The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997 requires each State to ensure a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is available to all children with disabilities. To assist Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in the provision of FAPE, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) provides financial support for consultative services for students in need of intensive behavioral interventions.
Upon referral by a Local Education Agency, behavioral intervention services are available for the following student populations:
• Students most at risk for expulsion or repeated suspensions.
• Students at risk of increasingly restrictive educational placements, including residential treatment, due to the student’s behavior.
• Students identified/suspected as having Autism Spectrum Disorder and are in need of programming to improve educational performance.
• Students discharged from the Timber Ridge residential facility with a dual diagnosis.
• Students discharged from a psychiatric residential facility and recommended for ongoing school-based mental health interventions, including day treatment.
• Students presently in a school-based day treatment program and in need of continued behavioral programming and support.
To access a Behavior Intervention Consultant for a student in one or more of these populations, the appropriate referral protocol must be completed and filed with the State Coordinator for behavior consultants.
For further information or assistance, contact George Elliott or Maureen Bradshaw at mbradshaw@conwaycorp.net.