Dealing with school districts

1- public schools to make available to all eligible children with disabilities a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their individual needs.

2-public school systems to develop appropriate Individualized Education Programs (IEP's) for each child. The specific special education and related services outlined in each IEP reflect the individualized needs of each student.

3-particular procedures be followed in the development of the IEP.

Each student's IEP must be developed by a team of knowledgeable persons and must be at least reviewed annually. In assessing children with disabilities, school districts may use a variety of assessment techniques to determine the extent to which these children can be involved and progress in the general curriculum, such as criterion- referenced tests, standard achievement tests, diagnostic tests, other tests, or any combination of the above. The purpose of using these assessments is to determine the child's present levels of educational performance and areas of need arising from the child's disability so that approaches for ensuring the child's involvement and progress in the general curriculum and any needed adaptations or modifications to that curriculum can be identified.

Measurable annual goals, including benchmarks or short-term objectives (STO), are critical to the strategic planning process used to develop and implement the IEP for each child with a disability. Once the IEP team has developed measurable annual goals for a child, the team

(1) can develop strategies that will be most effective in realizing those goals and

(2) must develop either measurable, intermediate steps (short-term objectives) or major milestones (benchmarks) that will enable parents, students, and educators to monitor progress during the year, and, if appropriate, to revise the IEP consistent with the student's instructional needs. least restrictive environment

(1) each child with a disability be educated with non-disabled children to the maximum extent appropriate

(2) each child with a disability be removed from the regular educational environment only when the nature or severity of the child's disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily

(3) to the maximum extent appropriate to the child's needs, each child with a disability participates with nondisabled children in nonacademic and extracurri-cular services and activities In all cases, placement decisions must be individually determined on the basis of each child's abilities and needs, and not solely on factors such as category of disability, significance of disability, availability of special education and related services, configuration of the service delivery system, availability of space, or administrative convenience.
Rather, each student's IEP forms the basis for the placement decision. a student need not fail in the regular classroom before another placement can be considered. Conversely, IDEA does not require that a student demonstrate achievement of a specific performance level as a prerequisite for placement into a regular classroom. Individualized Education Programs

The IEP team for each child with a disability must make an individualized determination regarding

(1) how the child will be involved and progress in the general curriculum and what needs that result from the child's disability must be met to facilitate that participation;

(2) whether the child has any other educational needs resulting from his or her disability that also must be met; and

(3) what special education and other services and supports must be described in the child's IEP to address both sets of needs- for example OT, PT, and speech also should be included if the family needs supports The parents of a child with a disability are expected to be equal participants along with school personnel, in developing, reviewing, and revising the IEP for their child.

This is an active role in which the parents (1) provide critical information regarding the strengths of their child and express their concerns for enhancing the education of their child; (2) participate in discussions about the child's need for special education and related services and supplementary aids and services; and (3) join with the other participants in deciding how the child will be involved and progress in the general curriculum and participate in State and district-wide assessments, and what services the agency will provide to the child and in what setting. If the team cannot reach consensus, the public agency must provide the parents with prior written notice of the agency's proposals or refusals, or both, regarding the child's educational program, and the parents have the right to seek resolution of any disagreements by initiating an impartial due process hearing.

If parents disagree with the proposed IEP, they can also a review from the State educational agency if applicable in that state. They also can appeal the State agency's decision to State or Federal court. Throughout their preschool, elementary, and secondary education, the IEPs for children with disabilities must, to the extent appropriate for each individual child, focus on providing instruction and experiences that enable the child to prepare himself or herself for later educational experiences and for post-school activities, including formal education, if appropriate, employment, and independent living. Many students with disabilities will obtain services through State vocational rehabilitation programs to ensure that their educational goals are effectively implemented in post-school activities. Services available through rehabilitation programs are consistent with the underlying purpose of IDEA.

Acronymns commonly used

IEPs-Individualized Education Programs
IDEAS-Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
LRE- least restrictive environment
FAPE-free appropriate public education
IEE-Individual Education Evaluation