The New IDEA

I work for the council for Exceptional Children. On our website is information about IEP's and the new IDEA it deals with Special Education. I thought those parents who may be facing IEP's or may have a special eds child would find the follow information helpful.



New IDEA Delivers for Students with Disabilities
CEC applauds many of the provisions in the IDEA reauthorization, which will lead to improved educational success for students with disabilities. However, Congress missed the mark on highly qualified teachers and full funding.
Press Releases
President Bush Wipes Out Vocational and Gifted Education; Gives Special Education Short Shrift


Congress Reneges on Promise to Support the Education of Children and Youth with Disabilities


The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) finds much to applaud in the Improving Education Results for Children with Disabilities Act, which reforms the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Many of its provisions, which are based on CEC's recommendations, will lead to improved educational success for students with disabilities. Two areas in which the bill is disappointing are its mandates for highly qualified teachers and the lack of full funding provisions.

"The new IDEA offers many positive measures to improve the education of children with disabilities," says CEC President Jim McCormick. "However, CEC is disappointed in the highly qualified provisions, which do a disservice to special education teachers, and the lack of full funding."

With barely a ripple, Congress passed the IDEA on Nov. 19 and President Bush signed the bill into law on Dec. 3. It is expected that proposed regulations will be released in the Spring and final regulations are anticipated in a year.

The legislation furthers many of the trends we have seen in education in the past few years, such as increasing accountability for students with disabilities, ensuring highly qualified teachers are in our classrooms, expanding the types of methods used to identify students with learning disabilities, and reducing litigation. At the same time, the law, for the first time, addresses the paperwork burden in special education, putting in place several measures that streamline IEPs and other paperwork requirements. Other changes from previous legislation include upping the age at which transition plans are required to 16, instituting measures that will make it easier for schools to discipline students with disabilities, requiring schools to implement measures to reduce the over-representation of students from diverse backgrounds in special education, and moving special education research to the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Unfortunately, the new IDEA's financial provisions offer little relief for the cost of special education. Rather than mandating full funding for special education, the new IDEA maintains the current funding system, providing a "glide path" by which the federal government would pay 40 percent of the excess cost of educating students with disabilities by 2010. (See box for story on 2005 appropriations.) In addition, the legislation includes provisions that may end up redirecting special education funds to other programs.

Overall, the law has more positives than negatives for children with disabilities and special educators, and CEC is pleased that many of its recommendations have been enacted. CEC advocated for, among others, the following changes in the law:
Ensuring students with disabilities are included in accountability systems.
Reducing the special education paperwork burden by deleting short-term objectives and benchmarks from IEPs (except for students who take alternate assessments), initiating a 15-state paperwork demonstration project, and piloting the multi-year IEP, and reducing the number of times the procedural safeguards notice is given to parents annually.
Establishing methods to reduce the number of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who are inappropriately placed in special education.
Ensuring the discipline provisions for students with disabilities continue to protect the rights of these students to a free, appropriate public education.
Providing funding for professional development for special educators.
Especially for Teachers
The new law impacts special education teachers in several ways. First, experienced teachers are expected to meet the No Child Left Behind Act's (NCLB's) highly qualified provisions now. That is, in addition to holding a valid teaching license and at least a bachelor's degree, they must meet their state's requirements for being highly qualified in the core academic subjects they are solely responsible for teaching. Each state has set its own methods of determining whether teachers are highly qualified. States may require their teachers to take a test, attend professional development, meet observation standards, or a combination of the above. To find out about your state's highly qualified requirements, go to your state's Department of Education Web site.

Special education teachers will also need to continue to know their states' standards for their students, as well as to continue to use effective instructional strategies to help their students access the general education curriculum and meet state standards through local and state assessments.

Fortunately, special education teachers will get some relief from the paperwork they are inundated with. Beginning July 1, 2005, benchmarks and short-term objectives will no longer be required on IEPs. The exception to this is for students who take alternate assessments that are aligned with alternate standards. A further paperwork reduction measure is the change in the way teachers are required to report their students' progress. Under the new law, teachers will be allowed to report students' progress toward their annual goals at times concurrent with report cards. In addition, the law requires the Secretary of Education to develop model IEPs and other special education forms and allows 15 states to develop and implement multi-year IEPs.

Teachers should also be aware that the legislation allows states to use alternate methods, such as response-to-intervention, to determine whether or not a child has a learning disability. These alternate methods, along with improved instructional strategies, will also be employed to help reduce the number of students from diverse backgrounds who are inappropriately referred to special education.

Highlights of the Bill

Highly Qualified Teachers
Special education teachers must meet the highly qualified requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. First, all teachers must be licensed and hold a bachelors degree. Additional requirements for special education teachers to be deemed highly qualified are explained below:

Teachers of Students with Mild/Moderate Cognitive Disabilities Who Teach Two or More Core Academic Subjects
Experienced elementary and secondary special education teachers must demonstrate academic competence in each core subject they teach for which they have sole responsibility. Depending on their state, the teachers may need to be licensed in the subjects, take a test(s), do professional development, meet observation criteria, or comply with a combination of these methods.
New elementary and secondary special education teachers who are highly qualified in math, language arts, or science must demonstrate academic competence in each core subject they teach for which they have sole responsibility. Depending on their state, the teachers may need to be licensed in the subjects, take a test(s), do professional development, meet observation criteria, or comply with a combination of these methods. However, new teachers have two years in which to become highly qualified in the other core subjects.
Teachers of Students with the Most Severe Cognitive Disabilities
New or experienced elementary special education teachers must demonstrate academic subject competence, which is determined by their state's evaluation standards.
New or experienced middle or high school teachers must demonstrate "subject matter knowledge appropriate to the level being instructed." This standard is determined by the state.
Consultative Teachers and Other Teachers Who Do Not Teach Core Academic Subjects
Must be licensed teachers and hold a bachelor's degree.
Other Special Education Teachers Teaching Core Academic Subjects
Must meet relevant NCLB requirements for new elementary and secondary teachers or veteran teachers.
To find out your state's highly qualified requirements, go to your state's Department of Education Web site.

Assessment and Accountability
"All" children with disabilities are included in "all general state- and district-wide assessment programs with appropriate accommodations and alternate assessments where necessary and as indicated in their respective IEPs."
Alternate assessments must be "aligned with the state's challenging academic content standards and challenging student academic achievement standards."
States have the option of adopting alternate academic standards as permitted by No Child Left Behind regulations.
IEPs and Paperwork
Except for children who take alternate assessments aligned with alternate standards, benchmarks and short-term objectives are eliminated on IEPs.
Descriptions of a child's progress toward meeting annual goals may be regularly provided through quarterly or periodic reports. These periodic reports may coincide with report cards.
If a child's IEP needs to be changed after the annual IEP meeting, the parent and school may agree to modify the current IEP with a written document rather than convening an IEP meeting.
Up to 15 states may be approved to develop comprehensive multi-year IEPs. These IEPs must not exceed three years, and parents must agree to the multi-year IEP. The multi-year IEPs must include measurable goals that coincide with the child's natural transition points, measurable annual goals to determine the child's progress toward meeting the goals outlined above, and a description of the process to review and revise the multi-year IEP.
IEP Meetings
In the following circumstances, a team member may be excused from all or part of an IEP meeting:
When a team member's curricular area or related service is not being modified or discussed in the meeting and the parents (in writing) and school agree that his or her presence is not needed.
If a team member's curricular area or related service is to be discussed or modified, the team member provides written input into the development of the IEP prior to the meeting, and the parent (in writing) and school agree to the team member's excusal.
Identifying Students with Learning Disabilities
Schools do not have to use the IQ-discrepancy formula to determine whether or not a child has a learning disability.
Schools may use a response-to-intervention model to determine whether or not a child has a learning disability.
Transition
Schools must develop transition plans for students with disabilities at age 16.
Discipline
Schools may, on a "case-by-case basis," consider unique circumstances when deciding whether to change the placement of a child with a disability who violates a code of student conduct.
School personnel may remove a student to an interim school setting (without a hearing officer) for 45 school days. (Before, it was 45 calendar days).
Schools may remove a student who has "inflicted serious bodily injury on another person while at school, on school premises, or at a school function" to an interim placement without a hearing officer ruling.
If a child with a disability misbehaves, schools must determine whether or not the conduct was caused by or had a direct and substantial relationship to the child's disability and if the conduct was the direct result of the school's failure to implement the child's IEP.
Evaluating Students for Special Education
Unless states have established a timeline for evaluation, schools must evaluate students for eligibility for special education within 60 days of receiving parent consent. Exceptions to this timeline include students moving between school districts and a parent's refusal to make the child available for evaluation.
Reducing Over-representation
Schools may use methods other than the IQ-achievement discrepancy model to determine whether or not students have a learning disability.
Districts with significant over-identification of minority students must implement pre-referral programs to reduce the number of students inappropriately referred to special education.
To reduce over-identification and misidentification of students from diverse backgrounds for special education, funding is provided to train school personnel in effective teaching strategies and positive behavior interventions and supports.
Assesstments must be provided and administered in the language and form most likely to yield accurate information on what the child knows and can do academically, developmentally, and functionally.
Attorneys' Fees
A school or district may be awarded attorneys' feed if the parent files a complaint that is frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.
A school or district may be awarded attorneys' fees if the parents' complaint was presented for an improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the litigation cost.
Procedural Safeguards
Complaints may be submitted no more than two years from the date a parent or school knew or should have known about the issue the complaint is about or within state timelines.
Both parties must submit a due process complaint notice before accessing a due process hearing. Additional requirements include the sufficiency of the notice, timelines for submitting responses to the notice, and procedures for amending the notice,
Mediation may be requested prior to filing a complaint. Also, provisions for developing a written binding confidential agreement are strengthened.
A new dispute resolution process, "resolution session," is to be implemented. The school must convene the resolution session prior to a due process hearing unless the parent and the school agree in writing to waive the meeting or go to mediation.
Optional Birth-Six Program
In this optional program for states, parents of children eligible for preschool services may continue early intervention services until their child enters, or is eligible under state law to enter, kindergarten. These early childhood services for children with disabilities must contain an educational component that promotes school readiness and includes preliteracy, language, and number skills.
Research
Language authorizing research and innovation activities in the education of children with disabilities has been eliminated. A new research authority, The Institute of Education Sciences (IES), and IES's new National Center for Special Education Research will handle these responsibilities. The Center's mission is to:
Sponsor research to expand knowledge and understanding of the needs of infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities to improve their developmental, educational, and transitional outcomes.
Sponsor research to improve services provided under IDEA.
Evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of IDEA.
You can find all this information and more at CEC's Website at: www.cec.sped.org

This column is strictly informational and not written by me. I have posted as information from CEC and it was written by CEC. Please visit CEC at www.cec.sped.org for more information.