10.1 rockville, maryland memorandum updated policy blc,

DISCUSSION/ACTION 10.1

MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION

Rockville, Maryland

November 12, 2013 MEMORANDUM

To: Members of the Board of Education

From: Patricia O’Neill, Chair, Board of Education Policy Management Committee

Subject: Final Action, Policy BLC, Procedures for Review and Resolution of Special

Education Disputes

On April 23, 2013, the Montgomery County Board of Education (Board) tentatively adopted the updated Policy BLC, Procedures for Review and Resolution of Special Education Disputes. The tentatively adopted policy was distributed for public comment. Two comments were received. Members of the Board Policy Management Committee further discussed Policy BLC, Procedures for Review and Resolution of Special Education Disputes, on October 15, 2013. Language has been added in response to public comments, as follows: to clarify further that a child shall be provided with a free and appropriate education; to specify staff members to participate in administrative review committees; and to inform the Board when the system appeals adverse decisions. The related sources section of the policy has been amended to include the special education procedures handbook for parents. The Committee Recommended Draft is included as Attachment A. The public comments are summarized in Attachment B. The original public comments are included in Attachment C and the Draft for Public Comment is included as Attachment D. The following resolution is provided for your consideration: WHEREAS, Policy BLC, Procedures for Review and Resolution of Special Education Disputes, establishes and recognizes review and resolution options that permit cooperative problem solving of disputes regarding the identification, evaluation, educational placement, or provision of a free and appropriate public education for a student with a disability or suspected of having a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); and WHEREAS, The draft of Policy BLC, Procedures for Review and Resolution of Special Education Disputes, was tentatively adopted by the Board of Education on April 23, 2013, and sent out for public comment; and

Members of the Board of Education 2 November 12, 2013 WHEREAS, The Board of Education has received the Board Policy Management Committee’s recommendations and received comments from the public; now therefore be it Resolved, That the members of the Board of Education adopt Policy BLC, Procedures for Review and Resolution of Special Education Disputes, as updated in the attached Committee Recommended Draft. PO:hp Attachments

ATTACHMENT A COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED DRAFT

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Related Entries: BLB, BLB-EA,BLC-EA, JOA-RA 1 Responsible Office: Board of Education 2 Special Education and Student Services 3

Instruction and Program Development 4 Related Sources: Annotated Code of Maryland, Education Article, 5

§4-401, et seq., and §8-413; Code of Maryland 6

Regulations (COMAR) §13A.05.01, et seq.; 7

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 8

(IDEA), 20 U.S.C. §1400, et seq. 9

Problem Solving for Student Success: Special 10

Education Procedures 11

12 Procedures for Review and Resolution 13

of Special Education Disputes 14 15 16 A. PURPOSE 17 18

To establish and recognize review and resolution options that 19 permit cooperative problem solving of disputes regarding the 20

identification, evaluation, or educational placement, of 21

students with disabilities or the provision of a free and 22 appropriate public education (FAPE) for a student with a 23

disability or suspected of having a disability under the 24

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 25

26 B. ISSUE 27

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Students with disabilities and their parent(s)/guardian(s) 29 must be guaranteed procedural safeguards with respect to their 30 right to a FAPE free appropriate public education and should 31

have available less formal options for resolution of disputes. 32 33

34 C. POSITION 35 36

1. Statement of Philosophy 37 38

It is the intent of the Montgomery County Board of 39

Education (Board) to resolve all disputes related to 40

special education in as efficient and cooperative a 41 manner as possible. Montgomery County Public Schools 42

(MCPS) has established an administrative review process 43

that may be used and encourages the use of mediation 44 processes authorized by state and federal law. 45

46 The parent/guardian/eligible student (a student 18 years 47 of age or older) may elect not to use an administrative 48 review and may request mediation and/or a due process 49 hearing in accordance with state and federal law. 50

51 2. Applicable Laws, Rules, and Regulations 52

53 Where applicable, these procedures should be read in 54 conjunction with state and federal laws, rules, and 55 regulations that include the following: 56

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a) The Annotated Code of Maryland, Education Article, 58

Section 8-4135 59

60 b) Maryland State Board of Education bylawsCode of 61

Maryland Regulations (COMAR) §13A.05.01 et seq.: 62

63 (1) BylawCOMAR §13A.05.01 deals specifically with 64

Programs for Students with Disabilities 65 66

(2) BylawCOMAR §13A.05.01.14 deals specifically 67

with Due Process Hearing Procedures 68 69

c) The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 70 (IDEA) 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq., and Rules and 71 Regulations Implementing IDEA 72

73 3. Conflicts 74

75 In cases of conflicts between these procedures and 76 applicable state or federal laws, rules, or regulations, 77 the state or federal laws, rules, or regulations shall 78 govern. 79

80 4. Administrative Review and Resolution 81

82 The parent/guardian/eligible student may select, as an 83 alternative to mediation/due process hearing procedures, 84 an administrative review. 85 86


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The process for administrative review involves reviewing 87 all available records on the student and obtaining 88 information required for clarification so that a decision 89 that attempts to resolve the dispute in a way that is 90 satisfactory to both parties can be offered; and, if FAPE 91

is at issue, ensures that child is provided with FAPE. 92

93 (1) When Available 94

95 An administrative review is available whenever a 96 parent/guardian/eligible student is dissatisfied 97 with a decision, or lack thereof, regarding the 98

identification, evaluation, or educational 99 placement, of a student or the provision of a FAPE 100

for a student with a disability or suspected of 101

having a disability under IDEA, free appropriate 102

public education and has not filed a request for 103 mediation and/or a due process hearing. 104

105 (2) Procedure 106

107 To initiate the administrative review, MCPS Form 108 336-43A, Request for Administrative Application for 109

Informal Review and Resolution, must be completed 110

by the parent/guardian. The form is then filed 111 with the Department of Special Education Services. 112

113 A committee of no less than two (2) MCPS 114 professional staff members, from the Equity 115


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Assurance and Compliance Unit and/or the Department 116

of Special Education Services, at least one of whom 117

is certificated in special education, who have had 118 no direct involvement in the decision, will obtain 119 relevant records and consider any information 120 submitted by the parent/guardian/eligible student 121 with the form or gained from other sources. The 122 administrative review should be completed within 123 twenty (20) calendar days of filing. However, at 124 any time during the process, or at the completion 125 of the process, a party may request mediation 126 and/or a due process hearing. If mediation and/or 127 a due process hearing is requested, the 128 administrative review will terminate. 129

130 When a review is completed, a representative of the 131 Department of Special Education Office of Special 132

Education and Student Services will inform the 133

parties in writing of the suggested resolution. If 134 all parties concur, the resolution shall be 135 committed to writing and signed. 136

137 5. Mediation/Due Process Hearing Procedures 138

139 The Board of Education encourages the use of state 140 provided mediation as an alternative to resolution of 141 disputes prior to or current with a due process hearing. 142 Mediation attempts to bring about a resolution of the 143 dispute by the parties through the intervention of a 144


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neutral third party. Mediation is made available through 145 the State Office of Administrative Hearings and is 146 conducted by an impartial administrative law judge. 147 148 The Board of Education also recognizes the availability 149 of due process hearings through the State Office of 150 Administrative Hearings. 151 152 A parent or MCPS may initiate mediation/ and/or a due 153

process hearings concerning the identification, 154

evaluation, educational placement, or provision of a FAPE 155

for a student with a disability or suspected of having a 156

disability under IDEA free appropriate public education 157

by making a written request to the State Office of 158

Administrative Hearings and ensuring the opposing party 159

receives a copy of the request. MCPS Department of 160

Special Education. If an oral request is received, MCPS 161 will provide the individual with a request form and 162 assist the individual in completing the form, as 163 appropriate. 164

165 D. DESIRED OUTCOME 166 167

MCPSontgomery County Public Schools desires to seek early 168

resolution of disputes in as informal and cooperative manner 169 as possible. 170

171 E. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES 172 173


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1. The superintendent of schools will publicize the options 174

for review and resolution of disputes regarding the 175

identification, evaluation, or educational placement, of 176

children or the provision of a FAPE for a student with a 177

disability or suspected of having a disability under IDEA 178

free appropriate public education as well as the 179 procedures for applying forrequesting mediation/ and/or a 180

due process hearings. 181 182 2. The superintendent of schools will develop regulations 183

and other procedures as necessary to implement this 184 policy. 185

186 3. The superintendent of schools will establish a data 187

collection process to determine the effectiveness of the 188 implementation of these procedures. 189

190 F. REVIEW AND REPORTING 191 192

1. The superintendent of schools shall bring to inform the 193

Board when the system appeals adverse decisions. all 194

matters related to this policy that involve issues of 195 great importance. 196

197 2. The level of authority of the superintendent to settle 198

claims related to special education without specific 199 approval of the Board of Education shall be set by 200 resolution adopted by the Board of Education. Settlement 201 of claims related to special education legal fees and 202


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costs that exceed the level adopted by the Board of 203 Education shall be evaluated by legal counsel and 204 reported to the Board of Education. 205

206 3. This policy will be reviewed on an ongoing basis in 207

accordance with the Board of Education policy review 208 process. 209

210 211 Policy History: Adopted by Resolution No. 399-80, June 23, 1980; 212 amended by Resolution 429-80, July 8, 1980; amended by Resolution 213 No. 536-84, October 9, 1984; amended by Resolution No. 590-86, 214 November 6, 1986; reformatted in accordance with Resolution No. 215 333-86, June 12, 1986 and Resolution No. 458-86, August 12, 1986, 216 and accepted by Resolution No. 550-88, October 24, 1988; amended by 217 Resolution No. 737-95, November 14, 1995; amended by Resolution No. 218 472-96, July 9, 1996. 219

Attachment B

Summary of Responses Policy BLC Page 1 10/31/13

Summary of Responses to Policy BLC, Procedures for Review and Resolution of Special Education Disputes

Public Response Number

Commentator

Issue/Concern

Line #’s refer to the Draft for Public Comment

Staff Response

Line #’s refer to the Committee

Recommended Draft 1 Shameen Anthanio-

Williams, PMP C.4. (2) line 113, “MCPS professional staff members” should be identified earlier in the language. C.5. lines 149–160, mediation should occur automatically whenever there is a disagreement between the school and parents or anytime a parent states during the meeting that they don’t agree with the school’s decision to change placement or IEP requirements. The decision should not be made by the school at the school. E.3., the superintendent’s data collection should include the number of decisions made by the schools and from this number, how many parents agreed with the decisions and how many did not agree. Data collection should include options for parents to fill out surveys versus going online. Surveys should be provided with the report cards or at the end of the annual IEP meetings.

Language changed. Suggested changes do not align with requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It’s not possible to collect this level of data from every school for all students. Whenever parents disagree with school decisions, procedural safeguards are available and data are collected regarding use of such safeguards.

2 Julie Reiley Line 89–90, add “and Language has been added.

Attachment B



Commentator

Issue/Concern


Staff Response


Recommended Draft ensures the child is provided with FAPE.” Line 104, add the following section: “Parent Access to Observe Placements” “When placement of a child is one of the matters in dispute, the Committee conducting the review shall confirm the parent/legal guardian (or student when appropriate) has been afforded the opportunity to visit any placement requested by either party, or obtain a written waiver to do so, by the parent/legal guardian. In the absence of an observation or waiver, the Committee shall notify (and so document) the parent/legal guardian/student of their right to observe the placement(s), or waive observation. The Committee shall wait to make a decision until (1) the observation(s) has occurred and the parent has been afforded the opportunity to submit any new information after the observation, or (2) the observation has been waived. When one of the placements concerned is the child’s home school, the

Visits to MCPS schools are permitted and provided under Regulation ABA-RB, School Visitors. Opportunities to observe potential nonpublic placements are an integral part of the intake process. The process for such visits or observations are included in “Problem Solving for Student Success: Special Education Procedures.” A reference to this document has been added to the Related Sources section of the policy.

Attachment B



Commentator

Issue/Concern


Staff Response


Recommended Draft parent/guardian shall be afforded the opportunity to observe the child in his/her home school environment. Parents/guardians may be accompanied by a third party. The Committee shall make sure the parent has a copy of the IEP and any documents relied upon by MCPS, if not already provided prior to the IEP meeting at issue.” Line 119, change “should” to “will.” Line 130, insert the following after “of the suggested resolution.” “The resolution will also explain how the suggested resolution provides FAPE in the LRE. Also, in cases in which it is decided that a child is not eligible for an IEP, the decision shall explain why, including, as appropriate, why evidence of a child’s disability was not deemed sufficient to establish a disability, why the child’s disability does not entitle the child to an IEP, or why testing requested by the parent/guardian was not necessary.” Line 157, add after “oral request”, “or written or

State law requires all documents the team plans to review/discuss during an IEP meeting must be provided to parents five days in advance of the meeting. Suggested language is not applicable because not all disputes are related to FAPE. Federal and state law requires prior written notice to parents from IEP team. The process is further addressed in “Problem Solving for Student Success: Special Education Procedures.” A reference to this document has been added to the Related Sources section of the policy.

Attachment B



Commentator

Issue/Concern


Staff Response


Recommended Draft email.” After “is received” add “by any MCPS administrator or IEP team member.” Line 167 add, “with the ultimate goal of making sure the child is receiving FAPE.” At line 199 it is not clear which legal counsel is evaluating the legal fees dispute.

Language added. Language is not appropriate because not all disputes are regarding FAPE. No conflict when MCPS legal counsel reviews bills of council representing the parent when the parent prevails.

Attachment C

ORIGINAL PUBLIC COMMENTS

POLICY BLC, Procedures for Review and Resolution of Special Education Disputes

10.1 rockville, maryland memorandum updated policy blc,

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