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FFJ Student Welfare: Weekends Home

RECOGNITION OF FAMILY

The Board recognizes the following Congressional findings contained in the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA):

  1. It is in the best interest of our Nation to preserve, strengthen, and maintain the family.  20 U.S.C. 1491(1).
  2. Families are the greatest natural resource available to their children and are the major providers of support, care, and training of their children. 20 U.S.C. 1491(2).
  3. Families of children with disabilities enrich the lives of all citizens through the contributions of such families to the economic, health, and social fabric of their community, State, and Nation. 20 U.S.C. 1491(3).
  4. A growing number of families are searching for ways to empower themselves to raise their children with disabilities at home and in their communities. Supporting such families to enable them to care for their children with disabilities at home is efficient and can be cost-effective. 20 U.S.C. 1491(4).
  5. 5.     Children, including children with disabilities, benefit from enduring family relationships in a nurturing home environment. 20 U.S.C. 1491(5).

SCOPE OF POLICY

This policy applies to students enrolled in the residential program of the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI).  It is not applicable to day students whose local school districts provide transportation to and from TSBVI on a daily basis.

STUDENTS RETURNING HOME

Beginning and End of Term and Regularly Scheduled School Holidays (School Closings)

The resident school district of a TSBVI student shall be responsible for transportation at the beginning and end of the term and for school holidays scheduled in the School’s annual school calendar when students are expected to leave the School to return home.  Transportation shall be arranged using the most cost efficient means. When it is necessary for the safety of the student, as determined by the ARD committee, for an adult designated by the ARD committee to accompany the student, round-trip transportation for that adult shall also be provided.  The resident school district and the School shall coordinate to ensure that students are transported safely, including the periods of departure and arrival. 19 TAC 89.1090

The “resident school district” is the local education agency (LEA) in which the student resides when TSBVI is not in session.

Weekends During the School Year that Are Not School Holidays (Weekends Home Program)

The School shall designate weekends during the school year for each student enrolled in the School to return to their homes and communities. The frequency of each student’s participation shall be determined according to procedures established by the Superintendent that consider distance, duration of travel, and cost efficiency.

METHOD OF TRANSPORTATION

The School may use the following methods to transport students to their homes and back to the School on weekends:

  1. Commercial air transportation
  2. Commercial bus transportation
  3. TSBVI-operated buses and vans
  4. Transportation of the student by the student’s parent, or parent representative

TRANSPORTATION COSTS FOR WEEKENDS HOME PROGRAM

The School shall assume all costs for commercial air transportation, commercial bus transportation and school-operated buses and vans, including costs for escort travel, where an Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) Committee has determined that the student requires an escort for travel.

Where, with School approval, the student’s parent, or parent representative, provides any portion of the ground transportation of the student’s trip between home and school, the parent, or parent representative, shall be reimbursed at a rate, determined by the Superintendent, to cover vehicle operating costs.

PROCEDURES

The Superintendent shall develop procedures to implement this policy.

Adopted:          5/21/98

Amended:        1/15/08, 1/23/15

Reviewed:        3/21/03