If you can't find the
answer to your question on this page, try looking on the Forum page of this
site. The Brandywine Special Needs PTA Forum is the interactive
portion of our site where visitors can post questions and receive
answers and comments from other members of the special needs
community.
What is an
IEP?
How can I
provide value to the IEP for my
child?
What do the terms
FAPE and LRE mean?
Where are the
rights of my child documented?
What is
the Notice of Procedural Safeguards and why do I always get a copy
with my IEP documentation?
What if I disagree with the
school's assessment of my child’s
ability?
What is Due
Process?
What options do I have to
work out really difficult issues with school officials short of a
Due Process hearing?
The Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act changed in 2004. What is
different?
Can I tape
record the IEP meeting?
What are TAM
classes?
Are there alternatives
to the Delaware Student Testing Program
(DSTP)?
What is
Extended School Year (ESY) and who qualifies?
What is the
Administrative
Manual for Special Education Services (AMSES)
document?
What is an
IEP?
The
Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is the heart of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It is the single most
important item related to the education of your Special Needs child.
It is the IEP that drives all the services, placements and
accommodations your child will receive. The importance of working
hard to craft the appropriate IEP for your child can't be over
emphasized. The IDEA law was written very intentionally to provide
parents the right to directly influence how their child is educated.
No one should take the interests of your child more to heart than
you. No one should know your child better than you. No one should
have a greater interest in providing the appropriate IEP for your
child than you. No one has a greater responsibility to your child
than you.
All
the members of this PTA understand first hand the challenges of
having a child with special needs. All of us, both parents and
educators, have felt the frustration and pain that seems inherent in
the "system" sometimes. You'll never beat the "system" in the long
run. You need to make it work for you and the way you do that is
through the IEP. Until you get your child's needs and the
appropriate services and accommodations documented in your child's
IEP, you should expect frustration and
disappointment.
How can I
provide value to the IEP for my child?
If
you have even thought about this question, you're on the right
track. The Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is critical because
the IEP drives all the Special Ed help and services your child will
get. If something is documented in the IEP, you are entitled by law
to get it. If a service or accommodation is not formally documented
in writing in the IEP, then you'll be lucky to get 10% of it, much
less 100%. Making sure your child's needs are well represented and
documented in the IEP is a huge job and extremely important. You can
count on the district staff to help but you're naive if you think
even the best intentioned IEP team cares as much for your child
or has as much at stake as you do.
So
where do you begin? First and foremost, you need to do your
homework. No matter what your background is, don’t expect to walk in
off the street and immediately be able to be an effective advocate
for your child. Everyone is overwhelmed when they first realize the
magnitude of what needs to be done. However, if you take it one step
at a time, you'll get through it. We might sound like a broken
record on this point, but this PTA highly recommends you familiarize
yourself with your rights and obligations under IDEA. A good place
to start is www.wrightslaw.com.
After you get the basics down, there are lots of books
and web sites with information on writing an IEP. One book this PTA
likes is Writing Measurable IEP
Goals and Objectives by Bateman & Herr. The book is short,
written in layman’s terms and explains the IEP process and common
problems with improperly written IEPs. On-line, a good web page with
lots of helpful links can be found at www.fetaweb.com/expert.htm.
Once you understand your basic rights and get the IEP
process down, there is still more to do. You need to work with your
child's teachers, therapists, doctors, tutors and other
professionals to understand what help your child needs to succeed.
You need to understand what exactly "success" looks like for your
child and you need to work, read and network to understand what has
to happen for your child to achieve that success. You will very
likely have to work hard, even fight, to ensure your child gets
everything documented in the IEP and then constantly monitor
your child's progress and provide feedback to the other members of
the IEP team. This process is like most of the rest of life - you
get out what you put in. The sooner you become truly engaged in your
child's IEP, the better. Please, please don't wait until it is too
late.
We've hopefully organized this web site to help you.
For information on writing academic goals specific to Delaware, you
can check out some links on the Curriculum page of this site. Some good examples
for social skill goals can be found on the link on our Social Skills page. Even if these particular goals
are not appropriate for your child, the format is useful. We like
the rubrics with each goal to provide specific feedback on how well
the skill is being developed. It is well beyond this FAQ section to
provide all the specifics you need to participate in the IEP
process. The BSNPTA
Forum is designed to be a more dynamic collection point for
information than this FAQ page so you should check out the IEP areas
there as well.
Remember, you are not alone. All of us in this PTA are
facing the same issues and have the same concerns and hopes for our
kids.
What do the terms FAPE
and LRE mean?
FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) and Least
Restrictive Environment (LRE) are terms from the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). FAPE means that disabled children
are entitled to a public education that works for them. Sometimes
"gatekeepers" of district services will play up the "Appropriate"
term as a way to deny services (For example, "appropriate" means a
Chevy, not a Cadillac.) Appropriate means the services needed to
fulfill the IEP. Quoting from Delaware's Administrative Manual for
Special Education Services (AMSES):
"Free appropriate public
education" means special education that is specially designed
instruction including classroom instruction, instruction in
physical education, home institutions, and related services as
defined by Department of Education rules and regulations
approved by the State Board of Education and as may be required to
assist a handicapped person to benefit from an education
that:
a. Is provided at public expense, under public
supervision and direction and without charge in the public school
system;
b. Meets the standards of the Department of Education
as set forth in this title or in the rules and regulations of the
Department as approved by the State Board;
c. Includes
elementary, secondary or vocational education in the State;
and
d. Is individualized to meet the unique needs of the
handicapped
person.
The "restrictions" in LRE are restrictions that
prevent the child from being in a regular ed setting. LRE is defined
AFTER the IEP is complete. LRE is determined by first assuming the
child will be in the regular ed setting 100% of the time and then
placing the "least restrictions" possible in order to provide the
services specified in the IEP. It is NOT appropriate to say, "Johnny
will be in the resource room x% of the time, therefore we can
provide y services". The way the law is written is "Johnny needs x
services, how can they be delivered while keeping him in the regular
ed environment to the maximum extent possible?" Because of this, an
increasing common set up is a TAM classroom
because this allows child to receive additional help and
services while still in the same environment as the typical
kids.Quoting from Delaware's Administrative
Manual for Special Education Services
(AMSES):
Each public agency shall
ensure -
(1) That to the maximum
extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children
in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are
educated with children who are non-disabled; and
(2) That
special classes, separate schooling or other removal of children
with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs
only if the nature or severity of the disability is such that
education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids
and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
...
Each public agency shall
ensure that a continuum of alternative placements is available to
meet the needs of children with disabilities for special education
and related services. ...
Least Restrictive
Environment: Is operationalized in terms of the degree of
interaction between children with and without disabilities. The
decision about placement within the least restrictive environment
is made following the writing of the IEP and is directly related
to the child’s needs and identified services documented in the
IEP. Settings in which services can be provided include:
[BSNPTA note - in the order of increasing
restrictions:]
1. Regular Education
Class
2. Resource Class
3. Self-Contained
Class
4. Public Separate Day School
5. Private
Separate Day School
6. Public Residential Placement
8.
Homebound/Hospital
Placement
Where are the rights
of my child documented?
The
rights of you and your child are written into law in several places.
In addition, there are supplemental documents that have been written
by government agencies and private citizens that try to translate
the laws into more simple language, including examples. Please keep
in mind the purpose of this site is to help provide the big picture.
If you have specific legal or medical questions, you need to consult
a trained professional.
The
basis for much of the specific rights for a child with disabilities
is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The law
was overhauled in 2004 and that means that many current sources both
in books and on the web may need to be updated to reflect the
changes. At this time, this site has an entire page devoted to
references on the IDEA 2004 legislation.
What may be the most official version is ironically called the
"unofficial" version on the Federal Department of Education (DOE)
site here. The
way the IDEA legislation is written, it forms a minimum set of
rights which can be enhanced but not reduced by additional state
laws.
In
Delaware, the Administrative Manual for Special Education
Services (AMSES) describes the
Federal rights side-by-side with specifics for Delaware. This is
Delaware's Special Ed rule book. At the time of this writing,
the AMSES document on-line had not been amended with all the 2004
IDEA changes.
Notice of Procedure
Safeguards is much shorter (19 pages) than the AMSES and
summarizes some very basic issues. This document is so critical that
by law it must be handed out with every IEP. This document is
discussed in more detail in a separate FAQ here.
This
site also has a legal and advocacy
issues page that contains links to other
sources of information.
What is the
Notice of Procedural Safeguards and why do I always get a copy with
my IEP documentation?
Procedural Safeguards are exactly what they sound like
- they are carefully crafted safeguards built into the Special
Education procedures. Every parent of a Special Needs child should
read this document. In fact, the document should be re-read EVERY
TIME it is sent home. Why? This is more than just the fine print.
This document spells out in very simple terms your basic rights. If
you can't put your hand on the last copy sent home, check the
Special Ed page of the
State DOE web site or get it from this site here. Here are the main points in the order they appear in
the current (Oct 2002) version:
-
You must get a copy of the Procedural Safeguards
document whenever there is a change or potential change
to a child's IEP.
-
You have the right and obligation to
participate in the Special Education/Services decisions for your
child.
-
You must be notified whenever "the school district
proposes to (or refuses to) initiate or change the
identification, evaluation or educational placement of a child
with special needs or the provision of a free appropriate public
education." The "refuses" part means that if you ask for certain
changes and they are denied, the district MUST explain
in writing that they are refusing and why. However, to ensure you
get the written documentation of the refusal, make sure you MAKE
YOUR REQUEST IN WRITING. Any written communication to the
district REQUIRES a response from the district. Enough emphasis
can't be placed on the power provided to you by an adequate paper
trail. Often, the district will take a verbal position that they'd
never write down. In addition, a paper trail is absolutely
essential if you are ever going to utilize your Due
Process rights - the final
step when there is no other way to get what your child
needs. This notification clause in the Procedural
Safeguards, often called "Prior Written Notice" is one of your
most powerful tools in advocating for your child. When it
comes to advocating for your child, the only legitimate
fight is a legal one and the best weapon in that legal
fight is written documentation. In the legal world,
documentation is everything. You may feel that you raised an issue
two years ago but the legal system recognizes the issue as
starting with the first written documentation you sent to the
district outlining your position. If it is not in your child's
file, it did not happen. Prior Written Notice gives you
the power to create - well, at least highly
influence, the official version of history. Use that
power.
-
On
independent testing: "If you disagree with the results of the
evaluation conducted by the school district, you have the right to
ask for and obtain an independent educational evaluation [IEE] for
your child from a person qualified to conduct the evaluation at
public expense. ... by a qualified examiner who is not employed by
the school district." If the district refuses the IEE, they MUST
explain why in writing. The district is also required by law to
"consider" the IEE but not necessarily take it as gospel. Still,
keep in mind you are constantly building your documented paper
trail and staking out your position and the facts in your
favor in the event it comes down to Due
Process.
-
You have the right to examine the district's records
of your child promptly along with explanations of those records.
If you disagree with the records you can submit changes and if the
changes are not accepted by the district, you have the right to a
hearing to discuss why.
-
You have the right to request a Due Process
hearing and the Procedural Safeguards
document describes that process, some rules of evidence, and
includes information on appealing a decision with which you
do not agree. Again, while this site does not claim to be
qualified to offer specific legal advice, you should understand
that while the Procedural Safeguards document opens the door for
you to be "accompanied and advised by individuals who have
knowledge about children with disabilities", based on this
link on a ruling by the Delaware Supreme
Court, you need to be careful about
how you plan for and are represented at a Due Process hearing. If
it even looks like a Due Process hearing might be needed to
resolve an issue, you really should talk to an attorney about your
particular circumstance. Remember the saying "Anyone who uses
himself as an attorney has a fool for a
client."
All
these rights were written into law to help you and your child.
If you choose not to exercise these rights, then you are choosing to
take whatever you get.
What if I disagree with the school's assessment of my
child’s ability?
If
you are really at an impasse, it is your right to request an
Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE). Independent testing is a
right written into the law. For more information, see www.wrightslaw.com/info/test.iee.steedman.htm or the entry in this site's Forum. For
example, the Forum has information on Who Chooses the Evaluator for an IEE. Also, check
out the information from the State in the Del State DOE Notice of
Procedural Safeguards or the more
comprehensive Del State DOE Administrative Manual for Special Education
Services (AMSES) From
a practical stand point, many parents end up paying for IEE testing
themselves. Depending on the cost of the particular evaluation, the
importance of a timely results and the financial situation
of the family, this may be a more reasonable approach. Sometimes
certain testing is covered by insurance or MedicAid. While the law
clearly spells out the right for a district funded IEE, some parents
find arranging for some forms of testing privately is faster than
waiting for the district and one less item to fight about. Still,
read the law yourself or talk to an attorney and understand your
rights. Also, you need to remember that the law says the Independent
test "must be considered", not that it always trumps the district's
position.
What is Due
Process?
As it relates to Special Ed and IDEA, Due Process
refers to a formal hearing to resolve a dispute over the education
of a child. Initiating due process rights is a big deal. It
involves lawyers and takes a lot of time, effort and money that
in the ideal world be better spent benefiting the child on whose
behalf the action is being taken. Still, it is an essential part of
IDEA because it provides legal protections for the child. Like many
parts of IDEA, a broad framework is outlined in the Federal regs and
each state adds implementation specifics. According to the Administrative Manual for Special
Education Services (AMSES),
here's how it works in Delaware:
A Due Process hearing can be initiated by a parent,
the district or the State Department of Education (DOE). The request
must be made in writing to the Delaware Secretary of
Education. Information on how to file for a Due Process hearing
are described in the `Notice of Procedural Safeguards document. The State will first offer mediation as a way to
avoid the Due Process hearing. If mediation is rejected, then State
Secretary of Education appoints a panel of three hearing officers
from a list of trained and qualified heating officers maintained by
the State. The panel will consist of an Attorney, an Educator and a
Lay person with a proven interest in Special Education issues. The
parents are to be provided with information on low cost and free
legal services by the State Secretary of Education. AMSES describes
lots of the legal aspect of the process including rules of evidence,
how to subpoena witnesses, who presides over the hearing, how the
final opinion is written, etc. If you think you are heading towards
a Due Process hearing, you need to be in touch with an attorney who specializes in education law. Speak
with other parents who have been through due process to get their
recommendations on lawyers in this field. The reauthorization of
IDEA in 2004 initiated the delvelopment of a document on Due Process Hearing Requirements from DOE. You can
also get the document from this website.
Ironically, the best way to avoid Due Process is to
always be prepared for it. If you've been keeping
accurate documentation on your child's education and have
continuously detailed your concerns with the school district in
writing, you are more likely to have worked things out along the way
and if not, you'll be in considerably more favorable position
than someone scrambling at the last minute to piece together a case.
The district knows by looking in your child's file how well
documented your case is. You can't bluff them on historical
documentation - it is either in the file or not.
What options do I have to work out really difficult
issues with school officials short of a Due Process
hearing?
No
one wants things to go so badly that they end up in a Due Process
hearing. Having to resort to that means things have gone very wrong.
One option short of a Due Process hearing is mediation. The
University of
Delaware sponsors a program
called Special Education Partnership for the Amicable Resolution of
Conflict (SPARC) www.ipa.udel.edu/crp/sparc-mediation.html.
Federal law requires States to offer a mediation program as an
option when a Due Process complaint is filed. SPARC is the program
Delaware set up to meet this requirement. Delaware offers SPARC's
services as a mediator before a Due Process complaint is filed.
While this looks like a good program, this PTA does not have direct
experience with it. Like any negotiation, you need to keep all your
options open, including Due Process, in order to maximize your
influence on the outcome.
The Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act changed in 2004. What is
different?
This
site has a page dedicated to IDEA 2004. The
law was passed in December of 2004 and it began being implemented in
July of 2005. Check out the above link for up to date information.
Realistically, it is going to take some time until all the
documentation on the web (including this site), in written
literature and even in district and state practices to fully reflect
all the changes.
Can I tape record the
IEP meeting?
You
can tape record any meeting you have with the school but you should
give them notice you plan to do so and they will probably tape the
meeting also. Any tape the school makes will need to retained by the
school as part of your child’s record. It is the opinion of this PTA
that making an audio tape of the IEP meeting is a good idea. IEP
meetings can be long and complicated and having a tape is the only
way to revisit issues days, weeks or months later with complete
accuracy. Furthermore, if you ever end up at a Due Process hearing,
an accurate historical record of events may be important. Like many
things, opinions on this subject vary. Sometimes, asking to record a
meeting may make some parents feel uncomfortable – like they are
starting off the meeting on the wrong foot. Most lawyers feel like
you’ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose if you tape the
meeting. Here’s are a couple of examples from the Wrights Law site
advocating the taping of the meetings: www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/tips/palmer.meeting.tape.htm http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/tips/palmer.meeting.tape.htm
We
have heard that sometimes a school may strongly discourage taping an
IEP. While this site does not claim to offer legal advice, here's
what the Due Process section of Delaware's Administrative Manual for Special Education
Services (AMSES) says regarding
capturing what is said in an IEP meeting:
Delaware
Code.
§3131. Minutes of meetings.
Subject to confidentiality
requirements of applicable state or federal law, minutes may be
taken, by disclosed recording device or stenographer, of any
meeting, review or conference concerning a handicapped child’s
free, appropriate, public education, at the option of the parents
of the handicapped child, their authorized representative or the
agency conducting the meeting, review or conference. Costs of the
recording shall be borne by the person or agency exercising his or
its option under this
section.
Don't think taping meetings as just your
ace-in-the-hole in case things go wrong. In the course of your
child’s education, you are bound to have some difficult years but
then again, you may have some good ones too. Having taped the
meeting where all the parties seem to “get it” and everything is
working together like it should work can be reassuring. You can go
back and listen to a “good” meeting to remind yourself such meetings
are even possible when the going gets tough. A wise co-worker once
offered this litmus test when faced with a perplexing decision: Ask
yourself how much you might regret doing it and balance that with
how much you might regret NOT doing it.
What are TAM
classes?
A Team Approach to
Mastery (TAM) classroom is a team teaching environment where a
regular ed teacher and special ed teacher work together in a single
classroom serving both disabled and typical children. This is one
approach to providing the Least Restrictive Environment for disabled
kids as mandated by IDEA. Exact teaching styles and tools vary
in a TAM classroom based on the needs of
the children.
Are there
alternatives to the Delaware Student Testing Program
(DSTP)?
There are alternatives to just about everything.
Delaware offers an alternative to the standard DSTP testing called
Delaware Alternative Portfolio Assessment (DAPA – for more
information on this test see the U of D web site: www.udel.edu/cds/dapa
)
Another alternative,
though less conventional is to forgo the testing
altogether - actually, your child may still need to take the
tests, you just ignore the results. Many private
schools and home schooled kids do not take the standardized state
testing like the DSTP. Check out www.narhs.org/nars/. This is a private school
in Maine that can offer a high school diploma to students based on
high school transcripts, not state testing. Private schools and home
schooled kids don’t ever need to take the DSPT and they can get
diplomas. (Based on this page at Wrightslaw: www.wrightslaw.com/info/advo.diploma.nars.htm
Getting a diploma from an out of state private school
is certainly not for everyone. However, it offers a real, practical
plan for some students who might need the motivation of receiving a
diploma to help push them to finish high school. If you aren’t sure
if this is for your child, check it out and make the determination
yourself. It is just another option.
What is Extended School
Year (ESY) and who qualifies?
(For
the detailed language, see section 5.6 of the Administrative
Manual for Special Education Services - AMSES)
Title 14, Delaware Code, Section 1703 defines Extended
School Year (ESY) services as special education or related services
outside the standard schedule of school days for the purpose of
providing a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to a particular
child, per his/her IEP - basically additional school time for kids'
whose IEPs require it. Before ESY is incorporated into an IEP, the
IEP team needs to document that without ESY, the child would be
denied FAPE for at least one one of the following reasons -
paraphrased from AMSES (It is very important to include one or more
of the phrases in bold in the text of the
IEP):
-
Degree of Impairment - without ESY,
"appropriate and meaningful progress on IEP goals and objectives
will not be achieved given the nature and/or severity of the
child's disability."
-
Regression/recoupment - regression
is a "decline in skills which results from an interruption in
programming." Recoupment is "the amount of time required to
relearn the skills following the interruption." Basically, the
kids would take too much of the following year to get back to
where they were at the end of the previous school year. The team
needs to document a "consistent pattern of regression in critical
skill areas" but may use "predictive data for children in their
initial year of programming."
-
Breakthrough opportunities -
without ESY, "the attainment of a nearly acquired critical skill
would be significantly jeopardized over the summer
break."
-
Vocational - for children 16-20
with vocational IEP goals and objectives, paid employment
opportunities would be "significantly jeopardized if training and
job coaching were not provided during the summer
break."
-
Other rare and unusual extenuating
circumstances - while this catch-all phrase leaves the
door open for any circumstance specific to an individual child,
the challenge with this one is not only proving the child has such
a circumstance but also that the circumstance is an appropriate
rationale for ESY.
The document goes on to
explain that the "regulation does not diminish a child's entitlement
to participate, with or without accommodations, in summer school
programs. Normally scheduled summer school programs may be an option
... if such programs can meet the individual needs of
each child, per his/her IEP."
The
ESY regulation also specifies that "transportation shall be provided
to children" and that "Mileage reimbursement to the family may be
used as a transportation option if the parent voluntarily transports
the student."
What is the Administrative Manual for Special
Education Services (AMSES) document?
The AMSES document is
basically the rule book for Special Ed service delivery in the State
of Delaware. It is hundreds of pages long, looks full of complex
terms and seems at first pass to be completely inaccessible to the
average parent. In reality, it is written in plain language, largely
full of blank space and more user friendly than it first appears.
This is good news because you can no more expect to advocate for
your child effectively without knowing the rules than you could play
football or Monopoly without knowing the rules. For more
information, check on information on AMSES on this site's Forum
page.
