(a) Free
Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).
(i)
Consistent with
34 C.F.R. §§
300.101 and 300.102 and W.S. §
21-2-501,
school districts and public agencies shall ensure that a
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is available to all children with
disabilities residing in Wyoming no later than the child's third (3''')
birthday through the completion of the school year the child turns twenty-one
(21), including those children who have been suspended or expelled from
school.
(ii) Preschool
children with disabilities means children age three (3) through five (5) in
Wyoming who are identified as eligible for special education and related
services under the IDEA, federal regulations and these rules.
(iii) Any preschool children with
disabilities who are five (5) years of age on or before September 15* and who
are receiving services from a school district shall be the responsibility of
that school district for the purpose of ensuring the provision of FAPE. [See
W.S. §
21-2-704.]
(b) Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).
(i) Consistent with
34 C.F.R. §§
300.114 through 300.120 and any Wyoming LRE
policy or procedure adopted pursuant to
34 C.F.R. §
300.165, except as provided in §
300.324(d)(2) (regarding children with disabilities in adult prisons), WDE must
ensure that school districts and public agencies have policies and procedures
in place to ensure that:
(A) To the maximum
extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or
private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who
are nondisabled; and
(B) Special
classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities
from the regular educational environment occurs only if the nature or severity
of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of
supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
(ii) Each school district or
public agency must ensure that a continuum of alternative placements is
available to meet the needs of children with disabilities for special education
and related services.
(iii) The
continuum of alternative placements must include the alternative placements
listed in
34 C.F.R. §
300.39 and make provisions for supplementary
services, defined in
34 C.F.R §
300.42, to be provided in conjunction with
regular class placement.
(iv) The
placement decision: In determining the educational placement of a child with a
disability, including a preschool child with a disability, the school district
or public agency must ensure that:
(A) The
placement decision:
(I) Is made by a group of
persons, including tlie parents, and other persons knowledgeable about the
child, the meaning of the evaluation data, and the placement options;
and
(II) Is made in conformity with
the LRE provisions above and
34 C.F.R. §§
300.114 through 300.118.
(B) The child's placement:
(I) Is determined at least
annually;
(II) Is based on the
child's lEP; and
(III) Is as close
as possible to the child's home.
(v) Unless the lEP of a child requires some
other arrangement, the child shall be educated in the school that he or she
would attend if nondisabled.
(vi)
in selecting the LRE consideration shall be given to any potentially harmful
effect on the child or on the quality-of services that he or she
needs:'
(vii) A child with a
disability shall not be removed from education in age-appropriate regular
classrooms solely because of needed modifications in the general
curriculum.
(c) Extended
School Year (ESY).
(I) Consistent with 34
G.F.R. § 300.106 and any Wyoming ESY policy or procedure adopted pursuant
to
34 C.F.R. §
300.165, each school district or public
agency must ensure that extended school year services are available as
necessary to provide FAPE.
(A) ESY services
means special education and related services that:
(I) Are provided to a child with a
disability:
(1.) Beyond the normal school
year of the school district or public agency;
(2.) In accordance with the child's lEP;
and
(3.) At no cost to the parents
of the child; and
(II)
Meet the standards of Wyoming.
(B) ESY services must be provided only if a
child's lEP team determines, on an individual basis, that the services are
necessary for the provision of FAPE to the child. In implementing the
requirements of this section, the school district or public agency must
consider a multi-factor approach in determining whether ESY services are
necessary, and may not:
(I) Limit extended
school year services to particular categories of disability; or
(II) Unilaterally limit the type, amount, or
duration of those services.
(d) Individualized Education Program (lEP)
and placement decisions.
(i) School districts
and public agencies shall develop, implement, review
and revise lEPs consistent with
34 C.F.R.
§§
300.320 through 300.328.
(ii) lEP teams shall make
placement decisions in accordance with the rules herein and with the least
restrictive environment provision at
34 C.F.R. §§
300.114 through 300.118.
(e) Reevaluations. A school
district or public agency must ensure that a reevaluation of each child with a
disability is conducted in accordance with
34
C.F.R. §§
300.303 through 300.311.
(f) lEPs for transfer students.
(i) Procedures for children with disabilities
who transfer between school districts or public agencies in Wyoming in the same
school year shall be consistent with
34 C.F.R. §
300.323(6).
(ii) Procedures for children with
disabilities who transfer to Wyoming school districts or public agencies from
another state shall be consistent with
34 C.F.R. §
300.323(f).
(iii) Procedures for preschool children with
disabilities transitioning from developmental preschool centers in the state of
Wyoming to school districts or other public agencies shall be consistent with
34 C.F.R. §
300.323(e).
(iv) Procedures for children identified as
Developmentally Delayed who transfer to a school district or public agency that
has not adopted the Developmentally Delayed criteria shall be consistent with
the procedures in
34 C.F.R. §
300.323(f) for students who
transfer from another state.
(A) The school
district or public agency, consistent with the consent requirements, shall:
(I) Conduct an evaluation and eligibility
determination consistent with
34 C.F.R. §§
300.301 through 300.311; and
(B) Meet the requirements above
with respect to continuing to provide FARE to the child, including services
comparable to those described in the child's lEP from the previous public
agency until completion of the evaluation and eligibility determination
consistent with these rules and IDEA.
(g) Inter-district placements. Each school
district or public agency shall provide FARE to children with disabilities
residing within its boundaries. If the school district or public agency is
unable to provide the programs and services necessary for the child with a
disability to receive FARE, the school district or public agency shall contract
with another school district or public agency to provide those programs and/or
services, [See W.S. §
21-2-502.]
(h) Residential placement by another entity.
(i) If a child with a disability has been
placed in a residential treatment facility or psychiatric hospital by another
public agency or court, the residential treatment facility or hospital shall
initiate action to develop review, or revise the child's lEP consistent with
IDEA and these rules, or if necessary, evaluate and identify the child as a
child with a disability according to IDEA and these rules.
(ii) The facility or hospital shall notify
the child's resident school district: or public agency of the child's placement
at the facility or hospital. The resident school district or public agency
shall participate in planning and implementing FAPE for the child.
(iii) In the event that the residential
treatment facility is unable or unwilling to provide FAPE to the child as
required under the IDEA, the resident school district or public agency is
responsible for ensuring that the child receives FAPE. (See W.S. §
21-2-502.}
(i) Court-ordered placements.
(i) The Department of Family Services ,(DFS)
shall pay residential and treatment costs excluding educational and medical
costs of court ordered placements of children in private residential treatment
facilities and group homes located in Wyoming.
(ii) Programs providing education services
including programs for children with disabilities provided by a board of
cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), shall bill WDE, directly for
educational costs of court ordered placements.
(iii) All costs billed to WDE under this
section shall be in the manner and form required by WDE, and consistent with
W.S. §
21-13-315 and Chapter 14 of WDE Rules and
Regulations.