Who Does SEDNET 7A Serve?
SEDNET
7A serves students classified with an Emotional/Behavioral Disability
or students who are at risk of that classification. This
includes General Education students with complex mental health needs and
those involved in the following systems:
What does Emotional/Behavioral Disability Mean?
In
accordance with Rule 6A-6.03016, F.A.C., a student with an emotional or
behavioral disability has persistent and consistent emotional or
behavioral concerns that are not sufficiently responsive to implemented,
evidence-based interventions. This adversely affects the
student's performance in the educational environment and cannot be
attributed to age, culture, gender, or ethnicity.
What are the characteristics of a student with an emotional/behavioral disability?
In
accordance with Rule 6A-6.03016(4)(a) and (b), F.A.C., a student must
exhibit one or more of the following factors/characteristics that
constitute an emotional/behavioral disability:
-
Feelings of
sadness, or frequent crying, or restlessness, or loss of interest in
friends and/or school work, or mood swings, or erratic behavior.
-
The presence of symptoms such as fears, phobias, or excessive worrying and anxiety regarding personal or school problems.
-
Behaviors
that result from thoughts and feelings that are inconsistent with
actual events or circumstances, or difficulty maintaining normal thought
processes, or excessive levels of withdrawal from persons or events.
-
An
inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships
with peers, teachers, and other adults in the school setting.
-
Behaviors
that are chronic and disruptive, such as noncompliance; verbal and/or
physical aggression; and/or poorly developed social skills that are
manifestations of feelings, symptoms, or behaviors found in the first
three factors of this list.
What are the criteria for eligibility?
The
eligibility determination is based upon the student’s response to
interventions, etiology of the emotional and/or behavioral difficulties,
and the need for special education services. In accordance with Rule
6A-6.03016(4), F.A.C., a student with an emotional/behavioral disability
has an inability to maintain adequate educational performance that
cannot be explained by physical, sensory, sociocultural, developmental,
medical, or health (with the exception of mental health) factors;
demonstrates one or more of the internal or external factors that
constitute an emotional/behavioral disability for more than six months
and in multiple settings; and needs special education as a result of the
emotional/behavioral disability.