Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 603 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION › Title 603 CMR 28.00 - Special education › Section 28.02 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
Approved Private Special Education
				School
or
Approved Program
shall mean a
				private day or residential school, within or outside Massachusetts, that has
				applied to, and received approval from, the Department according to the
				requirements specified in
				603
				CMR 28.09.
Approved Public Special Education
				School
shall mean a program operated by a public school or an
				educational collaborative providing full day or residential special education
				services to eligible students in a facility serving primarily students with
				disabilities. Such program shall be approved when it has applied to, and
				received approval from, the Department according to the requirements specified
				in
				603
				CMR 28.09.
Certified Special Educator
shall mean
				a person with a teaching certificate or license in an area of special education
				or a related service provider with appropriate certification or license in his
				or her professional area. Licensure shall meet the requirements of the
				603 CMR 7.00:
Educator
				Licensure and Preparation Program Approval
and the requirements for
				renewal of license at
				603 CMR
				44.00:
Recertification
, as necessary.
				A certified or licensed special educator may provide, design, or supervise
				special education services.
Consent
shall mean agreement by a
				parent who has been fully informed of all information relevant to the activity
				for which consent is sought, in his/her native language or other mode of
				communication, understands and agrees in writing to the carrying out of the
				activity, and understands that the granting of consent is voluntary and may be
				revoked at any time. The consent describes the activity and lists the records
				(if any) that will be released and to whom.
Day
shall mean calendar day unless
				603 CMR
				28.00 specifies school day, which shall mean any day,
				including a partial day, that students are in attendance at school for
				instructional purposes.
Department
shall mean the
				Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Disability
shall mean one or more of
				the following impairments:
(a)
Autism
. A developmental disability
				significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social
				interaction. The term shall have the meaning given it in federal law at
				34 CFR §
									300.8(c)(1).
(b)
Developmental Delay
. The learning
				capacity of a young child (three through nine years old) is significantly
				limited, impaired, or delayed and is exhibited by difficulties in one or more
				of the following areas: receptive and/or expressive language; cognitive
				abilities; physical functioning; social, emotional, or adaptive functioning;
				and/or self-help skills.
(c)
Intellectual Impairment
. The
				permanent capacity for performing cognitive tasks, functions, or problem
				solving is significantly limited or impaired and is exhibited by more than one
				of the following: a slower rate of learning; disorganized patterns of learning;
				difficulty with adaptive behavior; and/or difficulty understanding abstract
				concepts. Such term shall include students with mental retardation.
(d)
Sensory Impairment
. The term shall
				include the following:
1.
Hearing Impairment or Deaf
. The
				capacity to hear, with amplification, is limited, impaired, or absent and
				results in one or more of the following: reduced performance in hearing acuity
				tasks; difficulty with oral communication; and/or difficulty in understanding
				auditorally-presented information in the education environment. The term
				includes students who are deaf and students who are hard-of-hearing.
2.
Vision Impairment or Blind
. The
				capacity to see, after correction, is limited, impaired, or absent and results
				in one or more of the following: reduced performance in visual acuity tasks;
				difficulty with written communication; and/or difficulty with understanding
				information presented visually in the education environment. The term includes
				students who are blind and students with limited vision.
3.
Deafblind
. Concomitant hearing and
				visual impairments, the combination of which causes severe communication and
				other developmental and educational needs.
(e)
Neurological Impairment
. The
				capacity of the nervous system is limited or impaired with difficulties
				exhibited in one or more of the following areas: the use of memory, the control
				and use of cognitive functioning, sensory and motor skills, speech, language,
				organizational skills, information processing, affect, social skills, or basic
				life functions. The term includes students who have received a traumatic brain
				injury.
(f)
Emotional Impairment
. As defined
				under federal law at
				34 CFR §
									300.8(c)(4), the student
				exhibits one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of
				time and to a marked degree that adversely affects educational performance: an
				inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health
				factors; an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal
				relationships with peers and teachers; inappropriate types of behavior or
				feelings under normal circumstances; a general pervasive mood of unhappiness or
				depression; or a tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with
				personal or school problems. The determination of disability shall not be made
				solely because the student's behavior violates the school's discipline code,
				because the student is involved with a state court or social service agency, or
				because the student is socially maladjusted, unless the Team determines that
				the student has a serious emotional disturbance.
(g)
Communication Impairment
. The
				capacity to use expressive and/or receptive language is significantly limited,
				impaired, or delayed and is exhibited by difficulties in one or more of the
				following areas: speech, such as articulation and/or voice; conveying,
				understanding, or using spoken, written, or symbolic language. The term may
				include a student with impaired articulation, stuttering, language impairment,
				or voice impairment if such impairment adversely affects the student's
				educational performance.
(h)
Physical Impairment
. The physical
				capacity to move, coordinate actions, or perform physical activities is
				significantly limited, impaired, or delayed and is exhibited by difficulties in
				one or more of the following areas: physical and motor tasks; independent
				movement; performing basic life functions. The term shall include severe
				orthopedic impairments or impairments caused by congenital anomaly, cerebral
				palsy, amputations, and fractures, if such impairment adversely affects a
				student's educational performance.
(i)
Health Impairment
. A chronic or
				acute health problem such that the physiological capacity to function is
				significantly limited or impaired and results in one or more of the following:
				limited strength, vitality, or alertness including a heightened alertness to
				environmental stimuli resulting in limited alertness with respect to the
				educational environment. The term shall include health impairments due to
				asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit with hyperactivity
				disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning,
				leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, and sickle cell anemia, if such health
				impairment adversely affects a student's educational performance.
(j)
Specific Learning Disability
. The
				term means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes
				involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may
				manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think speak, read, write,
				spell, or to do mathematical calculations. Use of the term shall meet all
				federal requirements given in federal law at
				34 CFR §§
									300.8(c)(10) and
				300.309.
District or School District
shall mean
				a Massachusetts municipal school department or regional school district, acting
				through its school committee or superintendent of schools; a county
				agricultural school, acting through its board of trustees or
				superintendent/director; and any other Massachusetts public school established
				by statute, certificate, or charter, acting through its governing board or
				director. School districts have programmatic and financial responsibility in
				accordance with the procedures of
				603 CMR
				28.10.
Eligible Student
shall mean a person
				three through 21 years of age who has not attained a high school diploma or its
				equivalent, who has been determined by a Team to have a disability(ies), and as
				a consequence is unable to progress effectively in the general education
				program without specially designed instruction or is unable to access the
				general curriculum without a related service. An eligible student shall have
				the right to receive special education and any related services that are
				necessary for the student to benefit from special education or that are
				necessary for the student to access the general curriculum. In determining
				eligibility, the school district must thoroughly evaluate and provide a
				narrative description of the student's educational and developmental
				potential.
In-district Program
shall mean a
				special education program operated in a public school building or other
				facility that provides educational services to students of comparable age, with
				and without disabilities.
(a) or young children ages three to five years, the term shall
				include programs provided by the public school in the eligible child's home if
				such setting has been identified by the Team as the natural or least
				restrictive setting to deliver the services on the child's IEP.
(b) For students three through 21 years of age, the term shall
				include programs provided by the district in a home or hospital setting if such
				setting is required by the student's physician and the student would otherwise
				have been served in an in-district program.
(c) For students aged 14 years of age or older, when the Team
				has determined that a vocational program is appropriate, work settings shall be
				considered in-district programs if such programs offer ongoing opportunities
				for students to interact with community members and/or other workers without
				disabilities engaging in similar activities.
(d) A program operated solely by an individual, not for profit
				corporation or agency, or proprietary corporation shall not be considered an
				in-district program unless it is located within a public school
				building.
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
shall mean a written statement, developed and approved in accordance with
				federal special education law in a form established by the Department that
				identifies a student's special education needs and describes the services a
				school district shall provide to meet those needs.
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
shall mean the educational placement that assures that, to the maximum extent
				appropriate, students with disabilities, including students in public or
				private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with students who
				are not disabled, and that special classes, separate schooling, or other
				removal of students with disabilities from the general education environment
				occurs only when the nature or severity of the student's disability is such
				that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and
				services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
Notice
shall mean the notice and
				content required in accordance with the federal special education law whenever
				the school district proposes or refuses to initiate or change the
				identification, evaluation, or educational placement or the provision of
				special education services to the student.
Out-of-district Program
shall mean a
				special education program located in a building or facility outside of the
				general education environment that provides educational services primarily to
				students with disabilities and shall include all programs approved under
				603
				CMR 28.09. Such program may be operated by a
				private organization or individual, a public school district, or a
				collaborative.
Parent
shall mean father or mother.
				For purposes of special educational decision-making, parent shall mean father,
				mother, legal guardian, person acting as a parent of the child, foster parent,
				or an educational surrogate parent appointed in accordance with federal law.
				Legal authority of the parent shall transfer to the student when the student
				reaches 18 years of age.
Program School
shall mean the school
				in which the student is enrolled according to the provisions of M.G.L. c. 71,
				§ 89 (charter schools); M.G.L. c. 71, § 94 (Commonwealth of
				Massachusetts virtual schools); M.G.L. c. 74 (vocational schools); M.G.L. c.
				76, § 12A (Metco) or M.G.L. c. 76, § 12B (school choice), and shall
				not include schools approved under
				603
				CMR 28.09 or institutional school programs as
				described in
				603 CMR
				28.06(9).
Progress Effectively in the General Education
				Program
shall mean to make documented growth in the acquisition of
				knowledge and skills, including social/emotional development, within the
				general education program, with or without accommodations, according to
				chronological age and developmental expectations, the individual educational
				potential of the student, and the learning standards set forth in the
				Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and the curriculum of the district. The
				general education program includes preschool and early childhood programs
				offered by the district, academic and non-academic offerings of the district,
				and vocational programs and activities.
Related Services
shall have the
				meaning set forth in federal special education law at
				34 CFR §
									300.34. Individuals providing interpreting
				services for students who are deaf or hard of hearing shall be registered with
				the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
State Agency
shall mean a
				Massachusetts state agency.
Special Education
shall mean specially
				designed instruction to meet the unique needs of the eligible student or
				related services necessary to access the general curriculum and shall include
				the programs and services set forth in state and federal special education
				law.
Team
shall mean a group of persons,
				meeting participant requirements of federal special education law as provided
				at 34
				CFR §§
									300.321 and
				300.116(a)(1),
				who, together, discuss evaluation results, determine eligibility, develop or
				modify an IEP, or determine placement.