Special Needs Education

Sherrie Bennett

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Under the federal Individuals With Disabilities Act ("IDEA"), you have the right to:

• Have your child evaluated to find out if he or she qualifies for special education programs
• See your child's school records and testing results
• Meet with school representatives to work out a plan for your child's special needs

Getting An Evaluation

In order to qualify for special education, your child must have one of the following disabilities negatively impacting on his or her education:

• Hearing, speech or visual impairment
• Brain injury or mental impairment
• Serious emotional issues
• Autism
• Serious health issues
• An identifiable learning disability

If you as a parent request an special education evaluation for your child, your public school district must provide testing and meet with you for a formal evaluation. If you don't agree with the evaluation, you have the right to an Independent Educational Evaluation("IEE") done by someone who doesn't work for the school district. The public school district must either pay for the IEE or show at an impartial due process hearing that its initial evaluation is appropriate.

An evaluation must include:

• A description of your child's current functioning level, based on testing, grades, reports or teacher's observations
• Information on how your child's disability affects his or her academic progress

Putting A Plan In Place

If you and the school district agree that your child qualifies for special education, you and representatives of the school district will put together what's called an Individualized Education Program ("IEP") for your child. The IEP is a written plan which lays out:

• Any special services your child needs
• Goals your child is expected to meet during the school year
• Ways to measure your child's progress toward his or her goals- sometimes called "objectives" or "benchmarks"

Your child must be placed in the "least restrictive" educational environment("LRE"). For most children, this means what is called "mainstreaming" - putting your child in a regular classroom- unless the IEP team decides that even with special assistance your child can't be successful there.

If you and the school district can come to an agreement as to where your child should be placed and what goals your child should be working toward, you'll receive reports on your child's progress at least as often as you would receive a report on a child without special needs. You can also request that the IEP team meet with you if reports show that it's time to make changes in the IEP.

Under federal law, once your child has an IEP, he or she must be reevaluated at least once every three years.

Due Process Rights

When you can't come to an agreement with the school as to whether your child qualifies for special education, or how your child's needs should be met, you have the right to what's called "due process" through mediation or a hearing.

At a mediation, you meet with public school district representatives and an impartial third person, called a "mediator", who listens to both sides and helps you to reach an agreement that everyone can live with.

If mediation doesn't work, you have the right to an impartial due process hearing. Each side presents their position, and a hearing officer decides what the appropriate educational program should be, based on the IDEA laws.

Your school district must give you a written copy of special education procedural rules outlining the steps for due process hearings and mediation.

Related Resources on lawyers.com

- Education and School Law articles and information
- Education and School Law attorneys
- Education and School Law Message Board for more help

Web Links
- Individuals With Disabilities Web Site
- U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education