There shall be at least twenty service centers which shall provide the services described herein to all the school districts in the state. Every service center shall offer the schools and school districts which they serve professional assistance in the efforts which are aimed toward the improvement of instruction for students. Each center shall provide the following services:

1. Evaluation services for the purposes of identification, evaluation and placement of children in special education programs, which shall be in accordance with the federal regulations promulgated under the IDEA, and in accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act;

2. Implementation of effective procedures, media, and equipment for acquiring and disseminating significant information and materials in accordance with the federal regulations promulgated under the IDEA;

3. Individualized learning plans, which shall include prescriptive teaching plans to teachers, for students who are having learning problems; consultation for educators and parents working with or having students with learning problems; providing special education material for special education teachers; and providing special education material on a prescriptive basis to the classroom teacher who has students with learning problems and consultation services and interpretation of evaluation data to assist parents and multidisciplinary teams in making educational placement decisions and planning for effective educational interventions in the least restrictive environment;

4. Assistance for organizing staff development, including the offering at each Center of conferences, institutes, and other in-service training for educators working with students with special needs; assistance in these programs for emphasizing the awareness, utilization and adaptation of appropriate materials, learning theory, research findings, and other appropriate topics, to assist in implementation of federal regulations concerning the comprehensive system of personnel development for educators and disseminating information to parents; and

5. Coordination and collaboration with public agencies and local school districts which are responsible for providing evaluation and other special education or related services to children with disabilities as provided under Section 1001 et seq. of Title 74, Section 13-101 et seq. of Title 70 and Section 601.41 et seq. of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and in accordance with the federal regulations for interagency agreements promulgated pursuant to the IDEA. Such coordination shall include cooperative efforts of local districts joining with the service center staff to engage in any educational activities to increase the learning opportunities for teachers and any and every student in the public schools in the service center area.

Added by Laws 1974, c. 271, § 5, emerg. eff. May 29, 1974. Amended by Laws 1976, c. 147, § 4, emerg. eff. May 26, 1976; Laws 1993, c. 116, § 24, eff. July 1, 1993.