S&G News

Subscribe to S&G News via RSS

Anne Littlefield has been quoted in an article on guidelines to follow when a school determines it necessary to modify a student’s schedule. This article originally appeared in SpecialEdConnection®.

Download: Printable PDF

Use Caution When Shortening Student’s School Day to Address Behavior

littlefieldslblogA public charter school student with autism and an emotional disturbance is suspended frequently over the course of a school year, with 10 days of removals in total. In an effort to address his behavioral issues, which increase in the afternoons, the school’s special education director and the student’s mother agree to shorten his school days to half days. The change to the student’s schedule is emailed to his IEP team.

The school is later found to have violated the IDEA and ordered to undergo training. Where did it go wrong?

In this recent case, Millennium Community School, 116 LRP 11957 (SEA OH 03/25/16), the school violated the IDEA when it cut the student’s school day in half without convening his IEP team. It also failed to conduct a manifestation determination review of the student’s disciplinary removals.

Follow these guidelines to avoid a similar misstep in your district:

Convene IEP team when making changes to students’ schedules

Whenever a school determines that a change to a student’s schedule is needed for disability-related reasons, convene an IEP team meeting, said Anne Littlefield, a school attorney at Shipman & Goodwin LLP in Hartford, Conn. Be prepared to show data and discuss why the change is necessary for the student’s progress, she said.

“You have to be cautious whenever you shorten a student’s school day, because you’re ending up with a child with a disability who has less instructional time than a child without a disability,” Littlefield said.

Once the IEP team has agreed on changes to a student’s schedule, amend the IEP to reflect the changes and address how the student’s educational services will continue to be provided, said Nina Gupta, a school attorney at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Atlanta, Ga. Don’t rely on emails or verbal agreements with parents; document all changes in writing, she said.

In the Millennium case, the charter school shortened the student’s school day in hopes of alleviating his afternoon behavior problems. However, the decision was made between the special education director and the student’s mother outside of an IEP team meeting. Outside agreements with parents often don’t work long term, Littlefield said. They also can amount to a denial of FAPE if changes in placement are made without an IEP meeting or an amended IEP, she said.Continue Reading Anne Littlefield Quoted in Special Ed Connection Article, “Use Caution When Shortening Student’s School Day to Address Behavior”

Peter Maher has been quoted in an article on steps to consider when removing students from general ed. This article originally appeared in SpecialEdConnection®.

Download: Printable PDF

maherslblogDon’t Catch Parents Off Guard When it Comes to Child’s Removals

Educators removed a seventh-grader with fetal alcohol syndrome from general education a number of times for an average of nearly four hours a week for self-calming, intervention, conduct, and discipline. These removals added up to about 30 hours during the school year.

The student’s parents claimed that the removals amounted to a placement change and that they should have received prior written notice.

But the district prevailed in Lake Oswego School District, 66 IDELR 293 (SEA OR 2015). The state ED found that, while not “ideal,” the removals didn’t rise to the level of a change in placement that would require PWN.

Your district may not succeed in a similar situation. Ensure your teams strive to prevent a student with disabilities from accumulating so many removals from general ed before investigating whether she needs a change in supports and placement. Investigate what comes before, during, and after the removals. Then implement strategies aimed at retaining the student in class. Be sure to maintain ongoing communication with parents and recognize when to give them PWN so they understand why you want to conduct a functional behavior assessment and discuss changes in the student’s placement and services.

“Having a bad day is one thing,” said Sue Homrok-Lemke, assistant superintendent of pupil services at Simsbury (Conn.) Public Schools. “But if the student is having many bad days and, over time, it’s enough to constitute some sort of pattern, the team should try to find out more.”

Otherwise, your district is liable to deny the student FAPE, said Pete Maher, a school attorney at Shipman & Goodwin LLP.

“You run the risk of the removals ultimately constituting a change in placement if the student’s not able to benefit from the services in her IEP,” he said.Continue Reading Peter Maher Quoted in Special Ed Connection Article, “Don’t Catch Parents Off Guard When it Comes to Child’s Removals”

littlefieldslblogAnne Littlefield has been quoted in an article on steps to consider when evaluating student misconduct. This article originally appeared in SpecialEdConnection®.

Download: Printable PDF

Investigate root of misconduct to rule out prior knowledge of disability

A kindergartner accumulates a number of suspensions for failing to follow directions, acting distracted, and talking during lessons. With intervention, he makes academic and behavioral progress.

But then, over the course of a month, he becomes insubordinate, yells at his teacher, and hides under desks, prompting the educator to evacuate the classroom.

The teacher attributes the child’s misconduct to his young age, lack of school readiness, and difficulty coping with his parents’ divorce.

The charter school’s disciplinary committee decides in December that the student should be suspended for the rest of the school year.

The child’s parents claim that the school denied their child FAPE for imposing disciplinary measures without affording him protections under the IDEA. They claim the school should have conducted an evaluation.Continue Reading Anne Littlefield Quoted in Special Ed Connection Article, “Investigate Root of Misconduct to Rule Out Prior Knowledge of Disability”

zittounslblogGwen Zittoun has been quoted in an article on helpful tips to consider when attending and concluding an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting. This article originally appeared in SpecialEdConnection®.

Download: Printable PDF

Tips to end your next IEP meeting effectively

You’re nearing the end of a successful IEP team meeting. You’ve checked off all of your agenda items and reached consensus with parents on placement and services. But you and the district members of your team exit the room without finalizing or signing the document.

Nothing in the IDEA requires a district to sign an IEP and expectations for finalizing the document differ from state to state. But having procedures in place for officially ending a decisive meeting and finalizing the IEP may preserve parents’ trust in the process and in your teams, experts say.

Encourage your teams to clarify with parents ahead of time their policy on finalizing IEPs. Also review the recommendations made by parents and school-based team members at the end of the meeting. Just be sure to avoid making any unrealistic promises to parents about what you will implement.

“You have to be strategic about how you communicate to parents what your obligations are,” said Miriam Van Heukelem, a school attorney at Ahlers & Cooney PC in Des Moines, Iowa. “It all comes back to transparency and good communication ahead of time.”

Take these steps:

Ensure policies are clear to parents: Discuss expectations and share with parents information about the IEP meeting process and what happens at the end of a meeting, Van Heukelem said. Consider setting up a working group that brings parents, special educators, and administrators together on a regular basis, she said. Or, if you don’t have the resources to host regular forums, get the message out to parents in print or electronically about how you conduct and end IEP meetings.

You would want parents to know, for example, that at the end of an IEP meeting, district members of the team may say, “We’ll have a final document delivered to you within five or 10 school days,” Van Heukelem said. If the parent doesn’t challenge any IEP recommendations at that time, then your team may say the recommendations will be implemented in two weeks.Continue Reading Gwen Zittoun Quoted in Special Ed Connection Article, “Tips to end your next IEP meeting effectively”

fayslblogJulie Fay has been quoted in an article featuring tips to help parents avoid disparate discipline measures.  This article originally appeared in SpecialEdConnection®.

Download: Article PDF

Tips to avoid disparate discipline measures

When a student with ADD and an anxiety disorder urinated on the floor, walls, and sink of a school bathroom, an administrator investigated the incident and gave the student “Saturday detention” for defacing school property.

The parent of the student with ADD alleged that the district disciplined her son more harshly than other students involved in the incident based on his disability. Specifically, she claimed that her son became anxious when another student turned off the lights in the bathroom, causing him to urinate on the floor. Considering the accounts of other witnesses, the court sided with the administrator’s decision in Held v. Northshore School District, 114 LRP 49870, (W.D. Wash. 11/17/14).

There is a constellation of factors that might lead an administrator to dole out separate consequences for two students involved in the same incident, said Julie Fay, school attorney with Shipman & Goodwin LLP in Hartford, Conn. This includes the age of the students involved, whether they were warned not to engage in the incident beforehand, and the extent to which they were involved in the incident.

However, civil rights laws, including Section 504, prohibit districts from using a student’s disability or other protected characteristics, such as race or gender, as the basis for disciplining two similarly situated students differently, Fay said.

“That isn’t to ensure that students with disabilities never get disciplined, but it’s to ensure that they’re not excluded from a program in a significant way on the basis of their disability,” Fay said.

The process for investigating and disciplining students with or without disabilities should be equal and neutral, she said. “There should be fairness in the results, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the same results for all kids involved,” she said.
Continue Reading Julie Fay Quoted in Special Ed Connection Article “Tips to Avoid Disparate Discipline Measures”