District Programs

BPS101 is committed to providing a full continuum of special education services and supports for students who are eligible for special education. Our goal is to provide an education for students with special needs in the least restrictive environment possible for the student to successfully maximize his or her potential. Programs and services include:

• K-5 Instructional Learning Program: The K-5 Instructional Learning Program is a cross-categorical instructional program for students with intellectual disabilities, significant learning disabilities, or Autism.  The program uses a co-teaching model with two certified special education teachers in each classroom.  There are 2 classrooms.  One of them supports students in grades K-2, and the other supports students in grades 3-5.  The program provides a smaller, highly structured classroom environment with embedded academic, behavioral, and communicative support with wonderful opportunities for students to be included in the general education classrooms with typical peers.
• RMS Instructional Learning Program: The RMS Instructional Learning Program is a cross-categorical instructional program for students with intellectual disabilities, significant learning disabilities, or Autism.  The program uses a co-teaching model with two certified special education teachers.  The program provides a smaller, highly-structured classroom environment with embedded academic, behavioral, and communicative support with wonderful opportunities for students to be included in the general education classrooms with typical peers in grades 6-8 at Rotolo Middle School.  Students in this program are involved in community experiences and vocational opportunities throughout the building with a focus on increasing job skills and independence.
• BHS Instructional Learning Program: The BHS Instructional Learning Program is a cross-categorical instructional program for students who have significant academic delays accompanied by communication and cognitive needs that require an alternative learning environment and instructional strategies that are highly structured and plan for generalization of and repeated practices of the skill.  This program is available for students at Batavia High School and is a perfect next step for students who were successful in the Instructional Learning Program at RMS.  The Instructional Learning Program offers a small, structured classroom with an emphasis on functional academics, life skills, and social and pragmatic language skills.
• Developing Opportunities: Developing Opportunities Program is a therapeutic, instructional program for students who demonstrate social-emotional challenges that interfere with their school achievement, classroom behavior, social skills, and/or relationships with others. The program is available for students in grades K-12. The DO Program is a small, structured program designed for students who benefit from a positive behavioral approach and small group instruction. The curriculum is aligned to the core curriculum and includes instructional materials that are provided to students in the general education setting along with specific interventions based on each student’s IEP.

• Co-Teaching:  Co-Teaching is available for students in grades 6-12 in various core subjects.   The purpose of Co-Teaching is to provide academic support in the general education setting.  Co-taught classes provide students with disabilities with access to the general curriculum. These co-taught classrooms ensure that each student has a highly qualified content area teacher, as well as a teacher who is highly qualified in differentiation strategies.

• Essentials Classes: The Essentials Classes strive to provide an environment where students will receive direct instruction in areas of academic deficit and gain compensatory skills so that they can be successful in the general education curriculum in the future. Essentials Classes are available in grades 3-12 in core academic areas. Instruction is based around the students’ individual  goals.
• Mid-Valley Special Education Cooperative: Through the support of MVSEC, we are able to offer a continuum of services that meets the needs of our students with more significant needs.  Batavia High School hosts a wonderful program for students with more significant intellectual disabilities and health needs.  Other programs are available throughout the MidValley area for students who require specialized programming that is not available within their home school.

Section 504 Information

Batavia 101 is committed to meeting the needs of all students.  Students with disabilities often require specialized accommodations to be successful.  Every school in Batavia has a 504 Coordinator.  The 504 Coordinator works closely with teachers and parents to ensure that students with disabilities have appropriate accommodations and supports to be successful in the general education setting.

What is Section 504?
Section 504 is a part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that prohibits discrimination based upon disability. Section 504 is an anti-discrimination, civil rights statute that requires the needs of students with disabilities to be met as adequately as the needs of the non-disabled are met.

Section 504 states that: “No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States, as defined in section 706(8) of this title, shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…” [29 U.S.C. §794(a), 34 C.F.R. §104.4(a)].

Who is covered under Section 504?
To be covered under Section 504, a student must be “qualified ” (which roughly equates to being between 3 and 22 years of age, depending on the program, as well as state and federal law, and must have a disability) [34 C.F.R. §104.3(k)(2)].

Who is an “individual with a disability”?
As defined by federal law: “An individual with a disability means any person who: (i) has a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity; (ii) has a record of such an impairment; or (iii) is regarded as having such an impairment” [34 C.F.R. §104.3(j)(1)].

What is an “impairment” as used under the Section 504 definition?
An impairment as used in Section 504 may include any disability, long-term illness, or various disorder that “substantially” reduces or lessens a student’s ability to access learning in the educational setting because of a learning-, behavior- or health-related condition. [“It should be emphasized that a physical or mental impairment does not constitute a disability for purposes of Section 504 unless its severity is such that it results in a substantial limitation of one or more major life activities” (Appendix A to Part 104, #3)].

Many students have conditions or disorders that are not readily apparent to others. They may include conditions such as specific learning disabilities, diabetes, epilepsy and allergies. Hidden disabilities such as low vision, poor hearing, heart disease or chronic illness may not be obvious, but if they substantially limit that child’s ability to receive an appropriate education as defined by Section 504, they may be considered to have an “impairment” under Section 504 standards. As a result, these students, regardless of their intelligence, will be unable to fully demonstrate their ability or attain educational benefits equal to that of non-disabled students (The Civil Rights of Students with Hidden Disabilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973—Pamphlet). The definition does not set forth a list of specific diseases, conditions or disorders that constitute impairments because of the difficulty of ensuring the comprehensiveness of any such list. While the definition of a disabled person also includes specific limitations on what persons are classified as disabled under the regulations, it also specifies that only physical and mental impairments are included, thus “environmental, cultural and economic disadvantage are not in themselves covered” (Appendix A to Part 104, #3).

How do I request a 504 evaluation for my child?
If your child has a disability that substantially limits one or more life activities, he or she may qualify for a 504 plan.  You may request a 504 evaluation by contacting your child’s teacher or building principal. Your child will then be referred to the Building Level Intervention Team.  A member of the Building Level Intervention Team will set up a meeting with you to discuss your concerns.