Elibigility Guidelines
Comstock Park Public Schools (CPPS) offers a continuum of interventions and services for students who are having difficulty with learning or behavior. School Staff gather information to determine whether the interventions are successful.
When a student does not respond adequately to additional interventions, there may be a question as to whether a student has a disability that impedes or impacts learning. In this case CPPS, has a full diagnostic staff that conducts evaluations to determine if students meet eligibility criteria for special education services.
Parents may also request an evaluation be completed if there is suspicion that their child may have a disability. For school or parent initiated referrals, signed parental permission is necessary, and an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is conducted within 30 days of initial consent. When a student qualifies for special education support, a wide variety of programs and services are available, based upon the individual needs of the student.
Comstock Park Public Schools Procedures
for Determination of a Specific Learning Disability
This notice is designed to comply with the current State of Michigan requirement that each local school district publish its procedure for determining whether a student has, or continues to have, a specific learning disability. A specific learning disability (SLD) is defined in law as a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak read, write, spell or do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia that adversely affects a student’s educational performance. A SLD does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; mental retardation; emotional disturbance; or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.
Commencing with the 2010/2011 school year, the Comstock Park Public Schools will use a Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses (PSW) model to determine whether a student exhibits a SLD in the areas of oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression ,basic reading skill, reading fluency skills, reading comprehension, mathematics calculation, and mathematics problem solving. The determination of a SLD will be based upon multiple sources of information which include parent input; classroom teacher input; intervention plans, individually administered tests of academic achievement and intellectual development; classroom observation; student
performance on State-approved grade-level standards; and other sources of information required by law or deemed pertinent by the evaluation team. A multidisciplinary evaluation team (MET) consisting of a certified teacher, a certified school psychologist, and possibly other members determined to be critical to the process, will prepare a written report documenting its analysis of the data gathered and its recommendation regarding SLD certification. That recommendation shall be based on whether the student exhibits a pattern of strengths and weaknesses in performance, achievement, or both, relative to age, State-approved grad-level standards, or intellectual development that is determined by the MET to be indicative of a SLD. The procedures outlined in this notice will be implemented in a manner consistent with all applicable Federal regulations and State rules regarding the evaluation and identification of specific learning disabilities.
