WISD Plan

Pursuant to Rules 340.1835(a) and 340.1835 of the Revised Administrative Rules for Special Education, as amended, each intermediate school district plan or modification thereof shall be signed by all of the following:

• The Intermediate School District superintendent signifying approval by the Intermediate School District Board of Education.
• The superintendent of each constituent school district and the director of each public school academy signifying that his or her school district has been involved in the development of the plan.

My signature indicates my school district has been involved in the development of the Washtenaw ISD Plan for Special Education Services and Programs in cooperation with the Parent Advisory Committee, constituent school districts, public school academies and the Intermediate School District.

I have been advised that I file my objections to the Plan in accordance with procedures addressed in Rule 340.1836.

Due to confidentiality all signatures are on file at Michigan Department of Education and the Washtenaw Intermediate School District.

R 340.1832 – An Intermediate School District plan for special education, or any modification thereof, shall be an operational plan that sets forth the special education programs and related services to be delivered. The plan shall comply with 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1 et seq. and these rules.

Washtenaw ISD Parent Advisory Committee/ Parent Information Handbook

The Washtenaw ISD Parent Advisory Committee/ Parent Information Handbook is used as a means for communicating a list of organizations, special education representatives, and procedural safeguards to parents of children suspected and/or are identified as requiring special education services. In addition, this handbook outlines for parents and the community the special education opportunities (required under law) in the Washtenaw ISD. The handbooks are distributed by special education staff in each district.  Hard copies are available upon request at either your local special education director’s office or at the Washtenaw Intermediate School District.  Electronic copies of handbooks can be found on the Washtenaw ISD website.

The Washtenaw ISD Parent Advisory Committee/ Parent Information Handbook includes the following information:

1. A web link to the Procedural Safeguards
2. Names and phone numbers of local and intermediate school district representatives who can provide information about special education opportunities;
3. Names and phone numbers of organizations that provide information and support to parents;
4. List of other resources available to parents from Washtenaw ISD
5. Information about special education processes, programs, and services

Special Education Contacts

A list of responsible school district and public school academy (PSA) representatives who can be contacted for information regarding special education programs and services can be found in Appendix B.

Surrogate Parent Plan

The Washtenaw ISD will adopt the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education “Policy for the Appointment of Surrogate Parents for Special Education Services” dated September 9, 2008 (and subsequent Michigan Department of Education policies thereafter) and state and federal special education rules and regulations.

The Washtenaw ISD, LEA Directors and PAC will:

1.   Maintain an adequate pool of potential surrogate parents who meet required standards and maintain a list of available pool members. 

2.   The ISD will provide annual training for potential surrogate parents in the areas of:

• Surrogate parent responsibilities
• Special education eligibility
• Special education process and procedures

3.   Maintain a system to:

• Determine a need for a surrogate parent
• Appoint a surrogate parent; and
• End the appointment of a surrogate parent

Public Awareness and Child Find Activities

The Washtenaw ISD assumes primary responsibility for Child Find activities and outreach for children birth to 5. The Washtenaw ISD’s Early On Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating Child Find activities and outreach. All local school districts will assume responsibility for in-school and out-of-school students up to the age of 26 through the special education programs/services and establish cooperative liaisons with other agencies and professionals who may be potential referral sources.

Procedures for Identifying Students with a Suspected Disability

The procedures for identifying students with a suspected disability may include review of existing school records and interagency collaboration for referral of student dropouts, Michigan Project Find materials, Early On information, and Washtenaw ISD Parent Advisory Committee/ Parent Information Handbook.

The Washtenaw ISD and the local districts are responsible for conducting Child Find activities for all eligible ages. The Child Find Coordinator is responsible for establishing contact with liaison personnel and the dissemination of information that will make the public aware of Child Find. The methods of dissemination include:

• Annual advertisements in local newspapers or on local radio
• Pre-school screenings for 3 – 5 year-old children at various sites within the ISD
• Early Education Services
• Childcare
• Area Healthcare agencies, hospitals, physicians
• Community Education/Migrant Programs
• Community Mental Health
• District Health Department
• Head Start Programs
• Local Schools
• County Community Services
• Parent Groups
• Private Nursery School & Kindergarten
• WISD website
• Libraries

A variety of diagnostic services are available within the Washtenaw Intermediate School District. Certain services are provided by local school districts and public academies, others by Washtenaw ISD. Additionally, the Washtenaw Intermediate School District assures that copies of contracts or services agreement (per Section 380.1751(1)(b) of the School Code are on file at the Washtenaw ISD and available for review.

See the charts in Appendix A outlining the programs/services provided directly by each local school district and Public School Academy, those provided by the Washtenaw ISD, and those purchased or contracted from outside agencies and service providers.

The prevailing philosophy within the Washtenaw ISD is to serve each child with a disability in the least restrictive environment. This includes providing a continuum of educational services for children with mild to severe disabilities ranging in age from 0 through 25 years (see chart in Appendix A). These services include classroom programs, and support services designed to meet the individual needs of children with disabilities. The Individualized Education Program Team (IEPT) shall consider that all children should have the opportunity to be educated together, regardless of disabilities, in the school he or she would attend if the child did not have a disability, unless otherwise determined appropriate through the IEPT process.

The Washtenaw ISD, all constituent districts and public school academies review special education caseloads and referrals on an annual basis to determine staffing needs.

Classroom programs for students with Cognitive Impairments (CI), Severe Cognitive Impairments (SCI), or severe multiple impairments (SXI), located in separate facilities, are operated with an expanded age span under Rule 340.1733(f), up to 11 years.

Forest School (for students with severe emotional impairments (SEI); operated by Washtenaw ISD) is a separate facility.

Vocational training programs are available for students with disabilities. The vocational training programs are operated by local public school agencies, cooperatively or individually.

The WISD assures that the following programs/services for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) under Rule 340.1758(1)(b) meet the following criteria:

• In-service education available to all special education staff responsible for the education of students with ASD.  The in-service education shall be provided in the following areas:

a. Syndrome of ASD, including its etiology;
b. Family and community support services.
c. Home/school interactions; and
d. Systematic curriculum development, with special emphasis on personal adjustment and prevocational education;
e. Behavioral management techniques;
f. Child development, with special emphasis on language, communication, and cognitive development;

• A consultant knowledgeable about ASD and programming for students with ASD will be available to the teacher and support staff to assist in meeting the unique individual needs of the student.
• Related service providers who are responsible for the delivery of services to students with autism spectrum disorder will have in-service education relating to the service they provide.
• The IEP Team will describe its consideration of the ability of the student with autism spectrum disorder to function in the program of placement in the context of such items as class size and student/staff ratio.

The Washtenaw ISD plan shall be approved by Michigan’s Superintendent of Public Instruction before implementation under Rule 340.1831(1). The Washtenaw ISD plan shall be developed and approved under Rules 340.1835 through 340.1837.

Assurances of Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Education Records

Washtenaw ISD assures the confidentiality of any personally identifiable data, information, and records of students with disabilities that are collected, used, or maintained in compliance with Michigan Rule 340.1861(3) 34 C.F.R. 300.610 through 300.626.

Special Education Administrators

The titles, addresses, and phone numbers of special education administrators responsible for implementing special education programs and services within Washtenaw ISD are located in a chart in the Appendix B section of this document.

Qualifications for paraprofessional personnel specifically follow 340.1793 of the Michigan Revised Administrative Rules for Special Education.  In addition, the Washtenaw ISD, Public School Academies (PSA), and local school districts require paraprofessionals to possess a high school diploma or its equivalent and follow all state and federal requirements.

Each local district will make arrangements for the provision of special transportation to eligible students by providing the service, making cooperative arrangements with another local or intermediate school district, or contracting privately.  Transportation procedures are monitored on a continual basis by the local school district and Washtenaw Intermediate School District supervisors of transportation.

Special education programs and services in Washtenaw County will be reimbursed through the special education millage funds. The WISD will use the added cost deduct formula defined in Part 6 of Michigan Special Education Rules. Costs related to educating students who are not residents of WISD constituent districts are not eligible for reimbursement from WISD millage (Rule 340.1732 and Section 105(18) for designation of residency).

The priority for distribution of WISD special education millage is as follows:

• Full reimbursement for WISD-operated special education services and supports.
• Allocated reimbursement for administrative expenses incurred in the operation of special education (see Chapter IV of the State Board of Education approved document, "Accounting and Fiscal Reporting Requirements for Intermediate School District use of Special Education Funds").
• Reimbursement to local districts for the operation of special education programs shall be on the basis of two separate formulas.  One formula will reflect payment to local districts operating centralized programs.  The second formula will reflect payment to districts and public school academies operating non-centralized programs and services. All programs and services are reimbursed on an added-cost basis.

WISD-Operated Special Education Services and Programs

WISD operates special education classroom programs under two different state reporting methods for pupil accounting purposes, those operated as an ISD-operated centralized program and those that are operated as Shared Educational Entities, or SEEs. In addition to those students counted by WISD, additional tuition will be charged for attending a WISD-operated program. The tuition will be calculated on a daily basis for the period the student is enrolled in the WISD-operated program.

Administrative Expense Reimbursement

Directors of Special Education are eligible for allocated reimbursement.   An ISD-wide reimbursement amount for all special education administration is approved by the Washtenaw Superintendents’ Association.  The amount allocated to each district/PSA is calculated using a base of $30,000 for each with a K-12 population in excess of 900 FTEs; or a headcount of students with disabilities in excess of 125; additional reimbursement is calculated using the district/PSA’s K-12 FTE count, Special Education headcount, and number of Medicaid eligible students, each in proportion to the ISD- wide total.  District/PSAs with less than 900 FTEs are allocated $10 per FTE.  The total eligible amount for reimbursement shall be the total amount of State approved expenditures, up to the allocation determined above.  From this amount shall be deducted Section 51 reimbursement related to the operation of the function.

The remaining amount, if any, to support the function of the local Director of Special Education shall be eligible for the non-centralized program and services reimbursement.

Centralized Programs

As of the date of this plan, there are currently no centralized programs operated by local school districts. If, however, a program were to be operated by a local district, the following reimbursement method would be utilized.

The total eligible amount for reimbursement shall be the total amount of eligible expenditures, within budget amounts approved by the Washtenaw Superintendents’ Association.   From this amount shall be deducted:

• The total of the foundation grant collected by the district under Section 51(Specifically, the blended FTE count of students enrolled in the program on the pupil membership count days) times the foundation grant of Section 51.
• Section 51a reimbursement related to the operation of the program.
• Section 53 reimbursement related to the operation of the program.
• All federal funds related to the operation of the program.
• Tuition charged by the district or Washtenaw ISD for students placed in the program.

WISD shall be responsible for the remaining amount to support students in this program.

Non-Centralized Programs

All other special education programs and services shall be considered non-centralized and shall be reimbursed on an added-cost basis. The total eligible amount for reimbursement shall be the total amount of State-approved expenditures not covered in Centralized Programs. From this amount shall be deducted:

• The total of the foundation grant collected by the district under Section 51 (specifically, the blended special education FTE of students enrolled in special education programs on the pupil membership count days) times the foundation grant of Section 51.
• Section 51a reimbursement related to the operation of special education programs and services.
• Section 53 reimbursement related to the operation of special education programs and services.
• All    federal    funds   related    to    the   operation    of    special    education        programs and services.​​​​​​​

The remaining amount shall be paid out by WISD on a prorated basis depending on the amount of available funds from the special education millage.

The WISD PAC exists to serve two basic functions: 1) to advise the WISD Board of Education on matters pertaining to special education; and 2) to facilitate communication, awareness, and involvement between parents, local public school agency, Boards of Education/Boards of Directors and the Intermediate School District, as required in Rule 340.1838.

Plan Development. The Washtenaw ISD plan and amendments to such shall be developed in cooperation with the PAC, local school districts and public school academies. It shall be the responsibility of the WISD Director of Special Education Services or his/her designee to assure that the PAC members are provided with copies of the current Intermediate School District plan, subsequent and proposed amendments and deviation requests.

The WISD Director of Special Education or his/her designee will be responsible for gathering information from PAC and local district/public school academy directors/supervisors for possible changes in the WISD Special Education Plan.  The WISD Director and/or designee will prepare a draft of the plan that incorporates the proposed changes. PAC and special education administrators will review the draft and any modifications resulting from the reviews will be incorporated into the final draft. Prior to submission, the PAC Chairperson(s) will be asked to sign the plan endorsement page indicating involvement in the development of the plan. If PAC so directs the chairperson(s) by majority vote, an objection to the plan may be filed according to the procedures specified in Rule 340.1836 of the Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education.

The WISD Director of Special Education Services will assure that waiver and deviation requests are reviewed at PAC meetings as required in Rule 340.1734. Parents will be given the opportunity to review ISD, state, and federal monitoring activities. At each PAC meeting, a standing agenda item will be a report from the WISD Director of Special Education Services or designee related to current special education issues. Opportunity will be given to PAC members to provide input and/or share concerns related to the delivery of special education programs and services.

Prior to the submission date, the PAC Chairperson and Chair-Elect will be asked to sign the plan endorsement page indicating that the PAC has been involved in the development of the plan.

The WISD Director of Special Education Services or his/her designee shall act as advisor to the PAC. The goal of this effort is to have an active and informed PAC that will work collaboratively with administrative personnel in ensuring the effective and efficient delivery of special education programs and services within the Washtenaw ISD.

Fiscal Resources. Fiscal resources available to the PAC shall be outlined in the annual Washtenaw ISD Special Education budget. The Washtenaw ISD will provide the following items in support of the PAC:

•   Postage for notices and other committee meetings               
•   Reimbursement for phone calls
•   Reproductions of appropriate documents
•   Mileage (in accordance with WISD policies)
•   Information
•   In-Service
•   Website

Staff Resources. The Washtenaw ISD shall make available staff resources for the purpose of making the PAC an efficient and effective operational unit. The WISD Director of Special Education Services or his/her designee shall be responsible for assuring that reasonable secretarial support is available to the PAC for committee business.

*Glossary

ASD – Autistic Spectrum Disorder
ECSE – Early Childhood Special Education
EI – Emotionally Impaired
HI – Hearing Impaired
LD – Learning Disabled
Mild CI – Mild Cognitive Impairment
Moderate CI – Moderate Cognitive Impairment
OHI – Other Health Impairment
PI – Physical Impairment
Severe CI – Severe Cognitive Impairment
SLI – Speech and Language Impairment
SXI – Severely Multiply Impaired

Service Codes

E – Elementary – “E” means your district provides elementary programs
S – Secondary – “S” means your district provides secondary programs
CP – Countywide Program/Service – “CP” means the program/service is countywide and provided by WISD
C – District Contracted for Services – “C” means your district contracts with an outside agency to provide services
X – District Provides Services – “X” means your district provides the program/services

*Glossary

VI Consultant - Visual Impairment Consultant
HI Consultant - Hearing Impairment Consultant
O&M - Orientation & Mobility
SLI - Speech and Language Impairment
SSW - School Social Work
PSY - Psychology
OT - Occupational Therapy
PT - Physical Therapy
ECSE 0-3 - Early Childhood Special Education

Service Codes

E – Elementary – “E” means your district provides elementary programs
S – Secondary – “S” means your district provides secondary programs
CP – Countywide Program/Service – “CP” means the program/service is countywide and provided by WISD
C – District Contracted for Services – “C” means your district contracts with an outside agency to provide services
X – District Provides Services – “X” means your district provides the program/services

Local districts and public school academy administrators responsible for the implementation of special education programs and services:

*Glossary

PSA - Public School Academies