Memorandum of Agreement Between the South Carolina Department of Education and South Carolina Community Action Agency Directors' Association and Head Start Directors' Association

Purpose The purpose of this Memorandum of Agreement is to facilitate cooperation between the South Carolina Department of Education and Head Start programs in their respective efforts to serve young children with disabilities. Federal and State initiatives encourage the development of a continuum of services to provide least restrictive environment alternatives to young children with disabilities. The South Carolina Department of Education and the South Carolina Head Start network are committed to providing educational and human service programs to all identified and eligible children and their families who require these services. Both agencies believe that early identification and intervention is crucial and that family involvement is a key element to successful programming. Objectives The objectives of this Memorandum of Agreement are: 1. To provide a framework for the development of memoranda of agreement and cooperative efforts between Head Start programs and local education agencies. 2. To enhance the utilization of available local resources in providing special education programs and related services to young children with disabilities and their families. 3. To facilitate/enhance coordination of services for three, four, and five year old children with disabilities. 4. To clarify roles and responsibilities of local education agencies and the Head Start programs in providing services to children with disabilities. 5. To facilitate the transition of children with disabilities between Head Start and local education agencies. Service Mandates The laws and regulations that govern the South Carolina Department of Education and the South Carolina Head Start Network in the service of young children with disabilities establish certain responsibilities that can more effectively be met through joint efforts. These mandates provide an opportunity to improve services and maximize resources through close coordination in planning and service delivery. SEA Mandates Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) The individuals with Disabilities Education Act provides for a free appropriate public education for children with disabilities, ages three through twenty-one. General supervision of the programs is the responsibility of the South Carolina Department of Education. State Legislation The General Assembly, through Section 28.42 of the 1992 General Appropriation Bill, mandated that school districts provide special education and related services for preschool children with disabilities for the 1992?93 school year. Head Start Mandates Head Start mandates include the Performance Standards and Transmittal Notice 75.11 and 73.4. Transmittal Notice 80.4 Head Start services to children with disabilities are delivered in the context of, and influenced by, the requirements in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. P.L. 93-644 The legislative mandate for Head Start is the Economic Opportunity and Community Partnership Acts of 1974, which required "that for Fiscal Year 1976 and thereafter, no less than ten percentum of the total number of enrollment opportunities in Head Start programs in each state shall be available for handicapped children ... and that services shall be provided to meet their special needs." Areas of Collaboration Local education agencies and local Head Start programs are encouraged to develop agreements that will define relationships and specify areas for collaboration most appropriate to their local situations, and which provide the greatest opportunities for success in providing appropriate comprehensive services to preschool children with disabilities and their families. Areas of collaborative efforts should include at a minimum, but are not limited to, the following: A. Communication Local education agencies and Head Start programs should develop networks for the purpose of establishing and maintaining ongoing and regular communication. B. Referral Process Local education agencies and Head Start programs should establish compatible procedures for mutual referral of young children with disabilities. C. Screenings Head Start programs and local education agencies should coordinate screening activities offered by each agency. D. Determination of Disability It is the responsibility of both the local education agency and Head Start program to ensure that suspected disabilities are identified in accordance with federal and state regulations. Local education agency and Head Start program personnel should cooperatively serve as members of multidisciplinary teams whenever appropriate. E. Joint Staffing/IEP Local education agencies and Head Start Programs should collaborate in the staffing and development of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for children with disabilities, ages three through five, when appropriate. F. Service Delivery Programs are encouraged to explore various options in delivery of services for children with disabilities. Local service arrangements may include: placement in Head Start with or without itinerant services from local education agencies, dual placement in both a local education agency and Head Start, and other cooperative arrangements. G. Related Services Related services included in the IEP, such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech/language therapy, or transportation, may be offered by the Head Start Program, the local education agency, or other agencies as appropriate. H. Transition Local education agencies and Head Start Programs should cooperate to ensure a smooth transition of children with disabilities from Head Start Programs to the public schools. I. Shared Resources Head Start programs and local education agencies should develop a  system of shared resources including personnel, transportation systems, in-service training, classroom space, and cooperative resource libraries. Head Start programs and local education agencies may negotiate an exchange of personnel and/or service with or without an exchange of funds, depending upon the needs and resources of each provider. J. Information Systems Efforts should be made to develop compatible systems for collecting and reporting information on children served and services provided. The use of common or similar IEP forms, and release of information forms, for example, would facilitate communication between agencies. Fiscal and Administrative Considerations Head Start programs and local education agencies should be aware of the fiscal and administrative implications of cooperative arrangements in serving young children with disabilities under the terms of this Agreement. Limited and declining fiscal resources at the local level dictate that local service providers should access all available external resources to support their programs. Collaborative fiscal arrangements pertaining to services provided by Head Start programs or local education agencies should be cooperatively reviewed and implemented to reflect services rendered by each Provider. Implementation The South Carolina Department of Education and the South Carolina Head Start Directors' Association will disseminate this agreement to their respective local agencies and will jointly provide training, with the assistance of the Region IV Resource Access Project, in the development and implementation of local agreements upon request. Review of Agreement This Agreement will be reviewed annually and written modifications will be made when needed. This Agreement may be terminated at any time by any party by giving thirty (30) days written notice to the other parties. [Signatures]