Exiting A Student from Special Education

When the IEP team is considering exiting a student from special education

When a student is exiting from Special Education because s/he is no longer eligible, it is not necessary to do all of the pages of the IEP. The Student Information and Services (SIS) page, the Present Levels page, and the Agreement/Attendance page are always required. If the student was found to no longer exhibit a Specific Learning Disability (SLD) but was previously eligible as SLD, then it is expected that the SLD Summary Form and/or the Collective Team Report will also be completed (indicating not eligible). It is also advised that you include a meeting summary using the Additional page of the IEP. No other pages should ever be included in an IEP when a student is exited.

Exiting a student requires a Triennial/Reevaluation to determine whether or not the student continues to be eligible. The purpose of this meeting would be to determine the following:

1) whether the student continues to have a disability;

2) the present levels of academic achievement and related developmental needs;

3) whether the student continues to need special education and related services; and

4) whether any additions or modifications to the special education and related services are needed to enable the student to meet the measurable annual IEP goals and participate, as appropriate, in the general curriculum.

In most cases, an assessment plan would be sent to the parents and a report addressing these four questions would be developed and presented at the meeting.

However, if the IEP team, including the parents, determines that no additional assessment or data are needed to respond to the 4 triennial questions above, the district must document the decision and the participation of the parents in making that decision. This discussion should be documented by completing either the Triennial Review Worksheet or the Triennial Review Letter. If the team does not assess the student, no assessment plan is required, but they must complete the “Summary of Record Review in Preparation for Triennial Review” located in SIRAS under Tools/Added Forms/Triennial. Consult your district special education administration before using this option. See the document “Guidelines for Using SIRAS for Initial and Triennial IEPs” under SIRAS Guidelines for more information.

Since eligibility can only be determined at an Initial IEP or a Triennial/Reevaluation, any meeting where a student is being considered for exiting must have the purpose of Triennial/Reevaluation (even if it is conducted before the three-year due date).

To exit a student from special education during the Triennial/Reevaluation, simply click on the Exit Student Button at the bottom of the dates box on the Student Information and Services (SIS) page.

This button will automatically enter the date of the meeting as the Exit Date and “Return to gen ed or no longer eligible” as the Exit Reason. It will also remove the Next Review and Next Triennial dates as well as the disability and services on the IEP and change the percent of the school day in general education to 100%.

The SIS page will have the information the way it needs to be for the IEP; however, CASEMIS requires the district to maintain a record of the student’s status at the time s/he exited. Therefore, the data regarding the student’s disability, percent in general education, and services will remain on the MIS Summary page for CASEMIS reporting. Once a student is exited, the student's record will be changed to Inactive in SIRAS.

When a student is exited all pages that are no longer “Required” for the IEP will collapse (disappear) so they are no longer a part of the IEP. If one of these pages (e.g. Goals, CAASPP, ELD, etc.) had already been saved prior to determining the student was no longer eligible, it will red and listed as " Submitted but no longer applicable" on the IEP Manager . There will be an X in the Action Column to the right of the form that will allow the user to delete any page that is no longer required. Once the page is deleted, it will be removed from the list of forms to be printed out for the official IEP.

If the IEP team decides not to exit the student, there will be an X in the Action column to the right of the SIS page on the IEP Manager so that the SIS page can be deleted. This will reverse the exit date and reason that was entered prior to the meeting and restore the disability, services, and correct percent in general education back onto the SIS page. The user will only need to reenter the Next IEP and Next Triennial dates on the SIS page or clear the meeting date on the IEP Manager and reenter the date of the IEP to correct the Next IEP and Next Triennial dates.

When exiting a student from Special Education, do not fill in the "Dismissed From" box on the SIS page. That box is used only when a student is continuing in Special Education and is being dismissed from one or more services. A student may be dismissed from a service during an annual review or other meeting if the IEP team determines that the service is no longer needed, but a student may not be exited from Special Education without a Triennial/Reevaluation meeting. (Check your district policy regarding dismissing from a service without an assessment.) Also, do not try to check the "Not Eligible" box or enter any explanation or comments. The "Not Eligible" box is only used for Initial IEPs when the student is found to be Not Eligible. Once a student has been found eligible, then you simple enter the Exit Date and Reason. That is done automatically when you click on the Exit Student box on the SIS page.

When a student is graduating or completing high school/post secondary school and/or known not to be continuing in school

Students graduating from high school or aging out at age 22 are automatically no longer eligible for special education services. No IEP meeting is required, but the Case Manager must complete an Exit Summary, indicating the Exit Reason, and hold an Exit Summary meeting with the student. The following are the exit reasons that may be used for students in this group:

Graduated from high school with a regular diploma (no waiver or exemption)

Graduated from high school with a diploma using an exemption

Graduated from high school with a diploma using a waiver

Reached maximum age

Once the Exit Summary is filled out by the Case Manager, the Exit Date and Reason are automatically entered into the MIS Summary for CASEMIS reporting. Therefore, the Exit Summary should be done no sooner than one or two weeks prior to the student’s exit date.

Note: Reached Maximum Age is defined under 30 EC 56026 as follows:

(A) Any person who becomes 22 years of age during the months of January

to June, inclusive, while participating in a program under this part may

continue his or her participation in the program for the remainder of the

current fiscal year, including any extended school year program for

individuals with exceptional needs established pursuant to regulations adopted

by the State Board of Education, pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with

Section 56100) of Chapter 2.

(B) Any person otherwise eligible to participate in a program under

this part shall not be allowed to begin a new fiscal year in a program if he or

she becomes 22 years of age in July, August, or September of that new fiscal

year. However, if a person is in a year-round school program and is

completing his or her individualized education program in a term that extends

into the new fiscal year, then the person may complete that term.

November, or December while participating in a program under this act shall be

terminated from the program on December 31 of the current fiscal year, unless the

person would otherwise complete his or her individualized education

program at the end of the current fiscal year.

(D) No school district, special education local plan area, or county

office of education may develop an individualized education program that

extends these eligibility dates, and in no event may a pupil be required or

allowed to attend school under the provisions of this part beyond these

eligibility dates solely on the basis that the individual has not met his or her

goals or objectives.

The Exit Summary may also be used for students exiting special education for the following reasons:

Received Certificate of Achievement/Completion and leaving school

Earned GED, withdrew from school

Dropped out of school

Students exiting for any of these three reasons continue to remain eligible for special education services if they should decide to return to school. These students should be sent an annual “Notice to Adult Student Withdrawn from Public School” (located in SIRAS under Tools/ Added Forms/Legal Notices) until the student earns a regular diploma or reaches age 22.

The selected reasons will be entered directly onto the MIS Summary if the student gives advanced notice, and the Case Manager does an Exit Summary. If no Exit Summary is done, the CASEMIS staff can simply enter the Exit Date and Exit Reason directly on the MIS Summary page in SIRAS.

Other reasons a student may be exited from Special Education do not require any kind of meeting. The following reasons for exiting may be entered by CASEMIS staff:

Dropped out, unable to contact

Moved, and known to be continuing (includes transfer to another program) – use only for students moving out of SELPA

Deceased

Parent withdrawal/self withdrawal if over 18 (only if a letter is received)

If an adult student chooses to withdraw from special education services and remain in public school, s/he must provide a written statement revoking consent from special education and related services. This student would then be sent the “Notice to Parent of Student (or Adult Student) Being Withdrawn from Special Education Services” (located in SIRAS under Tools/Added Forms/Legal Notices). An adult student who exits for this reason would not receive an Exit Summary.

If the student is leaving the district and going to another district within the SELPA, do not enter an Exit Date or Exit Reason; ask CASEMIS staff to transfer the student's record to the new district. An Exit Date with the Exit Reason of "Moved, and known to be continuing, transfer to another program" should only be used when the student is transferring out of the SELPA.