District Resources for Providing Special Education
LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT
Federal law requires that “a continuum of alternative placements be available to meet the needs of children with disabilities for special education and related services.” This means each child requiring individualized education services due to special needs will have those services provided in the regular classroom or in a setting as close as possible to the classroom to which the student would be assigned if no special services were necessary. The farther from the regular classroom that the services are provided the greater the “restriction” of the environment. A sequence from least to most restrictive to meet IEP goals and objectives with individually designed instruction would be:
Placement in a special classroom for a portion of the day
Placement in a special classroom for a majority of the day
Placement in a program outside of the student’s home school
Tutoring provided in the home
Placement in a program outside of the student’s home community
Every child is assured the opportunity to be educated in his or her least restrictive environment. There are a variety of programs available to support children throughout these environments. Brief descriptions of the various programs within the district are included in the following pages.
Behavior Intervention Specialist
The behavior intervention specialist works within the buildings to identify reasons for disruptive behavior by students and to develop behavior intervention plans to assist the student in developing appropriate school behavior.
Child Development Specialists
Child Development Specialists are assigned to every elementary school to provide personal counseling for students on a short-term basis or to work with students over time to develop appropriate social and interaction skills.
Early Childhood Intervention
The Early Childhood Intervention Program serves children with disabilities from birth to school-age in both the city and county districts. A variety of special services are available through home visits, district and community classrooms and parent education.
Services include specialized instruction in motor skills, communication, cognition, social/emotional development and life skills. Families are supported in learning to provide for special health needs of enrolled children.
Home and Hospital Instruction
A student who is out of school for a prolonged period may be provided with home and/or hospital instruction. Tutoring services are provided to eligible students based upon their unique educational needs and usually at the request of a physician or other health care provider.
Integral Youth Services
Integral Youth Services is a privately operated alternative education program for junior high and high school students. It includes classroom programs, work-to- learn opportunities, and resources for homeless students. Students are referred by city and county school district administrators. The intent is to enable students to successfully return to regular schools.
Southern Oregon Educational Service District (SOESD)
Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy will be provided at the request of a physician or IEP Team. Students who are orthopedically impaired are served by, or under the direction of, a physical therapist and/or occupational therapist in a variety of settings.
The Regional Program for the Hearing Impaired provides direct services to hearing impaired and deaf children. Current services to hearing impaired and deaf children may include by are not limited to: complete audiological evaluations, educational intervention, interpreter services, family counseling, parent training, a home training program, regular hearing aid management, and Oregon School for the Deaf.
The Regional Program for the Visually Impaired provides staff to assess visual skills and work directly with students with visual disabilities. Current services to visually impaired students may include but are not limited to: orientation and mobility training, educational intervention, braille services, evaluation, family counseling, parent training, teacher training assistive device training and the Oregon School for the Blind.
Klamath Institute is an alternative education program for high school students throughout the Klamath Basin. Students may make up credit by completing individually designed programs. They may complete GED requirements. Adult education opportunities are also available for the community through Klamath Institute.
Klamath/Lake Child Care Resource and Referral
Services include identifying and training local child care providers and providing families with assistance to locate appropriate child care services in both Lake and Klamath counties.
Klamath Youth Development Center
Students in the Klamath Falls City or County Schools with emotional and/or behavioral challenges which require long-term specialized therapy or treatment may be provided services in Klamath Youth Development Center (KYDC) Child or Adolescent programs. KYDC is a Day Treatment program provided collaboratively by the Oregon Department of Education, Mental Health Division and Services to Children and Families.
Students between three and twenty-one whose parents have moved into the school district during the past six years seeking and/or obtaining work in agriculture, timber or fishing qualify for educational and support services through the district’s migrant program.
Students whose native language or the language spoken at home is other than English qualify for assistance from the district’s bilingual program. Services include bilingual education, English as a second language, and instructional and/or tutorial assistance.
A school nurse serves the elementary schools by identifying and monitoring medically fragile students, implementing medication and emergency protocols, immunization updates, vision screening, and making various classroom presentations.
Students may be referred for counseling to a pool of community providers to address social, emotional issues which impact success at school.
Students with special needs that require residential placement are provided services in a variety of settings matched to their unique educational needs.
Students with disabilities may be served in regular classrooms with some indirect or direct services provided by Specialists through the Resource Room. Each school in the Klamath Falls City School District has a resource room on site. Resource room services are provided to students based upon their unique educational needs and not upon category or handicapping condition.
Children experiencing difficulty in the area of speech and/or language receive diagnostic and remedial services from the speech and language pathologist in a variety of settings.
GOALS (Gainful Occupation and Life Skills) Program
Students with special needs that require extensive support receive specialized services through the STEPS classroom at Conger Elementary School, Ponderosa Junior High, and the transition classroom located at the Center for Occupational Health. Services may include but are not limited to: Developmentally appropriate educational activities, academic skill training, speech and language therapy, physical and occupational therapy, community skills training, leisure skill acquisition, pre-vocational and social skill training. Students also participate in regular education classes and activities to the maximum extent appropriate.
Students with disabilities may be served in regular classroom programs with supplemental aids and services as needed to provide an appropriate program. Determination of specific services are made on an individual basis by the Individual Education Plan (IEP) Team.
Teen Parent Program
Services include providing tutorial instruction, parenting training, assistance with day care and connection to community resources to support pregnant and parenting students.
Title I is a federally funded grant to give supportive services to students who have a difficult time with classroom work. The focus of Title I is reading and math.
Other programs funded through Title I include Homeless Education and group homes for the court appointed neglected and delinquent students as well as a district-wide summer school.
Vocational/Work Experience Program
Students with disabilities may be provided with specialized vocational training or work experience activities on an individualized basis. Services may include but are not limited to: Classroom activities, job training, job coaching, mentoring, supervised and non-supervised work experience training. Emphasis is placed upon preparing Klamath Falls City School students with the skills necessary for employment upon leaving the high school program.