inclusion policies for children with special needs

As an accredited program and as a program that strives to provide the least restrictive environment for all children needing early education and care, the following policies shall apply to those children with identified special needs prior to enrollment, OR for children who are not clearly benefitting from the program for unidentified reasons. “Special Needs” is defined as any child who is exhibiting behavior of being cognitively, socially-emotionally, behaviorally or physically challenged.

Bel Air Presbyterian Preschool is designed to be inclusive of all children, including children with identified disabilities and special learning and development needs. We require that staff are aware of the identified or diagnosed special needs of individual children and are trained to follow through on specific intervention plans. Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) or Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs) as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are developed and implemented in a developmentally appropriate manner. Modifications are made in the environment and staffing patterns for children with special needs based on IEPs or IFSPs. Staff work in collaboration with appropriate professionals (such as early childhood special educators, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, developmental pediatricians, inclusion specialists, behaviorists, etc.) and make appropriate professional referrals where necessary. Therapy is developed appropriately and incorporated within classroom activities as much as possible, rather than removing the child from the classroom. Family members are involved in development and use of individual education plans. Staff address the priorities and concerns of the families of children with special needs.

Bel Air Presbyterian Preschool reserves the right to:

• Request, when necessary, that parents make arrangements for appropriate assessment to be done for children who are clearly not benefitting from the program in one or more of the developmental domains. This can be done through private intervention and assessment or through the public services of the Westside Regional Center or LAUSD. If it is determined that the Preschool cannot meet the needs of an individual child, further assessment may be required for continued enrollment.

• Request, when necessary, that all documents from medical professionals or therapists that deal specifically with treatment and/or goal setting and benchmarks be copied and given to school personnel for use in the child’s file. These documents, coupled with a team of people working together (parents, teachers, professionals), will provide the ultimate continuity between school, home and therapy settings, thus providing an increased probability of reaching goals and benchmarks.

• Request, when necessary, that parents provide contact information for our staff to speak directly with professionals providing assessment or intervention on behalf of the child. This connection and commitment to receive direction from professionals will help our staff to know how to best adapt the environment to meet the specific needs of the child as well as follow through with specific learning goals and benchmarks.

• Request, when necessary, that parents make arrangements for additional supervision and care for their child (i.e., shadow teachers, inclusion specialists) when attending school. Bel Air Presbyterian Preschool reserves the right to interview the potential candidate and grant or deny access to our classrooms or program for any reason. Bel Air Presbyterian Preschool reserves the right to request, when necessary, that parents make financial arrangements for the additional supervision personnel. Request, when necessary, that parents provide appropriate caregiver background check information in accordance with the Department of Social Services for the adult chosen to work with their child.

• To deny any professional (shadow teacher, therapist, behaviorist, etc.) access to our classrooms for any reason at any time. We reserve the right to deny any professional access to our classrooms if it is determined that his or her actions or recommendations are not in accordance with the philosophy, goals, policies, procedures of Bel Air Presbyterian Preschool or if it is determined that their actions or recommendations are not in the best interest of all children and staff involved.

• After the above efforts have been exhausted, if we as a school feel we are unable to meet the specific developmental needs of a particular child, we will ask that the parents remove the child from the school. This could occur if the child is showing dysfunctional behavior that could pose a threat to the safety of the other children in the school or if we as a staff feel as though the staff and environment can not meet the child’s needs. Bel Air Presbyterian Preschool reserves the right to terminate the enrollment contract at any time should the Preschool determine that the child or family is unable to adjust to the school’s schedule, policies, procedures, to cooperate with the staff, or for behavior endangering the children, families or staff.

In all cases, all documents, conversations, and individualized education plans or plans for early intervention will be strictly confidential. Information will be exchanged on a “need-to-know” basis—only for those people who are working directly with the child.