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Special Education Law and Policies

Dwayne Mack

American College of Education

EL5753

Dr. Bernie Mulvaney

May 30th, 2021

Special Education Law and Policies

Introduction

IEPs, those three letters may seem foreign to people outside of education but for those

who are in the classrooms dealing with students day to day, it’s essential. Students with special

educational needs want to belong in a regular classroom with their peers. With laws on the books

like IDEA, this is possible for these students to attain an education and strive for success just like

other average students in school.

Key Ideas

Under the conditions mandated by the Florida Department of Education (DOE), there are

more than a hundred key ideas that an administrator should know, but if you had to narrow it

down, the key five ideas would be:

● What is LRE?

● What does IDEA require related to LRE?

● Scheduling Methods and Service Delivery

● What is inclusion?

● What is Best Practices in Inclusive Education (BPIE) assessment?

To begin with, LRE stands for the least restrictive environment, and it is unique to the

needs of the individual students. LRE is where an individual student can be taught and progress

in the general education curriculum to the maximum extent possible with students without

disabilities. Principals need to know this term because some of their student population may fall

into this category. Understanding their students is an essential part of being a successful teacher

to enable teachers and support staff to create strategies that help students.
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Equally important, a principal should also know about the Individuals with Disabilities

Act (IDEA) and the requirements related to LRE. IDEA must educate students in public and

private schools with students who are not disabled and special classes. The school must integrate

these students into the general education environment. This is key because it gives the student a

sense of belonging in the school environment and climate.

In the same way, Scheduling Methods and Service Delivery are essential for the success

of the student. Creating a schedule where these students are successful allows the student to see

the success when he is successful in classes with students who are not disabled.

Together with scheduling, inclusion means that a student receives an education in a

general education regular class setting. In inclusion, teachers want to educate all students

together. Students with disabilities can access the general education curriculum, classrooms, and

school activities. Inclusion helps students feel again as part of the school community rather than

being segregated for specialized instruction and support.

Furthermore, the Best Practices in Inclusion Education (BPIE) assessment helps school

districts facilitate the implementation and improvement of inclusive educational practices. This is

done every three years to check the planned short and long-term improvement efforts of the

school district’s exceptional student education policies and procedures.

Interview

When looking at the policy and producing the least restrictive environment and the IEP

process, I wanted to talk with North Ft. Myers High School Reading and MTSS Coordinator

Mrs. Tracey Scimeca to provide insight into the policies law.

When implementing special education law and policies, At North High, we have a

staffing specialist, an ESE team, ESE certified teachers, and we make sure all teachers have
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access to the students’ IEP through a CASTLE program. The staffing specialist makes sure that

there is a case manager for every student with an IEP and the ESE team oversees that the IEP is

adequately followed.

North Ft. Myers also has a process to determine students’ eligibility for special education.

Our students who need extra support are supported with a program called MTSS. This stands for

a multi-tiered support system. The first level of support is the grade-level instruction. When

students appear to have academic or behavioral support that is more than grade level, they enter

into the program for extra support. The intervention supports are implemented with fidelity, and

progress monitoring is tracked. Every 8, 12, or 16 weeks, depending on the level of support, We

have a problem-solving team that conferences to determine if the interventions are working if

they are needed or if a higher level of support is needed. The PST includes all of the

stakeholders, including parents. If the student is in the highest level of interventions, a level 3,

the school psychologist is invited to the MTSS meeting. Each time the team convenes, they

determine the progress and discuss what the student needs next. If the interventions are not

working and various strategies are implemented, the team may decide to refer the student for

eligibility. Suppose a parent suspects that the student has a learning disability. In that case, the

parent may request an evaluation, and the school must hold a meeting to address this concern and

determine if the student will be referred for testing at that time.

To ensure the school complies with IEPs, students in the MTSS plan have their progress

evaluated every 8, 12, or 16 weeks,.students with a 504 plan should have their plans reviewed as

needed or within two years. Students with an IEP should have an annual meeting to review their

progress and determine if the level of support they receive is appropriately meeting their needs.
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However, the parent, teacher, or team member can request any of these meetings, and they can

be scheduled.

Teachers know that the least restrictive environment is the law. However, in schools

where the support for teachers and students is strong, it works well. Teachers in schools without

strong support may find that it can be disruptive to other students. This is why ESE support and

interventions are critical.

The teacher feels that they are a part of the IEP process. Meetings always include an

invitation to both parents and teachers within approximately ten days of the notice, and parents

can request a different date. Because the process consists of input from all stakeholders, it should

be recognized as a true collaboration because everyone has a voice in the process.

There are some aspects of the IEP process which confuse the team members. One

example is when some teachers do not realize that they can refer students to the MTSS process;

some teachers may not understand the MTSS process and accumulate data to support needs.

Some teachers think that the IEP is a “golden ticket for students.” The plans help support

students in all educational environments, but it does not give them a pass to not work. High

school students with an IEP CAN get a waiver for their state-required tests; however, they must

still earn a 2.0 GPA and pass English minimally with a C in grades 9 and 10. In addition, some

teachers may feel that the process takes too long. Still, before an IEP is created, a student must

have been appropriately supported with fidelity to instruction and interventions to determine a

need for an IEP.

The process will continually be improved, so our IEP team members try and create more

streamlined documentation to track the student’s progress. Some teachers are more diligent than
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others. Additional professional development to ensure all stakeholders understand the process

and know the stages of support.

At North high, there is a very good implementation of IEPs, and students get their needs

met. There is a strong ESE team, and our helping teachers are effective, too. The oversight from

the ESE team, the staffing specialist, certified ESE teachers, and a dedicated administrator to

make sure it all runs smoothly is essential. The improvement would be achieved simply if there

were more educators to support students. Budget cuts allow for the needs to be met, but more

intervention teachers and smaller settings would be ideal.

Conclusion

From the interview and doing research, I have seen that these standards and policies are

essential to the development and success of the student. But with new legislation, may pass new

laws to push these standards rather than help and reach more students. As educators, we have

learned to adapt to the changing times, especially during the pandemic, but that makes us great.

References
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Florida Department of Education, Least Restrictive Environment Considerations Related to

Individual Educational Plans; http://www/fldoe.org/ese (2016-2020)