East Grand Rapids Public Schools
Special Education Department

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Special Education? 
Special Education means specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique educational needs of the student with a disability.

Who is eligible for Special Education services?
Children ages birth to 26 years old who are found eligible by an IEP team.

How is eligibility for special education services determined?
A group of individuals which may include parents, teachers, speech pathologist, school psychologist, provide information and/or conduct evaluations and make a recommendation to the IEP team.

How often is a special education student re-evaluated?
While IEP team meeting are held at least yearly, re-determination of eligibility must be done at least every three years.  

What is IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)?
IDEA is the federal law that requires school districts to provide students with disabilities with a free appropriate public education at public expense.  The Act provides procedural safeguards, due process rights, as well as specific mandates regarding a free appropriate public education.

What is Section 504?
Section 504 is a section of the federal law named the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination of people with disabilities by any entity that accepts federal funds.

What is an Individualized Education Program (IEP)?
An IEP is the written plan that details the special education and related services that must be provided to each student who receives special education services.  It must be reviewed and revised every year.  It would include specific goals and accommodations/modifications required by each child to progress in the general education curriculum.

Who is the sped staff and what do they do?
Special Education Teacher – provides specialized instruction and consultation according to each student’s individualized education Program (IEP)

School Psychologist – A trained professional who assists in the identification of needs regarding behavioral, social, emotional, education and vocational functioning of individuals.

School Social Worker (SSW) – A trained professional who supports the educational program of individuals by assisting in identification and assessment of the individual’s educational needs including social, emotional, behavioral and adaptive needs; provides intervention services. 

Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) – A trained professional who analyzes speech and language comprehension and production to determine communication competencies and provides intervention strategies and services related to speech and language development as well as disorders of language, voice, articulation, and fluency.

Occupational Therapist (OT) – A related service that focuses on the development of a student’s fine motor skills and/or the identification of adapted ways of accomplishing activities of daily living.

If I have a concern about my child, what should I do?
Talk to your child’s teacher, counselor, or building administrator.  These people may suggest a Child Study Team/Student Support Team regarding your child. 

What is a Child Study Team/Student Support Team?
Child Study Team/Student Support Team is a team of various educators in schools that meets to support the needs of students with academic, social, behavioral concerns.  The focus of the team is to provide support to classroom teachers to implement accommodations and modifications so that students can be successful in general education.

What is an accommodation?
An accommodation is change in curriculum or instruction that does not substantially modify the requirements of the class or alter the content standards or benchmarks.  Accommodations are determined by the IEP Team and are documented in the student IEP Team report.

What is a modification?
A modification is a change in curriculum or instruction that substantially alters the requirements of the class or the content standards and benchmarks.

Where are IEPs and other confidential information about my child kept?
Confidential information is kept in a separate file in each building and follows the child from building to building.

I had my child tested outside the District, what should I do with the information?
Share it with your child’s teacher, counselor and/or principal. 

My child is not school age yet and I have a concern that he/she may have a disability, who should I talk to?
Please call Kathy Erdmans in the East Grand Rapids Special Education Office at 235-3535. 

Are there any parents I can talk to about if I am concerned about my child?
EGR has a parent advisory committee made up of three parents of students with disabilities.  They are available to talk with you about your concerns.

Who do I talk to about the sped programs offered in East Grand Rapids?
Please call Jann Van Airsdale or Kathy Wisniewski in the East Grand Rapids Special Education Office at
235-3535.