“Special Education 101”

1. “Special Education 101” Dr. Kaye Tindell Special Education Director

2. Special Education Processes and Programming • Child Find • Procedural Safeguards • Evaluation • Eligibility • IEP Meeting • Placement/Services • Transition

3. Child Find The State Education Agency and local school districts must identify, locate and evaluate all children with disabilities in the state who need special education and related services. A referral for evaluation can be made by a parent, teacher or a third party.

4. RTI

5. Procedural Safeguards The term refers to the rights and privileges afforded to students with disabilities and their parents. The notice of procedural safeguards must be given to a parent: • At initial referral for evaluation • When re-evaluation is proposed • When requesting a due process hearing

6. Procedural Safeguards(continued) The notice of rights must include information about: • Independent educational evaluations • Prior written notice • Parent consent • Access to educational records • Right to complain and file for a due process hearing

7. Procedural Safeguards(continued) • Placement during due process hearings • Procedures for placement in an interim alternative educational setting • Parent’s unilateral placement in private school at public expense • Mediation • Attorney’s fees • State complaint procedures • Due process hearings

8. Notice Written notice to parents must be 5 school days before the school proposes or refuses to initiate or change a student’s: • Identification • Evaluation • Educational placement • Reception of a free, appropriate, public education

9. Evaluation The evaluation must assess the child in all areas related to the child’s suspected disability and may include: • Tests of intelligence • Tests of achievement level • Tests of speech/language abilities • Medical tests • Work samples • Information from parents, teachers and others

10. Evaluation(continued) Parents are asked to give consent to initial testing and to participate in utilizing evaluation results to determine the student’s eligibility and need for special education placement and services.

11. Eligibility In Texas, the committee that reviews the evaluation and determines the child’s eligibility and need for special education services is known as the Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) Committee.

12. The ABC’s of it all • LD – Learning Disability • MR – Mentally Retarded • ED – Emotionally Disturbed • AU – Autistic • SI – Speech Impairment • VI – Visual Impairment • AI – Auditory Impairment • OHI – Other Health Impairment

13. More Disability Areas • TBI – Traumatic Brain Injury • OI – Orthopedically Impaired • DB – Deaf Blind • MD – Multiple Disabilities • NCEC – Non-categorical Early Childhood • PDD-NOS – Pervasive Developmental Disorder not otherwise specified

14. Learning Disabilities • Assess in the areas of: • Basic Reading • Reading Comprehension • Reading fluency • Math Calculation • Math Reasoning • Written Expression • Listening Comprehension • Oral Expression

15. LD • Difficulty in any of these areas must be tied to weakness in assessment and lack of response to interventions in those areas.

16. LD Misconceptions • Learning Disabilities are common and easy to diagnose • Children outgrow their learning disability • Accommodations provided give the LD student an unfair advantage over students without disabilities • The LD child does not try hard enough

17. Mental Retardation • Below 70 Intellectual Ability level • Far below grade level achievement ability • Below 70 on an Adaptive behavior scale • Communication • Daily Living • Socialization • Motor Skills

18. Emotionally Disturbed • ED and the brain • Emotional signals are processed and interpreted in the limbic area and frontal lobe • These signals for survival and emotions guide an individuals behavior, attention and learning • Emotional response to a situation without the cognitive function of thinking, reasoning and consciousness

19. Disorders not following under ED • Anxiety Disorders • Phobias (social and specific) • Generalized Anxiety • Panic Disorder • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder • Post Traumatic Stress • Conduct Disorder • Depressive Disorders • Depression • Bipolar disorder

20. ASD – Autism Spectrum Disorder • A spectrum – A range of difference in all children on the spectrum. • There are varying degrees of impairment in communication, social skills, and behavior. • The disorder is life long and runs the gamut from mild to severe. • ASD usually refers to 3 disorders: PDD, Autism and Aspergers

21. ASD – Autism Spectrum Disorder • A spectrum – A range of difference in all children on the spectrum. • There are varying degrees of impairment in communication, social skills, and behavior. • The disorder is life long and runs the gamut from mild to severe. • ASD usually refers to 3 disorders: PDD, Autism and Aspergers

22. Speech Impairment • Receptive Language • Expressive Language Developed and Provided by Region IV ESC July 2001

23. LD – Learning Disability • MR – Mentally Retarded • ED – Emotionally Disturbed • AU – Autistic • SI – Speech Impairment • VI – Visual Impairment • AI – Auditory Impairment • OHI – Other Health Impairment • TBI – Traumatic Brain Injury • OI – Orthopedically Impaired • DB – Deaf Blind • MD – Multiple Disabilities • NCEC – Non-categorical Early Childhood

24. ARD Committee Members • A parent or surrogate parent • A student’s general education teacher or one representing general education • A special education teacher • A person knowledgeable about evaluation and the implications for instruction • Administrator

25. Required Elements of the IEP • Present levels of educational performance • Annual goals and short term objectives • Special education and related services • Supplementary aids and services • Program modifications and supports

26. Required Elements of the IEP(continued) • Extent of participation with nondisabled students • Modifications or exemptions to state and district tests • Dates and frequency, duration and location of services • How progress will be measured and parents informed

27. Transition Services Transition refers to activities meant to prepare students with disabilities for adult life. This can include: • Developing post secondary education and career goals • Getting work experience while still in school • Setting up linkages with adult service providers • Other options appropriate given his/her interests, preferences, skills, and needs.

28. At the End of the Meeting • You will be asked to sign “agree” or “disagree” • If you disagree, explain why • 10-day recess