Special Education The Basics

1
Special Education The Basics
2
What is the IDEA?

• IDEA is the acronym for the Individuals with
  Disabilities Education Act.
• The IDEA was developed to provide a legal
  structure for the provision of special education
  services and related services to children with
  disabilities.

3
Where are the IDEA regulations located?

• A full legal text of the IDEA can be found at 20
  United States Code 1400 et seq.
• Federal Regulations can be found 34 C.F.R 300 et
  seq.
• State Rules can be found at 92 Nebraska
  Administrative Code Chapters 51, 53 and 55.
• Please go to a special education link site on
  this website to access all of these statutes and
  regulations.

4
What is a Free Appropriate Public Education
(FAPE)?

• Free appropriate public education or FAPE means
  special education and related services that
• (a) Are provided at public expense
• (b) Meet the standards of the State of Nebraska
  
• (c) Include an appropriate preschool, elementary
  school, or secondary school education and
• (d) Are provided in conformity with an
  Individualized Education Program (IEP).

5
What is Least Restrictive Environment(LRE)?

• LRE requires that each public agency must
• Educate children with disabilities with children
  who are non-disabled to the maximum extent
  appropriate and
• Only provide special classes, separate schooling,
  or other special placements for children with
  disabilities when education in the regular
  classroom is not appropriate.

6
What is an Individualized Education Program
(IEP)?

• Individualized education program or IEP means a
  written plan for a child with a disability that
  is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance
  with IDEA to provide students with disabilities a
  free appropriate public education in the least
  restrictive environment.

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OVERVIEW OF IDEA REQUIREMENTS

• The IDEA process involves several steps. The
  following slides give a quick overview of each
  step.

8
How is a student with a disability identified?

• The State must identify, locate, and evaluate all
  children with disabilities in the State who need
  special education and related services. This is
  called child find.
• Parents, teachers or school administrators can
  ask for an evaluation at any time if a disability
  is suspected
• Parental consent is needed before any child is
  evaluated and
• The evaluation needs to be completed within 60
  days after parental consent.

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Why is an initial evaluation necessary?

• The initial evaluation assesses a child in areas
  related to the childs suspected disability.
• The evaluation is used to determine eligibility
  for special education and related services.
• If parents disagree with the evaluation, they can
  request an Independent Educational Evaluation
  (IEE) which is at public expense (unless the
  school district objects and asks for a hearing).

10
How is eligibility determined?

• Evaluation results are discussed in a
  Multi-Disciplinary team (MDT) meeting. School
  staff, school administrators and parents review
  the evaluation results to determine whether a
  child has a disability set forth in the IDEA.
• If the MDT team decides that the child is
  eligible, the school will convene an IEP team
  meeting and develop a plan to provide special
  education and related services within 30 days.

11
Who initiates the IEP meeting?

• The school system schedules and conducts the IEP
  meeting.
• The school will
• contact the participants, including the parents
• notify parents early enough to make sure they
  have an opportunity to attend
• schedule the meeting at a time and place
  agreeable to parents and the school
• tell the parents the purpose, time, and location
  of the meeting
• tell the parents who will be attending and
• tell the parents that they may invite people to
  the meeting who have knowledge or special
  expertise about the child.

12
Who attends an IEP meeting?

• The IEP meeting includes (at a minimum) a parent,
  a school representative to interpret the
  evaluation results, a special education teacher,
  a school administrator and a regular classroom
  teacher.
• Other participants may (and often do) attend at
  the request of parents and/or the school district.

13
What happens at an IEP meeting?

• At an IEP meeting, the IEP team develops a
  written plan that
• Addresses the students present levels of
  performance
• Develops annual academic and functional goals
• Describes how the students progress towards the
  annual goals will be measured
• States specifically what special education and
  related services will be provided
• Establishes placement and explains why a child is
  in a special education setting and not a regular
  education setting and
• Establishes what transition services will be
  provided (for children 16 and older).

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Who ensures that the IEP is implemented?

• The school makes sure that the childs IEP is
  being implemented as it was written.
• Parents are given a copy of the IEP.
• Each of the childs teachers and service
  providers has access to the IEP and knows his or
  her specific responsibilities for carrying out
  the IEP.

15
How do I know the IEP is working?

• The childs progress toward the annual goals is
  measured as stated in the IEP.
• Parents are regularly informed of the childs
  progress toward annual goals.
• If appropriate progress is not being made,
  parents and/or school personnel may request an
  IEP meeting to change services, goals and/or
  strategies (as necessary).

16
When is the next IEP meeting?

• A students IEP is reviewed on a yearly basis or
  more often if the parents or the school ask for a
  review.
• Parents, as team members, must be invited to
  attend these meetings.
• At the annual IEP meeting, progress is reviewed
  and goals and strategies are revised as
  appropriate.
• Parents can suggest changes and agree or disagree
  with the IEP goals.

17
Reevaluation

• Every three years a child with a disability
  should be reevaluated.
• The three year reevaluation can be waived if the
  parents and school agree that a another
  evaluation is unnecessary.
• A child can be reevaluated at any time if deemed
  necessary by parents or school personnel.

18
What if I disagree?

• Generally, the special education process is a
  cooperative relationship between parents and the
  school to provide appropriate special education
  and related services to a student with a
  disability. But, disagreements do occur.
  Parents have several options including
• Meeting with school personnel to discuss
  concerns
• Asking for an IEP meeting to revise goals and
  strategies
• Asking for an Independent Educational Evaluation
  (IEE)
• Contacting a parent support organization
• Filing a complaint with the Nebraska Department
  of Education or
• Requesting a due process hearing.
• Organizations do exist to assist parents in
  addressing special education issues. Feel free
  to contact Legal Aid of Nebraska for more
  information.