Changing LRE When the Class Isn’t Available

April 6th, 2015  

When making a decision about what classroom setting a student will have, convene the IEP team!  A Nevada school district decided to stop providing a high school student’s language arts instruction in a co-taught class and provided it in a special education class because the co-taught class was not available to juniors at the school.  This violated the student’s IEP because the team did not meet and the parent was not provided an opportunity for input and was not provided written notice.  To avoid the same issues, do this instead:

bullet-point-image-7Convene the IEP team because a decision to change placement must be made with team member input.

bullet-point-image-7Don’t base these decisions on administrative convenience.  Schools need to have a continuum of placements that are available for students’ unique needs.

bullet-point-image-7Comply with the least restrictive provisions for the needs of each student.

bullet-point-image-7Provide written notice of the change that includes an explanation of the changes that are to be made before actually implementing the changes

~From LRE’s Special Ed – connections newsletter

September 2014 FAQs

August 25th, 2014  

FAQs

Q: How do I input the minutes in and minutes out of general ed on the summary of services page?

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. One example is: a student has 50 minutes of Reading in the IEP and has 20 minutes in the general ed classroom and pulled out to special ed for the other 30 minutes. On the summary of services, 20 minutes is inputted in the Minutes IN and 30 minutes is inputted in the Minutes OUT on the reading line.

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

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

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Q: What does the Red M next to the student’s name in the database mean?

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.

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Q: What should we keep in the building files at our schools?

A:  Keep COPIES at the school and send the originals to district office – ALWAYS!! A copy of each of these documents must be kept: (1) current IEP, (2) most recent ESER, (3) most recent individual evaluation reports, (4) invitations for most recent IEP meetings, (5) PWNs since the last IEP meeting, (6) consent for initial placement, (7) progress reports since last IEP.

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Q: What should I write in the PLAAFP under “Parent comments/ concerns…”, specifically when the parent doesn’t attend the IEP meeting?

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 or any concerns that they may have. 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.”

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

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Three Pointers to Strong Prior Written Notices

April 4th, 2014  

1. Be specific about the district’s proposed actions. What exactly is the DISTRICT going to do or not do, not what has the parent requested? If there is more than one reason for a district’s proposed actions, include all of the reasons why the district is proposing or refusing.

2. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.  Avoid naming teachers or particular classrooms and making those decisions based solely on parent request. Make sure that parents know that the district will ensure that the child receives his services in an appropriate setting and will monitor his progress.

3. Identify options considered and rejected, including parent concerns.  In state complaints, parents often allege that schools did not consider information or evaluations that they provided or that they didn’t consider one of their concerns.  The prior written notice is the first place to go to see what was discussed and decided at an IEP meeting.

It is equally important to remember that the prior written notice is not a transcript of what was said at the IEP meeting. The document should eliminate all doubts or misunderstandings about what is being proposed or refused by the district.

— From LRP eConnections Newsletter

Questions?  Contact your school’s program coordinator for more information.

 

February 2014 FAQs

February 13th, 2014  

FAQs

 

 

 

Q: Am I allowed to videotape a student in my class?

A: Our KPBSD Special Education Manual provides information regarding videotaping students. It says:  (1) Parent / Guardian permission should be acquired before recording – explanation of purpose should be shared with parents (purpose cannot be to document behaviors or to show parents how a student acts at school); (2) No emailing of videos – use thumb drive or disc to share with team members (limit number of copies) or view as a group; (3) Video copies are considered part of a working file and should be destroyed after use or the current academic year; (4) No other students may be included in the video; (5) Video recordings are to be taken on borough-labeled devices only, not on personal phones or devices.   Notify your program coordinator if you have a need to videotape a student in your class.

Q: I have a student who has been suspended long term. How do I know what services need to be provided while the student is out?

A: The most famous legal answer for a situation like this is “It depends!” It depends because the law requires that “the child is afforded the opportunity to continue to appropriately progress in the general curriculum, continue to receive the IEP services and continue to participate with non-disabled children to the extent they would in their current placement.” In order to accomplish this, the IEP team, including a general education teacher, must meet to make an individualized determination for that student. A general guideline is to provide at least the amount of service time allocated in the student’s IEP; however that may be too much or not enough depending on the suspension, situation, placement, etc. When in doubt, consult your program coordinator!

Q: I have an student in an intensive needs / self-contained classroom who doesn’t participate in a general education class at all. Am I required to have a general education teacher at the IEP meeting?

A: The answer is once again, “It depends! (but usually yes)” IDEA says that members of the IEP team include “not less than one regular education teacher of the child (if the child is, or may be, participating in the regular education environment).” Their role is specifically to assist with the “determination of (i) Appropriate positive behavioral interventions and supports and other strategies for the child; and (ii) Supplementary aids and services, program modifications, and support for school personnel.” With those legal requirements in mind, there could be a perception to the team, the parent and to the student if a general ed teacher is not present – “this child is not or may not ever participate in the general ed environment.” Input from a general ed teacher assists teams for ALL students and even if not currently participating in general ed classes, all students should have the expertise of a general ed teacher available at their IEP meetings.

Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs)

February 13th, 2014  

Note: This information may no longer be accurate.  For the most recent information about the FBA/BIP Process, click here.

 

FBAs (Functional Behavior Assessments) and BIPs/ PBSPs (Behavior Intervention Plans / Positive Behavior Support Plans) – More (& a Little Different) Information!!!

Consent to Evaluate is required when the school will use additional testing data to complete the FBA – meaning a BASC or other specific assessment. If additional testing info is not required, then a consent to evaluate is not needed. All general ed students must still go through Iteam for a FBA referral.  Regardless of how a FBA is initiated, parents must always understand what is happening and why.

Guidelines for turning in your BIPs / PBSPs include:
1.  In general, if a BIP is written for severe behavior where interventions such as using restraints, safe rooms or contacting the police are included in the plan, signatures should be gathered from team members including the parent. For all others, signatures are not required.

2.  For a BIP developed in coordination with the annual review, turn in the BIP with the other paperwork as a part of the IEP.

3.  For a BIP developed outside of the annual review, the following paperwork is needed:  Invitation to a meeting, BIP, PWN (include the wording that the BIP will be updated as needed and how that will be communicated with the parent), and a signature page if #1 above is a factor.

And….FBAs will soon be available in the sped database!!

Questions?  Contact your school psychologist for more information.