Special Education Law
Special education attorney serving Gainesville, Florida, R. Flint Crump offers unique insights into protecting the rights of your special needs child. Our practice believes all children, regardless of disability, deserve the opportunity for a quality education. The Law Office of R. Flint Crump P.A. is dedicated to utilizing every resource to provide an appropriate education for your child. Our contacts with physicians, psychologists, and occupational therapists provide valuable resources to ensure your child's needs are met.
What is Special Education Law?
Special Education law is a sub-category of education law that deals specifically with the rights of children with disabilities. To be considered a child with disabilities your son or daughter must meet certain criteria. However, typically children with the following diagnosis will be considered a child with a disability under the applicable Federal Statutes and Regulations:
- Mental retardation
- Hearing impairments
- Speech or language impairments
- Visual impairments
- Serious emotional disturbance
- Orthopedic impairments
- Autism
- Traumatic brain injury
- Specific learning disabilities such as ADD or Dyslexia
Special Education Evaluations
If you feel your child is not benefiting from the general education program at his or her school it is your right to ask the school district for a special education evaluation. Remember, obtaining a fair and accurate initial evaluation is vital. Parents requesting an evaluation should do so by submitting a letter to the school principal or special education administrator. Be sure to include all areas of suspected disability, as they will be assessed individually.
Traditionally, evaluations are given to measure the progress of your child in a variety of subjects. Progress evaluations or assessments can be administrated using an array of testing methods. It is important for parents to understand the different testing types and what they are best suited for.
Types of Progress Assessments
- Group Tests: Used to track achievement, group tests compare your child to other children of the same age or grade. Though they provide comparative information, group tests may lack the ability to identify a child’s individual learning strengths and needs.
- Individual Tests: As the name implies, these are assessments given individually and are most useful in determining your child’s learning strengths and weaknesses.
- Curriculum based assessments (CBAs): Developed by school staff, children are examined using learning specific materials presented in class. CBAs are used to determine if learning is taking place in the classroom. Though insightful, they cannot be used on their own to identify disability.
- Standardized tests: Developed by experts, these tests are intended for use on large groups of students. Given according to a specific set of standards, they assess achievement and ability.
- Norm-referenced tests: A form of standardized test, they reflect where your child stands in comparison to his/her peers.
- Criterion-referenced tests: One of the more specific tests, criterion-referenced tests measure a child’s specific skill set. Rather than asses a comparative standing, these tests look at child’s performance against a standard criteria. They can utilize present and past performances as a means of measuring individual progress.
In recent years, a more holistic approach to testing has come to light. School districts are beginning to understand that progressive test scores may not reflect a complete picture of what a child can do or needs to learn. Functional assessments can provide insights by addressing how a child functions in daily life.
Types of functional assessments:
- Functional assessments: A generic term for a diverse test, functional assessments measure a variety of factors. These tests can address how a child functions at home, at school or in the neighborhood. They can reflect a child’s ability to read, write and do math. Or determine larger tasks such as the capability to handle money.
- Functional-behavior assessments (FBA): When a child exhibits a behavioral problem that cannot be curbed with intervention, a functional-behavior test may be necessary to determine the next step. These tests report detailed descriptions of the behavior, the environment before and after the occurrence and intervention recommendations.
- Assistive Technologies Evaluation (FEAT): Used to test children, FEAT uses a systematic, comprehensive and multifaceted approach to determining the appropriate technological device to aid in learning. Examples of learning devices include word processors, text reading systems and e-books.
- Occupational Evaluations: A combination of standardized testing and observation determine the style and form in which a child completes specific tasks. Occupational evaluations assess a diverse set of factors including sensory motor skills, visual perception, visual tracking and body image.
Special Education Laws
The federal government and the State of Florida take great care to ensure that all children are afforded Free Appropriate Education. To secure this right, the privileges of special needs children are protected by federal laws. Parent advocates are encouraged to be well informed of the laws and government programs available to children with disabilities.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
The purpose of this law is to “to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education (FAPE) that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment and independent living.”
IDEA gives parents and children with disabilities or special needs the right to:
- Have assessments and tests completed to determine eligibility and education needs
- Review and inspect the child’s school records
- Attend the Individual Education Program Meeting and develop the plan with school board representatives.
- Resolve issues with the school district or board through an administrative hearing
Individual Education Program (IEP)
Once a child has met the requirements to be considered a child with disabilities, they are entitled to develop and implement an IEP. An IEP is a written statement for a child with a disability that describes special programming and related services unique to the needs of the child. Under IDEA, parents are to set a meeting with the child’s school to discuss and determine the specifics of their individual program.
Federal law mandates that the following information be placed in the written description:
- Current performance of child
- Annual goals
- Special education and related services
- Participation with non-disabled children
- Participation in state and district wide testing
- Specified dates and places for various details and aspects of the program
- Necessary transition services at certain ages
- Measure the progress of the student within the IEP
Meetings are held annually to reevaluate the conditions of the IEP and the child’s progress.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
This civil rights law entitles children with disabilities that limit a major life activity, accommodations such as special seating or access to allow them to fully access the education to which they are entitled.
Advocating for the educational rights of your special needs child can be a monumental task. Let the experienced special education attorney at the Law Office of R. Flint Crump P.A. offer guidance and legal perspective to the process.
Contact us today for a consultation.
