Frequently Asked Questions About Special Education Services
S. L. Crum, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.

I think my child may need special help in school. What do I do?

1. Start by contacting the US Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/index.html in to request a copy of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Read these in their entirety. Get them on disk. Copy them to a word processing program. Highlight the important sections that are relevant to your child for future reference.

2. Next contact your State Department of Education to request a copy of your State’s Procedural Safeguards. Read these completely. Basically, commit these to memory. Whenever your school district or any person employed by the district violates these procedural safeguards, notify them in writing of their violation, cite the correct section of the law, and tell them how their violation is denying your child FAPE and how you want them to correct the situation. Ask them to either institute the correction within ten calendar days or to send you a written notice of refusal explaining their refusal to adhere to IDEA. This letter should be printed on bright pink paper so it cannot be easily altered and is easy to find in your child’s file. Print an exact duplicate on pale yellow paper. When you hand deliver the bright pink copy, have the recipient sign, date and time stamp your yellow copy so there can never be a debate in the future about if or when the document was received. If the recipient refuses to sign your pale yellow copy of this or any other correspondence then in front of them write on the yellow copy: “I hand delivered this to NAME at LOCATION on DATE at TIME, and in an act of bad faith NAME refused to sign to confirm receipt.” Then go home, print another copy on bright pink, mail this to the IEP team chair person, and to the Superintendant along with a cover letter that says: : “I hand delivered this to NAME at LOCATION on DATE at TIME, and in an act of bad faith NAME refused to sign to confirm receipt.” Send, this letter, via certified mail return receipt requested. When you receive the return receipt, staple it to your pale yellow copy.

3. Find a good special needs coach or advocate and request that they help you formulate your concerns about your child’s learning and prepare a written request for an evaluation in all areas of suspected handicapping conditions to forward to your director of special education for your school district.

What is meant by special education?

Special education is instruction that is specially designed to meet the unique needs of children who have disabilities. This is supposed to be provided at no cost to the parents. Special education may include special instruction in the regular classroom, special instruction in a resource room, special instruction in a self contained classroom, special instruction at home, special instruction in hospitals or special instruction institutions, or special instruction in other settings depending upon your child’s unique needs.

How many children receive special education?

Over 5 million children ages 6 through 21 receive special education and related services r in the United States yearly. Each of these children is suppose to receive specially designed instruction:

· to meet the child’s unique needs (that result from having a disability);

AND

· To help the child learn the information and skills that other children the same age, grade and cognitive potential are learning.

Who is eligible for special education?

The IDEA provides a definition of a “child with a disability.” This law lists 13 different disability categories under which your child may be found eligible for special education and related services. Whether or not a child is eligible for special education services depends upon whether or not the child meets the criteria for one of the 13 categories included in IDEA.

IDEA’s Categories of Disability
Autism (Asperser’s, Rett’s Disorder,
Deafness
Deaf-blindness
Hearing impairment
Mental retardation
Multiple disabilities
Orthopedic impairment
Other health impairment: Seizure disorders, ADHD, heart conditions
Serious emotional disturbance not explained by other conditions
Specific learning disability such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, writing disorder
Speech or language impairment: problems with pragmatics or articulation
Traumatic brain injury
Visual impairment, including blindness and problems with visual processing


I. Your Child's Evaluation

How do I find out if my child is eligible for special education?

The first step is to find out if your child has a disability. To do this, you must first write the school to and ask for your child to be evaluated under IDEA for a suspected handicapping condition. Give specific examples of the types of problems you observe your child having in communication, daily living skills, self-care skills, math skills, reading skills, organizational skills, thinking skills, social skills, or emotional functioning. It is essential that you are detailed and specific here because otherwise, the district may refuse to evaluate your child.

Ask the school to evaluate your child as soon as possible, but stipulate that even if they decide to utilize a response to intervention model, you want the evaluation conducted concurrently so that it is completed and ready to review no later than sixty days from the date that you delivered your request to them. This is crucial because it is possible that schools could spend a year or two with response to intervention to no avail and your child would be denied their rights under IDEA all that time. It is much better to know right off the bat whether or not your child has a qualifying disability and if so, to get an IEP in place immediately.

If the school does refuse to evaluate your child; ask in writing for a written notice of refusal delineating their reasons for refusal. Then, ask your special needs coach or advocate for assistance in documenting the need for evaluation and in either filing for mediation or filing a State complaint.

What is involved in an evaluation?

The school is required to evaluate your child in all the areas where your child may be affected by the possible disability. This may include looking at your child’s developmental history, physical health, vision, hearing, sensory integration, neuropsychological functioning, academic performance, social and emotional well-being, general intelligence, communication skills, daily living skills, interpersonal skills and thinking skills. The evaluation must be complete enough and individualized enough to identify all of your child’s needs for special education and related services.

All the information gathered is suppose to be kept confidential except to the extent that it is shared with you and with members of the Individualized Education Team for the purposes of deciding if your child has a disability; and designing instruction for your child.

What are the steps in the evaluation process?

Review existing information.You and a group of trained professionals initiate the evaluation process by reviewing the information the school already has about your child. The group will look at information such as:

Your child’s scores on tests given in the classroom or to all students in your child’s grade; * This data, however, may be suspect because it may be subjective or the teacher may set standards that are lower than what is expected of age cohorts nationally.

The opinions and observations of your child’s teachers and other school staff who know your child; which also need to be viewed with a certain degree of skepticism as these observations may be skewed by the observer’s expectations.

Your feelings, concerns, and ideas about how your child is doing in school; WHICH YOU NEED TO HAVE WELL DOCUMENTED. Towards this end, I strongly encourage parents to maintain dated journals listing specific problems they witnessed. Parents need to be careful to record their observations, not their opinions. For instance, “Joey was mad that he couldn’t have Paul’s toy, so he had a tantrum”, is not acceptable. “Joey reached for Paul’s toy. Paul said: ‘No, it’s mine’. Joey threw the truck that was in his hand at the lamp and broke it. Then, he ran to his room and slammed the door” is a good record. Saying, “Carolyn was inattentive during homework” is not sufficient. Writing: “Carolyn had her book and pencil on a clear table. I read the directions to her and had her say them back to me in her own words to check that she understood. Then, I told her to begin and left the table. When the five minute buzzer rang and I returned to check her progress, she had not begun her work. We repeated the process, but, this time, I assisted her with the first problem to make certain she truly understood. I set the time for only 2.5 minutes this time. When I returned, Caroline was rolling the pencil back and forth across the page and humming to herself, no problems were done”. This is a good record of what happened and can easily be put into a request for evaluation, or into your summary statement of issues and concerns.

Information from other significant adults in your child’s life who can share meaningful information about how your child is functioning compared to age peers. This might mean your minister, youth group leader, a scout leader, a team coach, a music instructor, aunts, uncles, grandparents or even older siblings. Invite any and all of these individuals who have meaningful input to share to join in all IEP meetings, as well as to participate in the evaluation process.

Deciding if more information is still needed

The information collected above will help the group decide:

If there appears to be a possibility that your son or daughter has a particular type of disability which requires further assessment;

How your child is currently doing in school and whether the child is functioning at this level with the typical amount of support or requires significantly more support outside of school in terms of parental assistance or tutoring just to keep up; in which case there may be a disability that has been masked by this extra assistance.

Whether your child may needs special education and related services; and related services may be needed; which type so that appropriate evaluations can be obtained in those areas: speech language therapy, sign language, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling, parent counseling and training, cognitive training, attention training, adaptive physical education

What your child’s educational needs are in terms of what types of supports, accommodations and modifications need to be considered; as well as whether or not your child may require a behavioral intervention plan with positive behavioral supports.

Group members will look at the information they collected above and see if they have enough information to make these decisions. Generally, routine school records are insufficient to answer all of these questions, so much more data needs to be collected through multidisciplinary evaluations in various areas of functioning.

Collecting more information about your child.If more information about your child is needed, the school is required to evaluate your child through the use of reliable and valid measures that have been designed for the specific purpose that the school employs them for, along with other sources of information such as standardized questionnaires, interviews with significant people in your child’s life, and criterion referenced measures. Schools are not permitted to employ a single measure to assess a particular area of suspected handicap. They must utilize more than one measure in case the single measure did not tap all the important areas, or perhaps your child was not feeling well or paying attention on the day assessed.

Your informed written permission is required before the school may collect this information. Therefore, to expedite this process, when you send in your letter of referral include a statement that this signed letter is to serve as your informed consent to proceed with the evaluations as you have already obtained and read your State Procedural Safeguards.

What information does the school have to share with me about the evaluation?

The school district must describe how it will conduct this evaluation. This includes describing the tests that will be used and the other ways the school will collect information about your child.

How does the school collect this information?

The school collects information about your child from many different people and in many different ways. Tests are an important part of an evaluation, but they are only a part. The evaluation should also include:

T he observations and opinions of professionals who have worked with your child;

Your child’s developmental and medical history, when it relates to his or her performance in school;

Your ideas about your child’s school experiences, abilities, needs, and behavior outside of school, and your child’s ideas and feelings about school.

Who evaluates my child?

You, as parents; - which may include doing your own structured observations and obtaining frequency counts within specified periods of time (5 or 10 minutes) of undesirable behaviors that disrupt learning.

At least one regular education teacher, if your child is or might participating in the regular education environment;

At least one special education teacher or service providers;

A school administrator who knows about policies for special education, about children with disabilities, about the general curriculum (the curriculum used by nondisabled students), and about available resources;

Someone who can interpret the evaluation results and talk about what instruction may be necessary for your child; (preferably a school psychologist – this is something you should specifically asked for as they are the best trained school personnel to interpret testing)

Individuals (invited by you or the school) who have knowledge or special expertise about your child; This might include your pediatrician, the child’s private speech pathologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist or counseling, and your special needs coach.

Your child, if they are aware that they have difficulty learning and wish to participate by sharing their thoughts and concerns;

Representatives from any other agencies that may be responsible for paying for or providing transition services (if your child is 16 years or, if appropriate, younger and will be planning for life after high school); and other qualified professionals such as a neuropsychologist or neurologist, if relevant.

What qualified professionals may be involved in the assessment process?

These other qualified professionals may be responsible for collecting specific kinds of information about your child. They may include:

a school psychologist
an occupational therapist
a speech and language
pathologist (sometimes called a speech therapist);
a physical therapist and/or adaptive physical education therapist or teacher;
a medical specialist
a neuropsychologist
an audiologist

What will the professionals consider?

Professionals will observe your child in the school setting, and hopefully in the home. They need to give your child standardized norm referenced tests, as well as talk personally with your child. Their goals are to paint a picture of the “whole child.” For example, they want to understand:

How well your child speaks and understands language
How your child thinks and behaves
How well your child adapts to changes in his or her environment
How well your child has done academically
What your child’s potential or aptitude (intelligence) is
How well your child functions in a number of areas, such as moving, thinking, learning, seeing, hearing
What job-related and other post-school interests and abilities your child has.
What are the rules for conducting evaluations?

The IDEA gives clear directions about how schools must conduct evaluations. For example, tests and interviews must be given in the language (for example, Spanish) or communication mode (for example, sign language) that is most likely to yield accurate information about what your child know or can do. The tests must also be given in a way that does not discriminate against your child, because he or she has a disability or is from a different racial or cultural background. Moreover, the tests selected must assess the areas of suspected handicapping conditions and must be administered according to the publisher’s directions. One key factor is that parents need to insist that multiple measures are employed to evaluate any area of suspected handicapping condition. They also need to insist on a home visit, if their child has behavioral, emotional, communication or learning problems that impact at home and in the community. It is also critical that objective rather than subjective measures be employed. For more details on the rules of test administration and interpretation, re-read IDEA.

Basic Rights

If the general education program isn't meeting your child’s needs, he may be eligible to receive special education services in public school. The law says that services are free to parents under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Each state has special education laws and regulations that govern special education in that State. These laws must ensure your child, and by extension you the same or better rights than those afforded under IDEA because Federal Law supersedes State Law if State Law does not provide the same level of benefits. This means a State can offer you more than the Federal Government requires; but, never less. For more information about these rights, contact your state department of special education. (Check out search state services under "LD & AD/HD Organizations.")

How can I be certain that my child wouldn’t be “dumped” into special education inappropriately?

The IDEA indicates that schools may not place children into special education programs based on the results of only one procedure such as a test. This is to avoid children being misclassified when it is possible that their academic difficulties result from non disability factors such as stress, lack of educational exposure, inadequate education, moving from one to school to another, and so forth. Therefore, more than one procedure is needed to see where your child may be having difficulty and to identify his or her strengths. In some cases, schools will be able to conduct a child’s entire evaluation within the school.

In some cases, particularly in rural school districts, schools may not have the staff to do all of the evaluation needed. These schools will have to hire outside people or agencies to do some or all of the evaluation. If your child is evaluated outside of the school, the school must make all arrangements including transporting you and your child to the evaluator’s office if needed. The school will stipulate in writing exactly what type of testing is to be done; though not necessarily the specific tests to be employed. All of these evaluation procedures required to be provided at no cost to parent. In some cases, once the evaluation has begun, the outside specialist perceives a need to do more testing. If the specialist asks you if it is okay to do more testing, you should not give your consent until you have contacted the referring school district and they agree to pay for the additional testing.


II. Your Child's Eligibility

What does the school do with the evaluation results?

The information gathered from the all the evaluations will be utilized to make eligibility and intervention decisions about your child’s education. This is why it is crucial to have evaluations that provide specific information about the nature and extent of your child’s disabilities as well as the conditions under which your child learns best. For instance, it would not be helpful if a neuropsychological evaluation simply stated that your child had a memory deficit. It would be useful, however if it indicated that your child has difficulties recalling auditorily presented information when that information is followed immediately by presentation of similar auditory information. Therefore, you child should not have a spelling lesson immediately before or after an oral reading lesson; but, would benefit from having a spelling lesson preceded by a physical activity such as physical education and followed by a visual activity such as map skills. This type of report provides you and your child’s teachers specific information about how to help your child learn; and is what you need to look for in evaluations. If such information is not included, ask the evaluator to expand their report to provide this type of specific educationally relevant information.

How is a decision made about my child’s eligibility for special education?

The decision about your child’s eligibility for services is based on whether your son or daughter has a disability that fits into one of the IDEA’s 13 disability categories and whether that disability affects how your child does in school. This does not mean that simply because your child is obtaining B and A’s and is considered to be on grade level that he is automatically disqualified for special education services. Perhaps you child has been able to obtain this level of achievement because you pay for private tutoring after school and Huntington Learning Center all summer and can no longer afford to supplement the public school instruction in this manner. Then, if a disability is documented and the team knows that these supports will no longer be present, it may decide to classify your child and provide additional supports in the school setting to help your child maintain adequate performance. In other words, nothing in the law says that your child must be failing or have been retained in order to qualify for special education.

Since 1997 (over 30 years), parents are included in the group that decides a child’s eligibility for special education services and hold equal decision making power with all other members of the group. Nothing can be enacted by this group without your written consent. If you disagree with anything, tell the other members calmly and assertively, and the follow up by expressing your disagreement in writing. Make certain that you always have proof of having delivered your objections in writing.

This group, often called a staffing eligibility team, will look at all of the information gathered during the evaluation and decide whether your child meets the definition of a “child with a disability” in IDEA.

Why might my child be denied eligibility?

Under the IDEA, a child may not be found eligible for services if the child’s difficulties appear to be a result of:

the child has limited English proficiency, or
the child has a lack of instruction in math or reading.
a temporarily stressful situation such as a recent move.

If your child is found eligible, you and the balance of the Individualized Education Plan Team (IEP Team) will work together to design an educational program for your child. As the child’s parents or legal guardians, you have the right to receive a copy of all evaluations reports on your child, as well as copies of any other paperwork in your child’s educational records. This must be provided to you one time free of charge. When you receive these records make a second set of copies on a pale blue paper that you may wish to write on or highlight, three whole punch them and put them in a binder in date order. Keep the original set, pristine in a manila envelope. Do not mark up or bend these, in case you need them in the future.

What happens if my child is not eligible for services?

If the staffing eligibility or IEP team decides that your child is not eligible for special education services, the school system give you a written notice of refusal explaining why your child has been found “not eligible.” Under the IDEA, you must also be given information how to pursue an independent evaluation, mediation or due process if you disagree with the decision. If the district fails to provide you with the written notice of refusal within three calendar days of the eligibility determination meeting, you need to send the director of special education a letter which you will hand deliver and receive a receipt for. This letter should indicate that while your child was determined ineligible for services the district failed to provide you the requested written notice of refusal or information about the complaint process; therefore, you are summarizing in this letter your understanding of why your child was refused eligibility, stating your objections to this decision and your reasons for these objections and requesting an independent educational evaluation (IEE) in all areas of suspected handicapping condition (i.e. speech, occupational therapy, neuropsychological assessment and so forth) at public expense; and that the district needs to either approve this request within ten calendar days or take you to due process to prove the sufficiency of their evaluations. At this point, you probably wish to seek the assistance of a special needs coach, advocate or special education attorney so that you state all your objections clearly and include all necessary evaluations in the request for the IEE.

III. Writing an IEP

So my child has been found eligible for special education. What next?

The next step is to write what is known as an Individualized Education Program (IEP). After a child is found eligible, a meeting must be held within 30 days to develop to the IEP. As soon as it is found that your child is eligible for services sit down with your special needs coach and draw up a draft IEP including all the related services, measurable goals and objectives, criteria for assessing progress, and behavioral intervention plan that you consider to be appropriate. The district will probably develop their own draft prior to meeting with you, but this way you will enter the meeting with a clear understanding of what you feel is needed for your child to benefit from their program of general or special education. You may even wish to ask your coach to send a letter to the direction of special education outlining the key aspects of what you feel are needed so that the team can take you ideas into consideration when developing their draft.

Remember that while the team may develop a draft without your presence, it is just that: a draft. Absolutely nothing can be finalized without your written consent. Moreover, if you agree to part of the IEP, but disagree on some significant issues, provision of services does NOT need to be delayed until you agree to the full IEP as proposed by the district. Instead, you can write on the IEP:

“I am signing this IEP to confirm my attendance and my consent for this IEP to be implemented for a period of thirty days while the balance of the IEP team and I continue to address the issues with which I disagree; these issues are:………I request another IEP team meeting within ten calendar days to further explore these issues.”

This permits the school to begin providing services to your child, but also indicates that they have thirty days to resolve any disagreements with you regarding the IEP. For instance, let’s say that the district classifies your child as “Other Health Impaired” due to ADHD that impedes your child’s ability to attend to lessons; and they offer accommodations such as extended time of tests, but refuse to offer feedback based attention training which you consider essential, or refuse to develop a behavioral intervention plan with positive behavioral supports such as the Gordon Attention Trainer, by writing this statement, the district could begin to provide those accommodations you agreed to, but would have to schedule another meeting to reconsider the items you are in disagreement on.

Even if you think you agree with everything in the IEP, I advise parents not to sign consent at the meeting, but to say they need to take the draft home for further review before making their final decision. Then, you can use the IEP checklist (available at www.specialeducationsupport.org) review the IEP in detail and make certain that you feel it fully addresses your child’s need before signing consent for its implementation. Remember, if there is anything you have doubts about, this is the time to express it in writing!

Precisely, what is an Individualized Education Program?

An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a written statement of the special educational program designed to your child’s unique individual needs. It is not simply a piece of paper placing your child in a prepackaged program. It must be customized to consider your child’s strengths and weaknesses, your child’s preferred and most effective mode of learning, and your child’s special needs.

The IEP has two general purposes: (1) to set reasonable learning goals for your child commensurate with his cognitive potential and disability.; and (2) to state the services that the school district will provide for your child to insure that your child makes meaningful progress during the academic year. For example, if your child is of normal intelligence but does not speak due to autism, academic goals on your child’s IEP should be set at levels commensurate with those of other peers of normal intelligence, speech and language goals, in contrast would begin at your child’s current level of functioning and set goals and objectives to increase that level of functioning. Goals and objectives should be designed to help your child close the educational gap between themselves and their peers; rather than to simply maintain that gap or permit it to widen. This view was not always held under IDEA, but No Child Left Behind, has made it clear that school districts are suppose to work towards bringing all except those with the most severe cognitive deficits to grade level if at all feasible.

What type of information is included in an IEP?

According to the IDEA, your child’s IEP must include specific statements about your child. It is very important that children with disabilities participate in the general curriculum as much as possible because research has shown that children perform best when placed with non disabled peer who serve as good role models and when they are challenged to perform at the same levels as those peers.

This means that when possible your child should learn the same curriculum as nondisabled children, for example, reading, math, science, social studies, and physical education as nondisabled children do. In some cases, this curriculum may need to be adapted for your child to learn, or your child may need additional accommodations in order to access that curriculum but it should not be omitted altogether. Participation in extracurricular activities and other nonacademic activities is also important. Your child’s IEP needs to be written with this in mind. When your child requires more assistance than can be provided in the regular education classroom some of all of their academic instruction may occur in either a resource room or a special education classroom. In this event, however, music, art, physical education, lunch, recess and extracurricular activities should all be with non disabled peers. This must be stipulated in your child’s IEP unless it is impossible for your child to function in these settings with appropriate supports.

Who develops my child’s IEP?

number one on this is you, the parents along with your special needs coach or advocate

at least one regular education teacher, if your child is or might participating in the regular education environment;

at least one special education teachers or special education providers;

an individual who can interpret the evaluation results and talk about what instruction may be necessary for; you should ask that this person be a school psychologist as they normally have the most complete training in tests and measurement of all school personnel.
your child;

your child, when appropriate;

if your child is 16 years or, if appropriate, younger representatives from any other agencies that may be responsible for paying for or providing (such as Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Independent Living Centers)

transition services (such as Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Independent Living Centers)

other individuals (invited by you or the school) who have knowledge or special expertise about your child. For example, you may wish to invite grandparents, aunts and uncles, older siblings, you au pair or nanny, a daycare provider, your minister, your child’s youth leader, your child’s scout leader, or any other significant adult in your child’s life. Try to include as many of these people as possible in the process. This will help them gain a better understanding of your child and your child’s needs; as well as what will be done to help your child. It will also empower them to share valuable information about the situations in which they see your child learn most effectively and what techniques they find most effective when dealing with your child.

Together, these people will work as a team to develop your child’s IEP.

So I can help develop my child’s IEP?

Yes, absolutely. The law is very clear that parents have the right to participate in developing their child’s IEP. In fact, your input is invaluable and you should be viewed as the prime mover in this situation. You know your child better than any professional could simply by virtue of the fact that you have known your child longer than the professionals have, have spent more time with them, and have observed them in more setting, so school personnel cannot match your insights about your child.

The school staff will try to schedule the IEP meeting at a time that is convenient for all team members to attend. If the school suggests a time that is impossible for you, explain your schedule and needs. The law stipulates that meetings must be held at mutually convenient times so that you can participate. Do not accept a meeting that is schedule at a time which prohibits your participation. If the school suggests a time that is impossible for you, explain your schedule and needs. Give the school three or four days and times that you can participate, because if you cannot agree on a time or date, the school may hold the IEP meeting without you and thus disenfranchise you from your opportunity to ensure that your child’s needs are met. In this event, the school must keep you informed, for example, by phone or mail, but you lose your vital role in the decision making process. So, at the bare minimum, if you cannot get off from work and the school refuses to hold a meeting after work hours or on weekends, notify them in writing that you want them to arrange for you to attend via teleconference or video conference; alternatively contact an attorney about giving your special needs coach or advocate limited power of attorney to make educational decisions regarding your child on your behalf at this single meeting.

What should I do before the IEP meeting?

The purpose of the IEP meeting is to develop your child’s Individualized Education Program. You can prepare for this meeting by:

making a list of your child’s strengths and weaknesses,

meeting with each evaluator individually to review their reports and to question them about how their findings translate into academic methodologies and accommodations.

visiting your child’s class and perhaps other classes that may be helpful to him or her, if at all possible video tape these visits so you can sit down at home and review what you see in terms of what needs are manifest and what types of supports would be appropriate

talking to your child about his or her feelings toward school.

reading the peer review literature about relevant interventions. For example, if your child is determined to have a visually based dyslexia, read about this condition and scour the literature about the scientific researched based methodologies used to address this problem and which have been demonstrated to be most effective. Do not leave this type of thing to the “professionals”. If you are to function as an equal member of the IEP team you need to become as educated about your child’s issues as they are because you are the one with the greatest vested interest in your child’s success.

making a list of what you consider to be appropriate methodologies, accommodations and program medications, and gathering your research literature and specific reasons why you believe these to be appropriate.

It is a good idea to write down what you think your child can accomplish during the school year in terms of measurable goals and objectives. A good starting point for this is to look up your State’s NCLB standards for your child’s academic level and to see which of these goals are realistic for your child to obtain, which they will need supports and accommodations to reach, and which they may only be able to make partial progress towards. It also helps outline what you would like to say during the meeting and to have your special needs coach forward your IEP team a rough draft of a proposed IEP that you and your coach have jointly developed.

What happens during an IEP meeting?

During the IEP meeting, the different members of the IEP team share their thoughts and suggestions. If this is the first IEP meeting after your child’s evaluation, the team should review the evaluation results, so your child’s strengths and needs will be clear to everyone present.

You know your child better than anyone. Don’t be shy about speaking up, even though there may be a lot of other people at the meeting. Share what you know about your child and what you wish others to know. Ask your parents, your minister, your child’s Sunday school teacher, your child’s scout leader, your child’s sport’s coach and everyone else who your brought with you to the meeting to also share what they know and to assume active roles in development of the IEP. Tape record this meeting so that you can review it at home to refresh your memory on anything you may not recall, as well as to clarify for yourself anything you remain confused about. In addition, ask anyone who attends the meeting with you to type up a summary of what they heard as an affidavit and have their signature notarized. Put this away in a fire proof safe in case a dispute about what was said arises at a later point in time.

After the various team members have shared their thoughts and concerns, the team needs to discuss:

· the educational and other goals that are appropriate for your child

· the type of special education services your child needs.

The IEP team will discuss what the related services your child may need to benefit from his or her special education. The IDEA lists many related services that schools must provide if eligible children need them. The related services listed in IDEA are presented in Related Services, as listed in IDEA. The services should be listed by name. There should be an indication of how often the services will be provided, the length of each session, where the services will be provided, whether they will be provided individually or in a group, and the provider. For example, speech language therapy 2 sessions per week of 30 minutes each one-on-one in the resource room with Ms. Smith. Examples of related services include:

occupational therapy, which can help a child develop or regain movement that he or she may have lost due to injury or illness; or not developed properly due to a developmental disorder or sensory integration problems.

speech therapy (called speech language pathology), which can help children who have trouble with pronunciation of words or with their proper use.

physical therapy to assist children who have problems with balance, gait or gross motor coordination

counseling sessions to assist children with a range of social and emotional problems that impede their ability to profit from general or special education

parent training and counseling to instruct parents in the interventions or methodologies being used in the classroom room so that parents can reinforce these at home in order to promote generalization of skills

cognitive remediation to develop weak or deficient attention skills, memory skills, organization and planning skills, auditory processing skills, visual processing skills and thinking skills

a behavior intervention plan with positive supports to decrease the frequency of occurrence of any behaviors which impede your child’s ability to learn in the academic setting or to function in the broader community.

canine assisted therapy for children who need assistance with locomotion, finding their way from place to place or even with basic socialization.

Depending on the needs of your child, the IEP team may also discuss the special factors listed below:

If your child has limited proficiency in English: The IEP team will talk about your child’s language needs as these needs relate to his or her IEP.

If your child is blind or visually impaired: The IEP team must provide for instruction in Braille or the use of Braille, it can also provide text books on CD and books on tape for use at home.

If your child is deaf or hard of hearing: The IEP team will consider your child’s language and communication needs. This includes your child’s opportunities to communicate directly with classmates and school staff in his or her usual method of communication (for example, sign language), as well as the opportunity to receive instruction in methods of communication such as American Sign Language/Lipreading/Use of a laptop with word processor that will enable your child to communicate effectively with the broader community.

The IEP team must also consider whether your child needs any assistive technology devices or services. Examples of these devices are:

devices that enlarge visual displays on the computer screen or that “read” the typed words aloud—which can help children who do not see well;

touch screens that permit children with motor problems easier access to computerized instruction

FM systems that direct the teacher’s voice directly to the child’s ear and screen out background noises to assist children with attention problems

Attention training systems that sit on the child’s desk and reward them when they are on task for those children who have trouble with concentration

electronic talking boards— which can help students who have trouble speaking; and

computers and special programs for the computer—which can help students with all kinds of disabilities learn more easily.

Books on CD with copies being provided at home for children who have difficulty with reading or organization.

Leisure books on audiotape for children with reading deficits or visual impairments.

Assistive technology services include evaluating your child to see if he or she could benefit from using an assistive device. These services include providing the devices and training your child (or your family or the professionals who work with your child) to use the device at home. This means that assistive technology devices provided for use in school also need to be made available for home use.

Related Services, as listed in IDEA

Transportation

Speech-language pathology

Audiology services which may include auditory integration training and services for auditory processing deficits

Psychological services which can include counseling, behavior modification, behavioral intervention plans, relaxation training, coping skills training, social skills training, home visits

Physical therapy

Occupational therapy which may include sensory integration

Recreation (including therapeutic recreation) which may include such interventions as community based instruction in sports, therapeutic horseback riding,

Early identification and assessment of disabilities in children

Counseling services (including rehabilitation counseling) which may address such issues as pre-employability skills development, and life skills development

Orientation & mobility services

Medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes

School health services which can include education about a child’s health issues, nutritional services, assistance with medication management

Social work services in schools

Parent counseling & training in the nature of the child’s disabilities as well as in instructional methodologies that will be most effective with the child and how to use these at home to generalize application of skills learned in school.

In all cases, you as parents have the right to be members of the IEP team that makes decisions on the educational placement of your child.

Depending on the needs of your child and the services to be provided, your child’s IEP could be implemented:

in regular classes,
in part-time special classes (where all the students are receiving special education services),
in full-time special classes
in special schools,
at home,
in hospitals and institutions, and
in other settings.
in a summer school program

Which placement is best suited for your child? Can he or she be educated in the regular classroom, with supplementary aids and services? (The IDEA prefers this placement.) If not, then the placement group will look at other placements for your child. Before the school system can provide your child with special education for the first time, you, as parents, must give your written consent. Make certain that you are fully informed about and fully agree to whatever you consent to. If you have doubts, concerns, questions or objections voice them during the meeting, write them directly on the IEP and then follow up via letter.

As you can see there is a tremendous amount that needs to be covered in your child’s IEP meeting. For this reason, it is crucial that you are prepared ahead of time with your questions and concerns, as well as with your suggestions for appropriate related services, goals, objectives and methodologies. Because of the amount of material to be covered in an IEP meeting make certain that you and all other members of the team can set aside at least two to three hours for this initial IEP meeting. Bring some water and some light snacks so that hunger or thirst doesn’t distract you. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes. Have pen, paper, laptop, calculator and anything else you feel you will need.

Can my child’s IEP be changed?

At least once a year a meeting must be scheduled with you to review your child’s progress and develop your child’s next IEP. The meeting will be similar to the IEP meeting described above. But, you can request another IEP meeting at any point in time that you believe the situation has changed and new or different issues need to be addressed.

At the annual IEP review the team will discuss:

your child’s progress toward the goals in the current IEP,
what new goals should be added, and
whether any changes need to be made to the special education and related services your child receives.

This annual IEP meeting allows you and the school to review your child’s educational program and change it as necessary. But you don’t have to wait for this annual review. You (or any other team member) may ask to have your child’s IEP reviewed or revised at any time there is a significant change or a lack of expected progress.

What Information is in Your Child’s IEP?

Your child’s IEP will contain the following statements:

Present levels of achievement and educational performance. This describes how your child is currently doing in school , home and the community and should include current normed referenced measures of performance. This includes how your child’s disability affects his or her involvement and progress in the general curriculum.

Annual goals. The IEP must state annual goals for your child, meaning what you and the school team think he or she can reasonably accomplish in a year. The goals must relate to meeting the needs that result from your child’s disability, as well as grade level expectations. They must also help your son or daughter be involved in and progress in the general curriculum. Goals should involve academics, communication, social skills, emotional skills, physical skills, and community skills if your child’s disability impacts in these areas.

Special education and related services to be provided. The IEP must list the special education and related services to be provided to your child. This includes supplementary aids and services (such as a communication device). It also includes changes to the program or supports for school personnel that will be provided for your child. Once again it must state whether these services are to be provided individually or in group, how frequently, how long each session will be, where the session will be held, who will provide the service, as well as the beginning and ending date of each services.

Participation with nondisabled children. The IEP must state how much of the school day will your child be educated separately from nondisabled children or not participate in extracurricular or other nonacademic activities such as lunch or clubs?

Participation in state and district-wide assessments. Your state and district probably give tests of student achievement to children in certain grades or age groups. In order to participate in these tests, your child may need individual modifications or changes in how the tests are administered these need to be delineated in the IEP. If your child will be exempt from these tests, the IEP must include a statement as to why the tests are not appropriate for your child and how your child will be tested instead. You will also need to clarify whether or not being exempt from such exams means that your child will be unable to earn a regular education high school diploma. If it does, you might want your child to take these exams even if it means using summer school for extra time to prepare or extending their high school career form the typical 4 years to 5, 6 or 7 years. Remember, your child doesn’t need to fail to get extra time. Your child is entitled to a public education until age 21, so if your child has a slower learning curve, you can spread the coursework out over more time.

Transition goals and services. No later than when your child is 16, the IEP must include measurable postsecondary goals related to training, education, employment, and (when appropriate) independent living skills. Also included are the transition services needed to help your child reach those goals, including what your child should study. Community Based Instruction may be an essential component at this level. For most severely impaired students, however, with a very slow learning curve who require a lot of time to master new skills, it is important to begin the transition planning process between twelve to fourteen years of age as they may have many basic pre-employability skills (such as dependability, timeliness) to learn.

Measuring progress. The IEP must state how school personnel will measure your child’s progress toward the annual goals. For your child’s protection, you always want to have standardized normed referenced measures used to assess progress so you can tell whether the gap between your child and age cohorts is widening (due to a failure to provide FAPE) or narrowing due to FAPE. It must indicate how you, as parents, will be informed regularly of your child’s progress and whether that progress is enough to enable your child to achieve his or her goals by the end of the year.

IV. Re-Evaluation

Will my child be re-evaluated?

Yes. Under the IDEA, your child must be re-evaluated at a minimum of every three years. The purpose of this re-evaluation is to find out:

if your child continues to be a “child with a disability,” as defined within the law

your child’s educational needs.

The re-evaluation should be similar to the initial evaluation, and repeat all of the standardized normed reference measures administered at that time (if still age appropriate) in order to assess progress by comparing “apples to apples”. The process begins by looking at the information already available about your child. More information is collected only if it’s needed; and from the parent’s perspective is definitely needed to ascertain whether their child is keeping pace with age cohorts in terms of rate of learning, or is falling further behind. If the IEP team decides that additional assessments are needed, you must give your informed written permission before the school system may collect that information. The school system may only go ahead without your informed written permission if they have tried to get your permission and you did not respond. Since, you do want these assessments; you need to give your consent in writing immediately.

Obtaining an Evaluation

If you feel your child not benefiting from the general education program in your local public school, has significant learning problems, and needs special education, you must submit a request in writing asking the school district where you live to evaluate him. This is true whether he attends a public or private school. (Note: Under IDEA 2004, the school district in which the private school is located is responsible for conducting the evaluation - not the district where the student resides.)

Effective July 1, 2005, under the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA, school districts have different options for addressing the needs of children who are struggling with learning. Traditionally, public schools have been required to determine whether there is a discrepancy between the child's ability and his achievement, both of which are measured by standardized tests. Frequently, before evaluating a child - as a "pre-referral" step - schools attempt to address the child's learning difficulty with instructional remediation in the general education classroom. Give your school permission to try this response to intervention, but insist that evaluations be conducted concurrently not afterwards; otherwise, your child’s eligibility determination and provision of services will be significantly delayed.

V. Other Special Education Issues

Is the school responsible for ensuring that my child reaches the goals in his or her IEP?

No. The IEP sets out the individualized instruction to be provided to your child, but it is not a contract. The school IS responsible for providing the instructional services listed in an IEP. It is NOT responsible for guaranteeing your child’s progress under the IDEA, though the IEP must be reasonably calculated to ensure meaningful progress. This means you need to monitor progress continually, and if you don’t see progress reconvene the IEP team immediately. Make certain that scientific research based methodologies are being employed and that they are being employed properly with sufficient frequency and intensity to ensure progress.

School officials must make a good-faith effort to help your child meet his or her goals. You need to ask the in writing to address each and every issue that arises which causes you to believe this is not being done. If you feel that your child is not making progress toward his or her goals, or that the school is acting in bad faith you need to document your specific concerns and desired resolutions in writing, and obtain confirmation of delivery.

What if I disagree with the school about what is right for my child?

You have the right to disagree with any and all of the school’s decisions concerning your child. This includes decisions about:

your child’s identification as a “child with a disability,”
his or her evaluation,
his or her educational placement
the special education and related services

In all cases where the family and school disagree, it is important for both sides to first discuss their concerns and try to negotiate a compromise in the IEP meeting. If this is not possible, the current placement remains in place while you continue the complaint process. To avoid delays in obtaining an appropriate IEP for your child, being the complaint process without delay.

The options available to you include:

mediation, where you and school personnel sit down with an impartial third person (called a mediator), talk openly about the areas where you disagree, and try to reach agreement; this is the least expensive and least stressful option; so, it is one that parents are well advised to pursue first. It is also crucial to pursue mediation so that school districts cannot accuse you of jumping the gun or refusing to work collaboratively. When you go to due process, you need to show that you attended all IEP meetings, that you put your complaints and your reasons for those complaints in writing, that you requested follow up IEP meetings to resolve the issue, and that you exhausted all options under IDEA other than due process by also attempting mediation. To file for mediation

1. Send one copy of this request to the school district via certified mail return receipt.

2. Second a second copy of this request to the State Department of Education via email return receipt computer generated

3. A third copy of this request to the State Department of Education via certified mail return receipt requested overnight.

4. Make a list of what you absolutely need for your child and will not back down on

5. Make a second list of things you are asking for but are willing to give up in a compromise.

6. Go to the mediation, if you get everything on your essential list. Your child wins.

· due process, where you and the school present evidence before an impartial third person (called a hearing officer), and he or she decides how to resolve the problem; this is an expensive, stressful court procedure where parents are often held to the standards of attorney and expected to understand and follow court procedures. For this reason , it is strongly urged that you have the assistance of an educational attorney if you are affluent enough to afford one, or an advocate, or special needs coach if you are not. Of course, the Federal Department of Education is current planning to revise the Part 300 regulations to state that whether or not a parent can be represented at due process by a non attorney will be determined by the State. Most States are likely under the pressure of the State Bars to side with the Aron’s decision In re Arons, 756 A.2d 867

(Del. 2000), cert. denied sub nom, Aronsv. Office of Disciplinary Counsel, 532U.S. 1065 (2001)., and declare that State Laws regulating the practice of law and prohibiting representation by lay advocates in due process hearings do not conflict with IDEA, and therefore will not allow parents who cannot afford attorney to have any assistance whatsoever. This means that for those parents who are not wealthy enough to hire an attorney, their due process rights will be limited to those obtained in during court proceedings under the IDEA. In Winkelman v. Parma City School District, 550 U.S. lll, 127 S. Ct. 1994 (2007), the Supreme Court held that parents can prosecute IDEA claims on their own behalf without being represented by an attorney. This, of course, means from the day you believe your child may have special needs you need to become as versed with IDEA, 504 and ADA as any attorney; and learn all you can about the courtroom procedures employed in due process. Otherwise, because of your financial status your child will be denied the right to have you advocate on their behalf to ensure FAPE. So start out with a special needs coach or advocate, but along the way study and learn all you can about the law so you can handle your own due process. Since it will be necessary to handle a due process on your own, don’t wait until you have a whole slew of issues. Go to due process on the first significant issue that remains unresolved. This single issue hearing will be easier for you to manage and will be your training ground for all the other due process hearings you may need to conduct throughout your child’s academic career. To file for due process:

1. Send one copy of this request to the school district via certified mail return receipt.

2. Second a second copy of this request to the State Department of Education via email return receipt computer generated

3. A third copy of this request to the State Department of Education via certified mail return receipt requested overnight.

At this point, out of sheer exhaustion and frustration some parents take out loans to send their child to private schools, some access state vouchers for the disabled, and some move to a new district. If none are these options are viable for you and your child, then you can lose nothing by pursing due process on a significant well documented issue.

In your due process request be very specific. Do a very detailed statement of your complaint and your desired resolution.

Understand that usually parents do not prevail in due process because the system is stacked in favor of the school districts which have public funds, attorneys, secretaries, clerks, receptionist, as well as professional teachers and related service providers who must testify as the school district says or risk their livelihood. Rest assured though, that if you have done all of the above and clearly stated your objections on each and every IEP with your reasons for those objections, then you have done all you can to prepare.

If you lose and you live in a two tier state, you can appeal to the state review board. If you live in a one tier state you can file a State Complaint, or bite the bullet and go to federal district court; as parents are allowed to represent their own children in federal district court pro se’. Historically it appears that parents face less biased adjudicators at the federal level.

Filing a complaint with the State Education Agency (SEA), where you write directly to the SEA and describe what requirement of IDEA the school has violated. The SEA must either resolve your complaint itself, or it can have a system where complaints are filed with the school district and parents can have the district’s decision reviewed by the SEA. In most cases, the SEA must resolve your complaint within 60 calendar days. Unfortunately, many parents feel that the State simply support the school district’s position and is neither impartial nor an advocate for disabled children. This step complaint process is probably best suited to filing a complaint when you are aware of and have documentation of a systemic violation of IDEA in your district.

Each state has its own policies and procedures and requirements for parents to follow. You will need to find out what your state’s policies are. Contact the state department of education and ask for a copy of their special education policies. The telephone number and address of the state department of education and be found on the internet or should be provided upon request by your school district.

How can I get more services for my child?

Suppose your child gets speech therapy two times a week, and you think he or she needs therapy three times a week. What do you do?

First, you can talk with your child’s teacher or speech-language pathologist (sometimes called a speech therapist). Ask to see the evaluation of his or her progress. If you are not satisfied with your child’s progress, then request an IEP meeting to review your child’s progress and increase speech therapy. Discuss your child’s needs with the IEP team and talk about changing the IEP. The other team members will both agree with you and change the IEP, or they will disagree with you.

If the rest of the IEP team does not agree that your child needs more services write your objection to the IEP directly on the IEP and sign directly below this statement. Then, go home and type up your request for mediation on bright pink paper. Hand deliver this request within three calendar days to the director of special education. In this letter, indicate that you wish to work cooperatively with the district to resolve this issue and are therefore, requesting that a mediation be held within ten calendar days of the district’s receipt of this letter (which you will hand deliver and get a signed, dated, time stamped receipt for the day the letter is written); and that if the district opts not to work collaborative through participation in a mediation, you will be left with no option but to advocate for your child’s unique educational needs and an appropriate IEP reasonably designed to ensure meaningful progress through a due process hearing; which will cannot be deemed frivolous as the district if the district refuse to work cooperatively. State that if the district does not wish to participate in mediation, the district can consider this letter which you have already forwarded a copy of to the State Department of Education as your formal request for due process.

How can I support my child’s learning?

Here are some suggestions that can help you support your child’s learning and maintain a good working relationship with school professionals:

Let your child’s teacher(s) know that you want to be involved in your child’s educational program. Make time to talk with the teacher(s) and, if possible, visit the classroom.

Explain any special equipment, medication, or medical problem your child has, make sure this is all clearly delineated on the IEP and that everyone who works with your child has read the entire IEP.

Let the teacher(s) know about any activities or big events that may influence your child’s performance in school.

Ask that samples of your child’s work be sent home daily. If you have questions, make an appointment with the teacher(s) to talk about new ways to meet your child’s goals. Confirm whatever you discussed in this meeting in a follow up letter. Keep a copy of this letter and note the date, time and to whom the letter was delivered. If possible deliver via email and have your computer generate a receipt when the letter is opened.

Ask the teacher(s) how you can build upon your child’s school activities at home. Request that parent training and counseling be added to your child’s IEP so that you can receive regular instruction in techniques being used to introduce skills in school in order that you can reinforce them at home.

Volunteer to help in the classroom or school. This will let you see how things work in the school and how your child interacts with others. It will give you to an opportunity to record specific examples of areas in which your child’s disability in impacting upon their education and where accommodations or modifications are necessary. It will also help the beleaguered teacher.

Remember that no one is as vested in your child’s academic success as you are. The school basically wants children to attend regularly, to cooperate and to progress from grade to grade. You will need to be actively involved every step of the way to obtain a quality education for your child.

What kind of record keeping should I do?

Basically, you need to keep records of EVERYTHING. This includes all phone calls, all informal chats, conferences, and meetings, as well as all written communications to and from the school. Anything verbal should be documented by a follow up letter of understanding requesting that any misconceptions be corrected in writing within three to five calendar days; otherwise, you will know that you have correctly understood their statements or position. Anything verbal should also be documented via tape recording. Everything written should be signed and date and time stamped. This includes things you receive from the school. Write on the bottom of each document: “I received this document via (email, regular mail, certified mail) at TIME on DATE.” If there is a significant difference between the date typed on the correspondence and your receipt of it; immediately write the district to notify them of this time discrepancy i.e. “Your letter dated May 1, 2008 was delivered to my home by the postman at 3pm on May 20th, 2008.”

In terms of regular record keeping, this is what I recommend for parents
Obtain four large binders (one white, one bright pink or red , one yellow and one blue)
Put dividers in each binder for:
IEP’s and IEP meeting minutes
Parents Correspondence to school
Correspondence from school
Occupational Therapy
Speech Language Therapy
Counseling/Psychotherapy
Physical therapy
School Evaluations
Independent Evaluations
Work Samples
Report Cards
Affidavits
Transcripts of IEP meetings or phone calls that
Copies of homework

Make 4 sets of all records:

On white paper for hearing officer if you ever have to go to a hearing

On bright pink paper for school attorneyin case you

ever have a hearing

On pale yellow paper for your records, do not write on these other than to indicate when the recipient refuses to sign for confirmation.

On pale blue paper for you to mark up as needed

Arrange all records within the categories chronologically. If you maintain these four binders on a daily basis, then you will be ready when and if you need to pursue due process.

What if I still have questions and need more information?

You can schedule a one-on-one secure chat with, Dr. Crum , special needs coach who will answer your questions and help you develop a plan of action. To do this, go to www.specialeducationsupport.org and click on the schedule tab.


Presented as a community service by,

Susan L. Crum, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Special Needs Coach
Able2Learn
Email: Able2learn@live.com
Voice and Fax: 863-471-0281
Website: specialeducationsupport.org