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Legal Rights of Exceptional Children Students

Legal Rights of Exceptional Children Students. Jon Fleisher & Amy Rhyne LHE 6600 Hall Fall 07. What is IDEA?. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

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Legal Rights of Exceptional Children Students

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  1. Legal Rights of Exceptional Children Students Jon Fleisher & Amy Rhyne LHE 6600 Hall Fall 07

  2. What is IDEA? • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act • Ages 3-21 have access to “general curriculum” in the regular education classroom w/ maximum extent possible to meet goals and lead productive lives • Reauthorized & signed into law Dec. 3, 2004 • The land of acronyms & abbreviations • FAPE • LRE • IEP

  3. What do they mean? • FAPE – Fair Access to a Public Education • ALL students deserve a quality, free, public education • Required for all students with disabilities • LRE – Least Restrictive Environment • Students will be placed in the setting that restricts their access to an education the least: • (who will provide, where will it occur, how much time?) • IEP – Individualized Education Plan • The written legal plan developed by a team that provides for accommodations and modifications to ensure that the student receives the best education possible - a legally binding contract of services by a school district to a child classified as having a disability Goodman, 2003

  4. Where did IDEA 2004 come from? • P. L. 89-10, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). This law includes the statutory basis upon which early special education legislation was drafted. • P. L. 91-230, ESEA Amendments of 1970. These amendments include Part B, the Education of the Handicapped Act. Using the abbreviation EHA technically begins here as a way to refer to the law that would eventually become IDEA. Goodman, 2003

  5. Where did IDEA 2004 come from? • P. L. 93-280, The Education Amendments of 1974. These amendments include Title VI, the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1974. Under this title, an appropriate education for all children with disabilities is mentioned for the first time. • P. L. 94-142, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, still referred to as the EHA. Now the law stands alone; it is no longer part of another law. P.L. 94-142 also becomes the core of federal funding for special education. Other acronyms become part of the disability field's vocabulary as a result of its mandates Goodman, 2003

  6. Where did IDEA 2004 come from? • Amendments to the EHA. These have occurred in 1983, in 1986 (the program for infants and toddlers is established and is known as Part H), in 1990 (the law is renamed IDEA), 1992 (these amendments deal primarily with the Infant and Toddlers with Disabilities program), and, last but not least…1997 (described in the next bullet). • P. L. 105-17, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997. • The first version of our current Act Goodman, 2003

  7. What is IDEA? • The IDEA Act of 2004 is comprised of 4 parts (Parts A – D) • Part A defines the terms in the act • Part C deals with infants and toddlers • Part D provides for early interventions for children and for schools to provide services for unique needs of children Goodman, 2003

  8. What is IDEA? • Part B is probably the best known part. The basic components are: • evaluating children for the presence of a disability and their eligibility for special education and related services; • notifying parents and involving them in their child's education; • working with parents to write IEPs for eligible children; • providing special education and related services to children with disabilities; • resolving conflicts between parents and the school system • These are the rules and regulations that must be followed in order for states and systems to receive federal funds Goodman, 2003; http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/lr/ideareathztn.asp

  9. What are the basic purposes? • (a) To ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for employment and independent living; • (b) To ensure that the rights of children with disabilities and their parents are protected; • (c) To assist States, localities, educational service agencies, and Federal agencies to provide for the education of all children with disabilities; and • (d) To assess and ensure the effectivenessness of efforts to educate children with disabilities." (34 Code of Federal Regulations Section 300.1, Purposes.) Goodman, 2003

  10. What did the 2004 version give us? • This led to the call by experts for early screening and intervention- no longer the “wait to fail” model • Basically a student has a better chance to succeed if he/she is identified and helped earlier • The idea is that the child will receive help before they fall behind their non-disabled peers http://www.schwablearning.org/articles.aspx?r=551

  11. What does this mean to you? • You will participate in IEP meetings • Parts of an IEP Team: LEA Representative, regular education teacher, EC teacher, student, parent • You will help identify students that need testing and communicate your thoughts to the parents and diagnosticians

  12. SSMT Referral Process(Student Support Management Team) - • SSMT begins a “Focus of Concern”- from request of parent or teacher • Past grades, attendance, health problems, testing information, etc. • Document 2 parent contacts • Teacher is assigned 4 weeks of accommodations • If these do not work, then a referral is made to EC for testing

  13. EC Referral Process • Diagnostician will take it and run with it • The testing procedure will continue depending on what the child will be tested for (i.e. LD, EMD, etc.) • IEP team meeting for placement • IEP developed and good for 1 yr.

  14. What does this mean to you? • You will provide modifications in your class in all applicable subjects as prescribed in the IEP • You do not have an option, it is required by law – Regular Ed teacher’s responsibility

  15. EC and Regular Ed Communication • The EC teacher must make available the IEP to the regular education teacher on or before school day one • The regular education teacher must sign (acknowledging they have received the IEP) for the IEP on or before school day one

  16. IEP components • IEPs have seven basic sections: • General identifying data • Current placement data • Recommendations by the eligibility committee • Goals and objectives • Mastery levels • Evaluation measures • Alternate testing modifications

  17. General Identifying Data In this section of the plan, the school district provides information on the child’s background which comes from the background history form. • Name • Address • Phone • Date of birth • Primary Language of child and home • Date student entered program if applicable

  18. Current Placement Data • This section contains all necessary information on the child’s current educational placement. • The information comes from: evaluation reports, prior IEPs, school records, etc. • Also included will be: classification, grade level, placement (i.e.. reg. class), class size ratio, school name, teacher and diploma. • Includes transportation info, physical education, annual review date, triennial review date, and intelligence test results

  19. Recommendations by EligibilityCommittee Classification- must fit criteria for state defined classification and disability must significantly impede learning Grade- Projected for the coming year Placement- Based on child’s least restrictive educational setting Length of program- 10 or 12 month setting School- Projected school for the coming year Teacher- Contact teacher for the coming year Program initiation date- Beginning date

  20. Recommendations by EligibilityCommittee Transportation- as needed for special disabilities Physical Education– Determines regular or adaptive PE Related Services– Other services received by child. Also included the number of sessions per week Mainstream Courses- Specifies if child’s disability allows for participation in mainstreamed classrooms Special Classes- Types of classes the child will have in the coming year (i.e. Math, Science, etc) Testing Information- Academic test results are reviewed, including tests administered, date administered and percentile or age/grade equivalents Comments- Reserved for questions, reminders, parent concerns, identified areas of strength/weaknesses

  21. Goals and Objectives Two separate parts: • General social, physical, academic, and management goals (SPAM goals) • Specific academic goals and objectives focusing on content area goals

  22. Mastery Levels • Predetermined level of competence indicating a clear understanding of a particular skill. • Validation of a child’s movement to the next objective for the teacher • Mastery levels may be set as follows: • Ratio-based: i.e. 8 out of 10 times • Percent-based: i.e. 75% of the time • Time-based: i.e. 12 responses in 10 min. period

  23. Evaluation Measures Specify measures or techniques to use to evaluate success levels for each objective May include: student assignments and projects informal conferences (student/teacher, parent) self-evaluation teacher made/selected quizzes and tests standardized tests quarterly report cards discussions record of attendance diagnostic tests teacher evaluations homework assignments criterion-referenced tests

  24. Alternate Testing Accommodations Children classified as disabled are entitled to alternate testing and classroom modifications as long as the testing or background of the child provides evidence of such a need. There are no limits on the number of modifications, but only included in the IEP if they will enable the child to be more successful in school.

  25. Accommodations • Extended time on tests and assignments • Read aloud (not – English EOC or Reading EOG) • Read aloud upon request • Separate room testing • Separate room alone • The possibilities could be endless The student must receive the modification for at least 30 days to be able to receive it on a state test

  26. Cases & EC • Daniel R.R. v. State Board of Education (1989) • Daniel 6, El Paso School District • Opened the door to increase inclusion of children with disabilities in regular education classes • Court noted that Congress created a strong preference favoring mainstreaming, understanding that the student is not expected to learn at same rate- provide support needed • Court also noted that the school need not modify the program “beyond recognition”

  27. Cases & EC • Oberti v. Clementon- 1993 • Mainstreaming to Inclusion (judge made law) • Inclusion is a “right”, not a privilege for a select few • Three prong test: • (1) the steps the school district has taken to accommodate the child in a regular classroom • (2) the child’s ability to receive an educational benefit from regular education • (3) the effect the disabled child’s presence has on the regular classroom.

  28. Cases & EC • N.R. v. Kingwood Township Board of Education – November 18, 1999 • Private PreK for student rather than Kindergarten • Student via parents claimed that his placement was inappropriate and sued for private school tuition • The courts upheld the placement for FAPE • But did not uphold the decision for LRE • The child was not in the least restrictive environment and had to pay tuition http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/caselaw/04/9d.ml.fedway.wa.htm on 10/14/07

  29. Cases & EC • M.L. v. Federal Way School District – November 5, 2004 • Judge decided that IEP was not legal because a regular ed teacher was not included in the meeting- change in placement took place • The judges said, “the meeting significantly deviated from IDEA in providing FAPE.” (FWSD 2004) http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/caselaw/04/9d.ml.fedway.wa.htm on 10/14/07

  30. Reflection Next steps: • Jot down at least two “new learnings” today • What are next steps to ensure you are meeting IDEA? - list at least two • Plus, Delta, Issue Bin Items

  31. Resources • Council for Exceptional Children: http://www.cec.sped.org/ • Children and Adults with ADHD: http://www.adhdsupportcompany.com/about_adhd.html • Individual with Disabilities Act (IDEA) Practices: http://ideapractices.org • LD Resources: http://www.ldresources.com • National Center for Learning Disabilities: http://www.ncld.org

  32. Resources • CCS EC Dept. • ISS EC Dept. • KMHS EC Dept.

  33. References • Council for Exceptional Children. (Nov. 2004). The New IDEA- CEC’s Summary of Significant Issues. • Pierangelo, Roger PhD. (2004). The Special Educator’s Survival Guide. Second Edition. Jossey-Bass. • Pierangelo, Roger PhD. (2003). The Special Educator’s Book of Lists. Second Edition. Jossey-Bass.

  34. References • What’s Authorization All About?. Goodman, Susan. 2003. IDEA News. • http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/lr/ideareathztn.asp. Retrieved October 14, 2007. • http://www.schwablearning.org/articles.aspx?r=551. Retrieved October 14, 2007. • http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/caselaw/04/9d.ml.fedway.wa.htm. Retrieved October 14, 2007.

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