September 2013 FAQs

September 4th, 2013  

FAQs

Q: I don’t understand minutes in and minutes out of regular ed on the summary of services page. Help!

A: Students may receive special education services in the general education or special education classroom or a combination of the two. In order to appropriately determine a student’s LRE, the amount of time that a student participates with his or her non-disabled peers must be determined. If a student has 50 minutes of Reading in the IEP and has 20 minutes of that time in the general ed classroom and is pulled out  to special ed for the other 30 minutes, then 20 minutes goes in the Minutes IN and 30 minutes goes in Minutes OUT on the reading section of the summary of services.

Q: Which day is the first day of an evaluation timeline?

T: The timeline begins on the date that the district (school) received the consent. If at a meeting, the date the parent signs and dates the consent to evaluate is the first day of the timeline. If the parent did not sign the consent at a meeting and returned it to you at a later date the first day is the day the school received it. Either way, write the received date at the bottom of the consent form and include that date in the database for documentation.

Q: What does that Red M mean again?

A: The Red M signifies that a meeting was held at least 3 weeks ago and Pupil Services has not received the original paperwork from the meeting OR Pupil Services has received some paperwork but some paperwork is missing. Original paperwork is due to Pupil Services and a copy of the paperwork is due to parents within 3 weeks of the date of the meeting.

Q: I usually send paperwork home to parents at the same time I send it to district office. It is embarrassing to have to contact the parent to correct mistakes found by district office. What can I do?

A: The hard copy of the IEP is the legal document that the school is to follow and is the educational record for both the district and the parent. Therefore, that document must not only reflect the decisions made by the team for the student, but must reflect our best work as school district employees. Always print out the IEP and proofread it. You may consider asking a colleague to proofread it for you. You may contact Pupil Services secretaries or your program coordinator prior to printing and sending the document anywhere, and we will be happy to proofread it for you! Proofreading should be for typos as well as for content inconsistencies or errors.

Q: What should I write in the PLAAFP under “Parent comments/ concerns…”?

A: This section of the PLAAFP is for the parents’ words regarding their children. This should be what parents say they want for their child. Some examples include: “Parents work with Johnny at home. They are concerned that he takes 3 hours to complete his homework,” or “Johnny’s parents were not able to attend the meeting. When setting up the meeting, Johnny’s parents expressed they would like the team to discuss accommodations to allow him to be successful in his general ed math class.”

Some non-examples include: “Parents did not attend the IEP meeting” or “None at this time.”

 

PLAAFP — The First “P” Stands for Present!

September 4th, 2013  

Presents Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) are developed during the IEP process first for a reason – without a proper PLAAFP, the team cannot develop the goals or select an appropriate program. Take the following 5 steps to construct detailed PLAAFPs:

1. Bring current data to the IEP meeting. This doesn’t mean information that is a year or older. Rely more on hard data than teacher observations. Data should speak for itself.

2. Be cautious when using numbers in PLAAFPs. Think twice before saying that a child does something X percent of the time or X out of X times. If you are saying that a child does something 8 out of 10 times, does he consistently do it 8 out of 10 times or just that day assessed? PLAAFPs should explain where the child is functioning on a day to day basis, not where he was functioning on a particular day.

3. Review test scores and evaluation results prior to meeting. Team members should have an opportunity to interpret test scores and evaluation results for themselves. Sometimes different staff members and parents have different beliefs about whether a student is making progress and what the student needs to improve. Reviewing ahead of time leads to a meaningful discussion at the meeting.

4. Write PLAAFPs in positive terms. PLAAFPs are supposed to identify what a student can do. Avoid using the word can’t when writing PLAAFPs. What the child cannot do comes into play when developing the goals and objectives. PLAAFPs identify student strengths and abilities while goals identify what the student needs to learn to do.

5. Use the “stranger test” to assess PLAAFPs. A PLAAFP is appropriate if a person who is unfamiliar with the IEP would be able to identify exactly what the student can do. This is likely if the PLAAFP includes measurable data and specific details.

Excerpted from Special Ed eConnection by LRP (February 2013)

 

What is FAPE?

September 4th, 2013  

FAPE is broadly defined in the IDEA as special education and related services that:

1. Are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge,

2. Meet the standards of the SEA,

3. Include an appropriate preschool, elementary school, or secondary school education in the state involved,

4. Are provided in conformity with an IEP.

 

The contours of an appropriate education must be decided on a case-by-case basis, in light of an individualized consideration of the unique needs of each eligible student. FAPE must be available to all children with disabilities residing in a state between the ages of 3 and 21, including children with disabilities who have been suspended or expelled from school.

‘Cadillac vs. Chevrolet’ analogy:  According to a well-worn analogy from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, FAPE does not require a “Cadillac,” but it does require a “Chevrolet.” In other words, school districts are not required to maximize the potential of children with disabilities. Furthermore, districts need not cater to a parent’s preference and place the student in what the parent considers the “better” placement.

The Supreme Court made it clear that the IDEA does not require the best possible education. Referring to the minimal level of benefits that an appropriate educational program must confer, the Supreme Court termed the state’s obligation as being the provision of a “basic floor of opportunity.”  The Supreme Court recognized that the IDEA is a floor of educational opportunity, not a ceiling. A state, however, may adopt a more demanding standard of appropriateness than the IDEA.

A district’s obligation to provide FAPE to a student with a disability is satisfied when the district provides the student with the personalized educational program necessary to allow the child to derive an educational benefit from that instruction.

Generally, it is not advisable for school districts to include non mandatory items in an IEP. An IEP is a document with legal, as well as educational, significance. Injection of superfluous information should be minimized. Moreover, when the “extra” items included in the IEP are programming or related services that are not required for FAPE, inclusion of the items may be not only superfluous, but also ultimately prejudicial to the school district. For example, a district may include in an IEP programming or related services that exceed the obligation to provide FAPE in order to be responsive to or settle a disagreement with parents. The potential for prejudice arises from the fact that inclusion of a particular service in an IEP may create an obligation to provide that service throughout the period covered by the IEP, regardless of whether it is necessary for FAPE.

Achievement of passing grades and advancing from grade to grade in a general education classroom is not necessarily an indication that the student is receiving FAPE under the IDEA. According to the 4th Circuit, an evaluation of the student’s circumstances as a whole is still required.

Excerpted from  Special Ed eConnection newsletter from LRP

 

March 2013 FAQs

March 17th, 2013  

FAQs

Q: Who contacts the transportation office when students need to have transportation added to or removed from their program?

A: The case manager is responsible.

Q: When I print my IEP, the last line of the PLAAFP cuts in half. What can I do?

A: The most important thing is that you notice that this has happened so that you are not     sending it home difficult to read. The best thing to do is to check where the line is cutting off and hit “enter” a few times to move that line down to the next page. Reprint and check again. Repeat until it is a clean line.

Q: What was I supposed to do with that consent for transition agency section on the IEP signature page?

A: By law, we are required to invite transition agencies, as appropriate, to IEP meetings starting when students turn 16 years old. We are also required to have consent to have any agency that we invite participate. The section on the signature page of the IEP is for parents/ adult student to provide their consent. If no transition agencies were invited to the meeting, write “none at this time” on the signature line, and the parent does not need to sign. Please also  reconsider the need for a transition agency to be invited for the next meeting.

What if Students Don’t Want Accommodations?

March 17th, 2013  

When students refuse to accept their accommodations, we become concerned that we are not fully implementing their plans. Here are some tips from the LRP Special Ed Connection newsletter.

  1. Document student’s refusal of accommodations. In one school district, teachers document refusals on an “accommodation review worksheet” (sample available at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/forms/pdf/270-2c.pdf ). This allows teachers to weigh in on accommodations that are effective or those that may no longer be needed.
  2. It’s the district’s duty to provide accommodations.  Do not blame the student or the parents for not implementing accommodations. Don’t adopt the attitude of, “I’ll leave the notes out for him, but if he doesn’t take them, he doesn’t take them.” If the student rejects an accommodation, the team should determine the issue and try to resolve it. Self-advocacy is important, but it doesn’t mean “that you put the student completely in charge.” Provide and encourage the student to use the accommodations.
  3. Gain buy – in from the student. Consider asking students: why are you rejecting the accommodations? Do you think they help you in the classroom? Are you embarrassed to use your accommodations? How can we help?

Ensure teachers understand accommodations.  For example, a student with preferential seating may not only need to be seated in front, but always near instruction. If a teacher tends to walk around while instructing, she will need to stay in the front