The Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District is dedicated to educating students with disabilities within its own schools whenever possible. The Committee on Special Education and the Committee on Preschool Special Education will recommend programs and services that provide a free and appropriate public education based on each student's individual learning needs. All school-aged students with disabilities will have the opportunity to participate in the district's curricular and extracurricular programs.
Briarcliff Manor UFSD is committed to the education of all students, regardless of their abilities. We take pride in the wide range of services offered to support every student.
Students who are invited to our high school can benefit from access to all the support services associated with our programs, as well as the opportunity to participate in vocational and research initiatives. This flexible environment allows district students who require this level of support to maintain the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) within their home district. This flexibility ensures that we provide best-practice programming for all students! Each year, we admit 12 students from other public schools to join our cohort.
Briarcliff Manor UFSD is dedicated to the education of all students regardless of ability; we pride ourselves on the continuum of services offered to all students.
Related services are available as determined by student’s needs. Skills reinforcement comes in a variety of way through individual and group cohorts based on individual need. Family training is available to parents of students with autism on a monthly basis and community based instruction is available to students as appropriate.
An Integrated Co-Teaching program provides possibilities for disabled students in Kindergarten through Twelfth grade to be included with characteristically emergent peers. Staffing for the K-12 Integrated Co-Teaching program includes one regular education teacher, one special education teacher as well as one special education aide with the ratio of 12:1. This configuration is characteristic throughout the district, lending to a smooth transition and continuum of services throughout the K-12 model. Elementary Integrated Co-Teaching Program is available in Social Studies and Science, Middle through High School Integrated Co-Teaching Program is available in English, History, Science and Mathematics.
Resource Room - Direct Instruction is a flexible program that affords students direct instruction in a 5-1 ratio for skills designated on their IEPs in conjunction with general education integration. Integration into a mainstream class is facilitated by the special education teacher. The amount of time a student is to spend in the resource room is IEP driven and not to exceed 90 minutes per day.
The Specially Designed Instruction for a multimodal approach is specific direct instruction when a student's learning profile requires it. These students are expected to pursue the goals of meeting New York State Standards and are provided the same courses required for a regent’s diploma under Part 100.2 of the Commissioner’s Regulations as are offered in the mainstream regular education program.
What was once a progressive hybrid special education program serving students with eclectic needs ranging from emotional, motivational, and academically challenging to giftedness has become the norm and flexibility for all. This [therapeutic] program is designed for students in grades nine through twelve who are struggling with a range of disabilities including but not limited to stress. Students in our HS may participate in mainstream classes with support and/or in modified classes as appropriate depending on individual needs. At each grade level, English, History, Mathematics, and Science are offered fully integrated and mainstreamed with appropriate support built in to allow for optimal student success. Resource Center, Study Skills, Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Counseling are an integral part of the program. These Related services are available to all that require/depending on students’ needs.
The Teacher Consultant Program services a multiplicity of students ranging from students who require individualized academic support in a mainstream setting to those students’ exiting formalized supports. Staff for the program includes special education teachers who work directly with the mainstream teacher.
The Individual Support Program services students who are multiply disabled and require a 1:1 Teaching Assistant. Direct Instruction is available on a one-on-one and/or small-group basis. Transitional planning, community-based instruction, travel training, and job coaching are available. Related services are provided on a push-in and/or pull-out basis as appropriate for individual students. Currently, the needs for such support exist in elementary, middle, and high school.
The school district must offer a variety of programming and services to meet the diverse needs of students with disabilities. This is referred to as the continuum of services. this continuum also includes such programming as:
The CPSE or CSE must select and recommend the components or combination of components of the continuum that meets a student’s needs in what is called the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). Students can receive services for either a 10 or 12-month school year if the CSE determines eligibility for extended-year (ESY) services due to severe regression.
Sample Letter to Request Information about Teachers’ Qualifications
Mary Parent
500 Oak Street
Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510
(899) 555-1234
March 1, XXXX
Dr. Ruth Boss, Principal
Stonewall Middle School
1000 Central Avenue
Centerville, IN 60010
Reference: Jennifer Parent (DOB: 01/01/91)
School: Briarcliff School District
Dear Dr. Boss:
My daughter Jennifer Parent is a sixth grade student at Stonewall Middle School. Jennifer has four teachers: Ms. Adams, Mr. Brown, Ms. Canady, and Ms. Davis, a substitute math teacher. Jennifer also receives tutoring from Ms. Evans, a paraprofessional.
When I read “Teacher Quality Guide Supports Parents’ Right to Know” in the February 1 issue of The Achiever: No Child Left Behind Newsletter, I learned that I am entitled to information about Jennifer’s teachers, including:
I am requesting this information about the qualifications of Jennifer’s teachers and paraprofessional. I believe the information will help me work more effectively with her teachers. I am enclosing a copy of The Achiever so you may share this information with your staff.
If you have questions about my request, please call me at work (555-9876) or at home (555-1234) after 6 p.m. Thanks in advance for your help.
Sincerely,
Mary Parent
Enc: “Teacher Quality Guide Supports Parents Right to Know,” The Achiever http://www.nclb.gov/Newsletter/20030201.pdf
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
Legal Services Corporation
This is the single largest provider of civil legal aid for the poor in the U.S. On their home page is a map where you can locate a Legal Service Office in your community.
Some offices will help with special education problems.
National Center for Learning Disabilities
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
New York State Education Department has services and publications, including:
New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS)
New York State Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD)
This office seeks to help people with disabilities to live richer lives. To find your regional services including your local Developmental Disabilities Service Office, select the Services tab.
N.Y.S. Bar Association
Use this site to locate attorneys in your area.
Legal Services of the Hudson Valley
Provides free civil legal services to low-income people.
Partnership for Children’s Rights
A nonprofit law firm dedicated to helping disadvantaged children throughout New York City.
Law Help
Helps low and moderate people to find free legal aid programs in their communities.
New York State’s Dignity for All Students Act (The Dignity Act) seeks to provide the State’s public elementary and secondary school students with a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment, and bullying on school property, a school bus and/or at a school function.
Link: https://www.nysed.gov/student-support-services/dignity-all-students-act-dasa
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (commonly referred to as Section 504) is a federal law designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities and prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. Federally funded programs and activities include but aren’t limited to public schools, colleges, universities, and state and local education agencies. To qualify for protection under Section 504, a student must have a disability and that disability must limit one or more major life functions. These functions include such things as caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, eating, lifting, bending, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and more. Section 504 is enforced by the U. S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
A Section 504 Plan is helpful for those students who don’t qualify for services under IDEA but need assistance to “level the playing field” or to otherwise eliminate barriers to allow students with disabilities access to the same activities and programs as their non-disabled peers.
To download the National Center for Learning Disabilities’ IDEA and Section 504 comparison chart, excerpted from Parent Advocacy Brief: Understanding the Americans with Disability Act Amendments Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act – CLICK HERE
