Special Education

This page is geared toward parents of children who have a special education label or think that their child might need to be referred to special education. In this section, I provide specific information about the process of special education and the legal rights that parents have, as well as information about how to help advocate for your child.

Please feel free to use the links listed above to go directly to a particular topic.

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Referral

According to the law, anyone can make a referral for special education services. Before children enter school, pediatricians are often the ones who catch children who are not meeting appropriate developmental guidelines; however, parents spend the most time with their children, and, therefore, it is helpful to be aware of these guidelines. Because it is best for children to receive services early, each state is required to have early intervention programs, which provide services for children from birth to age three. For a list of each state's contact for this program, see www.nectac.org/contact/ptccoord.asp. Each state has specific criteria in order to qualify for services, which are often provided either free of charge or at a sliding scale rate.

Once your child is three years old, he or she falls under the jurisdiction of the public school system. Therefore, in order to make a referral, you need to contact the school system in your town. Most school systems have a program specifically set up for students who qualify, but you may also make requests for some services to be provided in a private preschool.

Interestingly, many referrals for special education happen in third grade. This is not coincidental. There is a huge shift in the expectations between second and third grade--educators talk about the change from "teaching to read" to "reading to teach." All of a sudden, instead of just reading, children are expected to use the reading that they do in order to create knowledge--a much harder task. That is why problems surface at this time.

No matter when your child is referred, the process remains the same: 1) a written referral starts a time clock during which a team of professionals meets with you, the parents, to discuss whether or not an evaluation is needed, 2) an evaluation is completed, 3) the team meets again in order to discuss eligibility, and 4) if eligible, the team creates an individual educational plan (IEP) for your child. Parents have several important rights throughout this process, of which many people are not aware. First, if they disagree with the determination of the school district, they can request an independent evaluation at public expense. Second, they are members of any decision-making meeting regarding their child. In these meetings, they can, and should, question decisions. Let's face it, although most educators really want to do what is best for our children (I really believe that!!), school districts are working with limited resources (both time and money) and they do not have enough of them. Therefore, parents need to be VERY involved in pushing to make sure that their child gets what he or she needs. However, it is also important to keep in mind that ever-important word: appropriate. You are promised an appropriate education, not an optimal one. Only push for what your child needs, not everything you would like to see.

IDEA: Legal Rights

In 1975, Congress passed Public law 94-142, which provided some of the first legal rights to children in special education. That law, later renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), has been modified several times, most recently in 2004. Although IDEA is a complicated and comprehensive law, at its core, it has six major provisions:

  1. all children have a right to receive a free and appropriate education (FAPE),
  2. all children have a right to non-discriminatory evaluations to determine if they are eligible for special education services,
  3. schools must provide individually designed, appropriate programs to those who qualify for special education services (Individual Educational Plan--IEP),
  4. children with disabilities will be educated with their non-disabled peers to the extent possible (Least Restrictive Environment--LRE),
  5. the decisions of the school system may be challenged by the parents (Due Process), and
  6. parents have a right to participate as partners in the planning and decision-making for their child's education.

Basically, this means that children have the right to a free appropriate education in their public school, including all of the necessary services, and their parents have the right to be equal partners in making sure that that education is properly delivered. Now, it is important to keep in mind that the wording in the law is "appropriate." This does not mean that the law promises the best education--only what is appropriate for the child. If parents do not agree with the decisions that the school system makes, they have a legal right to argue that the school is not providing an appropriate education.

Inclusion

One major provision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is that children with disabilities will be educated with their non-disabled peers to the greatest extent possible. In other words, the school district is responsible to provide supports in order for these students to be able to be successful in the regular education classroom. Although this movement toward inclusion of special education students has been gradual, states have recently begun to strictly enforce the law, leaving some school districts scrambling to provide the necessary supports.

Differentiated Instruction

Although certainly not a new concept, differentiated instruction has become a popular buzz-word in the field of education because of the push toward inclusion. Basically, the term means that, given that all students are not on the same level, teachers need to tailor their teaching and assignments in order to meet several different levels. This may be done in a variety of different ways, including assigning group work, tailoring specific assignments, and giving alternate assessments. Although this may seem to some like an impossible task, it is striking to see a teacher who differentiates instruction well. It takes a great deal of organization and commitment.

Study & Negotiation Skills

In my experience as an educator, the two things that I found that children often have the most difficulty with, and are often not directly taught, are study skills and negotiation skills. By study skills, I mean the organizational skills necessary to prepare themselves to study. So many students do not know how to organize their notebooks or keep track of their assignments. By negotiation skills, I mean the ability to talk to one another in group work. Much of their time in school is spent talking with the teacher or sitting quietly, so when students are asked to work together in a group, they are lost. The important thing to realize is that these skills do not come naturally. Kids need to be directly taught how to organize and how to work together--and often it is not being done in the school. It is important for parents to do their best to teach skills at home and present opportunities for students to practice them. Some things to keep in mind:

No Child Left Behind

In 2001, President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The Law has four main principles: increased accountability for States, school districts, and schools; greater choice for parents and students, particularly those attending low-performing schools; more flexibility for States and local educational agencies (LEAs) in the use of Federal education dollars; and a stronger emphasis on reading, especially for our youngest children.

Traditionally, individual states have the responsibility for schools. NCLB requires each state to devise a system of accountability (read test) that is to be given to children annually in grades 3-8. In the past, test scores have been lumped together, so a school could report that 81% of their students reached a score that is considered proficient. Under NCLB, they are no longer able to do this. Instead, scores are separated by poverty, race, ethnicity, disability, and limited English proficiency. Districts are then required to meet certain proficiency goals for each separate grouping. If a school fails to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) in even one of these grouping areas, they are subject to corrective action.

So what does this mean for your child? Schools do not want to be subject to corrective action. Therefore, there is great incentive to ensure that all groups meet the specific requirements of AYP, and, except for in a very few cases, your child will be included in the testing. Each year in grade 3-8, you child will take a test that is state-specific. The scores on that test will be used to determine if your school has made AYP. Currently, one of the big debates about NCLB is based on the inclusion of students with special needs. In many cases, students are required to take a test that everyone knows that they will not pass. Right now, they are trying to balance between making sure that standards are set high for students in special education and trying to keep those students from having to endure unreasonable testing.

Educational Evaluations

According to the law, in order to determine if a child is eligible for special education services, he or she has a right to a comprehensive evaluation.  The evaluation must use a variety of assessment tools and include input from the parents.  More than one assessment must be used in the determination and a screening by the teacher or another professional is not sufficient.  The school is responsible to evaluate all areas in which the child might be determined to be eligible.  Below I list several of the evaluation tools that are used in order to determine if a child is eligible for services. 

It is important to understand how test scores are reported and to understand what they mean.  Make sure that you get a copy of the reports in enough time to read and understand them before you go into the meeting.  Although each professional will report his or her findings, there is not enough time in the meeting to get a full understanding if you are not familiar with the report.  In their book, From Emotions to Advocacy, Pam and Peter Wright (www.wrightslaw.com) do a wonderful job of explaining test scores.

Cognitive Tests: These tests are used to determine a child’s intellectual ability, or IQ.  Usually, the tests are broken down into several sub-sections, so the test administrator will report both a “full-scale” IQ score (the combination of all of the subsets) and scores on the subset indexes.  It is important to look closely at the subsets as they give a much better indication of a child’s abilities than the full-scale score.

Educational Achievement Tests: These tests are used to measure a student’s academic abilities that they have obtained through instruction in school.  There are two types of achievement tests: screening tests and comprehensive tests.  The screening tests are limited in their scope and focus, but may be given to see if a child requires further testing.  Comprehensive achievement tests may test only one subject area or they may test several subject areas.  The tests that cover multiple subject areas do not need to be administered in their entirety.

Neuropsychological tests: These tests are used to determine if a child has specific neurological issues that are affecting his or her learning. 

Projective personality tests: These tests are used to determine if a child is under intense stress or to determine his or her mental state. 

Questionnaires & surveys:  Parents, teachers and students are sometimes asked to fill-in questionnaires in order to provide information about a student’s behavior.  These questionnaires give information about how the child is viewed by himself and others.

Speech & Language tests:  These tests are used to determine if a child has a problem with speech or language.  See www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders for detailed information about speech and language disorders.