Special Education Action is a 501(c)3 nonprofit publisher covering special education.
Its mission is to ensure parents, educators, and students have the information and tools necessary to fully understand, address, and safeguard the unique needs of all students who require special education.
Recent Articles
Office for Civil Rights Issues Guidance to Ensure Artificial Intelligence is Used in Nondiscriminatory Manner
It’s the Law: Comprehensive Evaluations
In the case of initial evaluations, §300.301(a) of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) is your go-to regulation:
Each public agency must conduct a full and individual initial evaluation, in accordance with §§300.304 through 300.306, before the initial provision of special education and related services to a child with a disability under this part.
Accommodation Breakdown: Extended Time
There is no one-size-fits all answer. It depends on the student and it could depend on the class, too.
Any number of things could lead to students experiencing fatigue, headaches, eye strain, and/or other struggles that impact them as the day progresses.
IEP Progress Reports: What Should Be Reported Vs. What Is Reported
What should be in Individualized Education Program (IEP) progress reports and what actually is in IEP progress reports often are two different things.
Imagine it is time for your annual work review. Your employer presents a report that states you didn’t make progress, or didn’t make enough progress, toward your goals for the year. However, when you read the report, there’s no data backing your employer’s decision, nor is there a performance plan for moving forward. You don’t know why you didn’t progress and you don’t know what you need to do in order to progress.
The same issues occur with IEP progress reports.
Office for Civil Rights Releases New Guidance Document: “Equal Access to Elementary and Secondary Education for Students Who Are English Learners with Disabilities”
The Problems with Quarterly IEP Measurements
I’ve never understood why Individualized Education Programs (IEP) include goals for quarterly measurements. As a parent, if my kids failed to do their chores for a week, I wouldn’t wait until the end of the quarter to assess the situation. Why wait an entire quarter to address a problem that’s clearly getting worse? Why not assess sooner and narrow the goal until it can be expanded in full—or expand the goal if the student achieves the goal sooner than expected?