1. Improve School Climate for Students with Disabilities:  Training for Parents

2. Bullying & Harassment of Students with Disabilities:
An Overview of Legal Obligations & Strategies to Curtail Mean Behavior through the IEP/504 for Parents
Presenter: Ms. Angie Smith, M.A.
Presenter: Mr. Douglas Jones, M.A.

3. A project coordinated by
Made possible by generous funding from the
A project coordinated by

4. Welcome and Overview • When to ask questions
• Today will consist of two sections:
- Laws that protect students with disabilities
- Strategies for addressing bullying and harassment through the IEP/504 Plan and supporting children with disabilities when bullying is involved
• Have fun and share so we can all learn from each other

5. Training Objectives
• Increased understanding and awareness of the laws pertaining to bullying & harassment
• Understanding of the additional legal protections afforded to students with disabilities
• Awareness of the tools that can be used to address bullying and harassment through IEP or 504 Plans
• Awareness of other strategies to support children with disabilities who are bullied or harassed

6. Individual Goals • What do You Hope to get from today’s training?
• Do you have particular areas of interest or questions that you would like to focus on?

7. What Do We Know About the Impact on Students with Disabilities
• They are disproportionately targets of bullying & harassment
• They can and do initiate incidents of bullying
• They have additional protections under the law which need to be addressed

8. Public Act No. 14-172 Definition of Bullying
REPEATED written, oral, and electronic communications and/or physical acts and gestures by one or more students directed at or referring to another student and that: - causes the student physical or emotional harm or damage to his or her property, - puts the student in reasonable fear of harm or property damage - creates a hostile school environment for the student, - infringes on the student’s rights at school, or - substantially disrupts the education process or a school’s orderly operation.

9. School Intervention is Required When the Incident
• creates a hostile school environment for the student,
• infringes on the student’s rights at school, or
• substantially disrupts the education process or a school’s orderly operation.

10. Important Components
• Parents/guardians and students should be notified about the bullying reporting process at the beginning of the school year. (Added 2014)
• Students can make anonymous reports regarding bullying.
• School climate specialist in building receives the reports and investigates suspected incidents.

11. Important Components (continued)
• Parents of all parties must be notified when an investigation is opened. (Added 2014)
• When an incident takes place, both students (initiator and target) must receive interventions.
• Development of a safety plan for targeted student may be warranted.

12. Indicators of Bullying
• Behavior is Intentional
• There is an Imbalance of Power in the relationship
• Behavior is Repetitive

13. Conflict or Bullying? NORMAL PEER CONFLICT
Imbalance of power; not friends
Equal power or friends
Repeated negative actions
Happens occasionally
Purposeful
Accidental
Serious with threat of physical or emotional harm
Not serious
Seeking power, control, or material things
Not seeking power or attention
Not trying to get something
Attempt to gain material things or power
Remorse- will take responsibility
Effort to solve the problem
No remorse- blames victim
No effort to solve the problem
BULLYING

14. Federal laws that protect students with disabilities against bullying/harassment
• Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

15. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• ADA is a Civil Rights Law protecting and including students, staff and members of the public with disabilities
• Underlying values of the ADA include:
- Equal opportunity
- Integration
- Full participation of individuals with disabilities

16. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
• Is applicable to any recipient of federal funds – All public schools
• Has functionally identical protections as ADA
• In order to comply with the 504/ADA a district must comply with its obligations under IDEA
• 504 Plan requirement is derived from this

17. Who is Covered Under Section 504/ADA?
An individual who:
• has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities,
• has a record of such an impairment or
• is regarded as having such an impairment.
A student does NOT need to require special education to be covered under Section 504

18. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• Is a federal funding law that provides funding to states to ensure that certain children with disabilities have adequate educational resources.

19. Who is Covered Under (IDEA)?
Children ages 3-21 who are determined by a multidisciplinary team to be eligible within one or more of 13 specific disability categories:
• autism • specific learning disabilities
• deafness • speech/language impairments
• deaf-blindness • traumatic brain injury
• hearing impairments • visual impairments
• mental retardation • orthopedic impairments
• other health impairments • multiple disabilities
• serious emotional disturbance
AND who need special education and related services.

20. For All Students
Children covered under either IDEA or Section 504 must receive a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

21. Bullying/Harassment can be a denial of FAPE
When a student with a disability is bullied/harassed a team meeting should be convened to determine
• If the student’s needs have changed so that the IEP/504 Plan is no longer beneficial
• What different services need to be added to the IEP/504 Plan if needs have changed
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights. ‘Dear Colleague’ Letter: Responding to Bullying of Students with Disabilities (Oct , 2014)

22. Bullying/Harassment can be a denial of FAPE (continued)
• This is true regardless of whether or not bullying/ harassment is based on a disability
• All staff and volunteers, including parents who chaperone field trips, should be trained in recognizing and properly reporting bullying/ harassment
• If the report involves a student with a disability then school authorities should convene a team meeting
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights. ‘Dear Colleague’ Letter: Responding to Bullying of Students with Disabilities (Oct , 2014)

23. Harassment v. Bullying • Harassment does not need to: - Be repetitive
- Have intent or have been directed at a specific target
- Be reported but should have been reasonably known
Statutes are violated when peer harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, sexual orientation (in CT), gender identity (in CT) is serious enough that it creates a hostile environment and such harassment is encouraged, tolerated, not adequately addressed, or ignored by school.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights. ‘Dear Colleague’ Letter: Harassment and Bullying (Oct. 2010)

24. School Obligations If harassment has occurred, a school must:
• Take prompt and effective steps to end the harassment
• Eliminate any hostile environment
• Prevent its recurrence.
These duties are a school’s responsibility:
• Even if the misconduct also is covered by an anti- bullying policy
• Regardless of whether the student makes a complaint, asks the school to take action, or identifies the harassment as a form of discrimination.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights. ‘Dear Colleague’ Letter: Harassment and Bullying (Oct. 2010)

25. Steps Schools Should Take When Harassment Occurs
• Provide training or other interventions not only for the initiators, but for the larger school community.
• Ensure that all students, their families and school staff can recognize harassment if it occurs and know how to respond.
• Issuance of new policies against harassment/new procedures for school community to report allegations of harassment.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights. ‘Dear Colleague’ Letter: Harassment and Bullying (Oct. 2010)

26. Disability Harassment is Prohibited Under:
• Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act where schools receive federal funds (virtually all schools) • ADA and 504 “provide parents and students with grievance procedures and due process remedies at the State and Local level”
Source ‘Dear Colleague’ letter Dept. of Education 2000

27. Disability Harassment Under 504 & ADA
• Intimidation or abusive behavior based on disability that creates a hostile environment by interfering with or denying a student’s receipt or benefits of services or opportunities • Harassment that is sufficiently - Severe, Persistent OR Pervasive may create a hostile environment obligating the District to investigate and respond appropriately
Source ‘Dear Colleague’ letter Dept. of Education 2000

28. Examples of Harassment that could lead to a hostile environment
• A student repeatedly places furniture or other objects in the path of students who use wheelchairs, impeding students’ ability to enter the classroom • Subjecting a student to inappropriate physical restraint because of conduct related to his disability resulting in the student avoiding school by increased absences • Students continually taunt a student with an intellectual disability so she does not participate in class
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights. ‘Dear Colleague’ Letter: Prohibited Disability Harassment (July 2000)

29. Department of Education Recommendations
• Create an environment that is aware of disability concerns and is sensitive to disability harassment by weaving these issues into the curriculum or programs outside the classroom. • Encourage all school and community members to discuss disability harassment and to report incidents. • Widely publicize anti-harassment statements and procedures for handling discrimination complaints. - This information increases awareness of what constitutes harassment, makes clear that such conduct is prohibited and that the institution will not tolerate such behavior. - Ensure that effective action, including disciplinary action, where appropriate, is taken.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights. ‘Dear Colleague’ Letter: Prohibited Disability Harassment (July 2000)

30. Department of Education Recommendations (continued)
• Provide training for staff and students to recognize and handle potential harassment. • Counsel both target(s) and initiator(s) involved in an incident of harassment. • Implement monitoring programs to follow up on resolved issues of disability harassment. • Regularly assess and modify existing disability harassment policies and procedures to ensure effectiveness.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights. ‘Dear Colleague’ Letter: Prohibited Disability Harassment (July 2000)

31. When investigating if a school has engaged in disability-based harassment, OCR will consider:
• Was a student with a disability bullied by one or more students based on the student’s disability?
• Was the bullying conduct sufficiently serious to create a hostile environment?
• Did the school know or should it have known of the conduct?

32. How do I support my child?
Address bullying/harassment through the Individual Education Plan (IEP)/504 Plan for students who are targets or initiators of bullying/ harassment
• Strategies can include
- Self-Advocacy Skills
- Differentiating between mean and friendly behavior
- Identifying bullying or harassing behavior
- Learning how to report

33. IEP Strategies (continued)
• Signaling adults when bullied/harassed or triggered
• Identifying a ‘safe adult’ to notify or check in with as well as a safe location
• Circles of Friends/ Social groups
• Social skills development to mitigate provocative behavior
• Planning for how educators can intervene

34. IEP Strategies (continued)
• Supervision or separation from initiators of bullying, still in the LRE
• Counseling or other supportive services
• Parent counseling or training
• Allow student to leave class early
• Pragmatic skill group/instruction
• Educating staff and peers
• Make anti-bullying and harassment training accessible and understandable to student

35. IEP Strategies (continued)
• Communication with school climate specialist
• Modifications to the reporting form to make it accessible to students with disabilities
• Educate student that bullying is not their fault
• Allow student to leave class early
• Involve student in strategies/IEP development process
• Provide a Functional Behavioral Assessment/ Provide a Behavioral Intervention Plan

36. Other Ways to Support a Student with a Disability
• Request a harassment policy statement from your school.
• Encourage school to provide disability awareness/ anti-bias training to all students and staff
• Enlist support of the PTA/PTO
• Encouraging parents, students, employees, and community members to discuss disability harassment and to report it when they become aware of it.

37. Wrap-Up & Thank You
• Questions, Comments and Concerns
• Evaluation