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school districts already have a Special Education Handbook or Policy & Procedures
Manual. Each school district needs to include guidelines for providing assistive
technology services and directions for accessing information and help. Wherever
it is placed, there should be something that a staff member could turn to for
direction if a parent requests an assessment or s specific assistive technology
service. Many due process hearings or lawsuits could have been prevented if the
teacher who was first asked a question by a parent had a resource to which to
turn for help. School districts often look to their State Education Departments
to provide guidance in the development of education programs and policies as well
as to other districts that have successfully implemented AT. Suggested
AT Policies that may be included: - Assistive Technology definitions
and intent of use for students with disabilities
- School district responsibility
in providing AT
- Criteria in establishing student need for AT
-
Qualifications of personnel to provide AT services
- AT assessment, selection
of AT devices/services and effectiveness measures
- Identification of types
of AT services
- AT service reimbursement
- Funding and AT ownership
identification
- Use of AT in settings outside of school building
- Transfer
of AT devices between schools, school and home, preschool to elementary school,
and school to adult systems
- Availability and use of accessible instructional
materials
- School district responsibility for non-public schools
- Available
AT technical assistance and training
- Software installation and review;
copyright issues
AT Policy Guideline ExamplesState
AT Policy GuidanceCheck to see if your state has developed such guidelines
in the use of AT with students with disabilities. They may be helpful as your
district develops its own AT policy and procedures manuals. The following state
guidelines may be of assistance: Connecticut Tech Act Project (CTTAP)
AT
Guide to Providing Devices and Services for People with Special Needs. Kentucky
AT
Guidelines for Kentucky Schools New York State
NYS
AT Guidelines
Instructional
Materials to be Provided in Alternate Formats (2002)
This amendment requires
that alternate formats are available at the same time that instructional
materials are available to students. California
Special
Education Assistive Technology Program
Utah
Interagency
AT Implementation and Reference Guide Technology PlansAnother
place to include policies on the use of AT is within the school district's Technology
Plan which identifies how the district will address the integration and use of
technology into various systems. Example: The Williamsville
Central School District in Western New York has incorporated AT into their
Technology Plan. Check out Appendix
B in this document for their AT Rationale and Definitions. Developing
AT PolicyThere are several resources available to assist in the development
of more specific AT policy and procedures for an individual school district. Several
areas should be considered in the development of the document. Kentucky
has developed an Assistive
Technology Policy Checklist that suggests that thirteen elements should be
considered when analyzing or developing school policies concerning the use of
assistive technology. They can be used as general criteria to guide policy development.
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