Special Education Services: A Manual of Policies, Procedures and Guidelines

Roles and Responsibilities

B.2 School Districts

School boards are responsible for ensuring that special education services and programs are delivered to any of their students who require them. Such programs and services are an integral part of the total school system, and should be organized to ensure that services generally available to all students and their parents are also available to children with special needs, and that access will be as seamless as possible.

Program Development and Delivery
Development and delivery of special education programs and services at the local level should involve meaningful consultation with the parents or guardians of students with special needs, since they know their children and can contribute in substantial ways to the design of appropriate programs and services for them.

Services in districts should be organized along a continuum which reflects the diversity of students' special needs and the prevalence of various special needs in the school population.

It is important to note that although the text of these guidelines is organized with a focus on each area of special need this is not meant to imply that services and programs should be organized or delivered along categorical lines. The important factor is to match the identified special need of the student with service provisions to address them.

Staff Development
An ongoing staff development plan is essential for all staff so they can more successfully meet the special needs of students. Districts should ensure that all personnel who work with students with special needs have access to relevant in-service training opportunities in order to foster evidence-informed practice. For specialized personnel, there is a need to focus on opportunities within their area of specialty and the specific roles they play in the service delivery system.

Information
School boards are responsible for informing their employees and communities about special education services and programs available and about procedures for gaining access to them.

Local Policies and Procedures
Local policies and procedures for special education should be congruent with practices in regular education programs, with special accommodation as necessary for addressing special needs.

Local policies and procedures should include:

  • a description of services and special program options available in the district;
  • procedures used to identify, assess and plan for students with special needs;
  • procedures used to effect special placements should they be needed;
  • reporting and record-keeping procedures used to track Individual Education Plans;
  • procedures used to include parents and other service providers in identification, assessment and planning;
  • procedures to be followed in evaluating and reporting on the progress of students with special needs;
  • procedures for evaluating special education services and programs;
  • internal appeal procedures available to parents or guardians (see Appendix H.4 Appeals: Resolution of Conflicts);
  • specialist staff assignments and job descriptions that include any necessary specialist qualifications (see Sections D and E: Personnel Descriptions); and
  • procedures to be followed in evaluating personnel in specialist assignments.

Organizational Considerations
Clearly defined responsibility
Responsibility for delivering educational programs and related services for students with special needs should be clearly identified in the organization of the school district. Roles within the organization should be clearly differentiated to ensure accountability and to enhance co-ordination in the delivery of the educational program.

Where professional personnel are assigned to positions other than classroom instruction, appropriate job descriptions should define their area of responsibility. Where specialized services are contracted, legislation requires that those services be under the general supervision of an employee of the board who is a member of the College of Teachers.

School boards should ensure that their staff recruitment, selection, and assignment procedures encourage the availability of personnel with the range of training and skills necessary to provide educational programs for a broad range of students with special needs. Responsibility for the evaluation of staff assigned to work in specialized assignments should be clearly spelled out.

Levels of support
To the maximum extent possible, special education services should be organized for delivery at the school level. However, a support system should be available at the district level to ensure that schools have access to expertise and services which are so specialized as to preclude their replication in each school. School districts should ensure that when the resources available at the school level have been exhausted, a mechanism is in place to provide additional assistance to the school using district-level or community-based resources.

When school district size precludes the provision of the broad range of needed specialized services, school boards should consider collaborative planning with nearby districts.

Administrative Considerations - District
The roles of the various district and school-based administrators are described in sections 20, 22 and 23 of the School Act and in the attendant School Regulation sections (sections 5, 6 and 7).

The responsibility for administering special education programs and services should be clearly defined in the senior administrative structure of the school district, so that accountability for service effectiveness can be maintained. Typically, functions assigned to administrators responsible for special education at the district level include:

  • establishing and maintaining effective ways of identifying and assessing students with special needs that are consistent among all schools in the district;
  • determining, planning, and organizing the kinds of services and programs which are required in the district for meeting these needs;
  • obtaining and co-ordinating the fiscal and human resources needed to deliver a full range of programs and services reflecting the special needs of identified students and facilitating equitable allocation of these among the schools in the district;
  • providing technical advice and assistance to help school-based administrative staff and teachers in meeting their obligations to students with a full range of special needs;
  • participating in local inter-ministerial structures designed to provide co-ordinated services for children and youth;
  • providing advice and assistance in the development of district policies and procedures related to students with special needs;
  • maintaining information systems necessary for planning and reporting data on students with special needs who are registered in the school district;
  • planning and co-ordinating staff development programs for personnel working with students who have special needs;
  • involving community representatives of groups concerned with students who have special needs learning needs in program planning and evaluation;
  • monitoring program quality for students with special needs across the district;
  • establishing liaison with preschool and post-secondary services in the district and community which provide programs for students with special needs; and
  • participating in community-level planning with other agencies and ministries in setting service priorities.

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