Federal Laws Related to Special Education
Congress first enacted a comprehensive special education law in 1975: the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA).1 Since then, Congress has amended the law a number of times and renamed it the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The first broad revision of the law occurred in 1997, with amendments that significantly changed a number of key special education provisions.2 Proposed implementing regulations for the 1997 IDEA amendments were widely debated. Final regulations were published March 12, 1999, and took effect May 11, 1999.3
| Twenty percent of students with emotional disturbances are arrested at least once before they leave school, as compared with 6 percent of all students (Chesapeake Institute, 1994). By the time youth with emotional disturbances have been out of school for 3 to 5 years, 58 percent have been arrested. Similarly, by the time youth with learning disabilities have been out of school for 3 to 5 years, 31 percent have been arrested (SRI International, Center for Education and Human Services, 1997). |
As a condition of receiving Federal funds under IDEA, States must demonstrate to the U.S. Secretary of Education that they have policies and procedures in effect that fulfill specific requirements of the law.4 Local education agencies (LEA's) must have policies, procedures, and programs consistent with State policies and procedures that demonstrate eligibility.5 The Federal program is administered by the Office of Special Education Programs, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education.
Two other Federal statutes provide additional protection for youth with disabilities: the Rehabilitation Act of 19736 and the Americans With Disabilities Act.7 Although both Acts have a broader purview, they are often invoked to ensure fair treatment for youth with educational disabilities. Both provide for the filing of administrative complaints with the Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, which has the authority to investigate and order compliance.
In addition, all States have enacted laws and regulations reflecting IDEA requirements. Some of these, however, are being revised to reflect the 1997 IDEA amendments and the implementing regulations. These laws are often found in State education codes and regulations. Although most State special education laws closely track IDEA, some use different terminology for IDEA concepts. For example, California uses "individual with exceptional needs"8 to refer to "a child with a disability," as defined by IDEA, and "designated instruction and services" to refer to "related services," as defined by IDEA.9 While a State may grant protections beyond those required by IDEA, States may not provide fewer rights than would be afforded under Federal law.
To be eligible under IDEA, a youth must have one or more of the disabilities listed in the statute and implementing final regulations and, because of that disability, require special education and related services. The range of qualifying disabilities is broad, including:10
- Mental retardation.
- Deaf-blindness.
- Deafness.
- Hearing impairment.
- Speech or language impairment.
- Visual impairment.
- Emotional disturbance.
- Orthopedic impairment.
- Autism.
- Traumatic brain injury.
- Other health impairment.
- Specific learning disability.
- Multiple disabilities.
The two most common disabilities found in the juvenile justice system are specific learning disability and emotional disturbance. Specific learning disability is defined as "a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations."12 It may include conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia but not a learning problem that is primarily the result of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.13 Emotional disturbance is defined as:
(i) [A] condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance:Additional IDEA definitions of disability terms can be found in 34 C.F.R.§ 300.7(c).(A) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
(ii) The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance.14(B) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
(C) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
(D) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
(E) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
Free Appropriate Public Education
Every youth with a disability, as defined by IDEA, is entitled to free appropriate public education (FAPE). This entitlement exists for all eligible children and youth, including those involved in the juvenile justice system,15 ". . . between the ages of 3 and 21, inclusive, including children with disabilities who have been suspended or expelled from school."16
IDEA also requires that, "to the maximum extent appropriate,"17 youth with disabilities, including those in public and private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with youth who are not disabled. Placement in special classes, separate schooling, or other removal from the regular educational environment occurs only if the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be satisfactorily achieved. This provision is often referred to as the requirement for education in the "least restrictive environment."
Identification, Referral, and Evaluation
IDEA requires school districts and other public agencies to seek out all youth who may have a disability. States and LEA's must identify, locate, and evaluate all youth with disabilities and implement a system to determine which ones are currently receiving special education and related services. This is often called the child find obligation.18 In conjunction with these requirements, States typically have statutes, regulations, policies, and procedures designating who may refer youth for evaluation and the process that must be followed.
To determine eligibility for special education and related services, States must notify parents, obtain parental consent to evaluation, use a variety of assessment tools—administered by knowledgeable personnel—appropriate to the youth's cultural and linguistic background, and provide for reevaluation.19 State policies and procedures typically set time limits for each step in the notice, consent, and evaluation/reevaluation process. Reevaluation must occur at least once every 3 years, but a child's parents and teachers may request it at any time.20
The Individualized Education Program
Under the 1997 IDEA amendments, an LEA is required to have an individualized education program (IEP) in effect at the beginning of each school year for each youth with a disability in its jurisdiction.21 Federal regulations call for no more than 30 days to pass between the determination that a child needs special education and related services and the conduct of the meeting22 to develop an IEP for the child. A team that includes the following people develops the IEP:23
In developing the IEP, the IEP team considers, among other factors, the youth's present levels of educational performance, his or her special education needs, the services to be delivered, objectives to be met, timelines for completion, and assessment of progress. IDEA requires each IEP to include the following basic elements:25
- A statement of the child's present levels of educational performance, including:
- How the child's disability affects his or her involvement and progress in the general curriculum (i.e., the same curriculum as for nondisabled children).
- For preschool children, if appropriate, how the disability affects the child's participation in appropriate activities.
- How the child's disability affects his or her involvement and progress in the general curriculum (i.e., the same curriculum as for nondisabled children).
- A statement of measurable annual goals, including benchmarks or short-term objectives, related to:
- Meeting the child's needs that result from his or her disability to enable the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum, or for preschool children, as appropriate, to participate in appropriate activities.
- Meeting each of the child's other educational needs that result from his or her disability.
- Meeting the child's needs that result from his or her disability to enable the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum, or for preschool children, as appropriate, to participate in appropriate activities.
- A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided for the child to:
- Advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals.
- Be involved and progress in the general curriculum and participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities.
- Be educated and participate with other children with disabilities and nondisabled children in the activities described above.
- Advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals.
- An explanation of the extent, if any, to which the child will not participate with nondisabled youth in the regular class and in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities.
- A statement of any individual modifications in the administration of State or districtwide assessments of student achievement that are needed in order for the child to participate in the assessment. If the IEP team determines that the child will not participate in a particular State or districtwide assessment of student achievement (or part of an assessment), a statement of why that assessment is not appropriate for the child and how the child will be assessed is needed.
- A projected date for the beginning of services and modifications and the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of these services and modifications.
- A statement of how the child's progress toward the annual goals will be measured and how the child's parents will be regularly informed of their child's progress—at least as often as parents are informed of their nondisabled children's progress—toward the annual goals and the extent to which that progress is sufficient to enable the child to achieve the goals by the end of the year.
- A statement of transition service needs of the student that focuses on the student's courses of study (e.g., advanced placement courses, vocational education) if the youth involved is 14 years old (or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP team). The statement must be updated annually.
- A statement of needed transition services for the student, including, if appropriate, a statement of the interagency responsibilities or any needed linkages for transition services if the youth involved is 16 years old (or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP team).
The requirement that transition services be provided to assist youth in moving from school to postschool activities has particular significance for youth in the juvenile justice system. These services include postsecondary education, vocational training, employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, specific adult services, independent living, and community participation.26 For example, the IEP may call for the student to receive specific assistance in applying for admission to a local community college or enrollment in an automobile mechanics program. When the purpose of the meeting will be consideration of the student's transition service needs or needed transition services, or both, the youth with a disability of any age must be invited to the IEP meeting. Finally, the 1997 IDEA amendments require the IEP team to consider special factors in developing the IEP. Accordingly, the amendments direct the IEP to:
(i) In the case of a child whose behavior impedes his or her learning or that of others, consider, if appropriate, strategies, including positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports to address that behavior;IEP's must be implemented as soon as possible after the IEP meeting and must be reviewed by the IEP team at least once per year and revised as needed to address any lack of expected progress, results of reevaluation, information provided by the parents, the youth's anticipated needs, or other matters.28 By statute, most States set specific timelines for each stage in the referral, evaluation, and IEP development process.(ii) In the case of a child with limited English proficiency, consider the language needs of the child as those needs relate to the child's IEP;
(iii) In the case of a child who is blind or visually impaired, provide for instruction in Braille and the use of Braille unless the IEP team determines, after an evaluation of the child's reading and writing skills, needs, and appropriate reading and writing media (including an evaluation of the child's future needs for instruction in Braille or the use of Braille), that instruction in Braille or the use of Braille is not appropriate for the child;
(iv) Consider the communication needs of the child, and in the case of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, consider the child's language and communication needs, opportunities for direct communications with peers and professional personnel in the child's language and communication mode, academic level, and full range of needs, including opportunities for direct instruction in the child's language and communication mode; and
(v) Consider whether the child requires assistive technology devices and services.27
Special Education and Related Services
Under IDEA, special education means ". . . specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. . . ."29 It includes "instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings and instruction in physical education. . . ."30 IDEA also requires that related services be provided to help youth with disabilities benefit from special education services. These services include ". . . transportation, and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist the child with a disability to benefit from special education . . . (including speech-language pathology and audiology services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, early identification and assessment of disabilities in children, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, and medical services, except that such medical services shall be for diagnostic and evaluation purposes only)." The term also includes social work services in schools and parent counseling and training.31
Parents are involved to the maximum extent possible. They are provided with a full range of procedural safeguards, including the right to examine records, receive written notice of proposed actions (or refusal to take requested actions), and participate in meetings relating to the identification, evaluation, and educational placement of their child and the provision of FAPE to the child. Federal law also requires States to provide an opportunity for parents to initiate due process proceedings and the mediation of disputes with respect to identification, evaluation, and educational placement of their child and the provision of FAPE to the child.32
| Special Education Timeline1 | |
| Referral/request for evaluation: | Public agency must ensure that within a reasonable amount of time following parental consent to evaluation, the child is evaluated, and if the child is determined eligible, special education and related services are provided (34 C.F.R. § 300.343(b)(1)). |
| Development of IEP: | Meeting to develop IEP must be held within 30 days of a determination that a child needs special education services (34 C.F.R. § 300.343(b)(2)). |
| Implementation of IEP: | Must occur "as soon as possible" following the IEP meeting (34 C.F.R. § 300.343(b)(ii)), and at the beginning of every school year, the LEA must have in effect an IEP for each child with a disability (20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(2)(a)). |
| Review of IEP's: | Periodically and at least annually, the IEP team must review IEP's and revise as appropriate (20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(A); 34 C.F.R. § 300.343(c)). |
| Reevaluation: | At least once every 3 years or when the child's parent or teacher requests it (20 U.S.C. § 1414(a)(2); 34 C.F.R. § 300.536(b)). |
|
1States have many more specific time limits and requirements in their statutes and regulations than this sample timeline provides. | |
When a parent (as defined in 34 C.F.R.§ 300.20) cannot be identified, the whereabouts of the parent cannot be discovered after reasonable efforts, or the student is a ward of the State (as defined by State law), IDEA provides for the assignment of a surrogate parent to protect the educational rights of the child. The surrogate parent may not be an employee of the LEA, State educational agency (SEA), or other agency involved in the education or care of the child (with the exception of nonpublic agency employees providing noneducational care for the child who meet the other requirements); must have no interest that conflicts with the interest of the child he or she represents; and must have knowledge and skills that ensure adequate representation of the child.33
States may provide for the transfer of parental rights to a student with a disability when the student reaches the age of majority as defined by State law (except if the student has been determined incompetent under State law). Such provisions must ensure that the individual student and the parents receive any required notice under the regulations, that all other rights accorded to the parents under IDEA transfer to the student, that all rights accorded to the parents under IDEA transfer to students incarcerated in adult or juvenile State or local institutions, and that the parents and individual student shall be notified of whatever rights are transferred pursuant to such provisions. There is also a special rule for States that have a mechanism to determine that a student with a disability who has reached the age of majority does not have the capacity to provide informed consent to his or her educational program (even though there has been no determination of incompetence). Such States must provide procedures for appointing the parent or, if the parent is not available, another individual to represent the student's educational interests throughout the period of IDEA eligibility.34
Under IDEA, States and LEA's must establish a mediation procedure to resolve disputes and make it available whenever a due process hearing is requested. Mediation must be voluntary, scheduled in a timely manner, held in a place convenient to the parties to the dispute, and conducted by a qualified and impartial mediator who is trained in effective mediation techniques. Mediation must not be used to deny or delay the parents' right to pursue their complaints through the due process hearing procedures or to deny any other rights afforded under part B of IDEA. Any agreement reached through mediation must be put in writing.35
Parents may pursue complaints through a due process hearing conducted by the State or, in some States, the LEA.36 States are required to develop model forms to assist parents in filing due process requests. Each party (e.g., the parents, the educational agency) must disclose any evaluations and recommendations the party intends to use at least 5 business days prior to the hearing. The hearing officer must not be employed by the State agency or the LEA that is involved in the education or care of the child. At the hearing, the parents may be accompanied by and advised by an attorney and by other persons with special knowledge of or training about the problems of youth with disabilities. Parents have the right to present evidence; prohibit the introduction of any evidence not disclosed 5 business days before the hearing; confront, cross-examine, and compel the attendance of witnesses; obtain a written or, at the option of the parents, electronic verbatim record of the hearing; and obtain written or, at the option of the parents, electronic findings of fact and decision.37
If the due process hearing is conducted by an LEA, any party aggrieved by the findings and decision in the hearing may appeal the decision to the SEA.38 Any party who does not have a right of appeal from a due process hearing to the SEA, or who wishes to appeal an SEA ruling, may file a civil action in the appropriate State court or Federal district court.39 Reasonable attorneys' fees may be awarded by the court at its discretion to the parents of a child with a disability who is the prevailing party in any action or proceeding brought under section 615 of the Act. IDEA also provides for the award of attorneys' fees in connection with IEP meetings convened as the result of administrative proceedings, judicial action, or, at the discretion of the State, precomplaint mediation. However, it prohibits the awarding of attorneys' fees following the rejection of a settlement offer, unless the parents were substantially justified in rejecting the offer.40
In addition to the remedies offered through due process hearings or civil actions in relation to individual cases, States must have a complaint procedure in place for alleged IDEA violations. Possible outcomes of these procedures include monetary reimbursement or other corrective action appropriate to the needs of the child and appropriate provision of future services. Any organization or individual may use the State complaint process, and complaints must be resolved within 60 days after a complaint is filed.41
As a general matter, Federal law requires that, absent some agreement to the contrary, the youth shall remain in his or her current education placement pending the completion of any due process proceedings, court proceedings, or appeals.42 In Honig v. Doe,43 the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted this provision to mean that school officials may not unilaterally exclude youth with disabilities from their educational placement. Except as provided in 34 C.F.R.§ 300.526, such youth must be allowed to "stay put" in existing educational placements during the pendency of any administrative or judicial proceeding. Prominent in the Court's reasoning was that Congress enacted the Federal law after finding that school systems across the country had excluded one of every eight youth with disabilities from classes. Congress intended to strip schools of the unilateral authority they had traditionally employed to exclude students with disabilities, particularly students with emotional disturbances.44
Since the enactment of IDEA in 1975 (then EHA), there has been considerable discussion of the stay put requirement. Some people have argued that the schools' options were too limited and cumbersome when there was a legitimate need to remove a dangerous or extremely disruptive youth. The 1997 IDEA amendments attempt to strike a balance between the need to provide a safe, orderly environment and the need to protect youth with disabilities from unwarranted exclusion through disciplinary proceedings. The amendments include limited exceptions for misconduct involving weapons, illegal drugs, or situations in which the youth or others are in danger of injury.
Under the 1997 IDEA amendments, school personnel may suspend youth with disabilities for up to 10 school days or less at a time for separate incidents of misconduct to the extent such action would be applied to youth without disabilities. If, for example, a student without a disability would be suspended from class for 3 days for particular misbehavior, the same sanction could be imposed on a student with a disability for the same kind of behavior. School personnel may also remove such youth to an interim alternative educational setting for up to 45 days if they possess or carry weapons to school or school functions, knowingly possess or use illegal drugs, or sell or solicit the sale of controlled substances while at school or school functions.45 IDEA specifically defines controlled substances, illegal drugs, and weapons.46
The 1997 amendments also permit a hearing officer to order a change in the placement of a child with a disability to an appropriate interim alternative educational setting for not more than 45 days if the hearing officer determines that the public agency has demonstrated by substantial evidence that maintaining the current placement "is substantially likely to result in injury to the child or to others." Before making such an order, the hearing officer must consider whether the current placement is appropriate and whether the public agency has made reasonable efforts to minimize the risk of harm in the current placement (e.g., with supplementary aids and services). The officer should determine that the interim alternative educational setting would enable the youth to continue to progress in the general curriculum and continue to receive those services and modifications that will enable the child to meet the goals called for in the IEP.47 In addition, services and modifications to attend to the child's behavior and prevent the behavior from recurring must be addressed.
Disciplinary removal for more than 10 consecutive school days (or a series of removals adding up to more than 10 days and constituting a pattern of removal) constitutes a change of placement, which triggers a number of procedural safeguards.48 For example, the LEA must review the youth's behavioral intervention plan and modify it as necessary to address the behavior not later than 10 business days after either first removing the child for more than 10 school days in a school year or commencing a removal that constitutes a change in placement. If the LEA did not previously conduct a functional behavioral assessment and implement a behavioral intervention plan, it must convene an IEP meeting to develop a plan to address the behavior.49 Moreover, the public agency must provide services to the extent required under section 300.121(d).50
If it is contemplated that a youth with a disability will be removed from school for more than 10 school days, the IEP team must immediately (or within 10 school days of the decision to take disciplinary action) review the relationship between the child's disability and the behavior subject to disciplinary action. In making this "manifestation determination,"—a requirement under the 1997 amendments—the team and other qualified personnel consider all relevant information including evaluation and diagnostic results and other relevant information from the parents and observations of the youth. The team also considers whether the IEP and placement were appropriate, whether services were being provided consistent with the IEP, whether the disability impaired the youth's ability to understand the consequences of the behavior subject to discipline, and whether the disability impaired the youth's ability to control the behavior.51
If it is determined that the behavior was not a manifestation of the youth's disability, the disciplinary procedures applicable to youth without disabilities may be applied.52 If the behavior was a manifestation of the youth's disability, the LEA should immediately remedy any deficiencies in the IEP or its implementation53 and observe the 10-day or 45-day limits and other protections on placing the youth in an interim alternative educational setting. Again, even if the behavior was not a manifestation of the youth's disability, the LEA must continue to provide educational services to the extent required under section 300.121(d).54
Parents have the right to an expedited appeal of the manifestation determination and the placement. While proceedings challenging the interim alternative placement or manifestation determination (in the case of drugs, weapons, and hearing officer placement) are pending, the youth must remain in the interim alternative placement until the pertinent time period expires unless the parents and public agency agree otherwise. However, if the school proposes to change the youth's placement after this time period, the youth has the right to return to the original placement unless a hearing officer has extended his or her placement. The only exception is that, if school personnel maintain that it is dangerous for the youth to be in the current placement, the LEA may request an expedited hearing to determine whether he or she should be placed in the alternative educational setting or other appropriate placement during the due process proceedings.55
The stay put rule also protects the rights of some youth who have not officially been determined eligible for special education and who have engaged in behavior subjecting them to disciplinary removal. Under the 1997 IDEA amendments, such youth are entitled to the stay put rule and other disciplinary due process protections if the LEA had "knowledge that the child was a child with a disability before the behavior that precipitated the disciplinary action occurred."56 The agency is deemed to have that knowledge if the parents have expressed concern in writing to agency personnel that the youth is in need of special education; his or her behavior or performance demonstrates the need for such services; the parents have requested an evaluation of special education eligibility; or the teacher or other LEA personnel, in accordance with the agency's established child find or special education referral system, have expressed concern to the director of special education of the agency or other personnel about the youth's behavior or performance.57
