Disabilities Education Act: services for your student

Disabilities Education Act: services for your student
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: How to use it to get services for your student Jill Hill Fane Family Advocate Federation of Families of Northeast Florida Mental Health America of Northeast Florida Jacksonville System of Care Initiative Office

IDEA LAW Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 Guides states and school districts in providing specially designed instruction and related services Parts A, B, C, and D Part A: General Provisions, Definitions and Other Issues Part B: Assistance for Education of All Children with Disabilities (School) Part C: Infant and Toddlers with Disabilities (Early Steps) Part D: National Activities to Improve Education of Children with Disabilities (Parent Training Centers)

Individualized Education Plan
IDEA Part B Individualized Education Plan

What is IDEA Part B? The nation’s special education law, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), sets high standards for achievement and guides how special help and services are made available in schools to address students individual needs through an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). These students must meet criteria qualification for Special Education Services.

What is the criteria qualification for Special Education Services
What is the criteria qualification for Special Education Services.. To be eligible for IDEA… A child must meet the criteria of one or more disability categories AND Must also need specially designed instruction and related services

IDEA Disability Categories
Autism Emotional Disturbance Hearing Impairments Intellectual Disability Orthopedic Impairments Other Health Impairments Specific Learning Disabilities Speech/Language Impairments Traumatic Brain Injury Visual Impairment Developmental Delays (Ages 3-9, depending on your state)

What is the criteria qualification for Special Education Services
What is the criteria qualification for Special Education Services.. To be eligible for IDEA… A child must meet the criteria of one or more disability categories AND Must also need specially designed instruction and related services

What is Specially Designed Instruction and Related Services?
Specially Designed Instruction Definition: Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) refers to the teaching strategies and methods used by teachers to instruct students with learning disabilities. To develop appropriate specially designed instruction… analyze student work, evaluation information, and any other available data to determine the student's strengths and weaknesses. Based on that student's unique learning needs, strategies are developed. Teachers continue to measure students' progress and make changes in instruction as needed. Related Services Definition: Related Services help children with disabilities benefit from their special education by providing extra help with developmental, corrective, and other supportive services.

Specially Designed Instruction
Specially Designed Instruction refers to the teaching strategies and methods used by teachers to instruct students with learning disabilities and other types of learning disorders. Specially designed instruction means adapting, as appropriate to the needs of an eligible child under this part, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction— To address the unique needs of the child that result from the child’s disability; and To ensure access of the child to the general curriculum, so that the child can meet the educational standards within the jurisdiction of the public agency that apply to all children. [§300.39(b)(3)] Thus, as part of designing the instruction to fit the needs of a specific child, adaptations may be made in the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction. Adaptations – another word for accommodation, not modification

Related Services Related services is defined by the United States Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA") 1997 as, The related services according to IDEA, "transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education..."[section (a)] ... Related services also help children reach their IEP goals and objectives. The related services include: audiology, counseling services, early identification, family training-counseling and home visits, health services, medical services, nursing services, nutrition services, occupational therapy, orientation and mobility services, parent counseling and training, physical therapy, psychological services, recreation and therapeutic recreation, rehabilitative counseling services, school health services, service coordination services, social work services in schools, speech pathology and speech-language pathology, transportation and related costs, and assistive technology and services. Related services were mandated in the IDEA 1997, and more than 6.1 million children with disabilities received related services in (Nichcy). The Individual Services, Defined IDEA’s definition of related services also goes on to define each individual service. If you wish to delve into individual related services, the following discussion may be helpful. It’s drawn from NICHCY’s training curriculum Building the Legacy (see Module 1, which includes brief summaries of each related service). The services are discussed below in alphabetical order. ◾Audiology ◾Counseling services ◾Early ID of disabilities ◾Interpreting services ◾Medical services ◾Occupational therapy ◾Orientation and mobility ◾Parent counseling and training ◾Physical therapy ◾Psychological services ◾Recreation ◾Rehabilitation counseling ◾School health services & school nurse services ◾Social work services in schools ◾Speech-language pathology ◾Transportation What’s Excluded as a Related Service IDEA makes a specific exception to the list of related services: surgically implanted devices, including cochlear implants. This exception is new with IDEA 2004 and shows the advance of time and technology. A relatively new technological development, the cochlear implant is a “small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing” (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 2006a). While an implant does not restore normal hearing, it does give the recipient “a useful representation of sounds in the environment and help him or her to understand speech” (Id.). Cochlear implants are not the only surgically implanted devices. Others include: insulin pump, baclofen pump, pacemaker, G-tube, and vagus nerve stimulator device. The exception. If a child has a surgically implanted device, the scope of the public agency’s responsibility to provide supportive related services in relation to that device is covered in IDEA’s provisions at §300.34(b), its exception. Public agencies are not responsible for optimizing these devices, maintaining them, or replacing them. Public agencies are responsible for “routine checking to determine if the external component of a surgically implanted device is turned on and working” (71 Fed. Reg ) and for providing other types of services the child needs, as determined by the IEP team, including: ◾assistive technology (e.g., FM system); ◾proper classroom acoustical modifications; ◾educational support services (e.g., educational interpreters); and ◾receiving the related services (e.g., speech and language services) that are necessary for the child to benefit from special education services. (Id.) While public agencies are not responsible for mapping a cochlear implant, they do have a role to play in providing services and supports to help children with cochlear implants. As the Department observes: Particularly with younger children or children who have recently obtained implants, teachers and related services personnel frequently are the first to notice changes in the child’s perception of sounds that the child may be missing. This may manifest as a lack of attention or understanding on the part of the child or frustration in communicating. The changes may indicate a need for remapping, and we would expect that school personnel would communicate with the child’s parents about these issues. To the extent that adjustments to the devices are required, a specially trained professional would provide the remapping, which is not considered the responsibility of the public agency. (71 Fed. Reg. at ) In many ways, the Department points out, there is no substantive difference between serving a child with a cochlear implant in a school setting and serving a child with a hearing aid. A “public agency is responsible for the routine checking of the external components of a surgically implanted device in much the same manner as a public agency is responsible for the proper functioning of hearing aids” (71 Fed. Reg. at 46571). What distinguishes a service covered under the Act and one that is excluded is, in large measure, “the level of expertise required” (Id.). Maintaining and monitoring a surgically implanted device require the expertise of a licensed physician or an individual with specialized technical expertise beyond that typically available from school personnel. On the other hand: Teachers and related services providers can be taught to first check the externally worn speech processor to make sure it is turned on, the volume and sensitivity settings are correct, and the cable is connected, in much the same manner as they are taught to make sure a hearing aid is properly functioning. To allow a child to sit in a classroom when the child’s hearing aid or cochlear implant is not functioning is to effectively exclude the child from receiving an appropriate education. (Id.) You’ll note that the exception in IDEA is carefully crafted to ensure that public agencies remain aware of, and responsible for, monitoring and maintaining “medical devices that are needed to maintain the health and safety of the child, including breathing, nutrition, or operation of other bodily functions, while the child is transported to and from school or is at school” (§300.34(b)(2)(ii)]. This clearly aligns with a public agency’s responsibility for the health-related services (see discussion of Medical Services and School Health Services and School Nurse Services further below).

Principles Included in IDEA

Appropriate evaluation Parent & student participation Least Restrictive Environment Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) Procedural safeguards Individualized Education Program/Plan (IEP) Appropriate evaluation

Appropriate Evaluation

Evaluation Referral Process
Pre-referral activities (RTI) Referral (Parent or School) Consent (Parent) Evaluation (60 days) Eligibility Determination Written request & consent for evaluation The IEP process is meant to be deliberate and equitable, and the individualized program plans that it generates are the means by which the educational concepts outlined in the law are guaranteed to each student and that student's family (Office of Special Education Programs [OSEP], 2000). The formation of an individualized program involves seven steps, beginning with pre-referral and ending with evaluation of a youngster's program. These steps are 1.Pre-referral 2.Referral 3.Identification 4.Eligibility 5.Development of the IEP 6.Implementation of the IEP 7.Evaluation and reviews Let's look at these seven steps in more detail to get a better understanding of what each means and how they form the IEP process. Step 1: Pre-Referral The IEP process is initiated through a series of pre-referral interventions. The interventions implemented vary depending on the kind of problem the student is exhibiting. The major purposes of this stage of the IEP process are to •Document and explain students' difficulties and challenges •Test the effectiveness of classroom accommodations and modifications •Assess the power of various instructional interventions •Monitor students' progress (NASBSE & ILIAD Project, 2002). Pre-referral activities are employed to screen students before more formal identification procedures are implemented. In general, before any formal referral to special education is made, teachers and family members work together to see whether educational or behavioral difficulties can be resolved in the general education classroom. The assessments used during this step of the IEP process are intervention-based and are made in the student's general education class using direct measures of performance (McNamara & Hollinger, 2003). The point here is to avoid unnecessary assessments and placements in special education, which are costly in time; money, and resources. During this pre-referral period, teachers try different validated teaching approaches to determine whether faulty instruction is the source of the problem (Barnett et al., 2004). They also make basic accommodations to the instructional program and systematically differentiate instruction more intensively. General education teachers receive both assistance and consultation from specialists. Students whose learning remains challenged are referred to special education and the next step of the IEP process. Because IDEA '04 stresses the importance of this step, you will find a section about pre-referral ;n each of the chapters that follow.

Pre-referral activities
The IEP process is initiated through a series of pre-referral interventions. The interventions implemented vary depending on the kind of problem the student is exhibiting. The major purposes of this stage of the IEP process are to Document and explain students' difficulties and challenges Test the effectiveness of classroom accommodations Assess the power of various instructional interventions Monitor students' progress Pre-referral activities are employed to screen students before more formal identification procedures are implemented. Before a referral for special education is made, teachers and family members work together to see whether educational or behavioral difficulties can be resolved in the general education classroom. The assessments used during this step are intervention-based and are made in the student's general education class using direct measures of performance. During this pre-referral period, teachers try different validated teaching approaches to determine whether faulty instruction is the source of the problem. They also make basic accommodations to the instructional program and systematically differentiate instruction more intensively. General education teachers receive both assistance and consultation from specialists. Students whose learning remains challenged are referred to special education and the next step of the IEP process. Response to Intervention (RtI) can be used during the Pre-Referral Stage

Response to Intervention (RtI)
RtI integrates assessment and intervention within a school-wide, multi-level prevention system to maximize student achievement and reduce behavior problems. With RTI, schools identify students at risk for poor learning outcomes, monitor student progress, provide evidence-based interventions and adjust the intensity and nature of those interventions based on a student’s responsiveness, and RTI may be used as part of the determination process for identifying students with specific learning disabilities or other disabilities RTI is a multi-level instructional framework aimed at improving outcomes for ALL students. RTI is preventive and provides immediate support to students who are at risk for poor learning outcomes RTI may be a component of a comprehensive evaluation for students with learning disabilities.

RtI and Evaluation The School wants to do RtI before they begin an evaluation?

Identifying Children for Evaluation
Before a child’s eligibility under IDEA can be determined, a full and individual evaluation of the child must be conducted. There are two ways a child may be identified to receive an evaluation under IDEA: Parents may request that their child be evaluated. Parents are often the first to notice that their child’s learning, behavior or development may be a cause for concern. If they’re worried about their child’s progress in school and think he or she might need extra help from special education services they may call, , or write to their child’s teacher, the school’s principal, or the Director of Special Education in the school district. If the school agrees that an evaluation is needed, it must evaluate the child at no cost to parents. If the school agrees that an evaluation is needed, it must evaluate the child at no cost to parents. The school system may ask to evaluate the child. Based on a teacher’s recommendation, observations, or results from tests given to all children in a particular grade, a school may recommend that a child receive further screening or assessment to determine if he or she has a disability and needs special education and related services. The school system must ask parents for permission to evaluate the child, and parents must give their informed written permission before the evaluation may be conducted.

Evaluation Determines
Category of disability Whether the child needs specially designed instruction and/or related services The present levels of academic achievement and related developmental needs Whether any accommodations or modifications are needed

Giving Parents Notice IDEA requires the school system to notify parents in writing that it would like to evaluate their child (or that it is refusing to evaluate the child). This is called giving prior written notice. The school must also: Explain why it wants to conduct the evaluation (or why it refuses); Describe each evaluation procedure, assessment, record, or report used as a basis for proposing the evaluation (or refusing to conduct the evaluation); Where parents can go to obtain help in understanding IDEA’s provisions; What other options the school considered and why those were rejected; and A description of any other factors that are relevant to the school’s proposal (or refusal) to evaluate the child. The purpose behind this thorough explanation is to make sure that parents are fully informed, understand what is being proposed (or refused), understand what evaluation of their child will involve (or why the school system is refusing to conduct an evaluation of the child), and understand their right to refuse consent for evaluation, or to otherwise exercise their rights under IDEA’s procedural safeguards if the school refuses to evaluate.

Parental Consent Before the school may proceed with the evaluation, parents must give their informed written consent. This consent is for the evaluation only. It does not mean that the school has the parents’ permission to provide special education services to the child. That requires a separate consent. If parents refuse consent for an initial evaluation (or simply don’t respond to the school’s request), the school must carefully document all its attempts to obtain parent consent. It may also continue to pursue conducting the evaluation by using the law’s due process procedures or its mediation procedures, unless doing so would be inconsistent with state law relating to parental consent. However, if the child is home-schooled or has been placed in a private school by parents (meaning, the parents are paying for the cost of the private school), the school may not override parents’ lack of consent for initial evaluation of the child. As the Department of Education (2006) notes: “…once parents opt out of the public school system, States and school districts do not have the same interest in requiring parents to agree to the evaluation of their children. In such cases, it would be overly intrusive for the school district to insist on an evaluation over a parent’s objection.” (71 Fed. Reg. at 46635)

The Scope of Evaluation
A child’s initial evaluation must be full and individual, focused on that child and only that child. Evaluation (reevaluation) typically begins with a review of existing evaluation data on the child, which may come from the child’s classroom work, State or district assessments, information provided by the parents and teachers, and so on. The evaluation must use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information about the child, including information provided by the parent. When conducting an initial evaluation, it’s important to examine all areas of a child’s functioning to determine not only if the child is a child with a disability, but also determine the child’s educational needs. This full and individual evaluation includes evaluating the child’s: health vision and hearing social and emotional general intelligence academic performance communicative status motor abilities Evaluation (and particularly reevaluation) typically begins with a review of existing evaluation data on the child, which may come from the child’s classroom work, State or district assessments, information provided by the parents, and so on. The purpose of this review is to decide if the existing data is sufficient to establish the child’s eligibility and determine educational needs, or if additional information is needed. If the group determines there is sufficient information available to make the necessary determinations, the public agency must notify parents: The determination and the reason for it Parents have the right to request assessment to determine the child’s eligibility and educational needs. Unless the parent request an assessment, the public agency is not required to conduct one. If it is decided that additional data is needed, the group then identifies what is needed to determine: whether the student has a particular category of disability Student’s present levels of performance and his or her academic and developmental needs; whether your child needs special education and related services whether any additions or modifications are needed in the special education and related services to enable the child to meet the goals set out in the IEP to be developed and to participate, as appropriate, in the general curriculum.

Communication and Culture
Specifically, consideration of language, culture, and communication mode means the following: An important component in evaluation is to ensure that assessment tools are not discriminatory on a racial or cultural basis. Evaluation must also be conducted in the child’s typical, mode of communication (unless it is clearly not feasible to do so) and in a form that will yield accurate information about what the child knows and can do academically, developmentally, and functionally. Student’s Native language Sign language, braille, PECS Assistive or alternative augmentative communication devices This provision in the law is meant to protect children of different racial, cultural, or language backgrounds from misdiagnosis. If your child has impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the law requires that tests are selected and administered so as best to ensure that test results accurately reflect his or her aptitude or achievement level and not reflect the child’s impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (unless the test being used is intended to measure those skills). For example, children’s cultural backgrounds may affect their behavior or test responses in ways that teachers or other personnel do not understand. Similarly, if a child speaks a language other than English or has limited English proficiency, he or she may not understand directions or words on tests and may be unable to answer correctly. As a result, a child may mistakenly appear to be a slow learner or to have a hearing or communication problem.

Determining Eligibility
The child’s assessment results should be explained. The specialists who assessed the child or evaluation interpreter will explain what was done, why they used the tests, the child’s results on those tests or other evaluation procedures, and what the child’s scores mean when compared to other children of the same age and grade. It is important to know that the group may not determine that a child is eligible… if the determinant factor for making that judgment is the child’s lack of instruction in reading or math or the child’s limited English proficiency. The child must otherwise meet the law’s definition of a “child with a disability”–meaning that he or she has one of the disabilities listed in the law and, because of that disability, needs special education and related services. If the evaluation results indicate that the child meets the definition of one or more of the disabilities listed under IDEA and needs special education and related services, the results will form the basis for developing the child’s IEP.

IDEA Disability Categories
Autism Emotional Disturbance Hearing Impairments Intellectual Disability Orthopedic Impairments Other Health Impairments Specific Learning Disabilities Speech/Language Impairments Traumatic Brain Injury Visual Impairment Developmental Delays (Ages 3-9, depending on your state)

What if You Don’t Agree with the Evaluation Results?
If you disagree with the results of your child’s evaluation, you have the right to obtain what is known as an Independent Educational Evaluation, or IEE. An IEE means an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the public agency responsible for the education of your child. If you ask for an IEE, the public agency must provide you with information about where an IEE may be obtained. Who pays for the independent evaluation? IEEs are at public expense Or it may initiate a hearing to show that its own evaluation was appropriate. The public agency may ask why you object to the public evaluation. However, the agency may not require you to explain, and it may not unreasonably delay either providing the IEE at public expense or initiating a due process hearing to defend the public evaluation. If the public agency initiates a hearing and the final decision of the hearing officer is that the agency’s evaluation was appropriate, then you still have the right to an IEE but at your own expense. The results of parent paid evaluation must be considered by the public agency, if it meets agency criteria, in any decision made in providing your child with FAPE. At public expense In writing / no reason Without delay: IEE or Hearing Hearing determines appropriateness of initial evaluation

Appropriate evaluation Parent & student participation Least Restrictive Environment Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) Procedural safeguards Individualized Education Program/Plan (IEP)

Parent & Student Participation

Parent & Student Participation
One of IDEA’s foundational principles is the right of parents to participate in educational decision making regarding their child with a disability. The law is very specific about what school systems must do to ensure that parents have the opportunity to participate, if they so choose. Parental rights of participation can be summarized as follows: Parents have the right to participate in meetings related to the evaluation, identification, and educational placement of their child. Parents have the right to participate in meetings related to the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to their child. Parents are entitled to be members of any group that decides whether their child is a “child with a disability” and meets eligibility criteria for special education and related services. Parents are entitled to be members of the team that develops, reviews, and revises the individualized education program (IEP) for their child. Parents are entitled to be members of any group that makes placement decisions for their child. Parent and students are not required to participate, however; that is their choice. IDEA guarantees is that they are given the opportunity to participate.

Alternative Participation
If neither parent can attend the meeting the school must use other methods to ensure their participation, including individual or conference calls, or video conferencing. Parents School / District Personnel By agreement

Active Participation Speak up Ask questions Make suggestions Disagree

Least Restrictive Environment

Least Restrictive Environment
By law, schools are required to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment that is appropriate to the individual student's needs. "Least restrictive environment" (LRE) means that a student who has a disability should have the opportunity to be educated with non-disabled peers, to the greatest extent appropriate. They should have access to the general education curriculum, or any other program that non-disabled peers would be able to access. The student should be provided with supplementary aids and services necessary to achieve educational goals if placed in a setting with non-disabled peers. Academically, a resource room may be available within the school for specialized instruction, with typically no more than two hours per day of services for a student with learning disabilities. Should the nature or severity of his or her disability prevent the student from achieving these goals in a regular education setting, then the student would be placed in a more restrictive environment, such as a special school, classroom within the current school, or a hospital program. Generally, the less opportunity a student has to interact and learn with non-disabled peers, the more the placement is considered to be restricted. To determine what an appropriate setting is for a student, a team will review the student’s strengths, weaknesses, and needs, and consider the educational benefits from placement in any particular educational setting. With the differences in needs varying broadly, there is no single definition of what an LRE will be, and each student has an Individual Education Plan (IEP).

Free Appropriate Public Education

Free Appropriate Public Education
Under the IDEA, FAPE is defined as an educational program that is individualized to a specific child, designed to meet that child's unique needs, provides access to the general curriculum, meets the grade-level standards established by the state, and from which the child receives educational benefit.

Definition of an Appropriate Education
Some of the criteria specified in various sections of the IDEA statute includes requirements that schools provide each (disabled) student an education that: 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) is provided in accordance with the Individualized Education Program (IEP) is reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits. The free appropriate public education offered 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. The IDEA guarantees only a basic floor of opportunity, consisting of specialized instruction and related services which are individually designed to provide educational benefit.

FAPE according to IDEA Special education and related services
Provided at public expense (without charge) Provided under public supervision and direction “…in conformity with the individualized education program.”

Procedural Safeguards
What are the students and Parents Rights?

What are Procedural Safeguards?
The federal regulations for IDEA 2004 include a section called Procedural Safeguards. These safeguards are designed to protect the rights of parents and their child with a disability and, at the same time, give families and school systems several mechanisms by which to resolve their disputes. At least one time a year, the parents of a child with a disability must receive from the school system a complete explanation of all the procedural safeguards available to them, as parents, under IDEA. This explanation is called the “Procedural Safeguards Notice.”

What is the purpose of the procedural safeguards notice?
The purpose of the procedural safeguards notice is simple: to inform parents completely about the procedural safeguards available under IDEA. These represent their rights as parents and the protections they have—and their child as well—under the law and its implementing regulations. IDEA states that schools must send the procedural safeguards notice to the parents only one time a school year, except that schools must also give a copy to parents: in their child’s initial referral for evaluation under IDEA, or when the parents ask for such an evaluation of their child; When a State complaint is filed and when the first due process complaint is received when a parent requests a copy of the procedural safeguards notice. Your local school district may also post a current copy of the procedural safeguards notice on its website, if it has a website.

What does the Procedural Safeguards Notice contain?
(A) independent educational evaluation; (B) prior written notice; (C) parental consent; (D) access to educational records; (E) the opportunity to present and resolve complaints, including-- (i) the time period in which to make a complaint; (ii) the opportunity for the agency to resolve the complaint; and (iii) the availability of mediation; (F) the child's placement during pendency of due process proceedings; (G) procedures for students who are subject to placement in an interim alternative educational setting; (H) requirements for unilateral placement by parents of children in private schools at public expense; (I) due process hearings, including requirements for disclosure of evaluation results and recommendations; (J) State-level appeals (if applicable in that State); (K) civil actions, including the time period in which to file such actions; and (L) attorneys' fees.

Student Records IDEA and other federal laws protect the confidentiality of your child’s education records. These safeguards address the following three aspects: the use of personally identifiable information; who may have access to your child’s records; and the rights of parents to inspect their child’s education records and request that these be amended to correct information that is misleading or inaccurate, or that violates the child’s privacy or other rights.

Prior Written Notice The school district must give parents a written notice (information received in writing), whenever the school district: Proposes to begin or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child or the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to the child; or Refuses to begin or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child or the provision of FAPE to your child. The school district must provide the notice in understandable language

What Does the Notice Include?
The written notice must: Describe the action that your school district proposes or refuses to take; Explain why your school district is proposing or refusing to take the action; Describe each evaluation procedure, assessment, record, or report your school district used in deciding to propose or refuse the action; Include a statement that the parent has protections under the procedural safeguards provisions in Part B of the IDEA; Tell you how the parent can obtain a description of the procedural safeguards if the action that your school district is proposing or refusing is not an initial referral for evaluation; Include resources for the parent to contact for help in understanding Part B of the IDEA; Describe any other choices that the child's individualized education program (IEP) Team considered and the reasons why those choices were rejected; and Provide a description of other reasons why the school district proposed or refused the action. Notice in understandable language. The notice must be: Written in language understandable to the general public; and Provided in your native language or other mode of communication you use, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so

PARENTAL CONSENT Consent means:
The Parent has been fully informed in your native language or other mode of communication (such as sign language, Braille, or oral communication) of all information about the action for which you are giving consent. The Parent understands and agrees in writing to that action, and the consent describes that action and lists the records (if any) that will be released and to whom; and The Parent understands that the consent is voluntary on The Parent part and The Parent may withdraw their consent at anytime. The Parent’s withdrawal of consent does not negate (undo) an action that has occurred after they gave the consent and before you withdrew it.

Resolution Options Mediation Local Complaint State Complaint
Due Process Hearings Resolution Meeting

Mediation Resolve disputes Voluntary Trained mediator Timely manner
Confidential Cannot delay due process If agreement is reached - Legally binding agreement

Local Complaint Signed written complaint Notify State Offer mediation
Written response If parents disagree with the results, they can Appeal If a parent chooses to file a complaint with the superintendent of the local school district, the parent must provide the superintendent with a signed, written complaint which meets the requirements of a State Complaint. (We will be discussing those requirements in just a few minutes.) Within five days from the time the superintendent receives the complaint, the district will notify the Florida Department of Education. The district may take steps to investigate the complaint and may offer mediation to resolve the concerns that were raised. Within 25 days of the receipt of a complaint, the superintendent will provide the parent with a written response detailing the results of the district’s inquiry.

State Complaint A statement of how a requirement has not been met
Explanation of facts An allegation of a violation Within 60 days, the Department must… Conduct an independent investigation Review all information Issue a written decision Extend 60 day time limit State complaints may be filed by sending a signed, written complaint to the Bureau Chief of Exception Education and Student Services at the Florida Department of Education. The signed, written complaint must include a statement which describes how a requirement of IDEA has not been met; an explanation of the facts on which the statement is based; and it must also allege a violation that occurred within one year of the date when the complaint is filed, unless the violation is continuing or the parent is requesting compensatory services for a violation which occurred within three years of the date the complaint is filed. On receipt of a formal complaint the Florida Department of Education will advise the parent of his or her right to alternate resolution activities, including mediation, and within sixty (60) calendar days after a complaint is date-stamped in the bureau chief’s office, the FDOE must: conduct an independent on-site investigation, if the Department determines that is necessary provide the parent with the opportunity to submit additional information either orally or in writing about the allegations in the complaint review all relevant information and make an independent determination as to whether the school district is violating a state or federal requirement regarding the education of students with disabilities issue a written decision to you that addresses each issue presented in the complaint, including findings of fact, conclusions, and the reasons for the Department’s final decision, or extend the 60-day time limit if exceptional circumstances exist.

Resolution Meeting If a Due Process Hearing has been requested, a Resolution Meeting is held to discuss all the facts that form the basis of the request so that the school district and the parents have the opportunity to resolve the dispute. it might be the team’s last chance to resolve their issues before going to Due Process. but - the meeting doesn’t have to take place at all if the parent and the school district agree in writing to waive the meeting, or if the parent and the school district agree to use the mediation process instead.

Due Process Hearings A Request for a Due Process Hearing must include
A description of the problem A proposed resolution of the problem The District must send a response within 10 days… Explanation of why it proposed or refused an action Description of evaluations used as basis of action Administrative Law Judge Knowledge of IDEA and Florida Rules Not an employee Impartial While the use of mediation and the state complaint procedures are preferable, parents and school districts have the right to request an impartial due process hearing. A request for a due process hearing may be made regarding any proposal or refusal of the school district to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, educational placement, or provision of FAPE to the child. If a parent is going to request a due process hearing, that parent must include not just the problem but also a proposed resolution. The request must also include other specific information – and that full list is included in the Florida Standards Procedural Safeguards Within ten (10) days of receiving a request for a Due Process Hearing the District must send a response that includes an explanation of why the district proposed or refused to take the action raised in the request for due process hearing a description of other options that the IEP team considered and the reasons that those options were rejected a description of each evaluation procedure, assessment, record, or report that the district used as the basis for the proposed or refused action, and a description of the other factors that are relevant. If a Due Process hearing is necessary, an impartial administrative law judge will be assigned to preside over the hearing and arrive at a decision. Administrative law judges assigned to due process hearings must possess knowledge of and the ability to understand the provisions of the IDEA, its regulations, Florida rules, and state and federal court interpretations of IDEA. However, the judge may not be an employee of the local school district.

Due Process Hearing Rights
Both sides have the right to… Counsel Present evidence Record of hearing Findings During a due process hearing, both parents and the school district have the right to: be represented by counsel or to be accompanied and advised by individuals with special knowledge or training regarding the problems of exceptional students present evidence cross-examine witnesses prohibit the introduction of any evidence that has not been disclosed to the parent and their representative at least five (5) business days before the hearing. They also have the right to: obtain a written or electronic verbatim record of the hearing at no cost obtain written or electronic findings of fact and decisions at no cost. If either the parent or the district is dissatisfied with the final order, each has the right, within thirty (30) days, to bring a civil action in federal, district, or state circuit court .

Conflict Resolution Options

The Individualized Education Program/Plan

IEP An IEP defines the individualized objectives of a child who has been found with a disability, as defined by federal regulations. The IEP is intended to help children reach educational goals more easily than they otherwise would. In all cases the IEP must be tailored to the individual student's needs as identified by the IEP evaluation process, and must especially help teachers and related service providers (such as paraprofessional educators) understand the student's disability and how the disability affects the learning process. The IEP should describe how the student learns, how the student best demonstrates that learning and what teachers and service providers will do to help the student learn more effectively. Key considerations in developing an IEP include assessing students in all areas related to the known disabilities, simultaneously considering ability to access the general curriculum, considering how the disability affects the student’s learning, developing goals and objectives that correspond to the needs of the student, and ultimately choosing a placement in the least restrictive environment possible for the student. As long as a student qualifies for special education, the IEP must be regularly maintained and updated over the student's primary educational years. Placements often occur in "general education", mainstream classes, and specialized classes or sub-specialties taught by a specifically trained individual, such as a special education teacher, sometimes within a resource room. An IEP is meant to ensure that students receive an appropriate placement, not "only" special education classrooms or special schools. It is meant to give the student a chance to participate in "normal" school culture and academics.

IEP Meeting: Notice Native Language Location Time
Whom the school has invited Purpose of the meeting Native Language

What Should an IEP Include?
This is a brief list of what IDEA requires: A statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, including how the child’s disability affects his or her involvement and progress in the general education curriculum; A statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals; A description of how the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals will be measured, and when periodic progress reports will be provided; A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child; A statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided to enable the child to advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals; to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum and to participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities; and to be educated and participate with other children with disabilities and nondisabled children; An explanation of the extent, if any, to which the child will not participate with nondisabled children in the regular class and in extracurricular and nonacademic activities; A statement of any individual accommodations that are necessary to measure the academic achievement and functional performance of the child on State and district wide assessments; If the IEP team determines that the child must take an alternate assessment instead of a particular regular State or district wide assessment of student achievement, the IEP must include a statement of why the child cannot participate in the regular assessment and why the particular alternate assessment selected is appropriate for the child; and The projected date for the beginning of the services and modifications, and the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of those services and modifications.

Present Level - Domains
Curriculum & Learning Independent Functioning Social / Emotional Communication Health Care

Present Levels & Goals Statements of:
Present Levels of Academic Achievement & Functional Performance strengths, effect of disability, & priority educational need Measurable Annual Goals Evaluation Plan measuring & reporting

IEP GOALS Wording matters!
“Writing Special Education Goals” – 9,960,000 hits! Learning a skill Measurable Specific

Sunshine State Standards
The Sunshine State Standards (now called Next Generation Sunshine State Standards or NGSSS) are broad statements that describe the knowledge or ability that a student should be able to demonstrate by the end of every grade level from first through twelfth grade.[1] These standards cover eight content areas: English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Physical Education, World Languages, Fine Arts, and Health Education. The standards are subdivided into “benchmarks,” which outline the specific content, knowledge, and skills that students are expected to learn in school. Each student’s performance on Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and Science tests indicates his or her progress in reaching benchmarks for those subjects. End-of-Course Exams, not yet developed, will measure such progress for other subjects. The curriculum of most public schools in the State of Florida and the FCAT are based upon this state system.[2] Development of the Sunshine State Standards began in 1993, and they were adopted by the Florida Board of Education in May The Next Generation Sunshine State Standards were approved between 2007 and 2010.

Access Points Next Generation Sunshine State Standards Access Points:
Drive the curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessment Reflect the key concepts of the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards with reduced levels of complexity Ensure access to the standards that apply to all students in the same grade Are written to three levels of complexity: participatory, supported, and independent

Diploma Options Standard Diploma Special Diploma

Provision of Services Special Education Related Services
Program Modifications/ Accommodations Supports for School Personnel Supplementary Aids & Services

Related Services Developmental Corrective Supportive
Assist in the achievement of a goal Help to benefit from special education Nonexhaustive

Provision of Services Date for beginning of services Frequency
Location Duration

Transition IEP Standard or Special Diploma Post-School Outcome
Transition Service Needs Instruction / Information on Self-Determination Goals based upon transition assessments List of transition services Age of Majority / Transfer of Rights Interagency linkages

Signatures Who attended Parent’s signature
(Exception: Child’s first IEP)

Manifestation Determination
A decision made by the IEP Team about whether a student's misconduct is caused by the student's disability. Team determines “Yes” Functional Behavioral Assessment Behavioral Intervention Plan Team determines “No” Services in different setting If a child with a disability engages in behavior that results in disciplinary action, specifically the removal of the child from school, the relevant members of the IEP team (including the student if appropriate) meet as soon as possible to determine whether that misconduct was: caused by or had a relationship to the child’s disability or if the school failed to implement the IEP. During the Manifestation Determination meeting, the Team must: Ensure that a functional behavioral assessment is conducted and a behavioral intervention plan is developed, or If a behavioral plan already exists, review the plan and make modifications, and Return the child to the placement from which he or she was removed. If the IEP team determines that the child’s behavior was not related to the disability, then further removal of the child is appropriate, and he or she will be offered services in a different setting.

How do you make a Behavior Plan?
1. Identify and Name the Problem Behavior Even if a Certified Behavior Analyst or Psychologist is going to do the FBA, the teacher will be the person to identify which behaviors most impact a child's progress. It is essential that the teacher describes the behavior in an operational way that will make it easy for the other professionals to complete the FBA. 2. Complete the FBA The BIP Plan is written once an FBA (Functional Behavioral Analysis) has been prepared. The plan may be written by the teacher, a school psychologist or a behavior specialist. A Functional Behavioral Analysis will identify target behaviors operationally and the antecedent conditions. It will also describe the consequence, which in an FBA is the thing that reinforces the behavior. Understanding the consequence will also help choose a replacement behavior. A BIP or Behavior Intervention Plan, describes how teachers, special educators and other staff will help a child eliminate problem behavior. A BIP is required in an IEP if it is determined in the Special Considerations Section that behavior inhibits academic achievement. 3. Write the BIP Document Your state or school district may have a form you must use for a Behavior Improvement Plan. It, and your BIP should include: Target Behaviors Specific, measurable goals Intervention description and method Start and frequency of intervention Method of Evaluation Persons responsible for each part of the intervention and evaluation Data from Evaluation 4. Take It to the IEP Team The last step is to get your document approved by the IEP team, including the general education teacher, the special education supervisor, the principal, the psychologist, the parents and anyone else who will be involved in implementing the BIP. The Team has been working to involve each of the stakeholders at the beginning of the process. That means phone calls to parents, so the Behavior Improvement Plan is not a big surprise, and so the parent doesn't feel like they and the child are being punished. 5. Implement the plan Once the meeting is over, it's time to put the plan into place! Be sure that all the members of the implementation team to meet briefly and evaluate progress. Be sure to ask the tough questions. What is not working? What needs to be tweeked? Who's collecting the data? How is that working?

Priority Educational Need
CONNECT THE DOTS Goal Evaluation Related Service Priority Educational Need Present Level Effect of Disability

Resources:

What is the child’s Disability? Or suspected disability?
NICHCY NICHCY offers brief, but detailed fact sheets on specific disabilities. Each fact sheet defines the disability, describes its characteristics, offers tips for parents and teachers, and connects you with related information and organizations with special expertise in that disability. In English and Spanish

RtI (Response to Intervention)
Florida Brochure on RtI Florida RtI National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Inc.

Does the child take the FCAT or Alternative Assessment?
FCAT Accommodations Alternative Assessment Alternative Assessment Manual DOE Technical Assistance Paper

Does the Child have behavioral issues?
Functional Behavioral Assessment and Plans RtI Behavior

What does the Matrix mean?
What is Extended School Year (ESY)? What should parents do when services in their child's IEP are not being provided?

Advocacy Wrights Law Special Education Advocate
Special Education Advocate Central Florida Parent Center Family Network on Disabilities The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc. (COPAA)

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