Jessica Yoakum
Education Specialist

 

 

• 4 Zero Reject

  • Comprehensive coverage- IDEA and its sections provide comprehensive coverage for children birth-21 years of age. These are further explained in Part B and Part C of the IDEA. Part C covers children 0-2 and Part B covers 3-21.

  • Exclusion- IDEA and its components are designed to fill in the exclusion gaps of coverage. There is, however, not a guarantee enough resources are available for meaningful utilization. Meeting the “highly qualified” standard required teachers to be certified or licensed for special education, not have certification waved, and hold a bachelor’s degree. Timothy W. case- “not only are severely handicapped children not excluded from the ACT, but the most severely handicapped are actually given priority under the Act. “

  • Effects of the Zero Reject Rule- New and redefinitions- equal opportunity and access and behavior assessments and modifications. Impetus requires that to the maximum extent appropriate children with disabilities be educated together.

 

• Nondiscriminatory Evaluation

  • Criticisms of evaluation- Intellectual ability and multiple evaluations should be administered to provide accurate data of the student’s strengths and weaknesses. Larry P v. Riles- SEA and LEA could no longer use standardized IQ tests as the sole means for identifying and placing black children into segregated educational classes. (antidiscrimination and disability case.

  • IDEA- No placement without evaluation. Evaluation standards- tests validated, trained knowledgeable personnel, administered in accordance to instructions from producers.

  • Parental Involvement-  ONE parent can sign a consent to evaluate students.  Parents are to be notified and involved in the evaluation process.  Parents may obtain a copy of the evaluation. A person cannot, however, withhold consent to services if he/she is not mentally competent.

 

• Eligibility

  • Identification- 14 categories- criteria-criterion for services under IDEA 2004 states that the child’s disability must have an adverse impact on educational performance. Not all children with physical or mental impairments satisfy IDEA’s eligibility criteria. If the impairment does not present an adverse effect on educational performance, the student does not qualify for services under IDEA.

  • Evaluation- Eligibility evaluations must examine results from a variety of assessment tools and methods such as the following: performance on statewide assessments, classroom observations, classroom-based tests and examples of student work on classroom assignments, parental information, and input collected through interviews with the parent. Parents can provide a wealth of historical information relating to overall development of the student, medical diagnoses when appropriate, psychological testing when appropriate.

  • RTI- The basic RTI model is referred to as a tiered intervention model. The most common model of RTI follows this structure: Tier 1 all students in the general education classroom, Tier 2 provides supplemental interventions, typically in small groups, Tier 3 is designed for students needing more individualized, focused, and longer-term interventions.

 

Many cases have shaped and solidified zero reject and nondiscriminatory evaluations.  Honig v. Doe held that IDEA prohibits an LEA from cutting off special education services to a student classified under IDEA protection.  Child Find located children suspected of and highly mobile children with disabilities. Child Find’s purposes ensured no child with disabilities are denied a public education, a non-categorical consensus, and SEA’s had to develop and implement a method to determine which children are located and should receive services.  PARC v. Commonwealth determined children who were severely handicapped are not excluded from the Act, but he most severely handicapped are given priority. Every child can learn and there are few conclusive research data justify the conclusion that some children are not educatable which means just about every single child can learn. Since it has been determined that children with disabilities can learn, a nondiscriminatory evaluation is needed to determine areas of need.  In the  Larry P v. Riles case, the federal district court agreed that SEA and LEAs should no longer use an IQ test as a sole means for identifying black students with disabilities.  This case became a disability-discrimination case. For an evaluation to be reliable and valid it must take the whole child into account. Strengths and weaknesses should be determined. Parental consent and participation should be a part of the evaluation team.   Results should include performance on statewide assessments, classroom observations, classroom-based tests and examples of student work on classroom assignments, parental information, and input collected through interviews with the parent.

 

• McLaughlin, M. J., & Ruedel, K. (2012). The school leader's guide to special education.Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

• Turnbull, H. R., Stowe, M., & Huerta, N. (2007). Free appropriate public education: The law and children with disabilities. Denver, CO: Love Publishing Company.