Friendships Matter:
A New IDEA
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| Sarah Schwegel, a middle-schooler from Kirkland,
Mo., in the classroom. Photo by David Kennedy |
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that
governs special education for the nation’s 6.5 million students with
disabilities was updated by Congress last year and will take effect in July.
IDEA 2004 has drawn cautious praise from both school
administrators and disability advocates. "There’s things in there
that we don’t like, and we’ve gone backwards in a couple of places,
but there also are places that are better," said Julia Epstein, director
of communications for the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.
Disability advocates were relieved that the final bill
represented a bipartisan compromise and didn’t strictly adhere to the
bill passed by the House, which was "horrific in its attack on the rights
of kids with disabilities," Epstein said.
The new law will improve monitoring and enforcement of the IDEA,
including sanctions against states that violate the law. Other pluses include
requirements for alternate assessments of a student’s progress when
regular tests aren’t appropriate, attention to school-to-life transition
programs, and access to assistive technology.
Among the changes:
IEPs: IDEA 2004 includes language that tightens up
teaching standards for special education students. Special education teachers
must meet "highly qualified" standards (as set out in the No Child
Left Behind Act) by the end of the 2005-06 school year. In addition, IEPs must
include special education and related services that are "based on
peer-reviewed research."
"These new requirements… [provide] tools that
parents, teachers and advocates can use to advocate for children with
disabilities," says special education attorney Pete Wright, in an analysis
of IDEA 2004 on his Wrightslaw Web site (www.wrightslaw.com).
Noting that the new law doesn’t go into effect until July, he advises
parents who want IEPs that reflect the new standards to request an IEP meeting
after that time.
In addition, 15 states (to be named later) will be allowed to
experiment with the option of offering three-year IEPs to students ages 18 to
21 who are involved in transition activities.
The Complaint Process: IDEA 2004 gives back some power to
school districts that they lost when IDEA last was overhauled in 1997. Although
some advocates fear the changes will make it harder for dissatisfied parents to
sue, in fact they’ve just slowed the process a little.
Complaints now must go through a mediation process before a court
hearing. New issues may not be raised at a due process hearing if they
weren’t included in the original complaint (unless both parties agree).
If the court finds a family’s lawsuit
"frivolous," parents may be ordered to pay the school
district’s legal costs – a provision that has always applied but
that’s now explicitly spelled out (as an intimidation technique, claim
advocates) in the new law. A two-year statute of limitations is imposed on
requesting a hearing, and a 90-day limit for filing court appeals.
Student Discipline: When a student with a disability is
disruptive, is it his/her fault or the "fault" of the disability? The
burden of proof in answering that question has shifted from the schools, which
used to have to prove the behavior wasn’t related to the
disability before a student could be removed from class, to the parents, who
now must prove that it is disability-related. Students may be moved to
another educational setting while parents appeal.
Paperwork Reduction: Minor IEP changes can be made via
conference call or letter, rather than requiring a formal meeting. In addition,
15 states (to be named later) will be allowed to implement paperwork-reduction
plans that free up more teacher time.
The new law goes to the U.S. Department of Education, which will
write regulations incorporating the changes and name the states that will try
out paperwork-reduction strategies and three-year IEPs.
See also:
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