Forms Training: Day 1

Wyoming Department of EducationSpecial Programs DivisionStephanie Weaver, Deputy DirectorLenore Knudtson, Consultant

The Beginning of the StorySpecial educators must be good story tellers.

Analogy: A comparison between two things. We encourage you to think about a student’s special

education history as storytelling.

As with all stories, the special education story has a beginning, middle and end.

The WDE model forms will help guide the IEP team through the process of telling an epic story, understandable to the complete stranger, and defensible to the most enthusiastic challenge.

MODEL: A system or thing used as an example.

These are MODEL forms. Districts are free to develop their own forms, but remain responsible for all of the required content.

The up-to-date model forms are dated 05/02/2011. Input from the forms training resulted in minor changes to some forms. The amended forms are distinguished by the “v.2” after the date. Earlier versions should not be used.

The Organizational Tool

The Multi-Tool

Prior Written Notice

The IEP team’s multi-tool. It does just about everything. Use it often for best results.

Critical form for

storytelling and

protection.

34 C.F.R. §300.503

(a) Notice. Written notice that meets the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section must be given to the parents of a child with a disability a reasonable time before the public agency— (1) Proposes to initiate or change the identification, evaluation,

or educational placement of the child or the provision of FAPE to the child; or

(2) Refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child or the provision of FAPE to the child.

(b) Content of notice. The notice required under paragraph (a) of this section must include— (1) A description of the action proposed or refused by the agency; (2) An explanation of why the agency proposes or refuses to take the

action; (3) A description of each evaluation procedure, assessment, record,

or report the agency used as a basis for the proposed or refused action;

(4) A statement that the parents of a child with a disability have protection under the procedural safeguards of this part and, if this notice is not an initial referral for evaluation, the means by which a copy of a description of the procedural safeguards can be obtained;

(5) Sources for parents to contact to obtain assistance in understanding the provisions of this part;

(6) A description of other options that the IEP Team considered and the reasons why those options were rejected; and

(7) A description of other factors that are relevant to the agency's proposal or refusal.

(c) Notice in understandable language. (1) The notice required under paragraph (a) of this section must be—

(i) Written in language understandable to the general public; and (ii) Provided in the native language of the parent or other mode of

communication used by the parent, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.

(2) If the native language or other mode of communication of the parent is not a written language, the public agency must take steps to ensure— (i) That the notice is translated orally or by other means to the

parent in his or her native language or other mode of communication;

(ii) That the parent understands the content of the notice; and (iii) That there is written evidence that the requirements in

paragraphs (c)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section have been met.

The Purpose of Prior Written Notice

PWN triggers the parent’s opportunity to object to the proposal or refusal.

Consider: District proposes a change from a full time mainstream placement to full time resource room in a program housed in another school. PWN issued by the District explains the proposal. Parent has the opportunity to object, formally or

informally. Parent files for due process, triggering stay-put. Child stays in the full time mainstream placement.

Not to be confused with. . . The Notice of Team Meeting is used throughout the

process to summon together a team of people to collectively address student needs.

It is typically the IEP team, but not always. This Notice must

Be given to parents early enough to ensure that they will have an opportunity to attend by scheduling the meeting at a mutually agreed on time and place, and

indicate the purpose, time and location of the meeting, and who will be in attendance.

34 C.F.R. §300.322.

This page is for

convenience only.

The beginning of the story.

The Referral

34 C.F.R. §300.301(b) Request for initial evaluation. Consistent with the consent requirements, either a

parent of a child or a public agency may initiate a request for an initial evaluation to determine if the child is a child with a disability.

The referral is the BEGINNING OF THE STORY. Important procedural safeguards attach at the point of

the referral.

Processing the Referral

Upon receipt of a referral, it must be processed: Interventions? Evaluation?

Make sure you tell the next part of the story: PWN declining to conduct an evaluation, or Plan the evaluation.

Referral Processing

No suspicion Issue a PWN declining to

conduct the evaluation.

Thoroughly document the reasons the team DOES NOT suspect a disability or need for special education.

Suspicion Propose an evaluation,

Issue PWN, and

Seek consent to evaluate.

Referral or request.

Review existing data.

No additional data is needed.

Eval. complete. Write report.

Additional data is necessary.

1. Plan eval. Obtain consent.

2. Conduct eval.

3. Write report.

INITIAL EVALUATION FLOWCHART

Initial Evaluation Determination: 34 C.F.R. §300.305(a)(2)(i)(A)1. Does the child have an IDEA disability?

AND2. Does the child need special education and

related services?

Review of Existing Data

Every evaluation begins with a review of existing data. Based on that review, the team must determine what,

if any, additional assessments are needed to answer the evaluation questions.

If needed, data must be collected to answer ALL evaluation question.

Evaluation

34 C.F.R. §300.304(c)(6) Each public agency must ensure that –

In evaluating each child with a disability, the evaluation is sufficiently comprehensive to identify all of the child’s special education and related services needs, whether or not commonly linked to the disability category in which the child has been classified.

Prior Written NoticeConsent for Evaluation

This form is used at the initial evaluation and for all reevaluations.

The sequence is important! Follow the form.

Tell the story of why evaluation makes sense.

This date starts the 60 day timeline.

Evaluation Report

Once the evaluation is complete, a report must be generated to summarize assessment results. 34 C.F.R. §300.306(a)(2).

Upon completion of the administration of assessments and other evaluation measures – The public agency provides a copy of the evaluation

report and documentation of eligibility at no cost to the parent.

Eligibility

Eligibility is a two-prong test. The student must meet the criteria in one of the 13

categories, AND Must, by reason thereof, need special education. 34 C.F.R. §§300.8 and 300.306(a).

If a child only needs a related service and NOT special education, the child is not a child with a disability under the IDEA.

Speech Language disability

was removed as an option.

Once eligible,

The school district must obtain informed consent from the parent of the child before the initial provision of special education and related services to the child.

34 C.F.R. §300.300(b).

This date must

PRECEDE the implementati

on of services.

The middle of the story.

Only after a child has been determined eligible for special education do you completely cross the special education threshold.

The middle years.

The middle of the story is characterized by cycles of events: The initial IEP and each annual IEP. The annual IEP team meeting. Progress reporting at the same frequency as nondisabled

students. The three year reevaluation.

When must IEPs be in effect?

An initial IEP must be developed within 30 days of a determination that the child needs special education and related services, AND

As soon as possible following the development of the IEP.

34 C.F.R. §300.323(c).

The IEP:A living document.

A living document is a document which may be continually edited, evolving over time.

The IEP should be the most meaningful document in a special education student’s educational career.

The student’s story should come alive, starting here.

Sources: Evaluations, progress monitoring, any prior IEPs, teacher and parent reports,

etc.

This information should be MEANINGFUL & RELEVANT.

Present Levels 34 C.F.R. §300.320(a) A statement of the child’s present levels of academic

achievement and functional performance, including – How the child’s disability affects the child’s involvement

and progress in the general education curriculum (i.e. the same curriculum as for nondisabled children); or

For preschool children, as appropriate, how the disability affects the child’s participation in appropriate activities.

“Functional” is often used in the context of routine activities of everyday living.” 71 Federal Register 46661.

The PLAAFP connection

In order to tell this part of the story, link together evaluation results and current performance across environments and settings with the measurable annual goals and services.

Describe where the child is functioning currently, the educational needs, write measurable goals to address the needs, and provide special education and related service to meet those needs.

The PLAAFP Connection

The description of the child's present levels of academic achievement and functional performance must contain sufficient detail to allow the IEP team to determine the extent of the child's abilities and special education needs. See Student with a Disability, 50 IDELR 236 (SEA NY 2008); and Ashland Sch. Dist., 47 IDELR 82 (SEA OR 2007).

If ANY of these are YES, you

must address in

the IEP.

ESY Analysis CONTROLLING AUTHORITY: Johnson v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 4 of Bixby,

17 IDELR 170 (10th Cir. 1990). In the Johnson case, the court framed the critical issue to be resolved by

IEP Teams when determining whether a child needs ESY services as follows: [The Rowley] educational benefit standard does not mean that the

requirements of the Act are satisfied so long as a handicapped child’s progress, absent summer services, is not brought “to a virtual standstill.” Rather, if a child will experience severe or substantial regression during the summer months in the absence of a summer program, the handicapped child may be entitled to year round services...The issue is whether the benefits accrued to the child during the regular school year will be significantly jeopardized if he is not provided an educational program during the summer months...[the] analysis should proceed by applying not only retrospective data, such as past regression and rate of recoupment, but also should include predictive data, based on the opinion of professionals in consultation with the child’s parents as well as circumstantial considerations of the child’s individual situations at home and in his or her neighborhood community.

ESY Purpose:To maintain previously learned skills.

The court identified a list of possible factors to be considered when determining ESY services: The degree of impairment; The degree of regression suffered by the child; The recovery time from this regression; The ability of the child’s parents to provide the educational structure at

home; The child’s behavioral and physical problems; The availability of alternative resources; The ability of the child to interact with children without disabilities; The areas of the child’s curriculum which need continuous attention; The child’s vocational needs; and Whether the requested service is extraordinary for the child’s condition,

as opposed to an integral part of a program for those with the child’s condition.

Transition

34 C.F.R. §300.43 Transition services means a coordinated set of activities for a

child with a disability that – Is designed within a results oriented process, that is focused on

improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child’s movement from school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation;

Is based on the individual child’s needs, taking into account the child’s strengths, preferences and interests; and includes –

Transition

Instruction; Related services; Community experiences; The development of employment and other post-school

adult living objectives; and If appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and

provision of a functional vocational evaluation.

Transition services for children with disabilities may be special education, if provided as specially designed instruction; or a related service, if required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education.

The 2 transition pages are

ONLY required for some students.

NSTTAC Indicator 13 Checklist

Measurable goals.

The IDEA is clear that annual IEP goals must be measurable and designed to meet the child’s needs that result from the child’s disability to enable the child to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum, and to meet each of the child’s other educational needs that result from the child’s disability. 71 Federal Register 46664.

The IDEA does not require goals to be written for each specific discipline, i.e. physical therapy or occupational therapy or other related services. 71 Federal Register 46662.

Link to ESY.

Benchmarks are only

required for students taking

alternate assessments

.

Specially designed instruction

34 C.F.R. §300.39 Specially designed instruction means adapting, as

appropriate to the needs of an eligible child, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction – To address the unique needs of the child that result from the

child’s disability; and To ensure access of the child to the general curriculum, so

that the child can meet the educational standards within the jurisdiction of the public agency that apply to all children.

The definition of special education includes physical education, travel training, and vocational education.

Related services

34 C.F.R. §300.34 Related services means developmental, corrective,

and other supportive services as a required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education.

Supplementary aids and services 34 C.F.R. §300.42 Supplementary aids and services means aids, services,

and other supports that are provided in regular education classes, other education-related settings, and in extracurricular and nonacademic settings, to enable children with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled children to the MAXIMUM extent appropriate.

LRE 34 C.F.R. §§300.114 through 300.118. To the MAXIMUM extent appropriate, children with

disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are nondisabled; and

Special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only if the nature and severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

LRE 34 C.F.R. §§300.114 through 300.118. Unless the IEP of a child with a disability requires some

other arrangement, the child is educated in the school that he or she would attend if nondisabled.

A child with a disability should not be removed from education in age-appropriate classrooms solely because of needed modifications in the general education curriculum.

LRE

The IDEA presumes that the first placement option considered for each child with a disability is the regular classroom in the school that the child would attend if not disabled, with appropriate supplementary aids and services to facilitate such placement.

Thus before a child with a disability can be placed outside of the regular educational environment, the full range of supplementary aids and services that could be provided to facilitate the child’s placement in the regular classroom setting must be considered.

71 Federal Register 46588.

Nonacademic Settings and Services

34 C.F.R. §§300.114 through 300.118. Each public agency must ensure that each child with a

disability participates with nondisabled children in the extracurricular services and activities to the MAXIMUM extent appropriate to the needs of that child.

The public agency must ensure that each child with a disability has the supplementary aids and services determined by the child’s IEP team to be appropriate and necessary for the child to participate in nonacademic settings.

LRE

Because the starting point is ALWAYS regular education, any placement away from regular education must be justified.

Historically, placement refers to points along the continuum of placement options available for a child with a disability, and location as the physical surrounding, such as the classroom, in which a child with a disability receives special education and related services. 71 Federal Register 46588.

Regular Classes

Separate Classes

Separate Schools

Residential Settings

Hospital or Homeboun

d

Annual requirement

s.

Stand alone goal page.

Add as needed.

New Form! To be used as needed.

IEP amendment 34 C.F.R. §300.324(a) In making changes to a child’s IEP AFTER the annual IEP for a

school year, the parent of a child with a disability and the public agency may agree not to convene an IEP meeting for the purpose of making those changes, and instead may develop a WRITTEN document to amend or modify the current IEP.

Changes to the IEP may be made by either the entire IEP team at an IEP team meeting, or by amending the IEP rather than redrafting the entire IEP.

Upon request, a parent MUST be provided with a revised copy of the IEP with the amendments incorporated.

Amendments cannot replace the annual IEP.

Reevaluation

34 C.F.R. §300.303 A public agency must ensure that a reevaluation of

each child with a disability is conducted – If the public agency determines the educational or related

service needs, including improved academic achievement and functional performance, of the child warrant a reevaluation; or

If the child’s parent or teacher requests a reevaluation.

Reevaluation

A reevaluation May not occur more than once a year, unless the parent

and the public agency agree otherwise; and Must occur at least once every 3 years, unless the parent

and the public agency agree that a reevaluation is unnecessary.

The opportunity for a parent and the public agency to agree that a reevaluation is unnecessary occurs before a reevaluation begins. 71 Federal Register 46641.

Reevaluation

Review existing data. §300.305

No additional data is needed.

Eval complete. Write report.

Additional data is necessary.

Plan eval. Obtain consent.

Conduct eval. Write report.

Agreement NOT to reevaluate.§300.303(b)(2)

Document in PWN. Process complete.

REEVALUATION FLOWCHART

Reevaluation Determination: 34 C.F.R. §300.305(a)(2)(i)(B)1. Does the child continue to be a child with

an IDEA disability?AND

2. Does the child continue to need special education and related services?

Tell the story of why evaluation makes sense.

No timeline exists for a

reevaluation.

Annual IEP team meetings

34 C.F.R. §300.321 The IEP team may need to include transition agencies

as the student ages. Additional consent requirements apply to these students.

This date must

PRECEDE the IEP

mtg.

An annual requireme

nt.

Excusal of an IEP team member

It is a formal process pursuant to 34 C.F.R. §300.321(e). This process applies only to MANDATORY IEP team

members pursuant to 34 C.F.R. §300.321(a). The is a required sequence! The form will guide you

through it.

Mandatory IEP team

members

Written input may

be required PRIOR to the mtg.

This date should

precede the IEP

team mtg.

Discipline & manifestation determination

Discipline of a special education student may result in a change of placement. See 34 C.F.R. §300.536 for the change of placement definition. (It is complicated.)

Within 10 school days of any decision to change the placement of a child with a disability because of a violation of a code of student conduct, the LEA, the parent, and relevant members of the IEP team (as determined by the parent and the LEA) must review all relevant information in the student’s file and information provided by the parents to determine – If the conduct in question was caused by, or had a direct and

substantial relationship to, the child’s disability; or If the conduct in question was the direct result of the LEA’s

failure to implement the IEP.

The end of the story.

Evaluations

34 C.F.R. §300.305(e) A public agency must evaluate a child with a disability

before determining that the child is no longer a child with a disability.

EXCEPT, this requirement does not apply when terminating eligibility due to graduation from a secondary school with a regular diploma, or due to exceeding the age of eligibility under state law.

Summary of Performance

34 C.F.R. §300.305(e)(3) For a child whose eligibility terminates by graduation

with a regular diploma or through exceeding the age of eligibility, the public agency must provide the child with a summary of the child’s academic achievement and functional performance, which shall include recommendations on how to assist the child in meeting the postsecondary goals.

Provided to the student.

Revocation of consent 34 C.F.R. §300.300(b)(4) If, at any time subsequent to the initial provision of special

education and related services, the parent of a child revokes consent in writing for the continued provision of special education and related services, the public agency – May not continue to provide special education and related

services, but must provide prior written notice before ceasing the special education and related services;

May not use the dispute resolution procedures in order to obtain an agreement or ruling for the further provision of special education services and related services; and

Is not required to convene an IEP team meeting or develop an IEP for the further provision of special education or related services.

There is a sequence. The form will guide you through it.

ANY

WRITING

WILL DO.

This date first.

This date next.This date last.

The end . . .

Questions?