Below is Cathy Wrote Best of." She has the weekend off.  Special Education has gotten more complicated than ever, as school districts deal with the onslaught of students needing help. If you have a story to share, please comment. 

As a sidenote, one of the best books you'll NEVER hear about from your district is Skyhorse Publishing's Your Special Education Rights, written by SpEd lawyer Jen Laviano and Advocate Julie Swanson. It offers an "inside baseball" look at what districts will do to protect their budgets and behinds, even at the expense of your child's legal rights.

By Cathy Jameson

IEP.  That acronym can conjure up one of many emotions.  From frustration to relief, what it takes to create an Individual Education Plan can be one of the biggest stressors that special needs parents face.

Susan was one of those parents.  She was becoming more and more nervous about her daughter Anna.  Knowing something just wasn’t right, Susan’s suspicions were confirmed mid-way through Anna’s kindergarten year.  Watching her bloom much more slowly than her peers, she wondered if what she was seeing were tell tale signs of a developmental delay or more specifically, a learning disorder.  Fearing that Anna was going to need a great deal of help to catch up, Susan asked the kindergarten teacher for advice and to set up a parent conference. 

Susan and the kindergarten teacher, Miss Taylor, compared notes as to what each was seeing.  Susan shared how Anna had started to become withdrawn and temperamental once she came home from class.  Wondering if Anna was trying to keep it together at school but lost it at home, Susan suspected her school struggles were the cause of the change in behavior.  Homework was becoming increasingly difficult, bedtime was emotional, and both Susan and her husband were worried that Anna wasn’t grasping the academic demands in the classroom. 

Susan was hoping Miss Taylor could help pinpoint what Anna’s delays were and address them in the classroom.  She liked the school and the staff and wanted to work with them to get her daughter the skills she needed to be successful in the future.  Thankfully, the school could help, and in fact, were required to do so especially if what Anna was dealing were issues that a more specialized program could focus on.  

Anna’s teacher, Miss Taylor, was in agreement that she, too, was beginning to observe Anna slipping behind.  Together, Susan and Miss Taylor worked together to start the evaluation process. Miss Taylor assured Susan that a screening would begin right away.  During this time, Miss Taylor and other district staff were assembled to review testing tools and what they’d need to evaluate Anna.  After Susan was informed of the tests chosen and agreed to them, Anna’s testing began.  A determination meeting, one of the first formal gatherings of the IEP process, was scheduled for 3 week’s time.  Susan put the date on her calendar and stayed in touch with Miss Taylor until the meeting.

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When a parent or teacher suspects that their child has a problem or concern, either the parent or the teacher can request that a child be evaluated.  Once the concern has been submitted to a representative of the school (also known as the local education agency, or LEA) a screening must begin.  Depending on the state guidelines, a school district will have to complete the testing within a certain timeframe.  

If the evaluations come back that determine a child does have a disability per IDEA guidelines, the need for special education will be discussed with the parents and with an IEP team.  IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, enacted in 2004, is: “…a law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities.

Infants and toddlers with disabilities (birth-2) and their families receive early intervention services under IDEA Part C. Children and youth (ages 3-21) receive special education and related services under IDEA Part B.”

This means that public schools provide free-appropriate public education (FAPE) for a child who needs special education and related services.  The child’s parents, who will not incur any costs when the child is enrolled in those services, take several more steps with the school to create a specific plan for the child.  Those services will be outlined in the IEP. 

IEPs are legal documents that dictate a child’s educational plan.  If done well, the IEP includes input from the entire IEP team who service the child’s needs.  While it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a team to create, implement and track the goals and outcomes of a child’s IEP. 

Typically, the team is made up of the parents, the general education teacher, the special education teacher, a school psychologist, various therapists (if your child requires related services such as physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy), your child (if you wish them to be there, or if they are able to contribute to their education plan), and of course, at least one administrative representative from your school district, which is usually the principal or vice principal of your child’s school.  As time goes on, and depending on how the child’s educational needs, other people may be added. 

A child, after being evaluated, can be found eligible for special education and related services in the following disability categories:

Autism

Deafness

Deaf-blindness

Developmental delay

Emotional disturbance

Hearing impairment

Intellectual disability

Multiple disabilities

Orthopedic impairment

Other health impairment

Specific learning disability

Traumatic brain injury

Visual impairment including blindness

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A great deal can be done to support a child with a disability.  It takes careful consideration and a well-thought out educational plan to get that child the support they need.  That’s what Susan wanted for Anna.  Because she was struggling in specific areas, during the referral process Anna underwent several tests:  a psychological evaluation, an educational evaluation, plus a speech and language evaluation as well as a fine motor delay evaluation.  It took several days to complete the testing including tallying the results.  Those would go in a formal report and be presented to Anna’s parents and discussed at the determination meeting.  Throughout the testing process, Susan was kept informed of which tests Anna’s underwent and was eager to know the results. 

Now that all of Anna’s testing was complete, the next step was to wait to hear the schools’ recommendations.  Susan had just received the invitation to meet from the district.  She was available for the day and time they suggested and started going over in her mind what she wanted to talk about with the team.

Susan wanted to be an active member on the IEP team.  She had already made a list of Anna’s strengths and weaknesses.  She had also started to do a little bit of reading and asked another mom, who had a child on the spectrum and was two years older than Anna, what she knew about their district’s special ed program.  From that conversation, Susan learned she can and should play a very active role in the IEP process.  She started thinking about what goals she wanted for Anna—goals not just to get through first or second grade, but beyond when Anna would be done with school and hopefully on her own.  She wanted Anna’s school experience to be positive where she’d learn, grow and build life-long skills to be an active member of society. 

Suspecting that it was going to take a few more professionally-trained people and a bit of therapy to get Anna where she should be academically, Susan asked for a copy of the official reports everyone had conducted to be sent to her before the IEP meeting was scheduled.  This way she wouldn’t be thumbing through the reports trying to read them while the educational experts were presenting them; she would instead have had time to read and digest them before having to talk about them. 

Susan also requested that, if the school had created proposed goals for Anna from all of the testing they did, she be given a copy of those as well.  Knowing that making goals would be discussed if Anna were made eligible, she made sure to ask for them at least 5 days before the meeting to be able to decipher the language and look up anything that she may not completely understand. 

On the day of the IEP meeting, Susan sat at the head of the conference room table and waited for the rest of the team to be settled in their seats.  Each person went around the table introducing themselves.  Susan had already met most of the group and was ready to find out what they were going to tell her.  The vice principal, acting as the LEA representative, welcomed everyone while the speech therapist prepared to take the official meeting notes.  Susan, also planning on taking notes, asked that the meeting be recorded on her hand-held audio recorder because her husband was unable to attend the meeting. The district LEA agreed to it, and the meeting started. 

After each of the team members who tested Anna had a chance to report on their findings, it was determined that Anna did have significant developmental delays and that they did indeed warrant special education.  Since she was also behind with both speech and language and fine motor skills, Anna was also found eligible to receive related services (speech and occupational therapy).  Not completely surprised, but now full of even more questions, Susan discovered she would actually be invited to another IEP meeting, a meeting immediately following this determination meeting.  Before it was to begin though, Susan was asked to sign the determination paperwork allowing the school to start the next step:  creating Anna’s individualized education plan. 

By signing the document, Susan agreed that Anna was eligible for services.  Susan was nervous, but remained hopeful that the school would continue to guide her in the process to get Anna the appropriate education she needed.  She was ready to continue the process, so Susan signed the invitation to attend the next IEP meeting, which was to start in minutes, while still sitting at the table.

The meeting, which would cover how the school district would provide the services and supports Anna needed, began right away.  Since creating the actual plan that would be unique to Anna’s needs and would also describe the specific services the school would offer, the team had to brainstorm ideas, discuss strategies and work together.  They got started right away.

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Once the evaluation is complete, special education determination decided and signatures acquired, another IEP meeting will be scheduled.  Many topics will be discussed at this and all future IEP meetings.  Educational, therapeutic and social skills goals, among others, have to be created.  Duration of and placement for a child’s specific services must also be addressed.  All involved in the plan contribute a great deal of information to an IEP meeting. 

As meetings can be long, parents should be prepared to spend half a morning, or afternoon depending on when they are scheduled, in discussion.  Some parents will bring snacks when an IEP is scheduled.  Others don’t as they keep a more managerial-style approach to the table.  They instead stay focused on the business at hand.  They see themselves as lead manager of their child’s education collaborating with school experts to create an appropriate educational plan designed to carry their child through their academic career.  Knowing what to bring to a meeting, how to present oneself and how and why parents should document everything that is shared with them, will take practice.  So will knowing the key points frequently discussed at IEP meetings.  Those include: 

-That the child is eligible to receive special education and related services

-That FAPE must be provided

-That accessing the General Education has been considered

-That the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) has been taken into account

-That potential accommodation and modifications are reviewed

-That appropriate placement—either through the public school or in a private school setting--is discussed

-That goals are always measurable, objective (not subjective) and use the child’s strengths to improve their weaknesses

-That inclusion, whenever possible (and not just during specials or recess), is the an option so that every special education student can be educated alongside their typical peers

Throughout the process, as daunting as it might feel, parents will be asked for their input.  From identifying the initial concerns to getting services started, and in the future changed as a child reaches their goals, parents will also be asked to give their consent.  So that a parent can be fully informed, requesting documents the school will share at meetings is important to get prior to the meeting.  Reviewing helpful websites, reading current trends in special education law and asking question until all are answered to the parent’s desire can help one successfully navigate through the system. 

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Because of the information a parent has to consider, learning the basics, and also the intricacies of the IEP process, is important.  Parents can become experts for their child when they understand what is being planned, said and proposed for their child.  Susan was quickly learning in these first two meetings that she needed to know a lot more than she expected. 

Despite some of the unknowns, Susan was pleased with initial outcome of her first step into the special education world.  Surprised at how much goes into the meeting, Susan knew she’d be devoting time to become more familiar with the IEP process.  She also made a note that she had to learn the language better (like common IEP lingo such as 504 Plan, LEA, OT, SLP, PT, Gatekeeper, Gen Ed, Spec Ed, DD, MR, AU, PWN, IDEA, group setting, 1:1; objective, subjective; measurable).  She knew that would only benefit her when the team reconvened. 

By the end of the meeting, Anna’s team created goals in the areas that she struggled:  academic (to include math and reading), social and also speech and OT, which were part of related services.  They had reviewed Anna’s Present Level of Performance (PLOP), considered her strengths while accounting for her weaknesses and made sure each goal was objective as well as having measureable benchmarks.  They’d also decided where Anna would receive those services, for how long and who would be providing them. 

Also reviewed was how Susan and her husband would be notified of Anna’s progress.  Since Anna wasn’t capable of writing yet, Susan requested a communication log be used to track Anna’s daily activities.  They would record Anna’s behavior, when she had therapy and how her day went overall.  Since Anna couldn’t write yet and had already become withdrawn not wanting to share any of her school day news, Susan appreciated having access to how her daughter’s day was. 

Susan was astounded at all that went into this meeting and at how many documents and forms it took to track everything discussed.  Once the IEP meeting was over and the forms signed stating that Susan was in agreement with the district to implement the services, Anna would began working on the goals the team created. 

With that meeting done, Susan took time to go back and read more about the special education process and to familiarize herself with her district’s program.  In her search to know more about the program, Susan found a mentor through the special education parent advisory panel.  She set up a meeting with the mentor having a full list of questions to ask her. 

Susan was happy to find another parent who was a few steps ahead of her in the special education process.  The mentor walked her through what future meetings might be like, including the triennial meeting and a transitional meeting, which would occur when Anna heading to middle school.  Susan discovered that a meeting can be called at any time—by the school or by the parents, and can even be called and scheduled during the summer. 

Before Susan left, the mentor loaned Susan some books, promised to add her to the groups’ email list and said she’d be happy to sit with her at any IEP meetings that Susan’s husband wasn’t able to attend.  Susan knew other parents didn’t have as easy an experience as she did in getting Anna’s IEP started.  She was going to do what she could to keep the lines of communication open with the school, and not just with Miss Taylor, who she saw every day in the car pool line, but with the other members of the team she might only see at IEP meetings. 

Armed with more information, and while getting a better understanding of how the system worked, Susan knew it was still going to take effort to keep up with Anna’s needs.  She knew it would take time to get used to the changes, but was at the same time grateful that in identifying Anna’s delays, a team of people were readily able to address them.  With time, through her own research and by communicating with the team, Susan felt confident that she would be the captain of Anna’s IEP team.  That, and keeping positive, was what Anna needed Susan to be. 

Helpful Links

NCLD http://ncld.org/  

NYCHY http://nichcy.org/

IDEA  http://idea.ed.gov/

Wrightslaw.com http://www.wrightslaw.com

When it Takes More than a Team: when a parent has to navigate through the nitty gritty

What if, after following the many steps to create an IEP, your child fails to make progress?  Or, your school district hasn’t followed the procedural guidelines?  Or, an evaluation the district conducted is inaccurate or was not done by a highly qualified person?  Or, the therapy promised in the IEP hasn’t been delivered? 

Not every IEP meeting experience is going to have a happy ending.  Nor will every child’s school experience be a positive one.

What’s a parent to do? 

Depending upon which issue they’ve run into, parents have several options. 

-For the issues that might be more manageable but require a more-adept person to guide them through the myriad of paperwork, a parent might benefit from hiring an advocate.  Look to your local special education support group or special education advisory committee for your district for recommendations. 

-If it’s a procedural safeguard that’s been violated, a parent could be well within their rights to file a complaint at the state level.  Specific steps and documentation is necessary for this step, so review your state’s guidelines on how to do this.

-If it’s a testing issue that contributed to your child not getting the services they need, asking for an IEE (Individual Education Evaluation), funded of course at district’s expense, could help resolve this. 

-Or, if the problem is so great and the parent has already followed every step and gotten nowhere for too long trying to resolve the issue, filing due process is an option.  This is one of the most costly—both in time, money and emotions—but, parents have been successful in taking their concerns to the courts in order to get their child the appropriate education they deserve.

A parent’s role is as important as every person around the IEP team table.  In fact, it’s the most important as a parent knows their child better than anyone else.  Parents, once they recognize their child needs more support, need to get familiar with the law because it’s on their side.  A child can get educational and related services support at no cost when parents are the captain of the IEP team and know their role.  Know the law, the procedure and the safeguards, speak up, sign documents only when you are in full agreement, keep communication lines open, continue to research, don’t be afraid to ask questions and always keep your child’s strengths and abilities in the forefront of your mind. 

Your Special Education Rights: What Your District Isn't Telling You.

By Jennifer Laviano and Julie Swanson

The definitive guide for parents of children with disabilities is out.
This book is authored by two special education experts and draws on decades of experience from the front lines of special education advocacy.

The authors, Jennifer Laviano and Julie Swanson, detail a strong, practical, and results oriented perspective that helps parents cut through the fog of special education to get the services their children deserve.

"Our bottom line is parents are often ineffective at advocating for their child because they don't know their rights," said Jennifer Laviano, co-author and special education attorney. "We see it time and again: The child doesn't get what he or she needs because the parents don't know what they don't know.