NONDISCRIMINATORY, MULTIFACTORED EVALUATION AND IDENTIFICATION Evaluation team must be a multidisciplinary team or group of persons, at least one of whom has knowledge in the child's suspected area of disability. Technically sound instruments must be used to assess the student across four domains: cognitive, behavioral, physical, and developmental. Tests must not discriminate on the basis of race or culture. Tests must be provided and administered in the child's native language or other mode of communication. Standardized tests must have been validated for the specific purpose for which they are used. Standardized tests must be administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel in accordance with any instructions provided by the publisher of the tests. The child is assessed in all areas related to the suspected disability. The evaluation process must not rely on any single procedure as the sole criterion for determining whether the student has a disability, the student's program, or placement. (Source: IDEA, Sec. 1414(b) W. L. Heward, Exceptional Children, 6e,  2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. T 2.2

THREE TEAM MODELS Multidisciplinary teams are composed of professionals from different disciplines who work independently of one another. Each team member conducts assessments, plans interventions, and delivers services. Interdisciplinary teams are characterized by formal channels of communication between members. Although interdisciplinary teams meet to share information and to develop intervention plans, each team member is generally responsible for implementing a portion of the service plan related to his or her discipline. Transdisciplinary teams conduct joint assessments, share information and expertise across discipline boundaries, and select goals and interventions that are discipline-free. Members of transdisciplinary teams may also share roles (often referred to as role release). W. L. Heward, Exceptional Children, 6e,  2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. T 2.3

IEP TEAM MEMBERSHIP Each IEP must be the product of the joint efforts of the members of an IEP team, which must include: (1) The parents (or surrogate parent) of the child; (2) At least one regular education teacher of the child (if the child is, or may be, participating in the regular education environment); (3) At least one special education teacher, or if appropriate, at least one special education provider of the child; (4) A representative of the local education agency (LEA) who-- i. Is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities; ii. Is knowledgeable about the general curriculum; and ii. Is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the LEA; (5) An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, who may be a member of the team described above; (6) At the discretion of the parent or the school, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related service personnel as appropriate; and (7) The student, if age 14 or older, must be invited. Younger students may attend if appropriate. (34 CFR 300.344) W. L. Heward, Exceptional Children, 6e,  2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. T 2.4

IEP COMPONENTS Each student with a disability must have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that includes: (1) A statement of the child's present levels of educational performance, including how the child's disability affects the child's involvement and progress in the general curriculum;a (2) A statement of measurable annual goals, including benchmarks or short-term objectives, related to meeting the child's needs that result from the child's disability; (3) 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; i. To advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals; ii. To be involved in and progress in the general curriculum and to participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities; and iii. To be educated and participate with other children with disabilities and nondisabled children in [such] activities; (4) An explanation of the extent, if any, to which the child will not participate with nondisabled children in the regular class and in the activities described in paragraph (3); W. L. Heward, Exceptional Children, 6e,  2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. T 2.5

IEP COMPONENTS (con't.) (5) A statement of i. Any individual modifications in the administration of State or district-wide assessments of student achievement that are needed in order for the child to participate in such assessment; and ii. If the IEP team determines that the child will not participate in a particular State or district- wide assessments of student achievement (or part of an assessment), a statement of (A) Why that assessment is not appropriate for the child; and (B) How the child will be assessed; (6) The projected date for the beginning of the services and modifications described in paragraph (3) and the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of those services and modifications; and (7) A statement of i. How the child's progress toward the annual goals described in paragraph (2) will be measured; and ii. How the child's parents will be regularly informed (through such means as periodic report cards) of (A) Their child's progress toward the annual goals; and (B) The extent to which that progress is sufficient to enable the child to achieve the goals by the end of the year. For students age 16 and older, IEP must also include information on how the child's transition from school to adult life will be supported. (20 U.S.C. Section 1414(d)(1)(A)) W. L. Heward, Exceptional Children, 6e,  2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. T 2.6

LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT (LRE) IDEA requires that every student with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Specifically, the law stipulates that to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities . . . [will be] educated with children who are not disabled, and that . . . Removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment may occur only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. The LRE is the setting that is closest to a regular school program and also meets the child's special educational needs. LRE is a relative concept; the LRE for one child might be inappropriate for another. Although the regular classroom is the LRE for many children with disabilities, IDEA does not stipulate that all children with disabilities must be educated in regular classrooms all of the time. W. L. Heward, Exceptional Children, 6e,  2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. T 2.7

TAYLOR’S (1988) CRITIQUE OF LRE AND THE CONTINUUM OF SERVICES MODEL 1. Legitimates restrictive environments. To conceptualize services in terms of restrictiveness is to legitimate more restrictive settings. 2. Confuses segregation and integration with intensity of services. LRE equates segregation with the most intensive services and integration with the least intensive services. 3. Based on a “readiness model.” The implicit assumption is that people with developmental disabilities must earn the right to move to the LRE. 4. Supports the primacy of professional decision making. The LRE is almost always qualified with words such as "appropriate," "necessary," "feasible," and "possible" (and never with "desired" or "wanted"). 5. Sanctions infringements on people's rights. The question imposed by LRE is not whether people with disabilities should be restricted, but to what extent. 6. Implies that people must move as they develop and change. 7. Directs attention to physical settings rather than to the services and supports people need. W. L. Heward, Exceptional Children, 6e,  2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. T 2.9

COMPONENTS OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION* Inclusive education is in place when each of these five features occurs on an ongoing, daily basis: 1. Heterogeneous Grouping All students are educated together in groups where the number of those with and without disabilities approximates natural proportion. 2. A Sense of Belonging to a Group All students are considered members of the class rather than visitors, guests, or outsiders. 3. Shared Activities with Individualized Outcomes Students share educational experiences (e.g., lessons, labs, field studies, group learning) at the same time even though their learning objectives may be different. Multilevel instruction and curriculum overlapping are two practices for making shared activities meaningful for all students. 4. Use of Environments Frequented by Persons without Disabilities Educational experiences take place in settings predominantly frequented by people without disabilities. 5. A Balanced Educational Experience Inclusive education seeks an individualized balance between the academic/functional and social/personal aspects of schooling. * From: M. F. Giangreco, C. J. Cloninger, R. E. Dennis, & S. W. Edelman (1994) W. L. Heward, Exceptional Children, 6e,  2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. T 2.10