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