Special Services
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools provides a full range of educational programs for academically and physically challenged students in compliance with state and federal laws. These services are provided to qualified individuals residing within our school district. Programs through Special Services vary for each child and are customized to the student's individual needs.
The Special Services Department is responsible for the identification, evaluation, programming, transitional needs, related programs and educational records for children who are disabled. Each student who qualifies for special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act has an Individual Educational Program (IEP). Support personnel may include speech and language pathologists, teacher consultants, school psychologists, school social workers, and occupational and physical therapists.
WLCSD has 1,870 students with unique IEPs across the district, or 12.5% of our birth to 26-year-old student population. The district seeks to be responsive to the needs of our families and their children. It is one reason why so many families want their children in our schools.
- Committed to Best Practice in Special Education FAQ
- Important Documents
- Special Education Terms
- WLCSD Inclusion Training
Committed to Best Practice in Special Education FAQ
How often is an inclusive education provided as part of the IEP?
Always. Walled Lake Consolidated Schools practices inclusion with its K-12 students in its 19 schools across the district. For our birth to four-year-olds, WLCSD has special programs at the Twin Sun Center; and for those students 18-26, we offer the comprehensive Transitions Program where its students learn a host of daily living and work skills.
How much of the school day are students with IEPs really included in general education?
Students with IEPs in spend more than 80 percent of their school day included in general education programs. Walled Lake Consolidated Schools is a district that believes and practices inclusion. Most importantly, all of our students in the district’s 19 schools have access to general education programs even if a student is in a specialized program.
What is an Individual Education Program (IEP) and who develops it?
The Individualized Educational Program (IEP) team is made up of the parents of the child, teachers, psychologists, and building leaders, all working together to achieve educational success for the student and their individualized needs. The group creates a data-driven educational plan that identifies the specific behaviors and focus areas needed for long term achievement. The experts on the IEP Team work diligently using their experience and training to make data-driven decisions that fit with the unique circumstances found in each child’s case.
Why do students with IEPs leave their neighborhood schools for another school in the district?
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools provides a full continuum of educational programs to ensure the long term success of students within the classroom and within society, however, every program is not at every school. Walled Lake Consolidated Schools has 187 (10 percent) students leave their home school to go to other schools in the district. Students are challenged to reach their potential academically, athletically and in the arts. Walled Lake Consolidated Schools provides specific educational services in varied locations across our district. Students attend the school best suited to meet their specific needs. This approach in providing educational services is a reality in most districts not only in Michigan, but across our country. In many cases, parents recognize that this is important and they appreciate the opportunity that is provided for their child to receive specialized assistance. In other cases, parents may disagree and the district will seek to find collaborative solutions that ensure an education of excellence for both the individual student and the other students in the classroom. It is important to note that this occurs for both special needs students and students desiring specialized approaches to education. Across the United States, specialty opportunities exist for students to attend non-neighborhood schools. Sometimes these schools focus on specialized interests, such as schools that have arisen around foreign languages, science, zoology, aviation, and so forth. In other cases, students may attend non-neighborhood schools for behavioral, vocational, or disability reasons. In all of these cases, districts across the country are providing an education of excellence in surroundings best suited to meet the educational needs of the children involved.
How many students leave Walled Lake Consolidated Schools to receive special services in other districts?
Of the 1,870 students with IEPs, only 21(1.1 percent) leave Walled Lake Consolidated Schools to go to other districts for special services. Notably, Walled Lake Consolidated Schools brought back the Severe Multiple Impairments, SXI, program so those students could attend Hickory Woods Elementary and Walled Lake Central High School.
Do students with IEPs have any recent awards?
Recently, two of the Walled Lake Consolidated Schools' Special Olympics basketball teams, the WL Miracles and WL Mustangs, were recognized by the Board of Education for winning the Division 8 Special Olympics championship basketball games. Also, Walled Lake Consolidated Schools is the only district in Oakland County that has cultivated a unique partnership with Oakland Community College for our high school students with IEPs.
What special services programs does Walled Lake Consolidated Schools offer its students with IEPs, and where are they located?
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools has the following programs at the schools listed below
- Early Intervention Services
- Birth to three years old at the Twin Sun
- Elementary Special Services Programs
- Resource Rooms at all 12 Elementary Schools.
- Emotionally Impaired/Severely Emotionally Impaired - EI/SEI – Loon Lake
- Early Childhood Special Education, ECSE – Twin Sun, Dublin, Walled Lake & Wixom
- Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD – Oakley Park, Hickory Woods & Keith
- Cognitive Impairment/Moderate Cognitive Impairment, CI/MOCI - Walled Lake & Meadowbrook
- Severe Multiple Impairment, SXI – Hickory Woods
- Middle School Special Services Programs
- Resource Rooms at all four Middle Schools.
- Emotionally Impaired/Severely Emotionally Impaired - EI/SEI – Sarah G. Banks
- Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD – Walnut Creek
- Cognitive Impairment/Moderate Cognitive Impairment, CI/MOCI – Clifford H. Smart
- High School Special Services Programs
- Resource Rooms at all three High Schools.
- Emotionally Impaired/Severely Emotionally Impaired - EI/SEI – W.L. Western
- Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD – W.L. Northern
- Cognitive Impairment/Moderate Cognitive Impairment, CI/MOCI – W.L. Central
- Severe Multiple Impairment, SXI – W.L. Central
- Postsecondary Special Services
- Three tiers Young Adults ages 18-26 based on the IEP – W.L. Western
What does Walled Lake Consolidated Schools do when they have disagreements about child placements?
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools rarely has disagreements about child placements, but when we do, we bring all our resources to bear together, to collaborate on the best educational plan possible. Walled Lake Consolidated Schools’ Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) teams include: principals, the director of special services, teachers, social workers, psychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech pathologists and other experts all focused on the individual plan for each individual child. Walled Lake Consolidated Schools addressed over 1,870 IEPs this school year. These are collaboratively developed by our staff to assist each child to reach his/her fullest potential.
Have there been prior IEP decisions challenged by families and IEP recommendations reversed given the family challenge?
Yes. When parents have questions and concerns about recommendations made by the IEP Team, Walled Lake Consolidated Schools goes the second and third mile to work with all involved to identify the best possible solution for the educational success of the child. There are times when an objective review identifies unique variables that were overlooked and there is a change in the initial IEP recommendations. This is a good thing when it happens because it demonstrates,
Important Documents
- 504 Plan Manual
- Process used to determine eligibility
- Procedural Safeguards Notice from the Michigan Department of Education which describes protections under the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).
- Supporting Student Behaviors Document from the Michigan Department of Education: Standards for the Emergency Use of Seclusion and Restraint
Special Education Terms
There are many facets to special education, from pre-referral to consent to evaluation to programs and services. There are also many specialized words and acronyms used in the field of special education. It can all be quite overwhelming when you try to start navigating the system.
The information below will guide you through the many special education terms and assist you in becoming more comfortable with the world of special education.
- Early Intervention located at Twin Sun (age 0-3 years)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors
- Cognitive Impairment (CI), also referred to as intellectual disability, describes the condition of a child whose intellectual functioning level and adaptive skills are significantly below the average for a child of his chronological age. It is the most common developmental disorder, occurring in approximately 12 of every 1000 children. Varying levels of developmental delays may be identified in a child’s social skills, emotional development, communication capabilities, physical function, and academic skill sets.
- Deaf-Blindness (DB) means having both hearing impairment and visual impairment, the combination of which causes severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that cannot be accommodated in special education programs without additional supports to address the unique needs specific to deaf-blindness. Deaf-blindness also means both of the following:
- Documented hearing and visual losses that, if considered individually, may not meet the requirements for visual impairment or hearing impairment, but the combination of the losses affects educational performance.
- Such students function as if they have both a hearing and visual loss, based upon responses to auditory and visual stimuli in the environment, or during vision and hearing evaluations.
- Early Childhood Developmental Delay (ECDD) - Students, 0 through 7 years of age, whose primary impairment cannot be differentiated and who have an impairment of one-half of the expected development for chronological age in one or more areas of development.
- Early Childhood Developmental Delay (ECDD) Program is a special education preschool program designed to foster and develop basic learning skills for children, from three through six years of age, with physical, cognitive, language, hearing, visual, emotional or autism spectrum disorder impairments. The program focuses on developmentally appropriate school readiness skills, and has been created to meet the individual needs of each child. The ECDD team prepares the children for, and provides them with, the skills needed to make a successful transition to the elementary school. Children who qualify for the program receive specialized instruction from certified staff.
- Emotional Impairment (EI) Students who have emotional challenges which adversely affect their education to the extent that they cannot profit from general education learning experiences without specialized support may be eligible for special education. Areas of eligibility include:
- Inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships within the school
- Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances
- General pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression
- Tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems
- Hearing Impairment (HI) - Students with a significant degree of hearing loss that interferes with their development or adversely affects their educational performance in a general education classroom may be eligible for special education
- Other Health Impairment (OHI) - Students with a chronic or acute health problem, which limits strength, vitality or alertness and adversely affects their educational performance, may be eligible for special education.
- Physical Impairment (PI) - Students with a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects their educational performance and may require physical adaptations within the school environment may be eligible for special education.
- Severe Multiple Impairment (SXI) - Students who have moderate to severe impairment in cognitive ability and impairment in one or more of the following areas: hearing, vision, physical and health are eligible for special education.
- Specific Learning Disability (SLD) - A specific learning disability is “a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations, including conditions such a perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia that adversely affects a student’s educational performance. A SLD does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; mental retardation; emotional disturbance; or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.” (34CFR300.8(c)(10)).
- District Process for Determination of a Specific Learning Disability:
- Each local education agency and public school academy in Michigan is required to publicly post the process used to determine the existence of a Specific Learning Disability.
- Consistent with this requirement, Walled Lake Schools reports the following:
- For determination of a SLD, a Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses (PSW) process is used for students in kindergarten through grade 12, which includes: oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, reading comprehension, reading fluency, math calculation, and math problem solving.
- It is noted that regardless of the process used, all schools must follow all of the regulatory requirements in the IDEA, the MARSE, and Michigan laws, policies and procedures for special education.
- What is a SLD?
- A Specific Learning Disability is “a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations, including conditions such a perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia that adversely affects a student’s educational performance. A SLD does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; mental retardation; emotional disturbance; or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.” (34CFR300.8 [c][10]).
- What is a PSW (Patterns of Strengths and Weaknesses) Process?
- Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses is a process that is used to determine if a student has a SLD. This process involves the collection of data to determine the following:
- The student does not achieve adequately for the student’s age or to meet State approved grade-level standards in one or more of the areas identified at 34 CFR 300.309(a)(1)(i) when provided with learning experiences and instruction appropriate for the student’s age or State-approved grade-level standards.
- The student exhibits a pattern of strengths and weaknesses in performance, achievement, or both, relative to age, State-approved grade-level standards, or intellectual development, that is determined by the Multi-disciplinary Evaluation Team (MET) to be relevant to the identification of a SLD, using appropriate assessments, consistent with the IDEA Evaluation Procedures and Additional Requirements for Evaluations and Reevaluations.
- Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses is a process that is used to determine if a student has a SLD. This process involves the collection of data to determine the following:
- District Process for Determination of a Specific Learning Disability:
- Speech and Language Impairment (SLI) - Students who do not have age-appropriate communicate skills may have a speech and language impairment. This is manifested in one or more of the following communication impairments that adversely affects educational performance:
- Articulation – omissions, substitutions or distortions of sound, persisting beyond an age which may be corrected by maturation.
- Voice – including inappropriate pitch, loudness or voice quality.
- Fluency – i.e. stuttering that interferes with effective communication.
- Language – impairment in understanding or using age appropriate vocabulary, grammar or form.
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) - Students who, because of an acquired injury to the brain, have a total or partial functional disability or a social impairment that adversely affects their educational performance may be eligible for special education. This includes students who sustain an open or closed head injury resulting in an impairment in cognition, language, memory, attention, reasoning, behavior, physical functioning, information processing or speech.
- Vision Impairment (VI) - Students with significant visual problems that interfere with their development or which adversely affects their educational performance. Visual problems include:
- Central visual acuity for near or far point vision of 20/70 or less in the better eye after routine refractive correction
- A peripheral field of vision restricted to not more than 20 degrees
- A diagnosed progressively deteriorating eye condition