Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Does “Eligible for Special Ed” Mean an IEP?

Excerpt from The Wrightslaw Way: (click for entire article)

The answer to your question about an IEP v. a 504 Plan depends on which law governs your child’s eligibility.

If the school team determined that your child is eligible for special education and related services under the IDEA, the school must develop an IEP that meets her unique needs and provides educational benefit.

If the school determined that your daughter has a disability but doesn’t “need” special education and related services, she may be eligible for a 504 Plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, not an IEP.

    What information, evaluations, etc. did the team use to determine your daughter was eligible for special education?
    Did this data show your daughter’s disability adversely affects her educational performance?

District Discriminated Against Student by Failing to Follow 504 Plan Requiring Weekly E mails and Written Copies of Homework & Lecture Notes

Excerpt from Randy Chapman's Ability Law Blog: (click for entire article)

Parents frequently ask which is better enforced: An IEP or a 504 Plan? While the 504 regulations do not specify the detail regarding developing a 504 plan that the IDEA provides regarding IEPs, 504 Plans can be very detailed and can be enforced. For example, in Morris (NJ) School District, 111 LRP 70051 (OCR 2011), the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) determined that the Morris School District discriminated against a student on the basis of his disability because it did not comply with his 504 Plan (see Opening the School Door to Section 504 for more information on 504). The high school student had a 504 plan that required the school district to provide the student : (1) feedback through weekly e mails in each of his classes; (2) written copies of homework assignments; (3) written copies of class lecture notes; and (4) to review and update the Student’s school contract. Concerned that the school was not complying with the 504 Plan in the 2010-2011 school year, the student’s mother filed a complaint with OCR.

 The Office for Civil Rights conducted a very thorough investigation of the parent’s allegations. For example, OCR looked at each of the student’s nine classes during the school year and determined that, while the teachers provided occasional e mails to the student, the e mails were not weekly. Regarding the written homework assignments and class lecture notes, the school district contended that, while the student did not receive written hard copies, he was provided  access electronically via a Netbook and an iPAD. The Office for Civil Rights, however, determined that electronic access through assistive technology was not the same as access to written hard copies of the assignments and notes. Finally, OCR determined that in the 2009-2010 school year, District personnel had developed a contract with the student requiring him to maintain a B+ average or he would suffer a negative consequence, such as being excluded from extracurricular activities. The school district, however, did not review and update the contract for the 2010-2011 school year, violating 504 by not complying with the 504 Plan.

Bankruptcy Court Finds Undue Hardship, Discharges $340,000 Student Loan Debt of Former Law Student With Asperger Syndrome

Excerpt from TaxProf Blog: (click for entire article)

National Law Journal, Asperger Syndrome Prompts Court to Forgive Former Law Student's Debt:

    A former law student has won a bid in bankruptcy court to discharge nearly $340,000 in education debt because her diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome rendered her unable to repay the loans. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland on May 17 found that Carol Todd, who attended the University of Baltimore School of Law, met the difficult burden of showing that she would suffer undue hardship if forced to repay her debt.

Extended School Year Services (ESY) for Students with Special Needs

Excerpt from About.com: (click for entire article)

What is ESY?
Some students with special needs are in jeopardy of not being able to retain the skills they have learned during the school year unless given addition support throughout the summer. Those students eligible for ESY will receive an individualized program to support their learning and retention of skill throughout the summer holidays.

What does IDEA say about ESY?
Under (34 CFR Part 300) in IDEA Regulations (not the Act): 'Extended school year services must be provided only if a child's IEP team determines, on an individual basis, in accordance with 300.340-300.350, that the services are necessary for the provision of FAPE to the child.'

'The term extended school year services means special education and relatedservices that—
(1) Are provided to a child with a disability—
(i) Beyond the normal school year of the public agency;
(ii) In accordance with the child's IEP; and
(iii) At no cost to the parents of the child; and
(2) Meet the standards of the SEA'

The Many Definitions of Giftedness

Excerpt from About.com: (click for entire article)

There is no universal definition. Some professionals will define gifted by an intelligence test (WISC) score above 130 or 140, or two or more standard deviations above the norm, or the top 2.5% of the population. Some will define "giftedness" based on scholastic achievement: a gifted child works 2 or more grade levels above his or her age or gifted children have advanced scores on a particular academic test.

Typically, students who are identified as gifted learners have the potential to achieve beyond what is expected of their same-age peers and I emphasize the word 'potential'. Key to the characteristics of giftedness is potential which is often not synomynous with achievement. Higher chievement may or may not occur and is often dependent on a other influences such as the student's relationship with his/her teacher, the degree of interest, emotional well being, health etc. Gifted children can also have learning disabilities. It is not unusual to be gifted in one area (logic, math etc.) and learning disabled in another (language, processing etc.). Gifted definitions tend to vary from one location to the next.

Skill-Building Apps for Challenged Readers

Patti's Comments:  Many of these are free!!

Excerpt from My Special Needs Network: (click for entire article)

With summer nearly upon us, there are some students and their parents who may be searching for good apps designed for improvement in the following reading skill areas:

• Focusing
• Word-attack skills
• Fluency
• Tracking
• Comprehension
• Retention

We thought this would be an ideal time to provide our readers with apps for these specific skill areas. That way, over the summer break, students (and others) might be able to “brush up on” areas of weakness so that they will be improved by the time the new fall term begins.

Homebound Student May Use 504 and the ADA to Challenge School District’s Policy Excluding Him from the Senior Graduation Party and Dance

Excerpt from Randy Chapman's Ability Law Blog: (click for entire article)

In Mowry v. Logan County Board of Education, 58 IDELR 192 (S.D. W. Va. 2012), a West Virginia high school student who was placed on a homebound program due to having Fabry’s disease (a hereditary metabolic disorder) was told if he was “too sick” to attend school, he was “too sick” to attend extracurricular activities such as the senior party and the senior graduation ceremony. The student sued the school district under Section 504 and Title II of the ADA, alleging the district discriminated against him as a homebound student when it prohibited him from participating in these activities. The school district filed a motion to dismiss the suit arguing that the student did not state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

The district court judge, however, denied the motion to dismiss stating:

“Plaintiff claims he was treated differently from other students in Logan County as he was not allowed to participate in extracurricular activities. He alleges that Defendants prevented him from participating because of his ‘inability to physically attend Logan County High School.’ He states that he was often told ‘If you’re too sick to come to school, you’re too sick to attend these events.’ Assuming Plaintiff’s allegations are true, Plaintiff’s complaint sufficiently alleges that Defendants intentionally discriminated against him by treating him differently than other students.”

Antigay Tennessee High School Will Have to Contend with Southern Poverty Law Center

Excerpt from Advocate.com: (click for entire article)

The Hardin County school district in Tennessee will have to contend with the Southern Poverty Law Center after an assistant school principal prevented students from supporting gay rights.

The civil rights group sent a letter to the district to inform officials they violated the rights of students by demanding they not wear t-shirts with gay-supportive logos. The assistant principal went so far as to ban anything with rainbows, as the school official said it implied sex.

The same assistant principal also canceled a "Week of Pride" event.

End of the School Year Resources

Excerpt from About.com: (click for entire article)

As the end of the school year approaches, there are some important tasks to take care of.

If you are in a self contained or resource situation, you will most likely be passing your students on to another teacher. You want to be sure that you have all your data collected and put in place for the next teacher. You want to be sure they understand the program that you designed for that student.

The golden special education rule also means sending on information to help the next teacher with evaluation.

Steinberg-Dutton ADA Lawsuit Abuse Legislation Clears Key Committee

Excerpt from Highland Community News: (click for entire article)

A measure authored by Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Senator Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga), to curb predatory Americans With Disability (ADA) lawsuits against small businesses in California, cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 4-1 vote.

Senate Bill 1186 is aimed to help California businesses comply with the requirements of the ADA without facing the threat of frivolous lawsuits.

Both Senators Steinberg and Dutton called the bill a work-in-progress and promised to negotiate with all interests groups before a final version is passed and sent to the governor for his signature.