Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 603 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION › Title 603 CMR 28.00 - Special education › Section 28.06 - Placement and Service Options

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Reporting
. The Department shall determine specific
			 protocols for school districts to report level of services and placements made
			 for eligible students. School districts shall use such protocols for the
			 purposes of reporting information only. No reporting protocol shall be used as
			 the basis for specifying services, delaying, or otherwise limiting services or
			 programs for eligible students.
(2)
Determining Placement
. At the Team meeting, after the
			 IEP has been developed, the Team shall consider the identified needs of the
			 student, the types of services required, and whether such services may be
			 provided in a general education classroom with supplementary aids and/or
			 services or in a separate classroom or school. The Team shall consider all
			 aspects of the student's proposed special education program as specified in the
			 student's IEP and determine the appropriate placement to provide the services.
			 The Team shall determine if the student shall be served in an in-district
			 placement or an out-of-district placement and shall determine the specific
			 placement according to the following requirements:
(a) The decision regarding placement shall be
			 based on the IEP, including the types of related services that are to be
			 provided to the student, the type of settings in which those services are to be
			 provided, the types of service providers, and the location at which the
			 services are to be provided.
(b)
			 The placement selected by the Team shall be the least restrictive environment
			 consistent with the needs of the student. In selecting the least restrictive
			 environment, consideration must be given to any potential harmful effect on the
			 student or on the quality of services that the student needs.
(c)
Least Restrictive Environment
			 (LRE)
. The school district shall ensure that, to the maximum
			 extent appropriate, students with disabilities are educated with students who
			 do not have disabilities, and that special classes, separate schooling, or
			 other removal of students with special needs from the general education program
			 occurs only if the nature or severity of the disability is such that education
			 in general education classes with the use of supplementary aids and services
			 cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
(d)
In-district
			 Placement
. The placement decision made by the Team shall indicate
			 the specific program setting in which services will be provided. The Team shall
			 first consider in-district settings such as a general education classroom, a
			 resource setting, a separate classroom, a work setting, a vocational school
			 program, and/or another type of setting identified by the Team as appropriate
			 and able to provide the services on the IEP in a natural or less restrictive
			 environment. If an in-district setting is able to deliver the services on the
			 IEP, the Team shall identify such placement and include such determination with
			 the proposed IEP.
1. The school district
			 shall determine specific instructional personnel and shall work jointly with
			 the Team to arrange the specific classroom or school, in order to implement the
			 placement decision and to assure that services begin promptly when parental
			 consent to the IEP and placement has been received.
2. The school district shall not delay
			 implementation of the IEP due to lack of classroom space or personnel, shall
			 provide as many of the services on the accepted IEP as possible and shall
			 immediately inform the parent in writing of any delayed services, reasons for
			 delay, actions that the school district is taking to address the lack of space
			 or personnel and shall offer alternative methods to meet the goals on the
			 accepted IEP. Upon agreement of a parent, the school district shall implement
			 alternative methods immediately until the lack of space or personnel issues are
			 resolved.
(e)
Placement Meeting
. Upon developing the IEP, if the
			 needs of the student and the services identified by the Team are complex, and
			 the Team is considering an initial placement out-of-district or a different
			 setting for a student who has been served in an out-of-district program, the
			 school district may schedule a separate Team meeting to determine placement.
			 The placement meeting shall meet the participant requirements of federal
			 special education law as outlined at 34 CFR § 300.116(a)(1) and shall be
			 held within ten school days following the meeting at which the Team developed
			 the IEP. At the request of the parent, the placement meeting may be held at a
			 later date.
1. Any other school district that
			 may be financially or programmatically responsible for the student shall be
			 invited to participate in the placement meeting and shall receive notice of
			 such meeting at least five school days prior to the meeting. The Department or
			 other state agency involved with the student may designate a representative to
			 participate in the placement meeting.
2. Prior to the placement meeting, the school
			 district and parent shall investigate in-district and out-of-district placement
			 options in light of the student's needs and identified services
			 required.
3. At the placement
			 meeting, the district and the parent shall report on the investigation of
			 in-district and out-of-district options. If an in-district program can provide
			 the services on the IEP, such program shall be identified at the placement
			 meeting and provided by the district; if not, the placement Team shall identify
			 an out-of-district placement.
(f)
Out-of-District
			 Placement
. If an out-of-district placement is designated by the
			 Team, the Team shall state the basis for its conclusion that education of the
			 student in a less restrictive environment with the use of supplementary aids
			 and services could not be achieved satisfactorily.
1. Students in out-of-district placements
			 shall be entitled to the full protections of state and federal special
			 education law and regulation. Out-of-district options include, but are not
			 limited to, special education schools approved under
			 603
			 CMR 28.09.
2. When an out-of-district placement is
			 identified by the Team, the determination shall ensure that the student's
			 placement is as close as possible to the student's home. The Team shall not
			 recommend a day or residential school program outside of the city, town, or
			 school district in which the student resides unless there is no suitable
			 program within the city, town, or school district. The school district shall
			 implement the placement decision of the Team and shall include consulting with
			 personnel of the school contemplated to provide the program for the student to
			 determine that the school is able to provide the services on the student's IEP.
			 The Team shall not recommend a specific program unless it is assured that the
			 adequacy of said program has been evaluated and the program can provide the
			 services required by the student's IEP. Team identification of specific
			 schools, however, shall not supercede LRE considerations, IEP considerations,
			 or requirements to give preference to approved programs as provided in 603 CMR
			 28.06(3)(d).