Instructional Programs and Services
Pflugerville ISD believes in educating students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment and aims to educate students in the general education setting to the maximum extent possible. All students are general education students, and the general education curriculum is the foundation for all instructional programs. Recognizing that not all learners are successful in the same environment, however, the district offers a continuum of instructional services in a variety of instructional settings. The instructional program and setting are determined by the ARD committee based on the child’s individual needs.
Early Childhood Special Education
Children between the ages of three and five with an identified disability and need for special education services are served in Pflugerville ISD’s Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE). The district has a continuum of services to meet the needs of all learners. All services are determined by an ARD Committee.
- Walk-on Speech Therapy: Walk-on speech therapy may be provided for eligible students who require specialized intervention from a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) but do not need classroom services. Students eligible for this program typically demonstrate a mild disorder in language, voice and/or fluency. Some may demonstrate only single-sound errors. Students meet with an SLP on their home campus.
- Community-Based Speech Therapy: Community-based speech therapy may be provided for eligible students who are currently enrolled in a local childcare facility. An SLP provides intervention for articulation and/or mild language disorders during the student’s day at the childcare facility.
- Preschoolers Acquiring Articulation Skills (PAAS): PAAS is an intensive articulation development program. Children participating in PAAS tend to have developmentally appropriate social, self-help, cognitive, behavioral and motor skills. PAAS focuses on providing extensive speech support in a small-group setting. Students attend the PAAS program at a PfISD location once or twice a week, depending on the student’s IEP.
- Preschoolers Acquiring Language Skills (PALS): This class is for children who are working on acquiring language skills and social emotional skills (as it relates to the communication deficit). Students eligible for this program typically demonstrate a moderate disorder in language and may also demonstrate a mild to moderate disorder in articulation.
- Three-Year-Old Program: This class supports three-year-old students with developmental disabilities who benefit from instruction in a small-group setting. Students in this classroom have needs in communication, self-help skills, social-emotional skills, and adaptive behavior.
- Pegasus Classroom: This class could support three and four-year-old students in need of a classroom setting that focuses on all developmental skill areas: communication, self-help skills, social-emotional skills, fine and gross motor skills, and pre-academic skills. These students may receive instruction alongside typically developing preschoolers, who are the children of PfISD employees. This is a fee-based program for employees’ children but free to students eligible for services as determined by an ARD committee.
- Self-Contained Four-Year-Old Program: This class supports students with developmental disabilities who benefit from instruction in a small-group setting. Emphasis is on intensive social skill instruction, behavior modification strategies, and language development in a visually oriented and routine-based classroom. Self-help and pre-academic skills are also addressed, and class size is typically small.
- Pre-K/ECSE Inclusion Classroom: This is a general education prekindergarten classroom that has a teacher who is dually certified (general education and special education). The students are working on increasing their language and communication skills and may also have mild adaptive behavior, cognitive, and social-emotional needs.
- Pre-Kindergarten General Education Classroom for Four-Year-Olds: Students who are eligible for prekindergarten services can receive their services in the general education classroom. The child might need time in an ECSE classroom during the day or additional push-in support to ensure they are making progress with the general curriculum and IEP goals. Speech therapy and related services might be provided inside or outside of the classroom.
- Five-Year-Old Students: When a student enters kindergarten, they are still receiving ECSE services. The student may be mainstreamed, receive time in a resource classroom, or receive their services in a self-contained classroom (Essential Academics or Communication Classroom).
To schedule an Early Childhood Assessment, please complete this form or call 512-594-0169. Para programar una evaluación de la primera infancia, complete este formulario o comuníquese con 512-594-0169.
School-Age Children
- Mainstream Inclusion: The student’s instruction and related services are provided in the regular education classroom with special education support.
- Resource Room: When the student needs special education instruction and related services in a setting other than general education, Resource and Content Mastery classrooms augment regular classroom instruction. This setting allows teachers and paraprofessionals to accommodate students needing support such as small-group instruction, fewer distractions, reteaching, and oral administration.
- Self-Contained Classroom: For students who need special education instruction and related services for 50% or more of the school day:
- Essential Academics: These classrooms provide services for students who have a significant cognitive deficit and access grade-level standards through prerequisite skills. Students in the Essential Academics classroom also may have deficits in communication, social-emotional skills, or self-help skills. Students may be verbal but require assistance to use communication effectively. Personal care is required throughout the day, and IEP goals must address independent daily living skills. Students are taught on an alternate curriculum.
- Communications classrooms: These provide services for students who have a significant communication deficit and challenging behaviors associated with the lack of communication skills. Students in this classroom may be non-verbal or have language that is not functional. Students using communication systems require training to use the system to get their wants and needs met. Students are taught using an alternate curriculum, and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) strategies are used to address challenging behaviors. Students in the Communications classroom access grade-level standards through prerequisite skills, require instruction in functional daily living skills and have intense communication needs.
- Homebound/Hospital: For eligible students who are served at home or hospital bedside. Students served on a homebound or hospital bedside basis are expected to be confined for a minimum of four consecutive weeks as documented by a physician.
Anyone who is concerned that a student in the district may have a disability may use the Child Find process. For more information, please contact your child's school.
Transition Services
Vocational Adjustment Class (VAC): For students in high school needing job-related instruction and regularly scheduled supervision on the job.
Pflugerville Community Connect (18+ Program): Students in PCC have met their academic requirements but still need to develop skills to transition to independent living and employment. The full-day program addresses skills such as money management, social and emotional abilities, employability, self-determination, time management and independent living. On-the-job training as well as vocational instruction help students grow these skills.
For additional information about transition services, please contact:
Chris Visness, 18+ and Transition Coordinator, Cougar LC, (512) 594-0177
Behavior Support Services
Students receiving Behavior Support Services support demonstrate significant social-emotional needs that prevent them from being successful in the general education setting.
- Behavior Support: The Behavior Support program teaches social, emotional, communication and behavioral skills, as well as academics. Students are provided with frequent opportunities to practice appropriate behaviors with adult support to facilitate the development of behavior management, problem-solving, peer interactions and effective coping skills. Behavior Support staff utilize constructive feedback, positive reinforcement and consistent schedules to support students; adult support is faded as the student becomes more independent in using the new skills appropriately. Behavior Support Services are available on every campus in the district.
- Intensive Behavior Classroom: Students accessing this instructional setting demonstrate significant behavioral and emotional challenges that require intensive support and adult supervision. In this self-contained setting, students’ academic and behavioral needs are addressed with positive behavior support and social skills instruction. Students in this classroom have not been successful with Behavior Support services provided in more inclusive settings. These services are offered from elementary through high school.
Please direct behavior support questions to the Campus Behavior Coordinators.
Shahla Mobley, Behavior Coordinator, 512-594-0165
Speech-Language Services
In the educational setting, Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) provide services to students with communication needs that adversely affect the student’s educational performance and address personal, social/emotional, academic, and vocational needs that impact the attainment of educational goals. SLPs serve students with disorders in articulation, voice, fluency, executive functioning, social skills, and swallowing. SLPs address personal, social/emotional, academic, and vocational needs that have an impact on the attainment of educational goals. Speech therapy is an instructional service, which means it can be the only service a student receives. SLPs also serve an important role in educating and collaborating with parents, teachers, and the community about communication disorders. For more information, please contact your child's school.
Jennifer Phillips, Coordinator of Speech Services, 512-594-0178
Instruction for Students with Vision Impairment
Certified teachers of the visually impaired provide services for students with an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects the child's educational performance. Teachers of the visually impaired work with students in their educational setting so that programming adaptations and modifications are made available in the student learning environment. Children may receive services for visual impairment from birth through school graduation.
In order to meet needs directly related to their impairment, students with visual impairment need an expanded core curriculum (ECC), which addresses the following areas:
- Compensatory skills that permit access to the general curriculum (such as braille and concept development, tactile graphics, Nemeth Code, and specialized communication skills)
- Orientation and mobility skills
- Social interaction skills
- Career education and planning
- Assistive technology, including optical devices
- Independent living skills
- Recreation and leisure skills
- Self-determination, and
- Sensory efficiency (including visual, tactual, and auditory skills)
For more information, please contact your child's school.
Resources
Parent Resource List (Region 13): English | Spanish
TSBVI Information (Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired): English | Spanish
Texas Workforce Commission
Learning Ally
Bookshare
American Printing House For the Blind
Information for Parents of Students with Deaf Hard of Hearing (DHH)
C.H.A.T. CHAT provides auditory services and hearing aids for children in Central Texas with audiological needs who have no financial means to meet these needs.)
Texas Parent to Parent is a nonprofit organization created by parents to provide support and information to families of children with disabilities, chronic illness, and special health care needs.
Texas Hands & Voices is a chapter of the nationwide, non-profit organization dedicated to supporting families and their children who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as the professionals who serve them.
FM eSchoolDesk help with an FM system, setup, troubleshooting, etc
Adapted Physical Education
Adapted Physical Education is an instructional service that provides a carefully designed program for students with disabilities so that they may participate successfully and safely in physical education in the least restrictive setting. The adapted PE program enables students to develop skills essential to physical fitness, wellness, and social development.
Eligibility for Adapted PE is determined by assessment of the following skills:
- Perceptual motor function
- Object control
- Locomotor skills
- Physical fitness
- Adaptive behaviors (behaviors that, in spite of adequate motor performance, limit a student’s ability to participate in general physical education)
Adapted PE services may include consultative services within the general physical education, modification of sports equipment, specialized lessons led by an Adapted PE teacher, and modification of the physical education setting.
The Adapted PE staff also supports students in Special Olympics by coaching athletes in practice and competitions, organizing volunteers, and coordinating and promoting events. For more information, please contact your child's school.
Extended School Year
The Extended School Year (ESY) program provides instruction to eligible students with disabilities beyond the regular school year. The need for ESY services must be determined by the ARD committee based on data showing a pattern of significant regression on acquired critical skills combined with excessive time for recoupment when an extended break in service occurs. If the loss of acquired critical skills would be particularly severe or substantial -- or if the loss is expected to result in immediate harm to the student or to others -- ESY services may be justified without consideration of the period of time for recoupment of such skills. For more information, please contact your child's school.
Katherine Williams, High Incidence Disability Coordinator, 512-594-0155
Related Services
Assistive Technology Services
Any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device. For more information about assistive technology, please contact your child's school.
Audiology Services
These services include:
- Identification of children with hearing loss;
Determination of the range, nature, and degree of hearing loss, including referral for medical or other professional attention for the habilitation of hearing; - Provision of habilitative activities, such as language habilitation, auditory training, speech reading (lip-reading), hearing evaluation, and speech conservation;
- Creation and administration of programs for prevention of hearing loss;
- Counseling and guidance of children, parents, and teachers regarding hearing loss; and
- Determination of children’s needs for group and individual amplification, selecting and fitting an appropriate aid, and evaluating the effectiveness of amplification.
For more information about audiology services, please contact your child's school.
Interpreting Services
Oral transliteration services, cued language transliteration services, sign language transliteration and interpreting services, and transcription services, and special interpreting services for children who are deafblind.
Medical Services
Services provided by a licensed physician to determine a child’s medically related disability that results in the child’s need for special education and related services. For more information about medical services, please contact your child's school nurse.
Occupational & Physical Therapy
Occupational therapy refers to services provided by a licensed occupational therapist or certified occupational therapy assistant. Physical therapy refers to services provided by a licensed physical therapist or physical therapy assistant. The goal of educationally relevant therapy is to minimize the effects of the student's disability on his or her ability to participate in the educational process and to facilitate independent functioning at school.
Counseling Services
Services provided by licensed social workers, psychologists, guidance counselors, or other qualified personnel. Please contact your child's school counselor for more information.
Orientation and Mobility Services
Services provided to blind or visually impaired children by qualified personnel to enable those students to attain systematic orientation to and safe movement within their environments in school, home, and community.
Parent Counseling and Training
Includes the following:
- Assisting parents in understanding the special needs of their child;
- Providing parents with information about child development;
- Helping parents acquire the necessary skills to support the implementation of their child’s IEP or IFSP.
Psychological Services
Services include the following:
- Administering psychological and educational tests, and other assessment procedures;
- Interpreting assessment results;
- Obtaining, integrating, and interpreting information about child behavior and conditions relating to learning;
- Consulting with other staff members in planning school programs to meet the special educational needs of children as indicated by psychological tests, interviews, direct observation, and behavioral evaluations;
- Planning and managing a program of psychological services, including psychological counseling for children and parents;
- Assisting in developing positive behavioral intervention strategies.
Recreation
Includes assessment of leisure function, therapeutic recreation services, recreation programs in schools and community agencies, and leisure education.
School Health Services and School Nurse Services
Means health services that are designed to enable a child with a disability to receive a free and appropriate public education, as described in the child’s IEP. School nurse services are those services provided by a qualified school nurse. School health services are services that may be provided by either a qualified school nurse or other qualified person. For more information about health services, please contact your child's school nurse.
Social Work Services in Schools
Preparing a social or developmental history on a child with a disability, group and individual counseling with the child and family, working in partnership with parents and others on those problems in a child’s living situation (home, school, and community) that affect the child’s adjustment in school, mobilizing school and community resources to enable the child to learn as effectively as possible in his or her educational program; and assisting in developing positive behavioral intervention strategies. For more information about social work services in schools, please contact your child's campus social worker.
Transportation
Travel to and from school and between schools, travel in and around school buildings; and specialized equipment (such as special or adapted buses, lifts, and ramps), if required to provide special transportation for a child with a disability. Contact your student’s teacher or campus administrator to initiate a new transportation request.