Your Child’s Rights Under the Law

Posted on February 13 2012, 2:37:56 PM | Posted by jtcweb

What is IDEA and how will it help my child? The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is an important federal law that guarantees your child will receive appropriate public education services. In some states, families must pay for services provided for children under three years of age. However, children over three years old are entitled to free services. The law is divided into sections.

Part A – General Provisions
Part B – Assistance for Education of All Children with Disabilities
Part C – Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities

Part A, the General Provisions section, states that children with a disability will receive services from a highly qualified special educator. Most important is the focus on the child’s unique needs, and the guarantee that they will be met.

My child is over three years of age. What will Part B provide for us?

Part B defines the rights of a child between the ages of three and twenty-one years of age. Education must take place in the least restrictive environment, which might be in:

a classroom with typically hearing children
an oral school for children with a hearing loss
a Total Communication or sign language environment

As parents, you also have rights.

Your child cannot be initially tested unless you give permission. And, you can give permission for some tests and not others. For example, you might not want to permit a psychological or IQ test because these evaluations are language based.
You have the right to attend your child’s Individual Educational Plan (IEP) meeting and all other meetings about your child
Your child’s educational records will be available for you to read
You will receive written notice if the school changes your child’s program

If you disagree with the Educational Plan, you are guaranteed mediation (informal help to resolve the disagreement) and due process hearing (meeting in a legal court).

What will Part C provide for my child who is under three years of age?

Part C explains how services will be provided for children from birth to three years of age. Possibly your child was diagnosed with a hearing loss by a screening at birth, or by an audiologist or health care provider. After he was identified, an intervention agency was notified. The law states that further testing will be done and a service coordinator will be assigned to your family. By law, you do not have to pay for the testing. When a firm diagnosis is made, you and the coordinator will work together to determine the best service for your child and your family.

Like Part B, emphasis is placed on giving the child services in a natural environment, which means the setting in which your child would be if he were not deaf. This might be

a preschool
a neighborhood playgroup
your home

Language-rich opportunities are a large part of a natural environment for these children.

Part C provides a time line: the law states that within forty-five days of the referral, further evaluations must be done and an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) must be created. This is a written contract stating what services will be provided for you and your child. A service coordinator will help create this plan for your family; so it is important that this person understands the needs of a child who is deaf or hard-of-hearing. It is also important that this person understands your needs, as parents, too. The law requires that “appropriate, qualified personnel” are involved with the child’s evaluations and services.

What is the Process for Obtaining Help for My Child?

I. Evaluation and Referral
Your child’s pediatrician might refer him to an audiologist for the initial hearing test. If it is not possible to obtain an audiologic evaluation through the pediatrician, you should contact the school district to express your concerns about your child. A state agency or local educational agency will then conduct a full initial evaluation. This is done at no cost to you.

Hospitals in the United States are currently implementing new-born hearing screenings. If your child was identified at birth, the hospital probably scheduled a re-screening. After that test, referral was made for more precise diagnostic testing. The diagnosis is then made so that your child and family are eligible for further services.

II. Eligibility
After the evaluation is complete and the results have been determined, a team of qualified professionals will meet to determine with you the appropriate services for your child’s needs. A copy of the evaluation and determination of eligibility is given to you so you have the same information as the professionals who are working to provide the best services for your family. If a copy is not given to you, do request it. The information is important for your file at home.

III. IFSP
IFSP means an Individual Family Service Plan. This plan is written for infants from birth to three years of age. Its purpose is to provide services and support for your family by assessing your child’s level of development and gathering information about your family’s needs. A person or agency is assigned to provide services and then an assessment is done to determine that you and your child are receiving the guidance you need.

An IFSP must contain:

Information about the child’s current development
Information about your concerns and desires for your child
Early intervention services to help your family and child reach your expectations
Information about the environment in which services will be provided
Dates and duration of services
Name of the service coordinator
A transition plan into preschool, which is started by two and a half years of age

IV. IEP
IEP means an Individual Educational Plan. It is a plan written for your child who is over three years of age, and it is developed, reviewed, and revised at least once a year.

The IEP is developed by a team which includes

you
a special education teacher
a regular education teacher
a representative of the local educational agency who knows the general education curriculum and availability of resources
other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding your child. You can bring anyone you feel can contribute information or provide guidance for you, such as the caseworker for your child’s IFSP.

An IEP will contain:

A description of your child’s present level of functioning, strengths and needs
Goals and objectives
Related services (such as assistive technology, audiology, speech therapy or medical services)
An offer of what the district believes is an appropriate educational placement for your child

VI. Educational Placements
By law, all children are provided a free and appropriate education. Each State has a different requirement for appropriate education, but it should meet the individual needs of your child.

Children are also legally entitled to receive their education in a “least restrictive environment.” As much as possible, your child should be placed in classrooms with other children who do not have disabilities, and your child should be in a school close to your home. Children are entitled to preschool placement. School districts, which have a preschool program for children who do not have disabilities, are required to place children with a disability in that class. If there is no preschool, the IEP team will try to locate another public preschool or a publicly run daycare center. The first consideration is whether services can be provided in a district-run preschool. If they cannot, the next consideration is whether changes can be made to provide those services.

Some parents choose to place their preschooler in a private educational program. Although Part B states that funding may be provided by the school district if the public school cannot provide services, there is no guarantee that each child will receive this funding because there simply is not enough money for every child. If you would like funding from the public school system, this must be included and approved in your child’s IEP.

On occasion, parents make a unilateral placement decision for their child. This means that you decide to place your child in a private school without the agreement of the IEP or IFSP team. When this decision is made, you must notify the school district in writing if you intend to transfer your child to a private school. Written notice must either be given at the IEP meeting or sent to the district at least 10 days before removing your child from the current school. When this happens, your child can still receive speech therapy or audiology services from the school district, if these services are written into the IEP or IFSP. For this reason, IEP and IFSP meetings remain important.

VIII. Evaluations and Annual Review
IDEA requires that an IEP or an IFSP is reviewed each year. Your child’s progress is considered and new goals are written. However, you or your child’s teacher can request that a review be conducted at any time during the year and this request must be complied with in thirty days.

You can request copies of your child’s records up to five days before the IEP or IFSP, and you can tape record the meeting if you give written notification.

Your child’s IEP or IFSP will contain a section for your comments. You can indicate that you are pleased with certain services such as speech therapy and how this has enabled your child to progress. You can also express concern about specific needs such as teacher training for FM systems, maintaining a cochlear implant, or checking a hearing aid.

What if I do not agree with the IEP or IFSP?

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE IEP, DO NOT SIGN IT.

Occasionally disagreements occur, and you might find that you have different wishes for your child’s education. When this happens, you should contact the special education office for information about how to proceed. They will send you a packet of information explaining the process, providing names of attorneys, and giving you a time-line for due process.

The first way to resolve your disagreement is through talking to educators or school administrators. If no resolution results by talking to those people, a mediation process begins. A third person is then brought in to discuss the problem and try to find resolution.

If no agreement is reached, you are entitled to due process. Due process refers to the legal steps you must follow to resolve your disagreement. At a due process hearing, a hearing officer will try to settle your dispute after you and the school district have presented your cases. Every state has its own procedure for a due process hearing.

A Due Process hearing is only available for resolving disputes directly related to the rights and duties of you and the school system under IDEA. These rights reflect:

a free and appropriate education (school placement or services),
availability of school records,
a written IEP and written changes to the IEP if necessary,
an appropriate system of evaluation.

While you are in mediation, your child can keep existing IEP or IFSP services under “stay put” rights. Be aware that if you are asked to give up “stay put” rights, your child might not receive some services which you might want to keep until agreements are reached.

Also, you might be asked to give up deadline dates and you will want to be aware of those dates and consider if keeping them is necessary for you.

Most important, never sign an IFSP or an IEP if you are not comfortable with it. You can sign just the portions with which you agree or you can sign “in attendance only” or “not in agreement.” You can also wait and sign the IFSP or IEP the next day after you review it just to be sure you are in agreement with everything written.

What are some things I need to consider?

I. Communication Options
If your child has a cochlear implant, you probably want him to be oral. Is mainstreaming an option? What services will your child need to succeed? How often do you want to evaluate his progress?

Possibly your child will be more successful in a classroom of oral deaf students. Or, maybe Total Communication is right for him.

You will want to visit different classrooms and consider the various options in terms of your child’s abilities and personality. You know your child best so you are an integral part of the decision.

II. Qualifications of the Person Offering Services
Does your child need speech therapy? If so, you will want to be sure that the therapist is qualified and has experience with young children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. You will also need to determine how often your child will receive this service and where the sessions are offered.

It is equally important that the teacher is qualified to work with your child. This might mean in-service sessions to provide information about FM systems or his cochlear implant.

III. Transportation
Does your child need transportation to school? Is transportation necessary to take your child to other services such as physical or occupational therapy?

IV. Family Support
Many families need some extra support. Counseling can also be part of an IEP or IFSP.

V. Assistive Devices
An FM system can be very helpful for a deaf or hearing-impaired child. In fact, even children who have a cochlear implant can benefit from an FM system. It is important to speak with an audiologist to determine the best system for your child, and then to be sure that an in-service is conducted so that the teacher knows how to use it.

IDEA 2004 is a very important law because it provides the right for you and your child to receive appropriate services. By knowing your rights, you become an integral part of the IEP or IFSP team.

Resources

www.listen-up.org is a website specializing in information for the deaf and hard of hearing. Their section www.listen-up.org/rights/rights.htm provides information about every aspect of the law, IEPs and IFSPs.
www.wrightslaw.com provides articles and resources about special education law and children with disabilities.
www.handsandvoices.org is a parent-driven website dedicated to providing resources, networks and information for families who have a child who is deaf or hard-of-hearing.
The National Center on Learning Disabilities offers this guide to IDEA for parents.
CLERC Center covers IDEA topics such as the meaning of Free and Appropriate Public Education, Least Restrictive Environment, and beginning the educational process.
The U.S. Department of Education has created this website to provide information for students, parents, teachers and administrators.
Siegel, Lawrence M., Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Education Child. This book not only explains the law, but also provides information about the legal process necessary to provide your child with the best services possible.

Download a PDF version of this post here

Learning Library | Parent Support and Advocacy |

0 comment(s)