Phase II:Schools, Families, Communities and DisabilitiesRebecca Durban and Jessica MartinGDIT 819

History & Law: Special Education• “Prior to the 1970s, millions of children with disabilities were either refused

enrollment or inadequately served by public schools. After securing some initial government support for special education efforts, advocates shifted to an emphasis on educational rights, an orientation strongly influenced by the civil rights movement” (Stanberry, 2015).

• Between the mid 1960s and 1975, state legislatures, the federal courts, and the U.S. Congress spelled out strong educational rights for children with disabilities.

• Forty-five state legislatures passed laws mandating, encouraging, and/or funding special education programs.

• Federal courts, interpreting the equal protection and due process guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ruled that schools could not discriminate on the basis of disability and that parents had due process rights related to their children’s schooling.

Sources: Martin, Martin, & Terman, 1999 p.25 & Stanberry, 2015

• Congress revised and renamed the “Education for a Handicapped Children Act (1975)” to IDEA in 1990 and revised it again in 2004.

• (IDEA), laid out detailed procedural protections regarding eligibility for special educational services, parental rights, individualized education programs (IEPs), the requirement that children be served in the least restrictive environment, and the need to provide related (noneducational) services.

• Decisions on instructional matter ssuch as curricula and the elements of the IEP remain the province of local and state authorities.

History & Law: Special Education

Source: Martin, Martin, & Terman, 1999 p.25

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)• www.idea.ed.gov• Ensures services to children with disabilities through out the

nation.• Governs how states and public agencies provide early

intervention, special education, and related services to eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities

• Part B (ages 3-21• Part C (ages birth-2)

Source: www.idea.ed.gov (2015)

What is Special Education? Video Link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=9DktV772njY

Individualized Education Program (IEP)

• Definitions: 1. “An IEP is an important legal document. It spells out your child’s learning

needs, the services the school will provide and how progress will be measured” (Stanberry, 2014).

2. “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 understand the student's disability and how the disability affects the learning process” (Wikipedia, 2015).

Source: www.idea.ed.gov (2015)

Individualized Education Program (IEP)

• A written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in a meeting in accordance with 34 CFR 300.320 through 300.324, and that must include:• The child's present levels of academic achievement and functional performance.• Measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals• For children with disabilities who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate

achievement standards, a description of benchmarks or short-term objectives.• The special education and related services and supplementary aids and services, based on

peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable, to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child

• Any individual appropriate accommodations that are necessary to measure the academic achievement and functional performance of the child on State and district-wide assessments consistent with section 612(a)(16) of the Act.

• A description of• How the child's progress toward meeting the annual goals described in 34 CFR

300.320(a)(2) will be measured. • When periodic reports on the progress the child is making toward meeting the annual

goals (such as through the use of quarterly or other periodic reports, concurrent with the issuance of report cards) will be provided.

Source: www.idea.ed.gov (2015)

Steps in the IEP Process• Pre-referral• Referral• teachers, parents, or doctors make a request or referral for

evaluation.

• Identification• Evaluation-Requested by doctors, parents, teachers that include

various tests and observations. The IEP Team the reviews the

information from the testing. (60 calendar day timeline by law)• Eligibility• Decision-The IEP team, which includes parents and school

officials, decides whether or not your child needs special education services in order to learn the general education curriculum. IDEA says that having any of 13 disabilities may qualify a child for special education

Sources: Stanberry, 2015 Source: www.idea.ed.gov (2015)

Steps in the IEP Process (Cont.)

• Development of the IEP• If the IEP team agrees that your child needs services, then the next step is to

create an IEP.• Bylaw, all IEPs must contain the following elements:

• Your child’s present levels of educational performance (PLOP): This is a thorough description of the child’s current abilities, skills, weaknesses and strengths.

• The results of your child’s evaluations and tests• Special education and related services to be provided• Accommodations and modifications• Supplementary aids and services• Annual educational goals• A description of how the child’s progress will be measured and reported• An explanation of how much the child will participate in general

education classes and extracurricular activities• Implementation of the IEP• Evaluation and reviews

Sources: Stanberry, 2015

Who Participates in the IEP Process

• The child’s IEP team creates the IEP.

• Each person on the team plays an important role. By the law, the team includes:• The student’s parent(s). IDEA gives parents the legal right to participate in all of

their child’s IEP meetings. As the parent, you’re a full and equal member of the team. After all, you probably know your child’s strengths and struggles better than anyone else. Your concerns and suggestions about his education are invaluable.

• At least one of the child’s general education teachers.• At least one special education teacher or other special education provider.• A school district representative knowledgeable about both general education and

special education. This person also should have the power to make decisions that involve school resources. In other words, if the school rep thinks your child should be given speech therapy, she should have the power to make that happen.

• A school psychologist or other specialist who can interpret the student’s evaluation and test results.

Sources: Stanberry, 2015

What Happens in an IEP Meeting?

What happens at IEP meetings?

• The law requires the IEP team to review the IEP at least once a year. But the IEP team can meet any time the parent or the school want a meeting. Many teams meet more often than once a year.

• The IEP meeting is key to making sure the child’s IEP is working for him/her. It gives parents a chance to discuss with teachers your child’s weaknesses and strengths and can be done to modify goals, adjusting expectations, or give the child more, less, or different kinds of services and support.

• The IEP meeting is when the parents, teachers, and the school give and get input on how the child is doing

Sources: Stanberry, 2015

Parents Have Rights…• Parents can dispute an IEP if they are not in agreement or feel

that the child is not receiving what they need.

• There are steps they can take and are usually taken in the following order:1. Ask for a mediation session. 2. File a due process complaint. 3. Hold a resolution session. 4. File a civil lawsuit. 5. When an agreement is reached it should be in writing.

Sources: Stanberry, 2015

What causes most disputes?

PLACEMENTS!!!

Sources: Stanberry, 2015

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)•What is LRE?• Identified in the U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

• 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.

• LRE was a main topic in the 1980s and 1990s, but the focus of this time was not the “how” children with disabilities should be educated, but the “where” children with disabilities should be educated.

Concerns with Least Restrictive Environment

• Is least restrictive environment always best for children with disabilities?

• Does least restrictive environment mean full inclusion in the general education classroom?

Source: Cortiella, C., & Horowitz, S. H. (2014)

What does the LAW say?• Daniel R.R. v. State Board of Education (1989)• Determined that students with disabilities have a right to be

included in both academic and extracurricular programs of general education• If the school officials have provided the maximum

appropriate exposure to non-disabled students, they have fulfilled their obligation under IDEA.

Law Con’t…• Sacramento City Unified School District v. Rachel H., 14

F.3d 1398 (9th Cir. 1994)• 4 factors needed to be taken into consideration

when determining if the student’s LRE is appropriate:• The educational benefits of integrated settings versus

segregated settings,• Non-academic benefits (primarily social interaction with

non-disabled peers),• The effect the student with a disability can have on the

teacher and his or her peers, and• The cost of supplementary services that will be required

for that student to stay in the integrated setting

The LRE Mandate• “to the maximum extent appropriate, children with

disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not disabled, and that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs 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.” (IDEA, 20 U.S.C. § 1412)

Continuum of Alternative Placements• The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation

Services (OSERS)• “that some children with disabilities may require

placement in settings other than the general education classroom in order to be provided with an education designed to address their unique needs” (Letter to Goodling, 1991, p. 214).

IDEA and the Continuum Alternative Placements

• Regulations for School Districts:• Each [school district] shall ensure that a continuum of

alternative placements is available to meet the needs of children with disabilities for special education and related services

• Include the alternative placements• Instruction in regular classes, special classes, special schools, home instruction,

and instruction in hospitals and institutions

• Make provision for supplementary services to be provided in conjunction with regular class placement. (IDEA Regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 300.551)

Who Decides Placement?• Parents of the child with disabilities

• Personnel who know the variety of placement options available to meet the child’s needs

• Individuals who understand the significance of the data used to develop the child’s IEP. [§300.116(a)]

*Often, these are the same individuals that are on the child’s IEP team.

How is the Placement Determined?• Determined each and every year

• Based on the child’s IEP

• As close as possible to the child’s home

• Places the child in the school he or she would normally attend if not disabled (unless the child’s IEP requires some other arrangement). [§300.116(a)-(c)]

Notification • Parents must have prior written notice about the placement decision a

reasonable time before it implements that decision (§300.503).• Notice must include ( but not limited to):• The educational placement of the child to be initiated, as proposed

by the agency• An explanation of why the agency proposes that placement• A description of each evaluation procedure, assessment, record, or

report the agency used as a basis for the placement decision• A description of other options considered and why these options

were rejected• A statement that the parents have protection under IDEA’s

procedural safeguards and the means by which a description of those safeguards may be obtained

• Sources that can help the parents understand IDEA’s pertinent provisions.

Placement Types• LRE can lead to a variety of placement types.

• Placement Types: (many out there- these are some that we have seen in the field)• General Education• Learning Support• Life Skills• Autistic Support Classroom• Emotional Support Classroom• Behavioral Support Classroom• Full Inclusion with supplementary aides• Home Bound Instruction• Hospital Bound Instruction• Residential Placements• Specialized School or Charter Schools

Related Services• LRE can lead to a variety of related services.• Services:

• Occupational Therapy• Physical Therapy• Adapted Physical Education• Speech Therapy• School Counseling• Behavior Coach Support• Reading Coach Support• Learning Support Push-In• Supplementary Aide Supports

One Final Thought…Video Link: https://youtu.be/lvkJhkRMfNg

References:Cortiella, C., & Horowitz, S. H. (2014). The State of Learning Disabilities: Facts, Trends and Emerging Issues. New York: National Center for Learning Disabilities.

Crockett, J. B., & Kauffman, J. M. (2013). The least restrictive environment: Its origins and interpretations in special education. Routledge.

Daniel R.R. v. State Bd. of Educ., 874 F.2d 1036, 1050 (5th Cir.1989)

Dybwad, G. (1980)Avoiding the misconceptions of mainstreaming, the least restrictive environment, and normalization. Exceptional Children, 47, 85-90

Hocutt, A. (1999). Effectiveness of Special Education: Is Placement a Factor?. Special Education for Students with Disabilities, 6(1), pp. 77-102. IDEA (2015): www.idea.gov

Martin, E., Martin R., & Terman, D. (1999). The Legislative and Litigation History of Special Education. Special Education for Students with Disabilities, 6(1), pp. 25-39.

Stanberry, K. (2014). Understanding Individualized Education Programs. Retrieved on June 9 th, 2015 from http://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/ieps/understanding-individualized-education-programs#item0.