D R A F T

The Ministry of Education (MOE) is mandated by Palau's Programs and Services for Handicapped Children Act of 1989 (PSHCA, RPPL 3-9) to ensure that children with disabilities receive Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). The MOE established the Special Educaton Program (SpEd) to implement PHSCA. The MOE also abides by Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as a result of receiving U.S. federal funding under that act.

The MOE is a unitary system, both SEA and LEA. Accordingly, SpEd is involved at all levels of the system, from identification of students to reporting on national or federal grant compliance and student progress requirements.

Key Personnel Positions

• Coordinator - The head of the program.
• Case Manager - The point of contact and overseer for one or more students' IEPs.
• Resource Specialist - Provides technical assistance, professional development, capacity-building, and consultive services.
• Support and Admin: Local Monitor, Database Specialist, Student Transportation, Logistics, Admin Staff.

Special Education Process

• The MOE must carry out a structured, legally compliant procedure (the SpEd Process) designed to identify and support students with disabilities
• "Child Find" starts the SpEd Process. Public Law (PHSCA, IDEA) mandates the MOE must identify, locate, and evaluate children with suspected disabilities.
• Phases or steps in the SpEd Process include evaluation, eligibility, IEP development, Assessment, and Re-evaluation.

Compliance and Progress

• The SpEd Monitoring Manual governs how monitoring is conducted.
• SpEd operations adhere to the SpEd Procedure Manual and the SpEd Data System (SEDS) Protocol.
• SpEd reports its annual progess using the USDOE's State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR).