Your Rights
- It is my dream that one day most of the information on this page will no longer be needed.
In order to help you find the best resources and information for the IDEA and IEPs, I am joining forces with my very good friend, Sherry Zeilstra. Both of us will be working to bring you even more of the support and information that you are looking for.
It's Outrageous! - Flaky excuses and outrageous statements made by Educrats as well as a few other interesting tidbits.
I couldn't believe it when I read this one. Didn't learn how to read?; Let us buy you a TV set. It's about how the Baltimore school system compensated thousands of special education children who hadn't received the instruction or services they were supposed to get. It belongs on the It's Outrageous page, but I've decided to spotlight it here for the time being.
- 504, Idea, Advocacy and Problem Solving
- A Parent's Guide to Accessing Programs for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers with Disabilities
- A Parent's Tool: Your Child's Record Book
- Advocates or Troublemakers
- Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA)
- From Theory to Practice: OSEP Policy Letters
- How to Find and Use Professionals for Your Case - Shopping for and Working with a Special Education Lawyer or Advocate
- How To: Turn ``No" Into ``Yes" for Assistive Technology Requests
- National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems
- Obtaining Assistive Technology Through the Public Schools
- Parent Panthers
- Parent Training and Information Centers in the United States
- Parents as Advocates: A Guide to Special Education in Maine
- Parents of Deaf Students Help Page - dedicated to helping parents of Deaf Students keep current with their rights and responsibilities concerning the Florida School System.
- Protecting the Rights of Children with Disabilities
- Signatures, Consent, and How to Make Your Disagreement Count in the Special Education Process
- Special Education Rights and Responsibilities - 1998, does not contain any of the newest updates on laws and regulations.
- The Art of Advocacy - a message board.
- The Dark Side of Special Education - Retaliation: A Primer
- The Special Ed Advocate
- What is a Good Advocate?
- Better Health iVillage sponsered a series of chats on AOL with guest speakers. You can view the event text logs with these links:
- Your Rights in Special Education - Judith Gran Esq
- Understanding IDEA 1997 - John Capasso Esq
- FERPA, Transportation and COPAA - S. James Rosenfeld Esq
- Evaluations - What Parents Need to Know About Tests and Measurements - Pete & Pam Wright
- Students Rights under The ADA and Section 504 - Matthew D. Cohen Esq
- Your Rights in Mediation and Due Process - Sonja Kerr Esq
- Assistive Technology in Special Education - Susan Goodman Esq
- The Politics of Special Education & Advocacy - Mark Friedman
- IEP's in IDEA 97 - Pete & Pam Wright
- Motivation & Behavioral Management: Effective Strategies for Working with Students with Learning Disabilities - Richard Lavoie
- Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities - October is Learning Disabilities Awareness Month - Shirley Cramer
Candace Cortiella- The President's and Secretary's Education Initiatives: How Do They Apply In Special Education? - Asst Sec of Education Judith Heumann
- Wrapping It UP - Judith Gran Esq
Overheard in one of the parent support lists I belong to:
>>You know what the road to hell is paved with!
>IEP forms?
CJ is a parent's advocate who tries to ensure that parents are given the information they need to be effective advocates for their deaf/hoh children. Some of these documents require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don't have it, you can download it with the link at the bottom of this page. All of these works remain the intellectual property of CJ. Their presence on this web site does not place them in the public domain. Please do not include any of them in any published material without first obtaining permission. Additional Agreements. Many times something needs to be added to the IEP but isn't because they can't figure out where to put it, or there isn't any room left where they want to put it. This form is what she uses . You can also download Additional Agreements in Adobe Acrobat format. Educational Evaluation of Deaf Children. This was written to answer some questions of another parent. She explains why educational evaluations of deaf children should be done with tests normed on hearing children. IEP Checklist. It's often difficult to remember all the things you want to ask for during an IEP meeting. This form was developed to help you track of everything. Only available in Adobe Acrobat format. Newly revised. Who Pays for Audiograms Used in Schools? This article was written because CJ has noticed a disturbing trend and she wants to make it known that the school has the responsibility of paying for any audiograms they need. The Idea Practices website is an excellent place to start understanding about the sped laws, regulations and practices that regulate special education.
- Consideration: A detailed look...Has technology been considered?
Deaf Students Education Services; Policy Guidance - A Department of Education document found in the Federal Register
How Not to be Intimidated at Your Next ARD (IEP Meeting)
IEP Ideas for Deaf/HOH Kids
LD Online Search Page - Search using the word IEP.
Learning Disabilities Association New And Revised And Even Better Consent Form - a tongue in cheek look at the evaluation process
OSEP Monitoring Reports
Understanding Tests and Measurements for the Parent and Advocate
Why & How to Tape Record an IEP Meeting
Writing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) For Success
Your Child's IEP - Practical and Legal Guidance for ParentsYou may also want to check out the Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing section on the Teaching & Education Resources page.
Just how well is the IDEA working for "our" kids? The full report of Back to School on Civil Rights: Advancing the Federal Commitment to Leave No Child Behind, by the National Council on Disability, is now available on-line. From the Chairperson's Letter to the President contained in that report:
"Back to School on Civil Rights looks at more than two decades of federal monitoring and enforcement of compliance with Part B of IDEA. Overall, NCD finds that federal efforts to enforce the law over several Administrations have been inconsistent and ineffective. Despite the important efforts of your Administration to be more aggressive than any of its predecessors in addressing these compliance problems, failures to ensure local compliance with Part B requirements continue to be widespread and persist over many years. Enforcement of the law is too often the burden of parents who must invoke formal complaint procedures and request due process hearings to obtain the services and supports to which their children are entitled under law."
NOW AVAILABLE - Complete information about the IDEA Law and Regulations in an interactive format.
IT'S ALL HERE
- Contents include the Statute in entirety (P.L. 105-17)
- Complete Final Regulations from the Fed. Register of 3/12/99
- Analysis of comments taken from the Fed. Register of 3/12/99
FIND WHAT YOU NEED EASILY
The CD contains fully linked versions of the IDEA '97 law and regs to help you access, read, search and understand the content. You will be able to:
- select specific parts, sections, or chapters from a linked Section Index, Topic Index, and Glossary of Definitions and Acronyms.
- navigate to specific parts, sections, paragraphs, and clauses that are referred to within the documents.
- link directly to sections dealing with specific "hot" topics or parts of the law or regs of particular interest to you.
HOW TO ORDER
DISCOVER IDEA '99 is brought to you as a collaborative effort by many partners. Contact the ASPIIRE or ILIAD IDEA Partnership at The Council for Exceptional Children to order.
Toll Free: 1(877) CEC-IDEA
TDD: (703) 264-9480
$7.95 each, plus shipping and handling. Bundle pack (10 CDs) for $63.60
ADA Settlements and Consent Agreements - from the Department of Justice
A Guide to Disability Rights Laws - from the U.S. Department of Justice
Deaf Students Education Services; Policy Guidance - A Department of Education Document found in the Federal Register
Education of Children and Youth with Special Needs: What do the Laws Say?
Educational Rights Information Package - From the Autism Society
Employers of Individuals who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and the ADA
Georgia SB 521 - Special Education - Parents of Deaf Determine School Placement
Health Benefit Plans and the ADA - Your employer's Health Benefit Plan may be in violation of the ADA Title I.
IDEA 1997 Legislation - from the Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights (PACER). You can download a copy of the IDEA and final regs.
Information for the Air Traveler with a Disability - from the Department of Transportation.
LawGuru.Com - Legal Research Site
LD Online Search Page - Search using the word IDEA.
Minnesota Children Special Education Decisions - Hearings, Complaints, Interpretation Letters
Obligations of Airports to Provide Communication Accessibility to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons
Obligations of Nursing Homes to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Patients
Obligations of State and Local Courts for Providing Effective Communication
OSEP Letters:
Pro Se Instructions - How to file an ADA complaint without a lawyer
Rulings:
- Armstrong v. Charlotte County School Board - The administrative law judge determined the district denied the student FAPE due to problems with the interpreter. According to the ALJ, the interpreter used an inappropriate method of signing to the student. The interpreter did not use the method most familiar to the student, and the student only understood the interpreter approximately 50% of the time. The district was ordered to furnish the student with an interpreter who used English only. The district was also ordered to attempt to find a certified interpreter, but the ALJ stated that this might be difficult given the nature of the market for interpreters.
- Armstrong v. Charlotte County School District - When the district in the case above failed to hire a new interpreter, the parents sought an injunction compelling the district to comply with the ALJ's order. It was ruled that because the IDEA was enacted for the benefit of disabled children, the stay-put provision cannot be enforced against prevailing parents and their children.
- Doe v. Board of Education of the Detroit Public Schools - The hearing officer ruled that the district program would not meet the needs of this child who uses ASL as his primary mode of communication, but that MSD did. The Board of Education of the Detroit Public Schools contended that MSD was not the child's least restrictive environment. The hearing officer had this to say:
"In developing an IEP for a child who is deaf, OSEP noted it is important to take into consideration such factors as: the communication needs and the child's and family's preferred mode of communication; linguistic needs; severity of hearing loss and potential for using residential hearing; academic levels; and social, emotional and cultural needs, including opportunities for peer interactions and communication. OSEP went onto state that: "any setting, including the regular classroom, that prevents a child who is deaf from receiving an appropriate education that meets his or her needs, including communication needs, is not the LRE for that individual child.'"
- Eureka Union Sch. Dist./Placer County Office of Educ - The hearing officer examined the proposed district program for the student and concluded it was inappropriate. The district program was not designed to address the student's need for improvement of his listening and auditory skills and would have required him to learn a new form of communication. The district program emphasized sign language, which the student did not need to communicate and would possibly result in the regression of the student's listening and speaking skills. The private program provided the student with a FAPE, since it addressed his listening and auditory skills.
- California - A direct link to these rulings does not work (we tried). To access these rulings go to the California Department of Education Special Rulings Office's Web Page. Click on the "Search Engine" link. Scroll down that page till you find the line for entering a case number. Enter only the numerical portion of the case number and click on the "Start Search Button" to find each case.
Case No: 1076 - The Hearing Officer concluded that student's unique needs, along with the unique needs of her family, include auditory-verbal therapy and a regular education preschool setting.
Case No: 1383 and 1581 - The Hearing Officer concluded that student requires a program that recognizes his auditory and oral skills and focuses on developing those skills and that a DHOH class would, instead, provide student instruction in sign language, a mode of communication the evidence established student did not need.
Case No: 593 - The Hearing Officer concluded that a preschool class with 1:1 auditory training, 1:1 speech and language services, classroom carry-over, and parent education--addressed student's unique needs and that a preschool class with emphasis on the teaching and use of sign language, even though the District identifies the class as using a total communication approach, did not.
Case No: 1382 - The Hearing Officer ruled that the person or persons assigned as student's one-to-one aide must possess basic signing skills, be able to effectively utilize student's receptive and expressive signing vocabulary, and be able to expand upon his
current signing vocabulary.Case No: 890 - The Hearing Officer ordered that the School District provide student (in a private school) with the services of a sign language interpreter for academic classes and after-school basketball team for the remainder of the school year, but that the interpreter need not assist student in her religion class or at on-campus religious services. Also that The District provide student with aural handicapped/speech and language services, once weekly for one hour, for the remainder of the school year (may provide these services at a public school site at flexible hours).
Case No: 894 - The Hearing Officer found that so long as the plastic slide remains in place on the kindergarten playground and the plastic chairs remain in the classroom, the District's placement does not meet this three-year-old student's need to be in an environment that addresses the physical limitations of his cochlear implant. He also found that Sign language training for parents and extended family members did not provide appropriate sign instruction for student's siblings, and that the student needs to receive speech therapy, including auditory habilitation, for the entire summer, with no more than a two-week break.
Sole Source Placements: An Update - When parents make a unilateral placement because their school system has failed to provide FAPE, they should not, and cannot, be required to meet the same exacting standards that a school system must meet when it provides a special education program.
Special Education Guidance Letters - from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
Special Education Law - Subscribe to The Special Ed Advocate
Texas Education Agency - Division of Special Education Rules and Regulations
Texas Education Agency - Division of Special Education Hearing Decisions
U.S. Department of Justice Office of Information and Privacy
U.S. House of Representatives Internet Law Library - Education and the law
U.S. House of Representatives Internet Law Library U.S. Code (searchable)
What a Good IDEA! - From Advocacy Incorporated, advocating for the legal rights of Texans with disabilities.
Use of the IDEA's Parental Notice Requirements as an Affirmative Advocacy Tool
Wonderful World of Special Education - Children with Disabilities have special rights
Dependent Education - From the United States European Command
DODI 1342.21 Provision of Free Public Education for Eligible Dependent Children
First I would like to say a little something about what these letters are, and what they are not. Some of them have been written to be "fill in the blank" type, but not all of them. Some of these are slight modifications of actual letters that have been sent in behalf of a child. These are not meant to be cookie cutter letters but are instead meant to give you an idea on how to structure your own letters.
IEP Violation - Parent version. Failure to provide related services; Failure to provide supplementary aids; request for compensatory education.
Statutory/regulatory/rule Violations - by Celeste Johnson. Parent/Child Advocate version. Multiple violations.
Parent letter to an IEP (or ARD) Committee - from the Online Asperger Syndrome Information and Support Web Page.
Reconsider Denial For Assessment of Interpreter Skills - by Celeste Johnson
Special Education Evaluation - from the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan
Requesting an IEPC to be Held - from the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan
Requesting Review and Revision of IEP - from the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan
Complaint to Intermediate School District (ISD) - from the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan
Follow-Up to ISD Complaint - from the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan
View Records [Family Educational Right to Privacy Act (FERPA)] - from the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan
Request Records (FERPA) - from the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan
Requesting a Change / Removal / Addition Records (FERPA) - from the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan
FERPA Complaint - from the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan
Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) - from the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan
Memo of Understanding - from the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request - from the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan
Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Complaint - from the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan
Follow-Up to OCR Complaint - from the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan
What to Add to the End of Your Letter When Requesting Information From a Federal Agency - by Celeste Johnson
The Art of Writing Letters - from WrightsLaw
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