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Virginia Department of Education

Information on this page is provided by the Office of Special Education Instructional Services.
Phone 804-225-2932

Staff Contacts

Technical Assistance & Professional Development

Technical Assistance & Guidance

Accommodations

• Guidelines for School Division Policy Regarding Service Dogs in Virginia's Public Schools (PDF)

Assessment

• Participation & Inclusion
• Alternative & Alternate Assessments
• Procedures for Participation of Students with Disabilities in Virginia's Accountability System (PDF)

Assistive Technology

• What is Assistive Technology? (PDF)
• Assistive Technology: A Framework for Consideration and Assessment (PDF)
• Infusing Assistive Technology for Learning: Assuring Access for all Students (PDF)

Behavior and Discipline

• Functional Behavioral Assessment, Behavior Intervention Plans and Positive Intervention and Supports (PDF) – Process guidance for functional behavioral assessment, behavioral intervention and academic and behavioral supports
  • Monograph (PDF)
  • Appendices (PDF)
• Managing Student Behaviors in Emergency Situations, Focusing on Physical Restraint and Seclusion (PDF)
• Guidance Document on Manifestation Determination (PDF)
• Effective School-wide Discipline based on Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS)
• “I’m Determined” Resources
• Guidelines for the Development of Policies and Procedures for Managing Student Behaviors In Emergency Situations in Virginia Public Schools (PDF)

Child Find

• Resource Document for Local Screening Requirements in Virginia's Public Schools (PDF)

Critical Area Self-Assessment Questions

For use by school divisions in assessing efforts for achieving the desired results in the State Performance Plan.

• Introduction (Word)
• Indicators 1 & 2: Graduation and Drop Out (Word)
• Indicator 3: State Assessment Participation and Performance (Word)
• Indicator 4: Discipline (Word)
• Indicators 5 & 6: Placement in the Least Restrictive Environment – School-age and Preschool (Word)
• Indicator 7: Preschool Outcomes (Word)
• Indicator 8: Schools Facilitate Parent Involvement (Word)
• Indicators 9 & 10: Disproportionality
  • Definitions (PDF)
  • Disproportionality (PPT)
  • Framework (PDF)
  • Pre-referral Practices (PPT)
  • NCCRESt-Rubric (PDF)
  • Virginia’s Disproportionality Self-Assessment Protocol (XLS)
  • Indicator 9 Data Entry (XLS)
  • Indicator 10 Data Entry (XLS)
  • Indicators 9 & 10 Checklists & Instructions (Word)
  • School Division Acton Plan Template (Word)
  • Technical Assistance Documents (PDF)
    • A Survey of Division Practices (PDF)
    • Student Academic Intervention Checklist (PDF)
    • Record Review Process (PDF)
    • An Assessment and Strategic Planning Process (PDF)
  • Resources
    • For Cultural Competence: Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions Needed to Embrace Diversity (PDF)
    • Cultural Competency (PPT)
    • Arlington Public Schools Adapted Cultural Competence Notebook (PDF)
    • What It Really Takes to Improve Student Outcomes (PPT)
    • Connecting with African American Males (PPT)
    • Codeswitching in Reading (PPT)
• Indicators 11 &12: Eligibility Timelines (Word)
• Indicators 13 & 14: Secondary Transition and Postsecondary Outcomes (Word)

Disability Specific Documents

• Autism Online Resources (PDF)
• Autism Resources for Educators in Virginia (PDF)
• Guidelines For Working With Students Who Are Blind Or Visually Impaired In Virginia Public Schools (PDF)
• Guidelines For Working With Students Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing In Virginia Public Schools (PDF)
• Strategies for Teaching Mathematics to Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (PDF)
• Training Standards for Paraprofessionals Assigned to Work with a Teacher Who Has Primary Oversight of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder(Word)
• VDOE-Deaf-blindness Eligibility (PDF)
• Handbook for Occupational & Physical Therapy Services in the Public Schools of Virginia (PDF)
• Speech-Language Pathology Services in the Schools: Guidelines for Best Practice (PDF)

Educational Interpreters

• Educational Interpreting Services (PDF)
• Frequently Asked Questions Regarding New Qualifications for Educational Interpreters In State Regulations (Word)

Eligibility

• Guidance on Evaluation and Eligibility for the Special Education Process (Word)
• Sample Eligibility Forms (Word) – sample forms to assist in documenting eligibility determinations.

English Language Learners

• English as a Second Language Standards, Assessments & Resources
• English: Strategies for Teaching LEP Students (PDF)
• Handbook for Educators of Students Who Are English Language Learners with Suspected Disabilities (PDF)
• Mathematics: Strategies for Teaching LEP Students (PDF)
• Resources for Parents of English Language Learners

Extended School Year Services

• Extended School Year Services (PDF)

Funding and Grants

• How Special Education Programs are Funded in Virginia's Schools (PDF)
• Guidelines for Instruction-Based Assessments (PDF) (2004)
• Guidelines for  Management of the Student’s Scholastic Record (PDF)
• Homebound Instructional Services Guidelines (PDF)

Health Guidance

• Virginia School Health Guidelines

IEP

• Implementing Special Education: Students With Special Needs (PDF)
• Guidance Document for Standards-based IEPs (PDF)

Inclusion Resources

There is no federal or state definition of inclusion. Rather, inclusion is an effort, which embraces the philosophy that students with disabilities go to school along with their friends and neighbors while also receiving whatever, “specially designed instruction and support” they need to access the standard curricula and succeed as learners. The federal and state regulations require the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) team to make the decision about placement in the least restrictive environment.

• Principals’ Workshop Report: Collaborating for Student Success (PDF)
• Procedures for Participation of Students with Disabilities in Virginia's Accountability System (PDF) – Guidelines for providing accommodations and documentation.
• Stepping Stones to Success II – Collaboration: Working Together for All Students (PDF)

Instruction

• Instructional Consultation Teams (ICT)
• Standards of Learning (SOL)
• Standards of Learning (SOL) Enhanced Scope & Sequence PLUS 
• Special Education Programs in Local and Regional Jails (PDF)
• TeacherDirect
• Responsive Instruction: Refining Our Work of Teaching All Children (PDF)
• Special Education in Local and Regional Jails: Guidelines for Best Practice  (PDF)

Paraprofessional

• The Virginia Paraprofessional Guide to Supervision and Collaboration with Paraprofessionals: A Partnership (PDF)

Prior Written Notice

• Model Written Prior Notice: When Parents Revoke Consent (PDF)
• Guidance on Prior Written Notice in the Special Education Process (PDF)

Parent Involvement

A Parent's Guide To Special Education (PDF) Also available in Spanish (PDF) – This publication, which was developed by VDOE to help parents understand their rights and responsibilities, their children’s rights, and the responsibilities of schools, is currently under revision to reflect changes in state regulations.

• Parent Resource Centers In Local School Divisions (PDF)
• Troubleshooting Parents' Special Education Concerns Within A Local School Division (PDF)
• Ombudsman for Special Education
• Guidance Document for Implementing New Special Education Requirements for the Definition of Parent (PDF)
• For Parents

Section 504 Resources

• Frequently Asked Questions
• The 1973 Rehabilitation Act (PDF) – Referral, Evaluation and Placement
• Keys to Implementation in Virginia's Schools (PDF)

Secondary Transition Services

• Transition Services for Students with Disabilities
• Guidance for the Development of Postsecondary Goals (Word)
• Transfer of Rights For Students with Disabilities Upon Reaching The Age of Majority In Virginia (PDF)
• Virginia's Transition Requirements Checklist (adapted and reprinted with permission from Ed O’Leary) - School Division Self-Assessment and Technical Assistance Document (Word)

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