[IEP_guide] WASHINGTON -- Many children in special education classes may not belong there, t

[Guest guest]

WASHINGTON -- Many children in special

education classes may not

belong there, the government says. A new policy is aimed at

intervening early with intensive teaching to give struggling students

a chance to succeed in regular classrooms and escape the " special ed "

label. There are nearly 7 million special education students in the

U.S., and roughly half have learning disabilities. Most of those are

reading-related, such as dyslexia or problems processing information.

To determine whether a child has a learning disability, states have

largely relied on a 1970s-era method that looks for disparities

between a child's IQ and achievement scores. Such a diagnosis is

often made around fourth grade.

The new rules

States can no longer rely solely on the IQ-vs.-achievement method.

Instead, the guidelines give states more latitude, allowing them, for

example, to observe how well children respond to intensive

instruction in subjects where they're having problems.

The new federal rules also make another important change: for the

first time, they allow schools to use up to 15 percent of their

special education funds to provide the required early intervention.

That could help reduce the number of children who are ultimately

labeled as learning disabled.

Funding

Schools nationwide get roughly $11 billion a year in federal money

for special education. In cases in which districts have a

disproportionately high number of minorities in special education,

the set-aside becomes mandatory -- educators must use 15 percent of

special education funds on intensive services in the early grades.

The response-to-intervention method is being tried in districts in

Iowa, Minnesota and California, among others.

Critics

a Posny, director of the Education Department's Office of Special

Education Programs, has been traveling the country talking about the

new rules. She concedes that not everyone likes them -- particularly

parents of special education students who object to money earmarked

for their children being used for students who are not disabled.

Madeleine Will, who has an adult son with Down syndrome and is vice

president for public policy at the National Down Syndrome Society,

said the federal government already underfunds special education. She

said it's unfair to take money from students with disabilities to pay

for services for students who haven't yet been diagnosed with a

disability.

The Education Department's special education office,

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