Transcript Navigating the Landscape of Education Law

Navigating the Landscape of
Education Law
Professor Scott F. Johnson
Roadmap
 Focus on special education & NCLB
 Discuss briefly how the laws work
 Discuss how the laws connect or work
together
 Discuss ways to utilize the laws to obtain
necessary services for students
Laws that apply
 Special Education
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Federal – Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA)
State
Statutes and regulations
 Section 504/ADA
 NCLB
Specific SPED Laws
 Federal Statute 20 USC s 1400 et seq.
 Federal Regulations 34 CFR s 300.1 et seq.
 States have adopted their own statutes and
regulations.
 May exceed federal requirements, but must
be consistent and cannot go below.
 NH Statutes RSA 186-C
 NH regulations Ed 1100 et seq.
You need to know the laws
 Obtain them from a variety of sources
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NHEdLaw www.nhedlaw.com
NH Dept. of Education
United States Department of Education
Special Education
Purposes of the federal law:
1. Remedy exclusion of students with
disabilities
2. Ensure appropriate public services were
provided to them at no charge
3. Provide students and parents rights in the
decision making process
Special Education
To provide special education and related
services designed to meet the student’s
unique needs and provide access to the
general curriculum.
5. To meet developmental goals and, to the
maximum extent possible, the challenging
expectations that have been established for
all children
6. To prepare students for employment, future
education, and independent living.
4.
Core Requirements
1.
Free – at no charge to parent
- Even if at private school by public agency
2.
Appropriate services
- individual, unique needs
Notice
4. Participation
5. Hearing to resolve disagreements and
challenge decisions
3.
Four letter word to describe what school’s must
provide special education students
What is
FAPE
FAPE
 Standard the all services have to meet is a Free and
Appropriate Public Education (called FAPE).
 FAPE is meeting the student’s individual, unique
needs, but it is not the “best” education possible or
maximizing the student’s potential.
 In Hendrick v. Rowley IDEA provides only a “basic
floor of opportunity”
 FAPE is also not a minimal education. It is something
in the middle.
This is referred to as the Cadillac
Versus Chevrolet argument
What does it mean?
 Most courts have found that
“meaningful progress” is
required in order to provide
FAPE.
 The student’s abilities are
considered when determining
progress.
 The student’s grades and
passing from grade to grade
also considered.
Special Education Process
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Referral
Evaluation
Eligibility
IEP
Placement
Referral
Child find obligations
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school districts have an affirmative obligation
to identify refer and evaluate students that
reside in their district ages 3 to 21.
applies to all children “suspected of having a
disability”
Must develop a “child find” policy
Must have in school and out of school
procedures
Child Find
 School district must ensure all referrals go to IEP
team for disposition.
 Some factors for referrals include, but are not limited
to:
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failing hearing or vision screening
Unsatisfactory performance on achievement tests or
accountability measures – Link to NCLB
Multiple academic or behavioral warnings
Repeatedly failing subjects
Referral
 Anyone can make it
 If other than parent must notify parent referral was
made
 Must convene a team meeting to make a decision
about whether to evaluate the student to see if the
student has a disability and if the student requires
special education services as a result of that
disability. Ed 1107.02(c).
Evaluations
 Must be “full and individual”
 Must use a variety of assessment tools and
strategies to gather information.
 Must assess in all areas related to the
suspected disability.
 Evaluations must be comprehensive and
identify all of the special education and
related services needs.
Evaluations
 Must be performed by qualified examiners as defined
in Ed 1107.04
 Must answer three questions for initial evaluation:
 Need any additional info?
 Present levels of performance and educational
needs
 Another link to NCLB
 Whether child needs special education and related
services.
Eligibility
To be eligible for services under the IDEA, a
student must meet the two-part test set forth in
regulations:
(1) the student must be a "child with a
disability;"
(2) the student must require special
education and related services as a
result of the disability.
34 CFR 300.7.
Eligibility
• There are 13 categories of disability under
the IDEA. Ed 1102.09
• Each has its own definitional requirements.
• Most of the 13 categories contain some
requirement that the disability "adversely
affect the child's educational performance."
Eligibility
• When determining if a disability adversely
affects education performance, courts have
looked at whether the student would be able
to do required classwork without
specialized instruction.
• Greenland Sch. Dist. v. Katie C. And Kevin T. v. Merrimack Valley
Sch. Dist.; Yankton v. Schramm, 93 F.3d 1369 (8th Cir 1996).
Eligibility
School districts must consider more than
academic progress when looking at whether or
not a child's disability adversely affects
educational performance. Social and emotional
difficulties must also be considered.
IEPs
• Cornerstone of the IDEA
• An IEP is a package that must "target all the child's special
needs whether they be academic, physical, emotional, or
social." Lenn v. Portland School Committee, 998 F.2d.
1083, 1086 (1st Cir. 1993).
• Changes in 2004 require IEP’s to address functional and
developmental needs
• IEP’s must also address “special factors” like assistive
technology, communication needs, and positive behavior
supports.
IEP Requirements
A number of very specific requirements in state and
federal law. Ed 1119, 34 CFR § 300.347. Some
include:
• Levels of performance, strengths and weaknesses
• Annual Goals (no more short term objectives)
• Services provided
• When, where and by whom
• Transition
• Assessment tests
IEP Must Include:
The term individualized education program' or IEP' means a written
statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and
revised in accordance with this section and that includes-(I) a statement of the child's present levels of academic achievement and
functional performance, including-(aa) how the child's disability affects the child's involvement and progress
in the general education curriculum;
…
(II) a statement of measurable annual goals, academic and functional
goals, designed to-(aa) meet the child's needs that result from the child's disability to enable
the child to be involved in and make progress in the general education
curriculum;
IEP Requirements
• The focus for IEPs is enabling the
student to be involved in and progress
in the general education curriculum.
• Another link to NCLB
General Curriculum
 The general curriculum
is the curriculum
available to all students.
 In New Hampshire it is
the Curriculum
Frameworks if your
school has aligned its
curriculum to the
frameworks (which it
should). See RSA 193.
Hybrid
Curriculum Frameworks
contain a mixture of
content and proficiently
standards.
Standards Include
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Content standards
Set forth broad descriptions of the knowledge
and skills students should learn.
Define the overall goals of student learning.
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Proficiency standards
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Set forth concrete examples of what students
should know and be able to do at certain stages.
Describes how well student must perform to
demonstrate achievement of content standards.
Provides a link between content standards and
assessment.
Impact of Standards
1.
They set high expectations for all students.
This seems at odds with the Rowley’s “floor of
opportunity.”
2.
Standards can provide clear, definable, and
measurable goals that students must obtain.
3.
In New Hampshire we have the frameworks that
provide these for 3rd 6th and 10th grade and we
have new Grade Level Equivalencies up to 8th
grade.
New Hampshire’s Curriculum
Frameworks for Language Arts
 These goal statements establish general expectations of
what New Hampshire students should know and be able
to do in English language arts at the end-of-grade twelve.
 They will be attained as students acquire the facts,
concepts, skills, and processes enumerated under each of
the five organizing strands--reading; writing; speaking,
listening, and viewing; literature; and English language
uses--presented in this curriculum framework.
Broad Goals
 Students will read fluently, with understanding and appreciation.
 Students will write effectively for a variety of purposes and
audiences.
 Students will speak purposefully and articulately.
 Students will listen and view attentively and critically.
 Students will use reading, writing, speaking, listening, and
viewing to:
1.
2.
3.
gather and organize information;
communicate effectively; and
succeed in educational, occupational, civic,
social, and everyday settings.
Content Standard
Reading:
 Students will demonstrate the interest and
ability to read age-appropriate materials
fluently, with understanding and appreciation.
Proficiency Standards Grade 3
Students will be able to:
 Determine the pronunciation and meaning of words by using phonics
matching letters and combinations of letters with sounds), semantics
(language sense and meaning), syntactics (sentence structure), graphics,
pictures, and context as well as knowledge of roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
 Understand and use the format and conventions of written language to
help them read texts (for example, left to right, top to bottom, typeface).
 Identify a specific purpose for their reading such as learning, locating
information, or enjoyment.
 Form an initial understanding of stories and other materials they read by
identifying major elements presented in the text including characters,
setting, conflict and resolution, plot, theme, main idea, and supporting
details.
Assessment measures:
 Part of standards based
reform includes assessment
measures to determine if
students have met the
standards.
 NCLB requires testing in
reading and math every year
in grades 3-8 and once in
grades 10-12. Science
testing requirements 20072008: Science once in
grade span 3-5, 6-8, and 1012.
 NCLB requires Adequate
Yearly Progress for students
with disabilities as a subgroup.
Assessment
 IDEA requires that children with disabilities be included in
general State and district-wide assessment programs like
those required under NCLB.
 IEP’s must include a statement of any appropriate
accommodations that are necessary to measure the
academic achievement and functional performance of the
child on State and districtwide assessments
 These assessments are one component in measuring
progress towards meeting state educational standards and
IEP goals.
HOW?
 Use the IEP process to
determine how to apply
standards on an
individual basis
 Develop Goals for
“Access Skills”
 Decide if need to alter
or modify standards for
specific students
 Develop “Linking
Standards”
Access Skills
 Access skills are the skills students need to
access and progress in the general
curriculum.
 Reading, writing, math skills, problem solving
skills, etc.
Linking Standards
 Linking standards are standards that bridge or
link the student from where they currently are to
the actual standard.
 Appropriate when the student is not quite able to
meet the actual standard yet.
 Should be on target to meet the actual standard.
 May get some help from looking at a state’s
alternate standards if they have any for their
alternate assessments.
Individualization
 Simply putting the
standard in the IEP is
not enough.
 Must assess each
students needs and
abilities.
 Develop access skills
and linking standards.
Placement
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After IEP completed
Placement must be able to implement IEP
Decision made by Team with Parents
Least Restrictive Environment
Parental Rights
 Procedural and substantive
 At each step of the process
 Notice, participation and consent
 Transfer to student at age of majority
Enforcement
 Due process
 Complaint
 Mediation/Neutral case evaluation
 Court
Section 504/ADA
Eligible
504/ADA
 Eligible if have a physical or
mental impairment that
substantially limits a major
life activity.
 Could be learning but does
not have to be. Others
include caring for one's self,
performing manual tasks,
walking, seeing, hearing,
speaking, breathing,
learning, and working
IDEA
 Must be a child with a
disability whose
impairment affects
education and who
requires special
education
All with disabilities
504/ADA
IDEA
Services
504/ADA
 Generally modifications
or accommodations
 Can also be special
education or related
services
 504 plan does not have
to be in writing but
usually is and should be
for best practice
IDEA
 Specially designed
instruction to meet
child’s unique needs
 IEP
Accommodations
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Modify assignments, and tests.
Provide an extra set of textbooks for home.
Adjust student seating.
Use study guides, organizing tools.
Provide a peer tutor/helper.
Counseling.
Have the student use an organizer-train in
organizational skills.
 Preferential seating.
 Modify recess/PE/transportation.
NCLB
 Requires testing
 Each school and school district must make
adequate yearly progress in each sub-group
 Goal to have 100% at “proficient” by 20132014.
 Grade level equivalencies developed for the
NCLB test in NH called the NECAP
 State must produce an individual student
reports and scores
NECAP Scores
NCLB
 Also provides definitions to terms like
“reading,” “scientifically based research” and
“peer reviewed research.”
 These terms are used in various places in the
IDEA as well.
HQT
 NCLB requires teachers to be highly qualified
 The changes to the IDEA in 2004 incorporated some
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NCLB requirements
Highly qualified teachers and paraprofessionals is
one of them
State has developed various methods for teachers
and paraprofessionals to obtain HQT status
Parents can request information about HQT status of
child’s teacher.
More info on www.nhedlaw.com in NCLB section
Questions?