Transcript Title

Education for
Students with
Disabilities:
The Basics
• Unique alliance of people with disabilities
and parents of children with disabilities.
• National law and policy center dedicated
to protecting and advancing disability
civil and human rights.
• VISION: a just world where all people live full
and independent lives free of discrimination.
• Disability rights are civil rights.
• Information is power!
Children with disabilities who have consistent,
knowledgeable advocates are most likely
to receive appropriate services & supports!
DREDF Children & Family Advocacy:
• Parent Training and Information (PTI)
Center for Alameda, Contra Costa & Yolo.
• Foster Youth Resources for Education
(FYRE) for Alameda County.
• Legal advocacy and representation in
cases involving systemic abuses.
• Educate legislators and policy makers
on issues (such as IDEA, ADA)
affecting the rights of people with
disabilities.
Laws that protect
students with disabilities:
• “504”
Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act
of 1973
• “IDEA”
Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act
“504”
Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act
of 1973
Section 504
• Federal Anti-Discrimination Law.
• Protects ALL PEOPLE with a disability
that impairs one or more major life
activities (learning is one).
• Prohibits discrimination in ANY program
that receives federal dollars.
• Provides Accommodations to remove
discriminatory barriers.
• In education, “504 Plan” removes
barriers to learning and opportunities.
Section 504
Leveling the playing field
• A student is entitled to a Free and
Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
• A 504 Plan is designed to reasonably
accommodate the student’s condition so
that his/her needs are met as
adequately as the needs of students
without disabilities.
504 Accommodations
INDIVIDUALIZED to create equal access and
equal opportunity and remove discriminatory barriers.
For example:.
• Time:
More time to complete assignments;
Frequent breaks
• Environment: Quiet setting; Preferred seating,
Elevator key
• Health: Help with glucose testing;
Nut-free lunch table
• Assistive Technology (AT):
Computer access; FM system, Pencil grip
504 & IDEA Relationship
ALL students
504 eligible
IDEA
eligible
Students eligible for
Special Education
under IDEA
are protected
by 504 and IDEA.
A Student
receiving special
education may
also need
accommodations
to prevent
discrimination
“IDEA”
Individuals with
Disabilities
Education Act
(Special Education)
IDEA
• A Federal Education Law / 1975
• For students who fit at least 1 of 13
categories of disability.
• Who also need specialized support and
instruction to benefit from education.
• Provides an “IEP”:
Individualized Education Program
- specialized instruction
- supportive related services
- Individualized to meet unique needs.
IDEA Purpose
US Congress says:
• Disability is a natural part of the human
experience.
• Disability in no way diminishes the right
of individuals to participate in or
contribute to society.
• Improving educational results for
children with disabilities is an essential
element of our national policy.
• An education to meet unique needs AND
prepare student for further education,
employment, and independent living.
IDEA 6 Core Principles
1. Appropriate Evaluation/Assessment
2. Free & Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
3. Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
4. Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
5. Parent (and student as appropriate) participation
in the decision-making process
6. Procedural Safeguards
Cycle of Special Education
Team meets to
review IEP annually
(Can write to request
Reason for
Concern / Dx
more often)
District provides
“Assessment
Plan” within 15
Implement IEP
Appropriate
Placement
calendar days
determined
“PLOP”, Goals,
Individualized
Instruction
and Services
determined
Request
Assessment
in writing!!!
Assessment +
IEP Meeting:
within 60 days of
parent signing
Assessment Plan
“Informed consent”
Parent may take at
least 15 calendar days
for questions (if
needed) before signing
IDEA Assessment
• Parent (or others) WRITE to request Special Education
assessment.
• DREDF has sample “Request for Assessment” letter.
• SAFEGUARD: If parent asks verbally, district is
obligated to help put request in writing.
• Comprehensively assess child
“in all areas of suspected disability”
to determine need for special education.
• TIP: Ask for “504 assessment” too
in case child does not qualify under IDEA
and to tighten up the timeline.
IDEA “Child Find”
• A written request for special education assessment
triggers an “affirmative obligation” for school district
to assess.
• District mandated to “find” and “locate” children who
are suspected of having disabilities that may require
special education.
• IMPORTANT:
A request for special education
assessment legally supersedes a
Student Study Team (SST) meeting.
IDEA Assessment Rights
• Parent consent.
• Assess in child’s language/mode of communication.
• Variety of tools & strategies must be used.
• Technically sound instruments.
• Qualified professionals.
• Independent (outside) assessments must be considered.
• Triennial (3 year) assessment, or upon “exit”
• Right to request assessment when needed.
• Right to review reports in advance.
(Reports translated when feasible.)
• Right to disagree with assessment.
IDEA Eligibility
Birth up to age 22*
meets at least 1 of 13 eligibility categories:
1. Autism
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Deafness / HH
Deaf-Blindness
Hearing Impairment
Mental Retardation
Multiple Disabilities
Orthopedic Impairment
8. Other Health Impairment
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Serious Emotional Disturbance
Specific Learning Disabilities
Speech or Language Impairment
Traumatic Brain Injury
Visual Impairment / Blindness
AND who by reason of their disability needs special
education and related services in order to benefit from
their education. Determined by the assessments!
*
or sooner if the student earns a full high school diploma
IEP Meeting: Big Questions
• Where is student now? Present Levels Of Performance (PLOP)
• Where is student going? GOALS/OBJECTIVES
• How will student get there? SERVICES & INSTRUCTION
• How do we know student made expected progress?
MEASUREMENT: What objective DATA tells us.
• How and when will progress be reported?
PROGRESS REPORTS =ACCOUNTABILITY
IEP: Think of it this way!
- Special Education is a SERVICE
- brought to the student through the IEP
- in order to CLOSE THE GAP
- between the student’s
Present Level of Performance
- and the student’s
Expected Level of
Performance in 1 year.
IEP Services
The Special Education and Related Services
the student needs to:
• Make progress toward individualized annual goals.
• Make progress in the General Ed curriculum.
• Participate in non-academic activities.
• Be educated & participate with ALL children.
• “Appropriate” program provided,
not the “best” program.
IDEA Services Examples
•
•
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•
•
•
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Audiology/Interpreter Services
Braille
Counseling Services
Early Identification &
Assessment of Disabilities
Medical Services
(To determine eligibility)
School Health Services
(for health-related needs)
Occupational Therapy
Orientation & Mobility Services
Parent Counseling & Training
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Physical Therapy
Psychological Services
Recreation
Rehabilitation Counseling
Services
Social Work Services in School
Speech/Language Pathology
Services
Transportation
Interpreter Services
Transition Specialist
Vocational Trainer/Counselor
And others as needed. ”This is not an exhaustive list.”
— US Dept. of Education
IDEA and IDEA regulations
IEP “Placement”
LAST discussion in IEP Meeting
• Placement is a “set of services” provided to the student.
NOT a PLACE for the student to go!
• Protect Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).
• Appropriate placement:
set of services and setting in which student
has a reasonable expectation of
meeting IEP goals and making
meaningful educational progress.
LRE
Least Restrictive Environment
The IEP must state the extent to which student
will or will not learn with and participate in school with
students without disabilities AND WHY.
• Strong presumption in law that students
with disabilities learn with
non-Disabled peers.
• Home school. General Ed. Typical classes.
IEP Consent
Before agreeing to sign:
• Ask for copies of the IEP and other documents
• No Requirement to Sign at the Meeting –
take them home for careful review.
• Document important points stated that are left out of the
notes: write and Education Rightsholder Addendum and
refer to it when signing.
Procedural Safeguards
Alternative Dispute Resolution
“ADR”: informal means to resolve disputes
• Write an effective letter.
• Involve key stakeholders/decision-makers:
Superintendent; Director of SpEd; school board member
• “Facilitated” IEP
• School District or SELPA “Solution Teams” or mediation
• Complaint at school district level
• Office of Admin Hearings “Mediation-Only”
IDEA
Compliance Complaint
• Filed with: California Dept. of Education (CDE)
Office of Procedural Safeguards & Referral Services (PSRS)
800-926-0648
www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/fp
• Parent describes & provides evidence of how school district:
- failed to carry out an agreed-to IEP and/or
- violated procedural safeguards in IDEA law
• File within 1 year of alleged non-compliance.
• FYI: Teachers & Staff too may file.
There are “whistle-blowing” protections
for school district staff in IDEA 2004.
[20 U.S.C. Sec. 1415(b)(3); 34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.503(b); Cal. Education Code Sec. 56500.4.]
Prior Written Notice (PWN)
• When district proposes or refuses to do something that involves the
child's identification, assessments, placement, or FAPE.
Parent is required to receive PWN. ASK FOR IT!
• PWN must include:
(1) Description of action proposed or refused.
(2) Explanation of why school proposes or refuses to take that action.
(3) Each evaluation, procedure, test, report, etc. the school used
as a BASIS.
(4) Copy of the parent’s rights to challenge the action or inaction.
(5) Sources of advocacy assistance for parents.
(6) Other options the school considered and why they were rejected.
(7) Other reasons for the school’s action or inaction.
IDEA
Due Process Complaint
Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH)
Special Education Division
916-263-0880 / 916-263-0890 Fax www.oah.dgs.ca.gov
Administrative Hearing or “Mediation only”
When Parent & School District have disagreements about:
-whether student is eligible for special education;
-IEE
-whether the IEP offered provides Free and
Public Education (FAPE):type,
intensity, frequency or location of services.
Must file within 2 years of alleged complaint
Appropriate
504: Civil Rights
Discrimination Complaint
• Filed with: Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
San Francisco is Regional Office
415-486-5555 / 877-521-2172 TDD
www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html
• Complaint alleges:
Education institution that receives Federal financial
assistance has discriminated against student on the basis
of his/her disability: educational opportunity is not
commensurate with non-disabled peers
(“level playing field”).
• File within 6 months of alleged violation.
Resource Links
DREDF:
www.dredf.org
•
DOWNLOAD DREDF Training Materials!!!
dredf.org/special_education/trainings.shtml
SPECIAL EDUCATION RIGHTS & PROCESS (CA specific):
“Special Education Rights & Responsibilities”
www.disabilityrightsca.org/pubs/504001SpecEdIndex.htm
Special Education Law and issues: www.wrightslaw.com
Call to ask for an “Education Advocate” !
Phone
Toll Free
Fax
Email
Website
Facebook
510.644.2555
800.348.4232
510.841.8645
[email protected]
www.dredf.org
www.facebook.com/dredf.org