The Individuals with The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Disabilities Education Act

(IDEA) 2004(IDEA) 2004

Drafted March 2005Drafted March 2005

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Goals of IDEA ’04:Goals of IDEA ’04:• Streamline IDEA and align it with NCLB—

making the two laws work together Increased focus on assessment of special needs

students with their non-disabled peersEnsure every child has a highly qualified teacher

• Simplify administrative requirements and increase instructional time for teachers

• Reduce frivolous legal action• Reduce over-identification of children with

learning disabilities

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NAESP’s PrioritiesNAESP’s PrioritiesChanges in IDEA ’04Changes in IDEA ’04

• Paperwork reduction• Fully Funding IDEA• Discipline/Safety• Highly Qualified special

education teachers• Litigation/Resolution• IEP process simplification• Over-identification/Early

Intervention

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Paperwork ReductionPaperwork ReductionIncreased instructional timeIncreased instructional time

Eliminates benchmarks and short term objectives, except for the most severely cognitively disabled students (a.k.a., the 1% rule)

Requires only one procedural safeguard notice per year

Increases reliance on communication/notification via technology

Discussed further in the section on IEPs

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Paperwork Pilot ProgramPaperwork Pilot Program• Up to 15 states can volunteer to participate in the pilot program lasting no more than 4 years

States submit proposal to Secretary for approval

Proposals would delineate all state and federal regulations the state would waive in the attempt to minimize non-instructional time

• After 2 years, the U.S. Department of Education will report to Congress its recommendations on how best to:

Reduce paperwork/non-instructional time for teachers and school leaders Enhance long-term educational planning Promote cooperation between IEP Team members Ensure family/student satisfaction

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Funding of IDEAFunding of IDEAGuaranteeing a high quality educationGuaranteeing a high quality education

• IDEA remains a discretionary program (this means it’s subject to the appropriations process every year)

—Congress is not required to fund IDEA at any specific funding level (discretionary program)

—NAESP supports mandatory funding of IDEA (this would NAESP supports mandatory funding of IDEA (this would guarantee specific dollar amounts every year)guarantee specific dollar amounts every year)

—IDEA ’04 recommends a “glide path” to fully fund IDEA in 7 years

–The “glide path” is meaningless. The President’s budget request for FY06 ignores the “glide path” amount of $14.6 billion, asking for only $12.1 billion

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Funding of IDEAFunding of IDEAGuaranteeing a high quality educationGuaranteeing a high quality education

• If special education is funded at President Bush’s requested level in FY06, the federal government will be paying just 18.6% of special education costs

—Congress pledged to provide 40% of the excess costs of educating special needs students in 1975

—30 years later, less than half the promised amount has been reached

—FY06 marks the first year in several that the President’s budget request increase has fallen below $1 billion

—IDEA ’04 calls for increases of $2.3 billion per year for seven years, ensuring full funding is reached—President Bush’s FY06 request would supply only $508 million

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Funding, continuedFunding, continuedGood stuff! IDEA ’04 includes a “Hold Harmless”—No state can receive less money from the federal government than it received in the previous fiscal year

State formula changes from 75% local–25% state, to 90% local–10% state

This will prevent cash-strapped state governments from thinning local IDEA dollars to balance their budgets

Every penny helps!

IEP students need only be re-evaluated once every 3 years (unless parents choose to waive) and never more than once per school year (unless schools/parents agree)

Schools in compliance with IDEA may reduce local Maintenance of Effort dollars by as much as 50% of their increased federal IDEA dollars

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DisciplineDisciplineKeeping students safeKeeping students safe

IDEA ’04 takes measured steps toward ensuring educators and students are safe:

Manifestation Determination is still required; but a clear connection to the child’s disability must be identified

Schools may now remove special needs students who violate serious infractions in the discipline code for 45 school days (rather than 45 days)

—“Serious bodily injury” has been added as a category under circumstances where a student can be removed (along with carrying or possessing a weapon on school premises; and, knowingly possessing or using illegal drugs, or selling/soliciting the sale of illegal drugs on school premises)

NAESP continues to support the elimination of the dual NAESP continues to support the elimination of the dual discipline systemdiscipline system

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Highly QualifiedHighly Qualified NCLB says teachers must…NCLB says teachers must…

• Obtain full state certification, or pass the state teacher licensure exam while holding a degree to teach in that state; And,

• Must not have had licensure requirements waived or provided on an emergency, temporary or provisional basis

• Additionally, a veteran special education teacher must prove subject-matter competency in all of the “Core Content” subject areas they teach – States may use HOUSSE (High Objective Uniform State

Standard of Evaluation) to prove competency

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Highly QualifiedHighly QualifiedNew teachers and Para-New teachers and Para-

professionalsprofessionals New educators teaching multiple core academic subjects must prove competency within 2 years of employment

—via HOUSSE or other state-approved method

Paraprofessionals must also meet State licensure and/or certification requirements

—Paraprofessionals must be “appropriately trained and supervised” to be an aide in a highly qualified classroom

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Litigation/ResolutionLitigation/ResolutionEffective solutionsEffective solutions

IDEA ’04 recognizes the harm frivolous lawsuits can have on schools and families

Parents must supply a specific written complaint to schools before filing a suit, and must file within two years of the event

Schools have 10 days to attempt to resolve complaint with parents

Schools can reclaim legal fees for cases ruled in their favor

Lawyers bringing frivolous lawsuits can be punished

Schools do not need legal representation unless the parents choose representation

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IEPsIEPsMeeting every child’s needsMeeting every child’s needs

IDEA ’04 includes options to streamline

and simplify the IEP process:• Minimizing staff attendance at IEP Team meetings

– requires written permission from school and parents

– prioritizes attendance at IEP Team meeting to only those needed

– amendments to IEP can be made without convening IEP Team if school and parents approve (via phone, e-mail, etc.)

• Deleting benchmarks and short-term objectives– except for those students taking alternative assessments aligned

to alternate achievement standards

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IEPs, continuedIEPs, continuedNew items that must be included in an IEP:• Measurable goals, including “academic and functional

goals”

• Description of how goals will be measured and achieved annually

• Any/all accommodations for the child necessary to measure academic achievement in annual assessments —if IEP Team determines the child requires an alternative assessment, the

IEP must also include:

the reasons the child cannot participate in the regular assessment

the specific alternative assessment the IEP Team selected

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Multi-year IEP Pilot ProgramMulti-year IEP Pilot Program• Up to 15 states can volunteer to participate in the pilot program lasting no more then 3 years

Voluntary multi-year IEPs are required to participate in the program

• After 2 years, the U.S. Department of Education will submit annual reports to the House Education & the Workforce Committee, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee recommending how best to:

Reduce paperwork/non-instructional time for teachers and school leaders Enhance longer-term educational planning and improve positive outcomes for disabled children Promote cooperation between IEP Team members Ensure family/student satisfaction

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Over-identificationOver-identificationMinimizing labelsMinimizing labels

Findings worth noting:

In 1998-99, African-American children represented only 14.8% of the population, but made up 20.2% of all children with disabilities

In 2000, one of every three persons in the U.S. was a member of a minority group or was limited English proficient

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Over-ID, continuedOver-ID, continuedIDEA ’04 attempts to address over-identification by encouraging schools to implement early identification programs.

Schools can use up to 15% of their IDEA money for this purpose

In determining if a child has a learning disability, the school:

may not use any single evaluation to determine a disability and is not required to use IQ assessment

must use a scientifically and research-based evaluation method or intervention program, combined with in-class observation

must consider a child’s English language barriers and previous instruction in reading skills and math

IDEA 2004IDEA 2004

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Contact InformationContact Information

Sally McConnell, Ph.D., CAESally McConnell, Ph.D., CAE Abbie EvansAbbie EvansAssociate Executive Director Advocacy Specialist1615 Duke Street 1615 Duke StreetAlexandria, Virginia 22314 Alexandria, Virginia 22314(703) 518.6263 (703) 518.6251smcconnell@naesp.org aevans@naesp.org