Special Education Law (IDEA & 504) Webinar

Rhonda: [00:00:00] Welcome everyone. Thank you so much for joining us today for our webinar, overview of the special education law IDEA 504 and ADA. We’re so grateful to have you all with us today. My name is Rhonda Logsdon with Kentucky SPIN, and also, we have Stella Beard, who is also with Kentucky SPIN on here helping us, just to kind of go over a little of how we’ll do the webinar. I will stop periodically throughout, and check in with Stella to see if there’s any questions.

If you look on your dashboard, you’ll be able to find there is an area where you can submit questions. If we do, because we do have a lot of people on here today, we’re not able to get to all the questions, we can follow up with you on that. So, we’ll go ahead and get started here.

To tell you a little bit about myself and everyone who works at Kentucky SPIN, and we’re all parents, [00:01:00] or family members, or persons with disabilities helping one another. We do have a parent training and information center for the state of Kentucky that is funded through the US Department of Education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the IDEA, the same law that calls for IEPs in school 3 through 21, and also the early intervention system, which is the birth to three, which is first steps in Kentucky. And we’ve had that for over 30 years since Kentucky first received one.

And we always kind of go over, just so that everybody knows, we do not represent families. We are not attorneys. Our role is really to help you to help your child, and to help Youth and adults with disabilities, so that they are able to get the needed services, and know about the information and resources that will be able to help them.

So, a little bit about what we’re going to cover today [00:02:00] is the overview of the Section 504 and ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act, and IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Then we’ll step from that, and do a brief overview of the special ed process, which is under IDEA for the 3 through 21, or for the IEP in school, and go over some of IDEA’s procedural safeguards that are in place for families.

Just to tell you a little bit about myself. I am a sister, a very proud sister. Three of my siblings have disabilities from the seen to the unseen, and each of those comes with different experiences. And one of the things too is they all had IEPs throughout school, and all graduated, and have went on to be successful adults, and are smarter than I could wish to be. And also too, I’m a foster adoptive mom to the greatest gift of my [00:03:00] life. So, our role and what we want to do is be able to help you. We don’t necessarily always have all the answers, and we’re all learning as we go, just as each of you are. And if we don’t have the answers, we could try to connect you with who can get that for you.

So, the overview of the section 504, ADA, and IDEA. It’s really important, and I’m a visual person, it if you all been on some of our workshops, I love the visual stuff, so just try to think of it as there are three primary laws that affect students who have disabilities.

So, the next one is the visual that I love and I use it all the time, our friends at the PTI in Florida, Fonda Florida, shared this with us and others that you may see throughout this presentation. But the visual of the umbrellas [00:04:00] here with the children that we’re going to show you next is one of the things that really helps always keep it in perspective for me. So, always think of, you’re going to have a lot of kids who have disabilities that might be covered under 504 and ADA, but there’s a much smaller amount of those children or youth that qualify under IDEA. And this will make a little more sense here as we step through the process, but just always keep the umbrellas in mind just as we go through this, because always too, if they are qualify under IDEA, they’re also covered by the bigger umbrella, which is 504 and ADA.

Again here, I’m a little OCD, not been officially diagnosed, but Mom says, “There’s no need to, Rhonda.” So, I love the visual. So, you’ve got your federal law IDEA 504 [00:05:00] of the Civil Rights Act in ADA. Then you have your state law, which is your Kentucky Administrative Regulations or KARA. And then you have your local policies and procedures, which is going to be your independent or County Public School District with in Kentucky.

Now, I want you to see over there where I said for children who attend Kentucky public schools. There’s a reason for that, and on our next slide, I’m going to show you, because in Kentucky, for our military families, if they live on base at Fort Knox or Fort Campbell in Kentucky, their children attend school on base, that is not covered under the Kentucky Department of Education or your local public school district. That’s actually handled through the Department of Defense Education Authority or referred to as DODEA.

So, this is where it gets a little tricky, [00:06:00] because we’re one of the few states that still has their military bases not run by the State Education Agency, SEA, in Kentucky, that’s Kentucky Department of Education, KDE. So, there are some other things that you have to keep in mind, because just like you’ll have guidance, and always keep in mind that visual of how the arrows go. Your federal law always overrides or supersedes your state or local policies and procedures, unless they go above and beyond in favor of the child, or the big and-if-but is that they let the states or the local districts decide. There’s some examples of that, and a lot different, because everything is situational, and it depends on the details of what you go by. And that’s the great thing about all of the laws 504, ADA, and IDEA, is because it’s to be [00:07:00] individualized for what’s best for the person with the disability, because what looks right for one person isn’t going to for the other.

The thing to keep in mind in Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act, it is not a specific educational. This actually covers you in a lot of areas, not just in the school, but it’s a civil rights law, so it is there in place. If anyone that receives any type of federal funds, and it could be from anywhere. If we’re looking at the example of a school system, if a school system receives any type of federal funds, it could even be to help with the pay for lunch under the nutrition through the federal government, if they get any of that, they have to abide by all of these. And then also with the ADA, which we’re going to explain to is, the reason that there are the different parts is they cover whether they receive federal funds or not.

Now, what’s important here is that this [00:08:00] also – keep in mind, because I said that it is not just in the school system. This is in the workplace, and when you become an adult, in all areas to not be discriminated against. So, what this means is when your child goes onto further, if they choose not to go straight into work and they go to further their education to a trade school, to the college, they are covered under 504. They won’t have an IEP, because that’s a specific education law for 3 through 21. They won’t have an IEP in college. So, just keep that in mind, but there are things that will provide accommodations, given if they qualify, that will kind of help them in college.

But under this with the 504 and ADA, and this is where it’s going to make more sense of why more people qualify under the big umbrella versus the smaller one [00:09:00] IDEA, because the definition of disability and the qualifications for it are I guess you could say much looser. It encompasses more of a wide variety. So, it could be a physical or mental impairment that limits one major life activity, have a record or history of a disability, or perceived as having a disability. That is key right there is because remember this as a civil rights law 504, so that you’re not discriminated against based on your disability, right? So, if you perceive that I have a disability, and I’m being discriminated based on that, and not that the school would, but this is the whole reasoning behind perceived, would also count under that, because it is if you’re being discriminated against or to not let it be, or to provide accommodations to level the playing [00:10:00] field with your non-disabled peers. That’s where that could play into a fact of even if it’s just a perceived, you haven’t been diagnosed.

Now, on the next slide, which I again love examples. So, here is a list of – because a lot of times, it’s like, okay, well, what do you mean by it limits one major life activity. These are just some examples of that. It could be caring for yourself, bending, eating, reading, sleeping, concentrating. Again, if there’s any of these areas that affects you because it says one major life activity, communicating, those are key things for us to be able to function, and be able to be successful. So, if it affects you, again, this is civil rights, it would afford you the same opportunities as your nondisabled peers. And that’s where you can see again, and this is not limited to the list here, but just to give you an example [00:11:00] of what might be covered under 504.

So, we’re going to go to the next one, and IDEA the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, this is a specific education law. And again, I like getting the picture of everything, because it used to, when we first got a law in place, it used to be called Public Law 94-142, and it really at that point when it was first created, did not include children and give them the right to an education until they were five, who had a disability. So, we have come a long way, because now it is birth through 21.

One of the things my brother Grant, who has cerebral palsy and vision, mom [00:12:00] knew as early as he could be in a classroom, the better, as we all know all of our children. the more opportunity they have to learn, the better they’re going to do. So, she bartered her services so that as a classroom assistant, so he would be able to go to preschool. The great thing now is, for children who qualify and are covered under 504 and IDEA and all of that, they’re entitled to that education, because in Kentucky not all children would qualify for preschool, but If they are determined that they meet the criteria under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, they would, and have an IEP, and have that early learning opportunity.

Now, something that kind of drives me crazy with the OCD here, you’ll see it says part C and then part B. Part of it is what’s considered the birth through, our little one should have [00:13:00] been B, we should have been C, but they didn’t let me pick, get in order.

So, just so you know, those are different parts of the federal law. So, part C is where it includes our babies now, and that’s First Steps in Kentucky, where you’ll have an individual family service plan IFSP, and then you either would transition and qualify under IDEA for an IEP in school, or you would not meet those qualifications, because you go from a family plan to an individual, and not everybody who transitions qualifies under the criteria and the categories.

But also to keep in mind too, a side note is under Part D of that is what funds the parent training and information centers, the PTIs like Kentucky SPIN has for the state. And also keep in mind too, if you ever move to a different state, there’s at least one PTI in every state. Some states have more than one, and we can always connect you with [00:14:00] them, because that’s a huge resource. We all do parent training and information.

So, one thing too that as we kind of go on through here, when we look at IDEA’s definition of disability, now is where you’re going to see where you’re going to get to that smaller umbrella, because the criteria to qualify for that looks much different, and you’ve got to meet the criteria in one or more of the disability categories that we’ll go over here in a minute. But you also must need specially designed instruction and related services. You can’t have one or the other. You’ve got to need all of that to qualify, and then to have an IEP in place.

So, on the next one, we’ve got our eligibility category. So, you may wonder, well, why did you list the federal and the Kentucky administrative regulations? Well, want you to see, because remember when we said in the [00:15:00] beginning where it the state law could go above and beyond in favor of the child, so I’m going to give you a great example of that.

The federal law is reauthorized every so often. It used to be typically to be every five years or so, but it’s been a long time since we’ve had a reauthorization. So, 2004 was the last time that that was reauthorized. Under the federal regulations, if you’ll look the fourth one down, you’ll see it says emotional disturbance. Previously, it included the emotional behavioral. Kentucky went above and beyond in favor of the child over the federal law, and we kept in our regulations emotional behavioral disability in that category. So, Kentucky went above and beyond, and we are so grateful that they did, because many of our children who may have a lot of behavioral needs otherwise would not have qualified, and we know for some of our students that it’s [00:16:00] very crucial for them to be successful. So, just want to point that out.

Now, you’re going to see next too, the reason, because remember our military families who would be covered under DODEA, Department of Defense Education Agency, that is going to be under – these their categories that they list out, just like I showed you Kentucky. So, this then, if your child attends school on base, or Fort Knox, or Fort Campbell, these are your categories, versus what the state regulations indicate.

So, I want to pause just a minute just to see, Stella, if there’s any questions that anyone might have, as we kind of go through here.

Stella: [00:16:49] Rhonda, it seems like some are having a little trouble with sound, but I think it’s coming back now. I’m not quite sure where that’s coming from, but there are no specific questions, [00:17:00] other than I’m just asking everyone to adjust their mics, and do all of that.

Rhonda: [00:17:06] Okay, great. Thank you so much. One of the things too is FAPE, free appropriate public education is key under 504 and ADA and under IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Now, the definition for FAPE under 504 is the provision of the regular or special education or aids and services designed to meet the educational needs of the individual with disabilities to the same extent that the needs of their nondisabled individuals are met. So, right, that’s just showing we’re going to level the playing field, so that they may need a little assistance, but they still are entitled to the free appropriate public education.

Now IDEA defines that even more specifically on our next slide here, is [00:18:00] the special education and related services for provided at public expense under, the public supervision, which would be the public independent or County School District without charge. And when you see the SEA there, that’s the State Education Agency, in Kentucky, that’s the Kentucky Department of Education. And also, if you see the LEA, that’s the local education agency, or your local public school district. They just use those terms in it, because it varies. The names vary depending on the state you’re in. But what it is then they provide it through the IEP, which is especially designed program for your child who would qualify under a category, and need that specially designed instruction and related services.

So, what I also do get questions a lot of times from families too, when we’re [00:19:00] talking about FAPE, now when we say FAPE, that means you’re not charged for your child to be educated, because they have a disability. Now, that does not mean if all kids have to pay a field trip fee, that doesn’t count all of those things. Always think back about FAPE is you’re not charged, and it is that they get an appropriate free education, appropriate for them. And again, appropriate is under – what I may think is appropriate, you may not, so we really have to find common ground with one another. But that you shouldn’t be charged based on your child’s disability, and because of the disability this is what you would pay for them to be educated. So, I just want to make sure that that’s very clear there.

Now, this is another chart that I really love, because it helps kind of define things. IDEA [00:20:00] educational benefit, it’s a specific education law. You’ve got to meet at least one of those criterias, and also need the related services, and specially designed instruction.

504, equal access, just like ADA is equal access. One is for those who meet the criteria and are federally funded. ADA is regardless of who you get funding for. There supposed to be those opportunities and equal access that keep discriminated against based on their disability. And know that if your child qualifies under IDEA, it’s just like the big umbrella, that was over IDEA earlier. They automatically are covered under 504 and ADA.

Yeah, there’s some key principles of IDEA, and we’ve already spoke about the FAPE, the free appropriate public education, but also appropriate evaluation. Key principles are the IEP, the individual education program, [00:21:00] parent and student participation, least restrictive environment. Meaning they are to be educated with their nondisabled peers, that is what you should start with. And then it bring in modifications accommodations services to try to make that successful. And then if it’s not what’s appropriate for that child, you look at what the alternate or alternative settings might be, but they’re always to be in a least restrictive environment to the greatest extent possible. And that’s going to vary for every child, because I can’t give you a this is a definite you can or cannot do this, because the wonderful thing about IDEA and the IEP is it’s to be individualized. So, what might have been appropriate for any of my siblings may not be what’s best for any of your children.

So, one of the things too, Grant with the cerebral palsy and the vision [00:22:00] impairment, is that there are different things that if you looked at the typical diagnosis that he had and the severity of his disabilities, if you just looked at that, you would think he needed to be in a self-contained classroom. That was not appropriate for Grant. That was actually the exact opposite of what was appropriate for him. He was in the least restrictive environment, and things brought in so that he could be successful. That’s not necessarily always what’s best for every child. But again, it’s important to understand categories, so that our children qualify and they can receive services, but a category should never dictate exactly what the services are to be provided, because it is to be individualized based on their needs and for them to be successful, and what’s appropriate.

So, another thing too, the parent rights, the procedural safeguards, we’re going to go over those [00:23:00] more here in just a little bit. So, for a child who doesn’t qualify under IDEA – because remember we’ve got a lot that might qualify under 504 and ADA, and not IDEA. If at all possible, they would qualify under IDEA for an IEP, I would suggest you try that first, because that is a specific education law. If not, there’s still can be a 504 plan written, and a lot more children will qualify for that, and that will address their needs to give them the equal access, reasonable accommodations to kind of level the playing field.

I was asked one time, okay, so is it just accommodation to get on the 504 or on IEP. It’s not either or. You get accommodations under both, and based on what’s appropriate for them. So, just keep that in mind. Those are not you just get [00:24:00] it under that plan or that program. And again, keep in mind, this is equal access. This is not giving specially designed instruction and related services for them to be successful. This is just to level the playing field to have equal access.

So, I want to see if there’s any before – we’re getting ready to kind of go into the overview. I want to see if there’s any questions that you all might have so far.

Stella: [00:24:30] Rhonda, I’ve been kind of answering a little of them as we go along. One was specifically about, if the families that live on Fort Knox or Fort Campbell that they can also attend school off-base. And I explained that yes, that is exactly true. And if they do, they would follow their local education agency. And there was just a recommendation that we might want to add that to the slide, so I thought that was a great idea.

Rhonda: [00:25:01] [00:25:00] Yes, and that’s perfect. And thank you so much for bringing that up, because there is that choice. Yeah, we always just want to make sure that everybody understands that depending upon where they’re attending school, that’s going to depend on what you would follow. So, thank you so much for that. Was there any others before we kind of go into the next part, or are we ready to go?

Stella: [00:25:22] I think we’re ready to move right on.

Rhonda: [00:25:24] Okay. All right. So, the overview of the special education process, the IEP, this is – again, love the visuals to where it breaks it down. You’ll have the referral, and we’re going to kind of go through each of these referral evaluation, eligibility, IEP placement, and reevaluation, the every three years or sooner if needed.

I want you to pay attention to something here. Placement is not decided to last, because you don’t know what the appropriate placement for your child is [00:26:00] until you write the appropriate IEP, and it’s a team decision, everybody, parent, teachers, therapists, evaluators, everybody pitches in and contributes to that, so that you could come up with the best well-rounded IEP that will be the most successful. And then you look at what the appropriate placement is.

So, now the referral. A referral can be done by anyone. It could be the parents. Someone who is working with the child that has knowledge of the child can make a referral. Now, not until the parent or guardian signs the parental consent to evaluate can that evaluation take place. This is key, because once you do that, then there are 60 school days from the date that the parent signs the consent to evaluate that the school has to have the [00:27:00] evaluation done.

Now, I want to make sure that I bring up here, because one of the examples too, and the reason you’ll see on the different slides at the bottom, it KAR. We go by the 60 school days and I’m going to tell you why. If you remember, I’d explained that IDEA was reauthorized in 2004. Prior to that, there was not a timeframe put in place in the federal law that the evaluation had to be completed by, which as you can imagine, that would be something crucial for everybody involved to be able to have that timeframe. But Kentucky went above and beyond prior to that, and put into place under the Kentucky Administrative Regulations, the 60 school days. Now again, keep in mind, 60 school days does not count weekends, does not count summer breaks. It’s when school is in session.

Now, when they reauthorized IDEA [00:28:00] in 2004, they added a timeframe that stated 60 days from the date the parent signs of parental consent, which would be 60 calendar days. That is much sooner than a 60 school days, but what they stated in the federal law was you would go by the 60 days, unless – and here’s the big and-if-but area – unless your state had already put into place a timeframe, then you would go by that. That is why in Kentucky, we go by the 60 school days.

Now, you will notice over on your right here, for our military families, where it states for DODEA school is 45 school days from the date that you sign the parental consent to evaluate. So, just keep that in mind, where they may vary even if you’re in the same state. If you attend that school on base, it would be the [00:29:00] 45 school days.

So, one thing too, the evaluation. The evaluation, first and foremost, to be from a variety of means. It is going to have different input. It won’t be just one single means. It would have different data. Data, a lot of times, we think is just when you take a test. That’s not the only data. We can tell from our child’s school work that they do, different things that you can kind of track and monitor, observations that are taking. The thing about this, it is input from everyone.

Now, it does state not just – and this in the Kentucky Administrative Regulations, but you also have the right under IDEA to an independent education evaluation at no cost to you. If the evaluation comes back, and you are not in agreement, [00:30:00] you’ve got to follow the proper procedures to request this, because you can’t just not request that through the school, and go take your child to be evaluated, and bring the bill to the school. It doesn’t work like that. You’re not going to be reimbursed for that. What you do is you request it through the school, and they will give you a list of independent contractors that’s not through the school system, and you would be able to get that. So, in Kentucky Administrative Regulations also it states not only for the initial evaluation, any other evaluations to qualify. Remember, when you saw on the slide where it showed the process, your child at least be re-evaluated every three years, if not sooner. If one is done in, and you’re not in agreement, you can also request one at that point.

One thing too that I failed to mention at the beginning, I get on a track and [00:31:00] carried away, but there are some helpful handouts that we’ve included on there, and one of them is frequently asked questions chart that we created that shows the federal law and state law side-by-side, the answers. You’ll see the underlying parts, and that also is included on there, and that is one of the handouts. We are also going to follow up with the email. If you don’t have a moment or the capability to download those, we will follow up by email, providing you with all those handouts. But that chart is great to refer back to. Of course, it’s not an end-all list. This is typically asked questions that we’ve got from families, and it gives you directly what it says in the federal and state law.

Now, one thing I do want to mention too, when we’re talking about evaluations here, there is a part, because some students are going to need re-evaluated more often than every three years, if things have changed. [00:32:00] If the data that you have, the evaluation was done is not giving a true picture, there is a part though in the law I want to make sure that I mention, that this could be for the every three-year re-evaluation. If the IEP team decides, and the parent is an important equal member of that team, to adopt the previous evaluation, now that previous evaluation is what qualified them, if it still gives a true picture, everybody agrees that it does, they don’t have to be re-evaluated. They can adopt the previous evaluation as the current, and then that would stand now for three more years, unless the child is re-evaluated sooner than that.

There are some students that don’t need it. Again, my brother Grant, nothing changed. There was no need for him to be re-evaluated. My twin sister Robin, who had a severe learning disability, there hadn’t been changes, so there was no [00:33:00] need to have to do another test when it still gave a true picture, but that is not the case for a lot of children, but just keep that in mind that that is a part of the IEP team or the ARC team, admissions and release committee meeting. In Kentucky, we add on another name to it. If you see IEP team, that means the same as ARC meeting, our team. If you all agree, then you can go ahead and adopt that.

Now again, here’s the visual. I love the visuals again. And Grant my brother helps me present throughout the state, and does wonderful, because he explains that it’s like building a house. If you do not have your foundation right, your footers, which is your evaluation in your present levels, anything you build off of that is not going to work. It’s not going to be accurate, so the evaluation and [00:34:00] creating the present levels is so crucial. I used to get so aggravated when people will be like data, data, data. I’m like, I don’t want to hear about data, I want to hear about what’s best for them, what’s best for the kid.

Well, data and I have had to become friends, and really, if you don’t know where they’re at, you can’t help them or know how to get them to where they need to be. So, it is very crucial that that evaluation, and not just one single means of input, to create the present levels.

Now, also I want to share, any time that there is an evaluation, whether it’d be the initial or re-evaluation, there’s to be someone at the meeting that can help describe and explain the results. And I would always recommend if there’s been an evaluation, because I don’t know if you’re like me, but a lot of it, I feel like I have to get a dictionary out when I’m trying to read it right with it. So, really [00:35:00] having time, you might request any evaluation data ahead of the IEP meeting, ARC meeting, just so you have time to kind of go through it, and really have that time if there’s questions to bring those up at the meeting. And don’t be afraid to ask questions.

I am probably annoying. I’m sure I am. I ask questions all the time. Not to be difficult, but I always have to ask questions, because I can’t help my family best or the families that we serve unless I ask questions. And, a lot of times, you may ask the question, but a lot of people sitting at the same table are wondering the very same thing. So, please ask those questions, and don’t worry about knowing all the right terms, because it doesn’t matter. You just say it in plain language, how your child is doing, where they’re at, things that you’re concerned about, things that are their strengths, you share that. [00:36:00] It doesn’t have to be in fancy words.

I’m going to stop here just for a moment to see if there’s any questions before we go to the next one, Stella.

Stella: [00:36:09] Rhonda, we do have a question. There’s someone that asked about how long it does take for testing, or how long does testing take for the IEP to begin. The person said that it’s been about eight months, and there’s still nothing in place. And so, I was responding, just asking when consent was signed, and all of that, and they think it was quite a long time ago, like eight months. So, I was just trying to answer for them, but can you elaborate on the 60 days a little bit, and what’s going on now with the Coronavirus, and how all of that is with testing?

Rhonda: [00:36:51] Yes, and that’s a perfect question. And what I would make sure of, because a lot of times when I’ve talked with different families, [00:37:00] and they spend the amount of time like what you’re talking about, you may have thought that you signed the parental consent to evaluate, and you may have, but the thing is we’ve got to make sure that that was signed, because from that date, and we need to pull that out, and see the exact date that you signed that, because 60 school days from that, it should have been. So, I know we say eight months, but we’re going to have to subtract out, and really find out how many days that that’s been actually in school days. So, when you may have to bring up your school calendar from the end of last year, because I’m trying to do math in my head right now, and it’s not good. But what we’re going to have to do is track again, so we need, and we always recommend, keeping a copy of everything you send, everything you signed, results. If you don’t have it, request [00:38:00] that from the school. So, we need to look at what date that was signed. Now, we need to narrow down how many actual school days that the school was in session that it took place.

Now, the school closures this throws sort of a wrench in everything, but in this situation, it probably shouldn’t, because if that was eight months ago that was signed, there should have been enough time between that there were 60 school days, but if not, this could play a part, so just keep that in mind.

And we have on our website too, a helpful webinar that we had about educating children during the Coronavirus, and we’ll follow up and send you all that link in the email too to that webinar. But here’s the thing, timelines did not change in the federal or state law at all, but our federal and state and local laws [00:39:00] nothing planned for or gave guidance for what you do in a pandemic. None of us have ever encountered this before in our lives. So, it did not lay out the plans.

Additional guidance, and we will send you links too. Stella, if you’ll help me to remember, I’ll make sure that I send links to all the guidance. And actually, if you go to our website, and you click – we have a Coronavirus web page that has all of the latest to the Kentucky Department of Education and the US Department of Education guidance listed under education. One, of the things that’s going to be the key factor now is, depending upon if that fell into the timeframe, once this started, and you really hadn’t hit your 60th school days yet, here’s the thing from the US Department of Education guidance, as long as the [00:40:00] evaluation does not require face-to-face or observation, where you would be there in person, because now all of our schools are on the nontraditional instruction program, NTI. And because of safety for our children, for our teachers, for their families, for your family, we cannot have anybody physically together. But if there’s alternate means that they can be evaluated by, whether it’d be through videoconferencing, then it should continue. But please know that there are a lot of evaluations that may not be able to take place, because they cannot in person right now, so it makes it tricky. And the other thing too, is we’re all kind of figuring this out as we go, because there has never been before guidance or any rules about what you do in a pandemic, because we’ve never been through. So, keep those things in mind that if we could track back when it starts.

I’m [00:41:00] glad you brought up this question. Think of that that we just talked about when you’re thinking about other parts of your IEP, because right now, that’s what’s going to apply in how it’s going to affect the services that your child would receive. They still would have an IEP and get services, but it may have to look very different in the method that it’s delivered, because the children are able to be face-to-face.

So, we’ll go ahead and jump right in here. I hope that helped. And I’m glad that you brought it up, because that does help with a lot of things that are going on right now, and very crucial.

IDEA requires that there be the present level of academic and functional performance. This is very key, because a lot of times, I used to hear people all the time say, “Well, you’ve either got to choose academic or functional.” It’s not either or. You’ve got to have both. [00:42:00] And I mean, I know a lot of the teachers really help us to be able to realize those different areas and those things that can really help, because academic achievement and functional performance go hand-in-hand. If you’re not able to do certain functional things, you can’t be academically successful. And all of this is really for our children to be successful as they become adults, so we’ve got to take those things in mind.

Now, we’re going to look at, again, here’s another visual of the blocks around. You’re going to look at a whole variety of areas for present levels. Communication, that’s key, because if a child does not have a way to communicate, whether it be verbally, through assistive technology, it doesn’t matter, they need a communication method. And what it is is it’s just going to be compared to their similar age nondisabled peers. [00:43:00] And everybody’s at different levels. I always recommend that before you go into a meeting, write down your own present levels, where do you see your child with each of these areas. Not only the areas that they struggle in, more importantly, the areas that are their strengths, because their strengths, just like we do as adults, are going to help them with the areas they struggle. It’s just as important to know those, as it is the areas that there are concerns. The key here is it’s got to be in the present levels, or it’s not going to be addressed further in the IEP. Always keep that in mind.

And I’ll go through a couple of these. I know we’re getting close on time with a lot to cover. But think of this, this is what you’re going to get within a year. So, I always think of what’s going to get me from the first floor to the second floor, so you see all the steps, and it needs to be in order. And it is [00:44:00] going to be your overall big goals.

A lot of times, I get questions of how many goals should I have. Well, it’s not going to do any good to have 50 goals. You need to be very specific. It needs to be overarching things that are going to help them. Like the example of what I said about a communication. So, if they don’t have communication, that’s an area that they’re not at the same level with their similar age peers, that should probably be a go, because that is going to affect them in all other areas of their academic and functional performance within school, right? So, think of those overarching, and you’re always wanting when you’re thinking of the annual goals. What is going to be within a year that we’re hoping to be able to hit? And this is academic and functional.

Now, benchmarks are objectives. Those are going to be your steps that you’re going to take within the year. And it’ll be arranged [00:45:00] in increased difficulty and the criteria. We always want to keep our children challenged.

One thing that I want to make sure I mentioned that’s on the next slide here is, in 2004, IDEA removed the requirement for students who are not on the alternate assessment, they don’t have to have objectives or benchmarks, under idea. Kentucky Administrative Regulations said it would like the local county or independent public school system decide that. Really, I’ve not saw any IEPs that’s not had it. But if they happen to not have it in your area, it may be because your child is not on the alternate assessment, that they’re not required to actually have the benchmarks or objectives. But from all the ones that I’ve seen, they have, because it just helps us to know what steps we need to take to reach that overarching [00:46:00] annual goal.

Now, the statement, there has to be a statement of special education. Remember, they’ve got to not only qualify under category, but they’ve got to need specially designed instruction and related services. So, there has to be very specific instruction written in the IEP, what is to be provided. Is it organizational? Do they need maybe some time management? Some of our children who need those things to kind of keep them on task, how to keep things organized. Is it a child that needs instruction in braille? So, depending, and I guess it’s going to vary depending upon your child on what’s best for them. Not necessarily the disability that they have.

Related services, these again, they would need related services. This can be a variety, and this is to help. Related [00:47:00] services is not a standalone-go itself. It is to help support achieving those goals, so just keep that in mind. Some examples of related services that we have coming up here are communication device, transportation, OT, PT, and these are just a few examples of that.

Now transportation, it needs to be written in your child’s IEP if they require specialized transportation. And the thing that is very important is making sure it’s very specific, because some therapies are in a group setting, some our one-on-one with the therapist, some are in consultation with the teacher. They may not be working directly with the child. So you need to be very specific the start-end date, the frequency of it, and the amount, maybe one time a week, and the amount of time each one of those sessions are. The more specific, the better. [00:48:00] And that way, everybody knows, and has the same guide to know what’s appropriate for them.

Accommodations, again, this is just an example list. One of the things that would help my brother Grant, because he’s technically legally blind, but he can see some things, so braille, because of his physical disability, was not appropriate. He would always have readers and scrap. Somebody would write it. He would be able to tell them what the answers were, and they would read to him. My twin sister needed extended time for taking tests. I think I need some speech therapy is probably what I need. I should have been included in that. But the thing is it depends on what is best and what your child needs. Again, there’s [00:49:00] always an area that says other, to where you can choose what. It may not be what’s listed, but these give us some example. And not all children are going to need a lot of accommodations. Again, it’s what they need for them to be successful and it appropriate for them.

So, I do want to make sure I bring it up, because we get questions a lot. Well, what’s the difference between a modification and accommodation? So, a modification would be think of a classroom assignment. And maybe, I always use the example that Stella always shares about her son. And when he was in high school, he would still be working on the same topic and the same work, because first, we wanted to be age-appropriate, right? So, say if they were working on “Romeo and Juliet,” but he [00:50:00] wasn’t at that same level. They would adapt that in modify that work, where not just easier, but to where he could still be challenged, but to work, because we’re working to get him to that different level, but it would be age-appropriate, which is key. So, he would still be doing the same work on “Romeo and Juliet,” but it would be modified to the level he was working on right there.

A flipside of that, another example of modifications would be shortened assignments. They would still be doing the same level or the skill of work, right? So, think of this, if there are 10 math problems, all of them are showing the same skill, now some students can’t get 10 done. It can be modified to where if they complete say 5 of the 10, then it would be [00:51:00] graded as if it was complete. Of course, if they can do it, they need to do it, just like all of the other children need to do the 10 problems. But because you see where that would really play in, because if they could only get five done, they already failed on that, because right at that point, if they got all five that they finished right, that would only give them a 50%. So, right there, it could be adapted for them and modified, so that they’re able to still accomplish it at the same level, but not as much work, and some students need that. Again, none of this needs to be modified in that way, unless it’s appropriate for them, because we first want to make sure all of our children are always challenged. We want to hold them to higher levels.

An accommodation would be, say they’re having trouble being able to [00:52:00] give the answers, and they can’t say it. They can’t get the words out. What they may be able to do on accommodation is they may be able to type it, or show it in a picture. Those are sort of accommodations to help them so that they can do it.

Just wanted to take that few moments there to kind of go over that, and explain a little bit. I want to see though. I’m going to keep going. And at the end though, because I know we’re going to be going over time a little bit, I will stay on here if we have questions, more questions.

Least restrictive environment, we’ve already talked about that. That is key, because you’re not going to decide placement to the end, and that always needs to be in a least restrictive environment as possible for our children with their similar age nondisabled peers. And if they’re not, it has to be explained in detail the amount of time that they’re not [00:53:00] in there, in the regular class, doing the same activities with their nondisabled peers. It has to be documented, and the reasons why it is appropriate for them not to be in with their education.

So, an IEP, ARC meeting can be called at any time, but you’re at least going to have one annually. You can have one at any time, and I recommend you do, especially if things have changed, or you’re seeing that you’re not meeting your goals or objectives, or if they’re already accomplished, and you don’t want to spend the rest of the year working on something they’re already just about to completely master, because we do want to keep them constantly challenged. Or there might be a need to meet to sort of re-evaluate. Maybe we need to approach it in a different method, different strategy if we’re not seeing much progress.

Now, procedural safeguards. I do just want to note that eligible [00:54:00] students under IDEA, regardless of the disability category you qualify under, it’s equal protection. So, on disability doesn’t have more protection than another. It’s all equal. If you qualify, you get equal protection under IDEA. And you must be given a copy of the procedural safeguards or ask from the school at least every year, or asked if he would like that.

Again, you have to give the consent to evaluate. And also too, when the evaluation comes back, if it shows they qualify, you have to sign to receive the special education services.

Prior written notice, access to records, we’ve already talked about the independent education evaluation. There are different procedures too for placement changes. And also, what I refer to that chart that’s in your handouts, it also has some frequently asked questions [00:55:00] that families have had about placement changes, and it depends on what the placement change is for, but there are procedures that have to be followed for children who have an IEP, so just keep that in mind.

Now, one of the things too, that before we kind of wrap up here, is I always suggest, and these are procedural safeguards to resolve disputes. I always suggest if things aren’t going right, talk to your teacher. Follow the proper chain of command, and really work too, because the thing about it is is you want to go as few steps as possible or resolved, so that you all can meet an agreement and really work together. That doesn’t mean you’re always going to agree with one another, but the key here is the partnership and collaborating with the school, and really working together.

If [00:56:00] with talking with the teacher or therapist, if you still have concerns, request an IEP meeting. And if you don’t have result there, and I’ll always do, the conference summary should give a picture of everything that – a summary of what took place at the meeting, request, conversations. Even if you all aren’t an agreement, it would state that in your conference summary.

Now, if you still don’t feel that there’s resolved, then you can go, you can request the head of special education for your district to chair the meeting. Some automatically do in our smaller districts, or you can ask someone in our larger ones. It may not be the head of special education for the district. It may be someone that they appoint, because especially Jefferson County is huge. It sort of depends on who it would be, but [00:57:00] that would kind of help you maybe to be able to get it resolved. Again, understand any of these procedural safeguards, you don’t have to go one, two, three, but I would strongly suggest you do that, and take as fewer steps, because our children still do have to come to school, and we’ve got to work together, even when we’re not in agreement, to build that partnership.

You do have the right to request mediation. What will take place is, first of all, the school and you both have to agree, and know that no one is going to come in and fix it for you. There’s a form that’s sent to the Kentucky Department of Education, and they will have a mediator come that is not anyone from within your school district or surrounding area at all, an impartial person. They’re not coming in to cure and fix anything. They’re coming in to help you all [00:58:00] try to come to an agreement together.

Now, you do have the right to file a state complaint, and there’s the forms, the Kentucky Department of Education, and we can always connect and provide that to you. You do have the right to due process hearing and court actions. Again, once you get that far, people that I’ve talked to, and it’s very few that have went that far, will tell you in the end, it does not matter what the decision was, there really wasn’t a winner overall, because at that point, we’ve got so far from being able to work together, but know that these procedures are there, so that you can access, and you do have those rights, because you do know your child best. And if you feel that’s what’s appropriate, that’s what you need to do. And you do have those rights.

But again, any opportunity that you would be able to take to really [00:59:00] resolve those disputes, and really try to find some common ground that you all can work on, that will be what in the end is going to be best for your child. But again, you know what your child needs, and you will know in your heart what you have to stand for or not. And again, the great thing is there are so many great educators and school staff that really work their best. And I know that no system is perfect, but if we could try to work together and build that partnership outside of when you’re sitting in an IEP meeting, or when something’s wrong, because you don’t want to wait to those opportunities. Get to know people outside of that. It will give you a new perspective for one another.

So, let’s see if there’s any questions here. And I know we’ve covered a lot, and here’s our [01:00:00] website, and our information. Next week, we’re going to have our special education process webinar, where we’re going to include some that we talked about today, but we’re going to spend more time narrow down on and with some tips on the actual IEP. Not just the process, but the individual parts of the IEP. And we’ll also have that available not long after, if you’re not able to join us. Well, you can access that recording.

Stella, is there any questions that you see?

Stella: [01:00:35] I have one more question Rhonda that someone has asked, and I’ll just read it, and then I’ll let you respond. It says, “I have a child that has a 504 plan due to behaviors to past traumas. Other students make fun of him for being in foster care, and the child gets upset, and became disruptive with backtalking, but there was no physical attack. The school placed him in-school suspension for three days. [01:01:00] Is the child protected under the 504 for the in-school suspension?”

Rhonda: [01:01:08] Okay, that’s a great question, but it brings up several things to me. First of all, and I know this isn’t what you’re asking, but he might not qualify for an IEP, but he might, depending upon, and looking at there may be another category that maybe he wasn’t evaluated for, that he might qualify for. So, I’m just thinking out loud here, the category other health impaired, which would include ADD, ADHD, a lot of different disabilities like that, also the social, emotional. I would recommend because it is a specific education law that you see if he could possibly qualify for that.

Now, to really answer your question is, so the [01:02:00] in-school suspension, so it does not have different procedures in place under 504, because it’s an equal access law, right? So, IDEA and the IEP is going to have some specific guidelines and procedures where it has to do with if a child is suspended. It doesn’t mean that they still won’t be put into that different placement, but there is not parts for the 504 that has like IDEA for the IEP, because for instance, there is a part under IDEA that’s manifestation determination, which when there is a change of placement due to behavior, there needs to be a meeting held to look at was this a direct – pretty much [01:03:00] do they know better or not. Was this because of their disability and a manifestation of their disability, or not? So, it gets very technical in each decision and the timeframe, like how many days. You’re talking in-school suspension though, that part in IDEA talks about it’s suspended for I believe it’s more than 10 days. I want to give you the exact thing here. I want to look it up, so I’m not just going by my memory. But there is not that for 504, like there is under IDEA for an IEP, to my knowledge.

Now, what I would suggest though is to really have a meeting, and to update, and especially because he’s being made fun of, and the behaviors are a result of what’s happening because of the treatment [01:04:00] that he is receiving from his peers based on his disability. Maybe we need to have a meeting, and come up with a plan to address that within his 504 plan, because that’s very crucial to his success.

Now again, you’re going to have more things in place, because you can have specially designed instruction, and get related services for children with an IEP. So, it’s going to kind of vary. And that’s a great question, I’m glad you brought it up, because it will vary depending on the situation and depending upon if it’s an IEP or 504 plan that they do have in place. But I would love for us to follow up with you too, to see if there are not other options that maybe we need to make sure that he’s not being evaluated that he might qualify under IDEA. Does that help you think?

Stella: [01:04:56] Yes, I think that’s great. And also, one of the handouts [01:05:00] that we’ll be sending is specific to 504, so that will really I think helped answer some questions also. She said yes, [inaudible] .

Rhonda: [01:05:12] Oh, you’re welcome. So, is there any other questions that we have? I know we’ve been over time, and I don’t aim to keep you longer than you planned. But we’re very grateful that you all joined us.

And just check our website, sign up. We’ve got a lot of webinars coming up, and a lot of opportunities, and we’ll be recording those and having them available on our YouTube channel and website. So, please stay safe, and I wish you all the best, and until the next webinar. Thanks.