IDEA Part B RequirementsSPECIAL EDUCATION

Special Education Special Education Services are authorized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004.

IDEA was first passed in 1975 and has been amended several times since

Special Education is not a place it is a……………… service.

Special Education is available to all children beginning at birth to age 22.

SoonerStart Early Intervention Program (0-3)Oklahoma’s early intervention program for children birth t0 three who are eligible for services

Services are provided to children and families in their natural environment

Services are at no cost to families

Services are provided through a contract between the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) and the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH)

All children with a substantiated case of child abuse and neglect are referred to SoonerStart for screening, evaluation, and services as needed.

SoonerStart Eligibility Process•Referral/Initial Contact•Eligibility Determination (Cognition, Language, Motor, Adaptive, and Social Emotional)oTwo 25% delays in a child’s developmentoOne 50 % delay in a child’s developmentoAutomatic Qualifying Syndrome or ConditionoEligible or Not Eligible

Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)Transition to local community services or the local public school

Differences between Part C & Part B

Yes

PART B (3-22)

PART C (Birth-3)

Automatic Qualifiers None Certain Conditions/Syndromes

Referral Requires Eval.

Review existing data;Make determination

Yes

Provision of Services LRE + AppropriateIEP

IFSP

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

•Under the IDEA, FAPE is defined as an educational program that is individualized to a specific child, designed to meet that child's unique needs, provides access to the general curriculum, meets the grade-level standards established by the state, and from which the child receives educational benefit

•FAPE not intended to “maximize each child’s potential”

•Best vs. Appropriate

But what does FAPE actually mean?FAPE requires that the quality of educational services provided to students with disabilities be equal to those provided to non-disabled students.

In other words: Children with disabilities, regardless of their ability level/functioning, are entitled, under federal law, to be educated in the least restrictive setting available in the neighborhood school at no charge to the families.

http://www.ncld.org/parents-child-disabilities/ld-rights

McKinney-Vento Act

The McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 (Pub. L. 100-77, July 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 482, 42 U.S.C. § 11301 et seq.) is a United States federal law

Who qualifies under McKinney Vento Act?•Children who are:•Sharing housing with other people due to loss of housing•Living motels, trailers parks, cars or camp grounds due to lack of adequate accommodations•Living in emergency/transitional shelters•Abandoned in hospitals•Awaiting foster care placement

Transportation and McKinney Vento

•Comparable services. Each homeless child or youth to be assisted

under this part shall be provided services comparable to services offered to other students in the school selected under paragraph (3), including the following: www.wrightslaw.com/law/vento.homeless

(A) Transportation services.

The Initial Evaluation Process Step by StepChild FindScreening or child study committees may identify children who should be referred for an evaluation

ReferralA referral may be made by any source, including child study committee, school staff, parent(s), or other individuals

Evaluation Evaluations shall be completed within 45 school days of the parent signing consent for evaluation

EligibilityEligibility for special education and related services must be determined within 45 school days from the date parents give consent

IDEA Requirements

Individualized Education Program (IEP)An IEP must be developed within 30 calendar days

from the date of eligibility

ServicesServices must be provided as soon as possible, following the date the IEP is developed

Annual ReviewThe IEP must be reviewed at least once a year (or as needed)

Transfer Students 34 CFR § 300.323(e) If a child with a disability who received special education and related services pursuant to an IEP in a previous public school and enrolls in a new school within the same school year, the new school district (in consultation with the parents) must provide FAPE to the child until the new school district either:

(1) adopts the child's IEP from the previous school(2) develops, adopts, and implements a new IEP

that meets the applicable requirements in 34 CFR §§ 300.320 through CFR 300.324

IEP Service Agreements

Enforcing Individual Education PlansWhat is the timeline for a new public agency to adopt an IEP from a previous public agency or to develop and implement a new IEP?

•Neither Part B of the IDEA nor the regulations implementing Part B of the IDEA establish timelines for the new public agency to adopt the child's IEP from the previous public agency or to develop and implement a new IEP.

•Consistent with 34 CFR § 300.323(e) and (f), the new public agency must take these steps within a reasonable period of time to avoid any undue interruption in the provision of required special education and related services.

Parent ParticipationPursuant to 34 CFR 300.501 (b), the 2006 IDEA Part B regulations further provide as a procedural safeguard that: The parents of a child with a disability must be afforded an opportunity to participate in meetings with respect to --

*The identification, evaluation, and educational placement of the child; and

*The provision of FAPE to the child.

•34 CFR 300.322 (a)(1) and 34 CFR 300.322 (b)(1) Parent Written Notice

* ensure that parents of children with disabilities have the opportunity to participate in meetings

Parent Participation Options

•Notify parent in writing (Written Notice Form 8)•If parent is unable to attend, an alternate and mutually agreed upon time must be afforded to the parents•If parent is still physically unable to attend the meeting after repeated attempts, some options may include, but are not limited to:•Phone conference•Skype•Video conference

Surrogates

•Under 34 CFR 300.519 (a), surrogate parents must be appointed to protect a child's rights when:

*No parent (as defined in 34 CFR 300.30 ) can be identified;

*The public agency, after reasonable efforts, cannot locate a parent;

*The child is a ward of the state under the laws of that state; or

*The child is an unaccompanied homeless youth as defined in section 725(6) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 USC Sec. 11434a(6))

34 CFR 300.519

The SEA must make "reasonable efforts to ensure the assignment of a surrogate parent not more than 30 days after a public agency determines that the child needs a surrogate parent."

Response To Intervention (RTI)

• General education initiative/ How is it implemented?

• Not intended to delay evaluation

Parental Rights (Procedural Safeguards)The right of parent(s):

• Inspect and Review their Child’s Educational Records •Receive a complete explanation of all the procedural safeguards available under IDEA•Participate in meetings related to identification, evaluation, placement, and provisions of FAPE• Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE)•Prior Written Notice•Fully Informed Consent•Use IDEA’s mechanisms for resolving disputes•SEA or LEA Complaints•Voluntary Mediation•Due Process

Formal Written Complaints

•34 CFR § 300.151 Adoption of State complaint procedures.

•34 CFR § 300.152 Minimum State complaint procedures.

•34 CFR § 300.153 Filing a complaint

Formal Written Complaints

•The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), Special Education Services (SES), will dismiss a complaint without an investigation if:

•It includes no allegations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) violations;

•It includes no timely allegations of IDEA violations; or

•It includes no facts to support the IDEA violations.

Mediation/Due Process

•SERC (Special Education Resolution Center)

•Voluntary Mediation

•SEA role

State Resources

•Special Education Automated System (SEAS)- Most districts use SEAS to document IEPs and data requirements (electronic)

•Districts may use electronic transfer of records from one district to the next. (LEA may need assistance in doing this which we can provide)

•The Office of Special Education Services can facilitate a timely transfer of student records.

IDEA and Discipline Policies § 300.530

School personnel may remove a child with a disability:

•Up to ten consecutive days/or 10 cumulative days in a school year if team determines a pattern of behavior.

•Once a decision is made to remove a student for more than ten days a Manifestation Determination meeting is required. Meeting must take place within ten days.

Manifestation Determinations (MD)• The MD review is an evaluation of a child's misconduct to

determine whether that conduct is a manifestation of the child's disability; and/or

• LEAs failure to appropriately implement the IEP

• The MD must be performed when a district proposes disciplinary measures that will result in the change of placement for a child with a disability. 34 CFR 300.530 (e).

• The MD analysis must be performed within 10 school days of the change in placement that stemmed from an IDEA-eligible child's violation of the code of conduct.

Exception to Discipline Rule• LEA-Initiated Change in Placement Due to Weapons, Drug Possession, or Serious Bodily Injury:

•Child with a disability may be removed to an interim alternative educational setting for not more than 45 days without regard to whether the behavior is determined to be a manifestation of the child’s disability, specifically:

•Carries or possesses a weapon at school or at a school function; or •Possesses, uses, solicits, sells illegal drugs at school or at a school function; or• Inflicts serious bodily injury upon another person while at school, on school premises, or at a school function.

•Defined as: a substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.