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It recently came to my attention that several school districts require parents
to obtain audiograms for their children, including the arrangement for, transportation to,
and payment of same. In point of fact, this began as a cyber-discussion with some teachers
of the deaf from Wisconsin, who insisted that in WI, it is the responsibility of the
parents to provide the audiogram for the initial IEP. My protests to the contrary were to
no avail. In fact, this cyber-discussion branched out and disclosed further information:
1) Teachers report that their school system does not have educational audiologists,
therefore the parents must bear the responsibility for the audiograms.
2) Teachers report that although there is a program audiologist, there is no audiology
suite, so parents must take their children to a clinic for accurate audiograms for the
school to work from, and pay for it.
3) Parents report that the school nurse sent a note home that she had tested the child's
hearing, and the child failed the hearing tests. The parent should therefore take the
child for audiological and otological examinations. There was no offer of reimbursement.
4) Parents report that after moving, the new school district insisted that the parents
obtain a current audiogram at their own expense, otherwise no educational services would
be provided.
5) Parents report that they routinely receive notes from their children's HI programs
advising them that it is time for the child to have a new audiogram, and that they should
have it done, sometimes at their own expense, and send a copy to the school.
This is truly mind-boggling to me! I know from my own personal experience in this regard
that parents not only do not have to pay for the audiological services that are related to
school, but they do not have to transport, either. I have known parents who received notes
telling them to take their child for an audiological, and they naively forfeited wages to
take time off from work to do it, and paid for the audiogram themselves. I was one of
them, years ago, before I learned better.
I am so upset that this continues to happen, and even when confronted, some school
employees continue to insist that the parents must do this, that I will be pursuing this
with the US Dept of Ed and their Office for Civil Rights. I am writing this, however, to
hopefully dispel this myth, and to advise parents who have been victimized by this, that
they have the right to file a complaint pursuant to IDEA, alleging a violation of FAPE,
and also to seek reimbursement for their expenses.
For those who doubt this, I am providing a legal analysis. The implementing regulation to
IDEA, prior to the 1997 amendments (but substantively unchanged by IDEA-97 states:
Assistance to States for Education of Children with Disabilities
34 C.F.R. Part 300
Subpart B -- State Plans and
Local Educational Agency Applications
STATE PLANS -- CONTENTS
Reg. Sec. 300.121 Right to a free appropriate public education. (a) Each State plan must
include information that shows that the State has in effect a policy that ensures that all
children with disabilities have the right to FAPE within the age ranges and timelines
under Reg. Sec. 300.122.
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CJ'S NOTE: FAPE MEANS ***FREE*** AND
APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION. ***FREE*** MEANS AT NO CHARGE TO THE PARENTS.
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Reg. Sec. 300.8 Free appropriate public education.
As used in this part, the term "free appropriate public education" means special
education and related services that (a) Are provided at public expense, under public
supervision and direction, and without charge;
Reg. Sec. 300.128 Identification, location, and evaluation of children with disabilities.
(a) General requirement. Each State plan must include in detail the policies and
procedures that the State will undertake, or has undertaken, to ensure that
(1) All children with disabilities, regardless of the severity of their disability, and
who are in need of special education and related services are identified, located, and
evaluated;
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(2)(C))
Note 1: The State is responsible for ensuring that all children with disabilities are
identified, located, and evaluated, including children in all public and private agencies
and institutions in the State. Collection and use of data are subject to the
confidentiality requirements of Regs. Secs. 300.560- 300.576.
Note 2: Under both Parts B and H of the Act, States are responsible for
identifying, locating, and evaluating infants and toddlers from birth through 2 years of
age who have disabilities or who are suspected of having disabilities. In States where the
SEA and the State's lead agency for the Part H program are different and the Part H lead
agency will be participating in the child find activities described in paragraph (a), the
nature and extent of the Part H lead agency's participation must, under paragraph (b)(2),
be included in the State plan. With the SEA's agreement, the Part H lead agency's
participation may include the actual implementation of child find activities for infants
and toddlers. The use of an interagency agreement or other mechanism for providing for the
Part H lead agency's participation would not alter or diminish the responsibility of the
SEA to ensure compliance with all child find requirements, including the requirement in
paragraph (a)(1) that all children with disabilities who are in need of special education
and related services are evaluated.
ADDITIONALLY, THE IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS STATE:
Reg. Sec. 300.303 Proper functioning of hearing aids.
Each public agency shall ensure that the hearing aids worn by children with hearing
impairments including deafness in school are functioning properly.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(2)(B))
Note: The report of the House of Representatives on the 1978 appropriation bill includes
the following statement regarding hearing aids:
"In its report on the 1976 appropriation bill the Committee expressed concern about
the condition of hearing aids worn by children in public schools. A study done at the
Committee's direction by the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped reveals that up to
one-third of the hearing aids are malfunctioning. Obviously, the Committee expects the
Office of Education will ensure that hearing impaired school children are receiving
adequate professional assessment, follow-up and services."
(Authority: H. R. Rep. No. 95-381, p. 67 (1977))
AND:
Reg. Sec. 300.308 Assistive technology. Each public agency shall ensure that
assistive technology devices or assistive technology services, or both, as those terms are
defined in Regs. Secs. 300.5-300.6, are made available to a child with a disability if
required as a part of the child's
(a) Special education under Reg. Sec. 300.17;
(b) Related services under Reg. Sec. 300.16; or
(c) Supplementary aids and services under Reg. Sec. 300.550(b)(2).
(Authority: 20 U.S. 1412(2) (5)(B))
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I CONTEND THE FOLLOWING INCLUDES HEARING AIDS, FM
SYSTEMS, SOUNDFIELDS, ETC:
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Reg. Sec. 300.5 Assistive technology device.
As used in this part, "assistive technology device" means any item,
piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf,
modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional
capabilities of children with disabilities.
Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1401(a)(25))
Reg. Sec. 300.6 Assistive technology service.
As used in this part, "assistive technology service" means any service
that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of
an assistive technology device. The term includes
(a) The evaluation of the needs of a child with a disability, including a functional
evaluation of the child in the child's customary environment;
(b) Purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive
technology devices by children with disabilities;
(c) Selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, retaining, repairing,
or replacing assistive technology devices;
(d) Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services with assistive
technology devices, such as those associated with existing education and rehabilitation
plans and programs;
(e) Training or technical assistance for a child with a disability or, if appropriate,
that child's family; and
(f) Training or technical assistance for professionals (including individuals providing
education or rehabilitation services), employers, or other individuals who provide
services to, employ, or are otherwise substantially involved in the major life functions
of children with disabilities.
Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1401(a)(26))
Note: The definitions of "assistive technology device" and "assistive
technology service" used in this part are taken directly from section 602(a)(25)-(26)
of the Act, but in accordance with Part B, the statutory reference to "individual
with a disability" has been replaced with "child with a disability." The
Act's definitions of "assistive technology device" and "assistive
technology service" incorporate verbatim the definitions of these terms used in the
Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988.
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THE IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS ALSO DEFINE
AUDIOLOGY SERVICES, WHICH ARE EXPRESSLY INCLUDED IN THE ACT:
(Emphasis added.)
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Reg. Sec. 300.16 Related services.
(a) As used in this part, the term "related services" means transportation and
such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a
child with a disability to benefit from special education, and includes speech pathology
and audiology, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation,
including therapeutic recreation, early identification and assessment of disabilities in
children, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, and medical services
for diagnostic or evaluation purposes. The term also includes school health services,
social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training.
(b) The terms used in this definition are defined as follows:
(1) "Audiology" includes
(i) Identification of children with hearing loss;
(ii) Determination of the range, nature, and degree of hearing loss, including
referral for medical or other professional attention for the habilitation of hearing;
(iii) Provision of habilitative activities, such as language habilitation, auditory
training, speech reading (lip-reading), hearing evaluation, and speech conservation;
(iv) Creation and administration of programs for prevention of hearing loss;
(v) Counseling and guidance of pupils, parents, and teachers regarding hearing loss; and
(vi) Determination of the child's need for group and individual amplification, selecting
and fitting an appropriate aid, and evaluating the effectiveness of amplification.
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The 1997 Amendments, commonly referred to as
IDEA-97, do not substantively change the obligation of the public agency to IDENTIFY AND
EVALUATE, AT NO COST TO THE PARENTS, children with or suspected of having disabilities.
The 1997 statute states:
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20 U.S.C. Sec. 1414 - Evaluations, Eligibility, IEPs, & Placement
(a) Evaluations and Reevaluations.--
(1) Initial evaluations.--
(A) In general.--A State educational agency, other State agency, or local educational
agency shall conduct a full and individual initial evaluation, in accordance with this
paragraph and subsection (b), before the initial provision of special education and
related services to a child with a disability under this part.
(B) Procedures.--Such initial evaluation shall consist of procedures--
(i) to determine whether a child is a child with a disability (as defined in section
602(3)); and
(ii) to determine the educational needs of such child.
(C) Parental consent.--
(i) In general.--The agency proposing to conduct an initial evaluation to determine if the
child qualifies as a child with a disability as defined in section 602(3)(A) or 602(3)(B)
shall obtain an informed consent from the parent of such child before the evaluation is
conducted. Parental consent for evaluation shall not be construed as consent for placement
for receipt of special education and related services.
(ii) Refusal.--If the parents of such child refuse consent for the evaluation, the agency
may continue to pursue an evaluation by utilizing the mediation and due process procedures
under section 615, except to the extent inconsistent with State law relating to parental
consent.
(2) Reevaluations.--A local educational agency shall ensure that a reevaluation of each
child with a disability is conducted--
(A) if conditions warrant a reevaluation or if the child's parent or teacher requests a
reevaluation, but at least once every 3 years; and
(B) in accordance with subsections (b) and (c).
(b) Evaluation Procedures.--
(1) Notice.--The local educational agency shall provide notice to the parents of a child
with a disability, in accordance with subsections (b)(3), (b)(4), and (c) of section 615,
that describes any evaluation procedures such agency proposes to conduct.
(2) Conduct of evaluation.--In conducting the evaluation, the local educational agency
shall-
(A) use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional and
developmental information, including information provided by the parent, that may assist
in determining whether the child is a child with a disability and the content of the
child's individualized education program, including information related to enabling the
child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum or, for preschool children,
to participate in appropriate activities;
(B) not use any single procedure as the sole criterion for determining whether a child is
a child with a disability or determining an appropriate educational program for the child;
and
(C) use technically sound instruments that may assess the relative contribution of
cognitive and behavioral factors, in addition to physical or developmental factors.
(3) Additional requirements.--Each local educational agency shall ensure that-
(A) tests and other evaluation materials used to assess a child under this section--
(i) are selected and administered so as not to be discriminatory on a racial or cultural
basis; and
(ii) are provided and administered in the child's native language or other mode of
communication, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so; and
(B) any standardized tests that are given to the child--
(i) have been validated for the specific purpose for which they are used;
(ii) are administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel; and
(iii) are administered in accordance with any instructions provided by the producer of
such tests;
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CJ's NOTE: THIS MEANS USING PROPERLY CALIBRATED
EQUIPMENT - INCLUDING THE AUDIOMETER - IN A SOUND-PROOF BOOTH
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(C) the child is assessed in all areas of suspected disability; and
(D) assessment tools and strategies that provide relevant information that directly
assists persons in determining the educational needs of the child are provided.
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Please don't let anyone bamboozle you into paying for things our tax money is to pay for.
There are procedures for filing complaints if your rights have been violated. If you have
paid for audiograms used by the school, you should at least request reimbursement. If
reimbursement is denied, you have the right to file a complaint alleging a violation of
IDEA and also to pursue reimbursement. You can obtain information and assistance about the
complaint process from the office of special education of your State Department of
Education.
Celeste
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