Having 20+ years of experience as a special education teacher and school administrator, I have gained extensive knowledge on the topics listed below. Please feel free to explore the resources I’ve included and contact me with any questions. I am here to help!
Parent & Student Rights Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
- Procedural Safeguards
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
- The right to a Free Appropriate Public Education is an educational entitlement of all students in the United States who are identified as having a disability, guaranteed by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
- https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/edlite-FAPE504.html
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
- The IDEA’s LRE or mainstreaming policy requires public schools to educate students with disabilities in regular classrooms with their nondisabled peers, in their neighborhood schools (the schools they would attend if not disabled), to the maximum extent appropriate.
- https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/lre.index.htm
Transition Planning (ages 14+)
- Transition Services
- Transition IEP Goals
- Transition Programs for ages 18-22
- Summary of Performance (SOP)
Student Evaluations
- Understanding reports from School and/or Outside Evaluation
- Eligibility categories
- Initial provision for services
- Dismissal from Special Education
Draft Letters and Written Requests to Schools
- Requesting an Evaluation (testing)
- Request for Records
- Requesting 504 Plan Accommodations
- Requesting an IEP Review
- Requesting an Outside Evaluation (IEE)
Eligibility Categories
- Specific Learning Disability (SLD)
- Other Health Impairment (OHI)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Speech or Language Impairment (SLI)
- Emotional Disability (ED)
- Intellectual Disability (ID)
- Orthopedic Impairment (OI)
- Visual Impairment (VI)
- Hearing Impairment (HI)
- Deaf-Blindness (DB)
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Multiple Disabilities (MD)
- Developmental Disability (DD)
Extended School Year (ESY) Services
- ESY services are defined as “special education and related services that are provided to a child with a disability beyond the normal school year of the public agency in accordance with the child’s IEP at no cost to the parents of the child
- Illinois
- Wisconsin
IEP Documents
- Goals
- Accommodations and Modifications
- Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)
- Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)
Progress Monitoring
Progress Monitoring is used to assess a student’s performance and the effectiveness of the instruction being given. The data collected by progress monitoring helps guide IEP team decisions about instruction and services
Specially Designed Instruction (SDI)
- In practical terms, specially designed instruction (SDI) is instruction that is tailored to a particular student. It addresses their Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals; accounts for their disability; provides modifications or adaptations to content; and encourages access to the general education curriculum.
- https://exceptionalchildren.org/topics/specially-designed-instruction
Related Services
- Speech & Language
- Occupational Therapy
- Physical Therapy
- Vision
- Hearing
- Orientation & Mobility
- Behavior Intervention Plan
- Special Transportation
Assistive Technology
Assistive technology consists of devices and services. An assistive technology device is an item or piece of equipment that helps a person with a disability increase, maintain, or improve a student’s functional capabilities. Assistive technology devices can be high-tech or low-tech. Examples of assistive technology devices are:
- Wheelchair or wheelchair ramp.
- Voice-activated computer.
- Electronic note takers.
- An auditory FM trainer and closed circuit TV.
- Large-print books.
- Word prediction, voice recognition and synthesis, and word processing software.
- Switches and controls for access to equipment.
- Tactile materials for visually impaired students, such as Braille flashcards, pegboards for teaching shapes or spatial relations, manual and electronic Braillewriters, and adaptive paper that provides extra visual or tactile feedback such as raised-line paper.
- Pencil grips.
- Hearing aids.
Medical devices that are surgically implanted are not considered assistive technology devices.
An assistive technology service is any direct assistance to the student with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of the assistive technology device. Assistive technology services include, but are not limited to:
- Evaluation of a student’s need, including a functional evaluation in the student’s customary environment.
- Purchasing, leasing, or acquiring of an assistive technology device.
- Selection, design, fitting, adapting, repairing, and replacing of an assistive technology device.
- Training or technical assistance for a student, the student’s family, or other professionals who provide services to or are otherwise substantially involved in the student’s major life functions.
Special Transportation
Non Public Special Education Programs/Offsite Placements
- Private Day, Residential, Public Day Cooperatives
- Returning to the public school
- Participation in home school activities
- 60-day Diagnostic Placements
- 45-day Placements
504 Plans & Eligibility
Section 504 covers qualified students with disabilities who attend schools receiving Federal financial assistance. To be protected under Section 504, a student must be determined to: (1) have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or (2) have a record of such an impairment; or (3) be regarded as having such an impairment. Section 504 requires that school districts provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to qualified students in their jurisdictions who have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
Home Hospital Tutoring
Special Education Services for Students in Private/Charter Schools
- Home District’s Responsibilities
- There are two ways a student with an identified disability can receive special education services: via an Individualized Education Program (IEP) in the public school setting, or an Individualized Service Plan (ISP) in the private school setting.
Credit Recovery
- District Programs
- Illinois
- Wisconsin
Compensatory Services
- Compensatory services are required to remedy any educational or other deficits that result from the student with a disability not receiving the evaluations or services to which they were entitled.
- https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/factsheet-504.html
Manifestation Determination Meetings (MD)
Withdrawing from Special Education Services
- Revocation of Consent
- https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/March_2009_Part_B_Supp_Regs_Guidance.pdf