Special Education » Office Of Special Education Programs

Students With Disabilities – Creating Collaborative Partnerships – Tips For Schools (Part 2 of 3)

admin — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 07:52:37 +0000

More than 6 million students receive exceptional student education services, according to the U.S. Department of Education. In 2004, the Office of Special Education Programs found that students with specific learning disabilities accounted for almost half (47.4%) of all students with disabilities, which was roughly 2.9 million students being served (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). Students with disabilities drop out of high school at about twice the rate of general education students (Thurlow, Sinclair, and Johnson, 2002). They are also less likely to go back and earn their high school diploma as compared to their counterparts without disabilities. School administrators and personnel are encouraged to create collaborative partnerships with parents and after-school programs to improve outcomes for these students. Recommendations for schools are provided in this 3-part series entitled “Students with Disabilities: Creating Collaborative Partnership.”

Tips for Schools

1. Minimize language barriers for parents and students by providing translators and translating necessary paperwork.

2. Hold a special orientation day for parents with students with disabilities before the

start of school.

3. Introduce key staff to parents and students and their respective job duties as they related to facilitating ESE services.

4. Include disability resources in the school’s student handbook. If there is not a
school specific handbook, provide parents with a packet listing relevant resources available at the school, in the community, and on the internet.

5. Support or provide general education teachers with training and support relevant to providing instructional services to students with disabilities.

6. Invite guest speakers to participate in PTA or parent meetings to educate parents about their child’s disability and/or available resources.

7. Encourage and stress the importance to parents regarding their participation in their child’s IEP meetings.

8. Encourage and allow parents to bring advocates to their child’s IEP meetings.

9. Don’t talk down or over parents. Instead of speaking in acronyms or technical language, try to speak in a way that facilitates parent understanding of the educational process.

10. Make sure parents understand the process, timeline and consequences of all decisions made regarding their child’s education.

11. Encourage parents to have their child to participate in either on or off-site
after-school programs.

12. Include a listing of local after-school programs in introductory packets sent out to parents during the first few weeks of school.

13. Network with community providers to create collaborative partnerships.

14. Invite community providers to speak with appropriate staff regarding their services to connect students with available community programs and services.

15. Collaborate with afterschool programs to reinforce instructional learning.

Resources:

Learning Disability Association of America (LDA)
4156 Library Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15234
http://www.ldaamerica.org/

National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY)
PO Box 1492
Washington, DC 20013
http://www.kidsource.com/NICHCY/

By: Felecia Sheffield PhD

3 Ways to Use Tape Recordings to Help Your Child in Special Education

admin — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:39:43 +0000

Are you the parent of a child with autism? Are you the parent of a
child receiving special education services? Would you like to learn
parenting tips that will help you become an equal participant in your
child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting? This article will
discuss 3 ways that tape recording can help you in advocating for an
appropriate education for your child with a disability

3 ways to use tape recording:

1. Tape recording can allow you to focus on what is happening during
the meeting, rather than focusing on taking notes. Listen to
everything that is going on, and do write down important things. Speak
up and give your opinion as often as you need to, for the benefit of
your child.

2. If an IEP meeting is tape recorded, you will be able to go over it
at a later time, and fill in your notes. It will also allow you to
remember things that may have happened that you missed. IEP meetings
can be adversarial. A tape recording allows you to listen to the
interactions in the privacy of your own home.

3. Tape recordings of IEP meetings can be used as evidence at a due
process hearing. In order to use a tape recording, as evidence, it
will have to be transcribed. Tape recorders should be digital, and
powerful enough to pick up several different people’s voices.

A lot of special education personnel become very resistant when
parents want to tape record IEP meetings. Below is an interpretation
of tape recording under IDEA, by the Office of Special Education
Programs (OSEP).

OSEP published its question #12 opinion in the Federal Register Volume
57, No. 183, Sept. 29, 1992 interpreting tape recording IEP meetings
and stated “that it is permissible to tape IEP meetings at the option
of either the parents or the agency.”

There have also been several law suits that have given parents the
right to tape record IEP meetings. One of these court cases in
Connecticut V.W. v. Favolise had the court reason that parents have a
statutory right, to attend and participate in IEP meetings, and the
district could not legally engage in an act to limit the parents
rights.

If special education personnel refuse to allow you to tape record,
because they say that they have a district policy, ask for a written
copy of the policy. OSEP in a memorandum 91-24 July 18, 1991 stated
“Thus any policy limiting or prohibiting a parent’s right to tape
record the proceedings at an IEP meeting must provide for exceptions
if they are necessary to ensure that the parent is able to understand
the proceedings at the IEP meeting. . .” Ask your school district for
an exception, so that you can understand the IEP meeting.

With the written policy in hand, cancel the IEP meeting, and send a
state complaint to your state department of education. Tell them that
you asked school personnel for an exception and they refused. The
state will have 60 days to resolve your complaint.

Tape recording can help you be an active participant in your child’s
IEP meeting. Your child is depending on your help, do not let them
down.

By: JoAnn Collins

4 Parenting Tips to Help You Enforce Special Education Law

admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:26:16 +0000

Do you have a child with a disability who is receiving special education services?

Are you frustrated because it is hard to get needed educational services, for your child? Would you like a few parenting tips, to help you make sure that special education personnel follow IDEA? This article will discuss 4 parenting tips, that will help you in enforcing, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

IDEA enforcement by law is to be the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), which is part of the Department of Education. They are responsible in making sure that states, are in compliance with special education law. States are responsible for making sure that individual school districts comply with IDEA.

The reality is that parents are the main enforcement mechanism of special education law. Below are 4 tips to help you ensure that your school district is complying with IDEA, for the benefit of your child.

1. Develop a working knowledge of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. By doing this, you will know where to look when you need a particular section of the law. For Example: If you would like to look at what is required for a free appropriate public education (FAPE), you would look under 300.101. Or Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) at 300.115.

2. Develop a working knowledge of your state regulations on special education (This is how the state is going to comply with IDEA). Some states regulations are actually better for children and parents, than federal law. By understanding these, you will be able to use them to ensure that your school district is complying with the educational law. You can get a copy of your state regulations from your state board of education.

3. Bring copies of the laws with you to any IEP meeting for your child, and place them on the table. You will be able to look up certain sections during the meeting, in case you need them.

By bringing up the special education laws that apply, you will make sure that you school district is following them. You also want to make sure, that the special education personnel in your district understand that you know the laws, and that you will be making sure that they follow them.

Also, when you write letters to school personnel, always quote IDEA or the state regulations, for special education when you can. This will help bolster your case, for whatever you are asking for.

For example: IDEA states, that my child has the right to a free appropriate public education, which I believe that she is not receiving at this time. In order for my child with a learning disability to receive FAPE, she must receive the appropriate amount of reading remediation, using simultaneous-multi sensory reading program such as Orton-Gillingham.

4. If your school district is in non compliance with the procedures of IDEA, consider filing a state complaint. The state complaint is filed with your state board of education; special education department.

The complaint should state the violation, the number in IDEA that is being violated, what your evidence is of the violation, and also the proposed resolution of the violation. Also, you can put more than one violation in a complaint, but number them for easier reading and tracking.

By doing these four things, you will be able to understand when special education personnel are not following special education law. It is sad that parents are the main enforcement arm of IDEA, but it is reality! Good luck, and stay focused, for the benefit of your child!

By: JoAnn Collins

Criteria For IEE’s at Public Expense – Can Special Education Personnel Do That?

admin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:03:39 +0000

Are you a parent who is interested in what criteria special education personnel can use for an Independent Educational Evaluation at Public Expense? Have you been denied an IEE at public expense, because you refuse to go along with strict criteria set by your school district? This article will discuss what criteria special education personnel are allowed to set for IEE’s at public expense.

The Office of Special Education Programs does allow school districts to make criteria for IEE’s at public expense if:

a. Parents are allowed to ask for a waiver of the criteria if their child’s disability warrants it, or
b. The criteria do not prevent the parent from getting the IEE at public expense.

Below is a discussion of the criteria that school districts are allowed to set: (Just remember that the criteria cannot prevent the parent from getting the IEE at public expense)

1. Professional qualifications; An independent evaluator must be at least as qualified, as special education personnel, who do the testing in the school district. If you want an independent evaluator who is more qualified than school person, you must put that in your initial request for an IEE at public expense.

A lot of conflict often occurs because parents want their child tested by a Clinical psychologist not a School psychologist; which increases the cost.

If you can prove, that unique circumstances require a clinical psychologist, then your school district may agree. If they do not, they should file for a due process hearing.

2. Cost; A lot of school districts, place very low cost on independent educational evaluations at public expense. A good qualified independent evaluator is going to cost quite a bit, depending on the profession and location. If the evaluation that you want is going to cost more than the amount stated by your school district, tell them that you are asking for a cost waiver because of unique circumstances. They may ask you to list the unique circumstances, which is allowed.

Another issue is that school personnel cannot prevent you from getting an IEE at public expense. If they make the cost too low, then you will not be able to get the evaluation.

3. Geographical; Some school districts want you to stay within a certain geographic area. Again they can do it, if it does not prevent you from getting the evaluation.

Below is criteria school districts are not allowed to set:

1. Pick from this list of Evaluators: This is not allowed by the Office of Special Education Programs which is part of the Department of Education.

2. We will pay but we get to pick the evaluator: Also not allowed by OSEP. On February 20, 2004 OSEP published a policy letter regarding IEE’s at public expense. In this letter OSEP states: It is the parent, not the district, who has the right to choose which evaluator. . .will conduct the evaluation.

3. If you want an IEE at public expense you must file for a due process hearing. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is clear; either school districts pay for the evaluation of they file for a due process hearing to prove that their evaluation is correct. This is important because in some states the burden of proof at due process rests on the party that files.

4. We want to determine specifically what tests are done. IDEA states that parents and school districts must agree on areas to be tested, not on the tests themselves. If an agreement cannot be reached then special education personnel must file for a due process hearing.

By understanding what criteria special education personnel can make for an IEE at public expense, you will be in a better position to get an IEE at public expense for your child.

By: JoAnn Collins