Guidelines for Determining if Mealtime May be Included When Calculating Instructional Time for Preschool Special Education Programs
This memorandum provides updated guidance regarding the inclusion of mealtime when calculating the instructional hours for Preschool Special Class in an Integrated Setting (SCIS) and/or Special Class (SC) programs for three and four-year-old preschool students with disabilities. The New ¶¶Òõapp ¶¶Òõapp Education Department’s (¶¶Òõapp) Office of Special Education (OSE) has determined that there are circumstances when mealtime may be counted as part of the daily instructional schedule for some preschool special education programs. For children attending a full-day class, mealtime may provide learning opportunities when included as part of the instructional day. These opportunities may include experiences with food, encouraging self-help skills, developing fine motor skills, language and vocabulary development and mealtime behavioral expectations. Mealtime can provide a natural environment for young learners to share in conversations that build relationships with peers and adults.
If your program chooses to include mealtime as part of the instructional day, it should be a positive experience for each child and must include meaningful adult-child interactions and opportunities for learning. Listed below are criteria offered to assist a preschool special education program in determining whether mealtime qualifies as part of instructional time. Instructional mealtime includes, but is not limited to, the following requirements:
- ¶¶Òõapp approved SC or SCIS staff-to-student ratios are maintained during mealtime.
- Teachers, related service providers and paraprofessionals who participate in mealtime model appropriate mealtime behavior, facilitate and guide meaningful conversations and foster problem solving and turn taking.
- Measurable annual goals and objectives are implemented for mealtime, as well as the level of individualized attention and intervention and any assistive technology and/or environmental modifications needed, in accordance with students’ individualized education program (IEP).
- Students’ learning experiences, as aligned to the New ¶¶Òõapp ¶¶Òõapp Prekindergarten Learning Standards and include each of the five domains (Approaches to Learning; Physical Development and Health; Social Emotional Development; Speech, Language and Literacy; and Cognition and Knowledge of the World), are incorporated during mealtime.
