Policies, Procedures, Operating Guidelines and the Legal ...

It is time-consuming to develop and maintain current SPED Operating Guidelines. OGs also can be?a lifesaver when training staff and when responding to a TEA compliant or monitoring activity.

TEA guidance to ESC Legal Framework (LF) contacts has been:

1. Federal law requires TEA to assure that LEAs have policies, procedures and operating guidelines.

2. TEA makes sure LEAs have policies and procedures?by requiring?LEAs to?link/upload their special education policies to the Legal Framework.

3. TEA makes sure LEAs develop operating guidelines by requesting them during compliant investigations and/or during monitoring activities.

4. LEAs should view the relationship between the three documents as follows:

a)????? Procedures are all of the federal and state requirements. (Shown on the LF in the column titled Federal and State Requirements)? Procedures are the big-picture WHAT.

b)????? Board Policies assure that all federal and state requirements have been adopted and are in place at the LEA level. (Linked or Uploaded to LF)? Policies are the local-level WHAT.

c)?????? Operating Guidelines describe ways the LEA will meet the requirements. OGs are the HOW.

OGs are to be specific and outline when and where actions are taken; and by whom.

OGs can take any form the LEA prefers: narrative, protocols, bulleted lists, flowcharts, charts, or all of these. OGs may be called by another name, e.g., SPED manual or handbook, but LEA personnel must understand, and be able to articulate,?that the document meets the requirement for Operating Guidelines.

Attorneys assisting TEA and Region 18 in developing the Legal Framework stated it this way:

Policies and Procedures

Authority Reference: ?34 CFR 300.200 Condition of Assistance

Authority Reference: ?34 CFR 300.201 Consistency with State policies.

1. LEAs must have ?on file? with TEA its policies and procedures in order to serve students with disabilities.

2. Local board policies and the Legal Framework itself constitute ?policies and procedures? for purposes of satisfying 34 CFR 300.201.

3. LEAs may select all of the legal frameworks (topics) in the Legal Framework menu as its local procedures. If LEA choices not to select certain of the legal frameworks as its procedures, the LEA must separately file its own procedures governing the areas addressed. ?If a LEA chooses not to select any of the Legal Framework as its procedures, it must file with the TEA its own procedures to comply with 34 CFR 300.201.

4. The Legal Framework?on Region 18?s website provides a?electronic means of filing policies and procedures with the TEA.

5. If the LEA adopts all of the Legal Framework and links its policies where required by area on the LF, then the LEA has met its obligation for procedures and policies.

Operating Guidelines

Authority Reference: 34 CFR 300.149(a) SEA responsibility for general supervision.

1. In order to facilitate its general supervision, the TEA requires LEAs to have operating guidelines.

2. The Legal Framework may be used as a template for developing and electronically posting operating guidelines. For example, the LEA may choose to?write guidelines for each topic on the framework. Posting OGs to the framework is optional.

3. TEA will not request or examine OGs unless in conjunction with its supervision responsibilities including monitoring and the complaint resolution process.

ESC 13 Contacts for Legal Framework/Policy/Procedures/Operating Guidelines:

Joy Hunsucker and Linda McDaniel

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Source: http://www5.esc13.net/thescoop/speddirectors/2013/09/12/policies-procedures-operating-guidelines-and-the-legal-framework/

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