Legislation for the Provision of Early Childhood Special Education
In April of 2024, the Maine Legislature approved a bill that allowed school administrative units to provide early childhood special education services to preschool aged children with disabilities, and that all school administrative units were to offer these services by July 1, 2028. The Maine Department of Education's Commissioner oversees this effort and is supporting the Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education (OSSIE) to support the development of systems, policies, practices and procedures to do so.
The FAPE Mandate in Early Childhood Special Education
As schools begin to implement P.L. 2023, c.643, part W, to offer special education programs and services, and to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), the following information provides the foundation for the activities and efforts. To provide a FAPE, according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, means that a child who may have a disability is located, identified, and if necessary, provided with a special education that is:
Special education provided at public expense, under public supervision, at no cost to the parent.
Special education that meets the standards of the SEA; for preschool children, designed to participate in appropriate activities; confers meaningful educational benefit in the Least Restrictive Environment.
Special education in an appropriate preschool, elementary school, or secondary school in the state.
Special education that is provided in conformity with an individualized education program (IEP).
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 34 CFR §§ 300.101-113
Child Find and the Special Education Process
The state has an obligation to find all eligible children and provide them with timely special education services when necessary. Entry into services for preschool-aged children with disabilities occurs through a referral and evaluation process and through transition activities from early intervention services obtained as an infant or toddler.
Children ages birth through two years of age who received Early Intervention Services must have an IEP by three years of age if eligible for special education as a child with a disability.
The intent of Child Find activities is to identify all children who are potentially eligible for special education or early intervention services. SAUs are integral to this process, engaging in outreach activities in their community and notifying parents and providers of health, education, and social services of the availability and process for obtaining support. SAUs will make available a public method to accept referrals that includes information necessary to notify the SAU of a concern and a location to send the information.
Preschool-aged children with disabilities (ages three through five) suspected of having a delay must be evaluated and, if found eligible, have an Individualized Education Plan developed to meet their needs.
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
When offering a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), IEP teams will ensure that all necessary support and services are delivered in the least restrictive environment. The educational plan that is developed by a team of educators and parents who know the child is designed to ensure access to and participation in public education opportunities if necessary to achieve IEP goals.
While a child with a disability may need a service or a program, he or she is entitled to one that meets his or her needs from among a continuum of placement options — from the most restrictive (e.g., home, hospital) to less restrictive settings (e.g., self-contained, separate school) or the least restrictive classroom setting (majority of typically developing peers). As schools identify what is needed for the child to make progress in early learning skills and activities, they will use one of the defined Preschool LRE options to report what the IEP team selected as appropriate.
Access to Public and Private Preschool Programs
Each community offers early care and education supports in a variety of ways; they may have many or few public and/or private childcare options. As SAUs begin to offer services to preschool-aged children with disabilities, it is important to remember that children must receive their IEP-designed services in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) with access to typically developing peers and a high-quality general education setting to obtain the most benefit. SAUs must offer services in locations from among a continuum of placement options reflecting the individual child's needs.
Public Preschool
Offered to four- and five-year-old children in many SAUs across the state and recognized in the Maine State Board of Education Rules. This setting may be used as a general education setting for preschool-aged children with disabilities. Those SAUs who offer it must follow Chapter 124 of the Department of Education Rules.
Instructional time for public preschool programs shall be a minimum of 10 hours per week for 35 weeks and shall not include rest time. SAUs are encouraged to schedule public preschool for more than 10 hours per week to improve child outcomes and to reduce the risk of later school failure.
Private Preschool / Childcare
Private preschool programs offer additional locations in which special education services may be delivered. The minimum expectation is that the childcare setting be licensed by the Child Care Licensing Board under the Department of Health and Human Services and have a 3-STAR Rating or waiver approved.
Mixed Delivery System Programs
The opportunity to participate with non-disabled peers in a mixed delivery system is a goal met through attendance in programs such as Head Start, Title I Preschool Programs, Career and Technical Education programs, University Lab School preschool programs, programs that receive childcare subsidies, and SAU Kindergarten classrooms.
More Restrictive Settings
If necessary, more restrictive options might include attending all or part of a day in Special Purpose Preschool Programs, self-contained classrooms in SAUs, home settings, hospitals, and state-approved private programs (e.g., Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing).
Preventing Suspensions and Expulsions
Efforts to change the frequency of suspensions, expulsions, and disciplinary removals of preschool age children with disabilities have been highlighted by the US Department of Education, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), the Maine Department of Education, Maine Office of Special Services and Inclusive Settings (OSSIE), Head Start, and many other state and local early care and education groups.
Achieving Results by Accessing Quality Education Programs
Access to and participation in quality educational early care and education programs for preschool aged children with disabilities is intended to confer educational benefit. The role of the SAU is to ensure programs support the development of preschool aged children with disabilities to demonstrate age expected skills and behaviors as described in the Maine Early Learning Developmental Standards (MELDS).
Early Childhood Special Education Technical Assistance and Professional Development resources for School Administrative Units and their practitioners are offered within Maine Department of Education Early Childhood Special Education pages such as Personnel Development, prior technical assistance meetings with SAUs adopting the practices through Cohort Meetings, and through a focus on Data and Fiscal perspectives.