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IDEA REAUTHORIZATION 1997 AND 2004

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IDEA REAUTHORIZATION 1997

• Emphasized access to general education curriculum

• Strengthened role of parents

• Increased attention to racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity to prevent inappropriate identification and mislabeling

• Parent consent required for reevaluation

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IDEA REAUTHORIZATION 1997 CONT.

• ARD committees determine scope of reevaluation

• Students with disabilities included in state and district-wide assessments with appropriate accommodations

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IDEA REAUTHORIZATION 1997 CONT.

• ARD must include general education teacher if child in general ed or being considered for general ed

• ARD must revise IEP as necessary to address any lack of progress toward annual goals and in general curriculum

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INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION

IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2004• Effective July 1, 2005• President signed into law on December 3, 2004• This new law is result of weeks of negotiation

between House and Senate members of the Conference Committee

• They came to a compromise that created a middle ground between the separate bills passed by each house of Congress

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EVALUATIONS

• Initial evaluations– FIE deadline – an initial FIE must be completed

within 60 days of receiving parental consent unless the parent repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the child for the evaluation. If the state has a deadline for completing the initial FIE, the state deadline applies

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EVALUATIONS CONT.

• When the deadline doesn’t apply – the 60 day deadline is relaxed if the child enrolls in the district after the 60 days from consent has begun to run in his or her previous district and the previous district has not yet completed the evaluation

• Screening vs. FIE – screening of a student by a teacher to determine appropriate instructional strategies for curriculum implementation is not an evaluation for eligibility for special education

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REEVALUATIONS

Limitation on evaluations – a reevaluation shall not occur more than once a year or less than once every 3 years, unless the parent and the district agree otherwise

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CONDUCTING EVALUATIONS

• Assessment and evaluation materials must be non-discriminatory, administered in the language most likely to yield accurate information on what the child knows/can do academically, developmentally and functionally

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CONDUCTING EVALUATIONS CONT.

• Evaluation of a transfer student – for a student who transfers into a school district during the school year, the prior and subsequent schools shall coordinate to insure that evaluations are completed promptly

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CONSENT FOR SERVICES

• Consent for beginning services – the district must seek informed consent from the parent before providing special education and related services

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CONSENT FOR SERVICES CONT.

• Absence of consent for services – if the parent refused to consent to the initiation of services, the district “shall not provide special education and related services to the child by utilizing the procedures described in Section 615 (due process or mediation). If the parent refuses to consent to services or does not respond to the request, the district will not be considered in violation of the requirement to provide FAPE

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ELIGIBILITY

• A child shall not be determined to have a disability due to lack of appropriate instruction in reading, or math, or due to limited English proficiency

• Before terminating a child’s eligibility, a school district must conduct an evaluation of the child, unless the termination is due to graduation from high school with a regular diploma or due to the student exceeding age eligibility

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ELIGIBILITY CONT.

• Termination of eligibility due to graduation/age – when a child’s eligibility is terminated due to graduation or age, the school district shall provide the child with a summary of his or her academic achievement and functional performance, which shall include recommendations on how to assist the child in meeting his or her postsecondary school goals

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LD ELIGIBILITY

• Discrepancy model cannot be mandated – In determining whether or not a child has a specific learning disability, a school district shall not be required to consider if the child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in a specific area. A school district may use, as part of evaluation procedures for a child with a suspected specific learning disability, a process that determines if the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention

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IEP

• Short-term objectives/benchmarks are required only for those children who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards

• IEP must include a statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services, based on peer-reviewed research where practicable

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TRANSITION SERVICES

• The former transition services requirement of the identification of transition needs beginning at age 14 has been deleted. Transition services and measurable postsecondary goals are to be included in the IEP not later than the first IEP in effect when the child is 16 and updated annually

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TRANSITION SERVICES CONT.

• Transition services are defined as a coordinated set of activities that are designed to be within a results-oriented process that is focused on improving academic and functional achievement to facilitate movement from school to post-secondary activities including post-secondary education, vocational education, integrated employment, continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living or community participation.

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TRANSITION SERVICES CONT.

• Transition services include instruction, related services, community experiences, the development of employment and adult living objectives and, if appropriate, daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation

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TRANSITION SERVICES CONT.

• Transition services are appropriate, measurable postsecondary goals based on age appropriate transition assessments that relate to training, education, employment and, where appropriate, independent living skills, and the transition services needed to reach those goals, including courses of study

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IEP MEETING

• The district and parents may agree not to convene an IEP meeting to make changes to a child’s IEP after the annual IEP meeting for the school year. Instead, they may develop a written document to amend or modify the current IEP

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AMENDMENTS TO IEP

• Changes to the IEP may be made by the entire IEP team or by amending the IEP rather than by redrafting the entire IEP. Parents shall be provided a copy of the revised IEP with amendments, if they request such.

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MULTI-YEAR IEP PILOT PROGRAM

• US Secretary of Education is authorized to approve not more than 15 proposals from states that would allow parents and school district the opportunity for long-term planning by offering the option of developing a comprehensive, multi-year IEP, not to exceed 3 years, that is designed to coincide with natural transition points for the child.

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MULTI-YEAR IEP PILOT PROGRAM CONT.

• Some of the requirements for multi-year IEPs (for those programs approved) would be: assurances that this type of IEP is optional for parents and requires parental consent; measurable goals coinciding with natural transition points (meaning pre-school to elementary school, elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, and high school to postsecondary pursuits); measurable annual goals for determining progress toward long-term goals, an annual review of the child’s progress in years other than at the natural transition points, and at the natural transition points

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IEP MEETING ATTENDANCE

• A member of the IEP team is not required to attend an IEP meeting, in whole or in part, if the parent and the district agree that the member’s attendance is not necessary because his or her area of the curriculum or related service is not being modified or discussed at the meeting

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EXCUSAL FROM IEP MEETING

• An IEP team member may be excused from attending a meeting even if the member’s area of curriculum or related service will be discussed if the parent and district consent to the excusal and the member submits written input regarding the development of the IEP to the parent and IEP team prior to the meeting. A parent’s agreement that a member’s attendance is not necessary and that he or she may be excused from attending must be in writing.

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ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF MEMBERS PARTICIPATING

• When conducting IEP team meetings and placement meetings pursuant to this section, the section regarding mediation of disputes, and the section regarding due process hearings, the parent and district may agree to use alternative means of meeting participation, such as video or telephone conferencing.

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CHILDREN ENROLLED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS

• Districts may now have to serve children attending private schools in the district even if the child and the parents reside in another district. The language is unclear. These children must be served to the extent consistent with the number and location of these children who are “enrolled by their parents in private schools in the district served by a local educational agency”

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CHILDREN ENROLLED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS CONT.

• LEA must consult with representatives of private schools in a timely and meaningful manner, and then conduct a thorough and complete child find process to determine the number of these children in the private school within the school district

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CHILDREN ENROLLED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS CONT.

• Services “may” be provided on the premises of the private school, including a religious school, to the extent allowed by law

• Districts must report to SEA the number of children evaluated under this provision, the number determined to be children with disabilities and the number served under this provision

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CHILDREN ENROLLED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS CONT.

• Child find activities shall be designed to ensure equitable participation and an accurate count, shall be similar to the activities for public school children and completed in a comparable time period

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CHILDREN ENROLLED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS CONT.

• Requirement for consultation has expanded. Topics for consultation between district and private school include: – The child find process– How these children can participate equitably– How parents, teachers and private school

officials will be informed of the process– The determination of the proportionate share

amount and how the amount was calculated

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CHILDREN ENROLLED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS CONT.

– The consultation process, including how it will operate throughout the school year to ensure meaningful participation

– How, where and by whom special education and related services will be provided for these children, the types of services, including direct services and alternate service delivery mechanisms, how services will be apportioned if there is not enough money for all, and how and when these decisions will be made

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CHILDREN ENROLLED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS CONT.

– If the district disagrees with the views of private school officials on the provision of services, or the types of services, whether provided directly or through a contract, the district shall provide the private school official a written explanation of the reasons why the district chose not to provide the services directly or through a contract

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CHILDREN ENROLLED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS CONT.

• The district must obtain written affirmation from the representatives of participating private schools that consultation has occurred

• Private school officials may submit a complaint to the SEA that the district did not engage in consultation in a meaningful and timely manner, or did not give due consideration to the views of the private school official

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PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS

• A parent may elect to receive notices required under IDEA by e-mail if the district makes such option available.

• A copy of procedural safeguards must be provided to the parent only 1 time/year. Must be given upon initial referral, upon the first occurrence of a filing of a complaint, or upon request by a parent

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IDEA REAUTHORIZATION 1997 AND 2004