Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)provides Early Intervention Services for Babies and Toddlers
Here are some Updates on Part C Rule Changes in Vermont:
The major changes in Federal IDEA Part C regulations (Sept. 2011) require that Vermont revise its special education regulations for Part C in order to be in compliance with these rules. The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) requires states to provide necessary assurances given the Part C Federal Application and Interagency Agreement (both submitted to OSEP April 2012). OSEP requires that the Vermont Part C rules revision will be promulgated by June 30, 2013.
The Vermont Agency of Education (VTAOE) acts as co-lead with the Agency of Human Services (AHS) to administer Part C. Vermont’s Interagency Agreement for Part C ( delineates roles and responsibilities between agencies. State Part C regulations are included in the State Board of Education Special Education Rules.
The Vermont Special Education rules were opened up for comment in the fall of 2012. Originally the Vermont Family Network (VFN) was told by VTAOE staff that the comment period would close in February, and we agreed to ensure family participation in this phase of rulemaking. Unfortunately the actual timeline had the open comment period closing at the end of December. VFN provided feedback to the VTAOE that this timeline would not allow enough time and opportunity for families to comment, particularly since it took place during the holiday season which is a very busy time for families. The Child Development Division also provided this feedback to the VTAOE, and as a result the timeline for public comment was extended until January 8th.
We worked to obtain as much feedback for the Agency of Education as we could, given the compressed timeframe and the holidays. More than 150 individuals responded to the proposed changes.
The State Board of Education met April 15th and approved the proposed changes to the Part C rules. Next steps in the process are for the proposed changes to be reviewed by the Secretary of State’s office, then the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR.) VTAOE hopes to have completed the process by May 31. The VTAOE anticipates that LCAR will review and approve the rules on or around 5/16/13, file them with the Secretary of State’s Office, and have them go into effect 15 days after filing. The most compelling components of the proposed changes to the Part C rules are as follows:
Eligibility for Early Essential Education (EEE)
Currently the Part C rule states: “(1) A child who received special instruction, developmental therapy services or speech services through an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) shall be eligible for Essential Early Education (EEE) without need for additional evaluation.”
The proposed new rule states:
a) A child who received special instruction, developmental therapy services or speechand language services through an IFSP shall be eligible for EEE if the child meets at least one of the following:
1) The child is experiencing developmental delays, as measured by appropriatediagnostic instruments, administered by qualified professionals, indicating that thechild is functioning at least 25% below his/her chronological age in one or moreof the following developmental areas:
i. Speech and language development (expressive and receptive language, voice, fluency and articulation)
ii. Adaptive development
iii. Social or emotional development
iv. Cognitive skills such as perception, memory, processing and reasoning
v. Physical development
2) The child has a medical condition which may result in significant delays, andthe school based Evaluation and Planning Team has determined that the child is in need of special education.
The current practice of allowing children who have received Children’s Integrated Services – Early Intervention (CIS-EI) services to automatically be found eligible for Essential Early Education services allows for a smoothand appropriate transition for both the family and the child into what is a new and very different system. Families already experience increased stress when their child moves from CIS-EI to EEE, as the family is moving from an Early Intervention system that is built around the family’s needs to one that is focused primarily on the student’s educationalneeds. This change in eligibility criteriamay increase the stress on the family and may complicate the child’s transition into the next setting. It is expected that Children’s Integrated Services partners will continue to support families through their transition to EEE. Capacity varies in the regions, at present.
Evaluation will bebased on the ongoing assessment (at the 6-month review) or on the annual review for determining the 25% delay and done by the Early Intervention staff as the review and the annual are required in regulation. The state Part C partners are working with Brooks Publishing to identify how to measure the 25% delay using the current evaluation instruments,the Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP) or the Infant-Toddler Developmental Assessment (IDA).
Additionally, a screening option has been added so that parents may opt for that instead of a full evaluation to determine Part C eligibility. Parents need to be appropriately and clearly informed that they have a right to request a full evaluation if that is their preference. Documents are in development and need OSEP approval to ensure this. As always, families may contact VFN to better understand their rights with regard to Part C.
Roles and Responsibilities of Schools and CIS/EI Partners
The proposed rules reflect a change in language such that the schools have Child Find responsibility as the primary referral source for Part C, and will identify, locate, and screen children 0-3.Evaluation responsibility will transfer to CIS/EI for children 0-3. There is a great deal of confusion in the field as to how and when this change will be implemented, and what resources will be available to CIS/EI providers to support the addition of numerous evaluations to their workload. CIS resources are already stretched in many communities, and Child Development Division (CDD)funding for Children’s Integrated Services will not likely increase in the foreseeable future.
It is our understanding that AOE expects the new rules to be approved and be implemented July 1, 2013. However, until the Interagency Agreement is renegotiated and approved by OSEP, the current Interagency Agreement remains in effect, so that LEAs (Local Education Agencies - our schools) are still responsible for the costs of evaluations for initial eligibility even under the new rules. AHS and VTAOE are working on a joint memo to inform the field as to expectations and timelines.
It is our understanding that the rules will be reopened within the next year or so to allow for more substantive discussion and comment on areas not addressed in these proposed changes, as well as others that stakeholders have been asking to thoughtfully review for several years. This is a time of transition for the Agency of Education and the Agency of Human Services, as individual agencies, and as co-leads for Part C in the state of Vermont under our Interagency Agreement. VFN will remain engaged as systems changes that impact children and families are being designed and implemented.
For more information, please contact Pam or Christine at Vermont Family Network.