Virginia Administrative Code
Title 8 - EDUCATION
Agency 20 - STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Chapter 81 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN VIRGINIA
Part III - Responsibilities of Local School Divisions and State-Operated Programs
Section 8VAC20-81-130 - Least restrictive environment and placements
Universal Citation: 8 VA Admin Code 20-81-130
Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 16, March 25, 2024
A. General least restrictive environment requirements.
1. Each local educational agency
shall ensure: ( 34 CFR
300.114 )
a.
That to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, aged two to
21, inclusive, including those in public or private institutions or other care
facilities, are educated with children without disabilities; and
b. That special classes, separate schooling,
or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational
environment occurs only if the nature or severity of the disability is such
that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and
services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
2. In providing or arranging for the
provision of nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities, including
meals, recess periods, and other nonacademic and extracurricular services and
activities provided for children without disabilities, each local educational
agency shall ensure that each child with a disability participates with
children without disabilities in those services and activities to the maximum
extent appropriate to the needs of the child with a disability. The local
educational agency shall ensure that each child with a disability has the
supplementary aids and services determined by the child's IEP team to be
appropriate and necessary for the child to participate in nonacademic settings.
(See also 8VAC20-81-100 H.) (
34 CFR
300.117 )
3. For children placed by local school
divisions in public or private institutions or other care facilities, the local
educational agency shall, if necessary, make arrangements with public and
private institutions to ensure that requirements for least restrictive
environment are met. (See also
8VAC20-81-150.) (
34 CFR
300.114 and
34 CFR
300.118 )
B. Continuum of alternative placements. (§ 22.1-213 of the Code of Virginia; 34 CFR 300.115 )
1.
Each local educational agency shall ensure that a continuum of alternative
placements is available to meet the needs of children with disabilities, aged
two to 21, inclusive, for special education and related services.
2. The continuum shall:
a. Include the alternative placements listed
in the term "special education" at
8VAC20-81-10, including instruction
in regular classes, special classes, special schools, home instruction, and
instruction in hospitals and institutions; and
b. Make provision for supplementary services
(e.g., resource room or services or itinerant instruction) to be provided in
conjunction with regular education class placement. The continuum includes
integrated service delivery, which occurs when some or all goals, including
benchmarks and objectives if required, of the student's IEP are met in the
general education setting with age-appropriate peers.
3. No single model for the delivery of
services to any specific population or category of children with disabilities
is acceptable for meeting the requirement for a continuum of alternative
placements. All placement decisions shall be based on the individual needs of
each child.
4. Local educational
agencies shall document all alternatives considered and the rationale for
choosing the selected placement.
5.
Children with disabilities shall be served in a program with age-appropriate
peers unless it can be shown that for a particular child with a disability, the
alternative placement is appropriate as documented by the IEP.
C. Placements. (Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia (8VAC20-131); 34 CFR 300.116 )
1.
In determining the educational placement of a child with a disability,
including a preschool child with a disability, each local educational agency
shall ensure that:
a. The placement decision
is made by the IEP team in conformity with the least restrictive environment
provisions of this chapter.
b. The
child's placement is:
(1) Determined at least
annually;
(2) Based on the child's
IEP; and
(3) As close as possible
to the child's home.
c.
Unless the IEP of a child with a disability requires some other arrangement,
the child is educated in the school that the child would attend if a child
without a disability.
d. In
selecting the least restrictive environment, consideration is given to any
potential harmful effect on the child or on the quality of services which the
child needs.
e. A child with a
disability is not removed from education in age-appropriate regular classrooms
solely because of needed modifications in the general curriculum.
2. Home-based instruction shall be
made available to children whose IEPs require the delivery of services in the
home or other agreed-upon setting.
3. Homebound instruction shall be made
available to children who are confined for periods that would prevent normal
school attendance based upon certification of need by a licensed physician or
clinical psychologist. For students eligible for special education and related
services, the IEP team shall revise the IEP, as appropriate, and determine the
delivery of homebound services, including the number of hours of
services.
Statutory Authority
§§ 22.1-16 and 22.1-214 of the Code of Virginia; 20 USC § 1400 et seq.; 34 CFR Part 300.
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