Transition Services

Transition service needs must be discussed for students age thirteen and older during the effective dates of the IEP. They can also be discussed for younger students if the parents(s) or the IEP team determine it is appropriate. What this means is that every student age thirteen and older during the effective dates of the IEP must have a post-secondary goal reported in the transition section (Section I) of the IEP. This goal must address education or training and employment, or for low functioning students, the transition goal might be to learn indendent living skills. The wording of the transition goal is like an IEP goals in that you must use the words "will study" or "will attend" (education and training) and "will become" (employment). IEPs are out of compliance if they use wording like "hopes to become", "aspires to be employed", or "will seek a job". Think about it like this...we do not write a goal for math using the wording "When given 25 mixed conversions (fraction to decimal to percent), Brandon hopes to respond correctly to at least 20 within 20 minutes by the annual review date of the IEP". If you have questions about writing post-secondary goals, please contact your curriculum coordinator in special services or Betsy Burkett (ext. 4427) our Transition Facilitator. Thanks for doing your best to keep SDOC in compliance with South Carolina's Indicator 13 of the State Performance Plan.

First Day for Students

Good Morning! I wish you all of you an exciting and smooth start back to school. It was wonderful seeing the buses on the road this morning and students waiting at bus stops ready to see their friends and get back to work. The Department of Special Servies will be out in the schools for most of the day providing support and making sure needs are met. The schools are divided as follows:

Kent: BRE, NSE, West Elem, SMS

Sam: JMB, Keowee, Wal Elem, Wal MS, Wal HS

Melissa: OPE, Ravenel, Adult Ed, Code LC

Marge: FOE, OIS, WOMS, WOHS, TSE, TSMH, SHS

I look forward to seeing students and teachers today. Have great first day of school!

Definition of a Parent In South Carolina

Sometimes I get invitation letter questions about situations where the parents of a student with a disability are divorced and one parent has custody and the other doesn't or the student is in custody of an organization or individual rather than the biological parents. I am hoping this state definition of a "Parent" will help in choosing who to include on an invitation letter.

B. DEFINITION OF PARENT

LEA personnel must determine the appropriate person(s) to make educational decisions on behalf of the child. Those individuals have a right to receive notice, give or revoke consent, file formal complaints, request mediation, file for a due process hearing, give or deny permission for release of records, etc.

In South Carolina “parent” is defined as:

a) Parent means
(1) A biological or adoptive parent of a child;
(2) A foster parent, unless state law, regulations, or contractual obligations with a State or local entity prohibit a foster parent from acting as a parent;
(3) A guardian generally authorized to act as the child’s parent, or authorized to make educational decisions for the child (but not the state if the child is a ward of the State);
(4) An individual acting in the place of a biological or adoptive parent (including a grandparent, stepparent, or other relative) with whom the child lives, or an individual who is legally responsible for the child’s welfare; or
(5) A surrogate parent who has been appointed in accordance with 34 C.F.R. § 300.519 of the IDEA. (S.C. Code Ann. § 63-1-40 (2008))

If there is more than one party qualified to act as parent and the biological or adoptive parent attempts to act as the parent the biological or adoptive parent must be presumed to be the parent and legal decision-makers unless the biological or adoptive parent does not have legal authority to make educational decisions for the child. A judge may decree or order a person acting as a parent or legal guardian to act as the “parent” to make educational decisions about the child. The LEA must recognize this person(s) as the legal decision maker for the child. (34 C.F.R. § 300.30 (b)(1)(2)).

Transition Service Participants in an IEP Meeting

IDEA 2004 300.321(b), describes transition service participants in an IEP meeting:
(1) In accordance with paragraph (a)(7) of this section [see my blog entry for 8/11/10], the public agency must invite a child with a disability to attend the child's IEP Team meeting if a purpose of the meeting will be the consideration of the postsecondary goals for the child and the transition services needed to assist the child in reaching those goals under 300.320(b).
(2) If the child does not attend the IEP Team meeting, the public agency must take other steps to endure that the child's preferences and interests are considered.
(3) To the extend appropriate, with the consent of the parents or a child who has reached the age of majority, in implementing the requirements of paragraph (b)(1) of this section, the public agency must invite a representataive of any participaing agency that is likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition services.

Please remember that in South Carolina transition services must be addressed for any student with an IEP aged 13 or older or if the student will turn 13 sometime during the life of the IEP. Betsy Burkett (ext 4427) is the Transition Coach in SDOC and is available to assist with transition questions.

The IEP Team

IEP case managers: please refresh yourselves with IDEA 2004 Section 300.321 which provides guidance on the composition of the IEP team. It states:

(a) General. The public agency must ensure that the IEP Team for each child with a disability includes--

(1) The parents of the child;

(2) Not less than one regular education teacher of the child (if the child is, or may be, participating in the regular education environment);

(3) Not less than one special education teacher of the child, or where appropriate, not less than one special education provider of the child;

(4) A representative of the public agency who--

(i) Is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities;

(ii) Is knowledgeable about the general edcuation curriculum; and

(iii) Is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the public agency

(5) An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation result, who may be a member of the team described in paragraphs (a)(2) through (a)(6) of this section;

(6) At the discretion of the parent or the agency, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel as appropriate; and

(7) Whenever appropriate, the child with a disability.

It is always advised to schedule your IEP meetings at least a week in advance of the annual review date just in case for some reason you have difficulty getting the IEP team together. It can be quite challenging to find a commonly agreed upon day and hour to get several busy people together around the table. Keep in mind that it is perfectly acceptable to hold a conference call with the parent and other IEP team members when the parent is unable to participate. Just be sure to have each team member introduce himself/herself so the parent is aware of who is in the room.

I will address IEP team participation requirements for students eligible for transition services tomorrow. Have a great day!

Listing of Parental Rights

It is a maxim that special education requires extensive paperwork comprising numerous checked boxes in addition to narratives on IEPs and related documentation. One very important box that must be checked on the Notification of Meeting (Invitation Letter) is the Listing of Parental Rights or what most of commonly refer to as the Procedural Safeguards Notice (PSN). The very first page, first paragraph, of the PSN explains that according to 34 CFR Section 300.504(a), a copy of the PSN must be given to parents only one time a school year, except that a copy must be given to the parents also: (1) upon initial referral or parent request for evaluation; (2) upon receipt of the first State complaint under 34 CFR Sections 300.151 through 300.153 and upon receipt of the first due process complaint under Section 300.507 in a school year; (3) when a decision is made to take a disciplinary action that constitutes a change of placement; and (4) upon parent request. In SDOC, we document proof of annually presenting the PSN to parents annually by checking the Listing of Parental Rights on the Notification of Meeting for all annual reviews and special reviews applicable to items 1-4 above. Please remember to check this very important box when appropriate. Thanks for all your hard work!

Welcome Back SDOC Special Educators!!!

For educators, the first day back to school is very much like New Year's Day. It is an opportunity for a fresh start...a resolution to do better than the previous year. Our special education teachers work tremendously hard and are dedicated to improving outcomes for students with disabilities. They spend several hours developing IEPs that serve as road maps to improved outcomes and spell out what districts will do to ensure a free and appropropriate education for each student. My blog entries at the beginning of this school year will focus on some reminders for teachers when developing IEPs. An IEP folder review conducted over the summer revealed the need for some refresher tips. For example, in Section I of the IEP, there is a box for Excluding Summer Months. Unless a student is being served at one of our year-round camps (Wilderness Way Camp School or Fairplay Wilderness Camp School) this box will be checked. Also, if an IEP will span two grade levels, the Grade for this IEP section should indicate such (e.g. 7-8). Please check my blog regularly for additional tips and other information related to the provision of special education services. Have a great year!!