Strategies When Schools Refuse to Classify Students with Disabilities

The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) is a special education law that safeguards that public schools attend to the educational needs of students with disabilities. IDEA mandates that schools implement special education services to eligible students as defined in a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). IDEA also outlines specific requirements to assure a least restrictive environment (LRE) and a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for students with disabilities.

What Can Parents do to Resolve a Dispute with a School?
The Individuals with Disabilities Act offers various options for managing disputes between parents and schools concerning a school district’s delay or denial to evaluate a student because it is
using a Researched Based Intervention or RTI process.  Such complaints would be based on the district’s violation of Child Find.

1. State Complaints:  This is a written complaint that can be filed by any organization, individual, or group of individuals, claiming that a school district has violated a requirement of Part B of IDEA or the state’s special education law or regulations, including Child Find.  Child Find is a part of IDEA that requires states to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities, aged birth to 21, who need early intervention or special education services.  State complaints must be filed within one year of the alleged violation.  IDEA requires every state to have a formal procedure for filing complaints. Information on how to file a state complaint should be available from your state’s Department of Education or Parent Training and Information Center.
2. Due Process Complaints:  This is a written complaint filed by a parent or school district pertaining to any situation concerning the identification, evaluation, educational placement or violation of a free and appropriate public education to a student with a disability. Due process complaints must be filed within two years of the incident, and each state’s Department of Education must offer a model form to assist in filing a due process complaint that meets the requirements of IDEA. Reach out to the Department of Education in your state or Parent Training and Information Center to acquire more information.  

Filing complaints under IDEA, is a serious and time-consuming undertaking.  So before commencing with either of the options outlined above, make sure you are well educated about and fully comprehend federal and state mandates. 

Where Can I Get More Information?
The National Center for Learning Disabilities offers a free copy of Parents Rights in the Era of RTI or go to the NCLD website to learn more.

Cheers, Erica

Dr. Erica Warren, Learning Specialist and Educational Therapist

Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials.  She is also the director of Learning to Learn, in Ossining, NY.  To learn more about her products and services, you can go to www.goodsensorylearning.com, www.dyslexiamaterials.com & www.learningtolearn.biz  

What are Reasonable Accommodations, and What are the Different Options?

As a learning specialist and educational therapist parents continually ask me about “reasonable accommodations.” They often want to know what this term means and how they can get a list of the various options. Please note that, offering a definitive list of reasonable accommodations for students with learning disabilities is a difficult thing to do, as adaptations must be tailored to address the specific deficits of each student.  

What is a Reasonable Accommodation? 
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 both use the term “reasonable accommodation” to represent the modifications or adaptations resulting in equal access or improved accessibility to buildings, programs, and academics. They provide changes to traditional means so that students’ disabilities do not impede the learning process.  For example, if a student has deficits in fine motor control and their penmanship is labored and illegible, a reasonable accommodation may provide a copy of the teacher’s notes.  Consequently, this student’s disability will not get in the way of learning lecture-based content. 

Who can Initiate Reasonable Accommodations?
Any student with a qualified disability or their legal guardian/parent can request a meeting that can result in reasonable accommodations. Please note that the disability must be documented by the school or an outside source and the results must be presented at the meeting.

What are Some Common Reasonable Accommodations?
Here is a list of general options.  However, it will be your school's special education committee that decides which options will provide the necessary accommodations.
•     Provide preferential seating where visual and auditory distractions are minimized.
•     Supply a copy of the teacher’s or another student’s notes.
•     Offer a scribe for classroom writing assignments and testing situations.
•     Allow the use a tape recorder or a Smart Pen.
•     Offer books on tape through organizations such as Learning Alley or Bookshare.
•     Supply a reader for testing situations.
•     Grant time and a half or double testing time.
•     Offer testing in a distraction free location.
•     Permit the use of a calculator during testing.
•     Provide assistive technology such as speech to text, word prediction, and text to speech software
•     Provide extended time for homework assignments.
•     Offer modified in-class and homework assignments.
•     Provide handouts and homework assignments with fewer problems on each page.
•     Reduce amount of homework.
•     Offer no penalty for incorrect spelling on classroom writing assignments and tests.
•     Allow the student to write directly on the test and avoid scan-trons.
•     Provide a computer with a word processor and spell check for written assignments and tests. 
•     Simplify and reword questions on language loaded assignments and tests.
•     Break projects into organized, manageable activities with clear expectations and deadlines.
•     Provide a foreign language substitution, waiver or exemption.
•     Offer reminders to write down and turn in assignments.
•     Check for understanding by asking the student repeat back what they heard.
•     Provide short breaks when needed.

If you are interested in pursuing reasonable accommodations for a student at your local school district, you will have to contact them to learn about  their step-by-step procedure.  Make sure to put all requests in writing and also indicate that you wish to tape record the meeting.   This blog post is intended to provide an overview of reasonable accommodations and is not legal advice. 

If you have any thoughts, ideas, comments, or stories please leave a comment below.

Cheers, Erica

Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials.  She is also the director of Learning to Learn, in Ossining, NY.  To learn more about her products and services, you can go to www.goodsensorylearning.com, www.dyslexiamaterials.com & www.learningtolearn.biz