1. Individualized Education Program (IEP) Workshop
SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES A support and resource organization providing services for families of children with disabilities.
Individualized Education Program (IEP) Workshop
1663 Mission Street, 7th floor
San Francisco, CA 94103
Tel:(415) Fax:(415)
Warm-line:(415)
Web:
Introduce Agency
Joe R. Goyos, Education Manager

2. Acknowledgements
Support for Families would like to acknowledge the following resources used in this training:
Special Education Rights and Responsibilities, Community Alliance for Special Education (CASE) and Protection and Advocacy, Inc. (PAI), 1992-revised April This manual is available online in .pdf format at:
The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child, Attorney Lawrence M. Siegel, 2nd edition, Nolo Press, San Francisco: Revised January 2001
California Department of Education, Special Education Division. Documents available online at

3. Grantors
Support for Families would like to thank the following for continued financial support:
California Department of developmental services
San Francisco Children and Families Commission
San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and their Families
San Francisco Department of Human Services
US Department of education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation
Foundations
Corporations
Individual donors

4. Individualized Education Program (IEP) Workshop
Purpose
To provide families and professionals with an overview of the individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) and how to participate in the development of an Individualized Education Program(“IEP”) as well as implementing a Transition Plan through the IEP.
Objectives
Participants will gain an understanding of the principles of IDEA
Participants will gain an understanding of the IEP and Transition process as well as obtain resources

5. Workshop Agenda Introductions/Questions Medical Home Characteristics
Overview of the IEP and Six Principles of IDEA
Relationship: How services are determined
Five Steps of the IEP Process & Timelines
Transition to Adult Services
5 Steps to Transition
Question and Answer Session
Joe, fix this page.

6. Medical Home Characteristics:
Accessible
Family Centered
Comprehensive
Continuous Coordinated
Compassionate
Culturally Competent
the pediatric care team works in partnership with a child and a child's family to assure that all of the medical and non-medical needs of the patient are met.
the pediatric care team can help the family/patient access, coordinate, and understand specialty care, educational services, out-of-home care, family support, and other public and private community services that are important for the overall health of the child and family.

7. The IDEA and Individualized Education Program (IEP)
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates special education services for children with certain disabilities, who because of this disability needs special education and related services.

8. IDEA Core Concepts
The IEP requirements under Part B of the IDEA emphasize the importance of three core concepts:
the involvement and progress of each child with a disability in the general curriculum including addressing the unique needs that arise out of the child’s disability;
the involvement of parents and students (at age 16), together with regular and special education personnel, in making individual decisions to support each student’s educational success;
and the preparation of students with disabilities for employment and other post-school outcomes.
Numbers 2 and 3: particularly important for Transition to Adult Services.

9. Changes under IDEA 2004
Parental written consent is required before an IEP team member can be excused from attending the meeting.
There are new provisions that allow alternate means of meeting participation (e.g., conference calls) if the parent and school agree. This agreement must be in writing, too.
Many others but we focus on the last one:
This is one way to get additional medical professionals to attend. Conference calls. Independent assesments considered vs. defended by the professional who conducted them.

10. Knowing the Legal Language of the IEP Process
What does the Individual Education Program (IEP) signify:
Process
Meeting
Document
Acronyms Sheet to handout

11. IDEA 2004 defines a child with a disability as a child having the following:
*Mental retardation
*Hearing impairment (including deafness)
*Speech or language impairments
*Visual impairments (including blindness)
*Serious emotional disturbance
*Orthopedic impairments
*Autism
*Traumatic brain injury
*Other health impairments
*Specific learning disabilities
Blindness
Deafness
Multiple disabilities
And, who because of this disability needs special education and related services
* CA Ed code not Federal
In order to receive services the LEA must give a student a classification (what some have referred to as labels).
Here we see the 13 classifications set forth by IDEA
Distinguish between Calif. Ed Code versus federal law.

12. Special Education: refers to specifically designed instruction to meet the unique needs of a child with disability.
Services may include:
Audio logical services
Speech therapy
Orientation & mobility services
Instruction in the home or hospital
Adapted physical education
Vision services
Specialized driver training instruction
Counseling and guidance
Psychological services other than assessment and development of the IEP

13. Services cont. Parent counseling and training
Health and nursing services
Social worker services
Specifically designed vocational education and career development
Recreation services
Specialized services for low incidence disabilities, such as readers, transcribers, and vision and hearing services
Speech and language services
Medical evaluation for diagnostic purposes

14. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Six Principles 1.Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE): 2.Assessment 3.Individualized Education Program (IEP) 4.Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) 5.Parent/Student (age 16-22) Participation 6.Procedural safeguards
Free & Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
Services identified by an IEP team as being appropriate to meet the needs of a child with disabilities are to be provided free of cost.
Assessment: Pages (in future will include resources on where to assess)
Initially assess for eligibility purposes
Assessment must be conducted in the child’s native language, unless it is not feasible to do so.
Assessor must be trained and knowledgeable
Cannot be discriminatory: i.e. no IQ testing (racial/cultural bias)
Must use more than one testing tool to make determination
Must test is all areas of suspected disability
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
Each child that qualifies for an IEP must have a program designed to meet his/her individual needs. In other words, no two IEP’s should look alike.
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): Refer back to Core Principal number 1
LRE varies from student to student and is based on individual needs.
The amount of time a child with disabilities will not spend with non-disabled peers and why not.
LRE can change as the child grows and changes.
Parent Participation
Federal & State laws afford parents the right & responsibility to participate in the education of their child. This includes thing like initiating a request for assessment, participating in the IEP meeting, agreeing/disagreeing with services offered, etc.
Procedural Safeguards: Flip to page 85 (point out Prior Written Notice, pg 87 assessments)
”These safeguards were put into place to help resolve disagreements.”
Timelines
Because timelines are so critical, we will review them in greater detail a little later on in the training.
Compliance Complaints
Can be filed locally, in which case the local school district will investigate, or with the State, in which case the CA Department of Education will investigate.
Services written into the IEP are not provided as written.
In addition to requesting that the district begin providing services as written, parents can request compensatory services—make-up sessions. If found out of compliance and if requested by the parent, the district may be liable to do both.
Resolution Session
A new addition to the law under IDEA 2004.
When a disagreement exists, before proceeding with Due Process, the family and the district are required to hold a resolution session.
Must take place within 15 calendar days of identified disagreement.
Purpose is to try to resolve the area of disagreement.
Whatever is discussed in the resolution session may be used later in a court of law.
Attorneys (for either party) should not be present.
If the parties cannot resolve the area in question, then due process can proceed.
Due Process
Used when disagreement exists. There are two levels.
Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution
This first step is voluntary for both sides: the parents as well as the school district.
Either side can choose to bypass this step; however, special education advocacy groups in the community strongly encourage families to try mediation. They have found that a very high percentage of cases are found in favor of the family in mediation, so they feel it is a worthwhile step.
In mediation, a 3rd party who is knowledgeable about the law will listen to both sides, review reports, ask questions and come back with a non-binding finding.
Either party (parent or school district) can choose to follow the finding or not.
If both parties agree to the finding, then the issue is considered resolved and the IEP moves on.
If one of the parties refuses the non-binding finding, then either party can choose to continue to pursue due process.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
An alternate choice to traditional mediation.
ADR promotes the use of outside facilitators to help parties reach a mutually agreeable resolution in a collaborative and respectful manner, keeping the student's interests central to the process.
Like mediation, ADR is voluntary, so its findings are non-binding.
ADR may be set up slightly differently from district to district, though generally, the facilitators are a panel of folks made up of representatives from the school district and from the parent community.
Fair Hearing
A much more formal version of mediation.
The Hearing Officer listens to both sides, calls witnesses, reviews reports, etc., and comes back with a binding finding.
A Hearing Officer is assigned to hear out the case.

15. 1.Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE):
Free & Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
Services identified by an IEP team as being appropriate to meet the needs of a child with disabilities are to be provided free of cost.
The "free" public education means educational services must be provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge to parents except for fees that are charged for all students.
What is Appropriate:
is designed to meet the unique educational needs of that one student,
addresses both academic needs and functional needs,
provides “...access to the general curriculum to meet the challenging expectations established for all children” (that is, it meets the approximate grade-level standards of the state educational agency, to the extent that this is appropriate)[2]
is provided in accordance with the Individualized Education Program (IEP) as defined in 1414(d),[2] and
is reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits.
The free appropriate public education proffered in an IEP need not be the best possible one, nor one that will maximize the child's educational potential;
Rather,
it need only be an education that is specifically designed to meet the child's unique needs, supported by services that will permit him to benefit from the instruction.

16. 2.Assessment All areas of suspected disability Eligibility Assessor
Native language
More than one testing tool
Cant be discriminatory
Assessment: Pages (in future will include resources on where to assess)
Initially assess for eligibility purposes
Assessor must be trained and knowledgeable
Assessment must be conducted in the child’s native language, unless it is not feasible to do so.
Cannot be discriminatory: i.e. no IQ testing (racial/cultural bias)
Must use more than one testing tool to make determination
Must test is all areas of suspected disability

17. 3.Individualized Education Program (“IEP”)
Each child that qualifies for an IEP must have a program designed to meet his/her individual needs. In other words, no two IEP’s should look alike.

18. 4.Least Restrictive Environment (“LRE”)
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): Refer back to Core Principal number 1
The amount of time a child with disabilities will not spend with non-disabled peers and why not.
LRE varies from student to student and is based on individual needs.
LRE can change as the child grows and changes.

19. LRE cont.
The continuum of placements must permit students to receive an education to the maximum extent appropriate with children who do not have disabilities.
IEP must mention what percentage of the students school day is outside of the General Education setting

20. 5.Parent Participation
Parents and Students are considered to be an equal member of the IEP team.
Parent & Student Participation
* Don’t forget to include the student’s dreams, goals, etc.
Federal & State laws afford parents the right & responsibility to participate in the education of their child. This includes thing like initiating a request for assessment, participating in the IEP meeting, agreeing/disagreeing with services offered, etc.
Parents know their children best because we spend the most time with them.
(it is not that we know EVERYTHING)
Parents want what is best for their children because they love them.
Parents know what their hopes and dreams are for their children
Parents know what their children are like outside of school

21. IEP Team Members Student Parent/Family member
Special Education Teacher
General Education Teacher
Principal or Site manager
School district representative
Etc.
The student or family may invite whomever they want to participate in the IEP meeting. See handout titled, Potential Consultants to the Transition Team.
Speech therapist can also attend and should attend when speech is being addressed. An involved SLP can also attend as part of the parents team and can attend as the parent has the right to bring anyone with knowledge about the child.
In the Transition Process, expand the IEP team to include reps from other agencies, etc.
Take Medical home concept: as we mentioned above
the pediatric care team can help assure that all of the medical and non-medical needs.
the pediatric care team can help the family/patient access educational services.

22. Preparing for the Transition IEP Meeting
Student:
Explain the Transition IEP process to your child.
Help your child organize their thoughts, preferences, goals, etc.
Your youth can invite anyone they want to the IEP mtg.
Review current assessments with your youth.
Assist in taking self-assessments (i.e. vocational assessment/skills inventory).
* See Handout: About Me!
Start including your child in the IEP process as young as possible.

23. Preparing for the Transition IEP Meeting
Parent/Family:
Prepare
Review Your Child’s IEP
Know What’s Available/Be Informed
Invite
Prepare: start thinking about future goals for your son/daughter and activities with your child (as soon as possible)
Review IEP: As your child reaches the age of 16, review the IEP to make sure that there’s a transition statement, if not call an IEP mtg to initiate process
Know what’s avail: educate yourself on what your district offers, talk to other parents, internet
Invite: friends, community members (agency providers), find out who the district is inviting

24. 6.Procedural safeguards
Timelines
Compliance Complaints
Resolution Sessions
Due Process
Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution
Fair hearing
Procedural Safeguards: Flip to page 85 (point out Prior Written Notice, pg 87 assessments)
”These safeguards were put into place to help resolve disagreements.”
Timelines
Because timelines are so critical, we will review them in greater detail a little later on in the training.
Compliance Complaints
Services written into the IEP are not provided as written.
Can be filed locally, in which case the local school district will investigate, or with the State, in which case the CA Department of Education will investigate.
In addition to requesting that the district begin providing services as written, parents can request compensatory services—make-up sessions. If found out of compliance and if requested by the parent, the district may be liable to do both.
Resolution Session
A new addition to the law under IDEA 2004.
When a disagreement exists, before proceeding with Due Process, the family and the district are required to hold a resolution session.
Must take place within 15 calendar days of identified disagreement.
Purpose is to try to resolve the area of disagreement.
Attorneys (for either party) should not be present.
Whatever is discussed in the resolution session may be used later in a court of law.
If the parties cannot resolve the area in question, then due process can proceed.
Due Process
Used when disagreement exists. There are two levels.
Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution
This first step is voluntary for both sides: the parents as well as the school district.
Either side can choose to bypass this step; however, special education advocacy groups in the community strongly encourage families to try mediation. They have found that a very high percentage of cases are found in favor of the family in mediation, so they feel it is a worthwhile step.
In mediation, a 3rd party who is knowledgeable about the law will listen to both sides, review reports, ask questions and come back with a non-binding finding.
Either party (parent or school district) can choose to follow the finding or not.
If both parties agree to the finding, then the issue is considered resolved and the IEP moves on.
If one of the parties refuses the non-binding finding, then either party can choose to continue to pursue due process.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
An alternate choice to traditional mediation.
ADR promotes the use of outside facilitators to help parties reach a mutually agreeable resolution in a collaborative and respectful manner, keeping the student's interests central to the process.
ADR may be set up slightly differently from district to district, though generally, the facilitators are a panel of folks made up of representatives from the school district and from the parent community.
Like mediation, ADR is voluntary, so its findings are non-binding.
Fair Hearing
A much more formal version of mediation.
A Hearing Officer is assigned to hear out the case.
The Hearing Officer listens to both sides, calls witnesses, reviews reports, etc., and comes back with a binding finding.

25. Five Steps of the IEP Process & Timelines

26. Special Education: IEP process map
1. Written Referral Requesting Special Education Assessment Submitted
60 Calendar Days
15 Calendar Days
2. Assessment Plan Sent to Parent/Guardian (signature required within 15 days)
3. Assessment completed, Report is Written, initial IEP is Held
* Subsequent IEP’s held, at minimum, once a year
Child Found eligible to Receive Special education Services
IEP is developed
Calendar Days include weekends and all holidays lasting less than 5 days. The only time the timeline is put on hold is during Winter Break, Spring Break and Summer Break.
Should a parent or teacher deem it necessary, an IEP may be called prior to the one year anniversary of the last IEP. Once the request is made, the school district has 30 days to hold the new IEP meeting. All services in the current IEP continue, until/if a new IEP is created and signed.
A parent can request that a child be re-assessed ahead of the 3 year timeline. Likewise, a parent can choose to waive the reassessment.
Child Found Ineligible
No services offered
Parent can choose to appeal finding
* Re-assessments Conducted, at minimum, once every 3 years

27. Five Steps of the IEP Process
Referral to District for initial or additional assessments
Assessment Plan
IEP Meeting
Placement
Program Implementation
Three-year evaluations are required; however, the parent may waive this requirement. Parents can request an evaluation if they feel it is necessary. A parent may call an IEP at any time, and the school district must hold the IEP within 30 days (CA Ed Code) of the parent’s request.
*Calendar Days include weekends and all holidays lasting less than five days. The only times that do not count toward the timeline are winter break, spring break and summer break.

28. The Relationship of Service Delivery
ASSESSMENT
Identifies
EDUCATIONAL NEED
Determines
SERVICE DELIVERY
Pg 31 in your books.
Remember to request assessments in all areas of suspected need (emotional, social, academic, behavioral, etc.)

29. Transition To Adult Services
Transition is defined as the movement of youth with disabilities into employment, post-school education, independent living and community participation.
How do we prepare our youth for post-school outcomes: brainstorm?

30. When Should Transition to Adult Services Begin?
IDEA states that transition to adult services must begin at 16 years of age or younger (if determined appropriate by the IEP team).
The transition to adult process and beginning before the age of 16.
If a High School Diploma is the goal, then the IEP should reflect prior to age 16 to include all necessary state requirements.
Let’s take a second to talk about the difference between High School Diplomas and Certificates of Completion.
See handout, Timeline for Transition
Think out of the box in terms of community agencies, organizations, private and public providers that can provide a broad scope of experience, opportunity, training, social, emotional, self-help and independent living skills.

31. What Happens at Graduation?
Students can graduate from high school with:
A regular high school diploma.
A certificate of completion.
HS diploma: Research if the CA high school exit exam is required and what courses are required to graduate as well as what courses are required for city colleges, state universities, UC’s, and/or private.
Cert. of Completion: Alternative to HS diploma, it certifies the student has completed a prescribed alternative course of study and has met the IEP goals. Students can participate in graduation ceremonies but it does not qualify a student for post-secondary institutions or the military.

32. When Our Children Turn 18!
In California, the age of maturity is 18. What does this mean regarding the IEP and beyond.
Beginning at age 17, the student’s IEP could include a statement about the transfer of educational rights from the parent(s) to the student.
Conservatorship and Special Needs Trusts.

33. What Are Transition Services?
IDEA defines transition services as a coordinated set of activities that are:
Designed with an outcome oriented process.
Based on individual student’s needs.
Focusing on academics, functional achievement,
Including post-secondary education, vocational education,
Integrated employment, continuing education, adult services,
Independent living and/or community participation.
Takes into account the student’s preferences and interests.
Examples.

34. The Transition IEP For transition planning the IEP must include:
Academic Instruction
Related Services
Community Experiences
Development of Employment and other Post-School Objectives.
* If appropriate, the transition plan may also address daily living skills and functional vocational assessments.
Academic instruction can include general ed classes, tutoring, and services can be provided by entities other than the district (Mechanic and fractions)
Transportation (provided and/or teaching them to use public transp), counseling, etc. can be provided in the community as well (i.e. Toolworks)
Comm. Exp: Banking, shopping, recreational services, adult service providers. Exploring work environments (i.e. Hayes bakeworks)
Getting them to services that lead to jobs, careers, medical services, registering to vote, SSI, taxes
Functional Assessments: Maybe gathered through situational assessments, observations or formal measures. These can be provided by districts and/or other entities. Based on likes and preferences of the student.

35. Five Steps to Transition
What are your youth’s goals for the future?
What skills does your youth have or what are their strengths?
What supports and services would she/he need to pursue her/his goals?
Where should your youth receive these supports and services, and who could provide them?
How do you ensure your youth is on track to successfully meet hers/his goals.
* See Handouts: - Plan Backwards from Your Vision
- The 5 Step Worksheet

36. Resources Resources mentioned during workshop Sample Letters.
Post Secondary Education (Handout: Opening Doors Article).
Employment Options (Handout: Massachusetts Employment and Related Services).
Residential (Handout: Self Assessments).
Healthcare (Handout: Transition to Adult Health Care).
Finance/Estate Planning (Handout: Financial & Estate Planning).
Recreation (Handout: Recreation)

37. Thank you, Gracias,謝謝！
Any question?