The Lee County School Board was presented with legislation changes for exceptional student education Polices & Procedures during a first reading Tuesday.

The P&P is specialized instruction and services for ESE students, which is a basis for identification, eligibility, and placement for students that outlines the steps the district’s team must go through to determine if the student is eligible for services.

The first major change pertains to restraint of students with disabilities. The school district will have procedures for providing a copy of the written notice on the day of the incident to the parents.

Another change is eligibility for children who are developmentally delayed from age 3 through 9 years of age, instead of the previous 6 years old. The areas of delay include adaptive, or self-help development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or physical development including fine, gross or perceptual motor.

Another major area that had a change was alternate assessments, which gives a student access to modified curriculum or assessments.

The last big change is how services are allocated and used in private schools — an area that deals with Family Empowerment Scholarships.

According to the presentation provided during the board meeting, “effective July 1, 2022, the McKay Scholarship Program was repealed and joined the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program under the Unique Abilities category, which provides children of families with limited financial resources with education options to achieve success in their education.”

Interim Superintendent Dr. Ken Savage said by having the state set up this type of template, it ensures districts are held to the same rules and regulations. The comprehensive opportunity provides a one-stop shop of procedurally what documents look like.

Savage said each family’s child is the most important thing in the whole world to them. He said if they encountered difficulty, it becomes very emotional and difficult as they want to ensure the district is doing everything possible for each child.