Special Education Case Study Analysis
Pamela R. H. Bailey
Special Education Case Study Analysis
Janelle, a sixth grade student, is having learning difficulties in school. This has been an ongoing issue with Janelle however her parents did not agree to services offered in the past. Recently Janelle’s father passed away resulting in a further withdraw of social and academic behaviors. Mother sought assistance and guidance from a developmental pediatrician to determine whether she needed to pursue the referral, evaluation and eligibility process for an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA, 2004) provide a guideline to school systems, protecting the rights of students and parents in the development of the IEP. Parents and children ages two through twenty-one are also assured to obtain a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in which they will receive life skills, obtain an education suitable to their needs, and to prepare for employment as stated in the IDEA Code of Federal Regulations (IDEA Regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 300.1, 2007) and the Regulations Governing Special Education Programs for Children With Disabilities in Virginia (Regulations . . . in Virginia, 8 VAC 20-80-60(A), 2002).
A Parent’s Guide to Special Education (Parent’s Guide, 2001) stated that there are five steps to develop an IEP: identify and refer, evaluate, determine eligibility, IEP, and reevaluate. The first four steps will be discussed with respect to Janelle throughout this paper.
Overview of Policies, Procedures, and Programs
Policies
and Procedures
Janelle had been receiving services in the elementary school setting as per a 504 plan implemented in the third grade however the transition to middle school and her doctor has suggested further accommodations may be necessary. The following is the required process stated in the Spotsylvania County Schools Special Education Handbook (SCS Sped Handbook, 2007-2008):
§
A referral for evaluation (Form SE-1) must be
filled out by and submitted to the Child Study Team (CST) Chairperson (Regulations
. . . in
§ Office of Special Services, upon receipt of the referral, will begin the timeline to insure that the process is conducted in a timely and orderly manner.
§ Parents will receive a copy of the Parental Rights Brochure (Form SE-6), procedural safeguards, required by IDEA (IDEA Regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 300.504, 2007). The brochure is a description and explanation of all actions proposed and sources that will aid their understanding.
§ A Child Study Team in Janelle’s school will be formed and will include the Administrative designee (Chairperson), referring source, teacher, specialist, parent, and student if applicable.
§ The referring source prepares a list of interventions already attempted to help Janelle along with the resulting outcome as per the pre-referral intervention and monitoring required by IDEA (2004).
§ Teacher prepares the Educational Report Summary (SE-2) for CST.
§ Janelle’s mother and the team are invited to the CST meeting using the IEP.Online program. The meeting must be held within 10 business days from the date the referral is received.
§ The CST may recommend further assessments such as an Educational Assessment (SE-2), Observation (SE-10), Hearing Screening (SE-11), Medical, Socio-cultural, and Psychological Assessment (IDEA Regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 300.301, 2007; Regulations . . . in Virginia, 8 VAC 20-80-54, 2002). The assessments must comply with all evaluation procedures. Further remediation or intervention strategies may be suggested by the team and implemented; the team reconvening at a later date to discuss the outcomes.
§ If the parent does not attend the CST meeting then they will be sent a letter notifying them of the Child Study Action (SE-8). Notice includes an overview of the evaluative procedures, the assessment strategies and tools that will be used to determine if the student has a learning disability, the assessment may be used in the development of the IEP, and that the student will be assessed in areas of the suspected disability (IDEA Regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 300.304, 2007).
§ The evaluation process must be completed within 65 business days from the date the referral was received however parental consent must be obtained prior to any assessments being conducted (IDEA Regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 300.300, 2007; IDEA Regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 300.304(a), 2007). Any existing data reviewed in the evaluation process does not need parental consent.
§
An eligibility committee reviews the results of
the assessments to determine if Janelle is qualified to receive services (Regulations
. . . in
§
The eligibility committee consists of the administrative
designee, a person who has observed/evaluated Janelle, a specialist, one of
Janelle’s teachers, and her mother (Regulations . . . in
§ The eligibility committee will determine if Janelle has one of the fifteen federally defined disabilities as defined in IDEA Regulations (34 C.F.R. § 300.8, 2007) and if she requires services due to the effects of the disability on her ability to learn.
§ Specific learning disabilities are defined by IDEA Regulations (34 C.F.R. § 300.309(a), 2007) and require additional member(s) to the team.
§ The team may use a research-based intervention model as part of the assessment and evaluation process when determining if Janelle has a learning disability instead of placing a lot of value on the difference between her achievement and ability as addressed in the “Quick recommendations and resources for use when implementing the provisions of IDEA 2004 (2005).
§ When Janelle is found eligible, the minutes of the meeting are forwarded to the person responsible in her school for facilitating the development of the IEP which must be completed within 30 calendar days (Regulations . . . in Virginia, 8 VAC 20-80-62(B)(2), 2002; IDEA Regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 300.323, 2007).
§ A Functional Behavioral Assessment and a Behavioral Intervention Plan may also be suggested due to Janelle’s actions in the classroom (IDEA Regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 300.324(a)(v)(3)(i), 2007). If both are completed then Janelle may be eligible for counseling services.
Programs
Various
programs are offered for assistance to students like Janelle and her mother. A
link between Special Services and the school social workers is a program called
the Student Assistance Team (SAT) (SCS Sped Handbook, 2007-2008). Concerns that
may be addressed by SAT include work habits and behavior concerns. The SAT
chair at each of the schools may be the principal, the guidance counselor, or a
teacher. Parents need to inquire in the school office to make contact with the
chair in order to begin the process of determining the actions SAT will
implement and monitor. Many schools offer assistance such as after school
tutoring or a special block of time (directed study) built into the schedule where
students are flexibly grouped so that they might receive assistance in weak
areas. The
More specifically services for Janelle may include team taught classes as well as basic skills which may be a self contained class. Occupational therapy may still be useful due to her writing skills as well as remedial reading assistance. If Janelle has a Behavioral Intervention Plan she may receive counseling services. Her mother may also benefit from receiving or attending parent counseling and training sessions. All together there are many programs that Janelle and her mother may take utilize that are available in the county to all parents and within special services.
Legal Obligations to Identify and Educate Students with Disabilities
The school district is obligated to identify and conduct a full and individual evaluation of Janelle as per Child Find (Regulations . . . in Virginia, 8 VAC 20-80-50, 2002; IDEA Regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 300.125, 2007; IDEA Regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 300.111, 2007) and IDEA (IDEA Regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 300.300, 2007) which states that schools must locate, identify, and evaluate any student that might need special services. Methods to identify students include having school systems perform certain evaluations within 60 days of any student being enrolled in the system; screening for vision and hearing problems may also be conducted in the third, seventh, and tenth grade (Parent’s Guide, 2001). These initial evaluations do not require parental consent.
Should Janelle’s mother refuse for her to be assessed when going through the evaluation process, the assessments would come to a halt (Parent’s Guide, 2001). The Parent’s Guide goes on to state that Special Services may need to go to due process or mediation in order for Janelle to be assessed. Mediation begins at the school level then proceeds to the central office, then on to the Virginia Department of Education.
Legislation
to aid students with special needs was first passed in
Individualized Education Program
Broad
Purpose and State and Federal Statutes
An Individualized
Education Program (IEP) is a document describing all services that are needed
to meet the needs of a student with a disability (SCS Sped Handbook, 2007-2008).
The Spotsylvania County Special Education Handbook explains that the IEP is
comprehensive, covers areas such as communication, socialization, perceptual-motor
and gross-motor skills, self-help, behavior, academics, vocational and
transitional services. The document is individualized for each student and
represents the consensus of all members on the IEP Team. The language used on
the IEP should be understandable to both professionals and the
parents/guardians. All evaluations should be explained and jargon and acronyms
avoided. The team developing the IEP must follow the guidelines specified in
IDEA (2004) and the Regulations governing special education programs for
children with Disabilities in
The IEP Team
The IEP Team as
outlined in IDEA (2004) must consist of the parent or guardian, administrative
designee, special education teacher, and the general education teacher.
Requested members may include Janelle, if appropriate (Regulations . . . in
IEP Key Components
IEP.Online, a program used by Spotsylvania County Schools, includes all components required in an IEP however it is still the responsibility of the case manager or IEP chairperson to make sure the IEP is complete and in compliance (SCS Sped Handbook, 2007-2008). Each IEP should include:
Sarah Reid, Middle School Coordinator, stressed that when filling out the IEP one must insure that all spaces are not left blank on IEP.Online to insure being in compliance with all laws (personal communication, October 10, 2007). Parents/guardians must be provided with a written description of all components of the IEP that are to be considered during the IEP meeting along with notification of the meeting (IDEA Regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 300.322(a), 2007). An IEP Meeting Agenda is also used in Spotsylvania County Schools so that the topics for compliance that are to be discussed and considered will be presented in an orderly fashion (SCS Sped Handbook, 2007-2008).
Placement Decisions
The
IEP Teams in Spotsylvania County use a Criteria Reference Sheet that contain
the definition of eligibility for each type of disability and the local
criteria to assist in the placement decision making process (SCS Sped Handbook,
2007-2008). When the decision as to the type of disability is made the IEP Team
must justify their choice by stating the criteria and the description of the
disability in the Eligibility Minutes. Once this evaluation is completed the
team must decide the least restrictive environment (Regulations . . . in
Summary and Discussion of Ethical and Practical Considerations
Teachers
recognize that every student has the right to a free appropriate public
education as stated in federal legislation, Education of All Handicapped Children
Act, Public Law 94-142 (1975) and IDEA (2004). The problem arises when a teacher and a special education teacher
must work together, planning, providing instruction, maintaining discipline,
and assessing students. The regular classroom teacher is not accustom to
sharing the responsibilities and the awards which may lead to the special
education teacher being treated like an aid. Grading is another issue that will
sometimes arise. When a student is taking a course there are standards that he
or she must learn and be assessed according to the Standards of Learning (SOL)
for
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a reform movement to close achievement gaps for students at risk. AYP (Adequate Year Progress), the accountability system for NCLB, includes students with disabilities as one of the categories to be assessed. Pressure on the teachers for students to perform and pass all of the SOL assessments has created an enormous amount of stress. Meeting the needs of a student with a disability can be overwhelming as the teacher must provide differentiation of concepts that are tailored to one student. The teacher may have several students with IEP’s which adds to the frustration.
Teachers that utilize collaboration with their co-teacher and other resource specialists find that they develop a divide and conquer attitude. Administrators offering assistance with learning and facilitating best practice methodologies is necessary as teachers provide for special needs. Freedom to be creative with their approaches and to have a trusted individual that is a good listener to their frustrations and a sounding board for their ideas are important to special education and general education teachers.
Conclusion
Janelle, with the support of her mother, will be able to receive assistance by having modifications made in the classroom that will aid her learning. Placement in team taught classes will provide Janelle with additional help and provide the teacher with additional aid in meeting her needs. It is frustrating to want to help a child and not having the support needed to do so. Those working with Janelle will now have the support with the implementation of the IEP. Along with academic support Janelle will also benefit from the Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP) and counseling. Together the IEP and the BIP will address her academic and social needs. The goal for the all involved is for Janelle to become a productive citizen, capable to taking care of and supporting herself. IDEA (2004) and Regulations governing special education programs for children with Disabilities in Virginia (2002) are the key pieces of legislature that guides the various teams in the process to obtain student success.
References
Alexander, K. & Alexander, M.
D. (2005).
Education of All Handicapped Children Act, 20 U.S.C.A. § 1400(b) (1975).
IDEA Code of Federal Regulation.
(Revised
Retrieved
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 (2004).
Mills
v. Board of Education of
No Child Left Behind Act, 115 U.S.C. § 1425 (2001).
Oberti
ex rel. Oberti v. Board of Education of
1207 (3rd Cir. 1993).
A parent’s guide to special
education (2001).
Division of
Instructional Support Services. Retrieved
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Instruction/Sped/parent_guide.pdf
(E.D. Pa. 1971), and 343 F. Supp. 279 (E.D. Pa. 1972).
Quick recommendations and resources for use when implementing the provisions of
IDEA 2004 (2005).
2007 from http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/dueproc/IDEA2004quickref.pdf
Regulations governing special education programs for children with Disabilities in
Roncker v. Walter, 700 F.2d 1058 (6th Cir. 1983).
Spotsylvania County Schools Special Education Handbook, (2007-2008). Office of
Special Services.