Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-8-9-.07

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 7, April 30, 2024

Section 290-8-9-.07 - Other Educational Services And Program Options

Public agencies must take steps to ensure that children with disabilities have available the variety of educational programs and services available to nondisabled children in the area served by the agency.

(1) Career/Technical Education. Each child with a disability must have an equal opportunity to access the full range of the public agency's career/technical education programs, including occupationally specific courses of study, cooperative education, and apprenticeship programs. A representative of career/technical education must be included as a member of the IEP Team for those children with disabilities who have been referred for, or are currently receiving career/technical education. Children with disabilities must receive a career/technical assessment prior to or as a part of the career/technical placement process as prescribed by the Alabama Career/Technical Education Standards for Quality Programs in Secondary Schools. The IEP of each secondary child with a disability must show any career/technical education program involvement, as well as needed accommodations and/or modifications made in the program.

(2) Physical Education. Children with disabilities must be afforded the opportunity to participate in the regular physical education program available to nondisabled children unless the child is enrolled full-time in a separate facility or needs specially designed physical education as determined by the IEP Team. Physical education services, specially designed if necessary, must be made available to every child with a disability receiving FAPE, unless the public agency enrolls children without disabilities and does not provide physical education to children without disabilities in the same grades.

(a) If specially designed physical education is prescribed in a child's IEP, the public agency responsible for the education of that child must provide the services directly or make arrangements for them to be provided through other public or private programs.

(b) The public agency responsible for the education of a child with a disability who is enrolled in a separate facility must ensure that the child receives appropriate physical education services.

(3) Nonacademic/Extracurricular Services.

(a) Public agencies must take steps, including the provision of supplementary aids and services determined appropriate and necessary by the child's IEP Team, to provide nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities in the manner necessary to afford children with disabilities an equal opportunity for participation in those services and activities. Nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities may include counseling services, athletics, transportation, health services, recreational activities, special interest groups or clubs sponsored by the public agency, referrals to agencies that provide assistance to individuals with disabilities and employment of students, including both employment by the public agency and assistance in making outside employment available.

(b) The IEP Team will identify the child's courses including supplementary aids and services. Children with disabilities, through his or her IEP, must be provided equal access for participation in nonacademic and extracurricular activities in accordance with Academics First.

(4) Routine Checking of Hearing Aids and External Components of Surgically Implanted Medical Devices. Public agencies must ensure that hearing aids worn in school by children with disabilities are functioning properly. Public agencies must also ensure that the external components of surgically implanted medical devices are functioning properly; but for a child with a surgically implanted medical device who is receiving special education and related services, a public agency is not responsible for the post-surgical maintenance, programming, or replacement of the medical device that has been surgically implanted (or of an external component of the surgically implanted medical device).

(5) Related Services. Public agencies must provide related services as defined in these rules that are required to assist children with disabilities to benefit from special education. All related services may not be required for each individual child. Each IEP Team must determine what related services, if any, are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education. Related services may include, but are not limited to, audiology services, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling services, early identification and assessment of disabilities in children, interpreting services, medical services (for diagnostic and evaluation purposes only), occupational therapy, parent counseling and training, physical therapy, psychological services, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, speech-language pathology, social work services in schools, school nurse services, school health services, and orientation and mobility services. Related services do not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, the optimization of that device's functioning (e.g., mapping), maintenance of the device, or the replacement of that device. However, nothing limits the right of a child with a surgically implanted device (e.g., cochlear implant) to receive related services as listed above that are determined by the IEP Team to be necessary for the child to receive FAPE. In addition, nothing limits the responsibility of a public agency to appropriately monitor and maintain medical devices that are needed to maintain the health and safety of the child, including breathing, nutrition, or operation of other bodily functions, while the child is transported to and from school or is at school. Finally, nothing prevents the routine checking of an external component of a surgically implanted device to make sure it is functioning properly, as required in number (4) above.

(6) Assistive Technology.

(a) Each public agency must ensure that assistive technology devices or assistive technology services, or both, as defined in these rules, are made available to a child with a disability if required as part of the child's special education, related services, or, as supplementary aids and services.

(b) The term assistive technology device means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability.

(c) The term assistive technology does not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, or the replacement of such device.

(d) The term assistive technology service means any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device. The term includes:

1. The evaluation of the needs of the child with a disability, including a functional evaluation of the child in the child's customary environment;

2. Purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices by children with disabilities;

3. Selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing assistive technology devices;

4. Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services with assistive technology devices, such as those associated with existing education and rehabilitation plans and programs;

5. Training or technical assistance for a child with a disability or, if appropriate, the family of a child with a disability; and

6. Training or technical assistance for professionals (including individuals providing education or rehabilitation services), employers, or other individuals who provide services to, employ, or are otherwise substantially involved in the major life functions of the child with a disability.

(e) On a case-by-case basis, the use of school-purchased assistive technology devices in a child's home or in other settings is required if the child's IEP Team determines that the child needs access to those devices in order to receive FAPE.

(7) Access to Instructional Materials. Each public agency must take all reasonable steps to provide instructional materials in accessible formats to children with disabilities who need those instructional materials at the same time as other children receive instructional materials.

(8) Transportation for Children with Disabilities. It should be assumed that most children with disabilities receive the same transportation services as nondisabled children.

(a) Children with disabilities have the right to regular transportation services, if regular transportation is provided to students without disabilities. If the IEP Team determines that the child needs special transportation in order to provide FAPE, it is required.

(b) Special transportation includes travel to and from school and between schools, travel in and around school buildings, and specialized equipment (such as special or adapted buses, lifts and ramps) if required to provide special transportation for a child with a disability.

(c) If transportation is provided for extracurricular activities, children with disabilities must have access to transportation whether it is regular or special.

(d) As with other related services, the public agency must provide transportation as a related service if it is required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education. This includes transporting a preschool-aged child to the site at which the public agency provides special education and related services, if that site is different from the site at which the child receives other preschool or day-care services.

(e) The IEP Team must consider how the child's disability affects the child's need for transportation, including determining whether the child's disability prevents the child from using the same transportation provided to nondisabled children, or from getting to school in the same manner as nondisabled children.

Author: Joseph B. Morton

Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-8-9-.07

Amended: August 12, 1980. Repealed: April 10, 1986; New: April 10, 1986; effective May 30, 1986. August 8, 1991 adopted 290-080-090-.08.51 ER effective August 8, 1991. October 10, 1991 adopted ER as regular rule effective November 19, 1991. Repealed: June 10, 1993, New: June 10, 1993; effective August 1, 1993. Repealed and New Rule: Filed September 9, 1999; effective October 14, 1999 (Ed. Note: This was rule was previously 290-080-090-.08). Repealed and New Rule: Filed August 11, 2005; effective September 15, 2005. Repealed and New Rule: Filed June 14, 2007; effective July 19, 2007.

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, Title 16, Chapter 39; 20 U.S.C. 1400etseq.; 34 CFR §300.