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
Posts Tagged ‘Office Of Special Education’
4 Parenting Tips to Help You Enforce Special Education Law
November 12th, 2009Criteria For IEE’s at Public Expense – Can Special Education Personnel Do That?
November 4th, 2009
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
Observation by Independent Evaluators for Children in Special Education
October 12th, 2009
Are you the parent of a child with a disability, who will be getting
an Independent Education Evaluation (IEE), for your child? Have you
been told by special education personnel, that the evaluator may not
observe your child in the classroom? This article will discuss the rules
about independent evaluators observing your child in their current
placement.
When school districts conduct evaluations, they usually include an
observation of the child with a disability, in their classroom. This
is one reason, that it is important for independent evaluators to
observe the child in their classroom, as part of an IEE. Another
reason is because special education personnel will challenge any IEE,
where the evaluator has not observed the child in their placement.
Even though school personnel will challenge a parent’s IEE, for lack
of evaluator observation, they often tell parents that their evaluator
is prohibited from observing the child in their classroom.
Some special education personnel blame HIPPA and Ferpa, for the
prohibition, but this is not true. There is nothing in HIPAA, that
prohibits a parent’s evaluator from observing the child in the classroom.
In the court case: JH vs. Henrico County School Board 395 F. 3d. 185
(2005), the court found that an expert needs to observe a child in the
classroom. It would derive from the weight the Court gave to actual
observation of the child in the classroom.
Also in an Office of Special Education Program (OSEP) letter to Mamas,
they confirmed the right to observe, when the district used
observations as part of the evaluation process and referred parents to
state and local policies on observation.
In the Supreme Court Case Schaffer vs. Weast the justices emphasized
that parents should have equal power to school districts, thus
supporting the right to observe. The court also said that “IDEA thus
ensures parental access to an expert who can evaluate all the
materials that the school must make available, and who can give an
independent opinion.”
Courts in the past, have stated that little weight should be given to
parent’s witnesses, who have not observed in the classroom, and
greater weight be given to school district witnesses because they have
extensively observed the child. This is why it is frustrating, when
special education personnel, refuse to allow parents independent
evaluators to observe the child.
If your school district is refusing to allow your independent
evaluator to observe your child in school, send them a letter. Ask for
a written response as to why they are refusing. Take this response,
and file a state complaint, with your state board of education. The state
complaint could state, that your rights and your child’s rights are being
violated, by the school districts prohibition of your independent evaluator
observation.
You can stand up to special education personnel, that tell you lies
and deceptions. Independent evaluators must observe the child in their
current placement, to make the evaluation acceptable to the school
district. This is especially true if you are considering filing for a
due process hearing. If you file, and the school district refuses your
evaluator access to your child’s placement, ask the hearing officer
to make a ruling that will allow your evaluator to observe. Good luck!
By: JoAnn Collins
