Thomas MacLaren School serves students with special needs (Special Education) in accordance with the Exceptional Children’s Education Act and Colorado Department of Education guidelines. Programs are provided through resource services and contracted-related service providers in both the Upper and Lower School.
IEP Transfers
Admission to Thomas MacLaren School is granted based on a lottery system, which is held at the end of January. If a student has an IEP, that information is not disclosed on the Letter of Intent. The Exceptional Student Services (ESS) teachers follow a procedure to ensure that students are admitted to Thomas MacLaren School without discrimination, and that their individual needs can be met within the Thomas MacLaren service delivery model.
After being selected in the lottery system (the IEP is not indicated on the Letter of Intent; all students selected are admitted pending a review of IEP paperwork), a parent fills out enrollment paperwork indicating that their child currently receives services or accommodations through an IEP. The ESS department calls the current school of attendance to obtain a copy of the plan. The plan is read and compared to the Thomas MacLaren service model to determine if services and accommodations can be met as they are currently written.
The ESS team meets to discuss service delivery and case management before contacting the parents to inform them of acceptance. This process is completed prior to the end of the school year. A transfer meeting with the current school of attendance, the ESS department at Thomas MacLaren, parents, student, administrators, and teachers (for the following school year) is called and the IEP is either accepted as written, or necessary changes are discussed, interim services are written, and an IEP meeting is scheduled.
Special Education Referral and Evaluation
At Thomas MacLaren School, exceptional students are referred, evaluated, and then monitored closely using academic, behavioral, and observational data, as well as teacher and parent collaboration to ensure that services/interventions/accommodations being provided continue to be effective.
The referral process begins once a student requiring Tier 3 level intervention has shown progress at a rate that indicates he/she will not catch up to his grade-level peers with intervention, accommodations, and support, and that significant changes to his/her educational experience will be necessary for the student to gain reasonable benefit from school.
Thomas MacLaren School is a charter public school, and adheres to the same requirements under IDEA as all public district schools.
Questions
Direct questions or concerns about the Special Education Program at MacLaren to either
Ms. Sanders, Lower School Special Education Coordinator or
Mrs. Jordan, Upper School Special Education Coordinator.