time, further investigation may be warranted. This might involve:
1. Reviewing the student records
including:
a. work samples, observations behavior plans, local and MEA
testing, grades, attendance records etc.
2. Meeting
with the previous year’s teacher(s)
3. Conferencing with student,
4. Conferencing with the principal,
guidance counselor, special educator or
other
teachers
5. Conferencing with the parent: phone
calls, parent teacher conference meeting,
other parent meeting.
C. Should the student continue to struggle,
requesting an informal observation to assess the student in the environment is
encouraged:
1. Observations by principal, guidance,
special services, other teachers or administrators.
D. If the intervention strategy fails to
resolve satisfactorily the difficulties that were interfering with the
student’s education and the educational team (this years teachers along with
other teachers or professional staff) suspects the student may have a
disability & be in need of Special Education or Supportive Services, the
student shall be referred by the educational team in accordance with the
referral process noted above.
While there are no set times to refer a student,
there are times that may be more logical to initiate a referral than another.
1. In the fall for
Kindergarten who have failed a re-screening.
2. During the middle
of the year for most other students.
For students returning from summer vacation, it
can be a time of adjustment to a new teacher, expectations & school. If a
student is having difficulty, trying modifications, meeting with last year’s teachers,
reviewing records and contacting parents should ensue. Trying alternative
strategies to assist the student does take time to ascertain effectiveness
(usually ~4 weeks). By the end of the first ranking period, should the student
continue to struggle excessively despite many interventions & parent conversations,
it may be time to refer unless new information prompts different solution
options.
Typically the second and third quarters are the
best times to refer a student. This allows flexibility for the teacher and
educational team to try alternatives while permitting adequate time to evaluate
effectiveness, determine needs and solutions before it’s too late in the year.
By the end of the year or into the last quarter,
it is often difficult to tell whether the student is overwhelmed, tired or truly
has an overwhelming learning problem. It also doesn’t provide people with enough
time to effectively evaluate, determine educational needs and devise solutions
before school is out. In addition, test
results at the beginning and end of a year may not be as accurate as those done
within the year.
In addition to other requirements for parental
notification, the local school unit or designee shall notify parents whenever
their child has demonstrated educational difficulties that may lead to a
referral. Notification of difficulties should include examples of difficulties
(i.e. student work samples, classroom and local assessment information, behavior
charts etc. The local school unit may
advise the parents as to why it may be appropriate to have the child
participate in the intervention strategies prior to a referral to the pupil
evaluation team, but the local school unit shall not reject or delay the
referral until the intervention strategies have been tried if the parent
requests that the school proceed immediately with the referral. The school
shall document the parent’s decision to request a referral.
In the event that the
student is referred to the pupil evaluation team, the district shall notify
parents in writing consistent with state special education regulations. This notification shall also inform the
parents that they have a right to request a due process hearing from the Maine
Department of Education in response to any refusal by the school to proceed
with their request to refer this child to the pupil evaluation team.
References:
Adopted:
Revised:
M.S.A.D.
#4
NEPN/NSBA
Code: IHBAC
CHILD FIND
The school unit seeks to ensure that all students within its jurisdiction are identified, located and evaluated who are school-age (5 through the school year in which they turn 20) and who are in need of special education and supportive assistance—including state wards, state agency clients, students who have been suspended or expelled, students attending private schools and home schools, institutional residents, highly mobile students with disabilities, and students who are suspected of being disabled and in need of special education and supportive assistance even though they are advancing from grade to grade.
This child find responsibility shall be accomplished through a District-wide process which, while not a definitive or final judgment of a student’s capabilities or disability, is a possible indicator of special education needs. Final identification of students with disabilities and programming for such students occurs only after an appropriate evaluation and a determination by the Pupil Evaluation Team (PET).
As part of this child find responsibility, M.S.A.D. #4 shall identify, locate and evaluate all students enrolled in public school, private schools, or home schools, including all entering kindergarten students and transfer students at any grade level.
The child find process shall include obtaining data on each student, through direct assessment or by indirect means of the student’s academic performance, gross and fine motor skills, receptive and expressive language skills, vision, hearing and cognitive skills.
If the child find process indicates that a student may require special education and supportive services in order to benefit from regular education, the student shall be referred to the PET to determine the student’s eligibility for special education services. School staff, parents or agency representatives may refer students to the PET if they believe that the student, because of a disability, may be in need of special education and supportive services in order to benefit from regular education.
Some factors that may be considered when making a referral might include whether the student has accumulated 45 absences during a school year, has been suspended or removed for disciplinary reasons in excess of 10 cumulative school days in the school year, or has experienced an illness, hospitalization, or accident that may indicate a need for special education and supportive services. These considerations are guidelines only and do not mandate or preclude referral to the PET.
Legal Reference: 34 CFR § 300.125 (1999),
Adopted:
Revised:
M.S.A.D. #4
NEPN/NSBA Code: IHBAG
PROGRAMMING IN THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT
The school unit shall provide program for students with disabilities in the least restrictive educational environment that can appropriately address the student’s needs. Toward that end, the school unit shall ensure that, to the maximum extent appropriate, students with disabilities are educated with students who are not disabled, and that special education, separate schooling or other removal of students with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
Determinations
regarding programming in the least restrictive environment shall be made by the
student’s Pupil Evaluation Team (PET) and shall draw upon a multidisciplinary
assessment of the student’s needs. The
school unit shall make available, as appropriate, the full continuum of
educational placements when making placement determinations.
Legal Reference: 20 USC § 1412(a)(5)
34 CFR §§
300.550-.552
Adopted:
Revised:
M.S.A.D.
#4
NEPN/NSBA Code: IHBAI
INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL EVALUATIONS (IEPs)
A parent of a student
with disabilities has a right to obtain an independent educational evaluation
at public expense if the parent disagrees with an evaluation obtained by the
local school unit. An “independent
educational evaluation” means an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who
is not employed by the local school unit.
If a parent requests
an independent educational evaluation at public expense to challenge an
evaluation obtained by the local school unit, the school must provide a written
response to that request within a reasonable period, not to exceed 30 days of
the receipt of the request, and shall, without unnecessary delay, either (1)
initiate a hearing with the Maine Department of Education to show that its
evaluation is appropriate, or (2) ensure that an independent educational
evaluation is provided at public expense, unless the local school unit
demonstrates in a hearing with the Maine Department of Education that the
evaluation obtained by the parent did not meet agency criteria.
If a parent requests
an independent educational evaluation at public expense, the public agency may
ask for the parent’s reason why he/she objects to the local school unit’s
evaluation. However, the explanation by
the parent may not be required, and the local school unit may not unreasonably
delay either providing the independent educational evaluation at public expense
or initiating a due process hearing to defend the local school unit’s
evaluation.
If the independent
evaluation is at public expense, the criteria under which the evaluation is
obtained, including the location of the evaluation and the qualifications of
the examiner, must be the same as the criteria that the local school unit uses
when it initiates an evaluation.
The local school unit
shall provide to the parent, upon request for an independent educational
evaluation, information about where an independent educational evaluation may
be obtained and information about the school’s criteria applicable to
independent educational evaluations at public expense.
If the parent obtains
an independent educational evaluation at private expense, the results of the
evaluation must be considered by the local school unit, if that evaluation
meets the local school unit’s criteria for independent educational evaluations,
in any decision made with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public
education for the child.
If the parent requests
an independent evaluation at public expense when the parent does not disagree
with an evaluation provided by the local school unit, or when the school has
not recently provided an evaluation in the area requested, the parent request
shall be referred without unnecessary delay to the PET to determine whether the
PET should order an evaluation in the area requested.
Legal Reference: 34 CFR § 300.502 (March 1999)
Adopted:
Revised:
M.S.A.D. #4
NEPN/NSBA Code: IHBAK
LIFE-SUSTAINING EMERGENCY CARE
A primary concern of
the school unit shall be with the health and safety of its students. In emergency situations involving accident or
illness, school employees should undertake
reasonable efforts to provide first aid or life-sustaining emergency care
to the extent of their knowledge and training, and/or to seek the assistance of
school medical personnel or other staff members to obtain emergency assistance
for the student.
For those students who
may present an ongoing need for medical interventions at school, including a
need for life-sustaining emergency care, school personnel shall convene a team
meeting for the purpose of developing an individualized plan to address the
student’s specialized health needs. The
team should include persons at the school who are knowledgeable about the
student, as well as the student’s parents and a school administrator. The Team may consider requests from the
parents that alternative forms of life-sustaining emergency care be used as
part of that plan, but those requests must be substantiated by specific medical
documentation from the student’s physician.
The Team shall not approve a parental request to deny all
life-sustaining emergency care for a student, but may specify that only certain
types of intervention are appropriate in a particular situation.
For the purpose of
this policy, “life-sustaining emergency care” means any procedure or
intervention applied by appropriately trained school staff that may prevent a student from dying who, without such a
procedure or intervention, faces a risk of imminent death. Examples of life-sustaining emergency care
include: efforts to stop bleeding,
unblocking airways, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (“CPR”).
Legal Reference: 29 USC § 794(a)
Cross Reference: JLCE – First Aid and Emergency Medical
Care
Adopted:
Revised:
NEPN/NSBA Code: IHBAL
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
The School Board has adopted this grievance procedure to provide a local avenue for persons with disabilities to raise concerns about whether the school unit is fully meeting its obligations under state and federal laws to protect persons with disabilities. This procedure is intended to meet the requirements of the federal Rehabilitation Act (34 CFR § 104.7(b)) and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (28 CFR § 35.107(b)).
Questions about this
grievance procedure should be directed to the ADA/504 compliance
coordinator: Sara Alberts,
A person with an
identifiable disability, or someone acting on that person’s behalf, may file a
written grievance regarding compliance with state or federal disabilities laws
with the building principal where the grievance arose, or with the ADA/504
compliance coordinator. If filed with
the ADA/504 compliance coordinator, that person shall forward it to the appropriate
building principal. No grievance will be
heard if it involves actions that occurred more than 60 days prior to the
filing of the grievance.
The building
principal, after consultation with the ADA/504 compliance coordinator, shall
respond in writing to the grievance within 15 working days of its receipt. Extensions of 15 working days may be allowed
if necessary to address fully the issues in the grievance. The principal’s written response shall be
forwarded to the grievant and to the ADA/504 compliance coordinator.
Step Two
If dissatisfied with
the response, the grievant may obtain a review by the Superintendent of the
principal’s decision.
The grievant must request that review within 15 working days
of the decision by the principal. The
Superintendent, after consultation with the ADA/504 compliance coordinator,
shall respond in writing to the grievance within 15 working days. Extensions of 15 working days may be allowed
when necessary to address fully the issues in the grievance. The Superintendent’s written response shall
be forwarded to the grievant and to the ADA/504 compliance coordinator.
[NOTE: Except
for grievances regarding physical alterations to school buildings or grounds,
the decision of the Superintendent shall be final. In the case of grievances regarding physical
alterations to school buildings or grounds, a dissatisfied grievant may obtain
a review by the School Board of the Superintendent’s decision.
The grievant must request that review
within 15 working days of the decision by the Superintendent. The School Board shall have a reasonable time
to schedule a meeting on the grievance and to issue its decision.
Nothing in this grievance procedure in
any way forecloses a person with a disability from seeking redress for their
concerns at any time through other legal avenues, such as through the Office
for Civil Rights, the Department of Justice, the Maine Human Rights Commission
or the Maine Department of Education.
Questions about other legal avenues available for persons
with disabilities to pursue compliance concerns under various disabilities laws
should be directed to the ADA/504 compliance coordinator: Sara
Alberts, 25 Campus Drive Drop #2, Guilford, ME 04443,
Phone #876-4635.
This notice is available in large print and on audio tape
from the ADA/504 compliance coordinator.]
Adopted:
Revised:
M.S.A.D. #4
NEPN/NSBA
Code: IHBG
HOME SCHOOLING
Requests to fulfill
the compulsory school attendance law through equivalent instruction by home
schooling shall be made by the parent to the Department of Education with a
copy submitted to the Superintendent.
The Superintendent may review such applications and may submit comment
to the Department of Education within 30 days of receipt.
The Board accepts no
responsibility for the unit in the application, review, approval, or oversight
of such home instruction programs.
Participation by home-schooled students in the public school program
shall only be permitted as described elsewhere in Board policy.
The Superintendent
shall maintain a roster of all students eligible to attend school within the
school unit who obtained approval for equivalent instruction under rules established
by the Commissioner of Education.
Legal Reference: 20-A MRSA§ 5001-A (3)
Cross Reference: JEA –
IHBGA - Home
Schooling—Participation in School Programs
IHBGB –
Special Education Services for Students in Private Schools or Home Schooling
Adopted:
M.S.A.D.
#4
NEPN/NSBA Code: IHBGA
HOME SCHOOLING—PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL
PROGRAMS
The School
Board acknowledges the provisions for equivalent instruction under
In addition, it is the intention of the Board to, “cooperate in the home instruction of any child who resides in the school administrative unit to the degree that