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The topic for the Legal Guide assignment is Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA). Learning the laws for IDEA is critical for all administration, counselors, and special education teachers so that the employees can make sure that all students are being serviced correctly by the law. When servicing these students as a school counselor, one must ensure that students with disabilities receive the same opportunities in education as students who are not disabled. Counselors must provide students with disabilities the opportunities to learn in education and meet their emotional, social, and academic needs at school. For the students to be successful after graduation, the counselor may have the task of raising awareness among parents and advocating to make sure that the parents are informed of future possibilities for their handicapped child after graduation. This padlet of information can be shared with administrators and counselors to inform them of current IDEA laws, new IDEA laws, and policies. It has been several years since I learned about IDEA. As a future counselor, I chose this topic because I want to understand the IDEA laws better and know how to find and stay current with the new laws. Lastly, counselors sit in on ARDS and help ensure that students receive the correct services in the least restrive environment.

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1. Why the Legal Guide topic is important in your field of education, or how it is impacting your field of education:

According to Marsha Stringer, who is a counselor at Huntsville High School, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Public Law 94-142) is important because school counselors serve as members of admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committees. Counselors help ensure that students receive the correct services in their least restrictive environment. Also, counselors attend 504 meetings to help determine appropriate accommodations. Counselors help decide what type of accommodations and services best help children with disabilities in academic, social, and emotional learning to succeed while attending school (M. Stringer, personal communication, September 19, 2022).

2. 3 best practices related to your topic:

Mrs. Marsha Stringer explained that it is essential for school counselors to stay in compliance when deciding what services are best for students. Counselors should attend the informative meetings provided by district administrators who are in charge of updating staff members on new laws or laws that change. It is vital that school counselors communicate with their administrators when they do not know an answer or how to handle situations to make sure they are in compliance when helping make decisions for students with disabilities. Lastly, counselors should advocate for students with special needs to access the general education curriculum and resources that permit them to reach their full potential (M. Stringer, personal communication, September 19, 2022).

3. Emerging issue related to your topic that educators should watch to see how it plays out and impacts your
work:

Marsha Stringer explained that one issue related to the Individual Disabilities Education Act is how to manage disruptive behaviors. Special education students often have behavioral issues that cause disruptive ways. Secondary children out-size their teachers, and this can be serious if they decide to cause harm. Many have questioned whether these students should stay in the least restrictive environment or be placed in a special one (M. Stringer, personal communication, September 19, 2022).

4. Name, title, school/org of interviewee:

Marsha Stringer, School Counselor, Huntsville High School, Huntsville ISD, https://www.huntsville-isd.org/Domain/975

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The Huntsville High School Counseling Staff is dedicated to serving our students. Our counselors may be reached by calling 936.435.6100 or by their respective emails.

jrquirino@huntsville-isd.org Room 1007 (Counseling Center) Ext. 6108
Hello! My name is Jennifer Quirino. I am married and I have two children. I was born and raised in Michigan and I moved to Texas in 2000. I have been in education for almost 20 years: I taught for 10 years, and this is my 9th year as a counselor. Being in education for almost 20 years, I am passionate about what I do, but most importantly, I am passionate about kids and their success at Huntsville High School.
dlwilliams@huntsville-isd.org Room 1007 (Counseling Center) Ext. 6208

Hello Hornets! My name is Danielle Williams and I have been a School Counselor at Huntsville High School for 14 years (though not consecutively). I began my teaching career at Caney Creek High School in Conroe ISD where I taught for 8 years before entering the Hive as a School Counselor. After 12 years, I returned to Caney Creek for 5 years and 2 years ago returned to Huntsville, my home! I received my Bachelors of Fine Arts from Sam Houston State University. In December of 2005 I earned my Master's degree in School Counseling from the SHSU as well.

I've been married to long-time Huntsville resident and former Hornet, Lawrence Williams Jr. for 30 years and together we have two children, Lawren and Trey and one amazing granddaughter named Mia. We also have 4 dogs and one fat cat. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family and crafting.
sbmcneel@huntsville-isd.org Room 1007 (Counseling Center) Ext. 6109
My counseling philosophy is student-centered and brief-solution focused. I believe in a comprehensive counseling program that addresses the academic, career, and personal/social development of all students. Sting 'em Hornets !
anbradford@huntsville-isd.org Room 1007 (Counseling Center) Ext. 6180

mstringer@huntsville-isd.org Room 1007 (Counseling Center) Ext. 6207
Hi, everyone! My name is Sarah McNeel. I moved to Huntsville for college in 2008 and loved this community so much I never left! I always say Huntsville has some of the best people in it. I am married to Roger McNeel, who also works at the high school, and we have two boys. We love to travel with them and make a ton of memories. I taught for 5 years and have been a counselor for 7 years. I am always here to help if you ever need anything!
dshaw@huntsville-isd.org Room 2112 (College & Career Center) Ext. 6181

Hello, I am Amber Bradford. I grew up in Coldspring, not too far from Huntsville, so this community feels similar to home. This is my fourth year in Huntsville, but I've been in education for ten years. Even after ten years, I don't like mornings, but coffee makes it better! Traveling is my favorite way to pass time along with trying new experiences. Life is a journey, and I'm excited to see where it takes me. Sting 'em!

Welcome to the HHS Counselor Page! My name is Marsha Stringer. I am married and have two grown sons. I grew up in Huntsville and graduated from Huntsville High School. I then completed my bachelors degree at Texas A & M University. Whoop! I came back to Huntsville and started teaching at HISD. I taught for 20 years and then became a school counselor. This is my 11th year as a counselor. I love Huntsville and will forever be a Hornet!

Hi! My name is Dawn Shaw and I'm the College & Career Counselor. I'm your child's "go to" person to help them plan their future beyond Huntsville High School! I completed my undergraduate work at Stephen F. Austin State University and received two masters' degrees from Sam Houston State University. I began my career as a Kindergarten and first grade teacher. After moving to Huntsville, I spent ten years as the fifth grade counselor at Huntsville Intermediate School. Then, I decided to expand my horizons and move up to high school! I was an alpha counselor for two years and have spent the last six years as the College & Career Counselor. My passion is to help our seniors prepare for life after high school doing what they love with as much minimal debt as possible! :)

Our family has made Huntsville our home for the last twenty years. My husband and I have three children, two of whom have graduated from Huntsville HS and one that is currently a freshman at HHS. We love this community and want to give back to all of those who have made a difference in our lives and the lives of our children.

My door is always open! Please feel free to stop by the Career Center in room 2112 with any questions or needs. I look forward to another great year with our seniors and can't wait to see the exciting plans they have in store for their future!❤️

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Counseling and College & Career Center / Counseling Center

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The Huntsville High School Counseling Staff is dedicated to serving our students. Our counselors may be reached by calling 936.435.6100 or by their respective emails. jrquirino@huntsville-isd.org Room 1007 (Counseling Center) Ext. 6108 Hello! My name is Jennifer Quirino. I am married and I have two children.

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The U.S. Department of Education provides a website on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that informs and updates individuals on law and policy and provides resources for counselors, administrators, students, parents, or service providers. The website serves information on infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. A person needing information or resources for an individual with a disability can easily research the information needed on the user-friendly website.

U.S. Department of Education. (2022). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. https://sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

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The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children.

The IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to more than 8 million (as of school year 2022-23) eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities.

Infants and toddlers, birth through age 2, with disabilities and their families receive early intervention services under IDEA Part C. Children and youth ages 3 through 21 receive special education and related services under IDEA Part B.

Additionally, the IDEA authorizes:

Formula grants to states to support special education and related services and early intervention services.

Discretionary grants to state educational agencies, institutions of higher education, and other nonprofit organizations to support research, demonstrations, technical assistance and dissemination, technology development, personnel preparation and development, and parent-training and -information centers.

Congress reauthorized the IDEA in 2004 and most recently amended the IDEA through Public Law 114-95, the Every Student Succeeds Act, in December 2015.

In the law, Congress states:

Disability is a natural part of the human experience and in no way diminishes the right of individuals to participate in or contribute to society. Improving educational results for children with disabilities is an essential element of our national policy of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities.

Other Laws for Children with Disabilities

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) provides additional resources of interest for individuals with disabilities and their families.

OCR does not enforce the IDEA; however, OCR does enforce the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 and Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Title II rights of IDEA-eligible students with disabilities.

To learn more, visit the OCR's Frequently Asked Questions About Section 504 and the Education of Children with Disabilities.

Visit OCR's website for additional resources.

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About IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

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The IDEA is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children.

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The article, New Guidance Helps Schools Support Students with Disabilities and Avoid Discriminatory Use of Discipline,
explains that Section 504 requires schools to provide behavioral supports and services to students with disabilities so that they receive free appropriate public education (FAPE). The guidelines released by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services help students in elementary and secondary schools avoid harsh and exclusionary discriminatory discipline due to their disabilities (Stanford, 2022). The students should be treated fairly and have access to support and services to meet their needs.

Standford, L. (2022, July 19). New Guidance Helps Schools Support Students with Disabilities and Avoid Discriminatory Use of Discipline. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/new-discipline-guidance-focuses-on-discrimination-against-students-with-disabilities/2022/07https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/new-discipline-guidance-focuses-on-discrimination-against-students-with-disabilities/2022/07

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Schools must determine if a student's behavior is related to their disability before disciplining them, according to new U.S. Department of Education guidance meant to further clarify federal protections against discrimination.

In a call with reporters Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona touted the new guidance as the "most comprehensive" the department has ever released on the topic.

Four new resources for school leaders include two guides on how Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act protect students from discriminatory discipline practices; a guide for stakeholders on "positive, proactive approaches to supporting the needs of children with disabilities"; and a letter from Cardona on the importance of supporting the needs of students with disabilities.

"As this guidance makes clear, the work to ensure students are safe at school is foundational to everything we do," he said. "They must be safe and supported at schools."

Separately, the Education Department is still reviewing its guidance for discipline as it relates to racial discrimination, department officials said Tuesday. They did not provide a timeline for release of that guidance.

Students with disabilities stand out statistically on discipline

Students with disabilities experience disproportionately high rates of expulsion and suspension, the most-recent data from the department's office for civil rights show. In the 2017-18 school year, students with disabilities represented 13 percent of the total student enrollment but experienced 23 percent of all expulsions with educational services and 15 percent of all expulsions without educational services.

In its Section 504 guidance, the department explains that schools are required to provide behavioral supports and services to students with disabilities. Specifically, it states that schools must determine if a student's behavior is related to their disability before expelling or suspending them for that behavior.

In cases where a student is exhibiting disruptive behavior related to their disability, the department encourages school officials to do further evaluation to see if the student needs additional behavioral supports or a change in educational setting to ensure they have access to a free and appropriate public education.

Schools are allowed to discipline students through suspension or expulsion if officials determine the behavior was not connected to the student's disability as long as the discipline is handled in the same way it would be done with students without disabilities, according to the guidance.

The guidance also clarifies that Section 504 prohibits schools from not making reasonable modifications for students with disabilities such as adapting school policies to support student needs; unnecessarily treating a student differently because of their disability; or using policies that have an "unjustified discriminatory effect" on students with disabilities, such as sending students to detention for using profanities when students with Tourette Syndrome may not be able to control their use of those words.

In a question-and-answer document on IDEA, the department clarifies that a student's IEP, or individualized education program, must include the use of "positive behavioral interventions and supports" to address disruptive behavior.

Those behavioral interventions can include "special education and related services, supplementary aids and services, and program modifications or supports for school personnel," according to the document.

"The resources can strengthen school communities so that all students have an inclusive, safe environment that embraces their whole, unique selves," Cardona said to reporters on Tuesday.

Some Democratic lawmakers praised the new guidance, saying it will lead to more-equitable school environments.

"This is an important step forward to help root out discriminatory disciplinary practices in our nation's schools, and I applaud the administration for standing up for the rights of all students-including children with disabilities-to learn in a safe and supportive environment," U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a statement.

What the new guidance says about restraint and seclusion practices

The guidance released Tuesday also clarified that seclusion and restraint practices can constitute disability discrimination. Those practices include any time students are placed in a room alone without the ability to leave or placed in a restraint that restricts their movement as a form of discipline.

The department also said that physical restraints-when adults use their own physical force to restrain a student-could constitute discrimination. However, the use of "physical escort," in which an adult temporarily touches or holds a student's hand, wrist, arm, shoulder, or back "for the purpose of inducing a student who is acting out to walk to a safe location," is not considered a restraint, according to the guidance.

The Education Department has found that restraint and seclusion are disproportionately used on students with disabilities. In the 2017-18 school year, the most recent year of data available, about 102,000 students experienced restraint or seclusion at school, according to the office of civil rights data. While only 13 percent of students enrolled that school year had a disability, 80 percent of students who experienced physical restraint and 77 percent of students who experienced seclusion had a disability.

The latest guidance is not the first time the department has provided clarity on that issue. In 2016, as assistant secretary for civil rights in the Obama administration, the current assistant secretary, Catherine Lhamon, wrote a "Dear Colleague" letter clarifying that the use of seclusion and restraint can constitute discrimination.

What's ahead for efforts to promote racial equity as it relates to discipline

The new guidance is only part of the department's examination of the issue of discrimination in discipline.

In June 2021, the department released a request for public comment on discipline and school climate. The department received over 3,000 comments regarding discrimination of students based on race, sexual orientation, gender, and disabilities, some of which informed Tuesday's guidance.

In 2017-18, the office for civil rights reported that Black students represented 38 percent of the total students who receive one or more out-of-school suspensions but they only accounted for 15 percent of the total school enrollment.

Some civil rights organizations while applauding the guidance on students with disabilities are calling for swift action on the broader guidance.

"We look forward to working with students, families, educators, and the department to ensure the faithful implementation of the guidance and the promises made in our civil rights laws," Liz King, senior program director of education equity at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said in a statement. "Now, we call on the department to move swiftly to update and publish school discipline guidance under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to clarify all students' right to be free from racial discrimination. Every child deserves a safe, welcoming, and inclusive learning environment where they have the chance to learn, grow, and thrive."

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New Discipline Guidance Focuses on Discrimination Against Students With Disabilities

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Schools must determine if a student's behavior is related to their disability before disciplining them, according to new U.S. Department of Education guidance meant to further clarify federal protections against discrimination. In a call with reporters Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona touted the new guidance as the "most comprehensive" the department has ever released on the topic.

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Judicial Law:
Schaffer v. Weast, 546 U.S. 49 (2005)
-Brian came from a private school to a public school because he needed better services.
-The parents did not like the fact that he was being placed in a larger class and felt he did not have intensive services.
-Believed their child's IEP was not correct
-Placed Brian in a private school and was seeking compensation for the cost of Brian's subsequent private education
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of the school district
- Courts agree that if parents dispute an IEP, it is the parent's burden to place an issue on the appropriateness of the IEP
-The burden of persuasion lies where it falls, upon the party     seeking relief

Schaffer v. Weast, 546 US 49 Supreme Court (2005). https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=17345534621187318493&q=Schaffer+v.+Weast,+546+U.S.+49+(2005)&hl=en&as_sdt=6,44&as_vis=1

(You can click on the picture above, which will take you to the site. It looks like it will not work, but it does.)

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Statutory Law:
-Individual Disabilities Education Act of 1990, 33 U.S.C. § 1432 (1)
- At-risk infant or toddler
-Children under three years of age are experiencing a substantial development delay
- Receives developmental services
- Provided at no cost except where Federal or State law provides for a system of payments by familie

Individual Disabilities Education Act of 1990, 33 U.S.C. § 1432 (1). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-108publ446/html/PLAW-108publ446.htm

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108th Congress Public Law 446] [From the U.S. Government Printing Office] [[Page 118 STAT. 2647]] Public Law 108-446 108th Congress An Act To reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and for other purposes. > Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, > SECTION 1.

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Constitutional Law :
- Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142) 1975
-Name changed to Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 1990
-Law that provides guidelines for a free appropriate public education to children with disabilities
-Administrators, counselors, teachers, and other school employees must be educated on this law and follow the law in order to provide the best services for children with disabilities

Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (1990). https://www.ada.gov/pubs/adastatute08.htm

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Students with disabilities faced unique barriers to online learning during the pandemic. The article, Educating Students with Disabilities During COVID-19 Review, explains that students with disabilities now have gaps due to the fact that students' IEPs were breached because schools did not provide adequate accommodations under IDEA (Kim et al., 2022). This article provides examples of how Covid-19 effects on in-person classroom instruction have disproportionality impacted the students. Schools now face lawsuits because of the barriers that children with disabilities faced due to online learning.

Ross, T., Kim, C., Rohde, K. (2022, June 11). Educating Students with Disabilities During Covid-19. The Regulatory Review. https://www.theregreview.org/2022/06/11/saturday-seminar-educating-students-with-disabilities-during-covid-19/

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Scholars reflect on regulatory gaps in special education for students with disabilities during the pandemic.

Faced with the suspension of in-person behavioral and cognitive therapies, the inaccessibility of virtual learning platforms such as Zoom, and parent burnout, schoolchildren with disabilities and their families have dealt with many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. As public schools nationwide transitioned to remote learning at the start of the pandemic, less than half of all states published remote learning plans with information about the remote provision of services to students with disabilities. As a result, many states looked to federal special education law for answers.

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), students with disabilities must receive a free and appropriate public education. In addition, all public-school students receiving special education services under the IDEA must have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). In a previous Saturday Seminar, The Regulatory Review highlighted the successes and shortcomings of the IDEA. This week's Seminar explores COVID-19's impact on students affected by the IDEA.

All students have struggled to adjust to online and hybrid learning during the pandemic. Students with disabilities, however, face unique barriers not felt by other student populations. These barriers make the IDEA's shortcomings especially prevalent in light of the pandemic.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Security (CARES) Act, signed into law in March 2020, gave the U.S. Secretary of Education the right to appeal Congress for waivers that would relax some of the IDEA's core requirements as schools transitioned to remote learning. In April, however, former Secretary Betsey DeVos issued recommendations declining to seek such flexibility for certain IDEA provisions.

Although DeVos's choice not to waive certain IDEA mandates encouraged parents and advocates of students with disabilities, local education agencies worried about the legal challenges they would face without any leniency to deliver remote special education services as best they could. By the end of the 2019-2020 school year, parents of students with disabilities brought several lawsuits against school districts and state education agencies. The parents argued that their children's IEPs had been breached by schools not providing adequate accommodations.

Prior to the lawsuits, the Education Department issued nonbinding guidance implying that if a school did not provide education to its general student population due to COVID-19, it could avoid providing services to students with disabilities. According to the guidance, "the IDEA ... does not specifically address a situation in which elementary and secondary schools are closed for an extended period of time." The guidance seemed to promote the idea that all students are served equally if no students are served at all. Educators responded that such directives contradicted the IDEA's promise that all students with disabilities should have access to an adequate education. The Education Department later clarified that schools should not avoid offering virtual education altogether to evade the legal consequences of failing to serve adequately students with disabilities.

Amid the Education Department's contradictory advice and its refusal to grant the IDEA waivers, some disability rights advocates felt that translating IEP supports and other accommodations to an online learning environment would be impossible. Nonetheless, states adopted various measures for educating children with disabilities in remote and hybrid settings.

This week's Saturday Seminar highlights how COVID-19's effects on in-person classroom instruction have disproportionately impacted students with disabilities.

Legal accountability for special education is even more important during times of emergency, Jasmine Harris of the University of Pennsylvania Law School argues. In an essay for the University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online, Harris describes the rollbacks of disability rights in the classroom as school districts have enacted virtual learning during the pandemic. She explains that numerous school districts have requested statutory immunity from disability discrimination lawsuits, contending that it is impossible to comply with the requirements of the IDEA during a pandemic. Harris disagrees. She argues that previous national emergencies have prepared school districts to serve students with disabilities during a crisis and that the unique challenges experienced by these students necessitate legal oversight.

In a paper for the San Diego Law Review, Margaret A. Dalton of the University of San Diego School of Law and Jessica K. Heldman and Robert C. Fellmeth of the University of San Diego School of Law and UCSD's Children's Advocacy Institute discuss how the procedural safeguards of the IDEA can be adapted to fit remote learning. The authors highlight a Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates statement that aims to ensure that the rights of students with disabilities under the IDEA are included in plans to reopen schools. The statement includes three main principles: "(1) plan with equity and individualization in mind, (2) collaborate and communicate with families, and (3) review and, if necessary, revise IEPs and 504 plans to be responsive to the child's needs."

Crystal Grant of the Duke Children's Law Clinic explores the impact of COVID-19 on students with disabilities in low-income school districts and communities of color in an essay for Fordham Urban Law Journal. She explains that students in schools that lacked the technology and resources to transition smoothly to remote learning experienced educational loss that disproportionately affected students with disabilities and Black and Latinx students. Grant ties this educational loss to inequitable funding of under-resourced schools. She urges the Education Department to set aside funds and guidance, or "recovery services," to account for the educational loss and additional mental-health needs as schools return to in-person learning.

During the pandemic, special education in rural settings was especially challenging, J. Matt Jameson of the University of Utah and his coauthors argue. In a paper for the Rural Special Education Quarterly, Jameson and his coauthors explore how the "digital divide" between rural and nonrural communities made it difficult to provide remote educational experiences for rural students with disabilities. Due to low internet access, some rural educators provided lessons over telephone or distributed hardcopy packets. Jameson and his coauthors argue that these technological failures placed an increased strain on parents of students with disabilities, as they became responsible for finding ways to present instructional materials effectively for their children.

In a paper for the Southern California Review of Law and Justice, Thomas Mayes of the Iowa Department of Education writes that the Education Department's nonbinding guidance about the education of students with disabilities led to confusion about how schools should educate such children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mayes urges against forcing school districts to conduct mass IEP revisions during the pandemic as a means of mere compliance with pre-existing regulatory and statutory requirements. He does suggest, however, that districts begin preparing now to go beyond the inputs-focused mandates of the IDEA, focusing instead on how best to measure progress and remediate learning loss post-COVID-19.

New York City was not only the COVID-19 epicenter in the United States; it has also been a hub for several budding lawsuits challenging the inadequacy of remote special education provisions, Natalie Gomez-Velez of CUNY School of Law argues. In a paper for the Fordham Urban Law Journal, she explains that two hundred families across several states have signed onto a class action complaint, J.T. v. De Blasio, alleging that school districts violated students' IDEA rights. The litigation, Gomez-Velez argues, highlights the challenges school leaders confront in attempting to comply simultaneously with special education regulations and public health mandates.

The Saturday Seminar is a weekly feature that aims to put into written form the kind of content that would be conveyed in a live seminar involving regulatory experts. Each week, The Regulatory Review publishes a brief overview of a selected regulatory topic and then distills recent research and scholarly writing on that topic.

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individuals with disabilities education act

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Educating Students with Disabilities During COVID-19 | The Regulatory Review

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Scholars reflect on regulatory gaps in special education for students with disabilities during the pandemic. Faced with the suspension of in-person behavioral and cognitive therapies, the inaccessibility of virtual learning platforms such as Zoom, and parent burnout, schoolchildren with disabilities and their families have dealt with many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Administrative Law:
-Texas Administrative Code §74.28 provides guidelines for schools to follow in order to provide the best services for students who qualify for dyslexia (1996).
- Only adults who are trained to evaluate students for dyslexia appropriately may administer the assessment
-Schools must provide an evidence-based reading program for students with dyslexia
-Parents must be notified before assessing the student
-Schools must provide the parents who have children with dyslexia with a handbook that contains information on procedures concerning dyslexia

19 Texas Administrative Code §74.28 (1996) https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.ViewTAC?tac_view=5&ti=19&pt=2&ch=74&sch=C&rl=Y

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Huntsville ISD states in the board policy manual that the district designates at least one employee to organize, coordinate and comply with Section 504 and the ADA. The district must provide the name, work address, and phone number of the individual so that interested individuals can contact the person to find out information and ask questions. Because laws are always being added or changed for IDEA, districts have a hard time staying informed of new laws. It is important to designate a person in charge so that the district stays updated with all new information from the state legislature and federal legislation.

Huntsville ISD Board Policy Manual (2022). FB-Equal Educational Opportunity. https://pol.tasb.org/PolicyOnline/PolicyDetails?key=1196&code=FB

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Policy Code FB – Equal Educational Opportunity – Huntsville ISD Board Policy Manual - Policy Online

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A district shall provide equal opportunities to all individuals within its jurisdiction or geographic boundaries. Education Code 1.002(a)

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As explained by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) A.6, counselors must provide students with services through the school or community services that display special needs (2022). A counselor must remember the limits of confidentiality to others for students with disabilities. If a child displays that they may harm themselves or someone, the counselor must consider the duty of care and notify the appropriate authority. A teacher may approach the school counselor about concerns of a child that may struggle academically, socially, and emotionally. The counselor will follow the school procedures for assessing the student to decide if the child has a disability. If the counselor discovers that the child has a disability, he or she must make sure that the child is being provided the services and accommodations needed for the disability. The ASCA explains in A.2a the legal mandates regarding confidentiality that counselors must obtain (2022). Only individuals attending the ARD will have the information.

American Counseling Association. (2022). 2022 ACA code of ethics. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/Ethical-Legal-Responsibilities/ASCA-Ethical-Standards-for-School-Counselors-(1)

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ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors - American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

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#12 Personal Connection to the Legal and Ethical Standards 

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#12 Personal Connection to the Legal and Ethical Standards 

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When I was a young child, I lost both of my parents. I do not remember my elementary school having a school counselor until I entered jr. high. Looking back, I believe I would have greatly benefited from visiting the counselor to discuss my emotions. As stated by the American School Counselor Association ethical standard A.1c, counselors must support students with barriers so that they perform well academically (2022). Although I did not have a physical disability, I do think there were days when I had emotional issues. Emotional issues are now tied to anxiety issues. This barrier did not help me perform well academically while in elementary school. The school counselor could have found services or strategies that would have helped me during my younger years and the anxiety I was dealing with. School counselors are vital in helping children deal with emotional issues. Having laws that provide guidelines for ethical issues benefits children so that they may be academically and socially/emotionally successful. I believe that my experience with trauma will help me be compassionate to children who are dealing with academic, social, and emotional issues. It will be my top priority to help children be successful in school so that they can function in society and contribute to our society.

American Counseling Association. (2022). 2022 ACA code of ethics. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/Ethical-Legal-Responsibilities/ASCA-Ethical-Standards-for-School-Counselors-(1)

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1. Stay current on new laws and changes made to laws that are in place to service students correctly.
2. Discuss Public Law 94-142 with the administration and stress the importance of providing education and related services for children with disabilities.
3. Provide the teachers a professional development that explains the importance of them following a child's  Individualized Education Program (IEP) and the ramifications they could face if they do not follow the law for children with disabilities.
4. Collect current services outside of school that can be provided to parents of students with disabilities.
5. When beginning a counseling position, provide the information with your administration of the four counseling program components of the comprehensive school counseling program.
6. Share your American School Counselor Association code of ethics with your administration. Discuss the importance of following the code of ethics.
7. Provide support to parents who have children with disabilities.
8. Keep information on students confidential unless one may fear that a child could harm someone or themselves
9. Be prompt in helping all students that need services.
10. Address students' academic, career, and social/emotional development needs at all times.