C: Alternative Education Programs

II. Functional Integrated Programs

Description

• Functional Integrated Programs are designed for students with severe multiple or intellectual disabilities who require individual programs. When the unique needs of these students cannot be met through the Regular Education Program or an Alternative Grade 10, 11, 12 Program, with the application of the Adaptive Dimension, a Functional Integrated Program should be developed.

• Students do not receive credits for individual courses; they receive recognition for completing a Functional Integrated Program, which is made up of domains selected by the school division.

• All students have the potential to benefit from effective instruction. The abilities of students with severe disabilities will vary but there should be an expectation for participation, partially or independently, in activities at school, in the home, in the community, and at work.

• Students with multiple and intellectual disabilities must experience the patterns of life they will find in their homes and communities as they work and play. It is important for educators to establish goals that will prepare students for life beyond school.

• Students with challenging needs require the skills, knowledge and abilities that will enable them to be included in their communities. Social interaction is essential for growth, for communication development, and for successful community adjustment.

Policy

C.II.1	The Regional Director approves the request made by a school division to develop a Functional Integrated Program and specifies the length and conditions of approval for the program. Programs may be approved for up to a five year cycle. The initial year of approval is termed the Pilot Year.
C.II.2	Students with severe intellectual disabilities and multiple disabilities must be enrolled in a Functional Integrated Program by the age of 14 years, 8 months. The enrollment information is included in the Student Demographic/ Enrollment Form completed by the principal and forwarded to the Registrar's Unit.
C.II.3	In developing a Functional Integrated Program, school divisions may choose one of the following three program models that outline specific domains: The Homecoming Model Jacqueline Thousand and others, The Homecoming Project, Centre of Developmental Disabilities, University of Vermont, 1986 Choices, Options and Accommodations for Children: A Guide to Planning Inclusive Education (formerly called C.O.A.C.H.) Giangreco, M. & Cayuga-Onondaga Board of Cooperative Educational Services (1994). Auburn, N.Y. Functional Programming Meeting Challenging Needs: A Handbook for Teachers of Students Having Intensive Educational Needs (Saskatchewan Education, 1989).
C.II.4	Each student in a Functional Integrated Program will have a Personal Program Plan that articulates program specifics.
C.II.5	The Personal Program Plan of students enrolled in Functional Integrated Programs must include plans for the transition of the student to the community. This transition planning must be done in consultation with the parents and the professionals involved in the program development and delivery.
C.II.6	Upon completion of the requirements of his/her Personal Program Plan in a Functional Integrated Program, a student receives a transcript indicating the student's successful completion of the Program.

Procedures

The school division should contact the Regional Office to ensure that the Program may be developed.

1. Approval

• Specific Description of a Functional Integrated Education Program, Form I-1 is completed by the school division and submitted to the Regional Office by May 1. This form asks that a detailed description of the program outline and a list of key resources be included. In the program descriptions, school divisions should indicate which domains are being used as organizers in the Functional Integrated Program.

• A school division may make changes to the structure, location, and content of a Functional Integrated Program at any time during the approval cycle, provided consultation has occurred with the parents and professionals regarding the changes in program design and delivery. Notification is then sent to the Regional Office. When significant changes are needed, Form I-1 will be returned by the Regional Coordinator of Special Education to the school division with suggestions for further program development. The Form will need to be resubmitted to the Regional Office after the necessary changes have been made.

• If the program is approved, Approval Form for a Functional Integrated Program, Form I-2 is completed by the Regional Office and sent to the Registrar's Unit.

  Once registered, Form I-2 is returned to the Regional Office and a copy of Form I-1 and I-2 are forwarded to the school division.

• Initial approval is for a Pilot Year, during which changes may be identified/required. If significant change occurs, Form I-1 should be submitted in Year 2.

• If a school division is going into its second year of an approved Functional Integrated Program and there are no significant changes, a copy of the previous year's Form I-2 Approval Form must be resubmitted by the director of education with the current year of monitoring indicated. This form is submitted to the Regional Director by May 1 for the following year.
  • The Regional Director verifies the information included on the Form and forwards a copy of the Form I-2 to the Registrar's Unit.
  • The Regional Office retains the original and forwards a copy of the returned Form I-2 to the director of education with a request to make a copy for the principal of the school implementing the program.

• When a school division wishes to make significant changes to the structure, location, or content of a Functional Integrated Program, consultation must occur with Regional Office personnel. If the requested changes are approved by the Regional Director, they are attached to the original Form I-1, Specific Description of a Functional Integrated Education Program.

• When the school personnel, the professional personnel involved with program delivery, and the parents agree that a student has achieved the goals of the Functional Integrated Program and is ready to complete the transition to the community, the principal of the school will send a letter to the Registrar's Unit stating that the student has completed the goals of his/her Personal Program Plan and is to be awarded recognition for the completion of a Functional Integrated Program.

• For monitoring purposes in the remaining four years of the five year approval cycle, Form I-2 is updated yearly by the school division and resubmitted by the Regional Office to the Registrar's Unit.

2. Registration

• When registering students at age 14 years 8 months in a Functional Integrated Program, the school must ensure that program selection on the Student Demographic/Enrollment Form for the student indicates a Functional Integrated Program.

Guidelines

School divisions should have policies and procedures regarding the:

• placement of students in Functional Integrated Programs
• assessment of student achievement
• program evaluation of Functional Integrated Programs.

This information should be made available to parents and students prior to placement. Parents, students and other professionals involved with the program must be advised of what this placement means.

1. Placement

• The decision to place a student into a Functional Integrated Program is based on:
  • an assessment of the student's current functioning
  • the input of both student and parents/caregivers
  • an analysis of the student's past performance.

  Written, informed parental/guardian permission should be obtained before a student is placed in a Functional Integrated Program.

2. Development

• Students with challenging needs require effective programs that:
  • focus on the student
  • reflect collaboration with the parents
  • provide education with age-appropriate peers who are not disabled
  • allow for systematic programming designed to meet the individual student's needs, presented in an individualized education plan
  • include functional longitudinal goals
  • address future functioning in the community
  • utilize age-appropriate materials and furnishings
  • link instruction in the home and community in the classroom/school
  • facilitate integrated related services.

• The philosophy articulated in Meeting Challenging Needs (Saskatchewan Education, 1989) will form the basis for approval of Functional Integrated Programs.

• School divisions are encouraged to include students registered in Functional Integrated Programs in courses in the Regular Education Program and Alternate Grade 10, 11, or 12 Programs that facilitate one or more of the objectives outlined in the student's Personal Program Plan.

• The specifics of a Functional Integrated Program will vary from student to student in accommodating each student's particular learning and behavioural needs. It is recognized, however, that guidance is needed in the development of the outline of the program. In developing a Functional Integrated Program, school divisions may choose one of the three program models detailed below:
  • The Homecoming Model Jacqueline Thousand and others, The Homecoming Project, Centre of Developmental Disabilities, University of Vermont, 1986 Domains:
    Learning Behaviours/Survival Skills
    Academics
    Self-Care
    Motor
    Community Skills
    Communication
    General Information
    Social

  • Choices, Options, and Accommodations for Children: A Guide to Planning Inclusive Education (formerly called C.O.A.C.H.) Giangreco, M. & Cayuga-Onondaga Board of Cooperative Educational Services (1994). Auburn, N.Y.
    Domains:
    Domestic
    School
    Community
    Vocational
    Communication/Social
    Mathematics

  • Functional Programming from Meeting Challenging Needs: A Handbook for Teachers of Students Having Intensive Educational Needs (Saskatchewan Education, 1989) Domains:
    Communication
    Vocational
    Functional Academics
    Personal Management
    Social
    Leisure and Recreation

• Spiritual Development, Christian Ethics, or other spiritual studies may be an added domain to any of the above models.

  It is recognized that other models and domains have been developed; however, those listed above have been identified to allow for as much consistency as possible in programs across Saskatchewan.

• The Functional Integrated Program must reflect the plan for transition into adult life. It is expected that the locus of instruction will move from the school to the community and adult placement as the student moves through the program. Community-based instruction must be included to facilitate a student's transition into the community. This instruction occurs through activities that are structured, planned, and evaluated.

• School divisions are expected to include the following elements when planning a Functional Integrated Program:
  • knowledge and use of available community resources
  • inventory of the community settings the student has used and the tasks/activities the student can perform within those settings that enhance independence
  • record of observations of the student in community environments, noting student strengths, challenges and environmental conditions that may influence the student's ability to perform.

• Copies of the school division policies in the area of Functional Integrated Programs are to be on file in the Regional Office of Education.

3. Assessment of Progress

• Continuous assessment of the students' needs must occur throughout their time in the Functional Integrated Program. Such assessment determines what needs to be taught when considering the students' requirements in current and future environments.

• School divisions must make clear to students and their parents/guardians that completion of a Functional Integrated Program is based on the achievement of specific goals set out in an individual's Personal Program Plan.

• Enrollment in a Functional Integrated Program is typically for an extended period of time. Students have the right to attend school up to the age of 21. Students with severe disabilities learn more slowly and require a greater number of opportunities to acquire a skill than most other students. The length of a program and its components must be based on specific needs of the individual student.