NLDline
The Special Ed Advocate
The Special Ed Advocate:
The Online Newsletter about Special Education and the Law
April 21, 1998 Vol. 1, No. 1
The Special Ed Advocate is
our free online newsletter about special
education legal issues, cases, tactics and strategy, educational
methods
that work, and Internet links.
We publish this newsletter occasionally, when time permits. Back issues
of
The Special Ed Advocate are archived at our web site -
http://www.wrightslaw.com
As a subscriber to The Special Ed Advocate, you will receive
announcements
and "alerts" about new cases and other events. Contact,
copyright, and
subscription information can be found at the end of this newsletter.
HIGHLIGHTS OF IDEA-97
IDEA-97 is a "wake up call" to public school
administrators—improve special
education outcomes now! Special education will be "a service for
children,
not a place where they are sent." Here are some highlights of IDEA
97 -
* Schools Must Use Effective Practices and
Research Based Methods
* Schools Must Use Effective Early Intervention
Techniques
* To Improve Special Ed Outcomes, IDEA 97
Strengthens the Role of
Parents and Educators
* IEPs Must Have "Measurable Annual
Goals" to Monitor the Child’s
Progress
* Parents Must Be Included in All Decisions
About Evaluations,
Eligibility, IEPs, Placement
* Parents’ Concerns and Information Must
be Considered in Developing
IEPs
* Parents Must Be Advised About Child’s
Progress or Lack of Progress
Toward IEP Goals
* Regular Education Teachers Are Members of the
IEP Team
* Children with Disabilities Will Be Integrated
into Regular Education
Classes, Learn General Curriculum
IEPs and the NEW Proposed Appendix
C
Appendix C is a great tool for parents and educators. The U. S.
Department
of Education has published the new proposed Appendix C. The new
proposed
Appendix C includes 32 Questions and Answers about IEPs. You can read
the
full text of the NEW proposed Appendix C at our site. This is a
"must read"
article for all parents and educators who attend IEP meetings. The new
regulations about IEPs become effective July 1, 1998.
In the past, special education efforts and IEPs have often focused on
"school issues" - teaching children to follow school rules
and what is
expected of them as students. Is this the purpose of special education?
Not
according to IDEA 97.
Special education should teach children to read, write, spell, and do
arithmetic. Children need these skills to succeed later - in work,
school,
and independent living. IDEA 97 emphasizes the importance of
comprehensive
transition services in IEPs to prepare children for life after school.
To find out what the regulations propose about IEPs, read "IEPs
and the NEW
Appendix C." Read these proposed regs, highlighter in hand, and
become a
real expert on special education law!
What Are Measurable Annual Goals and Measurable Short-Term Objectives?
IEP Goals must relate to the child’s disability - and they must be
MEASURABLE. The new law mandates "measurable annual goals,
including
benchmarks or short term objectives." In addition to MEASURABLE
goals, the
IEP must include MEASURABLE intermediate steps (short-term objectives)
or
major milestones (benchmarks) so that parents and educators can measure
the
child’s progress during the year. The child’s IEP should be
reviewed and
revised whenever necessary during the year. (Question 1 in IEPs and
Appendix
C)
The new law gives power to parents. What happens if the parents and
school
disagree about some portion of the child’s IEP? "The IEP
meeting serves as a
communication vehicle between parents and school personnel, and enables
them, as equal participants, to make joint, informed decisions"
about the
child’s needs, appropriate goals and objectives, the extent to
which the
child will be mainstreamed, and the services the child will receive.
"Parents are to be equal partners with school personnel" in
all decisions
about testing, IEP goals and objectives, placement, assessment, and
needed
services. The IEP team must consider the parents’ concerns and
information
about the child in developing and reviewing IEPs (See Question 9 in
"IEPs
and Appendix C")
Who should attend IEP meetings?
Feeling overwhelmed or intimidated by the number of school staff at the
IEP
meeting? Take heart. The new law says that IEP team should only include
"individuals who have knowledge or special expertise about the
child." (This
is a change from prior law.) "Attendance at IEP meetings should be
limited
to those who have an intense interest in the child." (See Question
26 in
IEPs and Appendix C)
How often should IEP meetings be held?
Do you have concerns that your child is not making good progress in
special
ed? The school should convene a meeting and revise the IEP to address
your
concerns about "Any lack of expected progress toward the annual
goals and in
the general curriculum." The school should revise the IEP when
there is new
information about the child - from new testing or from the child’s
parents
or teachers. There should be as many IEP meetings as any one child
needs.
(See Question 20 in IEPs and Appendix C)
To get a copy of IEPs and the NEW Appendix C, go to -
http://www.wrightlaw.com/new_appendix_c.html
TWO NEW CASES ABOUT DAMAGES -
DIFFERENT OUTCOMES
Law changes and evolves. Different courts will interpret a statute - or
the
same words in a statute - differently. These differing interpretations
cause
the body of law to grow from statutes and regulations to case law.
On April 3, a jury awarded $600,000 to the parents of a handicapped
child in
Whitehead v. Hillsborough.
http://www.wrightslaw.com/whitehead.html
On April 13, the Fourth Circuit held that damages were not available in
the
case of an 18 year old boy who did not receive special education
services
until late high school. See Sellers v. Manassas.
http://www.wrightslaw.com/sellers_manassas.html
Two damages cases - different outcomes. To learn why, read these new
cases
in The Law Library.
HOT LINKS!
LD Online - An Award Winning Site! LD Online is a great source for
information about the needs of children with disabilities.
IDEA 97 focuses on using "what works" - effective educational
practices that
are replicable and research based. To provide parents and educators
with
up-to-date information about "what works," LD Online is
hosting an "Ask the
Expert Panel" from April 11 through April 24, 1998. To read the
postings, go
to the bulletin board section.
At the LD Online site, you will find information about—
ADD/ADHD
Technology
Family Issues
Gifted/LD
IEPs
Assessment
Legal Issues
Social Skills
Transition
Reading
Math Skills
Writing
Processing Deficits
Teaching Techniques
More
Links: IEPs and IEP Meetings
Check out the excellent article "Writing Individualized Education
Programs
for Success" by Dr. Barbara Bateman. Dr. Bateman wrote
"Better IEPs." (LD
Online site, "LD In-Depth," Section About IEPs)
We have written two articles about IEPs. Read both. We believe that if
parents want to participate in IEP meetings and assume a rule in the
draftsmanship of the IEP, they must understand educational progress -
how to
measure success or failure. Educational benefit is best measured
independently and objectively, by disinterested observers who do not
have an
interest in the outcome of the test data. That is the theme of our
articles,
"Your Child’s IEP: Practical and Legal Guidance for
Parents" and
"Understanding Tests and Measurements." Both are available at
our website.
Effective
IEP Teams
Read "Seven Habits of Highly Effective IEP Teams" by Eileen
Hammar and Anne
Malatchi. (at LD Online site, LD In-Depth Section on IEPs) With thanks
to
Stephen Covey, this article focuses on an active, organized approach to
IEP
meetings:
Rule 1: Be Proactive. "Taking initiative
does not mean being pushy,
obnoxious, or aggressive. It does mean
recognizing our responsibility to
make things happen."
Rule 2: Begin with the End in Mind. The IEP
team must know the child and
envision the future. What are this child’s
strengths? Weaknesses? Goals?
Needs? The IEP team should focus on the big
picture - being successful
in "life after school" - then decide
how to get from the present to the
future.
Rule 3: Put First Things First—Prioritize.
Understand what needs to be
accomplished, focus on what, not how; results
not methods. Spend time.
Be patient. Visualize the desired result.
Rule 4: Think Win- Win. Effective IEP teams
look for real solutions to
problems. When school personnel draw lines in
the sand or refuse to
provide necessary services, they damage the
relationship between parents
and school. In "Win-Win" solutions,
there is awareness of the importance
of mutual benefit.
Rule 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be
Understood. Most people
want to be understood - this means we
don’t listen to understand. We are
either speaking or preparing to speak. Learn
how to listen.
Rule 6: Synergy. Good IEPs are developed by
effective
parent-child-school teams Effective teams work
together, understanding
that parents and educators are necessary to
educate children.
Rule 7: Sharpen the Saw. "This is the
habit of continuous improvement
that lifts you to new levels of understanding .
. ."
More About
IDEA 97 -
For more about the changes in IDEA 97, including the stronger parental
role
and the need for accountability, read "Believing in Children - A
great IDEA
for the future" by Judy Heumann and Tom Hehir at the Department of
Education
web site.
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/IDEA/article2.html
We close
our first issue of The Special Ed Advocate with a story.
Many of our readers are long-time advocates for children with special
needs.
You may remember that the special ed law was stuck in Congress for more
than
two years as competing interest groups (school administrators v.
parents and
disabilities advocates) fought about changes to the law.
Suddenly, on May 14, 1997, the logjam broke. The Senate passed the new
IDEA
by an astounding vote of 98-1!
Why? What happened? Why do Senators refer to IDEA-97 as
"Gregory’s Law?"
Read "How One Boy Moved Congress" at the Department of
Education web site.
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/IDEA/article1.html
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Copyright 1998 Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr
Wright. All rights
reserved. The resources at this site are copyrighted by the authors
and/or
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Pete and Pam Wright
P O Box 1008
Deltaville, VA 23043
Email: pwright@wrightslaw.com
http://www.wrightslaw.com