Special Education

1. Special Education IDEA Part B Requirements

2. Special Education Special Education Services are authorized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004. IDEA was first passed in 1975 and has been amended several times since Special Education is not a place it is a……………… service. Special Education is available to all children beginning at birth to age 22.

3. SoonerStart Early Intervention Program (0-3) Oklahoma’s early intervention program for children birth t0 three who are eligible for services Services are provided to children and families in their natural environment Services are at no cost to families Services are provided through a contract between the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) and the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) All children with a substantiated case of child abuse and neglect are referred to SoonerStart for screening, evaluation, and services as needed.

4. SoonerStart Eligibility Process • Referral/Initial Contact • Eligibility Determination (Cognition, Language, Motor, Adaptive, and Social Emotional) • Two 25% delays in a child’s development • One 50 % delay in a child’s development • Automatic Qualifying Syndrome or Condition • Eligible or Not Eligible Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) Transition to local community services or the local public school

5. Differences between Part C & Part B Yes

6. Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) • Under the IDEA, FAPE is defined as an educational program that is individualized to a specific child, designed to meet that child's unique needs, provides access to the general curriculum, meets the grade-level standards established by the state, and from which the child receives educational benefit • FAPE not intended to “maximize each child’s potential” • Best vs. Appropriate

7. But what does FAPE actually mean? FAPE requires that the quality of educational services provided to students with disabilities be equal to those provided to non-disabled students. In other words: Children with disabilities, regardless of their ability level/functioning, are entitled, under federal law, to be educated in the least restrictive setting available in the neighborhood school at no charge to the families. http://www.ncld.org/parents-child-disabilities/ld-rights

8. McKinney-Vento Act The McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 (Pub. L. 100-77, July 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 482, 42 U.S.C. § 11301 et seq.) is a United States federal law

9. Who qualifies under McKinney Vento Act? • Children who are: • Sharing housing with other people due to loss of housing • Living motels, trailers parks, cars or camp grounds due to lack of adequate accommodations • Living in emergency/transitional shelters • Abandoned in hospitals • Awaiting foster care placement

10. Transportation and McKinney Vento • Comparable services. Each homeless child or youth to be assisted under this part shall be provided services comparable to services offered to other students in the school selected under paragraph (3), including the following: www.wrightslaw.com/law/vento.homeless (A) Transportation services.

11. The Initial Evaluation Process Step by Step Child Find Screening or child study committees may identify children who should be referred for an evaluation Referral A referral may be made by any source, including child study committee, school staff, parent(s), or other individuals Evaluation Evaluations shall be completed within 45 school days of the parent signing consent for evaluation Eligibility Eligibility for special education and related services must be determined within 45 school days from the date parents give consent

12. IDEA Requirements Individualized Education Program (IEP) An IEP must be developed within 30 calendar days from the date of eligibility Services Services must be provided as soon as possible, following the date the IEP is developed Annual Review The IEP must be reviewed at least once a year (or as needed)

13. Transfer Students 34 CFR § 300.323(e) If a child with a disability who received special education and related services pursuant to an IEP in a previous public school and enrolls in a new school within the same school year, the new school district (in consultation with the parents) must provide FAPE to the child until the new school district either: (1) adopts the child's IEP from the previous school (2) develops, adopts, and implements a new IEP that meets the applicable requirements in 34 CFR §§ 300.320 through CFR 300.324 IEP Service Agreements

14. Enforcing Individual Education Plans What is the timeline for a new public agency to adopt an IEP from a previous public agency or to develop and implement a new IEP? • Neither Part B of the IDEA nor the regulations implementing Part B of the IDEA establish timelines for the new public agency to adopt the child's IEP from the previous public agency or to develop and implement a new IEP. • Consistent with 34 CFR § 300.323(e) and (f), the new public agency must take these steps within a reasonable period of time to avoid any undue interruption in the provision of required special education and related services.

15. Parent Participation Pursuant to 34 CFR 300.501 (b), the 2006 IDEA Part B regulations further provide as a procedural safeguard that: The parents of a child with a disability must be afforded an opportunity to participate in meetings with respect to -- *The identification, evaluation, and educational placement of the child; and *The provision of FAPE to the child. • 34 CFR 300.322 (a)(1) and 34 CFR 300.322 (b)(1) Parent Written Notice * ensure that parents of children with disabilities have the opportunity to participate in meetings

16. Parent Participation Options • Notify parent in writing (Written Notice Form 8) • If parent is unable to attend, an alternate and mutually agreed upon time must be afforded to the parents • If parent is still physically unable to attend the meeting after repeated attempts, some options may include, but are not limited to: • Phone conference • Skype • Video conference

17. Surrogates •Under 34 CFR 300.519 (a), surrogate parents must be appointed to protect a child's rights when: *No parent (as defined in 34 CFR 300.30 ) can be identified; *The public agency, after reasonable efforts, cannot locate a parent; *The child is a ward of the state under the laws of that state; or *The child is an unaccompanied homeless youth as defined in section 725(6) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 USC Sec. 11434a(6))

18. 34 CFR 300.519 The SEA must make "reasonable efforts to ensure the assignment of a surrogate parent not more than 30 days after a public agency determines that the child needs a surrogate parent."

19. Response To Intervention (RTI) • General education initiative/ How is it implemented? • Not intended to delay evaluation

20. Parental Rights (Procedural Safeguards) The right of parent(s): • Inspect and Review their Child’s Educational Records • Receive a complete explanation of all the procedural safeguards available under IDEA • Participate in meetings related to identification, evaluation, placement, and provisions of FAPE • Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) • Prior Written Notice • Fully Informed Consent • Use IDEA’s mechanisms for resolving disputes • SEA or LEA Complaints • Voluntary Mediation • Due Process

21. Formal Written Complaints • 34 CFR § 300.151 Adoption of State complaint procedures. • 34 CFR § 300.152 Minimum State complaint procedures. • 34 CFR § 300.153 Filing a complaint

22. Formal Written Complaints • The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), Special Education Services (SES), will dismiss a complaint without an investigation if: • It includes no allegations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) violations; • It includes no timely allegations of IDEA violations; or • It includes no facts to support the IDEA violations.

23. Mediation/Due Process • SERC (Special Education Resolution Center) • Voluntary Mediation • SEA role

24. State Resources • Special Education Automated System (SEAS)- Most districts use SEAS to document IEPs and data requirements (electronic) • Districts may use electronic transfer of records from one district to the next. (LEA may need assistance in doing this which we can provide) • The Office of Special Education Services can facilitate a timely transfer of student records.

25. IDEA and Discipline Policies § 300.530 School personnel may remove a child with a disability: • Up to ten consecutive days/or 10 cumulative days in a school year if team determines a pattern of behavior. • Once a decision is made to remove a student for more than ten days a Manifestation Determination meeting is required. Meeting must take place within ten days.

26. Manifestation Determinations (MD) • The MD review is an evaluation of a child's misconduct to determine whether that conduct is a manifestation of the child's disability; and/or • LEAs failure to appropriately implement the IEP • The MD must be performed when a district proposes disciplinary measures that will result in the change of placement for a child with a disability. 34 CFR 300.530 (e). • The MD analysis must be performed within 10 school days of the change in placement that stemmed from an IDEA-eligible child's violation of the code of conduct.

27. Exception to Discipline Rule • LEA-Initiated Change in Placement Due to Weapons, Drug Possession, or Serious Bodily Injury: • Child with a disability may be removed to an interim alternative educational setting for not more than 45 days without regard to whether the behavior is determined to be a manifestation of the child’s disability, specifically: • Carries or possesses a weapon at school or at a school function; or • Possesses, uses, solicits, sells illegal drugs at school or at a school function; or • Inflicts serious bodily injury upon another person while at school, on school premises, or at a school function. • Defined as: a substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.