Special Education Coding Criteria 2009/2010: ECS to Grade 12 Mild/Moderate (Including Gifted and Talented) Severe

Overview & Synopsis

Alberta Education provides programming support and funding to school authorities to develop and implement special education programming for ECS children and students in grades 1 to 12. "Special Education Coding Criteria 2009/2010" outlines criteria within specific categories to help school authorities identify those children and students who require special education programming. Each category is given a code for the purpose of reporting special education data to Alberta Education. A child or student must meet the criteria in order to be assigned a special education code. The need for special education may be determined at any time. The process of identifying such need focuses on the impact of the special education condition on the child's or student's functioning in an educational environment. This is accomplished through: (1) a comprehensive, individualized assessment; (2) a specialized assessment completed every two to five years; (3) an individualized program plan (IPP) with the involvement of the parent(s) and school personnel; and (4) an annual review of functioning and programming. Some children and students do not meet the criteria for special education coding but may still benefit from special education programming. They are not assigned a code or reported to Alberta Education.