Special Education (CSE/CPSE)

The Committee on Special Education (CSE)

The general education instructional programs of the Greenwich Central School District are designed to support each student toward mastery of the New York State Learning Standards. A small portion of students require more intensive support to succeed than is available through the general education program. For students determined by the Committee on Special Education to demonstrate disability that adversely affects the student’s mastery of the Learning Standards, the District provides a continuum of special education services. 

A determination of an educational disability is made by the Committee on Special Education. A recommendation for a referral to the Committee on Special Education is sometimes made by the building level student services team. Before a recommendation for a referral is made, the building level team determines that all available supports have either been provided or are not appropriate. Although State Education regulations allow for a direct referral to the Committee on Special Education by the parent, experience has shown that more positive outcomes for students are achieved when the student’s needs are first considered by a Response To Intervention Team. 

Once a referral is made, parent consent is requested for evaluation. When evaluations are complete, the Committee on Special Education meets (the Committee includes the active participation of the student’s parents) to review the evaluation results, to make a disability determination, and recommend special education services as appropriate. The recommendation of the Committee on Special Education is then presented to the Board of Education for approval. 

Please contact the building principal or the director of special education/pupil personnel services with questions or concerns related to referrals to the Committee on Special Education or the special education services provided by the Greenwich Central School District.

The Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE)

For children between the ages of 3 and 5, special education services are recommended by the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE).  According to State Regulations, when your child becomes eligible for kindergarten, these decisions become the jurisdiction of the Committee on Special Education (CSE).  The CSE is a multidisciplinary team, within your school district, which is responsible for recommending services and programs for school age children with disabilities.

CPSE Annual Review and CSE Transition Meeting

The CPSE will meet in the spring to recommend special education supports or declassification prior to kindergarten.  During this meeting, staff members will be present who are familiar with your child and his/her needs.  A CSE meeting will be held, back-to-back, with the CPSE Annual Review, in order to discuss recommendations for kindergarten.  This process is required by State Regulations.  Be assured that districts are concerned about each child and his/her unique needs.  

To understand these needs, the team will review a variety of information:

• Review of your child’s preschool records and evaluations.

• Visit your child at his/her current program and/or discussions with your child’s current teachers and/or related service providers.

• Invite your child to participate in the kindergarten screening process.

• Obtain information from you, the parent/guardian, about your child’s needs.

A Change in Classification

As a preschooler, your child was classified by the CPSE as a Preschool Child with a Disability.  If your child still requires special education as a school age student, State Regulations require that the classification be more specific.  Your child must meet the eligibility criteria for one or more of these 13 classifications in order to receive services.

• Autism

• Deafness

• Deaf-Blindness

• Emotional Disability

• Hearing Impairment

• Learning Disability

• Intellectual Disability

• Multiple Disabilities

• Orthopedic Impairment

• Other Health Impairment

• Speech or Language Impairment

• Traumatic Brain Injury

• Visual Impairment

Greenwich Elementary School Kindergarten Programs and Support Services

In considering placement for students, the least restrictive environment is, by law, a priority in providing students an education that best meets their individual needs. Placements may include:

• A general education kindergarten classroom with no special education supports; declassification from all services.

• A general education kindergarten classroom with Improvement Services of Speech/Language, Physical Therapy, Counseling or Occupational Therapy support as a non-IEPservice.

• A general education kindergarten classroom with related services of  Speech/Language, Physical Therapy or Occupational Therapy, as a student with an IEP or a 504 Plan.

• An Integrated Co-Teach model classroom which consists of general education students and special education students, a general education teacher, a special education teacher, and a teaching assistant/program aide. Students may receive related services within the classroom “push-in” or in a separate therapy room “pull-out.”  Students in these classrooms may be classified under any of the 13 educational disabilities.

• Autism Spectrum/Communication Special Class (12:1) for students with significant delays in communication, cognitive, and social development related to ASD.

• Out of district placement for specific unique learning, behavioral, and/or medical needs