Untangling IDEA, Section 504, and NCLB

Untangling IDEA, Section 504, and NCLB
Dr. Carl Lashley Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations University of North Carolina Greensboro (336) ; (336)

Understanding No Child Left Behind’s Educational Expectations
Legal—All students will become proficient; schools and districts are accountable for student progress. Ethical—Our obligation as a society as to see that all children receive a high quality education that will enable them to become productive citizens, workers, and individuals. Educational—Our task is to assure that all students receive an instructional program that will provide them with opportunities to perform at high levels of proficiency.

Why should principals be concerned about special education?
Autism 1 in 110 (82????) children 1 in 70 boys More children that those diagnosed with childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes, and pediatric AIDS combined * Source: autismspeaks.org Autism Autism Spectrum Disorders Asperger’s Syndrome Pervasive Developmental Delay What is it? Medical? Educational? Social? What are the expectations for children with ? What is our responsibility for doing what needs to be done?

Bullying—a widespread proproblem. The incidence of bullying is increasing. Students with learning disabilities are more likely to be bullied (ldonline) Students with ADHD are more likely to be bullied and more likely to bully (Fleeker, MSNBC) Students whose appearance is different are more likely to be bullied (PACER) Disability Harassment— violates Section 504 Consequences for harassing behavior may trigger MDR, BIP, IAES Bullying Cyber-bullying Sexual Harrassment Workplace Bullying

Discipline Inequities “Regrettably, students of color are receiving different and harsher disciplinary punishments than whites for the same or similar infractions, and they are disproportionately impacted by zero- tolerance policies—a fact that only serves to exacerbate already deeply entrenched disparities in many communities,” Thomas E. Perez, the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, recently said at a conference on school discipline and civil rights.” *Source: Education Week (Oct. 17, 2010) 35.7% of students with disabilities are students of color (45.2% in NC) (2006 Annual Report to Congress) How do disability, discipline, and diversity interact? Disproportionality Differential Treatment Disparate Impact

IDEA (and 504) (and NCLB) are a lot like gravity Not just a good idea. IT’S THE LAW!

Section 504 Students with disabilities are PROTECTED FROM DISCRIMINATION on the basis of their disabilities. Access to school facilities and programs Instructional and assessment accommodations No funds are generated to support school programs. Enforced by the Office of Civil Rights

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Free Appropriate Public Education Least Restrictive Environment Due Process Procedures Identification and Referral Procedures Multi-factored Assessment Individualized Education Program

IDEA Students are evaluated to determine ELIGIBILITY for special education and related services. Access to the general education curriculum and classroom Participation in statewide assessments Students with disabilities generate (limited) federal and state funding.

FAPE Free Appropriate Public Education

Disability Categories
To be eligible for services under IDEA, a student must meet the criteria at 34 C.F.R. §300.8 for one of 14 categories: Autism, Child Aged Three Through Nine Experiencing Developmental Delays, Deaf-Blindness, Deafness, Emotional Disturbance, Hearing Impairment, Intellectual Disability, Multiple Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment, Other Health Impairment, Specific Learning Disability, Speech or Language Impairment, Traumatic Brain Injury, Visual Impairment

What are we looking for? A definition that makes sense
How many students fall into this category? in the US? in North Carolina? What are the defining characteristics of this category for school purposes? What should be our expectations for children in this category? What kinds of special provisions need to be made for the education of children in this category? Any other nuggets of interest?

Who are these kids anyway?
How would you describe the school lives of these children? What are the short and long term expectations for these children? What is the nature of the curriculum for these children? Who benefits from the special arrangements made for these children’s education? How?

The Point Categorization (labeling) occurs through a political processes that uses a rational- technical language to determine who receives special treatment. This special treatment has multiple results—benefits and detriments—that serve the interests of multiple constituencies.

Disability Categories
To be eligible for services under IDEA, a student must meet the criteria at 34 C.F.R. §300.8 for one of 14 categories: Autism, Child Aged Three Through Nine Experiencing Developmental Delays, Deaf-Blindness, Deafness, Emotional Disturbance, Hearing Impairment, Mental Retardation, Multiple Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment, Other Health Impairment, Specific Learning Disability, Speech or Language Impairment, Traumatic Brain Injury, Visual Impairment

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
a developmental disorder characterized by significant and pervasive impairment in several developmental domains: social, communication, and cognitive skills Recent data reports 1 in every 100 children born are diagnosed with ASD. In , in North Carolina 7,365 (3.83%) of children with disabilities ages 3-21 who received special education services had autism. Defining characteristics include repetitive behaviors, echolalic self-stimulating behaviors, lack of eye contact, sensory integration disorders, non-verbal or extremely verbal on a specific topic

D-B Deaf-Blindness Definition: A combination of hearing loss and visual impairment, but not necessarily complete deafness or complete blindness Census Data: North Carolina: 31 US: 1,984 Characteristics: No 2 individuals that are deaf-blind have the same profile: their education needs cannot be met in a special education program for the deaf or the blind Expectations: Successful integration into the LRE and transition to higher education or employment beyond secondary school Special Provisions: Interpreter, enlarged text, audio books, teacher with specialized training,

Deaf Deafness A hearing impairment that is so severe, that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification. North Carolina- 46 students in 2009 What are the defining characteristics of this category for school purposes? Deafness adversely affects a child's educational performance Curriculum and instruction needs to be delivered appropriately (visually ) What should be our expectations for children in this category? Access to general curriculum High school diploma and preparation for college What kinds of special provisions need to be made for the education of children in this category? ASL trained teachers and staff for instruction and interpretation Visual cues Transition planning Any other nuggets of interest? 2004 Reports to Congress did not include deafness as a category by itself

HI Hearing impairment Hearing Impairment are impairments in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's educational performance but that is not included under the definition of deafness in this section. In North Carolina as of the 2009 Exceptional Children Count, 2,181 students are classified as being hearing impaired. In 2006, there were 71,712 students classified as students with a hearing impairment. Defining Areas for School Purposes: To be determined eligible in the disability category of hearing impairment after appropriate screening and evaluation, a child must have a documented hearing loss of a type and extent such that the disability has an adverse effect on the students educational performance which requires the student to receive specialized instruction. Expectations for students with hearing impairments: Inclusion in the least restrictive environment to access the general education curriculum Access to assistive technology devices May need support personnel (i.e. paraprofessionals trained in the use of sign language) Emphasis should be on social inclusion into various activities within the school

Multihandicapped a pervasive primary disability that is cognitive and/or behavioral in combination with one or more other disabilities the combination causes developmental and educational problems that the children cannot be accommodated in special programs that primarily serve one area of disability in 2004, 1,869 students ages 3-21 were served in this category students with multiple disabilities may exhibit a wide range of characteristics that may share include limited speech or communication; difficulty in basic physical mobility; tendency to forget skills through disuse; trouble generalizing skills; a need for support in major life activities Students may be in self-contained settings and focus on functional skills. Some may be medically fragile and require health services. A multi-disciplinary team consisting of the student's parents, educational specialists, and medical specialists in the areas in which the individual demonstrates problems should work together to plan and coordinate necessary services.

Speech or SLI Speech or language impairment
Expectations Achieving grade level standards and expectations Full participation in the general education environment Plan for exiting of services Provisions Assistive technology Visual cues Individual or small group services Nuggets Speech can be the primary disability or a secondary disability Bruce Willis, Tiger Woods, Julia Roberts, Jimmy Stewart, and Winston Churchill had speech/language impairments.

ED Emotional disturbance
A long-term, serious emotional condition that adversely affects learning, which cannot be explained by health, intellectual, or sensory factors. NC--7,529 students US--464,000 ( School Year) Defining characteristics for school purpose Affects learning Poor relationships with others Unexplainable behaviors under normal conditions Depression and/or anxiety Tendency to develop physical reactions to school problems

VI Visual impairment Any vision issue that impacts student learning
NC= US=approximately 25,000 Visual Impairment Including Blindness means an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness. Expected to learn, work, and live in an inclusive society Provisions individualized based on student strengths/needs (i.e. technology, magnification equipment, adapted instruction toward listening) Adaptations can benefit all!

MR Mental retardation Low IQ + social, communication or self-help issues NC=21, US=approximately 500,000 Significantly below average cognitive ability WITH deficit in adaptive behaviors that impacts school performance Expected to learn, work, and live in an inclusive society Provisions individualized based on student strengths/needs (i.e. alternate assessments, instructional adaptations, other adaptive supports) In NC: mild, moderate, severe intellectual disability 2004 IDEA narrowed the definition and numbers eligible under this category decreased

OI Orthopedic impairment
Definition How many students fall into this category? North Carolina (2009) 1,094 Nationwide (2004) 92,358 Characteristics- a severe physical impairment that impedes a student’s ability to access the curriculum or school environment Expectations-Through support of school personnel and specially designed instruction the student will gain access to the general curriculum and the school environment to ensure academic success. Special Provisions-Making the school environment accessible (ex. Students with physical limitations can access classes on second floor, computers for students with writing difficulties)

TBI Traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injuries are: when an individual has sustained an injury to the brain which is caused by an external force; brain injuries that are congenital, degenerative, or caused by birth trauma are not included in this category. The injury results in a total or partial functional disability and/or psychosocial impairment that affects a child’s educational performance such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. In North Carolina as of the 2009 Exceptional Children Count, 483 students are classified as having a Traumatic Brain Injury. In 2006, there were 23,189 individuals classified as having a traumatic brain injury in the United States.

TBI Traumatic brain injury
Defining Areas for School Purposes: A licensed physician or a licensed psychologist, appropriately practicing in the specialty of neuropsychology, that the child has sustained an injury from which brain injury can be inferred must be obtained. Additionally, a psychological evaluation for traumatic brain injury must be conducted by school psychologists licensed by the State Department of Public Instruction, or by psychologists who are appropriately practicing in the specialty of neuropsychology and are licensed by the North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Practicing Psychologists. All psychological evaluations must be within one year. The evaluations must conclude that the disability is anticipated to have an adverse effect on educational performance which will require specially designed instruction. Expectations for individuals who are classified as being traumatically brain injured: Continuum of services may be more restrictive based upon individual needs of student but students are entitled to access to the general education curriculum Support services may include instructional and medical professionals dependent upon the individual needs of the student

LD or SLD Specific learning disability
A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations 63,728 NC (2009) 2,839,694 US and outlying area (2004) Defining characteristics: Includes conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Students may have difficulties in reading decoding and comprehension, writing expression, math calculations and reasoning, language comprehension Expectations Access to general curriculum High school diploma and preparation for college Provisions: specialized instruction in the area of the disability, accommodations for testing and classroom environments. Eligibility criteria – shifting away from discrepancy model to RTI model

OHI Other health impairment
Definition: Having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment Census Data: NC: 30,153 US: 524,707 Defining Characteristics: A chronic or acute health condition causing limited alertness to the educational environment, educational performance is adversely affected, and requires special education services Expectations: Successful integration into the LRE and transition to higher education or employment beyond secondary school Services: Dependent on the health condition, may include extended time, preferential seating, small group instruction, excused absences, etc.

High Standards Curriculum Statewide Assessments
No Child Left Behind (2002) High Standards Curriculum Statewide Assessments Highly Qualified Teachers Adequate Yearly Progress Accountability for Student Performance

NCLB/IDEA Expectations
All students have access to a high standards curriculum All students participate in statewide assessments All students are proficient in their academic performance All students have access to instruction in the high standards curriculum To the maximum degree appropriate, students with disabilities are educated with their typical peers

NCLB/IDEA Expectations
High Standards Curriculum Instruction in the General Education Classroom Participation in Statewide Assessments Proficiency High School Graduation Post-secondary Participation Employment

IDEA/NCLB Expectations
Students with Academic Disabilities Specific Learning Disabilities Speech-Impairment Behavior-Emotional Disabilities Other Health Impairment Autism Spectrum Disorder Mild Intellectual Disabilities Students with Sensory Disabilities Hearing Impaired Visually Impaired Orthopedically Impaired Students with Significant Disabilities Traumatic Brain Injury Moderate to Severe Intellectual Disabilities Multiple Disabilities Deaf-Blind

General Legal Principles from IDEA, 504, and NCLB
Appropriate education Access to the general education curriculum Accommodations that provide access to curriculum, instruction, and assessment Accountability for student performance Parent involvement in decision making

Educational Principles from IDEA, 504, and NCLB
Focus on ALL students Accountability for PERFORMANCE Individualization Differentiation and high standards Disaggregation of performance data Parental engagement

Inclusion—whatever that is???? Least Restrictive Environment
Students with disabilities are to the maximum extent appropriate educated with their nondisabled peers. Removal from the regular classroom occurs only educating the student with a disability there “cannot be achieved satisfactorily.” Continuum of Services Mainstreaming Inclusion Access to the General Education Curriculum Reasonable Accommodations Differentiated Instruction

Least Restrictive Environment.
North Carolina Procedures Governing Programs and Services for Children With Special Needs (2004) Least Restrictive Environment. Least restrictive environment means that, to the maximum extent possible, children with disabilities shall be educated with children who are not disabled. After examining all alternatives for placement within an educational system, children with disabilities shall be placed where they can obtain the appropriate educational services which meet their individual educational/developmental needs as close to and as nearly like a regular classroom setting as possible. For preschool children with disabilities, this shall be interpreted to mean the most natural environment possible.

Roncker v. Walter (1983) If placement in a segregated facility is superior to a public school placement, can the public school feasibly provide that placement in a nonsegregated setting. 1. What are the benefits of both settings? 2. Would the child be disruptive in the regular classroom? 3. What is the cost difference between the two settings?

Daniel R.R. v. State Board of Education (1989)
A school district satisfied the court’s two-pronged test used to ascertain whether a segregated setting was appropriate for a child with Down Syndrome: 1. Can placement in the regular classroom, with the use of supplementary aids and services, be satisfactorily achieved? 2. If placement in the regular classroom cannot be satisfactorily achieved with the use of supplementary services and aids and the school intends to place the student in a separate special education class, does the placement include opportunities for education in the least restrictive setting? Factors to be considered: 1. the nature and severity of the student’s disability 2. the student’s needs and abilities 3. the school’s response to those needs and abilities

Greer v. Rome City School District (1991)
The court ruled that a school district had not adequately considered the use of supplementary aids and services to facilitate the placement of a Down Syndrome child in her neighborhood school. The court provided a four-part test: 1. How do the academic benefits in general and special education settings compare for the student? 2. How do the nonacademic benefits in general and special education compare for the student? 3. What effect will the student’s presence in the classroom have on the other students? 4. Would the cost of the inclusive program be so great that it would have a negative impact on the education of other students?

Oberti v. Board of Education of the Borough of Clementon (1993)
School districts have an affirmative obligation to rebut the IDEA’s strong preference for placement in general education settings before they consider other more restrictive settings. 1. Are the student’s disabilities so severe that s/he will receive little or no benefit from an inclusive placement? 2. Is the child so disruptive that the education of other students will be significantly impaired? 3. Is the cost of the inclusive placement so great that the education of other students will be negatively affected?

Sacramento Unified School District v. Holland (1994)
When the school district proposed a segregated classroom for a girl with Down Syndrome, her parents placed her in a regular classroom in a private school, where she remained from kindergarten to second grade. The court upheld the parent’s claim that she should be placed in a regular class full-time with supplementary services. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the school, district’s appeal, thus affirming the Ninth Circuit ruling. 1. Has/can the child make progress in the general education classroom? 2. Is there a detrimental effect on the general education program? 3. What are the nonacademic benefits of placement in the general education classroom? 4. What are the costs of educating the child in the general education classroom?

Inclusive Practice Inclusive--comprehensive, all- encompassing, the process of moving all elements into the aggregate Practice--what we do in our work Student Performance--student responses to in-class assignments, independent assignments, assessments, and projects as well as academic and behavioral responsibility and school citizenship

Knowledge Traditions Content knowledge Scope and sequence
General Education Special Education Content knowledge Scope and sequence Instructional methods Managing groups Learning styles Pacing An understanding of the priorities embedded in the curriculum Use of student data in instruction Accommodations Individual Assessment Instructional planning Individualization The role of parents Behavior management Task analysis

Attitudes and Skills Necessary for Teachers of All Students
“They establish clarity for curricular essentials. They accept responsibility for learner success. They develop communities of respect. They build awareness of what works for each student. They develop classroom management routines that contribute to success. They help students become effective partners in their own success. They develop flexible classroom teaching routines. They expand a repertoire of instructional strategies. They reflect on individual progress with an eye toward curricular goals and personal goals.” Tomlinson, C. A., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Principles of Inclusive Practice
High Expectations for Every Student Personalized Approaches to Learning Using a Variety of Instructional Approaches and Resources Collaborative Teaching and Professional Development Continuous Student Performance Monitoring

Inclusive Practice Access to the General Education Classroom
Access to the General Education Curriculum Access to General Education Assessments APPROPRIATE—designed to provide educational benefit

Inclusive Practice Access to the General Education Classroom
Access to the General Education Curriculum Access to General Education Assessments Least Restrictive Environment Individualized Education Plan NCLB and IDEA requirement for participation in statewide assessment systems

Continuum of Services Children come to school with varying abilities, motivation, and life experiences. When these internal factors cause them to fail in school, it is the school district’s responsibility to provide a continuum of remedial, compensatory, and/or special services to meet their needs. Some students (those with disabilities) have such extraordinary needs that it is sometimes necessary to separate them from their peers to meet those needs. Generating resources necessary to support these services requires identifying students with labels such as as at-risk, remedial, disabled, or bilingual. Specialists have developed tools and strategies to assess and plan for these students, and separate settings have been established in which their extraordinary needs can be met. Specially trained personnel, working in specially designed and delivered programs, are available to provide the remediation and compensatory instruction that afford these students equitable educational opportunities.

Inclusive Schools All students should be educated in the regular classroom, unless specific circumstances cause educators to place them in other educational environments. All students should attend the school to which they would normally go if they had no disability. Students with disabilities are distributed in their natural proportion at the school site in regular education programs that are age and grade appropriate. No student is denied placement at the school site on the basis of the severity of disability unless s/he is a danger to him/her self or others. Special education support services are primarily provided within the context of the regular education program with other cooperative learning and peer support practices. Students are assured of an equitable and appropriate education, when they are educated together.

Learning-Centered Schools
All students have special needs, although some are more unique than others. It is not necessary to label or separate students in order to provide them with an appropriate education, and excellence in education is accomplished when all children are educated together. The primary needs for all students are to learn to live, work, and participate in the community, since the community is where life occurs. Education for life after school should begin in the neighborhood school and successively expand to the community at large. When teachers with varying expertise work collaboratively and use a variety of strategies and technologies, they can address the needs of all students. Students and other members of the school community benefit when they work together daily to meet those individual and diverse needs. Achieving educational equity and excellence requires unifying all members of the school community around a vision and set of outcomes for all students. Placing students at the center of the enterprise becomes the common focus and common task of all members of the school community.

How Do the Continuum of Services and the Inclusive Schools scenarios differ?
Responsibility for the education of students with disabilities Boundaries of “normalcy” Expectations Curriculum Role of “specialists” School organization

What Do General Education Teachers Need to Know?
Responsibility for All Students The Variability of Diverse Learners Differentiation of Instruction Value of Collaboration Cooperative Learning and Peer Tutoring

Disciplinary procedures should be:
Equitable Educative Empowering Discipline should be a teaching and learning process.

Honig v. Doe (1988) Students with disabilities cannot be expelled for behavior related to their disabilities. Students with disabilities may be suspended for up to ten days, if they pose an immediate threat to others.

Unilateral Cessation of Services
The courts have been clear that school districts cannot act unilaterally to stop providing students with disabilities FAPE. When is a disciplinary action a change of placement?

Expulsion and Students With Disabilities
For behavior that is not a manifestation of the disability Special education and related services must be provided.

Suspension and Students With Disabilities
Up to ten days in succession More than ten days cumulative--a pattern Similarity Length Proximity

Interim Alternative Educational Placement
Weapons, drugs, inflicting serious bodily injury 45 school days

Functional Behavioral Assessment
Functional--an inquiry into the cause of a behavior Assessing functional behavior: “(a) interviews and rating scales, (b) direct and systematic observation of the person's behavior, and (c) manipulating different environmental events to see how behavior changes” Starin, 2007,

Behavioral Intervention Plans
“A plan of positive behavioral interventions in the IEP of a child whose behaviors interfere with his/her learning or that of others.” sped.legal.htm

Manifestation Determination
“If (a) child with disability engages in behavior or breaks a rule or code of conduct that applies to nondisabled children and the school proposes to remove the child, the school must hold a hearing to determine if the child’s behavior was caused by the disability.” d.legal.htm

Manifestation Determination in NC
If the manifestation review determines that the behavior was not a manifestation of the disability, the local education agency may proceed with the same disciplinary procedures that are used with nondisabled students except the student with a disability must continue to receive a free appropriate public education, including special education and related services and access to the general curriculum as determined by the IEP Team and other qualified persons. If the local education agency initiates disciplinary procedures applicable to all children, the agency shall ensure that the special education and disciplinary records of the student with a disability shall be given to the person making the final decision regarding the disciplinary action for consideration.

What about. . . Manifestation determination
Functional Behavior Assessment Functional Behavior Plan Interim Alternative Educational Placement Pattern of misbehavior A student with a learning disability, a student with behavior and emotional disturbance, a student with a 504 plan, and a “typical” student are all implicated in the theft of $12.00 from a teacher’s desk. All of the students have already been suspended for eight days each. How would you respond, and how would your explain your response to teachers and parents?

Untangling IDEA, Section 504, and NCLB

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