What SEIT is
SEIT is a preschool special education service in New York State. New York State law calls it Special Education Itinerant Services (SEIS). It is provided by a New York State-certified special education teacher from a preschool program approved by the State Education Department (NYSED).
"Itinerant" means the teacher travels. Instead of a child going somewhere separate for help, the SEIT comes to the child's early childhood setting. That could be a 3-K or Pre-K classroom, a Head Start program, a child care setting the family has chosen, or in some circumstances the child's home.
What a SEIT does
- Direct instruction: specially designed teaching, one-on-one or in a small group, toward the goals on the child's IEP.
- Indirect services: consulting with the child's classroom teacher so the strategies that help carry through the whole day.
- Family partnership: keeping parents informed about progress and how to support the same goals at home.
The number of hours, the setting and the goals all come from the child's Individualized Education Program (IEP), which the family develops together with the CPSE.
Who SEIT is for
Children ages 3 to 5, before kindergarten, who have been found eligible for preschool special education by their Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE), and whose IEP recommends SEIT. The services on a child's IEP are provided at no cost to families.
How a SEIT agency is chosen
In New York City, the CPSE assigns a NYSED-approved agency to provide a child's SEIT services. Families choose the evaluation site and the early childhood setting, but the SEIT agency is assigned. Guiding Star has applied for NYSED approval and cannot be assigned or provide services until that approval is granted.