Legal Rights of Children with Disabilities Special Education

1
Legal Rights ofChildren with Disabilities

• Special Education
• Early Intervention Services

2
(No Transcript)
3
Special Education

• Federal and state laws provide certain services,
  free of charge, to preschool and school-age
  children with disabilities
• Ages 3 21
• Coordinated through Exceptional Childrens
  Division in each public school district
• Durham 919-560-3774
• Begins with free, multidisciplinary evaluation
  within 90 days of referral
• Eligible children qualify for an IEP
  Individualized Education Program

4
Special Education

• Eligibility
• Child must have a disability that interferes with
  educational progress
• As a result of the disability, the child must
  need special education (i.e., specialized
  instruction and related services)
• Disability must fit in one of the 13 eligibility
  categories

5
Special Education Categories

• Autistic
• Seriously emotionally disabled
• Deaf-Blind
• Hearing impaired
• Multi-handicapped
• Intellectually disabled
• Orthopedically impaired
• Developmentally delayed (up to age 8)

• Other health impaired (includes ADHD)
• Specific learning disabled (includes dyslexia)
• Speech/language disabled
• Traumatic brain injured
• Visually Impaired

6
Other health impaired

• A disability category that includes any
• Chronic or acute health problem that
• Results in limited strength, vitality, or
  alertness OR a heightened alertness to
  environmental stimuli, and
• Adversely affects a childs educational
  performance
• Examples attention deficit hyperactivity
  disorder, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart
  condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia,
  nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia,
  Tourette syndrome
• A medical evaluation is needed for determination
  of eligibility for this category

7
The Basic Promise

• All children with disabilities are entitled to --
  
• A free, appropriate, public education
• In the least restrictive environment
• Pursuant to an Individualized Education Program
  (IEP)

8
What is a FAPE?

• A free, appropriate public education is
• Special education (i.e., specially designed
  instruction to meet the unique needs of the
  child) and
• related services (such as transportation and
  specialized therapies)
• that allow the child to make reasonable
  educational progress
• -- in academics, socialization, adaptive
  skills, language and communication, and
  behavior

9
What is the least restrictive environment?

• The LRE is the setting in which children with
  disabilities may be educated with typical
  children to the maximum extent possible

10
What is an IEP?

• IEP is blueprint for the childs special
  education
• Contains annual goals
• Specifies how much/what kind of special education
  student will get
• Specifies the setting in which the services will
  be delivered
• Specifies accommodations
• IEP must be written by a team of persons
  knowledgeable about the child and the childs
  needs, including parents
• IEP must be revised at least once a year

11
The Special Education Process

• Child must be referred to be evaluated for
  possible special education services
• Referral in writing, dated, addressed to
  principal, state reason for referral in terms of
  lack of educational performance
• Child can be referred by the parent or an
  educator
• If a medical provider sends a letter of concern,
  the school district has 30 days to decide whether
  to move forward with a referral
• The parents must agree for the evaluation to
  proceed

12
The Special Education Process

• Initial evaluation is usually conducted by a
  school psychologist
• Parent may wish to submit information from
  treating physician to supplement evaluation
• IEP Team -- parent relevant school personnel
  make decisions about eligibility and childs
  individualized education program

13
Special Education Process

• Parents have the right to challenge decisions of
  the IEP team
• Eligibility
• Amount duration of services
• Placement in LRE
• Discipline
• Legal team can represent parents in IEP disputes

14
Case examples

• Jeremy age 9 fourth grade
• average intelligence
• Aspergers syndrome
• regular behavioral problems meltdowns
• Can function in a regular classroom with an aide
  available to interpret for him, calm him
• New classroom no aide
• He spirals down, both behavior and academic
  performance worsen
• Jeremy has a legal problem he is not getting
  appropriate services in school that allow him to
  make educational progress. Advocacy can help him
  get the classroom aide that will allow him to
  make progress.

15
Case examples

• Denise, age 13,
• severely visually impaired
• secondary to albinism
• Been in special ed since kindergarten
• Academic level is 1st-2nd grade level, and has
  been for the last several years she can barely
  read or do even elementary math
• Denise has a legal problem. She needs new
  evaluations to determine why she isnt learning,
  and specialized services to allow her to make
  reasonable academic progress

16
Whats a 504 Plan?

• A plan for students with disabilities that dont
  qualify for special education
• Child doesnt need specialized instruction
• Child does need accommodations in regular
  classroom and for testing, such as --
• Preferential seating
• Testing in separate room
• Accommodations for physical disabilities

17
504 Plans

• Based on federal anti-discrimination law
• Guarantees students full access to the
  educational facilities and programs
• Tend to be less formal and less structured than
  IEPs

18
Special Education Screening Questions

• Watch for children with
• Autism, ADHD, mental retardation, learning
  disabilities, depression, bi-polar disorder,
  communication difficulties, other disabilities
• ASK
• Is your child making good progress in school and
  passing End-of-Grade tests?
• Does your child have an IEP or 504 Plan?
• Have you had any trouble getting your child
  appropriate services in school?
• Does your child have any behavior problems at
  school?

19
Referral to legal team

• Child with disability has not been evaluated for
  special education (note especially pre-school
  children, ages 3-5)
• Childs parent expresses concerns about
• Lack of educational progress
• Lack of, or inappropriate, special education
  services
• Frequent suspensions from school

20
Referral to legal team

• Lawyers can --
• Provide advice
• Negotiate with school personnel
• Accompany parents to IEP meetings
• Represent parents in dispute resolution forums
• Mediation
• Administrative hearings
• Can achieve goals such as
• different classroom placement
• behavior intervention services
• additional OT, Speech services, PT
• reversal of suspensions
• specialized reading instruction
• modification of testing setting

21
Early intervention services

• Federal and state laws provide certain services,
  free of charge, to infants and toddlers with
  disabilities
• Birth to age 3
• Begins with free, multidisciplinary evaluation
  within 45 days of referral
• Coordinated through Childrens Developmental
  Services Agency
• 919-560-5600 in Durham
• Eligible children qualify for an IFSP
  Individualized Family Service Plan
• Child Service Coordinator will help family access
  array of services (which may involve fees)

22
Early intervention services

• Eligibility
• Developmental delay
• Cognitive development
• Physical development
• Communication development
• Social-emotional development
• Adaptive development
• 2.0 standard deviations below the mean on one or
  1.5 SD below on two or
• 30 delay on one, or 25 delay on two (when
  scores are in months)

23
Early intervention services

• Eligibility
• Established Conditions
• Congenital anomaly (fragile X, Down syndrome,
  fetal alcohol syndrome)
• Congenital infections
• Autism
• Attachment disorder
• Hearing loss (permanent)
• Visual impairment (not correctable)
• Neurologic disease (Spina Bifida, CP, epilepsy,
  Microcephaly)
• Neonatal conditions

24
Early intervention services

• Legal problems are rare
• Parents have right to challenge decision
  regarding timely evaluation, eligibility, or
  services offered through the IFSP
• Parents can be assisted by lawyer in mediation or
  administrative hearing process to challenge
  decisions

25
Early intervention services

• Screening questions
• For parents of child with developmental delay or
  one of established conditions
• Have you been to Childrens Developmental
  Services Agency (CDSA)? (115 Market St. downtown
  Durham)
• Do you have an Individualized Family
• Service Plan (IFSP)?
• Is your child getting services (therapies,
  assistive technologies, audiology, family
  training, social work, etc.)
• If answers suggest problems, refer to legal team

26
Referral to legal team

• Fill out referral form
• http//law.duke.edu/partnershipforchildren/referra
  ls.php
• Fax to Duke Clinic