Which of the following represents the assessment structure used prior to ideia 2004?

1. Zero reject: A rule against excluding any student.

Zero-reject prohibits schools from excluding any student with a disability from a free APPROPIATE public education (FAPE). This applies to children/students age 3-21; no matter how severe their disability. The purpose of this principle (as defined by IDEA) is to ensure that ALL children/ students (ages 3 THROUGH 21), no matter how severs their disabilities, will have a Free APPROPRIATE Public Education (FAPE) provided at public expense. This rule applies to the state and all of its school districts and private schools (if the public system places a student into a private school), state-operated programs such as schools for students with visual or hearing impairments, psychiatric hospitals, and institutions for people with other disabilities.

Educability: means "all"; educable and ineducable. IDEA is intended to benefit ALL children with disabilities, no matter how disabled they are.
Discipline: IDEA regulates how students identified with disabilities qualify for protection and regulates how schools may discipline a student using these general principles.

Equal treatment: Subject to special provisions, the school may discipline students with disabilities in the same way and to the same extent as students without disabilities for the same offense.
No cessation: The school may NOT expel or suspend a student with a disability for more than 10 school days in any one school year, regardless of the violation of a school code.
Unique circumstances: In order to discipline a student with a disability, when the school is deciding whether to change the student’s placement, the school may consider any unique circumstances relating to the student including behavior in violating a school code of behavior.
Short-term removal: Even when a student is suspended (not more than 10 days per school year), the school has NO duty to provide services.
Manifestation determinations: When a school proposes to change a student’s placement for more than 10 days (including suspension or expulsion), it must determine whether the student’s behavior is a manifestation of the student’s disability, is a direct and substantial relationship to the disability; or is a direct failure of the school to implement the student’s IEP.
Response to no manifestation: If the school determines that the student’s behavior is NOT a manifestation of the disability, it may discipline the student the same, as a student without a disability except it may NOT terminate the student’s education (the “no cessation” rule). It may place the student in an interim alternative educational setting.
Response to manifestation: When a school determines that the student’s behavior IS a manifestation of the disability, it MUST take IMMEDIATE steps to remedy deficiencies to the school’s failure to implement the student’s IEP. The school MUST, also, conduct a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) and develop a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) to address the student’s behavior. Unless the school and parents agree to an interim alternative setting, the student returns to the previous school placement.
Services in interim alternative educational settings: When placing the student in an interim alternative setting, the school MUST still offer an education that assures that the student will make progress according to the student’s IEP.
Weapons, drugs, and injury: The school may place the student in an interim alternative educational setting, WITHOUT first making any manifestation determination, for up to 45 days when a student has a weapon, has/using illegal drugs, or seriously injures another person in school.

2. Nondiscriminatory evaluation: This is an IDEA principle that requires schools to evaluate students fairly to determine if they have a disability and, if so, what kind and how extensive. The evaluation must be carried out in a culturally responsive way.

Two Purposes: To make a determination whether or not a student has a disability.

1. Under IDEA, if no disability is determined the student has no right to receive special education or any further evaluation related to special education.

2. If the evaluation reveals that the student has a disability, the evaluation process must then identify special education and related services the student will receive. This information is necessary to plan an appropriate education for the student and determine where the student will be educated.

Nondiscriminatory Evaluation Requirements: IDEA surrounds the evaluation process with procedural safeguards, due to the significant impact on students and their families. Parents must receive written notification and consent forms prior to an initial evaluation.
To determine whether a student has a disability and then decide the nature of the special education and related services the students needs, educators typically follow a four-step process: screening, prereferral, referral, and nondiscriminatory evaluation, The first three steps are NOT required by IDEA but are put into place by educators as a matter of good practice or state or local policy. Picture these five steps as a funnel decreasing in size beginning with the largest (screening), and ending with the smallest (nondiscriminatory evaluation process).
Screening: administering tests to all students to identify which students seem to need further testing to determine whether they qualify for special education.
Prereferral (including Response To Intervention-RTI): providing more intensive instruction for students who are not making expected progress in order to prevent the need for a referral, a full nondiscriminatory evaluation, and posible placement in special education.
Response To Intervention (RTI): offering beefed-up general education services, and then determining whether the student responds to them.
Referral: submitting a formal written request for a student to receive a full nondiscriminatory evaluation.
Nondiscriminatory evaluation: adhering to the safeguards of the full evaluation process as listed below.

Nondiscriminatory Evaluation Safeguards

Assessment Procedures:

§ They use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information, including information provided by the student’s parent that may enable the team to determine if the student has a disability and the nature of specially designed instruction needed.

§ They should include more than one assessment.

§ A parent, the state education agency, another state agency, or the local education agency (initial evaluations) may request them.

§ They are selected and administered so as not to discriminate on a racial or cultural basis.

§ They are administered in the language and form most likely to obtain accurate results.

Parental Notice and Consent:

§ Inform the parents fully and obtain their written consent before the initial evaluation and each reevaluation.

§ If the parents’ do NOT consent to the initial evaluation, the school may use dispute resolution (due process) procedures to obtain approval with the evaluation or reevaluation.

§ Obtain parents’ consent before any reevaluation unless the school has exhausted all measures, and the parents have failed to respond.

§ Provide to the parents a full explanation of all due process rights, a description of what the school proposes or refuses to do, a description of each evaluation procedure that was used, a statement of how the parents may obtain a copy of their procedural safeguards and sources that they can contact to obtain assistance in understanding the provisions of the notice, a description of any other options considered, and an explanation of any other factors that influenced the educators’ decisions.

§ Do not treat the parents’ consent for evaluation as their consent for placement into or withdraw from a special education program.

§ If the parents do not consent to placement, the school has no duty to provide special education and is not liable to the parents or child if it does not use dispute resolution (due process) to get authority to provide services.

3. Appropriate education:

A rule requiring schools to provide individually tailored education for each student based on evaluation and augmented by related services and supplementary aids and services.

· The key to appropriate is *individualization*. Educators individualize by developing a plan for student ages 3 through 21 called an Individualized Education Program also known as an IEP. The plan for each student from birth through age 2 is the student's and family's Individualized Family Service Plan also known as IFSP.

· Participants who develop and participate with IEPs and IFSPs:

o The student's parents as well as the student when appropriate

o At least one non special education teacher andone special education teacher

o A qualified representative from the school who is knowledgeable about special education as well as general education.

o An individual who can interpret the results from the evaluation

o At the discretion of the parent or agency, any other individuals with expertise regarding the student’s needs (mobility, communication and assistive technology)

· Timeline

o It is required that an IEP is developed for all students ages 3 to 21 and to be effective at the beginning of the school year. Changes can be made throughout the course of the school year.

o It is required that an IFSP is developed within an “reasonable time” after the child has been assessed by early intervention services. The IFSP must be evaluated annually and families have the right to a semi-annual review or frequent reviews based on the need of the family, infant or toddler.

o The main purpose of the required IEP review is to determine whether the student has made any progress towards achieving the set goals. The IEP team is to review and revise the IEP if the student has made any progress. A review may cause a reevaluation and even change placement.

4. Least restrictive environment:

Formerly known as mainstreaming or integration rule and now known as the inclusion principle. In early intervention ages 0 through 2 favors the child being educated in their natural environment, which can be home or at a out of home center.

The term “general education” has three dimensions:

· Academic Curriculum

· Extracurricular activities

· Nonacademic activities (recess, transportation, mealtimes, dances and sports)

5. Procedural due process:

Gives parents and professionals educational rights to ensure the best educational practices for the students. It’s okay for parents, students, teachers and professionals to disagree. If a disagreement occurs the following steps should take place:

1. A face-to-face resolution session

2. Mediation

3. Right to a due process hearing (lawyers are allowed!!)

6. Parental and student participation:

· Parents have the right to access school records of their child and also they have the say as to who has access to the children’s rights.

· Parental consent is required before a child may be evaluated for the first time

· Parents must be included in the decision making of the goals for their child.

· Schools must advise the parent that once the child turns 18, the rights are transferred to the students (unless the child has lawfully been declared incompetent).