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Special Services is the department
that is responsible for providing many different services
to the students of Tewksbury Township.
These services include:
Child Study Team services
Special Education
Speech and Language Services
English as a Second Language instruction
Who Works in the Special Services
Department?
Many professionals and instructional
aides provide services to children through the Special
Services Department, including the Child Study Team
Coordinator and Child Study Team secretary.
Learning Disability Teacher-Consultant
School Psychologist
School Social Worker
Speech and Language Pathologists
Occupational Therapists
Physical Therapists
School Nurses
Special Education Teachers
Special Education Paraprofessionals
Who is eligible to receive Special
Services?
Any child between the ages of 3 and
21, whose parents are legal residents of Tewksbury Township,
is a potential candidate for services. Services are
for students (ages 3-21) with educational disabilities
or believed to have such disabilities.
How does a child become eligible
to receive services?
A child between the ages of 2 ˝ and
5 can be evaluated by the Child Study Team to determine
eligibility. Parents are encouraged to phone the Child
Study Team Office to request further information (908-832-2594
ext 2006).
Any child who is having difficulty
in school should first be referred to the school-based
Intervention and Referral Services (I&RS) Team (formerly
PAC), to find solutions to those difficulties. If school-based
general education efforts do not solve the difficulty,
the I&RS Team may make a referral to the Child Study
Team. Parents are part of the process and are informed
before any action is taken.
Parents/guardians have the option
of making a direct referral to the Child Study Team,
but working with the school-based I&RS is advised
and an appropriate first step in most situations.
What is the Child Study Team process?
The process begins with the parent/guardian
being notified, in writing, of a meeting with the Child
Study Team. A booklet titled Parental Rights in
Special Education, prepared by the New Jersey Department
of Education, is also provided to the parent/guardian.
This booklet advises parents of their basic rights and
responsibilities in the procedure.
The first meeting is a planning meeting
at which time all of the available student and teacher
information is reviewed with the parent/guardian, the
Child Study Team, the child’s teacher, and others who
might have knowledge of the child and his or her difficulty
in school. After the information is reviewed, a decision
is made whether or not the child may have an educational
disability. If there is agreement that an evaluation
should be conducted, the nature and scope of the evaluation
is discussed and written parental/guardian consent for
the evaluation is required.
Each document that is prepared and/or
signed is copied for the parent/guardian, and they are
reminded throughout the process of their rights.
Members of the Child Study Team conduct
individual evaluations based on their specialties. A
written report is prepared and sent to the parent/guardian
in advance of an Eligibility Meeting, held to discuss
all of the evaluations and to receive the recommendations
of the Child Study Team. Parents/guardians may bring
others to any meeting if desired. |
