Special Education Operating Guidelines
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Grade Placement Committee and Graduation
What's Required
Senate Bill (SB) 673 (Scooter's Law ) and TEC 28.025 (f) ensures that students who receive special education services but who have not yet completed the requirements of their IEPs have the opportunity to participate in a graduation ceremony upon completion of four years of high school. Upon completion of IEP graduation requirements, a student may participate in a second ceremony if the district's local graduation policy allows a student to participate in two graduation ceremonies.
What We Do
Graduation requirements vary depending upon the year that the student entered ninth grade.- Make sure to take the ninth grade entry date into consideration when determining the student's graduation option (for specifics, see Graduation Options for Students with Disabilities Entering Ninth Grade Before 2011-2012.
- It should be noted that students receiving special education services are no longer permitted to be exempted from the state assessment program and must take the assessment instrument that the ARD/IEP Committee has determined is appropriate. Information regarding the state assessment instrument and the alternate assessment instruments is available on the TEA website.
- A student who is dismissed from special education services must perform satisfactorily on the required state assessment, as only students receiving special education are eligible to participate in the Accommodated or Alternate versions of the assessment instruments.
- ARD/IEP Committees should carefully consider whether a student is capable of passing the statewide exit-level assessment before dismissing the student from special education services.
- An ARD/IEP Committee should have confidence that a student who is dismissed from special education will be able to successfully complete all of the requirements for high school graduation, including satisfactory performance on the statewide exit-level assessment.
The state's goal is that all Texas children finish high school with the skills designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living. Because graduation is a change of placement, the ARD/IEP Committee decides whether a student has met graduation criteria.
- Graduation ends the school's obligation to provide services for the student, with the exception of graduation under Option (b)(3) (Option C).
- When a student graduates under Option (b)(3)(Option C), the ARD committee will determine needed educational services upon the request of the student or parent(s) to resume services, as long as the student meets the age eligibility requirements.
- Under this option, an evaluation is not required, but the school must give the student a summary of performance to include an evaluation or Review of Existing Evaluation Data (REED).
A student receiving special education services who is 21 on September 1 of a school year will be eligible for services through the end of that school year or until graduation, whichever comes first. The student who graduates due to aging and meeting his or her IEP requirements must be given a summary of performance.
Forms
Parent Graduation Consent Form
Resources
