Mayfair IB Special Education Needs Policy

Special Educational Needs Statement of Purpose

This policy is intended to:

·      Communicate to all stakeholders in our IB community – administrators, teachers, students, and parents – the expectations for creating and maintaining an inclusive educational environment for all learners throughout the PYP and MYP.

·      Provide clear guidelines to all stakeholders by explaining the identification process and the special educational needs practice in the context of the IB programme at Mayfair School.

·      Establish clear responsibilities of all stakeholders.

·      Outline the various accommodations and support opportunities that are available to the diverse student population at Mayfair School.

·      State a policy on review.

Responsibilities of the School

Mayfair School utilizes the RtII process to support teaching and learning.  The principal is responsible for ensuring that there is a collaborative structure in place for decision-making regarding the use of school-based resources and services. The School District of Philadelphia provides qualified personnel to assist schools in the identification of students with special needs through assessment and evaluation as well as qualified Special Education and ESOL teachers to provide services to students with diverse needs. Additional personnel available to support students include: classroom teachers, support staff, guidance counselors, administration, school psychologists, school speech and language pathologists, bilingual counselor assistants, and other specialists.

Mayfair School is responsible for ensuring that all students have the opportunity to learn in the least restrictive environment. The Special Education teachers are responsible for progress monitoring and updating student IEPs at least annually. All teachers and administration are responsible for supporting students with IEPs by following their individual education plan. All teachers are responsible for using the RtII system of identification. All teachers are responsibility for incorporating differentiated instruction in their lessons and noting differentiated strategies in their IB unit plans.

**This is a summary of a larger document available upon request. Please email mbraun2@philasd.org if you would like the full policy.**