We had our WTU Special Education Issues meeting yesterday with representatives from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education and the DC Public Schools Special Education Departments. We discussed OSSE priorities focused on improving the special education programs in the district. The Case Managers Pilot Program is one of their priorities, they are planning to hire thirty case managers very soon to serve as special education advocates for our special needs students.
Special Education case management is actually a team effort and responsibility. The goals of case management are to ensure that the student's educational program is cohesive, coordinated, responsive to the student's identified needs, and carried out in accordance with the laws and regulations that apply to the education of students with disabilities.
How is their role different from the special education coordinators'? Even sped coordinators find their roles vague until now.
We have to have at least one case manager per school that serves special needs students, assisting all the MDT members (including special ed teachers, regular ed teachers, related service providers...) with their needs to help ensure that our students' potentials are being maximized.
Just to review and revisit the MultiDisciplinary Evaluation Team's Role in the IEP Process according to IDEIA 2004:
A. Function and Purpose = Major functions
B. Multidisciplinary evaluation team members and their roles
(a) Administrators
(b) Regular education teachers
(c) Special education teachers
(e) Students
(f) School psychologists
(g) Related Services personnel and others...
C. Rights of parents and students = Procedural safeguards
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