Special Education
Special Education Hotline: 509.526.6770
Director of Special Education
Barb Casey
Walla Walla Public Schools District Office
364 S. Park Street
Walla Walla, WA 99362
509.526.6724 (Office)
509.526.4344 (Fax)
bcasey@wwps.org
Barb has been with Walla Walla Public Schools since 2008. Barb is a National Board Certified Teacher in the area of Exceptional Needs. She has served the district as a special education teacher, behavior specialist and elementary principal. She is passionate about ensuring belonging for all students and values partnering with staff, students and families to achieve the best outcomes for our students.
“Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.”
Verna Myers
Special Education Staff
Elissa Tinder, Special Education Specialist
509.526.6780 (office)
509.500.0593 (cell)
etinder@wwps.org
Holly Anderson, Special Education Coordinator
509.526.6763 (office)
509.540.3146 (cell)
handerson@wwps.org
Lizbeth Perez, SLP/District Assistive Technology Specialist
509.526.6725 (office)
509.841.1032 (cell)
lperez@wwps.org
Gracie Cortez, Special Education Secretary
509.526.6724 (office)
gcortez@wwps.org
Breelin Renwick, Special Education Records
509.526.6729 (office)
brenwick@wwps.org
Alex Esparza, Behavior Specialist
509.526.6732 (office)
aesparza@wwps.org
Kevin De Santiago Cisneros, Behavior Coach/Intervention Specialist
509.526.6759 (office)
ksantiago@wwps.org
Michelle Gwinn, Behavior Coach/Intervention Specialist
509.526.6753 (office)
mgwinn@wwps.org
Michelle Paine, Special Education TOSA
509.526.6793 (office)
mpaine@wwps.org
Special Education Program and Services Overview
Special Education services are offered to all children from birth to 21 years of age who have mild to severe disabilities which affects their access to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).
Child Find
Child Find is an essential part of the process of identifying students with disabilities from birth to age 21 in order for children to receive the services needed to fully access their education. See the latest Child Find flyer here:
The Process
Referral |
If you suspect that your child has a disability which is limiting their access to a full education, contact your student’s school to inquire about a special education referral. The written referral can be given to a learning specialist, guidance counselor, building’s school psychologist, principal or teacher. The school psychologist will contact you about your referral. |
Decision to Assess |
Once the school psychologist has the referral, they will take the referral to the school’s special education team where they will analyze the information that has made the student a focus of concern. The team has 25 school days to determine if an evaluation is warranted. If the team decides not to assess, the team will contact the parent and decide what the next steps will be for that student. If the special education team does decide to assess, the school psychologist will obtain permission from guardians/parents. |
Assessment |
Once the permission to assess has been obtained by parents/guardians, the special education team has 35 calendar days in order to complete all areas of assessment that were designated on the consent form. These assessments may include the following: cognitive, academic, social/behavior, adaptive, vocational, communication, fine and gross motor, vision, hearing, mobility, and medical. The purpose of these assessments is to gain a broad and specific understanding of a child’s strengths and weaknesses. |
Initial Evaluation Meeting |
After all assessments, observations, and/or inventories are complete, the team (which includes parents/guardians) will meet to go over results and the team will determine whether the student is eligible for special education services. If the student is deemed eligible by the team, then an Individualized Education Plan will be designed for the students particular needs. |
Initial Individualized Education Plan |
The initial Individualized Education Plan (IEP) will be writing in order to provide specially designed instruction to the student in all of the areas that the team determined they qualify in (ie. reading, writing, math, social/behavior, adaptive, etc). This meeting will include the parent/guardian, special education teacher, school psychologist (in some cases), general education teachers when appropriate, administrator, and other specialists as needed. This plan designs that program includes present level of performance, goals for the student to work toward, services that the student will be accessing, accommodations/modifications to the student’s overall program, and other special considerations. This meeting must be held within 30 calendar days of the evaluation meeting. |
Start of Special Education Services |
Once the initial IEP meeting has been held and the legal guardian/parent has signed consent to begin services, designated services may begin on the agreed upon date stated in the IEP. Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) is the provision of services that were decided upon by the team during the IEP meeting and are designed to meet the special needs of each individual student. |
Timelines |
There are strict timelines during the initial special education referral, evaluation, and IEP process. See the link below to access that timeline: |
IEP Review |
Every year, at least one day before the previous IEP date, the IEP must be reviewed by the team during the IEP meeting. An IEP is a working document and can be reviewed at any time, but must be done at least once per year. |
IEP Amendments |
Small changes and corrections to the IEP can be made throughout the IEP year. Any team member can request amendments when appropriate. |
Re evaluation |
At least every three years, every child in special education programs will have their program reviewed by a team of qualified professionals. This is done to evaluate the efficacy of the child’s program and to determine if they continue to qualify for special education services. A re evaluation can be done before the three year due date if the team deems it necessary. |
Exiting from Services |
Students can be exited from special education services when the team deems that services are no longer needed (usually based on testing, inventories, observations, and parent input) or if a parent signs a form saying that they are revoking services. |
Continuum of Special Education Services
Special Education services are based on the level of need for specially designed instruction. A team of qualified professionals, along with parents/guardians, make the determination for services required to meet a student’s needs. These special education services are on a continuum from the least restrictive environment to the most restrictive environment. Walla Walla School District has a variety of specially designed programs which can target the special needs of each student. Those programs are as follows:
Related Special Education Services
Related services is the term for those services a child with a disability needs in order to benefit from special education. A few examples of related services are Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech/Language Therapy, Vision Services, and Orientation and Mobility Services. Walla Walla is fortunate to be fully staffed with highly qualified professionals who provide related services to our students.