1. REGULAR CLASS WITH SUPPLEMENTARY AIDS: This means that a child is placed in a regular education classroom with non-disabled students, but the child receives some additional help.

“Supplementary aids” include:

a) Changes to the material that is taught (the curriculum) or the way the teacher teaches (the use of special teaching methods) to better suit the child with the disability and help him/her learn;

b) Additional instruction (i.e. after school tutoring);

c) Assistive technology devices and services, which are any items or pieces of equipment that increase, maintain or improve the disabled child’s ability to function (i.e. eyeglasses, hearing aids, talking computers);

d) Instructional or teacher aides; and

e) Related services, which are supportive services that help a student with a disability to benefit from special education (i.e. transportation, speech/language therapy, counseling, physical therapy, occupational  therapy ,etc.).

2. RESOURCE PROGRAMS: Resource programs provide individual or small group instruction to students with disabilities. A resource program teacher must be certified as a teacher of the handicapped. Resource programs may be provided either in a regular class or in a pull-out program. If the resource program is in-class, the child receives instruction in his/her regular classroom. If the resource program is “pull-out,” the child leaves the regular classroom for the time during which s/he receives instruction.

A resource program may provide “support” instruction or “replacement” instruction. In a support resource program, the child must meet educational requirements for the child’s grade or the subject being taught; however, the child receives additional assistance in certain subjects (i.e. reading, writing, spelling, math). In a replacement resource program, the child’s regular education curriculum and teaching methods may be changed based on the student’s IEP. As a result, the child receives instruction in material that, to some degree, “replaces” the material that the child would be learning in a particular subject. For example, if a class is learning Math, a child with a Math-related disability might learn how to add single digits (1+5) while the rest of the class learns how to add double digit (10+12).

3. SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM IN THE STUDENT’S LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT: Sometimes, a child classified as eligible for special education and related services is placed in a “special class program” that serves students who have similar needs (as shown in their IEPs). This classroom is sometimes known as a “self-contained”classroom. The “special class program” will teach the child the same material taught to students without disabilities, unless the child’s IEP provides otherwise. The way the teacher instructs the child may change according to the child’s IEP. The type and severity of the child’s educational needs will determine in which “special class program” the child is placed. Examples of “special class programs” include classrooms for children with learning disabilities, classrooms for children with emotional disorders, classrooms for children with cognitive disabilities (ranging from mild to severe) and vocational education programs (which teach the child a vocational/employable skill for a job/trade).

4. SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM IN ANOTHER LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT: Sometimes, a school district in which a family lives does not have a special education placement/program anywhere in the district that meets the unique needs of a child classified as eligible for special education and related services. In cases such as these, the district may be required to place the child in another school district that has an appropriate program for the child. If this happens, the district in which the family lives must pay for the child’s transportation and schooling in the other district.

5. A PRIVATE SCHOOL FOR THE DISABLED OR AN OUT-OF-STATE SCHOOL FOR THE DISABLED IN THE UNITED STATES APPROVED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WHERE THE SCHOOL IS LOCATED: Sometimes, there is no special education placement/program anywhere in the district in which the family lives, or anywhere in the neighboring districts, that meets the unique needs of a child classified as eligible for special education and related services. In cases such as these, the district may be required to place the child in a private school for the disabled, either in-state or out-of-state. The private school must have been approved as a proper placement for disabled children by the Department of Education in the state in which the school is located. If this happens, the district in which the family lives will be required to pay for the child’s schooling.

6. HOME INSTRUCTION: When a child’s IEP says that a child needs a certain kind of program/placement and no appropriate placement can be found, the child may be entitled to have someone teach him/her one-on-one either at home or in another appropriate setting. The county office of the Department of Education must give written approval before home instruction may be given. In certain cases, both disabled and non-disabled children may receive home instruction due to temporary illness or injury.

7. EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR PROGRAMMING (ESY): Some children classified as eligible for special education and related services are entitled to receive “extended school year programming,” also known as ESY. ESY may be appropriate for a child where summer school will help prevent the child from dropping to a lower level of functioning or forgetting what s/he has learned. The IEP team decides whether a child is eligible for ESY, and children with several different disabilities may be eligible.

RELATED SERVICES: The term “related services” includes a variety of supportive services that help a child with a disability to benefit from special education. Some of the more common “related services” that a child classified as eligible for special education and related services may receive are listed below.

1. AUDIOLOGY: “Audiology services” are for children with hearing loss. These services include:

a) Identification of children with hearing loss;

b) Determination of the cause and extent of the hearing loss;

c) Referral to medical or other professionals to improve the child’s hearing;

d) Provision of activities aimed to improve the child’s hearing, such as auditory training (treatment to improve a child’s hearing or reduce a child’s overly sensitive hearing, in order to help him/her learn better, speech reading (lip reading), or hearing evaluation;

e) Creation and administration of programs to prevent hearing loss;

f) Counseling and advice for children, parents, and teachers regarding hearing loss; and/or

f) Selection and fitting of an appropriate hearing aid, and evaluation of the hearing aid’s effectiveness.

2. COUNSELING SERVICES: “Counseling services” are services provided by qualified social workers, psychologists, guidance counselors, or other qualified personnel. There are many possible reasons a child with a disability may need counseling, such as: to provide the child the opportunity to express his/her feelings about the disability, to provide the child the opportunity to talk about problems in his/her life; to help the child work through traumatic events, to help the child to develop social skills, and/or to work with the child to develop ways to manage his/her behavior.

3. MEDICAL SERVICES: These are services provided by a doctor to identify and evaluate a child’s medical-related disability that results in the child’s need for special education and related services.

4. OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: “Occupational therapy” is a service provided by a qualified occupational therapist and includes:

a) Improving, developing, or restoring a child’s functions that were impaired or lost through illness, injury or deprivation

b) Improving a child’s ability to perform tasks for independent functioning if functions are impaired or lost.

c) Preventing the onset of an impairment, further impairment or loss of function “Occupational therapy” typically focuses on the development and improvement of fine motor skills and applying the skills to daily life, such as learning how to hold a pen or cut with scissors.

5. ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY SERVICES: These services are provided to blind and visually impaired children to help them learn how to orient themselves and move around safely at school, at home, and in the community. This includes teaching children to use sound, temperature, vibrations, long cane, remaining vision, and remaining vision aids to find their way and move about safely.

6. PARENT COUNSELING AND TRAINING: These services aim to help a parent understand the special needs of his/her child with a disability. This includes giving parents information about child development, and helping parents learn what to do to support their child’s special education needs and programming at home.

7. PHYSICAL THERAPY: “Physical therapy” is a service provided by a qualified physical therapist, and typically is used to improve a child’s gross motor skills [and muscles] (i.e. helping a child walk or run). “Physical therapy” is the physical treatment of disease, injury or disability by physical means like exercise and massage.

8. PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES: These services include:

a) Administering psychological and educational tests;

b) Interpreting test results;

c) Gathering and interpreting information about child behavior and conditions related to learning;

d) Helping school staff plan school programs to meet the special needs of children, based on the results of the children’s tests, interviews, and behavioral evaluations;

e) Planning and managing a program of psychological services, including counseling for children and parents; and/or

f) Helping to develop positive ways to work with children to improve their behavior.

9. REHABILITATION COUNSELING SERVICES: These are services provided by qualified personnel in individual or group sessions that focus specifically on employment preparation and career development. These services also focus on helping child with a disability to become more independent and integrate in the workplace and community.

10. SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICES: “School health services” are services provided by a school nurse or other qualified person. These services may include the administration of medication to a child with a disability, where the medication has been prescribed by a doctor (i.e. for a child with asthma or ADHD), or monitoring a child with a disability for any health-related needs.

11. SOCIAL WORK SERVICES IN SCHOOLS: These services include:

a) Preparing a social or developmental history of a child with a disability;

b) Providing group and individual counseling with the child and family;

c) Working with parents and others on any problems in a child’s living situation which have a harmful effect on the child’s adjustment, behavior or performance in school;

d) Combining school and community resources to enable the child to learn as effectively as possible in his/her education program; and/or

e) Helping to develop positive ways to intervene in children’s behavior.

12. SPEECH-LANGUAGE SERVICES: “Speech-language services” may include the following:

a) Identifying if a child has a speech or language impairment;

b) Identifying which particular speech or language impairment a child has;

c) Providing speech and language services to improve a child’s existing speech problem or prevent further problems;

d) Referring the child for medical or other professional attention necessary for improve or remedy the child’s speech or language impairment; and/or

e) Providing counseling and advice to parents, children, teachers regarding speech and language impairments.

13. TRANSPORTATION: “Transportation services” include providing a child with a disability with transportation to and from school, transportation for travel between schools, assistance with travel in and around school buildings, and specialized equipment that a child with a disability needs (i.e. a specially adapted bus, ramp, or lift