Parent's Guide to Special Education

Among the many links on the Virginia Department of Education's "Links for Parents" web page is a document that I read while on vacation, the Parent's Guide to Special Education. If you are the parent of a child who has special education services, or if you even suspect that your child may benefit from special services, you need to read this Guide. As a matter of fact, all school districts are required to provide a copy to parents whose children are evaluated for special needs.

The Guide outlines the laws, rights, processes and safeguards that parents should know about. I have spoken to many parents about their experience with special education, mostly of elementary-age kids. Some are activists, but most have just been neighbors and friends. They are frequently distressed by feeling underinformed about their rights, about the next steps in the process. As with so many things, there is a sense of "if I knew then what I know now" when looking back at their early days of their experiences.

Pay special attention to pages 52 & 53, which diagram and encapsulate the entire process of evaluation, eligibility, planning, execution and re-evaluation. In my opinion it ought to be right up front.

The Guide is a summary of an enormous body of law and education, so you won't be an expert by reading it, but you won't feel in the dark anymore either.

Autism Summit Update

Last week's Autism summit achieved great success in attendance, participation and press coverage.

LTM: Parents rally for autism insurance bill
WP: Parents, Lawmakers Gather in Support of Autism Bill

School Board chairman Robert DuPree attended the summit and has asked that the School Board consider endorsing Virginia House Bill 83, which would mandate insurance coverage for autism services. Expect to see this and other legislative issues discussed and voted on by the School Board in November and December committee and full board meetings.

Autism Summit

Last week I joined a meeting of the Loudoun County Autism Network. They are working right now to promote an Autism Summit taking place next Monday July 27th at Lansdowne. The purpose of the summit is in part to build support for VA House Bill 83, which would mandate that Health Insurance companies in Virginia pay for services for individuals with Autism.

During that meeting several parents expressed frustration with getting LCPS to provide the kind of teaching that they feel their children need, but several also expressed their great appreciation for the work that their kids' teachers and principals do. One parent also asked me if there is a recognition program for exceptional special education teachers. To my knowledge there is not, but it sounded like a great idea. It's an idea I'll talk more about in a later post.

Special Education changes

Parents Protest Special Education changes is an interesting article in the Loudoun Times Mirror this week about last week's local hearing regarding changes to state regulations for special education (see previous post). Prior to the hearing I received a lengthy analysis by the LCPS Special Education department of the extensive change proposal, in which the department agrees with some changes and opposes others. Regarding the hot issue of parental input into continuing IEP services, the most intersting part of the article was this:

Mary Kearney, director of special education for Loudoun County Schools, said the county also does not support the removal of the requirement for parental consent. "We believe parental involvement in all aspects of their children's education promotes a better education," she said.

On this very same topic, if you have a child with special education needs, you may be interested in a workshop being offered on Tuesday by the LCPS Parent Resource Center called Being an Active Member of Your Child’s IEP Team. There is a session for parents of pre-K students from 9:30-11:00 AM and one for parents of school-age kids (K-12) at 7pm. The PRC holds these sessions monthly throughout the school year.

Special Education Public Hearing

This morning's Washington Post includes a story titled Parents of Special-Ed Students Oppose Changing Consent Rule profiling controversy surrounding one proposed change in Virginia's Special Education rules.

Currently, school systems must obtain parental consent before eliminating such services as speech or occupational health therapy. But the state Department of Education is proposing that schools be allowed to suspend them without such consent. If a parent objects, the service would be maintained until the matter is settled through dispute resolution.

The Loudoun School Board has not taken a position on the proposals. I have asked that the Board be briefed on the proposed changes at its May 13th meeting.

As mentioned in the story, there will be a public hearing where the State Board of Education will hear comment on the proposed changes at Freedom HS on Wednesday, May 15th from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Registration for those wishing to speak begins at 6 p.m. on the night of the hearing.

Additional information, including a link to the proposed changes, is available here.

The rest is from an email I received yesterday:

Individuals seeking to speak will be allotted three minutes each unless the number of speakers requires the Chair to reallocate the time available to ensure that as many individuals as possible may speak. Speakers are urged to provide written copies of their comments. Interpreters for the deaf will be provided.

Those wishing to provide written comments may either submit them during a public hearing or submit them as follows:
• E-mail to ReviseSpedRegs@doe.virginia.go
• FAX to (804) 786-8520
• Mail to Special Education Regulations Revision Process
Office of Dispute Resolution and Administrative Services
Virginia Department of Education
P.O. Box 2120
Richmond, Virginia 23218-2120

Special Ed Screening

One of the many, many important issues that I work to be informed about is special education. I attend the meetings of the Special Education Advisory Committee as often as possible. When LoudounExtra posted a report back on New Years Eve regarding the conflict that often exists between parents of kids with special needs and the administrators tasked with meeting those needs, it was familiar territory for me:

Parents Protest as Schools Delay Screening to Save Money

Since a 1975 federal law gave students with learning disabilities a right to special education, the number of such students who receive such services has risen to 6 percent of the public school population. The figure was less than 2 percent in 1977.

Many educators say learning disabilities have been over-diagnosed and are seeking ways to address learning difficulties in mainstream classrooms, rather than addressing them through special education for as much as twice the cost. Loudoun officials estimate their cost per pupil in special education is $22,000 a year, compared with $12,000 for most students.

Among the issues that concern my fellow parents, special education strikes a particularly deep nerve. Two of the cuts to the originally proposed LCPS budget this year were for positions dealing directly with special education, an Eligibility Coordinator and a Diagnostician. This will have an impact on many students and parents.

This is the most complicated issue I have come across. Assistant Principals generally oversee special education programs within their schools. I know of multiple APs who are hailed by the parents at their schools as great educators and administrators and at the same time decried as harsh, uncaring bullies by other parents who watched the AP lead the process of evaluating their child and meeting the child's needs.

Special education is at once a highly specialized field and one that affects kids in nearly every classroom. It is at the same time a challenge that requires a systemic approach and one in which every child must be cared for individually. These contradictions lead to many questions but no answers.

Special Education Labels

I had a conversation today with Dr. Mary Kealy (Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Services) and Ms. Mary Kearney (Director of Special Education) on behalf of a parent who came to me with concerns regarding special education. Obviously the particular concerns are confidential, but I thought that you might be interested in knowing the general policy information that I learned.

Kids are evaluated for possible delays in their development in various ways, including and motor, speech/language, cognitive, emotional, and learning. Prior to kindergarten, kids with delays in these categories can be eligible for Early Childhood Education, which is preschool specially designed to prepare them for Kindergarten given their special challenges. Services for ESCE kids are class-based, that is the whole class receives the services. Once they enter Kindergarten, kids with delays or disabilities are evaluated individually and programs and implemented are developed for each of them individually.

These services are driven by needs, and not by label. In their parlance, “Label is not determinative.” This means that whatever label is given to a child’s special challenges doesn’t (or shouldn’t) impact what they are or aren’t eligible for, because two kids with the same label may have entirely different abilities and needs.

One interesting tidbit… even kids in private schools are eligible for LCPS services if they have special needs, and I have to say that Dr. Kealy and Ms. Kearney were downright insistent that every child in this county should be taking advantage of every service they are qualified to receive.

For those interested in learning more, there is a Special Education Town Meeting on Monday, May 21st from 6:30-8pm at Harper Park Middle School in Leesburg. I’m sure that Dr. Kealy and Ms. Kearny will be there to answer your questions. School Board members Warren Guerin and Sarah Smith are particular advocates for the Special Education program at LCPS and are also very good resources for parents.