É«ÖÐÉ«

Pre-School Special Education

The Preschool Special Education Department facilitates evaluations and services for 3-5 year old children who are eligible under New York State regulations. Our goal is to support the development of children who exhibit a delay in cognitive, speech, language, communication, adaptive, social, emotional or motor development.

If you have concerns about the development of a preschooler, please refer to the link entitled Development of the Preschool Child for information regarding skills a typical preschool child should have.

If concerns are present, it is our responsibility to facilitate an evaluation that enables the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) to determine whether or not a child has a disability. Please refer to the sections regarding Evaluation and Evaluation Agencies for more information.

Once an evaluation is completed, the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) determines eligibility of services and what preschool special education programs and/or services are appropriate. Please refer to the section regarding Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) for more information.

An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is developed for those students who are eligible to receive preschool special education services. Please refer to the section entitled Services and Programs for more information.

If a preschooler is currently receiving special education services, the section entitled Preschool to Kindergarten offers information regarding this transition.

There are also sections entitled Books and Websites for families to use when looking for information about specific disabilities and parenting.

A document from the New York State Education Department explains the rights of children with disabilities ages 3-21 in the section entitled Rights for Parents with Children with Disabilities. This information document is entitled Procedural Safeguards Notice.