Student Information

resident and providing district

MN has various rules and statutes that deal with residency of students with IEPs
Generally, students with a disability are considered residents of where they reside with the parent/legal guardian
Work with your Special Education Administrator to determine residency

Federal Setting

The term “federal setting” refers to the percentage of time spent in the special education setting. Special education services provided in the general education environment (e.g., co-teaching, push-in instruction) do not count toward that percentage.

Age 6 Through Age 22:

Common codes; not all-inclusive.

Setting 1: Up to 21% of the school day (anything over 20%)
Setting 2: 21 - 60% of the school day
Setting 3: More than 60%
Setting 4: More than 50% and in a separate facility
Setting 8: Homebound/hospital/home-based setting

MDE: Instructional Setting Codes

Birth Through Age 5 Years & 11 Months:

Common codes; not all-inclusive.

30 - Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK), Receives majority of special education services in VPK setting
31 - Regular Early Childhood (at least 10 hours per week), Receives majority of SpEd Services in the regular early childhood program
32 - Regular Early Childhood (at least 10 hours per week), Receives majority of SpEd Services in another location (i.e., speech services in separate classroom)
33 - Regular Early Childhood (up to 10 hours per week (>0, <10), Receives majority of SpEd Services in the regular early childhood program
34 - Regular Early Childhood (up to 10 hours per week (>0, <10), Receives majority of SpEd Services in another location (i.e., speech services in separate classroom)
41 - Separate Class, Children who receive their SpEd services in a program designed primarily for students with disabilities

Section 14 Instructional Setting Codes (1).pdf

calculating Federal Setting

Calculating Federal Setting (1).pdf

calculating federal setting guide

Federal Setting Calculator

federal setting calcuator

To calculate the percentage, divide the number of minutes the student spends in the special education setting by the total number of educational minutes (lapse time from the first bell to the last bell including the lunch period) in the school day and multiply by 100.

Example:

A student is in the special education resource room for 55 minutes each day. The school day begins at 8:35 and ends at 3:05.
Educational minutes in the day: 365 (8:35 to 3:05 is 390).
Percent: 55 divided by 365 is .1506. Multiplied by 100, this equals 15% or Federal Setting 1.

program placement

Educational Learning Centers

The Educational Learning Centers at SWWC offer two different types of programs for students.

SUN Program: Designed to meet the needs of special education students with severe disabilities with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, DCD: Severe to Profound, DCD: Mild to Moderate, and Severely Multiply Impaired (other diagnosis also accepted). Many of the students have minimal to no verbal skills. Behaviors and communication skills are main focuses of this program. Referrals are made by the school district.
Bridges Program: Designed to meet the needs special education students who are having behavior issues in their resident school district. In addition to academics, programming includes social-emotional learning classroom instruction with licensed professionals provided based on the individual student’s educational needs. Referrals are made by the school district and do not require a Rule 79 diagnostic assessment or children’s mental health care management services through the county of residence.

All of the ELCs work directly with SWWC Behavioral Health Services. These services are also available to school districts for those students who don’t meet the referral requirements for one of our educational learning centers but have challenging behaviors. Contact Amber Bruns for additional information at amber.bruns@swwc.org.

ELC Referral Process

Criteria for Consideration of Services

Student must meet Minnesota Special Education Disability Criteria.
Student must have a current Individual Education Plan (IEP) including a Behavior Support Plan (BSP).
Student must have a specific goal related to the student’s behavioral needs.
Student must have a current Evaluation Report (ER) including a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA).
Student must exhibit an educational need for a Federal Setting IV program and have been serviced at least 60% of the school day in a special education setting (i.e. Federal Setting III).

Referral Process Steps

Notify your Special Education Director and Due Process Specialist of the need for a referral. The Special Education Director will send the case manager the What to Expect When Referring to the SWWC Educational Learning Centers.
Make sure all necessary parties have been notified of the referral:
- - Legal Guardian
  - Resident school district (the district in which the legal guardian lives)
  - If a SWWC school, the signature of the Director or Assistant Director on the ELC Program Referral Form
Fill out the ELC Student Information Packet and send to TCM for review
Provide access on SpEd Forms to the TCM and Site Administrator
- - Please make sure documents are finalized and/or uploaded to history.
Provide TCM with School Transcripts, Statewide Testing Scores and Student Discipline Records

progress reporting statement

Description must include a statement of when and how progress will be reported.

“Written” form (e.g., written progress reports)
Reported as often as progress is reported for general education peers (i.e., concurrent with issuance of regular education report cards)

Compliance Example for Quarterly Reporting:

Quarterly: “Progress will be reported through four written progress reports concurrent with the quarterly issuance of general education report cards.” (available in SpEd Forms Dropdowns)

Compliance Example for Trimester Reporting:

Trimester: "Progress will be reported through three written progress reports concurrent with the trimester issuance of general education report cards." (available in SpEd Forms Dropdowns)

Non-compliance Example

“Progress will be reported four times per year through 3 written progress reports and 1 annual IEP” (missing when and progress reports MUST be written)

IEP Progress Reporting Guiding Document

IEP Progress Reporting_ Updated Dec 2023 (1).pdf

Frequently asked questions

When students participate in work-based learning/job site time, is this considered the special education setting or the general education setting?

Work based learning/job site time is considered a general education, not a special education setting.

What's the difference between homebound and home-based services?

Homebound services arise from decisions made by a physician or mental health professional when this individual determines that the student is unable to be at school due to a serious medical or mental health issue. A child cannot be both homebound and enrolled in a school setting since that would be a duplicative enrollment.

Home-based services arise from decisions made by an IEP team. A child could be enrolled in a part-day school situation and a part day home-based situation.

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