Compiled by Frank Stepnowski, revised February 9, 2007. copyright 2006, 2007.This article outlines the regulations which permit parents to discuss methodology at an IEP meeting. This paper is a continuing work in progress, which started in December 2000 and appeared in its first form in the AutismNews newsletter in January 2000. I have over the months incorporated a number of findings from my own research, as well as leads suggested by contributors to the Council of Parent Advocates and Attorney (COPAA). I thought there was a need to compile all the different authorities regarding methodology into a single framework, with appropriate references to legal authority. Although originally directed to Illinois law, this article can apply in any State covered by IDEA.
| Please remember that the Law is constantly changing and may not apply in particular instances. Do not rely on the content of this article as legal advice. |
So the key provision of the 2004 change is this:
an IEP includes ...(IV) a statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services, based on peer-reviewed researchto the extent practicable, to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided for the child--The special education must be based on peer-reviewed research, not something eclectic that someone in the SpEd department heard about. That is good news. However, the clause is modified by "to the extent practicable."
Back in July 1863, General Robert E. Lee sent orders to General Ewell on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg to attack the Union position on Culp's Hill "if practicable." Ewell did not know what that meant, and did not attack. The Union army was able to entrench itself on the hill and thus started the second day of the battle with a strong position. The choice of words had a big impact on the outcome of the battle and the war. The lesson is that if left "practicable" is left to the discretion of the School Districts, it just won't happen; they will see that anything different from what they had been doing will not be practicable. The courts will have to decide whether a modification is practicable. If current trends are followed, courts may use a "reasonable" standard. In the Seventh Circuit, courts let school districts do anything as long as they act "reasonably." A better interpretation would be "if not impossible," since "they are not allowed to make decisions based on 'cost prohibitive."
The methodology language of 1997 IDEA arose from the regulations, as described in the article below. The regulation is currently being revised to comply with the statutory changes. The proposed version would be 34 CFR 300.38:
§ 300.38 Special education.copyright 2005 by Frank Stepnowski
(a) General. (1) Special education means specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability,
(3) Specially designed instruction means adapting, as appropriate to the needs of an eligible child under this part, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction—(i) To address the unique needs of the child that result from the child’s disability; and
(ii) To ensure access of the child to the general curriculum, so that he or she can meet the educational standards within the jurisdiction of the public agency that apply to all children.
| No Child Left Behind Act- December 2003
status On December 9, 2003, the Department of Education issued a new regulation which changed the application of the Act to children whith profound disabilities. SpEd lawyers are hotly debating whether this law guts the Act for children with disabilities or whether the use of the "best" in the regulation is a bonus. |
| August 29, 2003, Update: Susan Etscheidt has written an article entitled: "An Analysis of Legal Hearings and Cases Related to Individualized Education Programs for Children with Autism." Research & Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 2003, vol. 28, No. 2, p 51-69, copyright TASH 2003. The author reviewed 68 cases of administrative and judicial decisions related to appropriate programs for children with autism. She identified three primary factors:
|
One of the most important clarifications in recent Federal law deals with methodology. As background, twenty years ago the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion interpreting the prior law, in which it stated that as long as the school district had a reasonable methodology leading to a student's progress, the parents could not require the school to adopt a different method. Schools often interpreted this decision to say that the parents could not discuss methodology at an IEP meeting, even when the schools had no methodology.
In 1997, Congress wrote directly into the statute that the implementation of IDEA was impeded by low expectations and an insufficient focus on applying replicable research on proven methods of teaching and learning for children with disabilities. 20 U.S.C. sec. 1400 (c) (4). President Bush also made the same sentiments when he signed the No Child Left Behind Act in January 2002: " . . . We need to know whether the methodologies the teachers are using are working! . . ."
“Sec. 300.26 Special education.This section is one of the most important clarifications of the law. It means parents can discuss the content, methodology and delivery of the education, and not leave the details to the school to work out 6 months into a 9-month school year. Methodology may be more important to children with autism and language disorders than any other facet of their program. (Note, however, the definition of “Specially designed instruction” was conspicuously omitted from the August 2000 Illinois regulations. Beware of school districts which cling to the old evasions and will not discuss methodology at the IEP meeting on the basis that the Illinois regulations are silent on the issue. Under the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, State regulations cannot take away a Federal right. Insist the IEP team discuss methodology and state their reasons in writing.)
(a) General. (1) As used in this part, the term special education means specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, including--
(i) Instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings;
(3) Specially-designed instruction means adapting, as appropriate to the needs of an eligible child under this part, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction--
(i) To address the unique needs of the child that result from the child's disability; and
(ii) To ensure access of the child to the general curriculum, so that he or she can meet the educational standards within the jurisdiction of the public agency that apply to all children.”
To enable the definition of methodology, the 1999 Federal regulations specify:
“Sec. 300.347 Content of IEP.In short: the IEP must include a statement of the special education to be provided (300.347(a)(3)), and special education is defined to include "content, methodology or delivery of instruction." (300.26(a)(3)).
(a) General. The IEP for each child with a disability must include--...
(3) A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child, and a statement of the program, modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided for the child--
(i) To advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals;
(ii) To be involved and progress in the general curriculum in accordance with paragraph (a)(1) of this section and to participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities; and
(iii) To be educated and participate with other children with disabilities and nondisabled children in the activities described in this section.”
The regulations also speak in the future. The IEP must specify
the methodology "to be" provided, not that a methodology must be
developed.
The regulations make clear that the methodology must be good enough so
that the child can advance toward attaining the annual goals and to
progress
in the general curriculum.
| |
In 2004, Congress passed amendments to IDEA, and directed the
Department
of Education to rewrite the regulations to be no more extensive that
the
written terms of the statute. The Department of Education has
proposed
the following new regulation:
Sec. 300.38 Special education. |
Methodology is described in the commentary Department of Education filed with the Federal Regulations:
With regard to the definition of "specially designed instruction," some changes should be made. The committee reports to Pub. L. 105-17 make clear that specific day-to-day adjustments in instructional methods and approaches are not normally the sort of change that would require action by an IEP team. Requiring an IEP to include such a level of detail would be overly-prescriptive, impose considerable unnecessary administrative burden, and quite possibly be seen as encouraging disputes and litigation about rather small and unimportant changes in instruction. There is, however, a reasonable distinction to be drawn between a mode of instruction, such as cued speech, which would be the basis for the goals, objectives, and other elements of an individual student's IEP and should be reflected in that student's IEP, and a day-to-day teaching approach, i.e., a lesson plan, which would not be intended to be included in a student's IEP.Federal Register: March 12, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 48), page 12552.Case law recognizes that instructional methodology can be an important consideration in the context of what constitutes an appropriate education for a child with a disability. At the same time, these courts have indicated that they will not substitute a parentally-preferred methodology for sound educational programs developed by school personnel in accordance with the procedural requirements of the IDEA to meet the educational needs of an individual child with a disability.
In light of the legislative history and case law, it is clear that in developing an individualized education there are circumstances in which the particular teaching methodology that will be used is an integral part of what is "individualized" about a student's education and, in those circumstances will need to be discussed at the IEP meeting and incorporated into the student's IEP. For example, for a child with a learning disability who has not learned to read using traditional instructional methods, an appropriate education may require some other instructional strategy.
Other students' IEPs may not need to address the instructional method to be used because specificity about methodology is not necessary to enable those students to receive an appropriate education. There is nothing in the definition of "specially designed instruction'' that would require instructional methodology to be addressed in the IEPs of students who do not need a particular instructional methodology in order to receive educational benefit. In all cases, whether methodology would be addressed in an IEP would be an IEP team decision.
Other changes to the definition of "specially designed instruction'' are not needed. The distinction between accommodations that change the general curriculum and those that do not, as one commenter requests, would be difficult to make because of the individualized nature of these determinations. Regardless of the reasons for the accommodation or modification, it must be provided if necessary to address the special educational needs of an individual student.
The How is emphasized in the Q & A portion of the regulations:
Measurable annual goals, including benchmarks or short-term objectives, are critical to the strategic planning process used to develop and implement the IEP for each child with a disability. Once the IEP team has developed measurable annual goals for a child, the team (1) can develop strategies that will be most effective in realizing those goals and (2) must develop either measurable, intermediate steps (short-term objectives) or major milestones (benchmarks) that will enable parents, students, and educators to monitor progress during the year, and, if appropriate, to revise the IEP consistent with the student's instructional needs. (34 CFR 300.756, Appendix A, Q1, p.100.)Once the team develops the goals, the team develops strategies that will be most effective. Remember;
26. How should a public agency determine which regular education teacher and special education teacher will be members of the IEP team for a particular child with a disability?Again, the discussion is "how best to teach the child," and the discussion is what to do in the future.
The regular education teacher who serves as a member of a child's IEP team should be a teacher who is, or may be, responsible for [[Page 112]] implementing a portion of the IEP, so that the teacher can participate in discussions about how best to teach the child.
"The primary responsibility for formulating the education to be accorded a handicapped child, and for choosing the educational method most suitable to the child's needs, was left by the Act to state and local educational agencies in cooperation with the parents." Board of Education v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 207-208 (1982).Again we see: cooperation with the parents, a requirement for actually making a choice of methodologies, and choosing the "most suitable" method. This theme was repeated by the Supreme Court:
The primary vehicle for implementing these congressional goals is the individualized educational program (IEP) which the EHA mandates for each disabled child. Prepared at meetings between a representative of the local school district, the child's teacher, the parents or guardians, and whenever appropriate, the disabled child, the IEP sets out the child's present educational performance, establishes annual and short-term objectives for improvements in that performance, and describes the specially designed instruction and services that will enable the child to meet those objectives.Honig v. Doe, 484 U.S. 305, 311 (1988).
In Bd of Ed of Paxton-Buckley-Loda Unit School District no. 10, 184 F.Supp.2d 790, 800-01 (C.D. Ill. 2002), the court found the District violated procedural safeguards when it simply chose not to consider a methodology which would allow a regular preschool program in determining placement. Paxton (html).
In another case, the Illinois State Bd of Ed reports the hearing officer ordered ABA/DTT, but I have not read the whole text yet. footnote.
In Zachary Deal vs. Hamilton County Dept. of Educ., the
Tennessee
Hearing officer found that the school district's approach, which used
some
TEACCH but no ABA, was an inadequate methodology, and ordered the
district
to use the parent's choice of ABA. The district committed a
procedural
violation by refusing to even consider a workable methodology. A
ruling that a district has committed a procedural violation is
important
under
Rowley because it is harder to reverse than a finding that
a school district has chosen a wrong methodology; courts generally give
schools deference over choices of methodology.
ZDeal.html
(Printable copies of the Deal decision are available from Wrightslaw
and
Gary Mayerson.) On
December
16, 2004, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit resoundedly
affirmed
the Deal case. http://pacer.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/04a0434p-06.pdf
In another Gary Mayerson case, Bucks County Department of Mental Health v. De Mora, (E.D. Pa. 2002), the court found that school district had failed to offer an appropriate program. Since the school failed to provide enough trained therapists, and few therapists could be found in the community, the court ordered that the parent should be paid for the time she spent educating the child in the ABA program. For more details see http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/autism.bucksco.aba.mayerson.htm and Gary Mayerson.
Bucks County Department of Mental Health/Mental Retardation, Appellant v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Public Welfare; Barbara Demora No: 02-3919; 379 F.3d 61;2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 17231; August 18, 2004 http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/circs/3rd/023919p.pdfIn School Board of Henrico County, Va. v. Z.P., the court held,
DeMora case via Lexisone
A court in the District of Columbia has written:
The plaintiffs here are not asking that Alex be provided with a
level
of education or
educational services designed to place him on footing commensurate
with non-disabled children.
Rather, we have a school system that, for more than four years, has
denied Alex even the “basic
floor of opportunity” discussed in Rowley,
and a request that Alex be provided education to
adequately compensate for this denial. Alex is a severely autistic
child who has been repeatedly
mis-diagnosed and mishandled by DCPS.
The School District position also contradicts common sense. The regulations specify that the IEP should include related services and supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child, and a statement of the program, modifications or supports. It boggles the mind that the District could take the position that it should specify the supports and modifications which may be dependent on the methodology but not specify the methodology itself.
To show the lengths a school will go, on September 8, 2002, a school attorney was telling parents the text of the repealed regulations. She quoted and cited note four of the repealed regulations that it was not anticipated that an IEP will include methodology. She never mentioned the content of the new regulations. This was three and a half years after the old regulations were replaced. (She was also from the firm that fought the TH case through three appeals.) If your school quotes "note four," just say it has been repealed, and cite the new regulations.
Schools also resist paying for ABA because
the home-based program does not qualify as a State Board of Education
approved
school for which the State Board will reimburse the local school
districts.
footnote.
One factor in the Peters v. Rome City School District (NY
Oct.
2002) was the lack of informed consent. The Parents had consented
to the use of a time-out room to address behaviours -- for three
minutes.
The parents were not informed that the room was a padded closet with
torn
padding and the smell of urine, and the boy was sometimes there for an
hour at a time. The jury hit the School District for $75,000 pain
and suffering.
Similarly, the Sixth Circuit in Deal
found that parents needed meaningful participation:
OSEP on July 25, 2000, wrote:
"Once an IEP is developed for the child, the IEP must be implemented as written and the child's placement must be based upon the IEP. 34 C.F.R sec. 300.552(b). Whether a specific instructional methodology is addressed in an IEP is the IEP team's decision. The IEP team includes the Parent and it reaches its decision by consensus. However, school districts must ensure through the IEP process that each individual child with a disability receives a program that is designed to address his or her unique needs. 34 C.F.R. secs. 300.26(a) and 300.300(a)(3)(ii)."The Department of Education has recently stated that the methodology could be stated in an individualized family service plan under Part C (34 CFR 303.344(d)) concerning early intervention programs for infants and toddlers with disabilities.
July 25, 2000.
In some cases, under the current regulations, in order to meet the child's unique needs the IFS team may consider a particular methodology or instructional approach to be integral to the design of an "individualized" program of services for the child. In such cases it would be appropriate for the IFS team to list that specific methodology on the IFS.
After an IFS has been completed and the parents consent to the provision of the identified services, the State is required to provide all services identified on the child's IFS and to ensure that those services are implemented according to the IFS. Thus, if the IFS includes a specific methodology or approach, the State would need to ensure that services are provided as stated in the child's IFS.
and on the same date stated:
"Sec. 300.501 Opportunity to examine records; parent participation in meetings.
(a) General. The parents of a child with a disability must beAlthough the schools can have secret meetings, they cannot implement a change in methodology if methodology is addressed in the IEP. Given the placement of the words "teaching methodology" in the context of lesson plans, and the discussion of methodology in the definitions and commentary cited above, this regulation limits the extent schools can co-opt the methodology choices. The regulation lends support for the idea expressed in the regulations' commentary that some methodology issues are so important that they need to be specified in the IEP itself. If the methodology is important enough to be in the IEP, schools cannot conduct secret "methodology meetings" to undermine the effectiveness of a method chosen by the IEP team. The topics of the informal, school-only meetings are limited to day-to-day lesson plans, coordination of services and such, and not the mode of instruction. School districts "shall ensure that the parents of each child with a disability are members of any group that makes decisions on the educational placement of their child." (34 CFR 300.501(c).)
afforded, in accordance with the procedures of Sec. 300.562-300.569, an
opportunity to--
(1) Inspect and review all education records with respect to--(i) The identification, evaluation, and educational placement of the child and(2) Participate in meetings with respect to --
(ii) The provision of APE to the child; and(i) The identification, evaluation, and educational placement of the child; and(b) Parent participation in meetings.
(ii) The provision of FAPE to the child.
(1) Each public agency shall provide notice consistent with Sec. 300.345(a)(1) and (b)(1) to ensure that parents of children with disabilities have the opportunity to participate in meetings described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section.
(2) A meeting does not include informal or unscheduled conversations involving public agency personnel and conversations on issues such as teaching methodology, lesson plans, or coordination of service provision if those issues are not addressed in the child's IEP. A meeting also does not include preparatory activities that public agency personnel engage in to develop a proposal or response to a parent proposal that will be discussed at a later meeting.
(c) Parent involvement in placement decisions.
(1) Each public agency shall ensure that the parents of each child with a disability are members of any group that makes decisions on the educational placement of their child."
Moreover, regulation 300.501 creates support for specifying
methodology
in the IEP. The regulation specifically disallows schools
from
not only changing methods but even discussing changing methods, when
those
methods are included in the IEP. How can the District pretend
that
an IEP cannot include methodology when the regulation implies that it
can?
Methodology is part of the placement decision.
Illinois State Board of Education
Special Education Unit Review Checklist of
Special Education Policies and Procedures Assuring the Implementation of
Comprehensive Programming for Students with Disabilities and Suspected
Disabilities
"10. A statement of special factors such as any special methods, materials, equipment orThe Illinois State Board of Education requires school districts to have a policy manual which states that the IEP include special methods. Check your State's policies and procedures.
procedures; positive behavior strategies and interventions; administration of
medication; ongoing procedure to check to ensure that a child’s hearing aid is
functioning properly; provision of services by any other public agency which will be
necessary to provide the student an appropriate education; language needs for
students with limited English proficiency; instruction in Braille and the use of
Braille; communication needs; assistive technology devices and services and for a
student who is deaf or hard of hearing, the IEP must consider the student’s language
and communication needs; opportunities for direct communication with peers and
professionals in the student’s language and communication mode, academic level
and full range of needs, including opportunities for direct instruction in the
child’s language and communication mode. (300.303) (300.346 (a)(2)) (226.220)."
"Specific day to day adjustments in instructional methods and approaches that are made by either a regular or special education teacher to assist a disabled child to achieve his or her annual goals would not normally require action by the child's IEP Team. However, if changes are contemplated in the child's measurable annual goals, benchmarks, or short term objectives, or in any of the services or program modifications, or other components described in the child's IEP, the LEA must ensure that the child's IEP Team is reconvened in a timely manner to address those changes. ...Huh? These Congressional statements of intent may seem at variance with themselves and with the later Department regulations, but when viewed in the context of methodology as being the day-to-day adjustments, the Regulations are consistent. Program modifications and components are an IEP team's decision, but day-to-day adjustments are not. The Department of Education had the duty to interpret the statute by making regulations, and the Department determined that methodology was an appropriate item for the IEP.As under current law, a child's IEP must include a statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child. The Committee intends that, while teaching and related services methodologies or approaches are an appropriate topic for discussion and consideration by the IEP Team during IEP development or annual review, they are not expected to be written into the IEP. Furthermore, the Committee does not intend that changing particular methods or approaches necessitates an additional meeting of the IEP Team." (House Report 105-95.)
In a related issue, OSEP has issued a letter which includes:
Q: How should a request be worded for a child's IEP to insure that a research based program appropriate to that child's specific reading problem is used and used in the manner that the research demonstrates is most effective?
A: Dr. Stevan Kukic:
"The statute is clear that the option is for a district to use a process using scientific, research based interventions for the identification of children as LD under IDEA 2004. The test on the IEP is three fold:
(aa) to advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals;
(bb) to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum in accordance with subclause (I) and to participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities; and
(cc) to be educated and participate with other children with disabilities and nondisabled children in the activities described in this subparagraph;
Therefore, it seems to me that the test is whether the interventions suggested have a good likelihood of working with the child in question. The likelihood clearly increases if the intervention has a strong research base with children like the target child which is the reason for the new provision. Last, if an intervention with a strong research base is not used with fidelity, it has a great liklihood of not working! Push hard for fidelity of implementation."
http://www.ldtalk.org/transcripts/transcript_011205.html
As brother Roger suggests, One strategy to obtain effective services at the IEP is to define the methodological needs precisely enough that the team has to choose your preferred "brand" of methods anyway. It is rare that a particular "brand name" can be locked into an IEP, because school folks are touchy about being "directed" to choose one product over another, even though they may have no choice at all. (That is similar to what happened in the successive appeals in the T.H. v. Palatine case. The District dragged on the proceeding with successive appeals not on the issue that they knew what to do, but only that they did not want to be told what to do.)
If you go into your IEP meeting describing what the methodology "does," you may stand a better chance of getting what your child needs. Sticking firm on a brand name may just exasperate the school members. For example, rather than insisting on "Lovaas," get the team to agree that the child needs 40 hours per week of discrete trial training with data review, etc. They might use all the tools without using the label. In other words, rather than fight over technicalities, you might focus on what the methodology of your preference is designed to accomplish. It's a lot easier to come to agreement over function than over form.
That is just one strategy. But if your child's IEP seems inevitably headed to due process, you must document the proceedings. Cases have been lost where the courts found insufficient evidence of the parents' requests for services. You must document that the schools have refused to consider proven methodologies. Hopefully, however, by making the school think harder about what they are doing, the team may actually develop something that works.
The IEP is not the guarantee of results. The school must provide the services listed in the IEP, but the outcome can be uncertain. Courts differ on how realistic an IEP must be in predicting whether an individual child will actually benefit from the services listed in the IEP.
The bad news is that courts grant deference to the school's choice of methodologies. Lachman v. Illinois State Bd of Education, 852 F.2d 290, 296 (7th Cir. 1988). Reversing it is difficult. In most circuits, you will have to show that the method chosen by the school would not reasonably calculated to lead to meaningful academic progress. See School District of Wisconsin Dells v. Z.S., no. 01-3720 (7th Cir. June 28, 2002):
Another possibility suggested above in the Paxton and Deal cases, is to show the school committed procedural violations by failing to even consider workable methodologies. More on this trend later.
In one recent case, the parents prevailed when the hearing officer
took the situation out of the Lachman-Rowley quagmire when he
found
that the choice of programs was not methodology at all. William
Fabian v. Flossmoor School District 161, ISBE 2558
(Sept.
29, 2002, Illinois).
http://www.whittedclearylaw.com/CM/Firm%20Information/Firm%20Information130.aspAn oral/aural approach to teaching a child with a cochlear implant is not a methodology issue, but rather what the child needs to satisfy the goal of talking. Likewise a multisensory approach to teaching a child to read is not methodology issue, but rather, what that child needs to satisfy the goal of reading [see Briere v. Fair Haven Grade School District, 948 F. Supp. 1242 1254 (D. Vt. 1996)]. In this case, Elizabeth Briere, due the intensity of her learning disabilities, required instruction utilizing a multisensory approach in order to benefit from education. If the goal is to teach a child to read, one could use a variety of different approaches such as phonics, whole language or phonographic to achieve that goal. However, some students, such as was articulated in Briere, may need a multisensory approach, because like Elizabeth Briere, that is what the child needs to learn to read, due to his or her disability. The Briere case is analogous for this Student. If the goal for this Student is to use his cochlear implant to learn to talk, he needs a highly intensive oral/aural approach to reach this goal. The Parents sought a cochlear implant for him because they wanted their son to be able to utilize oral language as his sole means of communicating with society. For him, to be placed in a different program, would be potentially harmful in that it consumes valuable time in a narrow window of opportunity.
Good Luck!
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Another article discussing methodology is http://www.reedmartin.com/askreedmethodology.html
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Section 226.110 Referralback to top
d) If the district decides to conduct an evaluation, parental consent must be obtained.
1) Pursuant to Section 14-8.02 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/14-8.02], the evaluation and IEP meeting shall be completed within 60 school days after the date of referral or the date of the parent's application for admittance of the child to the public school.
2) The IEP meeting shall be conducted within 30 days after the child is determined eligible. The overall limit specified in subsection (d)(1) of this Section still applies.
3) When a child is referred for evaluation with fewer than 60 days of pupil attendance left in the school year, the eligibility determination shall be made and, if the child is eligible, an IEP shall be in effect prior to the first day of the next school year.Section 226.75 Definitions
"Date of Referral": The date on which written parental consent to complete an evaluation is obtained or provided.
"Day": A calendar day, unless otherwise indicated as “business day” or “school day”.
- Business Day: Monday through Friday, except for Federal and State holidays (unless holidays are specifically included in the designation of business days, as at 34 CFR 300.403(d)(1)(ii)).
- School Day: Any day, including a partial day, during the regular school year that students are in attendance at school for instructional purposes.
"According to Oak Park and Palatine, the combination of Carter with 105 ILCS 5/14-7.02 leaves them in a bind: they can't get state reimbursement unless the private school has been approved, but they also can't use the lack of approval to avoid reimbursing parents for what may be a costly private placement. That may well be so, but it does not follow that the IDEA requires the state to contribute more than the amount allocated under [20 U.S.C.] sec.1411(g). In Carter itself the Justices had this to say about the school district's contention that the Court's holding would break the bank:In other words, paying for a nonapproved school may create a financial disincentive since a State Board of Ed may not reimburse the school under the State's reimbursement formula. The State Board of Ed can keep 25% of Federal moneys which it doles out to local districts under formulae. This problem effects many students since many States lack schools experienced in the methodology appropriate for a student, leaving the alternative of forcing schools to learn the methodology themselves. Many schools are predisposed against some methodologies, will learn it poorly, or will dilute it with their own notions. The IDEA Statute does require school to have a comprehensive system of personnel development to ensure that all persons who work with the children have all the skills to meet the needs of the children. (See Dickman footnote, following.)'[P]ublic educational authorities who want to avoid reimbursing parents for the private education of a disabled child can do one of two things: give the child a free appropriate public education in a public setting, or place the child in an appropriate private setting of the State's choice. This is IDEA's mandate, and school officials who conform to it need not worry about reimbursement claims.' "Oak Park and Palatine v. ISBE (appeal from TH v. Palatine) (7th Cir., March 24, 2000), No. 99-1589.
ISBE Synopsis: "The parents of a 10 ½ year-old boy diagnosed with Autism requested the hearing because they were dissatisfied with the educational program being provided by the school district. The parents argued that the district's program was not challenging enough and didn't use ABA/DTT. The parents removed the child after an incident where a teacher sprayed him in the face with a cleaning substance. Neither party prevailed on all issues.back to textThe hearing officer found that the parents were justified in their decision to remove the child following the “spraying” incident. The district was faulted in not offering the parent another placement and for not appropriately addressing the child's needs for ESSAY. It was also found that the IEP goals and objectives were appropriate but in need of much more detail on the academics.
The parents were awarded reimbursement for the home program from the time the child was removed from school through the summer. However, the district's program and IEP were found mostly appropriate with no procedural violations. The District was ordered to provide autism training to staff and to provide ABA/DTT type instruction at school for the child. Additional help in integrating the child into the classroom was also ordered.
Both parties were represented by legal counsel."
20 U.S.C. sec 1453(c) Improvement strategies
Each State improvement plan shall -
(3) describe the strategies the State will use to address the
needs identified under subsection (b)
of this section, including
-
(A) how the
State will change State policies and procedures
to address systemic barriers
to improving results for children
with disabilities;
(B) how the
State will hold local educational agencies and
schools accountable for
educational progress of children with
disabilities;
(C) how the
State will provide technical assistance to local
educational agencies and
schools to improve results for
children with disabilities;
(D) how the
State will address the identified needs for
in-service and pre-service
preparation to ensure that all
personnel who work with
children with disabilities (including
both professional and
paraprofessional personnel who provide
special education,
general
education, related services, or
early intervention
services)
have the skills and knowledge
necessary to meet the
needs of children with disabilities,
including a description
of how -
(i) the State will prepare general and special education
personnel with
the content knowledge and collaborative skills
needed to meet
the needs of children with disabilities,
including how
the State will work with other States on common
certification
criteria;
(ii) the State will prepare professionals and
paraprofessionals
in the area of early intervention with the
content
knowledge
and collaborative skills needed to meet the
needs of infants
and toddlers with disabilities;
(iii) the State will work with institutions of higher
education and
other entities that (on both a pre-service and
an in-service
basis) prepare personnel who work with children
with
disabilities
to ensure that those institutions and
entities develop
the capacity to support quality professional
development
programs that meet State and local needs;
(iv) the State will work to develop collaborative
agreements with
other States for the joint support and
development
of programs to prepare personnel for which there
is not
sufficient
demand within a single State to justify
support or
development
of such a program of preparation;
(v) the State will work in collaboration with other States,
particularly
neighboring States, to address the lack of
uniformity and
reciprocity in the credentialing of teachers
and other
personnel;
(vi) the State will enhance the ability of teachers and
others to use
strategies, such as behavioral interventions,
to address the
conduct of children with disabilities that
impedes the
learning of children with disabilities and
others;
(vii) the State will acquire and disseminate, to teachers,
administrators,
school board members, and related services
personnel,
significant
knowledge derived from educational
research and
other sources, and how the State will, when
appropriate,
adopt promising practices, materials, and
technology;
(viii) the State will recruit, prepare, and retain
qualified
personnel,
including personnel with disabilities
and personnel
from groups that are underrepresented in the
fields of
regular
education, special education, and related
services;
(ix) the plan is integrated, to the maximum extent
possible, with
other professional development plans and
activities,
including plans and activities developed and
carried out
under other Federal and State laws that address
personnel
recruitment
and training; and
(x) the State will provide for the joint training of
parents and
special education, related services, and general
education
personnel;
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