Special Education Process Ages 3-21 Webinar

Rhonda: Go over the overview of special education process for the IEP, the Individual Education Program, which is under IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, ages 3 through 21.

Just to tell you a little bit about ourselves.  We’re the parent training and information project for the state of Kentucky, and what that is, under that same law that cause for IEPs in school, IDEA, part D of that cause for there to be a parent training and information project within every state.  Now, some states do you have more than one, depending upon the population of the state.  Kentucky’s always had one, and we’ve had it since.  Kentucky first received one back in 1988. 

We are all family members or persons with disabilities helping one another.  We do not act as attorneys.  We do not represent families.  But what we do is we work to help, so that you are able to advocate on behalf of your child or your student.  And really lending a listening ear through that peer support.  Although we may have experience with different disabilities, we are able to help one another navigate the system, and we’re really here to help and support you.

And what we’re going to do here.  I always forget this part to go over the housekeeping, but there are some handouts, which includes the PowerPoint, some other handouts that you will have as see included on your menu over there.  If you don’t have a moment or if you’re joining us by phone, well, you get download those.  Not to worry.  We will follow up with the webinar with the email that includes all of the handouts.  Also too, there is a questions box that if you would like to ask a question, Michaela Evans with Kentucky SPIN’s on here helping.  I’m Rhonda Logsdon.  And she’s going to help us with questions.  We will stop periodically to see if there are any.

Now, do keep in mind too please, we do have a lot of people on here, so if we’re not able to get to your questions, but we can always follow up with you all afterwards.  And also too, even if you don’t have a question now, we’re here to help you, not just provide the training, is to really help step through the process.  So, at any time, feel free to contact us. 

Three of us siblings have disabilities from the seen to the unseen, and all three had IEPs throughout school.  And they’re smarter than I can wish to be.  And my belief is that all of us, no matter the severity of the disability, can achieve great things.  We just all need support. 

And so, what we’re going to do today is kind of give an overview of IDEA, and you may have been able to join us last week for our special education law.  We’ll go over a little bit of that, but we’re going to expand on that.  And if you didn’t have a moment to join that, not to worry, we have already got it closed caption, and uploaded on our YouTube channel, which is also included on our website.  You can access that recording, and you’ll probably by the beginning of next week be able to access this training that we will also upload, so that you have access to this recording as well. 

So, we’re going to go over IDEA, but then an overview of the specialized process by taking a look at the important parts that make up the IEP, and also the transition planning, procedural safeguards, and any questions and answers that you may have. 

Yeah, if you have joined us, some of you may be sick of me saying it, but I am a visual person, so I always want to keep in mind that IDEA is the federal law, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act, and ADA.  Those are federal laws.  Then we have our Kentucky Administrative Regulations, which is state.  And then you will have your local policies and procedures, which are through the independent or County Public School Districts within Kentucky.

I do you want you to keep in mind too, this is for children who attend Kentucky public schools.  Kentucky is still one of the few states that our military bases Fort Knox and Fort Campbell is not run through the state education Agency, which in Kentucky is the Kentucky Department of Education.  They are actually through the Department of Defense Education Activity, So DODEA is what it’s referred to.  So, when we’re talking about this and the different timelines, we’re going to be very specific in these that we give, and you’ll see that there may be some difference because the federal law always overrides or supersedes the state or local policies and procedures, unless they go above and beyond in favor of the child, or they let the state or local districts decide.  And there are a lot of different situations of that. 

And again, we get a lot of questions, and it really depends on the details, a lot of times, to know what you go by.  And we can help you all with that anytime that you have questions.  And if we don’t know the answers, we will work to get them for you.

IDEA is broken up into different parts.  As I had kind of explained earlier, there is a part that funds the parent training and information projects, which is actually part D.  Part B is what’s through our Public School System, 3 through 21.  Part C is the early Intervention, which in Kentucky is First Steps. 

My OCD would have appreciated a little bit better if it was more in order, but I think they should have switched the part C and D to keep it in line, but that they didn’t ask me.  So, just keep in mind that this is a part when we’re talking about the IEP of the overall IDEA, and the part we talk about is what cause for the IEPs in school. 

Now, here’s the thing that is hard a lot of times, is that it’s not just enough to be diagnosed with a disability outside of school and bring that in, because when you’re talking about IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, it is a specific education law for children with disabilities who qualify.  So, it does get very confusing sometimes, because even if you have been diagnosed with the disability, it does not guarantee that you’re going to qualify under IDEA as a qualifying disability category.  And what this is to qualify is you have to meet at least one of the criteria in one of the disability categories.  And on top of that, needs specially designed instruction and related services.  So, it is very specific, and in a lot of times, it can be very confusing why some children qualify, why some don’t.  But just keep in mind, there’s going to be a lot of situations where they may not qualify, but they could possibly they would be covered under 504, and have a 504 plan.  But for all children who might qualify, it is best that they’d be on an IEP if they meet that criteria, because they will get the specially designed instruction and related services that they need.

Some key principles of IDEA, the Free Appropriate Public Education, FAPE, and what this means is you cannot be charged for your child to be educated because they have a disability.  But now, keep in mind to though, that doesn’t mean if all kids don’t pay say a field trip fee, or class fee, that that wouldn’t apply.  It’s just they cannot be charged to be educated because they have a disability.

Now, an appropriate evaluation.  There are different criteria that you have to meet through the evaluation, depending upon the category, which may look very different from somewhere you might take your child outside of, school and have them evaluated, and they would qualify under a certain disability.  And it does get kind of confusing when you look at that. 

Then there is the an IEP, the individualized education program.  Parent and student’s participation is key in this.  We know it’s the key to our children success for us all to be involved and collaborate, and be an equal member of the team.

Least restrictive environment, LRE, means that all children should be educated with their non-disabled peers to the extent appropriate and possible, because that they should start in the regular classroom.  And then if that’s not what’s best for them, look at the alternatives, but you first want to try and bring in services, accommodations, modifications to make that work.  And then you look at alternatives, what’s best for that individual child.  Not based on the disability they have, but what is the best for their individualized education program.

And then there are the procedural safeguards, the parent’s rights, which we’ll give some examples throughout this for you. 

Now, the three appropriate, and we’re already at public’s expense.  And anytime it says in here this SEA, that’s the state education agency, which is the Kentucky Department of Education, or if it states the local education agency, that is LEA, is your local public school district.  In some, we have independent or County Public School Systems.  And what this means is that too, there is what we may feel is appropriate, others may not feel as appropriate to, so there is that give and take, and coming to the best possible outcome that is best for your child to be educated and be successful.  So, keep those things in mind. 

Now, for a child to qualify, again, here’s the visual that I love, is that there has to be the referral evaluation eligibility, IEP placement is decided last.  We don’t know what the appropriate placement is for a child until we write their IEP, their individualized education program.  And then there is the re-evaluation.  So, we’re going to step through this process together.

Now, the referral.  Anybody can refer a child who has knowledge or suspects that they might have a disability that would qualify under IDEA for an IEP.  This could be a child who has been diagnosed outside of school with the disability, or it could be your child may not have been diagnosed at all.  So, what to look at is this is to get them – the referral is to initiate the evaluation.  Now, the evaluation cannot take place until the parent or guardian signs consent for them to do so.

Now this, remember when I said that the federal law always overrides or supersedes the state local policies and procedures, unless it goes above and beyond, or they let the state’s decide.  So, I want to pull some attention here too, that the evaluation has to be completed within from the date the parent signs the parental consent to evaluate, 60 school days from the date they sign that, the evaluation has to be completed by. 

Now, you’ll notice – and we go back here that says the 60 school days, because prior to the last reauthorization of IDEA in 2004, the federal law did not have a timeframe set in place.  As you can imagine, that’s not a good thing for anybody.  So, Kentucky went above and beyond, and put in a timeframe in our regulations, stated 60 school days.  Then reauthorized IDEA in 2004, they put into place in the federal law 60 days from the date the parent signs a parental consent to evaluate.  That would be calendar days.  That is much different from school days.  Calendar days would include weekends, breaks from school.  School days, it doesn’t include the weekends, it doesn’t include summer break.  But the reason we go by in Kentucky the 60 school days, because they said you go by the 60-day calendar days, unless your state had already put a timeframe in place, you would go by that.  Kentucky already did have a time frame put in place, which was 60 school days.  That’s why in Kentucky, we go by 60 school days from the date the parent signs the consent to evaluate.

Now, you’ll see over on the right, under the picture, DODEAS for our military families whose child attends school on base, they’re under DODEAS.  And in those regulations, it states 60 school days from the date that the – and they call it the parent permission to assess form.  So, if your child attends school on base, your timeframe is different even though it’s in Kentucky, but because it is a school on the military base run by DODEAS, you go by 60 school days. 

Now, the evaluation is going to help to determine a lot of things.  If they qualify under a category for a disability, if they’re going to need specially designed instruction related services, because remember it’s not just enough to qualify in that category.  You also have to need specially designed instruction and related services.  The evaluation is going to help you to know where your child is at, the present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, where are they currently at, and any accommodations or modifications that might be needed.  So, the evaluation is very crucial. 

And the thing too that I want us to keep in mind is the evaluation is to be a combination of a lot of things.  It should not be just one means of an evaluation.  It would be a compilation of different things together to help decide all of this.  And it’s very important to have that data, and there will be a meeting once the evaluation is done.  In Kentucky, an IEP meeting is the same as an ARC, Admission and Release Committee meeting.  We just added another name on this stuff. 

Now, there will be a meeting set up to go over the evaluation results.  What I always suggest is request the evaluation results prior to that meeting, so you’ll have a moment to set and go through that.  In any area that you’re not sure of or don’t understand, make sure that you highlight that, and write yourself notes, because when you go to the meeting, there is to be someone there that not only for you, but for everyone else at the table, can explain those evaluation results.  And it’s very key to have time to go through it, because I don’t know about you, but I know a lot of times, and regardless if you’re a parent or a professional, but there’s all kinds of different names for stuff.  Sometimes, I wish that it would just use plain language, but really making sure that we have a good understanding of what that means and what it’s saying where your child is.

Now, I will also throw in a tip too for some children who have – and I’ll give you an example.  My brother Grant who has a physical disability, has cerebral palsy, but he’s also technically legally blind.  He can see, but not that well at all.  And because of the severity of his disability, there is not an accurate tool that can really tell what he knows, because of the combination with the vision and his physical disability.  So, have those conversation before the evaluation takes place.  And one of the things that you might want to make sure that is stated is if there is not an accurate tool that can evaluate exactly what they know, just make sure that that is in part of, and ask that that be part of the evaluation summary.  Because if you based it on that, Grant would have tested very badly in certain areas, but that doesn’t mean that’s exactly everything he knows.  And again, this is going to be key to come up with where our children are currently at if they qualify, to write an appropriate individualized education program or IEP.  So, just keep those things in mind.  And the more that we communicate and collaborate through this whole process, it’s only going to help our children better. 

Also too, is part of the evaluation is, if the results come back, and you’re not in agreement, there is a part in the federal and state law that states that you can request an independent educational evaluation at no cost to you.  Now, if you do this, you need to follow the correct procedure.  You can’t just take them to get an evaluation outside of school, and bring the bill back.  It doesn’t work like that.  There is a process you requested through the school.  Then you will get a list of independent contract consultants that will do those.

Now, the IEP team, which you’re an equal member of, or an ARC team, will then look at those results that come back, and they are not going to be the say-all-end-all, but they need to be at least those results taken into consideration as the overall to see if they qualify or really to come up with their present levels if they do qualify.

And you’ll remember from a few slides back, where it showed the process, there’s a re-evaluation at least every three years, if not sooner.  Some of our children need that more often than not, than three years, because things change a lot.  You do have the right.  Any of the evaluations which has to do with the qualifying and all of that, you do have the right not just with the initial evaluation, but any that occur after, have the right if you’re not in agreement, to request that independent education evaluation. 

Now, we’re going to look at the categories.  And I want to draw your attention to – and this would be an example of, and the reason that we have the categories listed side-by-side.  An area in 2004 in the federal IDEA categories.  If you look far down, the emotional disturbance.  In the federal category, that used to be emotional, behavioral disturbance.  When they reauthorized it, they removed the behavioral part.  Kentucky went above and beyond, and kept it, and so our categories, emotional behavioral disability, which is very good news for our children, because Kentucky went above and beyond, and kept that because a lot of our children might not otherwise qualify if that did not have the behavioral part.  And we know that that is very key and affects their educational success, academically and functionally.  So, there are the different categories.  And again, it’s important to understand the categories, so that they qualify, but a category is not to dictate the services and what your IEP is or is not, because that is to be individualized based on what’s appropriate for your child, but it’s important to understand the categories.

And another I want to draw attention to, I get a lot of questions about other health impairment, or children who have ADD, ADHD, severe diabetes.  Other health impairment category also could include if it educationally affects the child that that could be a disability, and it would be under the other health impaired category.  Now, not all children who have those are going to qualify, but if it affects them educationally and they need the specially designed instruction, they would under that category there. 

Now, there are a lot of different categories, and what I find sometimes is children may not have been evaluated under the appropriate category.  So, a lot of times, it’s kind of figuring out, okay, was it the right category if they didn’t qualify, was there another category that they might have qualified in.  And I would just recommend that you just ask that there be an evaluation across the board, and any areas that you think that your child might qualify in, ask that they be evaluated for that.  So, it might be a couple of categories that they’re evaluated for to see if they qualify.

Now, under DODEAS, for our families, for the children who attend school on base, this is the breakdown of those categories.  I want to make sure that we listed that as well for families. 

I’m going to pause here just for a moment.  Michaela, does anyone have any questions so far? 

Michaela: I don’t see any questions at this time.

Rhonda: Okay, thank you so much.  So, we’ll go ahead, and mute back Michaela. 

On this, we’ll see that in the next string here that the IEP from IDEA 2004, it’s a written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, or revised in accordance with the 614.  So, what it is is continually, you’re going to least have an IEP meeting annually, and update that IEP.  And it’s a written statement of what the program is to be for your child.  And you are an important member of the team that helps to develop that.

Again, I’m the visual person, and we were talking about the evaluation and the present levels of educational performance, and the key there is that’s at the foundation.  If those aren’t accurate, everything that you build off of from that is not going to be accurate at all.  And it would always, for many years, just frustrate me to no end about everybody wants to talk about data.  I don’t care about data.  I want to know what’s best for the kids.  But the thing is, if we don’t know where they’re at, we can’t help them get to where they need to be, so we do need that data.  And a lot of times, people think that that data, the evaluation, and to develop the present levels has to be like one test.  Data is your observations as a parent, your child’s grades as their worksheets may come home, seeing their grades on different things, areas that they’re struggling with, that’s data too.  Observations from the classroom, behavioral, those are all part of data that will help to develop the present levels, which is very crucial, because what we need to do is we need to keep in mind, if it’s not identified in the present levels of academic performance, it’s not going to be addressed further in the IEP.  The more specific that you can be with the IEPs, the better, because one thing – and this was great advice that my mom gave me.  She said, “Anybody should be able to pick up a child’s IEP, and know what their program is.  So, it’s very key for it to be specific for that child and their program and what they need to be educationally successful.” 

And with this the present level, you’re going to see that this is not only academic, but functional.  Many years ago, you would always here, no matter where you’re at, and what state in the US, that it’s all about academic.  Well, we all know that the functional performance is just as key as the academic achievement for them to be educationally successful.  You have to have all of those things to be successful as an adult, and into the workforce.  And those are going to be the things we need to take in mind in consideration.  And what it will be, it will be broke out into the different areas.  And what this is, is this is going to be compared to their similar age nondisabled peers, what is the standard.

All kids are at different levels, regardless that they have a disability or not, but there had to be some type of standard for each grade level that was developed.  So, any area that they’re not commensurate with their similar age peers, it needs to be documented in there.  Communication, if they don’t have a means to communicate, or if they’re struggling with the communication, if they can’t communicate the same as their similar age peers, it needs to be documented what and why that they’re not able to.  It’s the same with all of these other areas. 

Now, what’s just as important areas that they’re struggling with is to know the areas that they excel in, because that is what’s going to help you for your child to be successful, because they’re no different than us.  I use my strengths all the time to help with my weaknesses.  We all do.  Our children are no different.  We’ve got to figure out and know their talents, and use that, their strengths, to help with the areas that they are struggling in, so it’s very key.

One of the things too that, in a handout that’s also on our website, that I think is a great tool to use is a snapshot of your child.  They give some very important things that you could provide to teachers and everything, some areas that they excel in, but also that they may struggle in.  Think of it like you’re providing a snapshot.  This needs to be a snapshot to get a true picture of where they are academically and functionally, because then from there, that is what’s going to drive the rest of your IEP, because that’s going to be the program that is developed for your child.  And it is very important that those things – there’s going to be also a question to after you have those areas, there are some typical questions you’re going to see, which is does the child have a behavior that impedes their learning or that of others, and if that is so, that needs to be marked and looked at a possible area.  There might need to be a functional behavior assessment done, to where there’s a positive behavior plan written.  There’s also some other areas that state, is your child blind or visually impaired, are they deaf, or hard of hearing, because those are key areas that we know.

Like on my brother Grant, it would say that he was blind or visually impaired, and one of the questions they ask is, is Braille used.  Well, for Grant, that wouldn’t work, because of his physical disability.  But it’s they’re these questions that are on there, as you all are working through, creating the IEP that is to help, and to know that those resources are there if that’s what’s appropriate for them.  And so, Grant always may have looked different from anyone else who was blind, because of also his physical disability, and how that played a part in what would have been appropriate for him or not.  So, again, looking at the individual child and what’s best for them, and where they are at. 

Now, I always suggest that, because there has to be a lot of groundwork done before an IEP meeting is held, request the draft of the present levels.  This is going to help you to be able to see, and really prepare for the meeting.  And you draft your own present levels.  Don’t worry about the right terminology, if it should be said a certain way.  You just come up with a list in plain language, and bring it.  It doesn’t matter if it’s in fancy terms or not.  You know your child better than anyone else.  And so, helping to write and to come up with those is going to be crucial to your child’s success.  And the draft is going to let you have time, because I don’t know if you’re like I am, but it takes me a while, especially some things.  And when we talk about evaluations or different things like that, it takes me a while to step through, and really read through it, and to have a really good understanding, so that then I can come into the meeting prepared, so that I can be the best for my child.

Also, write out a list of their abilities, their strengths, the areas of difficulty you’re seeing.  And give input on how your child is doing.  And if there are things that maybe when you’re working with your child on homework at home that you’re seeing that they struggle with, or areas that you see that they excel, things that maybe you’re doing, it might be something has to do with behavior, please share that, because the more we’re consistent from home to school, and the same school will share with you, if more you have that consistency, the better that the children are going to be able to do, because most of our children do better when it is structured and that it is consistent.  So, share those things with one another, because there may be something that you’re doing at home that it would really help the teachers to know, so that they could use that, and vice versa.  The sharing is so crucial in the partnership to them being successful. 

Now, IDEA requires there’s going to be an annual goal.  There isn’t as a certain number of goals there has to be, because I do get a lot of questions of how many goals should we have.  Well, it’s not going to do any good to have 50 goals.  It needs to be very specific.  There is no magic number for goals or objectives or any of it, because it’s to be individualized for your child.  So, we need these measurable annual goals that is going to include the academic and functional that we’re hoping that they will reach within a year.  These are going to be overall areas that impact them in several ways, and are the huge things, because we’re not going to come up with a list of 100 things for them to work on, because that’s unreasonable.  You need to pick the larger things, like communication.  Communication is key, because in all areas of academic and functional, if you can’t communicate or don’t have an effective means of communication, you’re not going to be successful in any of those areas.  So, keep it the broader overarching things that are going to help them. 

And it’s going to identify the skills, so this is what we want to from the beginning of the school year to the end of the school year at the second level.  Think of it as the two-story building, the second level are the end of the year to get.

Now, objectives and benchmarks are going to be those steps to your second floor.  And they’re going to be in sequence, which makes my OCD happy.  And it’s going to be modified, because here’s the thing, we want to increase and decrease difficulty based on where our children are at to help them to strive to be better.  We want to always strive and increase that difficulty.  And here’s the thing is, and one thing just to keep in mind not just with those benchmarks, objectives, part of succeeding is failing.  It’s no different for our children.  Our children do have to attempt different things.  I know that a lot of times, we may want to protect them, and we want them to be able to succeed. 

Most things in my life and the lives of families that are shared with me, most things that I’ve tried, I failed at least once, if not multiple times, to learn it.  So, it doesn’t mean that they’re not going to get it if on the first little bit you’re not seeing huge gains right away.  But here’s the important thing to keep in mind.  If you’re working on a goal with the objectives and benchmarks, and you’re not seeing really much progress at all, it might be a good IDEA to request an IEP meeting to update that, because we’re going to need to look at a different strategy or what we can do, because it doesn’t seem that they’re going to be able to meet that if we are on the same track that we’re on right now, by the end of the year.  Vice versa, some of the children maybe excelling, and already a couple months in, are pretty much got that goal met.  We don’t want to have them keep that same goal for the rest of the year.  We’re going to need and update that, so that we are constantly keeping them challenged.  

You can request an IEP meeting at any time, anyone can, but you’ll at least have the one annually.  But it’s important and not just requesting the meeting, but having those conversations with the teachers, the special education teachers, the regular education teachers, seeing where they’re at.  And we’ll talk a little bit more in a minute about the reporting, but really making sure that we’re sort of on top of it and know kind of where they’re at, and how they’re doing, because if I know where my child’s at, I’ll know how I can help them best to get them to go up that next step, to get to that second level at the end of the year. 

Yeah, I do want to make sure that I do bring up that it’s not – with the reauthorized IDEA in 2004, it is not required in the federal law to have benchmarks or objectives for all children with IEPs, unless they are on the alternate means of assessment, alternate achievement standards. 

Now, the Kentucky Administrative Regulations stated that they would let the local education agencies, which is the county or independent Public School District decide.  I’ll tell you all the IEPs that I’ve saw, they all have the benchmarks or objectives, but they’re not required to under the law, unless your local district stated that they would be for children who aren’t on the alternate assessment.  But all of that I’ve seen have them, because I think it just helps all of us, because we need to see those steps that are going to be, that’s going to lead to that overall goal being achieved.  But I just want you to know that that is what’s stated in there. 

I’m going to pause for just a moment then see with Michaela if there’s any questions.

Michaela: We do have a question from a professional that works with young people, helping them with self-advocacy.  And they would like to know how you recommend young people with their parents become more a part of the IEP process, and determine their own success. 

Rhonda: Oh, I love that, because that is our ultimate goal, right?  So, thank you for that question.  I don’t know that I have the cure-all answer, but I believe even when they’re little bitty, they need to start being involved in their IEP meeting.  Even when they’re little, even if it’s just come in, and I say hi.  Maybe then the next year they come in, they show some work they’ve been working on, they show some of the artwork.  Start them as early as possible going to the meeting.  So, we want to build these self-advocacy skills in.

Now, for some of the students who may already be in later in elementary, middle, and high school, we’re going to talk about some transition stuff here in a minute.  But have them be a part of it, and enable them, because we do want it to be what is best for them.  And I think when we help families to see that, the more that they are involved. 

Now, again, make sure it’s an appropriate time.  If you all are not in agreement or the meeting is not going so well, the children do not need to be sitting there in that.  The children need to see a unified parents and teachers working together.  That doesn’t mean we’re always going to agree with one another, but we need to be very careful too, and that they are not in there in regards to that. 

Now, here’s one of the struggles too, and I’ll tell you honestly, because as a family, it is very hard, especially if there are more severe disabilities, because you worry so much, right?  You want to protect them.  And Grant, my brother, he was more worried of how I would handle things than anyone else, because he is very independent.  Each family has to realize that, yes, there are going to be those risks the more independent they become, and there are people that can take advantage of them, but we have got to enable them to be able to be successful, because there’s no guarantee that we’re going to be there the rest of their life, right? 

So, without going off on a tangent, but one of our biggest fears as a family is thinking of how am I going to guarantee the best for them if I pass away before they do.  Not that I ever want to live through them passing away, but we’ve got to start and work through it.  So, it’s a journey for the parent, just as it as a journey for the child to become independent.  And again, the small steps are what’s going to lead to it.  So, we don’t need it just to be – especially if looking at right now, if they haven’t been as involved, start with those small steps, even though they may be older.  Have them start getting used to.  And this not only is going to help the person with the disability, this will help the family as well, because if you take those small steps, we’ve got to see that the importance of them taking over their future.  That doesn’t mean we won’t be there to help them, and be there to support them, protect them.  We always will as long as we’re breathing.  But the thing is we have to all make sure that they have these skills, regardless of the disability. 

And I know many people will say, “Well, you just don’t understand,” but I do.  And everybody’s situation is different, but we do have to work together to figure out a way of getting them involved and are part of it, because this is going to guarantee too that the IEP, the individualized education program that we are writing for them is going to be what they actually want for their future.  Because if we don’t ensure that, no matter how much we plan, it’s not going to do them any good if it’s not the future that they want.  And sometimes, that’s very hard.  But I know that was sort of – I dragged that on there a little bit, but it is a huge factor, and it is starting with those small steps I think it’s going to make the difference to work to where they are completely involved.

Some can go right in and be involved from the get go.  Some need those supports.  So, we’ve got to think of as families and professionals, how do we support them to do it.  Not to do it for them, but what are the things that we see that we can support them, so that they can be the self-advocate that we want them to be as they become an adult.

Now, there is going to be a statement of specially designed instruction for the special education from a qualified special education teacher, and those are going to be important.  There are some examples there on the bottom of the instruction and the organizational strategy for that.

And thank you, Michaela, I forgot to say thank you

Statement of related services.  Your related services is what’s going to help support, so you can achieve your overall goals, right?  This is going to be examples of occupational therapy, physical therapy, it may be assistive technology.  It could be a whole variety of things, behavioral strategies, behavioral therapies that they may need.  Again, all of these have to be related to them being educationally successful.  So, you might have a therapy outside of school that you might not get in school, because it has to be directly related to their educational success and educationally relevant for them to get that.  And it does need to be very specific.

Accommodations, these are in place so that for some students – my twin sister, she would need extended time, so that she was able to complete.  And Grant also did too, because it took a little bit longer, because he would also have a reader and a scribe that would read the questions, and write down his answers for him.  Again, wasn’t based on the category of disability.  It is what’s best for them.  Because you may have someone who has a learning disability that might need that extended time that has another with a learning disability that might not.  So, again, these are just samples of ones that might be used, but there is no just like related service end-all.  You cannot this or that.  The whole thing here with the IEP, whatever the program developed by the IEP team that’s appropriate for that child, that’s what’s in place.  And that’s the great thing about the federal and state law and local policies is because it is to be individualized, but that does also make it hard too, because there’s not this list, this you can, this you can’t do, because again, it’s individualized for the individual child.

Now, to keep in mind modifications and accommodations.  A modification might mean – and there’s some examples there.  I won’t read to you in the sake of time here, but the modification where you modify the work, depending upon what it is that they need.  An accommodation is what’s going to help them to be able to complete that work, right?  So, because a lot of times it gets confusing of what is the difference between the modification and the accommodation.  Modification is how are you modifying the work, or whatever you’re doing, so that they can achieve it.  The accommodation is what are those supports and accommodations that’s going to help them be able to do it. 

So, now, one of the things, the least restrictive environment.  Again, we talked about that previously.  All children are to be educated in the least restrictive environment possible.  And it has to be documented in the IEP for the complete time that they’re not going to be with their nondisabled peers, why they’re not, and the reasons for that. 

Now, the IEP needs to be very specific in the dates, the services, the anticipation, frequency.  An example would be the related services, when does it start, stop date, how often, and how long.  And also, on top of that, is it direct services, or is it in consultation with teachers? So, the more specific the better, because then everybody knows what is part of the individual program for your child. 

Now, I want to make sure – and this is one way that you’re going to be able to keep track of really where your child’s at on their goals and objectives.  Every child should get a progress report regarding their goals, concurrent when they get report cards, but it can be more frequent than that, but it needs to be very specific in the IEP.  There is already someone who is – that it’s states under each of the goals who is responsible for documenting that and ensuring that, and sort of orchestrating that, so that we know that that data is being collected.  So, you want to make sure that you’re getting those updates at least when nondisabled all children are getting report cards. 

Now, a lot of times I’ll see that they may say we do anticipate or don’t anticipate them meeting their annual goal.  That’s good, and I want to know that, but we need to be very specific in that.  Okay, because you don’t know how far they are in reaching it, so you need to know where they’re at.  Where are they act in relation to achieving the goal?  It’s good to know if we think that they’re going to reach it, but we also need to know to be able to help our children best where they’re at in that process.  So, that data is being collected, and making sure that that is part of the periodic reports that you receive, that you can share, so that you know.  And it may tell you areas that maybe you can work a little bit more on with your child, or areas to really concentrate and look at.  So, it’s very key that you do get those now. 

Now, there are the admissions.  Again, an Admissions and Release Committee meeting is the same as an IEP meeting.  And it could be called at any time by the school or parents.  I want to make sure that everybody knows, in the law, there is an area where the IEP can be changed.  And typically, when this is used, as if there’d been an error like documenting down, maybe a date might have been wrong or something, or there was an error in the IEP.  And if the parent agrees, that can be changed without having to call another IEP meeting.  And those would have to be in agreement with the parent for those changes to take place. 

Again, it’s important that everything be in writing, so we all know.  First of all, I have the utmost respect for teachers, because I think I would be a horrible – no, I would not be a good teacher.  And I don’t know how they handle all they do in a day.  So, we need to be very specific in, so that we know exactly what is part of our child that it’s in writing in the IEP, so that we all know what is to be in their program.  And it just helps the more specific, so that everybody knows.  Again, like creating a snapshot, those are important things.  Think of important things that needs to be in there for your child to be successful.  That’s what we need to make sure that is in the IEP too.

Now, the federal law states that by the time that the child – there has to be by the time that the child reaches 16, a transition, because there’s going to be a transition plan, transition goals.  And those are going to be different from the other goals, because the other goals is what we’re hoping to reach in a year.  So, when we’re looking at transition goals, that is what we hope to reach once we become an adult.  So, you got to kind of look out further, and really make sure that those are measurable transition goals and services.

Also too, beginning no later than one year before your child reaches the age of majority, which in Kentucky is 18, there has to be a statement that is given to you, and that you know that the rights that you currently have when your child turns 18, they transfer to them.  So, all of the protections and rights that you have are now theirs.

Now, this is just to let you know that all children should be their own guardian if at all possible.  That’s not a decision for me, school, or anybody to make, but just so that you know that.  And there is still a way that you can be involved once they turn 18, is having your child to make sure – and there’s a sample letter we could share with you all as well, that your child wishes you to be a part of the IEP team, and a part as their educational advocate, to help them through the process.

Now, the great thing – remember what I said about how the federal law, unless the state or local policies or procedures, it always overrides, unless the state or local policies our procedures go above and beyond in favor the child.  Well, Kentucky did again here, because in Kentucky, we kept it by the time the child is 14 or eighth grade, that there would be a transition statement in place, which is very good for our children, because the sooner they have that, the better, right?  You can never start too young on that transition of self-advocacy things.  And what they did was they made it aligned with all children, regardless that they have a disability or not, have an ILP in school, individual learning plan, which is to help them to be successful as an adult.  And your child’s ILP and their transition plan in their IEP should worked hand-in-hand to help them to be successful as an adult.

Now thinking creating, again, we need to make sure that we are having those conversations.  What are our children’s hopes and dreams?  We have tons of hopes and dreams for our children, and we hope that they align, but it is very critical that we make sure that it is what they want.  And we’ve got to think of different ways to do it, because our family, our life has never fit in a nice little box, right?  But we can achieve everything.  It may look a little different than everybody else’s, but we can still achieve it.

Make a list of the life skills.  What are the functional skills and academic that they’re going to need to be successful?  Those functional skills are what, many times, is going to be critical to identify, so that we have this as part of their transition planning to help enable them to transition successfully. 

So, here’s a list of what are the things that they need to know, so setting goal skills.  Our children should be involved from the get-go as early as possible, and setting those goals in what they see that they struggle with and need help with, because sometimes what we think that they need the most help with may not be what they need the most help with.  So, we need to really look at those social skills, the knowledge of how to effectively advocate for themselves, just as we have had to learn as families, the process that you take, it’s critical for our children to learn that as well, so they’re successful. 

Now, you’re going to have the cycle repeat, right?  It will continuously go.  And I want to make sure that I point out here, that every three years – and I know I already said this – but there will be a re-evaluation unless you need it sooner.  But there is a part in IDEA 2004 that if the IEP team agrees that the previous evaluation that qualified them still gives a true picture of where they are that they can adopt that as the current evaluation, and the child won’t have to be reevaluated.  For a lot of our kids, that’s not appropriate.  They need that reevaluation.  But know that that right is there.

Critical members of the team, parent and the individual, the student are crucial.  They must be involved.  They must be invited as early as possible for our students and parent participation must be invited, and be a part of the team.  And anyone who has directly working with your child needs to be a part of that IEP team, whether if it’s special education teacher, regular education teacher, anyone, the therapist.  It’s very important that they be a part of that team to help develop the appropriate program.

A few things here, because I know we’re getting close on time.  Here, I want to just make sure that we do know that, yes, it is critical, and parents have to be informed, but one thing that I’ve always asked, can an IEP meeting take place without me.  It can, but the school is have to document that they have tried numerous times to work to get you involved in there to have the meeting, even through alternate means of conference calls, but that’s why it’s key that you make sure that you answer notes that you might get, or emails, or calls, because if you’re not responding, and you’ve got to let them know if it doesn’t work for you, we need to look at a different day, because you do have to respond, because an IEP meeting can take place without you if the school has attempted numerous times to work to get you involved and able to be at the meeting, it can take place.  And your input is crucial. 

There are all kinds of alternate – and IDEA 2004 identified different means, video conferences, conference calls.  There are different ways that we can work to have you involved if you’re not physically able to be there.  And it’s not just a lesson plan, it’s a living document.  It is their program. 

I want to make sure to just really quick here, the procedural safeguards that are in place.  Some of these we’ve already been through, but that there are ways to resolve disputes.  I would first recommend first talk to your teachers.  Request an IEP meeting.  Yes, you can go to these different levels at any time, but really try to work to resolve things, and take the few amount of steps as possible to get the resolve that you need, because that’s what’s going to be best for your child.  And again, it’s an individual decision.  These rights are there for you, and it’s not for me to tell you what to do, or anyone else, just so that you know that you do have these right.  You have the right to request mediation.

Now, the school and you both have to agree to it, and no one’s going to come in and solve the problem for you.  There will be a mediator.  There’s a form that’s sent to the Kentucky Department of Education.  There’ll be a mediator appointed that will come in, that is not from anywhere in your school district, or surrounding area, that will come in.  They’re not going to cure it for you.  They’re going to try to help you all come to an agreeable decision together, right? 

You can file a state complaint, do process hearing, and court actions.  But again, I really urge you to work to try to resolve those disputes through the different levels with the teacher, requesting the school-based IEP meeting.  Maybe then even if before you might go to any of this, look at having the director of special education for your county or Independent School District chair in IEP meeting, so that you all can work to get this resolved, because in the end, our children do still have to go to school, and the more we do the partnership, even when we don’t agree all the time, is really what’s going to be the best for our children.  But know that those rights are there for you.

I think we might have just maybe two minutes here, if my clock is right.  So, Michaela, I do want to check in to see was there any questions, and I don’t know if we’ll be able to get to them all. 

Michaela: No, we did not have any more questions. 

Rhonda: Okay.  Well, then I think we’ll be able to get to it all then.  So, just let us know.  I hope this has been helpful for you.  Please let us know how we can help you, and you’ll be prompted.  Michaela’s actually going to be presenting behavioral strategies next Thursday I believe it is for us, and you can go on our website and register for that.  It’s under our calendar of events.  We’ll have our updates, or normal COVID updates that we’ve been having on Tuesdays. 

And so, just be safe and take care, and thank you all so much for joining us.  If you’ll take a moment to complete your evaluation when this ends, we greatly appreciate.