Dr. Earnest's Tips

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Dr. Earnest's IEP Tips

Dr. Sandra Earnest, Director of Special Education for Maryville City Schools, has created these tip sheets for creating the ideal IDEA IEP.

Using "As Needed" with accommodations
Pull Out vs. Push In Services
TCAP Accommodations
ESY

Using "As Needed" with Accommodations


	Many IEPs that I've reviewed contain the phrase "as needed” for modifications on an IEP. Essentially those words are meaningless. When a child is failing or not progressing as rapidly as a parent thinks they should, it becomes extremely difficult to prove modifications were not being used "as needed." Instead, write that the following modifications are "to be used when student is not succeeding," or " to be used when student performance grades fall below a C average" as more specific ways of designating when modifications should be put into place. The more specific you can be, the better for us all. Back to top

Pull Out vs. Push In Services

How should we decide whether special education services should be provided in a "pull-out" setting such as Resource or if the special education staff should "push-in" to the general education classroom?

IDEA emphasizes the importance of placing each student in the LRE. In fact, the law states that a student should be removed from the general education classroom only if the "nature or severity" of the disability means that education in general education classes with the use of supplementary aids and services, can't be achieved satisfactorily. It's important to notice that the law doesn't state this only applies to the elementary level. This is for all students at every grade level.

6 Rules to Follow to Determine Whether Pull-Out or Push-In Services Are Appropriate

Evaluate whether student can receive services in the general classroom. With very few exceptions, NCLB clearly places the responsibility for the education of all children on the shoulders of general education teachers. Ask yourself the following questions:
Can services physically be provided in the general education classroom?
Is staff available to provide services?
Does the student need the intensive support of a resource room or special class?
Does the student have behavioral or emotional disorders or disabilities that require support outside the general classroom?
Is the student disruptive or dangerous?
Evaluate the educational benefit the student will derive from the regular education classroom.
Consider modifications to make Push-In Services possible. Have you considered :
co-teaching
a one-to-one aide
accommodations on tests
changes to daily work
special seating
frequent breaks
assistive technology
individual instruction
modified grading
Compare educational benefits of regular educational placement to special education placement.
Look at nonacademic benefits for student.
Document where student receives services in IEP. To justify the IEP Team's decision on where a student receives services, the IEP should clearly state that you considered providing it in the general classroom as an option (probably on the prior written notice). If the team decides on pull-out, again the IEP should say why. For example, "The nature and/or severity of the student's disability precludes services in the general education classroom." This has to be more than just a statement. It
needs to be backed up by the findings of the psychological / academic testing. In other words, don't state that the severity of the disability precludes service provision in the general ed classroom if the psychological says the IQ is 90 and academic testing shows s/he is only 1 year below grade level. YOU DON"T HAVE TO WRITE ANYTHING MORE. YOUR STATEMENTS JUST HAVE TO BASED ON FACT.
Closely monitor Student's progress and reevaluate decision. Whether you decide on pull-out or push-in services, monitor how effective those services are after each marking period. Push-In services may not be effective for a particular student or pull-out may be too disruptive to the student and may not be helpful. Be flexible and consider the input of the teacher and the parent.

Adapted from the IEP Team Trainer

TCAP Accommodations

All of you should have a copy of the 2004-05 TCAP accommodations instructions for students with disabilities. If you do not have a copy, please contact me prior to developing IEPs for the upcoming school year. The TCAP changes are in effect NOW - they have nothing to do with the revised IDEA which goes into effect in July, 2005.

Remember, all percentile cutoffs are no longer applicable. If a child eligible for special education services needs an accommodation and it's on the IEP for an appropriate length of time, the accommodation can be used on the TCAPs. These accommodations include extended time, read aloud items, the use of a scribe, calculators, etc. Please review your guide and present some of the questions listed for each accommodation to the IEP team to determine whether or not a certain accommodation is appropriate. If you have any questions, I'm here!

ESY

OBLIGATION
A school system must provide ESY services if a student's IEP team determines on an individual basis, that these services are necessary for providing FAPE. The school district cannot limit ESY services to particular categories of disability and cannot unilaterally limit the type, amount or duration of services.

STANDARDS FOR DETERMINING NEED: REGRESSION-RECOUPMENT
Regression-recoupment problems triggering the need for ESY services occur if:

A child suffers an inordinate or disproportionate degree of regression during the portion of the year in which the customary 180-day school year is not in session AND it takes an inordinate or unacceptable length of time for the child to recoup the skills (academic, emotional, or behavioral) upon returning to school. I

In short, all children regress to some degree over the summer months (or should I say summer "weeks?"). The regression must be significant regression where skills cannot be recouped in an acceptable length of time.

STANDARDS FOR DETERMINING NEED FOR ESY SERVICES
In addition to the regression-recoupment analysis, the IEP Team must also consider the following in determining the need for ESY:
1. Degree of regression suffered in the past (see above)
2. Exact time of the regression (summer?????)
3. Ability of the parents to provide educational structure at home.
4. Student's rate of progress
5. Student's behavioral and physical problems
6. Availability of alternative resources
7. Ability of the student to interact with nondisabled children.