From Teaching Expectional Children
By James M. Walsh

What effect is the standards reform movement having on the education and classroom placement of students with disabilities? Are we able to meet the requirement to educate these students in the least restrictive environment? Are we able to include such students in general education curriculum, instruction, and assessment? What can districts do to ensure the success of their students with disabilities in a climate of higher expectations and high-stakes assessments? (see bottom section, “What Does the Literature Say?”).

From Parent Information Center of Delaware's newsletter The Link
by Frances Ratner

Your child’s IEP meeting is fast approaching, and you prepare yourself like you do every year. You develop a proposed list of goals and objectives, because the goals are the most important part of the IEP document. You want to be thorough, because if something isn’t listed in the goals and objectives you know your child won’t be taught it. Plus, you don’t want to blow it at the meeting, and have to wait a whole year for the next meeting.

Boy, do you have a lot to learn!

The purpose of this posting is to provide you with the basic information to understand the test results you should be getting at an IEP meeting. If you've been to a Wrightslaw course, much of this is probably a refresher. If you haven't been to a Wrightslaw course, then you should - although that is a different topic.

From National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities

The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities has several good IEP resources.

There is a "Student Guide to the IEP" package which is made up of several parts:

• The Student Guide itself that explains the IEP process in general terms.
• The Transcript of the Audio Tape that accompanies the Student Guide (side 1 of the tape.)
• The Technical Assistance Guide that helps parents and teachers involve the students in their own IEP process.
• The Transcript of the Audio Tape that accompanies the Technical Assistance Guide (side 2 of the tape.)

From The Bipolar Child (Broadway Books, 2000). pages 280-284
by Demitri Papolos, M.D. and Janice Papolos

Elan is a personable individual who shows good attention and task orientation for very short periods of time. Elan has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. His emotional and academic availability is variable and quite unpredictable. Physical complaints are often present both in and out of school. Presently Elan has a difficult time getting up in the morning, and he is often late, or does not come to school at all. He can appear tired, bored, irritable, and explosive and has poor judgment and decision-making skills. Other times, Elan can act extremely energetic (needs to move), he can be talkative and distractible. He can be extremely impulsive.

From the Link newsletter published by the Parent Information Center of Delaware
by Samtra Devard, a young mother of three.

The message I share with you today as you begin another school year; as you enter or return to your classrooms; as you sit in IEP meetings; as you perform assessments and share the results; as you praise and encourage; as you complete your paperwork and make reports to families - strive to preserve the HOPE that families have for their children.

Prior Written Notice is one of the most powerful tools parents have for helping educate children with disabilities but it is often overlooked. The purpose of this document is to help parents understand how this tool can be used and provide enough background on the law to allow parents to make sure they are able to assert this important right.

Prior Written Notice is the requirement that the District must provide a written explanation of any change or proposed change to the critical components of the education of a child with a disability - including a change requested but denied - and the District must explain in writing why the change was proposed or denied.

These are copies of Delaware's Blank IEP Forms. These are what get filled out during an IEP meeting. Delaware's Department of Education Special Ed Page has additional information about the IEP process online.

The IEP Goals Matrix is a useful tool to communicate and track what IEP goals and objectives are being worked on during the various subjects and classrooms a child attends in the school day. This matrix a great way to communicate with various teachers what IEP goals they should be helping along and monitoring.

The first two tabs are blank and can be printed and filled in by hand or the entries can be typed into the spreadsheet. Just list the IEP goals and objectives along the left hand side and the various classes and "specials" along the top. See the thrid tab, "Sample Curriculum Matrix" for an example of what the matrix might look like when it is completed.

Delaware DOE's booklet called Parents Can Be The Key, is a great place to start to understand the Special Education process and what parents can do to help the process along. Any parent new to the world of Special Education is overwhelmed not only by emotions, but also by the complex world of new terms and regulations related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB).