Schools usually do not hold a meeting to notify you about ineligibility for services. Some school teams will assess the child and make their recommendations of Plan services without your input.
Other schools seek the input of parents to discuss services. With IEPs, parents are a designated part of the team and must participate in all phases of applying for and determining services like ADHD accommodations.
At the assessment meeting, parents are entitled to have all assessment information explained to them before the next meeting at which accommodations and services are to be determined. Parents should ask the person who administered the assessment to give them a copy of the report and meet with them to explain the report several days before the assessment meeting.
This enables the parents to think through the information before making decisions for their child. If all IEP decisions are based on the information from the assessment, parents should be informed about the assessment results in a way they can understand.
Depending on the school district, some IEP and Plan teams propose accommodations and services at the assessment meeting. It is a better idea for parents to request a second meeting to discuss specific accommodations and services. These laws are different. All schools receiving federal funding are required to provide services under Section , but IDEA applies to all students, even those in private schools that do not receive federal funding.
Specific Learning Disability. If your child has another challenge, such as a learning disability, this law might apply. If so, a document called an Individualized Education Program IEP is designed to outline services, accommodations, special education, and goals for your child.
The IEP document is usually about 10 to 12 pages long. It must contain goals and transitional services that might be needed after high school. Before deciding whether a student is eligible for this type of plan, the child must be assessed and the school team must agree that the child has a substantial and pervasive impairment in order to be eligible under this federal law.
The purpose of a Plan is to level the playing field and allow a child to get the accommodations and modifications needed to access the curriculum at the same level as his or her peers.
The contents of an IEP are specified by law. This type of plan must contain:. Unlike the IEP for special education, there are no legal requirements for what should be included in the Plan.
Providing a free appropriate public education FAPE under Section often means identifying reasonable accommodations to help the student succeed in the classroom. Conclusion In summary, both documents an IEP and a Plan are federally mandated and require the school system to implement them and adhere to their provisions.
However, the federal guidelines are oftentimes vague at best. To complicate matters even more, each state and local school agency has its own interpretations regarding the implementation of these federal laws. The decision as to which, if either, of the documents discussed here would best fit with the needs of your child is one that requires research.
Take the time to learn about your parental rights and to fully understand the process of qualifying for either an IEP or a Plan. If you are still unsure if the school system is best meeting the needs of your child, seek the services of a professional skilled in this area. Andrea is a certified elementary education and special education teacher with experience in teaching students with disabilities in both inclusive and self-contained learning environments.
If you have no reason to suspect a disability, asking for an IEP will not help, and may even prolong bringing the right help to your struggling child. Special education evaluations take up school resources. Evaluations require time to administer tests to your child, gather information from teachers, observe your child in the classroom, and have meetings to discuss the the findings.
If your child doesn't have a disability, then the whole process can be a huge waste of the school's time, and delay a resolution to the problem.
How can you tell if your child's school problems are caused by a disability? Sometimes it isn't initially obvious. Children may go to great lengths to cover up their disability before anyone else finds out they are different. Your child is likely to need an IEP or at least an evaluation if:. Teachers who notice that a student is struggling to keep up with workload or learn the material will try a variety of different interventions to help.
This could mean giving the child extra time to complete assignments, pairing the student with a peer who is succeeding, or temporarily modifying or reducing the workload. If you know that the teacher has tried different interventions and nothing seems to help, that could be an indication of an underlying disability. This is another reason why it is wise to contact your child's teachers if you are concerned about your child's school performance.
Maybe your child has always had trouble with reading or math. Maybe they always had problems completing assignments or staying on task, and it has been getting worse as the years pass and the grade-level work becomes more difficult. Sometimes disabilities become more obvious when the school work increases in difficulty in higher grade levels.
If you can look back and see that your child has always found a particular task or subject challenging, and now it is impossible, you have more cause to suspect a disability.
If you look over the list and descriptions of the 13 categories and one really seems to fit your child, that should be an indicator of a possible disability. When you have tried everything and nothing seems to work, then perhaps disability is a possibility.
Have you talked to the teacher about interventions? Have you tried eliminating distractions, providing extra help, or even trying to motivate a child who might not see the value of doing work? If you have really tried everything else, then it might be that your child isn't being obstinate, but really can't do the work. If you think a disability may be the cause of your child's school challenges, talk with your child's teacher about your concerns.
You can make a request in writing to the school for special education evaluation to begin the process towards testing. Description of Special Education Services: This indicates the time, frequency, and any related services that the student needs, as well as the amounts of time these services will be provided. The amount of time and areas in which the student will be removed from the general education setting are also identified.
What Is a Plan? Jump to Comments. How to Treat the Symptoms of Dyslexia. How to Treat the Symptoms of Dysgraphia. The Truth About Dyslexia in Children. Email Address.
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