CODE: 6164.4
SECTION: INSTRUCTION
CHILD STUDY TEAM
The Board of Education shall provide the services of child study team personnel in numbers sufficient to ensure implementation of pertinent law and regulation. The Superintendent shall present to the Board for approval job descriptions, qualifications and evaluation criteria for positions required, and shall present to the Board for hiring the best qualified applicants.
When complete evaluations of pupils are necessary, the Superintendent shall recommend for board approval qualified persons or agencies to supplement the district team. Appropriate staff members, such as the nurse and teachers assigned to the pupil, shall also be involved.
Pupils who have been identified by any professional staff member, the parents/guardians of the child, a child welfare agency or by the health services staff as possibly educationally disabled shall be considered for evaluation.
Teachers and administrators shall provide intervention resources (e.g., adaptive teaching methods and materials, schedule changes, modified workloads, corrective or remedial instruction, etc.) in order to discover whether an observed difficulty is the result of problems within the educational delivery system. Parents/guardians shall be notified of such interventions. The members of the child study team shall be available to discuss problems informally with teachers and parents/guardians.
If the problems persist despite these intervention techniques, a formal referral, requiring due process procedures, shall be initiated. The examination of each such pupil shall proceed promptly in strict accordance with law. The Board shall review and adopt the regulations governing the referral process.
Examination of each identified child shall consist of a physical examination, a psychological examination, an educational examination, a social case study, and such other examinations as may be deemed necessary by the child study team.
Disaffected Pupils
In addition to the educationally disabled, the child study team shall consider and recommend appropriate remedies and/or programs for pupils exhibiting disaffected behavior patterns. A survey of needs shall be conducted for each such pupil. If the survey indicates the advisability of a complete evaluation, a referral shall be initiated and due process followed. If the survey indicates a change in program, the child study team shall cooperate with the teaching staff in developing an appropriate program, including, if necessary, alternative programs.
Disruptive Pupils
All staff members shall be familiar with and implement the discipline policies and procedures adopted by this Board. This implementation will identify the pupil who is disruptive. Staff members shall report the names of pupils who disrupt the educational program to the appropriate administrator who shall initiate actions which will ensure the involvement of the pupil's family and the provision of counseling and assessment services, so as to determine the causes of the pupil's disruptive behavior. A request for pre-referral intervention or for referral for evaluation may be made to the child study team. Throughout this process, administrators, support staff, teachers, parents/guardians, and if prudent, the pupil are to be involved. If all strategies prove unsuccessful, referral to the appropriate outside agency may be made.
In accordance with state law and board policy, disruptive pupils whose continuing attendance interrupts the educational program and/or threatens harm to themselves and others may be suspended and considered for expulsion.
First Reading: December 12, 2000
Adopted: December 19, 2000