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My perspective focuses on the point of view of a Special Education Teacher.  I received my undergraduate degree with a major in Psychology and a minor in English.  I will receive my graduate degree in July 2019 in Guidance and Counseling.  This Legal Padlet Guide is to direct teachers in the identification of special education students.  I chose this topic because it is an area where public schools are currently lacking.

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I interviewed the current Principal of the International Leadership Texas High School, located in Garland, Texas (www.iltexasghs.com/administration#1).  Karen Marx spoke about her role in ensuring that special education law is upheld.

Early identification of individual education students is essential for early intervention in children with literacy or numeracy difficulties.  The fundamental skills are necessary for academic success, and identifying areas of trouble in pre-primary years can reduce future crisis.  Rarely do students make it to the high school level and are not identified for special accommodations if needed.  However, there are times when a student should have been identified early, but parents are against ‘labeling’ their child.  This stigma places the educational institute in a bind as parent permission is needed to complete the tests required for appropriate accommodations (International Dyslexia Association, n.d.).

Those in positions of administration have to keep a close eye on the special education department.  The principal is required to audit what help has been scheduled versus what has been administrated.

Mrs. Marx highlighted what she considered three best practices related to the identification and maintenance of Special Education students:

Ensuring that Response to Intervention minutes are met each week.

Administrators should audit both what is scheduled to do and what is being done regarding students with special needs.

Often discipline becomes an issue; it is essential to make sure that any IEP or BIP is still being followed in discipline areas such as ISS.

Consistently monitor the days a student is removed from classes during a suspension.  Students should not be removed from classes longer than ten days.

Ensure that teachers are following IEP.

Complete annual ARDs, and ensure accommodations are met.

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Administration | ILTexas Garland High School

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Our educators teach from a global perspective, where all students will graduate with the necessary language and tools needed for future leadership and success.

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National Association of Special Education Teachers released an e-publication with information on Response to Intervention (RTI).  RTI is a procedure outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) used for identifying students with learning disabilities.  RTI provides intervention services to students with difficulties learning using a multi-tiered approach.  This approach uses child data to provide a confident system of instruction for special, compensatory, and general education.

NASET’s RTI Roundtable provides monthly reports and detailed information for current educational employees.

https://www.naset.org/index.php?id=5040

National Association of Special Education Teachers. (2018, November 16). National Association of Special Education Teachers: RTI Roundtable. Retrieved from https://www.naset.org/index.php?id=5040

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In 2016 approximately 7 million children aged 3 to 21 received special education accommodations based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The identification rate for special education students varies from state to state.  The lowest being Texas at 3.9 percent and highest Wyoming at 14.6 percent.

IDEA requires the identifying special education eligibility called ‘child find.’

By law, states are permitted to have personalized criteria for what is considered a disability.

Federal officials within special education programs are monitoring Texas due to its lack of identification

According to the Education Department, Response to Intervention should not delay ‘child find.’

(Samuels, 2019)

https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/2019/04/special_education_identification_varies_by_state.html

Samuels, C. (2019, April 26). Who gets Special Education services? It depends on where you live, GAO report finds. Retrieved from https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/2019/04/special_education_identification_varies_by_state.html

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About 13 percent of the nation's public school students-close to 7 million children and youth ages 3 to 21-receive special education services through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

But that overall percentage masks dramatic variability at the state level, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog agency.

The identification rates for students ages 6-21 ranged from 6.4 percent in Hawaii to 15.1 percent in Puerto Rico in fall 2016, the report said. (The highest identification rate in a state that year was Maine, at 12.3 percent.) For children ages 3 to 5, the identification rate in fall 2016 ranged from 3.9 percent in Texas to 14.6 percent in Wyoming.

The process of identifying public school students for special education eligibility is called "child find," and is mandatory under the IDEA. But states have some flexibility to decide what "counts" as a disability.

The GAO started to dig into the question of special education identification in the wake of news articles in 2016 showing that Texas suppressed the number of students identified with disabilities. The federal office of special education programs is currently monitoring Texas as it takes corrective action.

But states are permitted to have their own criteria under the law. As an example, the GAO report called out the special education category called "developmental disability," which can be used for children from birth to age 9. Maryland states that a child must have at least a 25 percent delay in one or more areas to be eligible for early-intervention services. Examples of developmental areas are social skills, fine or gross motor skills, or language skills. In Arizona, a child needs to demonstrate a 50 percent delay in one or more developmental areas in order to receive early intervention.

State officials said that they are sometimes hampered by a lack of staff to handle evaluations, or by staff confusion over IDEA requirements. Many districts also said that the use of response to intervention, or RTI, can sometimes delay moving a student into special education. Response to intervention is an educational framework based on universal screening of all students, then providing increasingly targeted and intensive lessons, or "interventions," to students based on identified areas of weakness. Students are then monitored closely for their response to those interventions. The Education Department has said that RTI cannot delay child find obligations.

The GAO report did not call for action, but congressional Democratic leaders said it demonstrates the need for more federal oversight. "This report shows there's a lot of work left to do to make sure we are connecting children across the country who have a disability to the resources that can help them learn, grow, and succeed," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

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Who Gets Special Education Services? It Depends on Where You Live, GAO Report Finds

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About 13 percent of the nation's public school students-close to 7 million children and youth ages 3 to 21-receive special education services through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. But that overall percentage masks dramatic variability at the state level, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog agency.

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A new policy was released in December 2016 focusing on equity in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.  The policy addresses the documents disproportionate identification, discipline, and placement of disabilities with regards to ethnicity and race.

States are required to follow stricter guidelines in reporting the demographics of special education students

The DeVos Education Department petitioned for a two-year delay in starting new regulations for more research to be completed to ensure the situation would not create a quota system stopping certain ethnicities from receiving special education services needed.

The courts declined U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s petition, the U.S. Department of Education stated that states are now required to comply with regulations of the Equity policy.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/ed-dept-to-implement-obama-era-equity-rules-in-idea-policy/555431/

Harper, A. (2019, May 23). Ed Dept to implement Obama-era equity rules in IDEA policy. Retrieved from https://www.educationdive.com/news/ed-dept-to-implement-obama-era-equity-rules-in-idea-policy/555431/

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Dive Brief:

More than two months after a court decision rebuking U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos's decision to delay by two years the implementation of an Obama-era policy addressing racial disparities in school discipline practices and special education placement, the U.S. Department of Education announced this week that states should now comply with the original regulations issued in 2016, the Washington Post reports.

Under the regulations imposed in the final days of the Obama administration, states must follow stricter guidelines regarding the reporting of the demographic makeup of special education populations to make sure students of color are not included disproportionately. These guidelines must now be applied to calculations for the 2018-2019 school year, according to a notice posted on May 20, 2019.

The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, an advocacy group for children with disabilities, had filed a lawsuit opposing DeVos' original plan to delay implementation of the regulation by two years because of concerns over the possibility of creating quotas. However, the court ruled on March 7 that the decision to delay did not provide a "reasoned explanation" for the delay and failed to account for the cost involved.

Dive Insight:

When the Equity in IDEA policy was released in December 2016, its stated purpose was to address the "significant disproportionality in the identification, placement and discipline of students with disabilities based on race or ethnicity." The concern was the need for a standard method for the reporting data because the wide range of methods used could, in some cases, hide the "significant disproportionality" of students of color placed in special education settings apart from their peers. The regulations were also intended to shine a clearer light on discipline practices that may unfairly target students of color, an action that could reinforce a school-to-prison pipeline.

In the summary of the regulations, then U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. stated, "Children with disabilities are often disproportionately and unfairly suspended and expelled from school and educated in classrooms separate from their peers. Children of color with disabilities are overrepresented within the special education population, and the contrast in how frequently they are disciplined is even starker."

The DeVos Education Department felt that the implementation of these regulations should be delayed by two years till more research could be done on the effects of the policy, on the grounds that the situation could create a quota system preventing students of color from receiving special education services they needed. However, their reasoning was shot down by the courts, and after more than two months of "discussing our options," the department has now agreed to let the original regulations stand. For some school districts with methodology that does not align with the new regulations, this means they will be scrambling to comply.

The new regulations apply to charter schools, as well.

"The clarification provided by ED is meaningful and supports what we have advocated for," Lauren Morando Rhim, executive director for the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools, said in a statement issued in response to this week's announcement. "States must work with Local Education Authorities (LEAs), including charter schools who are their own LEAs, to ensure that any disproportionality in the identification, placement and discipline decisions made by districts and schools is accurately reported and appropriately addressed as required by the 2016 regulations. We encourage ED to work with states and provide proper technical assistance to ensure the data for the 2018-2019 school year accurately reflects the status of children with disabilities so they can receive the intervention the law provides."

It remains to be seen how other attempts to derail Obama-era education policies and regulations may go. The Federal Commission on School Safety established under DeVos has recommended rescinding Obama-era guidance designed to eliminate racial discrimination in school discipline. In the face of data indicating growing disparities in discipline for students of color and concerns over how exclusionary discipline practices affect these students, as well as those with disabilities, these attempts to overturn guidance from the previous administration may fail as well.

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Ed Dept to implement Obama-era equity rules in IDEA policy

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More than two months after a court decision rebuking U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos's decision to delay by two years the implementation of an Obama-era policy addressing racial disparities in school discipline practices and special education placement, the U.S.

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Judicial Law

The Supreme Court Rowley case gave a tentative understanding of the contours of free and appropriate public education (FAPE).  The court agreed that education must be tailored to the individual needs of the disabled child using an individualized educational program (IEP).

Board of Education v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176 (1982)

https://massadvocates.org/rowley/

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Constitutional Law

The tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution gives states the power to ensure, enforce, and protect the rights of all students to receive education in school environments. In Special Education identification, this amendment is vital as receiving proper education includes providing the necessary assistance or services to those who need additional help.

U.S. Const. Amend. X

https://usconstitution.net/xconst_Am10.html

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Administrative law

Following Section 504, schools are prohibited from discriminatory actions, which include but is not limited to:

Not allowing qualified disabled students from the chance to participate in services, benefits, and aids allowed to other students.

Offering disabled students chance to participate in benefits, services, or aid that other students are not.

Providing inadequate aid, services, or benefits to disabled students by schools, districts, or educators.

Providing additional services, aid, or benefits to disabled students not required.

34 CFR §104.4(b)(1)

https://www2.ed.gov/policy/rights/reg/ocr/edlite-34cfr104.html

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Statutory Law

All school districts are by law required to identify, locate, and evaluate students with disabilities.

20 U.S.C. §1412(a)(3)

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/1412

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Padlet Slide #10: Local Administrative Law/Policy/Rule

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Padlet Slide #10: Local Administrative Law/Policy/Rule

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San Angelo ISD uses the policy of ‘child find’ to locate special needs students for special education services.

Child Find is a requirement for all schools to find and evaluate students with disabilities needing special education or related services. These services can include speech therapy or counseling (Lee, n.d.).

The Education Service Center of Region 15 works with local schools to assist in special education identification.  This collaboration includes instruction and additional services according to federal requirements:

Learning Disability

Speech Impairment

Orthopedic Impairment

Other Health Impairment

Intellectual Disability

Emotional Disturbance

Autism

Multiple Disabilities

Traumatic Brain Injury

Visual Impairment

Auditory Impairment

Deaf/Blind

(San Angelo ISD, n.d.)

https://www.saisd.org/departments/SpecialEducation/ChildFind.asp

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A.10. Underserved and At-Risk Populations

C. Identify resources needed to optimize education.

https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors. Career and College Readiness Counseling in P–12 Schools, 4. doi:10.1891/9780826136152.ap04

In special education, students are often identified as at risk, and by their accommodation’s, counselors must ensure that those entitled Special Education receive the necessary tools for success.  This can include extra supplies, additional time on assignments, or services such as speech.  Ensuring that the underserved and at-risk populations are served means understanding what that entails and that it includes identifying the needs of those within special education.

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Padlet Slide #13: Bulleted list of Recommendations / Best Practices for Compliance

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Padlet Slide #13: Bulleted list of Recommendations / Best Practices for Compliance

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The identification of special education students is a vital practice, not only due to law requirements but also for the academic success of students as well as the nation's future. The requirements of special education identification span over local, state, and federal law, making the laws difficult to follow.  To appropriately identify students with disabilities, it is vital for counselors to:

Research and understand the laws

Discover what your state classifies as a disability

Gently guide the parents through the process of identification, make sure they understand what their child is being tested for and how it is being completed.

Keep an eye out for new laws, or cases that will alter identification processes.

Ensure that students identified have the needed manipulatives and resources for success.

Understand that it is the school’s responsibility by law to identify students with special needs and ensure that each step of the identification process is documented.

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Osborne, A. G., & Russo, C. J. (2014). Special Education and the Law : A Guide for Practitioners (Vol. Third edition). Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.easydb.angelo.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1215684&site=eds-live

https://easydb.angelo.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1215684&site=eds-live&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_1

The book Special Education and the Law: A Guide for Practitioners was created to ensure that education professionals are aware of the laws and requirements that the government has put into place for Special Education and its services.  Understanding and being informed can place school officials in a better position to ensure implementation.  The book starts with the history of special education, including the legislation and sources of law.  It discusses the components of special education services and what is necessary for disabled students to succeed.  Information on IDEA and IEP’s are included.  Chapter five includes the requirements and procedures for educators to identify, asses, and place students classified as disabled.  Overall, this book is a fantastic resource not only for what the law entails but also how to identify and work with special education students.