e-NEWS August 18, 2006
Dear Family and Friends,
The new IDEA regulations are out and we are sharing the bulletin from National Down Syndrome Society with you in this eNEWS. Please see below for all the details.
We would like to inform you of the upcoming San Diego Regional Center Community Input meetings that will be held in September. These meetings are co-sponsored by Area Board 13 and are open to the public. Everyone is invited, and everyone will have an opportunity to provide input to Regional Center staff on the unmet needs in their community. Additional discussion will be held around the Regional Center needs
assessment and performance contract. This is an excellent opportunity to have your voice heard on the issues facing children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families. For details, view flyer at http://www.efrconline.org/admin/files/Reg%20Center%20Public%20Meetings%202006.doc.
Also, we would like to encourage everyone to attend the “Families and Communities Caring Together” conference (it was originally scheduled in April) on September 30th. It is presented by The Center for Families of Children with Special Needs at USD, in collaboration with the Exceptional Family Resource Center, KPBS and YMCA Childcare Resource Service.
This conference is designed for families of children with special needs and the professionals who strive to serve them and it will be held at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice, University of San Diego. 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110. (for directions please go to: www.sandiego.edu/maps/index_flash.php)
The keynote presentation is “Being a Special Needs Sibling: The Ups and Downs of a 40-year Sibling Relationship” by Mike Ruef, Ph.D. For conference and registration details, go to
http://www.efrconline.org/admin/files/FACCT%20Flyer%20FINAL.doc.
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UPCOMING EVENTS:
For event details go to http://www.efrconline.org/calendar/maincal.cfm
By clicking on an event link you may view the event details.
Local:
8/22/06 School Problems Part I – San Diego
9/02/06 Fragile X Pool Party – Bonita.
9/27/06 Health & Wellness Forum – San Diego.
9/29/06 Striving for Equal Justice – Mission Valley.
9/30/06 Families and Communities Caring Together
9/30/06 Día de la Mujer Latina Health Festival – National City.
10/03/06 Jobtoberfest – Balboa Park.
10/12-14/06 The Arc National Convention – San Diego
10/25/06 NADD Conference – San Diego.
10/25/06 Engaging Parents with Cognitive/Emotional Difficulties in their Children’s Development through an Infant Mental Health Approach - San Diego.
Regional:
8/18-19/06 The Links Which Bind Us – The ADHD Autism Connection summer symposium series at the Marriott Ontario Airport Hotel.
9/13-15/06 First National Conference for Mentoring Youth with Disabilities - Boston.
10/6/06 Supported Life 2006 conference – Sacramento.
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SPECIAL EDUCATION:
The State Department of Education has issued proposed regulations regarding admissions criteria for the California Schools for the Deaf and Blind. They can be found at: State Superintendent of Public Instruction Regulations Admissions Criteria for the California Schools for the Deaf and Blind
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Comment Period [Notice Published 21-Jul-2006](DOC; 84KB; 4pp.)
Proposed Regulations (DOC; 59KB; 7pp.)
Initial Statement of Reasons (DOC; 68KB; 8pp.)
When the initial proposal was made a few years ago, IMPACT took a strong position against the proposal and made numerous suggestions (look at Winter 2003 newsletter at www.deafkids.org). I have not read this proposal yet – it just arrived in my mailbox as a past committee member. I suggest everyone interested in children who are deaf and have additional special needs read the proposed rules and make their own decision about their suitability. The public hearing is scheduled for September 11, 2006 in Sacramento.
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IDEA NEWS:
On August 3, 2006 U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced the release of the final IDEA regulations. An “unofficial” version of the regulations has been posted on the U.S. Department of Education (Department) website. It can be found at http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea2004.html. It is expected that the official version will be published in the Federal Register on August 14, 2006.
These regulations contain 1,700 pages, in large part because the Department is required to respond to the written comments it received on the proposed regulations from 5,500 stakeholders. Although, NDSS has serious concerns about many provisions in the final regulations, it is important to emphasize that many improvements were made as a result of the recommendations NDSS submitted on August 19, 2005 and the comments of NDSS families and others who supported our recommendations. We want to thank everyone who submitted written comments and attended the public meetings on the proposed regulations. As a result of your input a number of critically important provisions that had been eliminated in the proposed regulations have been reinstated, some negative provisions from the proposed regulations have been deleted and some helpful new language has been added to the final regulations and the accompanying Department discussion (“preamble”). Some important examples:
LRE (Least Restrictive Environment):
· The provision allowing parents to be asked to waive their children’s right to be educated in the school as close as possible to home has been deleted.
· The language requiring that IEP's contain an explanation of the extent to which the child will not participate with nondisabled peers in the “regular class” has been reinstated. The proposed regulations had replaced this term with “regular education environment.”
· The preamble clarifies that public agencies that do not have an inclusive public preschool that can provide all the appropriate services and supports must explore alternative methods to ensure that the LRE requirements are met. The preamble also states if a public agency determines that placement in a private preschool program is necessary as a means of providing special education and related services to a child with a disability, the program must be at no cost to the parent.
· The preamble clarifies that IDEA funds may be used for a student to participate in a transitional program on a college campus, if the student’s IEP Team includes such services on the IEP.
IEP:
· A number of provisions ensuring that districts make reasonable efforts, and document those efforts, to contact parents and give them the opportunity to consent to evaluations and services, to arrange a mutually convenient time and place for IEP meetings and to attend due process resolution sessions have been reinstated.
· A provision ensuring that each teacher and provider is informed of his or her specific responsibilities related to implementing the child's IEP and the specific accommodations, modifications, and supports that must be provided for the child in accordance with the IEP has been reinstated.
· A provision requiring that special factors such as positive behavioral supports, communication needs and assistive technology be considered when an IEP is reviewed and revised has been reinstated.
· A provision in the regulations requiring districts to provide the supplementary aids and services determined necessary by the child’s IEP team for the child to participate in appropriate nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities has been added.
Unfortunately, there are also many NDSS recommendations that were not incorporated in the final regulations. As a result, there are still numerous provisions you need to understand in order to protect your child’s rights. IDEA 2004 and the final IDEA regulations delegate broad authority to the States. IDEA dictates the minimum standards that a state must uphold in order to receive federal special education funding. States have the discretion to go beyond these requirements and offer additional services and protections, as long as the State’s requirements do not conflict with IDEA requirements. Therefore, it is imperative that you provide input as your State revises its special education regulations. The following IDEA regulations are among those that raise the most significant concerns:
IEP:
· Short-term objectives are not required for students unless they are assessed on alternate achievement standards. However, the preamble points out that States may choose to determine the extent to which short-term objectives are used for the other students with disabilities, rather than eliminate the requirement.
· Transition planning is not required for students before age 16. However, the preamble indicates that States may choose to lower the age.
· IDEA 2004 contains many provisions, especially with respect to IEP meetings, in which parents may “agree” to waive their child’s rights. NDSS recommended that any “agreement” should be fully informed and in writing. The final regulations do not provide any standard for an “agreement” between parents and the school or district.
· The provisions concerning who must attend all or part of an IEP meeting, when members can be excused and what information must be provided in their absence have not been clarified. There is also no clarification of the provision allowing changes to the IEP without a full IEP team meeting.
· IDEA 2004 requires that parents must be informed about their child’s progress toward meeting IEP goals, but neither the statute nor the final regulations require the reports to indicate whether that progress is sufficient to meet the goals by the end of the year and there is no mention of how often these reports should be provided.
Due Process:
· The federal time limits for parents to file due process complaints and civil actions may be shortened by the State and are based on what parents “should have known.” This term is undefined.
· Parents are required to meet with the district to try to resolve the dispute prior to a due process hearing (“resolution session”) unless both parties waive the session or go to mediation. There is no requirement for parents to be informed of the differences between a resolution session and mediation. Generally, mediation provides more protections.
· A court can decide that the parents should pay the State or district’s attorney’s fees if there was an “improper purpose” such as harassment or to delay or increase the cost of litigation. The final regulations do not incorporate the NDSS recommendation that the State or district should have to prove that the parent intended to use the case for an improper purpose.
Discipline:
· The standard for a free, appropriate, public education (FAPE) has been lowered for children that are removed from their current placement for disciplinary actions. These children are only required to “participate” instead of “make progress” in the general education curriculum.
· The final regulations do not address the issue of whether the burden of proof in a manifestation determination review has shifted. The preamble states that there is no burden of proof issue because it is not a “hearing.” This interpretation does not answer the question of how the decision will be made at the review when the parents and school present conflicting evidence. [Note: a manifestation determination review is a meeting to determine if the usual disciplinary procedures should not be applied because the behavior was caused by or was substantially related to child’s disability or was the result of an improperly implemented IEP].
· The final regulations did not define the factors that should be considered in order to determine whether the conduct was caused by, or was substantially related to the child’s disability.
· The regulations require parents to attend a resolution session prior to an expedited hearing on a disciplinary action, which may cause delay and is not required by IDEA 2004.
In the next couple of weeks you will receive a link to a more detailed summary of the final IDEA regulations that will be posted on the NDSS website. In addition, NDSS will send out an explanation of key provisions that your State can choose to retain in its regulations.
NDSS urges you to join with other family members of children with disabilities to speak to your State Director of Special Education and present testimony at any hearings that are held on your State regulations. It's important to share the same input with your State and local school board members and legislators in order to enlist their support. The more people you can get to join your advocacy efforts the more successful you will be! If you or others you know would like to be added to the NDSS mailing list, send name(s) and email address to .
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RESOURCES:
The Toys “R” Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids is available to anyone interested in obtaining it. Visit www.peppinc.org or call 800-322-7065.
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OPPORTUNITIES:
There is a job opportunity to support a young woman with disabilities in the North County area. For details call 760-420-9633 or view flyer.
Service positions and volunteer opportunities are available through the San Diego Service Inclusion Network, which helps communities include individuals with disabilities in community service and volunteerism.
Contact Karen Leventhal at 866-698-7867 or .
CALL FOR ARTISTS WITH DISABILITIES - INDEPENDENT VISIONS IX ART EXHIBIT Presented by The Cathedral Center for Performing and Visual Arts, St. Paul's Cathedral, 5th & Nutmeg, San Diego, CA 92103 Sunday, September 17 through Sunday, October 15, 2006. Up to 3 artworks may be submitted-entry donation $15.00 total, no theme, Awards will be given. All work will be juried. Work may be for sale with a 15% donation to the Cathedral Center for the Performing and Visual Arts; Artists are to handle all sales directly. Artwork is insured while on the campus of the Cathedral. The Opening of the Exhibit will be on Sunday September 17 at the 10:30am service at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Artists are asked to attend for the Procession and Recognition in the service, and the Awards Reception following the service. We will meet at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Sunday, September 17 at the 5th Avenue entrance between Nutmeg and Olive Streets at 10:00am. Deadline: September 12, 2006. On this day, artwork is to be delivered to St.Paul’s Cathedral, 5th & Nutmeg Streets - 5th Avenue entrance between 10am and 3pm. Enter the Cathedral on 5th Avenue and go directly to the front near the organ. Volunteers will be there to help bring in your work.
Each entry should have attached on the upper-right back, or top for sculpture: Name, Address, Telephone and E-mail, Name of piece, Medium, Contact # to place on label for sales, Price to be placed in catalog listing. All 2-d artwork is to be wire-hung—no saw tooth hangers. PLEASE R.S.V.P. YOUR INTENT TO SUBMIT ARTWORK by calling Christa Vragel Exhibit Director, 619.463.0491. An application(s) will then be sent to you which you should fill out, copy for your records, and bring along with your artwork when you deliver it to St. Paul’s Cathedral on Tuesday, September 12, 2006, between 10am and 3pm.