Leanna Cernohous
606 #2
Standard #7
Artifact
When my daughter wasn’t walking, we got a referral, they set up a time to come to our
house and did an evaluation. When she was 3, I took her to pre-school screening at a
local elementary school that neither of us had ever been to. Which situation do you think
she performed best in? If you said at the elementary school since she was older, that is
incorrect. She just smiled at all the ladies instead of answering their questions, and we
were there for a speech evaluation. But, when the ladies came to our house to do the
walking evaluation, she had no trouble at all interacting with them. So what can be
deduced from this? It is imperative to have an environment for a child to learn/perform
in that is not restrictive to him/her. This concept is known as the Least Restrictive
Environment or LRE (IDEA of 2004), and is also a major component to a Free
Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) as mandated by section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973. Each of these, FAPE and LRE, plays a role in an IEP’s major components
(PLAAFP, Program Summary, and Annual Goals). The three major components will be
discussed in more detail with examples of two students, different age categories, and their
FAPE/LRE.
Leanna Cernohous
606 #2
Standard #7
FAPE & LRE : Where Would You Rather Be?
When my daughter wasn’t walking, we got a referral, they set up a time to come to our
house and did an evaluation. When she was 3, I took her to pre-school screening at a
local elementary school that neither of us had ever been to. Which situation do you think
she performed best in? If you said at the elementary school since she was older, that is
incorrect. She just smiled at all the ladies instead of answering their questions, and we
were there for a speech evaluation. But, when the ladies came to our house to do the
walking evaluation, she had no trouble at all interacting with them. So what can be
deduced from this? It is imperative to have an environment for a child to learn/perform
in that is not restrictive to him/her. This concept is known as the Least Restrictive
Environment or LRE (IDEA of 2004), and is also a major component to a Free
Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) as mandated by section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973. Each of these, FAPE and LRE, plays a role in an IEP’s major components
(PLAAFP, Program Summary, and Annual Goals). The three major components will be
discussed in more detail with examples of two students, different age categories, and their
FAPE/LRE.
The IEP’s major components fit together like a triangle and should encompass the
child for which the IEP is developed. The first component is PLAAFP, Present Level of
Academic Achievement and Functional Performance. This is your baseline data and it is
essential to be thorough when compiling it for the student. You need to have a good base
to start from when developing annual goals to have the greatest benefit to the student.
Annual goals are the second component to the IEP and they note a student’s expected
progress for the next year. Students are no different than anyone else when it comes to
making progress. When you have a goal written down and continually work on it, you
are much more likely to succeed. The time to work on that goal will be noted in the
program summary, the third component to the IEP. The program summary will look at
the student’s daily schedule and specify how much (if any) time is spent in Special Ed.
All of these components are part of a student with a disability’s Free Appropriate Public
Education, which they are entitled to. Their FAPE should take place in their LRE, least
restrictive environment. The LRE will be noted, although not necessarily directly, in the
IEP based on accommodations or modifications for the student. Here are two examples
of students and their FAPE/LRE, one is in elementary school and the other high school.
Ariana is an eight year old who is visually impaired. She has glasses and sits in
the front of the classroom, but still struggles at times to read what the teacher writes on
the board. As part of her FAPE, she is at the public elementary school, and is part of the
special education program. In years past, Ariana would not have been able to participate
in classes with her peers to this degree. Her LRE is sitting in the front of the class,
getting her as close the board as possible. She also spends 30 minutes each day with the
special ed teacher who reviews classroom material with her and helps to fill in the gaps in
her notes based on recordings from Ariana’s personal voice recorder. The tools are
appropriate for her education and she is learning in her least restrictive environment.
Annika is a sophomore and has trouble reading the textbooks for her classes since
her current reading level is second grade. She writes well, and takes notes while the
teachers are lecturing, but cannot always discern later what she has written. She too
carries a personal voice-recording device to assist her with her notes while studying. She
goes to special ed daily to work on reading skills, and have someone read the texts to her.
Some text books are now on DVD so she can listen to them on her own. She is attending
the public high school, is receiving the necessary accommodations, and is making the A
honor roll. Annika is receiving a Free Appropriate Public Education, and is learning in
her least restrictive environment by being mainstreamed with accommodations.
FAPE and LRE are two very important factors when developing an IEP. A
student truly needs the best of both to ensure that everything possible has been done to
give them the opportunity they would otherwise have without a disability. I don’t think
that LRE’s have always been considered to be so valuable, but when you look at the
various situations a student can be in and which ones they would ultimately perform the
best in, why wouldn’t you do that? I am proud of our steps forward focusing on what the
school can do for the student and not what the student can do in the school.