What To Do When The School Says No Snags, Bumps and Setbacks at IEP Meetings Law Office of Nora A. Belanger, LLC 161 East Avenue, Suite 104 Norwalk, CT 06851 www.norabelangerlaw.com Phone: 203-854-8597 norabelanger@gmail.com Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

Free Appropriate Public Education What To Do When The School Says No Free Appropriate Public Education Special education and related services provided at no cost to families Must meet state and federal requirements Include preschool, elementary school, secondary school and transition Provided in accordance with an IEP Services extend to age 21 Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Six Principles of IDEA Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) Appropriate Evaluation Individualized Education Program (IEP) Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Parent Participation Procedural Safeguards Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Know Your Rights Right to records Right to informed consent Right to Prior Written Notice Right to an independent educational evaluation Right to Due Process Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says NO… Put all communication in writing Track progress through school and private evaluations Know and exercise your rights Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Our evaluations say that she has progressed. Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Evaluation The process used by the IEP team to determine eligibility for special education services Comprehensive enough to identify full range of needs, including social, emotional and behavioral Evaluations are necessary only for the purpose of developing the IEP Parent must give consent Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Triennial Evaluation Conducted at least every 3 years Determines continued eligibility Can be based on existing data Parent can request additional assessment(s) Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Parental Consent Required: Before initial evaluation Before initial placement Before placing in private placement Before reevaluation Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Make Sure You Have Given Informed Consent Consent to receive special education services, for an initial evaluation for all reevaluations It is the obligation of the school district to make sure you are informed The only purpose of an evaluation is to assist in developing the IEP Ask who, what, when, where, why and how Testing need not be done more than once a year Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Your evaluator does not comply with the requirements of the district. Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) What To Do When The School Says No Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) Seek independent evaluations if you are not getting answers from school district evaluations District has a right to evaluate Available if you disagree with the evaluation conducted by the school district District must pay for the IEE or initiate a due process hearing to prove its evaluation is appropriate Must be provided without undue delay Results of IEE must be considered by district but they are not required to agree or implement them Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No He has mastered the goals and objectives in the various domains. Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No The IEP The focal point of IDEA Created for each child according to his or her individual needs Details the special education and related services that the district will provide to meet those needs Goals and objectives are developed from the needs of the student Services delivery should be specific Reviewed/revised at least annually Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No IEP – Planning Before Placement 2. Develop IEP 3. Placement 1. Evaluate Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No It is not necessary to write it in the IEP, because we provide the service or consult for all students, as a matter of practice. Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Treat the IEP Like a Contract Parents must agree with content and scope IEP must be meaningful and specific and represent real learning IEP must anticipate frequency, duration and location of services Methodology can be discussed Consulting time between service providers should be designated on the services page Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No She is not eligible for special education because she is currently receiving response to intervention (RTI). Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

Eligibility for Special Education What To Do When The School Says No Eligibility for Special Education Two Prong Test Diagnosis of a disability Because of the disability, the student requires specialized services Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

Special Education & Related Services What To Do When The School Says No Special Education & Related Services Special education is specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of the student to enable access to the general education curriculum Related services are services required for a student to benefit from special education Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No We will move him into the general education classes when we feel he is able to succeed there. Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

Least Restrictive Environment What To Do When The School Says No Least Restrictive Environment Continuum of placements Regular classroom placement is the first option that must be considered Regular class placement means 80% of the day or more in a regular education setting Based on the child’s IEP and what is appropriate Determined by the child’s IEP team Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Transition Planning Coordinated set of services designed to “transition” a student to life after high school Must begin by age 15, must be implemented by age 16 Transition Planning Areas: Post-secondary education Post-secondary employment Community Participation Residential outcomes/independent living skills Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No We only have to provide Extended School Year Services (ESY) to prevent regression. Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Extended School Year Criteria for consideration Must be decided on an annual basis ESY requires IEP Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No That is not how we do it here. Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Be an Equal Member of the IEP Team Scheduling meetings Subject of PPT meetings Invitees Digital recording or flash drive Parent input Minutes – object or edit Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

Right to Educational Records What To Do When The School Says No Right to Educational Records Right to view records pertaining to child’s disability, evaluation, placement, right to FAPE Includes discipline and incident reports Includes data used as a basis for IEP decisions Parent can request an explanation of records Get one free copy of records Exclusion for “notes” Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Parental Involvement Participation in the IEP process of planning evaluations and reevaluations Participation in development, review, revision of IEP Parents must be informed as to when they are to receive reports of progress towards meeting IEP goals and how those goals will be measured Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No It is within the school district’s purview to determine methodology or qualifications. Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Ask Why? Or, Why Not? When services are proposed with which you do not agree, ask why? Or, why not? You have a right to specifics about time, place and duration You have a right to know how many students in a group and if it is a “matched” group You can discuss methodology You have a right to know qualifications and training Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No He is making progress in the school environment. Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Insist on Progress Monitoring Independently monitor progress Progress reporting should be in writing Require quantitative data or baseline testing Look at modifications, prompting and cueing Request backup to support conclusions Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No We do not recall that; it is not written anywhere. Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Document Communications in Writing If it is not in writing; it did not happen Changes to the IEP must be in writing Document all concerns in writing Document statements made to you by the school district in writing Keep it cooperative in your letters Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No The parents never asked for it. Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

Prior Written Notice in the IEP What To Do When The School Says No Prior Written Notice in the IEP Must include: What options were proposed by the team or the parent Whether the options were accepted or refused by the district Reasons for acceptance or refusal Options considered Basis for the decision Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Prior Written Notice Provided when IEP team makes a decision regarding: Identification Evaluation Educational Placement Provision of FAPE Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Try to come to a collaborative agreement If you are not in agreement with eligibility determinations, or the IEP; you can just say “no” Make sure your disagreement is documented on the Prior Written Notice page Provide an amendment to the IEP document if it is not accurate or you do not agree If the change occurs outside of an IEP meeting, put it in writing Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Dispute Resolution Mediation Advisory Opinion Due Process Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

Due Process Procedures What To Do When The School Says No Due Process Procedures Parent has a right to due process to resolve disputes Formal administrative hearing with witnesses and testimony Hearing Officer’s finding is legally binding Attorneys fees are paid on issues on which the parent prevails May be expedited under certain conditions Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com

What To Do When The School Says No Thank you to our host: Attorney Nora A. Belanger, www.norabelanger.com