Chapter TwoPolicies, Practices, and Programs

Key Special Education Court Cases– Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954)

• Segregation by race is unconstitutional; paved the way for changes to the educational practices of the time that segregated by disability.

– PARC (Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1972)• States must guarantee a free public education to all children with mental retardation

ages 6-21 and younger if school districts provide services to preschool age children without disabilities.

– Board of Education addressed Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley (1982)• First U.S. Supreme Court interpretation of PL 94-142 to determine what constitutes an

“appropriate” education for a child with a hearing impairment. Appropriate is found to mean reasonable but not necessarily optimal accommodations.

– Daniel R.R. v. State Board of Education (1989)• Established least restrictive environment based on whether pupil can make satisfactory

progress in the general education classroom and if the student has been integrated to the maximum extent possible.

– Oberti vs. Board of Education of the Borough of Clementon School District (1992)• Placement in the general education classroom with the

support of aids and services must be offered to a student prior to considering more restrictive placements. Placement outside the regular education classroom in order to meet the student’s needs must be justified.

– Cedar Rapids Community School District v. Garret F. (1999)• Expanded and clarified the concept for related services

to include intensive and continuous health care services necessary for students to attend school that are not provided by a physician.

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Key Special Education Legislation– PL 94-142 The Education for All handicapped Children Act (1975)Called the “Bill of Rights” for children with disabilities, the “legislative

heart of special education,” and the “Parent’s Law.”

• Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)– FAPE guarantees that all students, regardless of the severity of their disability, will

receive a public education that is free and appropriate (“zero reject” philosophy).• Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

– Children with disabilities are to be educated, to the maximum extent possible, with their classmates that do not have disabilities.

• Individualized Education Program (IEP)– An educational plan that is designed to meet the individual needs of children who have

disabilities that impact their educational performance. The IEP is discussed later in this chapter.

• Procedural Due Process– Safeguards are provided including confidentiality of records, parents’ rights for access,

rights to an independent evaluation, parents’ right to legal counsel and an impartial hearing regarding disagreements.

• Nondiscriminatory Assessment– Prior to placement, a child must evaluated by a multidisciplinary team in all areas of

suspected disability using tests that are not racially, culturally, or linguistically biased.• Parental Participation

– Parents are considered equal partners and participate fully in the decision-making process for their child’s education.

PL 99-457 Education of the Handicapped Act

Amendments of 1986

Affected education and services for young children with special needs and their families

• Preschoolers (age 3-5) • Children from birth through age 2 • Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)

PL 101-476 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

• 1990 amendments renamed PL 94-142 as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

• Current language used to describe people with disabilities

• Individual Transition Plan (ITP) required• Expanded related services• Added autism and traumatic brain injury as distinct

disability categories• States held accountable to implement law

PL 105-17 IDEA Act Amendments of 1997

• Disciplinary considerations• IEP changes to support inclusion and transition• Related services expanded to include orientation

and mobility services• Mediation procedures developed • Expanded category of developmental delay • Evaluation and reevaluation requirements

changed• Federal funding changes• Performance goals/accountability

PL 107-110 No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

• Annual testing for all students in certain grades to demonstrate adequate yearly progress in mathematics, reading, and science

• Public access to schools’ performance on tests• Provides for parental choice in schools that do not

meet annual progress goals• Schools not making sufficient annual progress offer

additional services to students• Highly Qualified status for teachers• Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010

PL 108-446Individuals with Disabilities Education

Improvement Act of 2004• Sspecial education services aligned with national

school improvement efforts• IEP changes• Identification of students with learning

disabilities through Response to Intervention (RTI)

• Highly qualified special education teachers• Discipline• Due process• Evaluation of students• Assessment participation

Key Civil Rights Legislation

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973• This act employs a broader definition of eligibility than

IDEA and states that no individual can be excluded, solely because of their disability, from participating in any program or activity receiving federal funding, including schools.

• Schools may be required to develop plans to meet the needs of students who require accommodations.

• Section 504 covers the entire lifespan not just the school years.

PL 101-336 (1990)Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

• Designed to eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities in the pubic and private sectors.

• Expanded definitions of eligibility may include people with AIDS, substance abuse issues, or any impairment that limits a major life activity.

• Employers, mass transit systems, and companies who provide products and services must make “reasonable accommodations” for people with disabilities.

PL 110-325 The Americans with Disabilities Act

Amendments of 2008

• Reauthorization of the ADA; commonly called ADAA• Became effective January 2009• Broader interpretation of disability includes additional life

activities (reading, concentrating, thinking) or body functions (such as immune system or neurological functioning)

• Interpretation of “substantial limitation” made without considering the effects of mitigating measures like medication or medical equipment

Identification and Assessment of Individual Differences

• Interindividual differences: differences between students • examples: height, sports skill, reading ability

• Intraindividual differences: differences within a student • examples: individual strengths and weaknesses

• Both are important considerations for the IEP team and classroom teacher

Referral and Assessment for Special Education

Prereferral• Interventions are designed by a support team

and implemented within the classroom to assist a struggling child

Referral• Child is formally referred for assessment

Assessment• Parental permission is obtained• Evaluation is conducted by a multidisciplinary

team to determine if a disability is present

– Eligibility for Special Education Services• The Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) uses a variety of assessments,

including parent input, to determine if a child has a disability that impacts his/her academic abilities.

• If the MDT determines that the child has a disability that impacts his/her academic abilities, then the child is eligible for special education services and an IEP (or IFSP) will be developed.

• If the MDT determines that the child has a disability that does not impact his/her academic abilities, then the child may be eligible for a 504 accommodation plan

Individualized Education Program(IEP)

An IEP is created by a team that includes:• A parent/guardian• The student, when appropriate• The child’s teachers including a general education

teacher and a special educator• A representative from the school district• An individual able to interpret the instructional

implications of the assessments conducted• Other professionals as appropriate

• Discipline– Students who are removed from their current educational

setting for more than 10 days must still receive special education services

– Interim educational placements may be used for up to 45 school days for offenses involving weapons or drugs or inflicting “serious bodily harm”

– IEP teams must consider whether a child’s disability contributed to their behavior and whether the school failed to implement the IEP appropriately

– Students remain in the current educational placement in the event of a hearing or mediation to resolve a dispute

• Due process– Parents have a two year time limit for filing due process

complaints– A resolution session is required within 15 days before

proceeding to due process• Parents may recover litigation expenses if they prevail in due

process hearings

IFSP Components• Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) supports

infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families

• Developed based on assessments by professionals and family input

• Goals developed to reflect the family’s priorities and needs

• Reviewed every 6 months

Cascade of Service Delivery Options

• The Least Restrictive (LRE) option is the general education classroom because it provides the most access to children without disabilities.

• Increased emphasis on providing supports and services within the general education classroom.

• Students may need a more restrictive setting to meet their unique needs.

School District Supports and services:• Infant/preschool transition program• Intensive language education program• Preschool phonological groups• Designated instruction and services in areas such as: Adapted physical education , Deaf and hard of hearing, Speech and language,

Visually handicapped . Occupational therapy Itinerant special education service to: Community preschools * Head Start *

District preschool programs * District early education centers Collaborative classrooms with District preschool programs and early education

centers Preschool mixed special day classes Preschool intensive special day classes Categorical preschool special day classes Intensive therapy clinics Behavior intervention consultation Non-public school or agency programs Itinerant support for transition to

kindergarten

– Placement options (LRE)- Cascade of Service Delivery Options• Regular Class: Students who receive the majority of

their education in a regular classroom and receive special education and related services outside the regular classroom for less than 21% of the school day. This placement option also includes individuals who are provided with specialized instruction or services within the regular classroom setting.

• Resource Room: Students who receive special education and related services outside the regular classroom for at least 21% but less than 60% of the school day. Students are “pulled out” of the regular classroom and receive specialized instruction or services in a separate classroom for limited periods of time. Services may be individualized or offered in small groups. A common placement option for children with less severe disabilities.

• Separate Class: Students who receive special education and related services outside the regular class for more than 60% of the school day. Commonly known as a self-contained classroom wherein pupils, usually those with more severe disabilities, receive full-time instruction or, in a modified version, participate in nonacademic aspects of school activities. Classroom is located in regular school building.

• Separate School: Students who receive special education and related services in a public or private separate day school for students with disabilities, at public expense, for more than 50% of the school day.

• Residential Facility: Students who receive a special education in a public or private residential facility, at public expense, 24 hours a day.

• Homebound/Hospital: Students placed in and receiving a special education in a hospital or homebound program.