Special Education 101

By Louis H. Geigerman, President
National ARD/IEP Advocates

In my last article for Autism Health and Wellness, I discussed the preparations needed for a high functioning student with autism to prepare for higher education. Today, we are going to work backwards, and discuss preparations for a student in the public schools.

A student with a diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may be entitled to services through their local public school district through the Individual’s with Disabilities Education Act aka IDEA. You notice that I intentionally used the phrase “may be entitled to”. IDEA states the number of qualifying conditions under the statute but also says that the condition must adversely affect a child’s educational performance. Therefore, eligibility is not necessarily an entitlement.

IDEA mandates that the school system assess students in all areas of suspected disabilities. For a student with an ASD, assessments should be performed in the following areas psychological, functional behavioral, functional social, speech and occupational therapy with an emphasis on fine motor, motor planning and sensory deficits After the assessments are completed, an IEP team meeting must be convened to review the findings. Should you disagree with the findings of an assessment performed by a district, you have the right to an independent educational evaluation, or “IEE,” by a professional that is not an employee of the district. The assessment must be performed in accordance with the local education agency’s criteria for qualifications.

IEEs effectively provide for the parent to receive a “second opinion” regarding their child’s abilities. This tool is quite probably one of the greatest weapons that a parent can use in their arsenal to get the help that their child needs. IEE requests are typically granted at the district administration level and not by IEP teams. Should you disagree with a district’s assessment it is not required that you tell the district why you disagree with their assessment as this could potentially hamper making a case later on in due process. When making the request to the school district for an IEE, the district can only make one of two responses, yes or no. If the answer is no, the district must take you to due process. This should not deter you as the district will act as the petitioner and will have the burden of proof to demonstrate why their assessments are valid. So if they want to take you to hearing, say fine, make my day.

Finally, when granting you an IEE, the district likely will provide you with a list of evaluators supposedly able to conduct the assessments. As a parent, you do not have to use the evaluators on their list. They are on the list for a reason and you are unlikely to obtain a truly objective assessment. A better way is to select your own evaluator that you think will be independent. When you have selected the IEE provider, be certain to chat with the provider prior to the appointment and ask them point blank that if the dispute with the district ends up in due process will the provider agree to defend their findings in a hearing? If they say so, then find another provider. Once the IEE is completed, an IEP team meeting should be scheduled to review the recommendations. Remember, all an IEP team is required to do when reviewing an assessment is to consider it. Consideration means that a discussion should ensue. If they merely read over it in the meeting and do not discuss it, that is not consideration. If the IEP team declines to adopt the assessment, demand that the district provide you with their reasons in writing through “Prior Written Notice of Refusal.” In effect, this will box in their arguments for due process.

While I am on the subject of the IEP team meeting, it is vital for you to listen and ask questions of the participants in the meeting. If you feel that they are speaking in jargon, don’t be bashful; ask them to explain what they said. Also, it is vital that you make certain that the salient points that are discussed in the meeting are reflected in the minutes. Make certain that they are reread before ending the meeting correcting all inaccurate statements. Finally, always audio record your meetings and let them know prior to the meeting that you will be recording it.

To prepare for the meeting, I would obtain a current copy of all of your child’s school records.

You are entitled to copy any document that has you or your child’s name on it that is maintained by the district as per the Family Educational Rights Act (FERPA). You need to make the request in writing to the school district for this information. The district technically has 45 calendar days to produce the records unless the information is to be used for an IEP team meeting. In that event the information is to be used in preparation for an IEP team meeting then a shorter time line is warranted so that you can be an equal participant in the proceedings. Additionally, I would request that the district provide you with all documents that will be discussed at the IEP team meeting including new assessments, progress reports, and present levels of academic and functional performance, draft IEP’S and proposed placements. The better prepared that you are, the more likely you will have a better result in the meeting.

A couple of final points for you as you prepare for your IEP team meeting. One, do not take a bad attitude into the meeting. Listen and consider all points of view. It is important that you come off as someone that is thoughtful and considerate of others. Two, educate yourself on the requirements regarding the IDEA. Thirdly, consider hiring a professional advocate to take with you to the meeting. A knowledgeable advocate can guide you through the process and make it lot less painful. For a list advocates in your area check outhttp://www.yellowpagesforkids.com/help/legal.advocacy.htm orhttp://www.copaa.net/find/

Louis H. Geigerman, President

National ARD/IEP Advocates

www.narda.org Email: louis@narda.org