Muskogee Public Schools Professional Development
AN OVERVIEW OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REALTED SERVICES
SECTION I: INTRODUCTION
Special education and related services are assured to all eligible children with disabilities, aged
three through 21. These services are provided as a free and appropriate public education
(FAPE), as mandated by Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its amendments,
a federal law formerly known as the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHS), PL 94-142. Part
B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA-B) establishes the mandates for local
education agencies (LEA) such as Muskogee Public Schools. The purposes of IDEA Part B
(IDEA-B) are:
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Insure a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for all children with
disabilities the emphasizes special education and related services designed
services designed to meet their unique needs and prepares them for further
education, employment and independent living;
Ensures rights and protections of children with disabilities and their parents;
To assists public agencies in the provision of special education and related
services;
To access and ensure the effectiveness of these efforts.
Local Education Agencies (LEA), such as Muskogee Public Schools, are responsible for special
education and related services and must abide by Oklahoma State law, policies and
procedures, and the federal regulations for the IDEA Part B.
SECTION II: CONFIDENTIALITY
Each local education agency (LEA) must implement the state policies and procedures for
protection of confidentiality of any personally identifiable information, collected, used, or
maintained under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) Part B. This includes the following
special education records:
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Special education evaluation reports, recommendations, and observations of
professionals who have individually screened or evaluated a child for
identification of a disability or placement in a program;
Special reports and information from outside agencies or specialists (e.g.,
private schools, social services agencies, rehabilitation agencies, transition
service providers, hospitals, physicians);
Special education documentation forms;
Documentation of all actions, protests, challenges, meetings, and
recommendations by the parents and LEAs for any special education purpose
(e.g., taped individualized education program (IEP) meetings , complaints, due
process hearings);
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Video tapes and audio tapes of an individual child in relation to special
education services;
Medical reports and information utilized in evaluation procedures and maintained
by the district; and
Disciplinary records.
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School officials with legitimate educational interest are permitted disclosure to special education
records without consent. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if that official
needs to review the records in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility. “Disclosure”
means to permit access to or the release, transfer, or other communication of personally
identifiable information contained in the special education records to any party, by any means,
including oral, written, or electronic means.
It is important to emphasize that discloser of any personally identifiable information concerning a
special education student to anyone without legitimate educational interest with that particular
child is a breach of confidentiality. This includes communication of any kind with anyone who
does not meet the criteria of a school official with a legitimate educational interest.
SECTION III: EVALUATION AND ELIGIBILITY
“Evaluation” means procedures used, in accordance with federal and state requirements, to
determine whether a child has a disability and the nature and extent of the special education
and related services that the child needs.
Prior to the initial placement of a child with a disability, a full and individual evaluation must be
accomplished in all areas related to the suspected disability of the child including, if appropriate,
health, vision, hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence (or cognitive abilities),
adaptive behavior, academic performance, and motor abilities. The initial evaluation must
include sufficiently comprehensive information to identify the suspected disability and all of the
child’s special education and related services needs. The purpose of the evaluation is to
determine the presence of disabilities, any adverse effects on academic performance, the
child’s educational needs, and whether or not the child requires special education and related
services.
Prior to initiating an evaluation, documentation must exist that reflects the child’s responses to
intervention (RTI). RTI is academic intervention which is designed to provide early, effective
intervention to children who are having difficulties learning. The purpose of RTI is to prevent
academic failure through early intervention, frequent progress monitoring, and the utilization of
increasingly intensive research based interventions. If the child has not progressed as a result
of RTI, an evaluation may be deemed appropriate.
Either a parent of a child or the local educational agency (LEA) may initiate a request for an
initial evaluation to determine if the child is a child with a disability. The evaluation must consist
of procedures to determine if the child is a child with a disability and to determine the
educational needs of the child.
Parent consent is required for an initial evaluation. As a part of the consent for evaluation, the
parent must be given a description of the evaluation procedures that the LEA proposed to use
as a basis of determining whether the child has a disability and whether special education and
related services are needed. Parent consent for an evaluation is not consent for special
education and related services.
Upon completion of the evaluation, the LEA must schedule a meeting with the parents and
provide notification of the meeting to review the evaluative information and to determine whether
a child has a disability that requires special education and related services.
This meeting must consist of a group of individuals, including the parents, at least one regular
education teacher of the child or one that is qualified to teach that age child, at least one special
education teacher certified in the area of the suspected disability of the child, a qualified
examiner, and an administrative representative of the district. Other group members might
include other professionals with necessary qualifications to assess related service needs.
In reviewing the suspected disabilities, the group must consider whether a lack of appropriate
instruction in reading, including the essential components of reading instruction, or
mathematics, or LEP are the determining factors for lack of progress and whether the child
otherwise meets the eligibility requirements for a child with a disability under IDEA.
If it is determined the child does have a disability and is eligible for special education and related
services, and Individualized Education Program (IEP) must be developed within 30 calendar
days from the date that eligibility is determined. The IEP team consists of, at a minimum, the
parent, the regular class teacher, the special education teacher, and an administrative
representative. Consent from the parent for placement in special education and related
services are obtained through the IEP process.
A reevaluation will be conducted at least once every three years or more often if conditions
warrant the need for a reevaluation, or if requested by the child’s parent or the teacher.
SECTION IV: ELIGIBILITY CATEGORIES
There are thirteen (13) categories of eligibility in special education. Each of these categories
have specific definitions, specific components that constitute a comprehensive evaluation, and
key eligibility indicators for making placement decisions concerning eligibility for special
education and related services. Those categories are:
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AUTISM
DEAF-BLINDNESS
DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS
EMOTIOAL DISTURBANCE
HEARING IMPAIRMENT, INCLUDING DEAFNESS
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES
MULTIPLE DISABILITIES
ORTHOPEDIC IMPAIRMENTS
OTHER HEALTH IMPAIRMENTS
SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES
SPEECH OR LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENT
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY
VISUAL IMPAIRMENT, INCLUDING BLINDNESS
SECTION V: THE INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM
The Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting serves as a communication tool between
the parent(s) and the local educational agency (LEA) and enables them, as equal participants,
to jointly determine the child’s needs, the services which will be provided to meet those needs,
and the anticipated outcomes. When necessary, the IEP process provides an opportunity for
resolving any differences between the parent(s) and the LEA.
The IEP is:
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A written commitment of necessary resources;
A management tool;
A compliance document ensuring a free appropriate education (FAPE) agreed
to be the parent(s) and the LEA, enabling the child to be involved in and
progress in the general education curriculum and to mee4t the child’s
educational needs resulting from the disability;
A method of evaluating the extent of the child’s progress toward meeting the
annual goals; and
A transition plan, including when appropriate, each LEA’s responsibilities or
linkages before the child leaves the school setting.
There are three main parts of the IEP requirement:
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The IEP meeting(s) in which the parent(s) and school personnel jointly make
decisions about an educational program for the child with a disability;
The IEP document, a written record of the decisions reached at the meeting;
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The review/revision of the IEP, as appropriate.
Each LEA must ensure that the IEP team reviews the child’s IEP periodically, but not less than
annually, to determine whether the annual goals for the child are being achieved.
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The LEA must revise the IEP, as appropriate to address any lack of expected
progress toward the annual goals and in the general education curriculum, if
appropriate;
The results of any reevaluation(s);
Information about the child provided to, or by, the parent(s); and
The child’s anticipate needs, or other matters.
A regular education teacher of the child, as a member of the IEP team, must participate in the
review and the revision of the IEP of the child.
SECTION VI: RELATED SERVICES
All children with disabilities must have available a free appropriate public education (FAPE) that
may include related services required for such child to benefit from special education. Under
federal regulations, related services are defined as transportation and such developmental,
corrective, and other supportive services as required to assist a child with a disability to benefit
from special education.
SECTION VII: LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT (LRE)
The purpose of the least restrictive environment (LRE) requirement is to ensure that, to the
maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities receive instruction with children who do
not have disabilities. The individualized education program (IEP) team must clearly document
on the IEP that a variety of options were considered to determine placement in the LRE to meet
the individual child’s needs based on the IEP. The selected placement decision must be
individually determined on the basis of each child’s abilities and needs, and not solely on factors
such as category of disability, availability of space, or administrative convenience.
SECTION VIII: DISCIPLINE PROCEDURES
The United States Department of Education (USDE), Office of Special Education programs
(OSEP), has established regulations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA), and the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has summarized the procedures and requirements
under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Honig v. Doe (1988) decision
relating to changes in placement for disciplinary reasons for children with disabilities.
If a child’s behavior impedes his or learning or that of others (or can be readily anticipated to be
repetitive), the individualized education program (IEP) team, in developing the child’s IEP, must
consider, as appropriate, strategies to address that behavior. This includes behavior that could
violate the school code of conduct.
A failure to consider appropriate strategies to address this behavior in developing and
implementing the IEP would constitute a denial of a free and appropriate public education
(FAPE) to the child. In appropriate circumstances, the IEP team might determine that he child’s
behavior intervention plan (BIP) includes specific regular or alternative disciplinary measures.
School personnel must consider any unique circumstances on a case-by-case basis when
considering a change in placement for a child who violates the school code of conduct.
Removal for a total of 10 school days or less in a school year for a child with a disability is not
considered a change in placement. School personnel must provide the same alternative
options available to a child without disabilities. Days served in In-school-suspension count as
days suspended out-of-school. A bus suspension would count as a day of suspension only if
transportation is a related service on the IEP.
Removals which total 10 or more school days in a school year require additional procedures.
For the purposes of removals from the child’s current educational placement, a change in
placement occurs if the child is subjected to a series of removals that exceed 10 days. If the
removal is a change in placement (exceeds 10 days), the child’s IEP team determines what
services will be appropriate to enable the child to continue to progress in the general education
curriculum and to progress in meeting the goals as set out on the child’s IEP. Additional
requirements of a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA), Manifestation Determination, and a
Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) are tools to assist in determining appropriate services.
(Policies and Procedures for Special Education in Oklahoma, 2007)