Myth #1. Students should be moved from an IEP to a 504 plan for senior year because it “looks better” when they apply to college.
Colleges don’t  ask students applying for admissions whether or not they have a disability (they’re not allowed to), and students don’t have to tell them if they don’t want to. Therefore, IEP teams should not let a students’ plan to attend college change the kind of educational plan they’re on as seniors, or take their services away because they’re worried about how this might affect their chances of getting into college. Teams should also know that there is no reason to send students’ IEPs with their applications – colleges don’t ask for this. (Students will register for accommodations after they enroll at college, and they will send their documentation directly to the disability services office.)

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Advocacy Notes

TOPIC: With our school districts and regionalized programs closed due to the COVID19 pandemic, how can I continue to serve my students via distance learning?

This is certainly an unprecedented time in our nation and in the world. For the first time since the passage of the IDEA, students across the United States are unable to leave their homes to attend school in person.

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The CDC has issued guidance to help administrators of public and private childcare programs and K–12 schools plan for and prevent the spread of COVID-19 among students and staff. Many decisions have been made by governments and school districts to close school campuses.  The US Department of Education has provided an FAQ document to assist in understanding the legal responsibilities of schools to provide services under IDEA during this health crisis.

Click here to read through the rest of the Late March 2020 Update

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Only 1 in every 100 students with IEPs has qualified to receive specialized support due to hearing loss or deafness. As a low incidence program, the unique access and educational needs of these students requires specialized knowledge in how to appropriately meet these student’s needs. Families often lack the information needed to make informed decisions about the appropriateness of a school’s suggested program, staff, accommodations and related service support. The following questions are designed to assist families in what to ask when learning about a potential educational placement.

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Special Education Meetings for Necessary Communication

Many families know that they have an IEP meeting once a year. However, the variety of IEP meetings that and are held, when they can be held, and who can request an IEP is not always clear to families or teachers. One type of IEP meeting that can be confusing to many families is the Transition IEP, and the confusion is heightened by the fact that some school districts will use the transition IEP to change the Triennial IEP date. 

Following are the various types of IEP meetings:

Initial IEP

Annual IEP

Triennial IEP

Amendment IEP which is any IEP meeting held between the annual IEP meetings and can be requested by either the district or the family at any time. One amendment meeting is the Transition IEP.

 
Click here to read through the rest of the Late February 2020 Update

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My child can’t keep up with what is said, but the school said that they wouldn’t provide captioning…

Why would captioning be needed? Hearing loss decreases the amount of speech that is perceived, especially in large group listening environments like classrooms. Even with the most up to date hearing technology, normal hearing – or 20:20 hearing – is not restored. This puts students who are hard of hearing at high risk for increasing gaps in vocabulary and challenges keeping up with what their abilities would predict them to be able to perform in school.

Click Here to read through the rest of the Early February 2020 Update

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TOPIC:

Documenting Daily Amplification Use is Legally REQUIRED in the U.S.

Per IDEA Sec. 300.113. (a) Each public agency must ensure that hearing aids worn in school by children with hearing impairments, including deafness, are functioning properly. (b) (1) Each public agency must ensure that the external components of surgically implanted medical devices are functioning properly.

Click Here to read through the rest of the Late January 2020 Update

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I don’t think my child is making progress in reading…

Our question from the field: At a recent IEP meeting it seemed as though my child who has both hearing loss and other learning issues hasn’t made any progress in learning to read in the last year. I KNOW he can learn. The school didn’t seem surprised nor did they suggest any changes in the program….

The special education pendulum has swung away from segregated settings where students with special needs minimally mixed with ‘regular’ students in the 1980s to the current full inclusion model, where direct 1:1 instructional services are becoming increasingly rare. Students with hearing loss are already at high risk for ‘academic slippage’ due to their inability to completely access classroom communication without appropriate accommodations and supports. The move from pull-out services to provide intensive teaching in reading, language, and self-advocacy, places our students at even higher risk for developing increasing academic delays over time.

Click Here to read through the rest of the Early January 2020 Update

The post Advocacy Notes: Reading Progress for DHH Plus first appeared on Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss.

 
Click here to read through the rest of the December 2019 Update

The post Advocacy Notes: The Right to an Appropriate Program of Special Education Support first appeared on Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss.