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Policy EGA Guidance Student Education Plan-Occupation Plan

Policy EGA-Guidance: Students Education Plan/Occupation Plan (PDF)

Issue Date: June 19, 2012

 

[The statute requires the District to establish SEP/SEOP policies in consultation with school personnel, parents, and school community councils or similar groups.  Therefore, this policy is intended as a basis for discussions of what an SEP policy adopted by the District might be after such discussions with the community council, if any, faculty groups, students, and the state board.]

Utah Code Ann. § 53A-1a-106 (2) (b) (2011)

 

Definitions

“Meeting means the convening of the Board with a quorum present, whether in aperson or by means of electronic equipment for the purpose of discussing, receiving public comments about, or acting upon a matter over which the Board has jurisdiction, including a workshop or executive session.  However, a “meeting” does not include a chance meeting; or meetings where no funds are appropriated for expenditure and board members are convened solely to discuss administrative or operational matters which do not require formal action.

Utah Code Ann. § 52-4-103(4) (2007)

  1. School Manager
  2. The Principal, or a member of the faculty of the school appointed to that position by the Principal, shall be the School Manager.
  3. 3.SEP File

            The SEP file shall be a separate file maintained by the school for each        student, which shall include the SEP, and supporting documents.  It may     contain a separate division for each school year, but SEP records for prior years at that school shall be available to participants in the SEP process.  It     should include a copy of the registration of the student for each school       term showing:the classes for which the student has registered,

ithe names of teachers of the classes and telephone numbers at        which participants in the SEP process may reach the teachers of             each class; and

Eeach report card issued by the school, and names, addresses and   telephone numbers of all the participants in the SEP process.

  1. Small Group ConferenceSmall-group Conference is a meeting at which students, parents, or guardians, and guidance counselors and teachers are invited to attend and the number of students invited does not exceed five.
  2. SEP Participation

Participants in the SEP process are, with respect to a student, the student,   the student’s parent or guardian and the teacher, guidance counselor or other member of school personnel who has the assignment of participating in the preparation or maintenance of that student’s SEP.

Background

The Legislature has required the District to establish policies, in consultation with school personnel, parents, and school community councils or similar entities to provide for the effective implementation of an SEP for each student at the school site.  The Board has consulted with its personnel, with parents, and with school community councils or like entities to the extent that such entities operate within the district and hereby adopts the following policies.

SEP Conferences

Each school shall offer its students at least 1 (one) SEP conference per year at which the SEP of the child may be established and reviewed jointly by the teacher, parent or guardian, and student.  This conference may be at the time usually set aside for parent-teacher conferences.

Small Group Conferences

Each school may also, as it is deemed appropriate, schedule small group conferences for classes or categories of students.

Additional Parent Conferences

A parent may also request conferences with school personnel in addition to SEP or SEOP conferences established by District policy.

Template SEP

The school may adopt a template SEP, which sets forth the minimum standard school program and general guidelines, required of all students.  The teacher, parent or guardian and student shall supplement this template.  From grades 9-12, it is the responsibility of the student to prepare the SEP, in consultation with a school counselor or teacher and with the student’s parent or guardian.

Purpose of the SEP

The purpose of the SEP is not to provide a binding agreement between the student and the student’s parent or guardian and the school; but rather:

to mobilize the resources of the school to help the student reach the objectives       required by the minimum school program and by the SEP; and,

3.to set forth objectives desirable for the benefit of the student.

Therefore, the SEP may include objectives, which are beyond the means or resources of the school.  With the objectives, stated in the SEP, should be included activities and means helpful for implementing the objectives, which may include:

  1. Programs available at school; and,
  2. Resources and activities not available through school but which must be provided independently by parents and guardians, or by students, or from other sources besides those of the school.

Guidelines and Expectations

In addition to the minimum standard school program and guidelines expected of all students, each SEP shall include information gathered for the purpose of recognizing the strengths and achievements of the student, and shall include a record of the student’s progress toward the objectives of the SEP.  This information may be collected in narrative or journal form, or in the form of records of scores on tests and grades earned in classes, or in any other form which is found to be useful, and shall be available to all the participants in the SEP process upon reasonable notice.A member of the school staff, whether teacher, guidance counselor, or administrator, who is charged with participating in the SEP process for a student shall: become acquainted with the student well enough to participate effectively in that process; and shall exert his or her effort to recognize the student’s accomplishments and strengths to assist in planning, monitoring and managing the education and career development of the student; and, to participate in an ongoing partnership with the student and parent or            guardian, including attendance at SEP conferences.

Implementation of the SEP Process

Each school shall conduct training in the SEP process so that staff members participating in the process will have a repertoire of skills to deal with the problems that arise in the process of developing and implementation of the SEP.  This training will be included in the in-service training program at the school.  The school shall make available to its staff the inventory of working SEOPs prepared by the State Board of Education.  Requests for resources arising from the SEP process not readily identified by the participants in the offerings of the school shall be referred to the Principal, who will have responsibility to consider requests for resources, and who shall have responsibility to coordinate time, training and assignment of school personnel for such purposes, in consultation with the faculty of the school, and who shall have authority to decide whether the school has the means to make an effort to achieve the objection in question.  It is expected that the SEP process may take time from other school activities, which the Principal shall authorize in his or her discretion.

Occupational Preparation

A participant in the SEP process may suggest occupational objectives that may be incorporated into the SEP.  An SEP that incorporates occupational objectives (thus making it an SEOP) should be reviewed by a school staff member who has the assignment of assisting students with career or occupational preparation  who should be added to the group of participants in the process of that SEP.  Resources in the community, such as work/study programs, may be added to the SEP to assist with occupational objectives.  Individual schools may enter into partnerships with private business to obtain additional resources for technology programs intended to assist students in preparation for occupations.

Reporting

The Legislature has required the District and each school to make an annual report to its patrons on its activities under Utah Code Ann. § 53A-1a-106(4) which includes the SEP process.  The school manager of the SEP process in that school shall prepare a draft report in April of each year which shall be circulated to teachers and parents and guardians of students at the school and upon which a hearing shall be held during the week of April of each year for the purpose of obtaining comment on the draft report.  The final report shall be submitted at the end of the school year to the District, which will prepare its own report and will submit all such reports to the State Board of Education.

Utah Code Ann. § 53A-1a-106(4)(a)((2011)

 

Privacy

The SEP file is a private file and shall be made available only to participants in the SEP process without obtaining appropriate consents from students and their parents or guardians.  Portions of confidential documents not usually disclosed to one or more of the participants in the SEP process may be included in the SEP file with the consent of school personnel charged with protecting the privacy of those affected by the document and after obtaining consents of other affected parties, if necessary.

 

It is not the Board’s intention to waive any of its rules governing privacy in this connection.  It is the Board’s intention that the SEP file be as complete as possible without reference to other documents outside the file.  The SEP file should therefore not contain any documents by reference from other school archives.