CPSE meeting coming up to discuss summer & fall services

My DS will be going into kindergarten in September what questions should I ask other than

1. How are the special Ed classes set up
2. Are there bathrooms in the classes
3. Is it half day kindergarten
4. Bus aides/transportation questions

Is there anything else I should ask or learn about? Getting real nervous that he's going to enter a new school, new class and new faces. He has been in his current school for over 2 years. He gets speech, OT, and SEIT currently. I understand they decrease for summer but for fall it will be a whole knew experience. Excited and nervous at the same time.

Re: CPSE meeting coming up to discuss summer & fall services

What type of classes do they have available for special ed students? (self containted and integrated or inclusion) I would call and ask that before the meeting, so you can discuss the placement with his current school.

What is the size and ratio of the classes? (# of kids and adults in the class)

Will he have help at lunchtime if needed?

If he is in self contained, can he push in for some classes?

Are related services (OT, Speech) pull out or push in? Individual or group?

Re: CPSE meeting coming up to discuss summer & fall services

Oh this is great thank you so much! I'm going to write all this down. They are visiting him soon in his preschool. I tear up at these meeting all the time, just get real sensitive so I don't want to forget important questions to ask.

Re: CPSE meeting coming up to discuss summer & fall services

You also would want to know about 1:1 aides. If you feel your child would benefit from an aide, you can always use the word "safety",... Your child would need to know how to navigate the school by himself, if you feel he would not,..request an aide.

Also,....shared aides, do not mean 2:1. They mean "shared" but just about any number of students, so keep that in mind. If your child starts with a 1:1 you can always scale back if you feel it's necessary. Easier to take away services...then to get them.


Definitely find out what type of classes the school offers prior to the meeting. What grades are in the class. Very often self contained classes have multiple age settings. You may want to know what is the age of the oldest child ? How many new kindergartners will possibly be in the class etc ? You can also ask about the "make up' of the class...(type of students.). Also where is the classes housed. If you live in a large district, sometimes the self contained classes are housed in one particular school that is not necessarily your zoned school. You should have the class in mind, because placement would most likely occur that day.

Also very important, IEP goals. If your child is doing well academically, make sure he has very specific IEP goals in reading/math, that push your child forward. Review with all the goals with therapists prior to the meeting. If you need help with this,...feel free to send me a FM. I taught kindergarten, so I had a pretty clear vision of what I wanted for my daughter. I still am looking to change her goals :) (which can be changed at any time).

The mini buses have matrons on them. They are door to door. The reg buses, once again, your child would have to know how to undo his seatbelt and follow directions in an emergency situation...so definitely opt for the mini bus. The bus company/school was great, they put both my girls on the mini bus even though only one required it.

Occupational therapy, and Speech.... My daughter's school does integrated occupational therapy. In other words, the OT comes in the classroom and works with the students. I made sure my daughter also received two additional OT sessions out of the classroom. My daughter's school has great sensory equipment... Speech,..individualized vs group, vs push in, pull out, and how often. Definitely have a good idea of what you would like for speech. Also don't worry about your child losing instructional time with therapies. The administration likes to say that lol, but my child's therapies have strong instruction involved. My daughter has 4 speech sessions, and they include a ton of literacy skills. Even PT and OT include all these academic skills, in their sessions.

PT was a new service for my daughter. She never received it during CPSE...PT has been great. The main concern was my daughter's low tone/motor planning, PT was actually suggested by our school's cse chair since she felt it would help her with school navigation.

Remember, this is your child, it's not up to the school to determine what is best for him, you have a HUGE say.

Also I totally relate with how sensitive one can be during the meetings but if you come in knowledgeable and with wanting the best scenario for your child so he can succeed in school, most of the times a committee will honor that. Kindergarten has been so great for my daughter... feel free to FM me :)

Message edited 3/1/2014 8:02:53 AM.