Behavior Analyst Certification

Something recentlly was brought to my attention regarding confusion with the titles of ABA therapist, Behavior Specialist and Behavior Consultant. I came across people who honestly thought that ALL ABA therapists,Behavior Specialists and behavior consultants are fully trained Behavior Analysts. So,I feel that I need to strongly clarify.

Just an FYI- the Behavior Analyst Certification Board www.bacb.com is the professional Applied Behavior Analysis organization that governs the Behavior Anayst credential.

If you are in need of a behavior related professional who has truly gone through the required Behavior Analyst ABA graduate level curriculum, ABA work supervision experience and has passed a rigorous ABA Board exam then you should hire a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. ( BCBA )

If one calls themselves an ABA therapist or Behavior Specialist or Behavior Consultant- this does NOT mean that they are Board Certified Behavior Analysts. Nor can ABA therapists , Behavior Specialists or any other behavior related titles who have NOT earned the credential can call themselves “Behavior Analysts”. This is so because the Behavior Analyst Certification Board can only legally approve the Behavior Analyst trademark professional title.

So while shopping for ABA advisement, ASK those you are interested in- are you a Board Certified Behavior Analyst?

If they say YES- then ask them for verifiable proof of their Board Certified Behavior Analyst certificate and professional ID # assigned by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.

So it is highly recommended that if you employ someone in the field of behavior, check out their credentials fully. Just because they call themselves an ABA therapist or behavior specialist or behavior consultant, it does NOT mean that they have earned the professional credential of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

I've had it happen to me and I know that there are lots of others that can say it happened to them.

Reading - A National Crisis

More American children suffer long-term life-harm as a consequence of reading difficulties than from parental abuse(1), accidents, and all other childhood diseases and disorders combined. In purely economic terms, reading related difficulties cost more than the war on terrorism, crime, and drugs combined.

We need to reframe our society's thinking about what's at stake and what's involved in learning to read.

www.childrenofthecode.org/Tour/c1/index.htm

13 videos segments outlining the dimensions of the reading crisis and its individual and collective costs.

Justice O’Connor on IEE's

This is from Justice O’Connor’s decision in Schaeffer v Weast. I’m not an attorney, but I think that a Supreme Court interpretation is peremptory. I think the right to an IEE was an important consideration and one reason why they ruled the way they did. If this right doesn’t exist, one has to wonder if they would have ruled differently.

“They also have the right to an "independent educational evaluation of the[ir] child." Ibid. The regulations clarify this entitlement by providing that a "parent has the right to an independent educational evaluation at public expense if the parent disagrees with an evaluation obtained by the public agency." 34 CFR §300.502(b)(1) (2005). IDEA thus ensures parents access to an expert who can evaluate all the materials that the school must make available, and who can give an independent opinion. They are not left to challenge the government without a realistic opportunity to access the necessary evidence, or without an expert with the firepower to match the opposition.”

Other Health Impaired (OHI)

Not all disabilities fit so easily into a category. Congress has provided a catch all category, covering a number of disabilities and problems, including but not limited to ADD/ADHD, diabetes, epilepsy, acute or chronic health problems. In specific terms, the “other health impaired” category includes health or psychological disorders which are characterized by:

“Limited strength, vitality or alertness, including heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment – that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.” 34 C.F.R. § 300.7 (c)(9)(i-ii)

For years schools insisted upon attempting to serve children in the “other health impaired” category with 504 plans. Now it is clear that a child in this category may have the right to an IEP under IDEA, if the disabling disorder as a significant impact on the student’s education.

Too often schools will argue that a child in the OHI category does not qualify for an IEP, where the student makes passing grades. They make this argument because they incorrectly equate “education,” with “academic” performance. Very often children in the OHI category are very intelligent and may demonstrate at least “passing” academic success. At the same time a child with an OHI disorder may have significant social, emotional or behavioral issues. Failure to make adequate progress in these areas will qualify a student for services, even if the child is passing from grade to grade.

Note: The child must by reason of his disability require special education.

Behavior Observation Forms

Wonderful example of Behavior Observation Forms (at bottom of page on this link):

http://www.polyxo.com/documents/#task-specific

Good tools to use in our quest to hold staff accountable for their actions precipitating behavioral issues, so as to more closely identify the antecedents.

Secretary Duncan Asks Schools for Seclusion/Restraint Policies

Duncan asks for states' policies on student seclusion, restraint
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sent a letter to state education leaders requesting each state's policy on the restraint and seclusion of students. The request comes after release of a government report that revealed allegedly abusive or deadly uses of the tactics, almost all involving children with disabilities. Duncan told Congress in May he would ensure that all states have policies regarding the practices before the school year begins.

http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/090731.html

Getting Your Records In Order

It's critical to keep organized files and/or a notebook about your child's school experiences. Use this checklist as a way to organize your child's school paperwork for important meetings with teachers, counselors, specialists, or administrators.

Once completed, attach this document to the front of your folder or notebook, for quick scanning before meetings. Hint: It can be helpful to keep records in chronological order.


Download your FREE copy of the Records Checklist (PDF) today!

New OSEP Guidance: Discipline for SpEd Students

This kind of got lost in the buzz over the new Supreme Court decision, but the federal Office of Special Education Programs recently published new guidance concerning discipline of students with disabilities. Discipline has always been an important area and it was one of the key reasons that the federal special ed law was created in the first place. Expulsion and long term suspensions were among the mechanisms used to prevent children with disabilities from attending public school. As a result, the predecessor of IDEA contained specific protections against disciplinary changes of placement for special ed students. The discipline rules have become fairly complex.

The new OSEP guidance includes OSEP's take on whether disciplinary rules apply when the parent revokes consent for services that had been being received; that home instruction cannot be the sole IAES option; and clarification regarding the behavior requirements. You can review the new policy guidance here. http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/%2Croot%2Cdynamic%2CQaCorner%2C7%2C

IEP= I EXPECT PROGRESS

IEP + I Expect Progress
Monthly Action Plan for Parents

Accountability of your child's IEP is a MUST!

Dear Parent,
You have multiple responsibilities running a family with special needs and keeping up with special education is a key to success that is often overlooked. Spending just 30 minutes per month will help you stay actively involved in your child's education. Here's the best part, you don't have to remember what to do each month and question if your doing enough. Through this new special education help program, I will call you. Every month we will work through next steps in your child's education.Together we will review goals and develop simple, effective "to do" tasks to keep you involved and confident in your child's education. I look forward to becoming part of your child's team and helping you lead the team towards goal achievement.

Study: Bullying more likely for children with mental-health disorders

First-graders with depression or anxiety are more likely to be regularly bullied by the time they reach the third grade, according to a Canadian study. Physically aggressive first-graders were found likely to become anxious or depressed by the third grade and also be bullied, researchers found. "Children's early mental-health problems can set the stage for abuse by their peers," said lead researcher Bonnie Leadbeater, a psychology professor at the University of Victoria, located in British Columbia. "Treating children's mental-health problems may go a long way toward reducing bullying." ScienceDaily (5/18)

What is an advocate anyway?

Today a parent that our group is advocating for was asked by an administrator why she needed an advocate. At first I was irritated that this principal with unlimited financial resources at taxpayer expense could ask such a demeaning question. Then I started thinking that it is probable that perhaps educators have no idea the stress that parents have when walking into a room of 4-10 or more professionals, how it feels to be told information about your child and not have your voice heard, or perhaps afraid to voice concern due to fears that they might say the wrong thing. It is incredibly scary knowing that your child needs help and being told that if he would just wear his glasses or , pay attention more, or try a little harder. Often time’s parents are told these things and know in their hearts that it is incorrect, that it is something else, someone or something else is to blame. That’s where an advocate’s services comes in handy.
Advocacy means supporting a person with a disability, learning disability or other type of disorder by helping him/her get the supports and services he needs from a school district, medical provider, therapy provider, college or vocational school, or other service agency.
An advocate can help by asking questions, taking notes, helping to formulate a plan, assist with obtaining services or doing as I so often do-listening and being supportive. Just knowing that someone else understands is an amazing fear buster.
I often wonder what my purpose in the life is. I feel strongly that God brought me down this bumpy road for a reason and that if I need to help others get down the road, then that’s my passion. All children have special needs. Some need a little more, a little different, something unique. That’s my job as an advocate making sure that they get what they need and deserve to be productive and independent citizens. As long as there is one child that I can make a difference with, then that’s what I am charged with doing-advocating on their behalf.

Letter Writing Samples

This is a great letter writing site with a good deal of samples that can assist with your advocacy efforts.
http://www.autismresourceconnection.com/letterwriting.aspx

IEP Team Maneuvers: Avoid Becoming Intimidated

1. "That's against school district policy."
2. "We do not have anyone on staff trained to provide that service."
3. "We are not obligated to discuss teaching methodologies at IEP meetings, nor willwe stipulate them in lEPs."
4. "We will not provide your child with in-class support because he will become dependent."
5. "We do not offer in-class support in 'honors' classes. If she requires in-class support, she does notbelong there."
6. "We cannot provide ESY services for your child because he is too high-functioning for ourin-district ESY program."
7. "Only children who are severely mentally retarded or profoundly autistic are eligible for ESY services."
8. "Your child is ineligible to receive ESY services based upon the regression/recoupme
8. "Your chi9. "Your child has made SO much progress that he/she will not require ________ next year."
10. "We are not authorized to make that decision. We'll have to adjourn this meeting until wecan confer with the Director of Special Services."
11. "We cannot provide those services under Section 504."
12. "Have you considered increasing the dosage on his medication? Maybe he'd do better on Concerta."
13. "Your child's behavior/learning issues/ social issues are occurring as a result of - your divorce, the factthat both parents are working outside of the home, cultural differences or something else that the familyis or is not doing at home."
14. "If you disagree with our proposal, go to due process."
15. "We are not obligated to create academic goals and objectives for your child because he isincluded in general education classes for those periods."
16. "Your child has not acquired the prerequisite skills necessary to be included in thegeneral education classroom."17. "Holding the Eligibility Determination/
17. "Holding the Eligibility Determination/IEPexpedite the process."
18. "Your child would do so much better if he'd just — pay attention, follow directions, cooperate more, tryharder, hand in his homework on time, have a more positive attitude & stop being so lazy."
19. "This is the ONLY placement option for your child."
20. "Sending your child to an out-of-district special education school, places him in a morerestrictive environment.r
21. "Your child isn't failing, so what are you complaining about?"
22. "We couldn't possibly provide such an expensive service."
23. "You're not allowed to audio-record IEP meetings."
24. "The Team is too busy; call us back in a month or so to schedule an IEP meeting. We'lladdress your concerns at that time."
25. "That does not need to be stipulated in the IEP because we do it automatically.
26. "You'll just have to wait until we hire a new Speech Therapist."
27. "Prior Written Notice? What does that mean?"
28. "We cannot allow you to observe the proposed placement options due to confidentiality issues."
29. "There's no need to have an FBA conducted. I can create a sticker chart."
30. "If you are unable to attend on the date listed on the meeting notice, we will hold the IEP meetingwithout you."
31. "Medical issues are not educationally relevant."
32. "Your child's behaviors are not a manifestation of his disability because he is classified under the SLDcategory."
33. "If she's finding the homework to be too challenging, just tell her that she's no longer required to doit."
34. "You must choose from OUR list of independent evaluators."
35. "There is nothing we can do about his social issues during lunch & recess."
36. "We only offer social skills groups one period per month - we couldn't possibly provide moreservices for your son."
37. "Due to the high property taxes in our district, we can no longer place students in out-of-districtprograms."
38. "If you're going to audio-record this meeting, we're going to have to adjourn until our attorney can bepresent."
39. "You are required to notify us in advance of all parties you intend to bring to your IEP meeting."
40. "This is the only date we are available to meet. If it doesn't fit into your schedule, you'll have to waituntil next month for another meeting."
41. "We do not have to write goals and objectives for your child's counseling or social skillssessions."
42. "Your child was placed in our Life Skills program because he is autistic. That's where all of theautistic children his age are placed."
43. "Your child can no longer receive pull-out replacement services because our district haschanged to an in-class support model."
44. "We don't have time to hold a meeting. I'll just send you the IEP in the mail for your signature."
45. "You cannot leave the meeting until you've signed all the paperwork."
46. "We will not grant your request for independent evaluations.
47. "Your child cannot participate in the field trip unless you accompany him."
48. "Don't worry; you'll get copies of the evaluation reports at the meeting."
49. "If we reevaluate your child he may no longer qualify for services. Isn't it better to just leave wellenough alone?"
50. "We met beforehand and decided that he no longer requires ."•
51. "We don't see those behaviors in the classroom."52. "We do not conduct O.T. or P.T. evaluations on preschool children - we wait to see how they doonce they are placed in the program."5
53. "We do not conduct FBAs on preschool children — instead we use a Rifton chair to manage theirbehaviors."
54. "Don't bother bringing in cupcakes for his mainstream period; the students in that class don't evenreally know him."
55. "We've allowed thirty minutes for this meeting. Please do not interrupt our teachers with yourquestions and comments or we won't be able to complete the IEP."
56. "If you bring an advocate to your meeting, our attorney must be present."
57. "Your child's social issues have had no educational impact — his grades are excellent. Since theseissues are not educationally relevant, we do not have to address them at school."
58. "We're using an 'eclectic' reading program - our teachers pull from a variety of sources."
59. "Please come pick up your child — his behaviors are out of control."
60. "If she can't learn to control herself, we'll have to shorten her school day."
61. "504 accommodations apply only to students with physical disabilities.
62. "Your child cannot participate in the musical performance because he has an individual aideassigned to him."
63. "If your child is classified under the Emotionally Disturbed (ED) category, he must be placed in ourself-contained ED class."
64. "Don't be concerned about what's placed in writing today, the IEP is a fluid document and can be changedat ANY time."
65. "By law, we are only required to provide 10 hours of home instruction.

Good Information Concerning DRA Assessments

Many school districts use the DRA to measure whether or not an elementary student is on track with reading or not by using the DRA. I have deep concerns about DRA as an "assessment" tool being an inappropriate method. These concerns have to do with many factors, but mainly because it just another SUBJECTIVE measure of testing.

This article helps explain WHY: http://www.natalierathvon.com/images/DRA_Review-08-25-2006.pdf

If the link does not work, just google "DRA review" to get this article.

A MOTHER'S WISH LIST FOR A TEACHER

Written by a Mom on one of my support lists for her daughter

1. Please don't assume that you know what it is like to parent my child. The only person who can possibly relate to my hopes and my dreams, my burdens and my fears, and the difficulties I face, is GOD!

2. Please respect me for knowing my child better than anyone else. Please accept the ideas I share as tools to help improve a situation for my child, not words of criticism towards you.
3. My child does not speak well. We aren't able to enjoy the reciprocal conversation about her day at school that you are able to enjoy with your own children. Please communicate with me and allow me to communicate with you, so that I may know about her day. I would like to be able to help her with her difficulties and praise her for her efforts.
4. Please don't tell me I can't FIX my child. I was complimented by God that he selected me for this journey - parenting a special needs child. God grants me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change...the most difficult of all being that my child has special needs. I can't FIX that and make it go away and I don't need to be reminded of that fact. But God also grants me the serenity to change the things I can. My child is full of motivation, a love for learning, a willingness to improve herself, and pride in her accomplishments. Please respect me for encouraging her to be all that she can be. Please respect her for her very hard word and accomplishments. No, I can't FIX her disability. But I can provide her with all that she needs to make it easier to live with. And by the way, God grants me the wisdom to know the difference.
5. Allow me to believe in miracles. After all, I do live with one. Don't slam the doors on my hopes and my dreams.
6. Please respect me for the time, the effort, and the challenge of educating myself in the different areas of the special needs of my child. I have a need to learn all that I can about my child and how she sees the world. I am willing to share this information with you, hoping it will make your job a bit easier. My knowledge also enables me to help others, which gives me great joy!
7. Please know that I am tired. There are days when I need some positive reinforcement or a kind word. Because I understand that NEED, I try to provide the same to you and all who are involved in helping my daughter be all that she can be. When my "gas tank" is empty, it needs to be refilled!
8. Please know that I respect and appreciate all that you do. I know that your job is almost as demanding as mine. When God selected me for this journey, he sent angels along to help me. YOU ARE ONE OF THEM!
Thank You!Written by: Diane O'Rourke-Bankus © 2003

Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008

On October 3, 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, about an hour after the House of Representatives passed the act by a vote of 263-171. Congress joined the parity bill with the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, the legislation created to address the economic crisis. The Senate passed the same version of the act earlier. This is a huge victory for people affected by AD/HD and related disorders. It is important that Congress realized the importance of ending insurance discrimination against people with mental illnesses. This was a monumental day for citizens with disabilities. See how your Representative voted here.The mental health parity legislation signed into law today provides equity between medical-surgical benefits and mental health and addiction benefits in healthcare plans that offer mental health coverage. The bill prohibits health insurance plans sponsored by businesses with fifty or more employees from imposing day and visit limits or applying different deductibles, copayments, out-of-network charges and other financial requirements for mental health treatment. The act builds on the 1996 Parity Act, which provided limited parity for lifetime and annual dollar limits.The text of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act can be viewed here. The section on mental health parity is located on pages 310-344.

Bullies may target children with special needs

Students with ADHD or learning disabilities may be disproportionately targeted by bullies, educators say. But psychologist and author Maggie Mamen says, "It's not that they're more targeted, but they don't put up the expected defenses, they don't give that signal 'don't mess with me.' So it may go a little further." Yorkregion.com (Georgina, Ontario)

The Starfish Story

Today I want to share a story that is very inspirational to me. I can't look at a starfish without thinking of this story and it's significance to our work with children.

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up. As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean. He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean.""I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "I made a difference to that one!"



Few stories have gained internet popularity the way "The Star Thrower" has. Most often it's sighted as "author unknown," but it is actually a classic from 1979 written by Loren Eiseley, who has been hailed as a modern day Henry David Thoreau.

Good Presentation on IDEIA

http://video.childpsychology.com/ideia2004/IDEIA2004.html

GAO Investigating the use of restraints, seclusion & aversives

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress' investigative arm, is seeking information about the use of restraints, seclusion, and aversives in day school programs. The GAO will be developing a report in preparation for hearings to be held by House Education Committee Chairman George Miller on the issue. Day schools are schools that are not residential. The GAO is interested in all kinds of cases, civil and criminal, cases in court and cases in due process/other administrative hearings. In addition, COPAA is collecting information about situations that didn't involve court or hearings.


CATEGORY ONE: Cases, Hearings, Criminal and CivilPlease provide the following information to Christine A. Hodakievic, GAO Senior Special Agent, email: HodakievicC@gao.gov We would also appreciate a copy to us at jessica@copaa.org but that is not essential.1. Information about any Court case, due process hearing or other administrative hearing involving restraints, seclusion, or aversives in a day school program. It does not have to be an IDEA case. It can be any kind of case, such as Constitutional, wrongful death or other tort action, 504, or any other kind of case/hearing. It can be a litigated case or a case that was filed and settled or otherwise concluded. 2 Information about any Criminal Matter involving restraint, seclusion, or aversives in a school. This can be a criminal case that went to a trial, a criminal case resolved without a trial, an indictment, an information, arrest, or any other kind of criminal matter. (Some of you have represented children who were witnesses in criminal cases against school staff who used aversive interventions. The GAO would be interested in these criminal cases, as well as others.)3. Information about complaints filed with a State Department of Education about restraints, seclusion, or aversives in a day school program. In your email to the GAO, it would be very helpful to describe the case, provide any identifying information such as a citation, describe what happened to the child, what happened in the case/hearing/complaint, and any other pertinent information. If you know whether the case is still pending or whether civil litigation has ended, please add that. The GAO would also appreciate receiving copies of complaints, hearing notices, pleadings, briefs, and decisions/orders, if you would like to provide them (its optional). Obviously, if you have a big case file, choose the most important documents. If you filed a complaint with your State Department of Education, but didn't file a court case or due process, please be very clear about that in your email to the GAO. It helps them sort out what they are getting, since they will be receiving many many emails.


CATEGORY 2: Other Situations--no filed case or hearing.COPAA is also seeking information about any other situations in which children were subject to restraints, seclusion, or aversives but a case or due process/administrative hearing was not filed. We have set up a computerized survey form for you to report it. We will be sharing this information with the GAO and as otherwise explained in the survey. This computerized form simply allows us to collect all of the information together and sort it so that we can do this quickly. If you wish to complete the survey, click here (If the link doesn't work, the full link is http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=kbizom_2bCU27wrYCCRv7R7w_3d_3d


IF YOU HAVE A SITUATION IN WHICH A COURT CASE, HEARING, CRIMINAL COMPLAINT, or other litigation, court filing, or case ensued, please report it directly to the GAO as stated in Category 1. Please use the COPAA survey form only for other situations in which restraints, seclusion, or aversives were used.Thank you and feel free to contact us with any other questions. Again, please feel free to repost or otherwise share this information with others.


Jessica Butler
Congressional Affairs Co-Chair
Council of Parent Attorneys & Advocates, Inc. (COPAA)A National Voice for Special Education Rights and Advocacy
www.copaa.orgemail: jessica@copaa.org

What is RTI?

RTI is a tiered process of instruction that allows schools to identify struggling students early and provide appropriate instructional interventions. Early intervention means more chances for success and less need for special education services. RTI would also address the needs of children who previously did not qualify for special education.RTI Should be a School Wide ModelAlthough each school's model may look different, there are several essential and necessary components that parents need to be aware of:a.. Scientifically Research Based Instruction b.. School Wide Screening c.. Continuous Progress Monitoringd.. Fidelitye.. Procedural SafeguardsRead more about what RTI can mean for our kids in A Parent's Guide to Response to Intervention.RTI TiersRTI is a delivered to students in tiers or levels. There is much discussion about how many tiers should be in RTI models. The three-tiered model is the most common. This means there are different levels of intervention, based on the needs of the student. The level of intervention increases in intensity if a child does not respond to instruction.IDEA does not specify how many tiers an RTI model must contain. IDEA does not specify how long a child must remain in one tier before moving to the next level. The US Department of Education has left this to the states to determine.What RTI is NOTa.. Special seating in classroom b.. Shortened assignments c.. Parent-teacher conferences d.. Suspension e.. Retention f.. "More of the same" general classroom instruction
What IDEA Says about RTI and Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) Section 300.307 of the federal Special Education Regulations says that states must adopt criteria for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability. States must not require the use of a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement model. States must permit the use of a process based on the child's response to scientific, research-based intervention.When IDEA was reauthorized in 2004, RTI was added in an attempt to bring IDEA in line with NCLB and Reading First. In the Commentary to the Regulations, US DOE acknowledged that identification "models that incorporate RTI represent a shift in special education toward goals of better achievement and improved behavioral outcomes for children with specific learning disability (SLD).
Concerns about the RTI Process
I agree with the experts who say that many children are identified with specific learning disabilities because they do not receive adequate instruction in reading and math. In other words, these children are not making sufficient progress because they receive poor instruction, not because they have a learning disability.I also believe some children have specific learning disabilities.RTI Should Not Delay a Necessary Evaluation My fear is that school districts may use RTI as an excuse to delay, or worse, to not evaluate children suspected of having specific learning disabilities.In the Commentary to the federal regulations, many people expressed these same concerns.US Department of Education added language to the federal regulations to ensure that parents are notified of their right to request an evaluation at any time.
Accurate Identification? Appropriate Instruction? Ask These Questions!The Commentary to the federal regulations (p.46646-46647) describes what the Essential Components of Reading Instruction are and references what the ESEA (NCLB) says about appropriate reading instruction including: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary Development, Reading Fluency, Reading Comprehension Skills.When should a parent be notified of their right to request an evaluation?In general , when the child moves from a tier 1 general education (class wide intervention) to a tier 2 (more targeted small group interventions), parents should be informed about what is happening and their rights.Parents should be advised that their child is not making expected academic progress, the services that will be provided and strategies used to increase their child's progress, and other options that are available to them i.e., the right to request an evaluation under IDEA at any time.There are specific questions parents should ask to ensure that their child will be accurately identified, and is receiving appropriate instruction to begin with.a.. How many tiers are included the RTI model?b.. How long will my child remain in a tier before moving to the next tier?c.. What scientifically research based form of instruction will the teacher use?d.. What documentation demonstrates the effectiveness of the program?e.. What education journal documents this form of instruction as "peer reviewed"?f.. Does the reading program include the elements defined as "essential components of an effective reading program" set forth by the National Reading Panel ?g.. How often will the school monitor my child's progress?h.. What type of progress monitoring will the school use?i.. ...more in the Parent's Guide to RTI Read Susan's Success Story about charting the numbers on test results.. From Victim to a Mighty Force: The Numbers Do Not Lie.

Latest Federal Regulations - Parental Consent: Part I

The federal Office of Special Education Programs made several changes to the federal IDEA regulations effective on December 31, 2008. The the analysis of comments to the proposed regulations by OSEP is available online at this link.
Among the changes were the following:

Parental Consent
34 C.F.R. Sections 300.300 and 300.9 were amended to provide that parents are now permitted to revoke in writing their consent for the continued provision of special education and related services after having received services. School districts are no longer able to use mediation or a due process hearing to seek to override or challenge the parents' lack of consent. School districts will not be deemed to be in violation of the ACT for denial of FAPE where the parent has revoked consent to the continued provision of special education and related services. First I'm going to quote some of OSEP's analysis. remember that comments by an agency are entitled to "some deference," but not the force and effect of law as a regulation would get.
In response to comments that the IEP Team and not the parents should make such decisions, OSEP said:
Discussion: We agree with the commenters that the IEP Team (defined in § 300.23, which includes the child's parents) plays an important role in the special education decision-making process. For example, through the development, review and revision of the child's IEP, the IEP Team determines how to make FAPE available to a child with a disability. However, the IEP Team does not have the authority to consent to the provision of special education and related services to a child. That authority is given exclusively to the parent under section 614(a)(1)(D)(i)(II) of the Act. The Secretary strongly believes that a parent also has the authority to revoke that consent, thereby ending the provision of special education and related services to their child. Allowing parents to revoke consent for the continued provision of special education and related services at any time is consistent with the IDEA's emphasis on the role of parents in protecting their child's rights and the Department's goal of enhancing parent involvement and choice in their child's education. We expect that after a parent revokes consent for the continued provision of special education and related services, the parent will continue to work with the child's school to support the child in the general education curriculum. Parents of nondisabled children serve as partners in their children's education in the same manner as parents of children with disabilities. We agree that an IEP Team meeting should be convened if any member of the IEP Team, including a parent, believes the child is not progressing. Section 300.324(b)(1)(i) and (ii)(A) requires each public agency to review a child's IEP periodically, but not less than annually, and revise the IEP as appropriate to address any lack of expected progress. However, the review of a child's IEP by the IEP Team does not replace a parent's right to revoke consent for the continued provision of special education and related services to his or her child.Concerning the comment that revoking consent should be treated differently than refusing to provide initial consent because the parent is seeking to terminate special education services that are presently provided, thus seeking to change the status quo and the comment expressing concern about revoking consent for a child whose current placement is in a residential setting, we appreciate that there are differences between consent for special education and related services and revocation of such consent. However, at their core, both issues entail a parent's decision of whether a child will receive special education and related services. Thus, section 614(a)(1)(D)(i)(II) and (ii)(II) of the Act,which provides a parent unilateral authority to refuse special education and related services, informs our decision on the related issue of revocation of consent for the continued provision of special education and related services.
73 Fed Register No. 231 at page 73009 (12/1/2008).

We'll continue with more OSEP analysis in a future post. What do you think of this change so far?

American Bar Association Juvenile Justice Policies Report on Zero

American Bar Association Juvenile Justice Policies Report on Zero Tolerance
http://www.abanet.org/crimjust/juvjus/zerotolreport.html
"Education on Lockdown: The Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track" is a 64 page report on Zero Tolerance and its effects on students in three metropolitan areas. The recommendations might be useful to delinquency and Juvenile defenders, special education advocates, parents and educators even in areas not a part of the study. http://www.advancementproject.org//reports/FINALEOLrep.pdf

Bullying and Harassment Notifying School Administrators

Parent Training and Information
The following are 10 suggested steps to follow when parents choose to formally notify school administrators about their concern of harassment based on the child's disability.
1. In writing, address the notification to a specific person and date the letter.
2. Write the letter to a person who has the authority to investigate and the authority to correct the wrong.
3. Note that the school district is a recipient of federal financial assistance.
4. State the past or continuing discriminatory activity against your child.
5. State that the school district has control over both the site of the discrimination and over any school personnel involved.
6. Explain that the discrimination was not a single acct but was severe and pervasive.
7. Tell how the discrimination excluded your child from continued participation in school or denied your child the benefits to which other students in school have access.
8. Explain, as well as you can, what you would like the school to do to stop the discrimination or to remediate the harm the discrimination has done to your child.
9. Ask for a copy of a school district grievance procedure under Section 504 (even if your child has an IEP under IDEA). Not having this information may result in continued discrimination.
10. State that if the person receiving this letter does not investigate or does not take effective corrective action, that you may claim that the district showed deliberate indifference to the discrimination. You may also want to add a date you expect to hear back from the district in regards to your letter.
These steps are adapted from attorney Reed Martin's "10 steps to making a successful complaint".
This information is educational and not intended to be legal advice.

Lost at School by Dr. Ross Greene

From "lost at school", "In the same way that kids who are delayed in reading are having difficulty mastering the skills required for being proficient in reading, challenging kids are having difficulty mastering the skills required for becoming proficient in handling life’s social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. Why have we been so zealously over-applying consequences to kids with behavioral challenges? Because we didn't realize they had a developmental delay.” Dr. Ross Greene

I stumbled upon this book while looking for another at Borders last week. It is amazing. I actually cried when I read the first chapter because it is exactly what has happened to my child and so many others. Too many times educators don't understand the challenges that these kids come to school with, nor do they have the support. Administrators all too often don't take the time to understand or figure it out. Parents are being blamed and ignored and the everything is coined as being the child's fault. If this child makes a difference with just one child, it is a saving grace for our children. Please take the time to review this book and add it to your reading list for early 2009!

http://www.lostatschool.org

did not

Civil Rights Fight

Fight for Special Education Rights Follows Same Track as Other Fights for Civil Rights

An essay by Dorene Philpot, Attorney, Texas

It’s easy for the relatively small group of us who are fighting for the rights of children with disabilities to become discouraged and think about taking a different path where the struggle isn’t so hard, day in and day out.

After all, we singlehandedly face the largest law firms in the nation with access to a bottomless pit of taxpayer funds and insurance company dollars.

As if that weren’t enough, add to that the opposition we get from the state education agencies, who federal law says are supposed to enforce and supervise the implementation of special education laws but which have an obvious vested interest in keeping costs down and covering up the problems.

If the state agencies were out there, making obvious the failings of the schools they were supposed to be supervision, state and federal tax dollars might be at stake.

Yes, it’s in both the schools’ and the states’ interests to make it appear that all is well in special education, thank you very much, and that’s part of the reasons that you see the lies, altered paperwork and cleanup activities that occur in IDEA and Section 504 cases.

However, those of us fighting The Good Fight against the unbelievable injustices that we still see going on today, must keep in mind that this fight for the rights of children with disabilities will take years, just as the fight for other civil rights has required through the centuries.

This fight will take time, and there will be resentments, wasted money, wasted time, wasted lives and unconscionable losses of potential, but we will prevail.

We must be patient and tenacious. We will win this fight.

Fighting the Good Fight Takes Time and Perseverance

From the 1640s until 1865, people of African descent were legally and inhumanely enslaved in the U.S., mostly by whites.

Yes, for about 200 years, many in our society thought it was OK, and in fact their birthright, to kidnap people from another continent and force them to build our homes, tend our crops and care for our families and livestock without pay and, in many instances, without humane housing, food or treatment.

Many slaves were freed during the Civil War (1861-65), many by president Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation (1862) and then many finally by the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1865).

Our country didn’t move away from slavery voluntarily. It actually had to go to war with itself over this issue before it was resolved, with untold deaths, dismemberment and financial cost. This demonstrates how fiercely people can and will hold on to untenable positions.

More recently, it wasn’t until about 50 years ago that black children won the right to simply attend school with white children. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court stated in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) that African-American children had the right to equal educational opportunities and that segregated schools “have no place in the field of public education.”

It’s stunning that we, as a society, couldn’t decide this on our own. We had to have a court order this before we would do it? Are we human beings really this ignorant or evil?

Of course, people could not be counted on to voluntarily do the right thing even when the nation’s highest court said we had to. Yes, the militia often had to be called in to enforce these laws because people clearly couldn’t trusted to do the right thing simply because it was the right thing or simply because the law now required it.

Special education civil rights fight

Would you believe that in 1958, which was only about 50 years ago, the Illinois Supreme Court held that compulsory education laws did not apply to children with mental impairments? And in North Carolina, up to 1969, parents could be criminally prosecuted for trying to enroll a disabled child in public school after the child had been excluded.
Not long after that, Congress launched an investigation into the status of children with disabilities and found that 2.5 million disabled children were not receiving an appropriate education and even worse, 1.75 million handicapped children were receiving no educational services.

Yes, in the 1970s, which is only about 40 years ago, it finally became apparent to our legislators that children with disabilities were being trodden on.

The worst trampling was being done by educators themselves, the very same people who professed to love children and who professed to know the value of education. This is clear because if educators had willingly welcomed children with disabilities into their classrooms, Congress wouldn’t have had to intervene.

So, since educators couldn’t be trusted to educate disabled children and the courts couldn’t be trusted to order schools to educate disabled children, the legislators wrote laws to make sure that the schoolhouse doors were kept open for children whose only sin was that they were more difficult to educate than their peers. At that time, schools some how rationalized that it was better to bar the doors to children with disabilities than to take the extra time and effort that it would take to teach them to read, write, get along with peers and learn self-help skills that would enable them to live productive lives.

As a result of this, Public Law 94-142, called the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, was enacted. Fifteen years later, when the law was reauthorized in 1990, it was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Later it was reauthorized again in 2004 and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act.

At this point, just having laws saying that children with disabilities were entitled to an education was not enough. The Supreme Court had to weigh in also, which it did with Board of Education v. Rowley. In that case, which was decided in 1982, the same year I graduated from high school, the U. S. Supreme Court issued the first decision in a special education case. The decision includes an account of the evolution of special education law.
The battle continues: More recently, in Indiana, in Evans v. Tuttle, 613 N.E.2d 854, a case decided in 1993, the state Indiana Department of Education actually appealed a trial court decision that held that the State could not deny disabled children over the age of 18 a free and appropriate public education, even though no one disputed it was required by federal law to be provided.
So, in other words, the state was so vehemently opposed to providing special education services to individuals above age 18, even though the federal law clearly required it, the state was willing to file an appeal on this issue, in federal court, which they obviously and rightly lost. This is an example of your tax dollars at work.
Today, someone who enslaved another against his will or who barred a black child from the schoolhouse door simply because he was black would be loathed by our society and would be criminally prosecuted.

But someone who tries to bar a child with a disability or someone who tries to give a shoddy education to a child with a disability often can get away with it.

But this isn’t permanent, as long as we don’t give up the fight.

The point of all of this: It took years and years of struggle and bloodshed before the ability to enslave others was no longer seen as a birthright but as something that was morally, ethically and socially abhorrent.

Yes, just like in the historic civil rights fights such as anti-slavery, suffrage for women, etc., our lawmakers actually had to force people to do the right thing.

Don’t become discouraged in fighting the Good Fight for children with special needs.

Decades from now, I predict that folks will say things like:

“Are you serious? You had to SUE to keep the schools from expelling kids with emotional disabilities from school? Where were they supposed to go? What were they supposed to do? Who benefited from their being excluded from school?”

“You had to sue to keep a school from physically restraining a child on the floor for 5 and a half hours out of his six-hour school day? The school readily admitted at hearing that they did this – and they stated with a straight face that they thought that was acceptable and necessary?”

They’ll ask: “No way. You had to SUE to get your schools to attempt to teach a child with dyslexia to be able to read, using scientifically based methods of instruction that were already proven to work but which weren’t used by public schools until decades after the research on them became widely available?”

They’ll ask: “Really? You had to SUE to get public schools to offer ABA programs to young children with autism when decades of research showed that it was the only scientifically proven method to work for many children with autism to make them indistinguishable from their peers?”

They’ll ask: “You actually had to fight for those things?”

So, even though the fight to enforce these rights is discouraging, disheartening and definitely not the path of least resistance, this is the path to effecting change in our society and winning the war, just as the civil rights activists did to get slavery abolished, women the right to vote, and disabled children the right to attend school.

Don’t give up – your efforts are important. In fact, without a continued, concerted fight, change cannot and will not occur.

Take heart in the knowledge that the fights you fight now, even though you do not win, get us one day closer to the time when our society will say, “Really? You mean you had to fight for that? Seems like a no-brainer to me.”

From http://www.dphilpotlaw.com/html/civil_rights_fight.html