This document serves as the Total Special Education System Plan for Minnetonka Public Schools in accordance with Minnesota Rule 3525.1100. This plan also includes an assurance for compliance with the federal requirements pertaining to districts’ special education responsibilities found in United States Code, title 20, chapter 33, sections 1400 et seq., and Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, part 300.

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• Part C Procedural Safeguards (Birth-2 years)
• Part B Procedural Safeguards (Ages 3-21)

IDEA regulations and Minnesota state statutes require that school districts implement policies and procedures to ensure that all children with disabilities, including children who are suspected of being a child with a disability, are identified, located, and evaluated. 

In order to receive special education services, an initial special education evaluation must be completed and the child must meet federal and state criteria for at least one of the 13 disability categories and demonstrate a need for special education services. A parent or the school may request a special education evaluation. A parent must provide written consent before an initial special education evaluation may be conducted.  The district has 30 school days from the date the parent gives consent to complete the evaluation.  

Once an evaluation is completed, there is a parent meeting to discuss the results and eligibility for services.  A student will either qualify for special education services based on their disability and impact on their learning, or sometimes a student does not meet eligibility.  There are 13 disability categories under which a child may be found eligible for special education services and the requirements for qualifying under each category are defined by IDEA.  The disability categories include: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Blind-Visually Impaired (BVI), Deaf-Blind (DB), Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH), Developmental Cognitive Disabilities (DCD), Developmental Delay (DD) [Birth- 2 years and 3-6 years], Emotional or Behavioral Disorders (EBD), Other Health Disabilities (OHD), Physically Impaired (PI), Severely Multiply Impaired (SMI), Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD), Speech or Language Impairment (SP), and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The Minnesota Department of Education has set the criteria for qualification.  If a student is found eligible to receive services, the next step is to develop a specialized education, which is called an Individualized Education Program or IEP.  A parent or guardian must give written consent in order to move forward with initial special education services for their child. What to expect and how to prepare for an IEP meeting can be found below. 

An Individualized Education Program, or IEP, is developed for students ages 3-21 who qualify for special education services (qualifying students from birth-2 years old have an Individualized Family Service Plan, or IFSP).  The IEP identifies the student’s qualifying disability category/categories and needs as well as the services and supports that will be provided for the student to make progress on educational goals. 

Specific components of the IEP include:

1. Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP):
A description of a child’s current academic and functional capabilities, including strengths and weaknesses.  The PLAAFP will describe the impact of the child’s disability on involvement and progress in the general curriculum.  For secondary students, the PLAAFP will also describe a student’s present level of performance in each of the transition areas of post-secondary planning, employment, and independent living skills.

2. Goals and Objectives
IEP Goals identify academic and/or functional skills that correspond to the student’s identified area(s) of need and that the student can reasonably accomplish in one year’s time. Goals are further broken down into specific benchmarks or short term objectives.  The number and nature of IEP goals and objectives are specific to each student’s unique needs.  This section will also indicate how progress towards IEP goals and objectives is being measured.

3. Special Education Services & Related Services
The IEP will list the specific special education and related services including the start date, frequency of service, minutes per session, location, and duration of the service.  The number and nature of services are specific to each student’s unique needs.

4. Accommodations and Modifications
The IEP will identify specific accommodations (Changes in how a student accesses academic or functional content) and/or modifications (Changes in curriculum, materials, and/or criterion) that are provided for a student.  These accommodations and/or modifications are specific to the student’s unique needs and may include changes in instruction, equipment, expectations, and testing.

5. Additional Documents
There may be other documents that accompany an IEP, such as a Positive Behavior Support Plan or an Individualized Health Plan.  These plans are noted in the accommodations section of the IEP.

6. Required Members of an IEP team
The IEP team consists of the student’s parents, the student’s case manager (typically a special education teacher), at least one general education teacher (if the student participates in general education), an administrative designee (also called a representative of the agency, who is qualified to provide or supervise the provision of specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities, is knowledgeable about the general curriculum, and is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the district), and an individual licensed in the student’s disability category (who may also be the case manager). Students age 14 and older must be invited to attend IEP meetings but are not required to attend.

• Preparing for an IEP Meeting
• Preparing for an Initial IEP Meeting
• More information on IEPs can be found here.

Early Childhood to Kindergarten-March-May
In April-May, each family who has a student in ECSE that will be transitioning to kindergarten in the Fall will have the opportunity to attend a “transition to kindergarten” meeting. During this meeting, the family, case manager, related service providers (as necessary), and representatives from the designated elementary school (typically including administration, special education teacher and kindergarten or RSK teacher) will meet to discuss the student’s needs and what a typical day in kindergarten looks like. In addition, time is spent discussing the differences in special education services between ECSE and kindergarten and how these services will be delivered at the elementary school. As these meetings are hosted virtually, families have the opportunity to tour the school during open house and/or by reaching out to the building administrator to schedule a separate, more private tour, over the summer. 

Elementary to Middle School-March
In February and March, each 5th grade student with an IEP will have a transition meeting in which the family, case manager, and a middle school representative discuss the student’s needs and what services will look like at the middle school.  Students will have the opportunity to visit the school during the summer and each building’s back to school event prior to the start of the year.

Middle School to High School
In February and March, each 8th grade student with an IEP will have a transition meeting in which the family, case manager, and a high school representative discuss the student’s needs and what services will look like at the high school.

High School to Transition
In March, the high school case managers will complete an online intake form for students transitioning to SAIL in the upcoming fall.  SAIL representatives will reach out to each family to schedule a personal tour of the facility and discuss the upcoming school year.  By the end of the school year, SAIL representatives will schedule an intake meeting with families that will occur in August.  The intake meeting will review progress and allow for planning for the upcoming school year. High school case managers will invite SAIL representatives to a student’s annual IEP meeting as early as junior year to begin planning the transition to SAIL.  

IDEA requires that all students with disabilities are educated in their least restrictive environment.  This means that children with disabilities should be educated with children who are nondisabled to the maximum extent possible and that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal from the regular education environment occurs only if the nature and severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.  

To meet this requirement and to meet the specific needs of individual students, the district offers a continuum of services.  The following terms are used to describe the most common settings for students receiving special education services. 

• Setting 1: Students spend the majority of their school day in the regular education setting.  The student receives special education and related services outside of the general education setting less than 21% of the school day. 
• Setting 2: The student receives special education and related services outside of the general education setting at least 21% of the school day and no more than 60% of the school day. 
• Setting 3: The student receives special education and related services outside of the general education setting greater than 60% of the school day.  

Some students receiving special education services benefit from placement into specific programs in which they receive specialized, small group instruction provided by a core team of teachers and support staff.  Placement into these programs is determined by need and eligibility.  A description of specific programs provided by the district are given below.

Atlas Program (Located at Minnewashta, MMW and MHS):
This program has a focus of helping students to develop lifelong independent living skills, communication skills, and social and behavioral regulation in order to be productive members of their school and community.

Anchor Program (Located at MME and MHS):
This program has a focus of assisting students in the pursuit of their highest levels of academic and personal achievement by providing instruction and practice in lagging skills in a quiet, calm environment surrounded by supportive staff before venturing out into the general education setting.

Bridge Program (Located at Scenic Heights, MME and MHS):
This program has a focus of helping students develop social skills, self advocacy skills, and emotional and behavioral regulation.

Harbor Program (Located at Clear Springs, Excelsior, MMW and MHS)
This program has a focus of helping students learn lifelong independent living skills to be productive members of their school and community.

SAIL Transition Program (Ages 18-21)
This program has a focus of assisting students in preparing for success in adult life by focusing on student and team identified transition outcomes. This program is unique in that it focuses on building skills to help transition to life after public school.

Extended School Year (ESY) is the term for special education and related services provided during extended breaks from school (typically during the summer) for students for whom the IEP team has determined eligibility based on data collection. 

A student can qualify for ESY in three ways: 

1.  Regression/Recoupment: A student qualifies for ESY if there is documented significant regression of skills or acquired knowledge from the student’s level of performance on at least one annual goal that requires more than the length of the break in instruction to recoup the level of performance.  
2. Self-Sufficiency: A student qualifies for ESY when he or she receives instruction in functional skills, has functional skills identified in the current IEP, and is not making reasonable progress towards self-sufficiency.  These functional skills may include basic self-help (toileting, feeding, dressing), development of stable relationships with peers and adults, functional academic competency (basic reading and writing skills, concepts of time and money, and numerical or temporal relationships), basic communication, physical mobility, muscular control, personal hygiene, and impulse control.  
3. Unique Need: A student qualifies for ESY if the team determines that given the student’s unique need, ESY services are necessary to ensure the student receives a free appropriate public education (FAPE).  

Federal and state law require that all Minnesota public schools request payment for IEP health related services from public and private health insurers. Third Party Reimbursement is the process of requesting reimbursement  for IEP or IFSP health related services such as:

• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Speech Language Pathology/Audiology
• Nursing
• Personal care assistance services/Paraprofessional service in school setting
• Mental health
• Assistive (medical) technology equipment
• Specialized transportation

Parent(s)/guardians of students with health related needs on their IEPs will be contacted by the district representative regarding Third Party Reimbursement. .  Third Party Reimbursement is provided through Minnesota Health Care Plans (MHCP).  Permission to share data for this program with the Department of Human Services is included in the Medical Assistance application and more information is included in the Procedural Safeguards provided at the time of the IEP.   The funding received by the district for this program can only be used for students who have special education services.

Parent Insurance Information:

• Parents are not charged in anyway if their student participates in this this program
• Third Party Reimbursement does not affect TEFRA parental fees or any other MHCP covered services
• MHCP payments for IEP health-related services do not count against prior authorization caps for home care services, do not affect waiver (CADI, CAC, TBI or DD) caps or other covered services and do not count against service limits or thresholds.
• Parent(s)/guardians can opt out of this program and it does not affect any Special Education services for their child. 
• Private health insurance typically does not pay for any school related services and there is no impact on private health insurance when students are part of the Third Party reimbursement program. 

Acronyms

Common acronyms and abbreviations are included in the table below.  For a complete list of terms, click this link.

Terms

Primary Resources

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• Section 504 
• Minnetonka 504 Process 
• FAQ

Additional IEP Resources

• Parts of An IEP Explained 
• Preparing for an IEP Meeting 
• Preparing for an Initial IEP Meeting

Parent Support & Community Resources

• The Arc Minnesota
  952-920-0855
  https://arcminnesota.org/contact-us/
• Attention Deficit Awareness of Minnesota
  https://adaminc.org/
• Autism Society of Minnesota
  651-647-1083
  https://ausm.org/contact/
• Down Syndrome Association of Minnesota
  651-603-0720
  https://dsamn.org/
• Fraser
  612-861-1688
  https://www.fraser.org/
• Gigi’s Playhouse
  952-926-3660
  https://gigisplayhouse.org/twincities/
• The PACER Center
  952-838-9000
  https://www.pacer.org/

Mental Health Resources

• Minnetonka Well-Being Guidebook (Includes Mental Health Resources)
• Minnetonka Well-Being Resources

Extra Curricular Resources

• Unified Sports.
  A program that joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team, inspired by a simple principle: playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.
• Unified Clubs.
  Unified Clubs help students with and without intellectual disabilities develop meaningful relationships, help spread acceptance and ensure everyone feels included and welcome in their school.
• Special Olympics Minnesota.
  Offers children and adults with intellectual disabilities year-round sports training and competition. Through Special Olympics’ athletic, health and leadership programs, people with intellectual disabilities transform themselves, their communities and the world.

Minnesota law requires each school district in the state to have a special education advisory council (SEAC). Here is what the statute says:

125A.24 Parent Advisory Councils

In order to increase the involvement of parents of children with disabilities in district policy making and decision making, school districts must have a special education advisory council that is incorporated into the district's special education system plan.

1. This advisory council may be established either for individual districts or in cooperation with other districts who are members of the same special education cooperative.
2. A district may set up this council as a subgroup of an existing board, council, or committee.
3. At least half of the designated council members must be parents of students with a disability. When a nonpublic school is located in the district, the council must include at least one member who is a parent of a nonpublic school student with a disability, or an employee of a nonpublic school if no parent of a nonpublic school student with a disability is available to serve. Each local council must meet no less than once each year. The number of members, frequency of meetings, and operational procedures are to be locally determined.

• SEAC members

Minnetonka Public Schools promotes the use of positive approaches for behavioral interventions for all students. When restrictive procedures are employed in an emergency situation with any student, the School District will adhere to the standards and requirements of Minnesota Statute § 125A.094: Restrictive Procedures for Children with Disabilities. This plan specifically outlines the list of restrictive procedures the school intends to use in the case of an emergency, how the school will monitor and review the use of restrictive procedures, documentation requirements; the convening of a District Oversight Committee; and staff training requirements.

• Restrictive Procedures Plan

The state requires all school districts to provide special education services to students with disabilities who attend non-public schools within the school district's borders. Other services for non-public school students are nursing services for students in grades K through 12 and guidance and counseling services for secondary students (grades 7 through 12). Districts must identify students who are potentially eligible for special education services, and, once identified, offer parents a plan for services. The public school district may provide special education instruction and services at the nonpublic school building, a public school, or at a neutral site other than a nonpublic school. The public school district determines the location, student by student.