This is the District plan for integration of students with disabilities into the educational programs of the District as required by the Iowa Department of Education (DE).
The District’s goal is to offer all students with disabilities who reside within the District an appropriate educational program within the least restrictive environment. To accomplish this goal, the District’s professional staff, in cooperation with the Heartland Area Education Agency (AEA) will evaluate, staff, and provide an Individual Educational Plan (IEP) for each student with disabilities in need of special education services.
Programs will be provided for all students entitled to special education. Whenever possible, pupils enrolled in these programs will be offered the opportunity to attend school in a regular education building and to participate in activities with non‐disabled peers and adults.
The following features will be addressed in planning special education programs within each building.
- Physical Integration: special education programs will be co‐located with regular education programs in age‐appropriate school buildings.
- Functional Integration: students with disabilities and their non‐disabled peers will have access to the same school facilities and resources.
- Social Integration: students with disabilities will be integrated into regular school activities whenever reasonable and appropriate.
Each student’s placement/services will be re‐evaluated annually with the goal of providing the least restrictive environment.
The District will work with the parents, AEA, other local school districts within the Heartland AEA, districts outside the Heartland AEA, and out‐of‐state facilities to assure the appropriate placement of each disabled student.
When appropriate placement cannot be made in one of the District’s programs, the staffing team will document why the student must be placed in a program outside the District.
Secondly, the staffing team will document why the student must be placed in a more restrictive environment, if the recommended facility is not a regular education building.
This plan will be formally adopted by the District’s Board of Education, made part of the Board’s records, and made available for public review.