Special Education Rights and Black Student Challenges

Know Your Rights: Special Education Rights Presented By: Tierney Peprah- Education For US, Hudson County Law Guardian

Issues in Special Education for Black Students Misdiagnosis For example, Trauma is often misdiagnosed as ADHD Student Tracking Black students often put on special education tracks, and stay on those tracks through grade school. Over-representation of Black Children Black children far more likely to be recommended for special education than White peers.

Goal The goal of this section of presentation is to give you as a parent what you need in order to fight for your child s special education rights. Things to Know FAPE LRE IEP Child Find Stay Put

Your Rights at a Glance. Qualified students have the right to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), and this education must be provided in the least restrictive environment (LRE), meaning to the maximum extent appropriate, qualified students are to be educated with children who are nondisabled students. 34 C.F.R. 300.101, 34 C.F.R. 300.114.

IDEA Part C- Covers Infants and Toddlers from birth until their third birthday, with an option to continue services until the child enters kindergarten. Part B- Covers children ages 3 to 21, and ends at either the student s 21st birthday, or their high school graduation, whichever comes first.

Step 1: Are You Qualified? There are 10 categories of disabilities that are covered under the IDEA: Intellectual disability Hearing impairment Speech or language impairment Visual impairment Serious emotional disturbance (includes trauma) Orthopedic impairment Autism Traumatic brain injury Other health impairment (includes ADHD) Specific learning disability 34 C.F.R. 300.8.

Trauma Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)- are stressful or traumatic events that a child may experience, including abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction. Children with high ACEs scores are likely to have developmental and health related problems throughout their life, and are also likely to exhibit behavioral problems. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration: When children are exposed to chronic stressful events, their neurodevelopment can be disrupted. As a result, the child s cognitive functioning or ability to cope with negative or disruptive emotions may be impaired. One in every four students in the United States has experienced a traumatic event, and the number is higher for students from low-income communities.

Trauma vs. ADHD ADHD Trauma Behavioral: aggression, excitability, fidgeting, hyperactivity, impulsivity, irritability, lack of restraint, or persistent repetition of words or actions Cognitive: absent-mindedness, difficulty focusing, forgetfulness, problem paying attention, or short attention span Mood: anger, anxiety, boredom, excitement, or mood swings Also common: depression or learning disability Behavioral: verbally or physically aggressive, quick tempered with little provocation, impulsivity, irritability, engaging in reckless or self-destructive behavior, difficulty sleeping Cognitive: confusion, difficulty concentrating, unfocused with tasks Mood: anger, anxiety, detachment from their bodies or the world around them, feeling disconnected, numbness, sadness, hopelessness

Child Find Obligation Child Find is a legal requirement that schools find all children who have disabilities and who may be entitled to special education services. If the school knows or has reason to suspect your child has a disability, then by law, it must agree to do an evaluation. If your child under 5 qualifies for an IEP, she ll most likely be offered a free spot at a preschool run by the district.

Early Intervention Services From infancy until age 3, children can receive help through early intervention services. The IDEA requires that every state provide early intervention. You don t need a referral. You can request a free evaluation from your state s early intervention services program.

FAPE Free- no cost to you as the parent. Appropriate- education tailored to your individual child. Public- In the public school system (although some children will be sent to private schools) Education- To prepare your child for a future and independent living.

Related Services Related Services means transportation, and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services. Examples: interpreting services, psychological services, social work services, school nurse services.

Scenarios Free- Ex1. School District Says they Don t Have the $. Ex 2. School District Says You Have to Provide Transportation. Appropriate- Ex. School District Gives You and IEP that Does not Reflect Your Child s Individual Disabilities.

Least Restrictive Environment School personnel must ensure that the child is, to the maximum extent possible, educated with children who are not disabled. Ex. Your child is in a self-contained classroom for all of the day, even though they could be in the general education classroom, if the district provided an aid. Dept. of Ed.: The more time students spend in the general education program, the less socially isolated they are, the more likely they are to be affiliated with school or community groups, and the more likely they are to go on to post-secondary education.

IEP INDIVIDUALIZED Education Plan/Program The IEP is a legal is a legal document created by an IEP Team to meet each disabled child's unique needs that. IEP Team consists of: Parents. At least one of the child s general education teachers. At least one of the child s special education teachers. At least one child study team member. The case manager. A representative of the school district. The child, whenever appropriate.

IEP Meeting The team discusses special education and related services, the student s needs, evaluation results, and individual tests given to establish the student s eligibility for specific and supportive services. The team sets short term and long term goals, and discusses observations from the IEP team members. The IEP team is also obligated to consider transitional services for children, such as secondary education, vocational training, employment, or independent living.

IEP Meeting Dos & Don t DO Read the entire document before signing. DO Make sure that Goals and Objectives for your child are specific to THEIR needs. DO Make sure any objections you have are written into IEP. DON T Sign the document if it is not sufficient.

School Discipline & Special Education If your child exhibits negative behaviors because of their disability, ask IEP team for: Functional Behavioral Assessment- assessment that tries to figure out why your child acts a certain way. It uses a variety of techniques to understand what s behind inappropriate behaviors. This includes looking at non-academic factors that might be contributing to your child s frustration with learning. Behavioral Intervention Plan- A BIP is a document created by the IEP team for children with demonstrated behavioral issues, that contains detailed strategies to address that student s behavior problems, the behavioral interventions and strategies the school used previously, and an appropriate behavior intervention plan for the school to use going forward.

Stay Put A removal of the child from school for more than ten days constitutes a change in placement. This change in placement triggers a number of educational rights for the child. The Stay Put provision of the IDEA states that a child shall not be moved from a placement into an alternative placement if the infraction was deemed not to cause danger to other students, or if it is determined that that student s behavior was a manifestation of her disability. After 10 days, the IEP team must conduct a functional behavioral assessment and implement a behavioral intervention plan (BIP), if one was not previously done to address the behavior prior to the change of placement.

Manifestation Determination Review When children with disabilities have been suspended for 10 or more days during a school year, the school must hold a manifestation determination hearing within 10 school days of any decision to change the placement of a child due to a violation of the code of student conduct. 2 Questions that must be answered at the meeting: (i) If the conduct in question was caused by, or had a direct and substantial relationship to, the child s disability; or (ii) If the conduct in question was the direct result of the LEA s failure to implement the IEP. 300.530(e)(1)-(2). If either answer is yes, then the school cannot continue removal

Sources Joseph B. Tulman, Disability and Delinquency: How Failures to Identify, Accommodate, and Serve Youth with Education- Related Disabilities Leads to Their Disproportionate Representation in the Delinquency System, 3 Whittier J. Child & Fam. Advoc. 3 (2003). Rebecca Weber Goldman, A Free Appropriate Education in the Least Restrictive Environment: Promises Made, Promises Broken by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U. Dayton L. Rev. 243, 265 (1994). U.S. Dep t of Educ., Implementing the IEP, A Guide to the Individualized Education Program, (last visited 1/28/2016), http://www2.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html#implement. Understanding Special Education, Special Education Law The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Stay Put Rights, (last visited Jan. 28, 2016) http://www.understandingspecialeducation.com/special-education- law.html. U.S. Dep t of Educ., (Dec. 05, 2014), https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/correctional-education/idea- letter.pdf. Andrew M.I. Lee, Stay Put Rights: What They Are and How They Work, (last visited 1/28/2016), https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/your-childs-rights/basics-about-childs-rights/stay-put-rights- what-they-are-and-how-they-work. http://www.edlawcenter.org/assets/files/pdfs/publications/Rights_SpecialEducation_Guide%20TL.pdf U.S. Dep t of Educ., Building the Legacy of the IDEA, (last visited Jan. 27, 2016), http://idea.ed.gov/. https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/ieps/getting-an-iep-for-your-very-young-child https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/evaluations/evaluation-basics/functional-assessment-what-it- is-and-how-it-works