Proposed Department of Education Rules - Special Education

[Guest guest]

The Georgia Advocacy Office has composed talking points

concerning Georgia Department of Education’s Proposed Rules regarding

Special Education based on IDEA 2004 revisions. I hope these help you

participate in the public comment process. Attached is a word document

with the proposed rules. Please forward these to any interested citizen.

K. Lipson, JD

Parent Leadership Support Project

Georgia Advocacy

Office

One Decatur

Town Center

150 E. Ponce de

Leon Ave., Suite 430

Decatur, GA 30030

(404) 885- 1234

llipson@...

www.thegao.org

Question: Why

should parents speak at the series of

Georgia Department of

Education Public Meeting about the Proposed State Rules for students who use

special education services during December and January all across the state?

Answer: Our state government wants to

hear from YOU, the parent! You have knowledge of how the education system

has worked for students with disabilities in Georgia.

Question: Will the Georgia Department of

Education staff really listen to me?

Answer:

YES. You are an expert; you know the education process and the issues

that have most strongly had an impact on your child and your family. Your

input is crucial to this process. When governments don’t hear from

citizens, they assume that citizens are satisfied with the current system. Your

silence equals agreement.

Question: What will happen at the meeting?

Answer: When

you come in, you will be asked to sign up if you want to speak; speakers are

generally allotted 3 minutes to speak. There will be officials from

the Georgia Department of Education who will be listening to all speakers.

You will be allowed to hand in written remarks as well, but this is not

required. After you speak, the panel may ask you questions.

Question: What should I include in my

remarks?

Answer: Describe

your experience with the education system and relate your personal story with

the points you want to make regarding the proposed state regulations. Be

sure to emphasize the talking points that are most important to you and your

child.

Question: If I cannot attend the hearings can I

still provide written comments?

Answer: YES, the

DOE welcomes your written comment by mailing, emailing or faxing to

Bryar, Director, Division for Exceptional Students by January 20, 2007.

Bryar

Division for Exceptional Students

1870 Twin Towers East

Atlanta,

Georgia 30334

404 651-6457 Fax

mbryar@...

The Georgia Advocacy Office wants you to have

information that allows you to participate in a knowledgeable manner.

Below are some changes that may be particularly important:

Proposed State Rules for Students erodes

LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT: The current regulation

provides a complete description of how Least Restrictive Environment is applied

to our classrooms. It presumes (and articulates) that all students will

be educated in the general classroom of the neighborhood school and that the

whole range of supplementary aids and services will be offered in the general

classroom before a student’s removal from their homeroom. The

draft regulation deletes this powerful policy, erodes the standard of Least

Restrictive Environment in Georgia

and threatens the safeguarding of students with disabilities from segregated

settings.

Proposed State Rules for Students who

use special education services endorses a

SEGREGATED SCHOOL SYSTEM: Since 1970, a segregated school system (Georgia Psychoeducational Network)

has been a placement for students labeled with Autism and Severe Emotional

Behavior Disorders. There are approximately eight-thousand students

served in the network in twenty-four locations, and they are at risk for abuse

and neglect. There is no research that supports grouping students with

autism or mental illness in a separate school improves achievement or

learning. In fact, we know these students are isolated and deprived

access to the general school experience and positive peer relationships.

Proposed

State Rules for Students who use special education services substantially weakens Services for

students with disabilities: The proposed definition of

Behavior Intervention Plan is inadequate because it lacks a foundational

discussion of Functional Behavioral Assessments and data collection. The

current rule includes helping students learn socially appropriate and

responsible behavior in the school and other community-based educational

settings. The proposed rule deletes this important provision.

Further, it fails to take into account school environmental causes for student

behavior.

The state does not propose a definition of Positive Behavior Support.

PBS is important because it is a researched based approach to helping students

behave so that they can be successful students in the general classroom. Under

Definitions, the GAO urges the state to implement the federal definition of

Positive Behavior Support as expressed through the Federal Office of Special

Education Programs:

Positive Behavior Support is an application of a

behaviorally-based systems approach to enhance the capacity of schools,

families, and communities to design effective environments that improve the fit

or link between research-validated practices and the environments in which

teaching and learning occurs. Attention is focused on creating and sustaining

school environments that improve lifestyle results (personal, health, social,

family, work, recreation, etc.) for all children and youth by making problem

behavior less effective, efficient, and relevant, and desired behavior more

functional. In addition, the use of culturally appropriate interventions is

emphasized. Haring and De Vault (1996) indicate that PBS is comprised of (a)

" interventions that consider the contexts within which the behavior occurs " ;

( " interventions that address the functionality of the problem

behavior " ; © " interventions that can be justified by the

outcomes " ; and (d) " outcomes that are acceptable to the individual,

the family, and the supportive community " (p. 116).:

The Proposed Rules concerning

classrooms limits parental choice concerning PLACEMENTS FOR STUDENTS with

disabilities: The state proposes to ensure a continuum

of alternate placements, but it does not. The state lists funded

placements for students with disabilities. It does not give parents the

opportunity to use the funding their child generates from the state to seek

their own services. Students with disabilities, who are found eligible

for special education and related services, should have the important flexibility

to use federal funds to pay for their own individually designed, unique

services. Without a “money follows the student” rule, Georgia

does not provide a true continuum of alternate placements to meet the needs of

children with disabilities.

The Proposed Rules concerning ELIGIBILITY

DETERMINATION lack clarity and necessary guidance: We

recommend that the state separately define the term Response to

Intervention. Under the proposed Georgia rules, the state is

noticeably unclear in crafting eligibility criteria for Specific Learning

Disability based upon a student’s “response” to the Response

to Intervention model. The GAO fully supports education of all students

in the least restrictive environment of the general classroom and the

instruction of all students using a full range of research based instructional

methods by highly qualified teachers. However, the state is particularly

ambiguous with respect to a requirement of the application of progressively

more intense interventions before eligibility determination can be made.

It does not articulate that successive interventions shall be applied nor does

it recommend an appropriate period of instruction under each instructional

intervention. Additionally, the state should clarify whether RTI is to be

used as an eligibility method for suspected learning disabilities other than

reading.

For more information: http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_exceptional.aspx

Current Rules: http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_board.aspx?PageReq=PEABoardRules

Proposed Rules: http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/Contents.doc?p=6CC6799F8C1371F6266CC371D55B7DCA2514555B657BE27EDC65DD2B8AB2F956 & Type=D

Guidance for Stakeholders:

http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/Guidance%20for%20Stakeholders.doc?p=6CC6799F8C1371F6872E6AA5A702DFB39A438B4ACDAD1A717D25CECBBCDA4FB2 & Type=D