Special Education: Regulations and Categories

Protects civil rights and prohibits discrimination against otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities.

Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 (ADA)

The _______ is not specific to education, but to all facets of life (transportation, employment, etc.), and is amended as necessary.

Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 (ADA)

Requires a plan for those who have a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits a major life activity or who is regarded as disabled by others (very broad definition of impairment).

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Provides a blueprint for supporting students and removing barriers

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Affords eligibility for same due process as students with an IEP, but does not include special education programs (which contain specific categories and definitions of eligibility).

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Relies on traditional education classes throughout the day rather than specialized instruction, just accommodations to help with learning (time, environment, seating, social skills, etc.)

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Less restrictive than the IEP; follows a student to college and is overseen by a school or district coordinator who monitors performance and behavior

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Governs special education programs and practices by using specialized instruction, classroom/teacher accommodations, and other related services, such as PT, OT, Speech, etc.

Individuals with Disability Education Act or IDEA of 1990

Offers services for students who have at least one of the 13 specific disabilities defined that significantly affects performance in school setting

Individuals with Disability Education Act or IDEA of 1990

Includes traditional education classes, but may often require self-contained classes (no or very little inclusion)

Individuals with Disability Education Act or IDEA of 1990

Serves people from ages 3-12

Individuals with Disability Education Act or IDEA of 1990

What are the 6 principles of the Individuals with Disability Education Act or IDEA of 1990

1. Free appropriate public education

2. Appropriate evaluation

3. Individualized education program

4. Least restrictive environment

5. Parent and student participation in decision making

6. Procedural due process

Guarantees all students a free education (K-12) in a public school and guarantees an appropriate education, meaning one “designed to meet the individual educational needs of the student as determined through appropriate evaluation and placement procedure”

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

Requires parental notice, use of a variety of assessment tools and strategies to be used to “determine educational needs”

Appropriate Evaluation

Accommodates a student’s disability (provides specific strategies for teachers, etc.); must be reviewed and revised annually

Individualized Education Program

Explains the extent to which the student will not participate in traditional classrooms and/or in extracurricular and nonacademic activities

Individualized Education Program

Mandates that students with disabilities are educated with non-disabled students when appropriate (with accommodations)

Least Restrictive Environment

Assures that any separation or removal of students from traditional learning environments is necessitates due to the nature or severity of the disability (supplementary services remain unsatisfactory)

Least Restrictive Environment

Presumes that students with disabilities can and should be educated with non-disabled peers

Least Restrictive Environment

Ensures that parents/guardians and students are inclined in the process for making decisions and requires the parents/guardians receive appropriate and timely notification about IEP renewals and revisions

Least Restrictive Environment

Guarantees the right of students to obtain a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment

Procedural Due Process

Protects parental rights to have input into educational decisions for their child and allows schools and districts recourse when parents disagree with evaluations, recommendations, etc.

Procedural Due Process

Describes specific actions/behaviors of a student, including severity and frequency; completed by the teachers, parents, and any other school personnel who have direct contact with the student

Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)

Aids in determining reasons for a child’s behavior and must be completed before a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) is written

Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)

Specifies behaviors of a special-ed or 504 students that could result in suspension or expulsion and provides strategies for students to reach behavioral goals

Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)

Determines the extent to which a child’s disability is associated with the behavior

Manifestation Determination Review (MDR)

Mandates a student receive a review within 10 days of suspension

Manifestation Determination Review (MDR)

A developmental disability characterized by significant deficits in social communication and interaction as well as significant restricted interests and repetitive behaviors that are not primarily caused by an emotional disability and are typically, though not always, evident before age three

Autism Spectrum Disorder

A diminished sensitivity to sound or hearing loss, permanent or fluctuating, with or without amplification, that impacts the processing of linguistic information through hearing and adversely affects the child’s educational performance, speech perception and production, social skills, and/or language and communication

Deaf/Hard of Hearing

A concomitant sensitivity and visual impairment, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness

Deaf-Blindness

A delay in one or more of the following areas; physical development; cognitive development; communication; social or emotional development; or adaptive behavioral development that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term does not apply to children who are experiencing a slight or temporary lag in one or more areas of development, or a delay which is primarily due to environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage or lack of experience in age-appropriate activities. The classification may be used for children ages 3-8

Developmental Delay

A condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:

• inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors

• inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers

Emotional Disability

A condition characterized by significant deficits in adaptive behavior and cognitive functioning that manifest in the development period and adversely affects a child’s educational performance

Intellectual Disability

Concomitant (occurring at the same time) impairments (such as intellectual disability and blindness or intellectual disability and orthopedic impairment), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in sped programs solely for one of the impairments

Multiple Disabilities (Does not include deaf-blindness)

A severe _______ that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by a congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease, and impairments from other causes (ie. cerbral palsy, amputations, fractures or burns)

Orthopedic Impairment

Having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including heightened alertness with respect to the education environment, that is due to chronic or acute health problems and adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

Other Health Impairment

A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken, or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations

Specific Learning Disability

A communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, language or voice impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

Speech-Language Impairment

An acquired injury to the _____ resulting in a total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment that adversely affects a child’s education performance. Does not apply to injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or induced by birth trauma.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Impairment in ____ that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance; includes both partial sight and blindness.

Visual Impairment