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Special Education

Special Education
The Elwood UFSD will address meaningful parent engagement in the parent’s preferred language or mode of communication regarding the provision of services to his/her child to meet the requirements of the IDEA.

  • A parent survey will be shared asking parents to confirm their preferred language for communication as well as their preferred method of communication.
  • Parents who do not respond to the survey will receive a follow up call to record their preferences.
  • The parent survey will also ask families to confirm their child’s ability to wear a mask on a school bus and while using the restroom in order to develop plans that accommodate the needs of all learners.
  • The parent survey will ask parents to indicate if their child is medically fragile and will not be able to return to school in person in September.
  • Survey results will be cross referenced with district information in the student management system and updated as needed to insure compliance across the district.
  • The Elwood UFSD will continue to provide Procedural Safeguards and Prior Written Notices to parents/guardians through mail or email in their preferred language.
  • CPSE/CSE meetings, initial referral meetings, and reevaluation meetings will be conducted remotely when possible to ensure the safety of all participants.



The Elwood School District will address the provision of free appropriate public education (FAPE) consistent with the need to protect the health and safety of students with disabilitiesand those providing special education and services. It will also ensure access to the necessary accommodations, modifications, supplementary aids and services, and technology (including assistive technology) to meet the unique disability related needs of students.

  • The district will identify specialized PPE needed to meet the needs of students with disabilities.
    ○ Provide KN-95 or N-95 masks for teachers/TAs/Paras in these rooms when requested if children cannot wear a mask or socially distance.
    ○ Provide additional PPE (face shields, gloves, gowns) when toileting assistance is needed.
    ○ Provide masks with clear mouthpieces for teachers of students who have hearing loss and rely on lip reading to meet with success in school.
    ○ Provide clear desk shields and iPads for use during educational and psychological testing.
  • Schedules will be reviewed to ensure that academic and IEP goals can be met for all students regardless of the instructional modality.
  • The district will establish a plan to use assessment tools to determine individual student needs and extra supports required to ensure both academic and social-emotional needs are addressed. This data will also enable the district to determine what students may be entitled to compensatory services due to significant regression. Student progress will be reviewed upon returning to school and then again at 5 and 10 week intervals. Instructional adjustments will be made as needed.
  • Assessment tools include but are not limited to iReady diagnostic, Fountas & Pinnell running records, reading assessments based on student recordings using Reading A to Z, data from Reflex Math, anecdotal records and informal classroom assessments.



The Elwood UFSD will address collaboration between the committees on preschool special education (CPSE) and committees on special education (CSE) and program providers representing the variety of settings where students are served to ensure there is an understanding of the provision of services consistent with the recommendations on individualized education programs (IEPs), plans for monitoring and communicating student progress, and commitment to sharing resources.

  • The district will send the letter linked here to all program providers servicing students from the Elwood School District to insure services are consistent with the recommendations on individualized education programs (IEPs).
  • Providers will be required to update the district, via email, should a change in program delivery occur.



The Elwood UFSD will address how it will document the programs and services offered and provided to students with disabilities as well as communications with parents, in their preferred language or mode of communication.

Documenting programs and services offered to students with disabilities:

  • Student schedules and attendance will be recorded via the student management system by the special education teacher and related service providers to measure student participation.



Documenting IEP Goal Progress:

  • Students will be assessed upon returning to school (in person or virtual) using measures such as Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessments, iReady diagnostic, Reflex Math diagnostic, and formal and informal classroom assessments.
  • Students will be reassessed at 5 and 10 week intervals using the above tools. Parents will be notified at 5 weeks if an instructional intervention is deemed necessary. If not, parents will receive school-based and IEP progress reports after 10 weeks through their preferred method of communication.
  • Data collected will enable the district to determine what students may be entitled to compensatory services due to significant regression.
  • Teachers will collect ongoing data and record it in a Google Sheet as related to each of their student’s IEP goals - The data can then be mail merged into a parent progress update letter.


Standard methods of communication, including phone calls home and parent teacher emails, will also be used to maintain communication between the school and families.