Helpful Tips and Topics

SCHEDULING and TIMELINE COORDINATION

Parents of kids with special needs quickly learn that planning ahead is an essential skill. When scheduling IEP meetings during the spring semester, parents need to be sure that there is enough time between the meeting and the end of the school year to allow for adequate discussion and planning for Extended School Year Services. It may also be necessary to have more than one meeting if there are areas of concern that warrant more extensive TEAM discussion than a single meeting may allow.  For meetings scheduled during the fall semester, parents need to consider if Extended School Year (ESY) Services will be necessary. The courts have found that a student’s eligibility for ESY be considered at each annual IEP meeting. If there is a lack of data to inform this discussion, the TEAM should identify a means for collecting adequate data so that the parents have enough time to make plans for the summer months.

In terms of scheduling evaluations with outside specialists, it is important to make these appointments well in advance, as wait times for available appointments can often be 2 or more months. If parents want the assessment to be available to the TEAM during the triennial IEP development or for the annual IEP review meeting, it is important to leave enough time between the conclusion of the assessment and the IEP meeting to ensure that a completed report is available. While this may not be a concern for brief evaluations, reports from more in-depth evaluations, such as a neuropsychological evaluation, may take 4-6 weeks to complete after the child’s office visits have concluded. Do not let your dollars or time go to waste by failing to consider how much time is needed for getting an appointment, attending one or more office visits, and having a completed report sent to your child’s TEAM at least 10 school days in advance of a scheduled IEP meeting.



PROGRESS TRACKING

As parents of kids with special needs, we often ask ourselves, “Is my child making progress in school?” In order to know what progress looks like, we need to know our child’s baseline levels of performance. Every child on an IEP has a unique educational plan, and therefore the evaluations used to gauge that child’s current level of performance need to be tailored to that child’s unique profile. Each child on an IEP is entitled to a triennial reevaluation in all areas of suspected disability. However, a parent may request in writing that their child be reevaluated once every 12 months, if they believe their child is not making progress.

Objective data collection is also a key element of progress monitoring. To be meaningful, data needs to be collected systematically over a period of weeks or months.  Make sure that the benchmarks in your child’s IEP are measurable and time specific to ensure that your child’s TEAM has the data to make informed decisions about what benchmarks are being reached and which ones are not so that the techniques used to teach these skills can be modified.



EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR SERVICES

The following criteria were developed by Nissan Bar-Lev, Special Education Director of CESA-7, Green Bay, WI. For the complete discussion of these criteria click here.

Extended School Year (ESY) services are documented in the child’s IEP. The law does not contain a comprehensive list of ESY eligibility criteria; therefore ESY services need to be considered on a case-by-case basis. The following criteria have been developed in various court decisions throughout the country. This list is included as guidance and is not meant to be conclusive. Rather, these are some of the elements that should be considered when determining a child’s eligibility for ESY.

No single criterion—There is no single standard or test to determine if a child is eligible for ESY.

Amount of likely regression, length of time for recoupment—All children regress or lose some of their skills when they are not in school. However, for some children with special needs, the amount of regression that occurs over the extended time away from school in the summer, combined with the length of time it takes to regain or recoup these skills makes it impossible for them to make effective progress during the school year.

Emerging skills—When a child is on the verge of acquiring a breakthrough skill it is important for that child to continue to practice. An interruption of this practice can result in the skill being entirely lost, and time wasted to re-learn what had been taught.

Nature and severity of a child’s disability—There is no specific criterion for the type of disabilities that require ESY. However, the TEAM needs to consider if the severity of a child’s disability increases the likelihood and amount of regression and the time needed to recoup lost skills.

Notice and Timing—Eligibility for ESY needs to be discussed at each annual IEP review meeting and schools need to provide notice to parents “early enough in the year to allow the parents adequate time to exercise their right to administrative review or appeal in a timely fashion.”

Content and duration of ESY services—ESY services must be designed to meet the unique needs of each child. If related services, such as transportation, are needed during the school year then they must be provided during the ESY.

Ability of parents to provide and educational structure at home—If parents are able and willing to provide structured opportunities for children to practice skills at home or in the community during the summer, so that regression is mitigated, ESY services may not be necessary.