Commensurate School Day

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Commensurate School Day
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34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 300.17
Free Appropriate Public Education

• FAPE means special education and related services
  that
• Are provided at public expense, under public
  supervision and direction, and without charge
• Meet the standards of the SEA, including the
  requirements of this part
• Include an appropriate preschool, elementary
  school, or secondary school education in the
  State involved and
• Are provided in conformity with an IEP that meets
  the requirements of 300.320-300.324.

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• Commensurate school day is directly linked to the
  goals of enabling students with disabilities to
  have access to and make progress in the general
  curriculum.

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Texas Education Code (TEC) 25.082

• (a) A school day shall be at least seven hours
  each day, including intermissions and recesses.

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19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) 89.1075

• (d) Students with disabilities shall have
  available an instructional day commensurate with
  that of students without disabilities. The ARD
  committee shall determine the appropriate
  instructional setting and length of day for each
  student, and these shall be specified in the
  students IEP.

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Not a new concept--

• Letter to Laffrenzen (OSEP 1988) We
  conclude that,
• generally, students with handicaps must have the
  same length of school day that the SEA has
  established for children without handicaps.
• however, this standard has significant
  implications for RF students in the context of
  equal access to educational programs and services.

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• Loss of instructional time denies student equal
  access

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• LEAs are required to implement the commensurate
  school day standard every day to ensure that RF
  students have at least the same instructional
  school day as their nondisabled, non-RF peers.

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• Under certain circumstances, students with
  disabilities might require even more
  instructional time than that allotted for the
  traditional school day or year. These decisions
  must also be based on individualized
  justifications.

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• Local education agencies must begin with the
  premise that RF students will receive the same
  instructional time as their nondisabled, non-RF
  peers.

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General Standard

• The same
• but never less without appropriate,
  individualized justification and documentation.

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What determines a commensurate school day?
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• Must look at what constitutes the instructional
  day for students without disabilities of the same
  enrolled grade level and/or the same
  chronological age
• Not merely the same number of minutes

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• What opportunities does the student without
  disabilities have during the day that the RF
  student will miss if not there the same amount of
  time, the same hours, etc?

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• The length of a students school day must be
  determined by the ARD committee solely based on
  the educational needs of the individual student.

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• Only in unique circumstances do LEAs develop IEPs
  that require less than a commensurate school day.
• Less than a commensurate school day would be the
  exception---not the rule.

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• Any deviation from the length of the traditional
  school day must be accompanied by individualized,
  appropriate justification and documentation.
• The less closely aligned an IEP is with standard
  instructional services for nondisabled students,
  the more individualized justification and
  documentation is needed.

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• Any decision to shorten a school day must be
  evidence-based and individualized.
• Specific, detailed information describing
  circumstances that preclude the students
  participation in a complete school day

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• Additionally, the ARD committee must revisit the
  issue of commensurate school day as the students
  medical and/or therapeutic issues change.

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• No one-size-
• fits-all decision-making regarding RF students.

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IMPORTANT!!!

• When developing an agreement with an RF, the LEA
  needs to work with the RF to address and
  eliminate, to the extent possible, any
  situations/circumstances that would impact the
  LEAs ability to provide a free appropriate
  public education (FAPE) to RF students.

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Shortened school days are not justified based on

• The students placement in an RF (i.e., no
  blanket justification used for RF all students)
• The RFs schedule and services
• Transportation schedules

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Shortened school days are not justified based on
(continued)

• Administrative or staffing needs at the RF or the
  LEA
• Behavior management practices at the RF
• Any LEA policies or procedures in place that
  apply only to RF students

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• Questions
• rfmon_at_tea.state.tx.us
• Fax[phone]

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• Future TETN RF Trainings
• None scheduled for July
• Will begin again in August.
• Dates and topics to be determined soon.