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- Parents, Students and Schools as Partners
- Rights and Responsibilities in Special Education
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- The goal of this presentation is to provide information so that:
- parents will understand their rights regarding special education; and
- collaboration between family and school personnel will be enhanced; and
- parents and school personnel will participate in special education
matters as knowledgeable partners.
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- The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act -- also known as IDEA. Sometimes referred to as IDEA-97.
- Chapter 766 -- Massachusetts’ special education law. In Mass. General Laws at Chapter
71B. In Regulations at 603
CMR (Code of Massachusetts Regulations) Section 28.00.
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- The Massachusetts Education Reform Act, also known as “Ed.
Reform”
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, also known as “Section
504”
- Chapter 688 of the Acts of 1983
- The Americans with Disabilities Act, also known as the “ADA”
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- The Parent’s Rights Brochure
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- A student is eligible if all three of the following are true:
- The student has one or more disabilities.
- The student is not making effective progress in school as a result of
the disability(ies).
- The student requires special education in order to make effective
progress.
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- Parents, or other adults involved with the student can make a referral
for an evaluation.
- A referral can be made at any time.
- A district may not refuse a referral in order to try other supportive
services.
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- Special Education - is
- specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of an eligible
student, and/or
- related services necessary to access and make progress in the general
curriculum.
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- Consent to Evaluate
30 School Working Days (SWD) to Evaluate.
- Team meeting to determine eligibility no later than 15 SWDs later.
If eligible, development of IEP and determination of placement at
that Team meeting.
- Proposed IEP & Placement to parent.
- Services upon parental consent.
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- The federal and state
- special education
laws and the rights of parents and students in special education are
grounded upon six basic
- principles.
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- 1. Parent and Student
Participation
- 2. Free and Appropriate
Public Education
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(FAPE)
- 3. Appropriate Evaluation
- 4. Individualized Education
Program (IEP)
- 5. Least Restrictive
Environment (LRE)
- 6. Procedural Safeguards
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- Parents have the right to participate in all special education planning
and decision-making activities.
- Students are the focus of special education and, as they grow older,
students are expected to participate in planning for their own future as
much as possible.
- It is the obligation of the school district to make strong efforts, in
multiple ways, to ensure parental and student participation.
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- School districts must make multiple efforts to facilitate parental
attendance at Team meetings.
If parents cannot attend, schools must seek parent input through
other means.
- Students at age 14, or younger if appropriate, are entitled to
participate in all Team meetings.
- Students at age 18 are adults under Massachusetts’ law and assume
all the rights formerly held by their parents for participation and
decision-making.
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- PAC duties include but are not limited to:
- Advising the district on matters pertaining to the education and
safety of students with
disabilities.
- Meeting regularly with school officials to participate in the planning,
development, and evaluation of the school district’s special
education programs.
- Conducting, with the district, the annual workshop on the rights of
students and parents under special education law. (This workshop)
- The PAC is entitled to receive assistance from the district without
charge, upon reasonable notice, and subject to the availability of staff
and resources.
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- Referral
- Evaluation
- Eligibility Determination
- IEP Development
- MCAS Participation
- Placement Decisions
- Disciplinary Actions
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- Free and Appropriate Public Education.
- Free = At no cost to the
parent.
- Appropriate = Services sufficient to enable the student to appropriately
progress in education and advance toward achieving the IEP goals.
- Public = Provided by the public school district or under the direction
of the public school district.
- Education = Preschool, elementary and secondary education, including
extra-curricular and non-academic school activities.
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- The same curriculum as students without disabilities receive.
- Including all Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks - in particular,
English Language Arts, Math, Science & Technology, and History and
Social Science
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- Initial evaluation
- 3 year re-evaluation
- Individualized assessments
- Non-discriminatory assessments
- Includes a variety of tools and strategies, including information
provided by the parent
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- Right to discuss both the proposed evaluations and evaluators prior to
the evaluation.
- Right to an evaluation in the student’s native language or mode of
communication.
- If appropriate, right to an evaluation of need for Braille instruction.
- Right of parents to consent or refuse evaluation.
- Right to independent educational evaluation when parents disagree with
the results of the evaluation done by the school district.
- Right to appeal a finding of “No Eligibility.”
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- Anytime you are dissatisfied with the district’s evaluation.
- Parents’ option to participate in a sliding fee scale to share the
cost of the IEE with the district.
- School district is obligated to consider information from IEE.
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- Written information on the parent’s concerns and the
student’s skills.
- A written explanation of how the disability affects the student’s
ability to learn and to demonstrate his or her learning.
- An identification of specific, measurable goals which can be reached in
a year’s time.
- A listing of the services to be provided to the student.
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- The IEP’s purpose is to outline:
- What will be done to assist the student to make effective progress in
the general curriculum and in the life of the school.
- How the student will participate in state and local assessment. State assessment in Massachusetts
means the MCAS.
- The goals the student is expected to reach by the end of the IEP period.
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- Before the school can begin IEP services, the school must obtain the
parent’s consent.
- The parent has the right to accept or reject the proposed IEP in part or
in full.
- The completed IEP is signed by both the school district and the parent
and serves as a contract between the school and the parent.
- The parents can withdraw their consent at any time in relation to any
service or program.
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- LRE means that to the maximum extent appropriate, students with
disabilities have the right to be educated in the general education
environment & in the classroom they would have attended if they did
not have disabilities.
- LRE means the student cannot be removed from the general education
classroom solely because of needed curriculum modifications.
- LRE means that removal from the general education program occurs only if
the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in
general education classes with the use of supplementary aids and
services cannot be satisfactorily achieved.
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- In the public school building:
the general education classroom, a resource room, or a
substantially separate classroom
- Outside of the public school building: a separate day school or a
separate residential school
- For young children (aged 3-5):
a home-based or center-based early childhood program
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- Sometimes students are unable to attend public schools for
non-educational reasons.
Students may be:
- In a hospital,
- At home
- Or in an institutional
setting run by a state agency.
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- Right to written notice
- Right to consent/refuse
- Right to “stay put”
- Problem Resolution System
- Mediation and Due Process
- Timelines
- Confidential records
- Right to receive evaluations 2 days in advance of Team meeting, if
requested
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- If you believe your rights or the rights of your child are not being
appropriately provided you can:
- Discuss resolution with your school district.
- File a complaint with the Department of Education Problem Resolution
System.
- Seek resolution through the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA).
- Seek knowledgeable assistance elsewhere.
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- Teachers and other staff at the local school district
- Members of your Parent Advisory Council
- The state Department of Education
- The Federation for Children with Special Needs (1-800-331-0688)
www.fcsn.org
- Disability rights organizations and other disability-related agencies
and organizations
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Notes
