Assign 1
Assessment in Special Education: A Practical Approach
Fourth Edition
Roger Pierangelo
Long Island University
George A. Giuliani
Hofstra University
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pierangelo, Roger.
Assessment in special education : a practical approach / Roger
Pierangelo, George A. Giuliani.—4th ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-261326-2
ISBN-10: 0-13-261326-3
1. Children with disabilities—Education—United States. 2. Disability evaluation—United States.
3. Educational tests and measurements—United States. 4. Special education—United States.
I. Giuliani, George A. II. Title.
LC4031.P483 2013
371.90973—dc23
2011033705
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
|
|
ISBN 13: 978-1-323-45667-5 ISBN 10: 1-323-45667-8 |
1.1 OVERVIEW OF ASSESSMENT
Judy is in serious danger of failing fourth grade again. She appears to have difficulty following directions, completing assignments ontime, progressing in reading and spelling, and interacting with her peers. Her teacher believes that Judy may have a learning disabilityand has made a referral to the district’s Committee on Special Education.
Benjamin has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. He has recently moved into the community and enrolled in the local high school. Hisparents are concerned that Benjamin is not developing the mobility and daily living skills that he needs now and in the future. Theyrequest that the new school system evaluate Benjamin to identify his special needs.
Carlos has become severely withdrawn in the last year. His grades have been declining steadily, he is starting to skip school, and whenthe teacher calls on him in class, he responds rudely or not at all. The teacher is worried that Carlos may have an emotional disorder.She makes a referral to the special education department.
Although these children are different from each other in very many ways, they may also share something in common. Each may be astudent who has a disability that will require special education services in the school setting. Before decisions may be made about whatthose special education services will be, each child requires an evaluation conducted by specially trained educational personnel, which mayinclude a school psychologist, a speech–language pathologist, special education and regular education teachers, social workers, and, whenappropriate, medical personnel. This is true for any child suspected of having a disability.
Assessment in special education is a process that involves collecting information about a student for the purpose of making decisions(Salvia & Ysseldyke, 2007). It involves gathering information about a student’s strengths and needs in all areas of concern (Friend &Bursuck, 2006). According to Taylor (2009), assessment “refers to the gathering of relevant information to help an individual makedecisions. The educational and psychological assessment of exceptional students, specifically, involves the collection of information that isrelevant in making decisions regarding appropriate goals and objectives, teaching strategies, and program placement” (p. 3).
Assessment is a major focal point in education today. The term assessment approach describes the way information is collected formaking an educational decision (Cohen & Spenciner, 2007). Assessment includes many formal and informal methods of evaluating studentprogress and behavior (Overton, 2009). Clearly, gathering information about a student using a variety of techniques and informationsources should shed considerable light on strengths and needs, the nature of a suspected disability and its effect on educationalperformance, and realistic and appropriate instructional goals and objectives.
The professional involved in special education in today’s schools plays a very critical role in the overall education of students with all typesof disabilities. A comprehensive assessment completed by school professionals may address any aspect of a student’s educationalfunctioning (Pierangelo & Giuliani, 2009). The special educator’s position is unique, in that he or she can play many different roles in theeducational environment. Whatever their role, special educators encounter a variety of situations that require practical decisions andrelevant suggestions. No matter which type of professional you become in the field of special education, it is always necessary to fullyunderstand the assessment process and to be able to clearly communicate vital information to professionals, parents, and students.
The importance of assessment should never be underestimated. In special education, you will work with many professionals from differentfields. You are part of a team, often referred to as a multidisciplinary team (see Chapter 8), that tries to determine whether a disability ispresent in a student (Cohen & Spenciner, 2011). The team’s role is crucial because it helps determine the extent and direction of a child’spersonal journey through the special education experience (Pierangelo & Giuliani, 2009). Consequently, the skills needed to offer a child themost global, accurate, and practical evaluation should be fully understood. The development of these skills should include a good workingknowledge of the following components of the assessment process in order to determine the presence of a suspected disability (NationalInformation Center for Children and Youths with Disabilities, 2000):
• Collection : The process of tracing and gathering information from the many sources of background information on a child such asschool records, observation, parent intakes, and teacher reports
• Analysis : The processing and understanding of patterns in a child’s educational, social, developmental, environmental, medical, andemotional history
• Evaluation : The evaluation of a child’s academic, intellectual, psychological, emotional, perceptual, language, cognitive, and medicaldevelopment in order to determine areas of strength and weakness
• Determination : The determination of the presence of a suspected disability using knowledge of the criteria that constitute eachcategory
• Recommendation : The recommendations concerning educational placement and program that need to be made to the school,teachers, and parents
1.2 PURPOSE OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment takes place when students experience difficulty meeting the demands of the general education curriculum and are referred forconsideration for special education services (McLoughlin & Lewis, 2008). As will be discussed in great detail throughout this book,following a referral for a suspected disability of a child and with written parental or guardian permission, an individual multidisciplinaryand comprehensive assessment is conducted. This means that formal tests, observations, and numerous assessments will be given. Theresults help to determine if special education is needed and whether factors unrelated to disabilities are affecting a child’s schoolperformance.
Assessment should be an active, ongoing process that has a clearly specified purpose (Taylor, 2009). Assessment results provideinformation useful for determining or modifying a child’s program, if necessary. The decisions that use assessment information are variedand complex, and they occur in and out of classrooms (Salvia & Ysseldyke, 2007). Assessment plays a critical role in the determination of siximportant decisions (National Information Center for Children and Youths with Disabilities, 2000):
• Evaluation decisions: Information collected in the assessment process can provide detailed information of a student’s strengths,weaknesses, and overall progress.
• Diagnostic decisions: Information collected in the assessment process can provide detailed information of the specific nature of thestudent’s problems or disability.
• Eligibility decisions: Information collected in the assessment process can provide detailed information on whether a child is eligible forspecial education services.
• IEP development decisions: Information collected in the assessment process can provide detailed information so that an individualizededucation program (IEP) may be developed.
• Educational placement decisions: Information collected in the assessment process can provide detailed information so that appropriatedecisions may be made about the child’s educational placement.
• Instructional planning decisions: Information collected in the assessment process is critical in planning instruction appropriate to thechild’s special social, academic, physical, and management needs.
1.3 LANDMARK COURT CASES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION
The first federal laws designed to assist individuals with disabilities date back to the early days of the nation. In 1798, the Fifth Congresspassed the first federal law concerned with the care of persons with disabilities (National Information Center for Children and Youth withDisabilities, 1996). This law authorized the Maine Hospital Service to provide medical services to seamen with disabilities or those whowere sick. By 1912, this entity had become known as the Public Health Service. However, prior to World War II, there were relatively fewfederal laws authorizing special benefits for persons with disabilities. Those that existed were intended to address the needs of warveterans with service-connected disabilities. This meant that, for most of our nation’s history, schools were allowed to exclude—and oftendid exclude—certain children, especially those with disabilities.
In 1948, only 12 percent of all children with disabilities received some form of special education. By the early 1950s, special educationservices and programs were available in school districts, but often undesirable results occurred. For example, students in special classeswere considered unable to perform academic tasks. Consequently, they went to special schools or classes that focused on learning manualskills such as weaving and bead stringing. Although programs existed, it was clear that discrimination was still as strong as ever for thosewith disabilities in schools.
Legislation and court cases to prevent discrimination in education first came to notice in 1954 with the famous case Brown v. Board ofEducation of Topeka, Kansas. In Brown, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal practice under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S.Constitution to arbitrarily discriminate against any group of people. The Court then applied this principle to the schooling of children,holding that a separate education for African American students is not an equal education. In its famous ruling, separate but equal wouldno longer be accepted (347 U.S. 483).
Brown set the precedent for future discrimination cases in education. People with disabilities were recognized as another group whoserights had been violated because of arbitrary discrimination. For children, the discrimination occurred because they were denied access toschools due to their disabilities. Using Brown as their legal precedent, students with disabilities claimed that their segregation and exclusionfrom school violated their opportunity for an equal education under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution—the EqualProtection Clause. If Brown prohibited segregation by race, then schools should not be able to segregate or otherwise discriminate byability and disability.
In the 1960s, parents began to advocate for better educational opportunities for their children. Around the same time, many authoritiesbegan to agree that segregated special classes were not the most appropriate educational setting for many students with disabilities. By theend of the 1960s, landmark court cases set the stage for enactment of federal laws to protect the rights of children with disabilities andtheir parents. Some of the most significant court cases in special education, in their order of occurrence, include:
HOBSON v. HANSEN (1967).
In Hobson v. Hansen, a U.S. district court declared that the District of Columbia school system’s tracking system was invalid. However, specialclasses were allowed, provided that testing procedures were rigorous and that retesting was frequent (Sattler, 2008).
DIANA v. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION (1970).
In Diana v. State Board of Education, California was mandated by the court to correct bias in assessment procedures used with ChineseAmerican and Mexican American students. Diana had three very important holdings that would later influence the enactment of federalspecial education laws:
1. If a student’s primary language was not English, the student had to be tested in both English and his or her primary language.
2. Culturally unfair items had to be eliminated from all tests used in the assessment process.
3. If intelligence tests were to be used in the assessment process, they had to be developed to reflect Mexican American culture (Diana v.State Board of Education, C-70: 37RFT, N.D. Cal., 1970).
PARC v. COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA (1972).
A U.S. federal court in Pennsylvania ratified a consent agreement ensuring that schools may not exclude students who have been classifiedwith mental retardation. Also, the court mandated that all students must be provided with a free public education. Both of these holdingswould play a fundamental role in the enactment of future federal special education laws (PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 343 F.Supp. 279, E.D. PA 1972).
WYATT v. STICKNEY (1972).
In Alabama, a federal court ruled that mentally retarded children in state institutions had a constitutional right to treatment (Wyatt v.Stickney, 344 F. Supp. 387, M.D. Ala 1972).
GUADALUPE v. TEMPE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (1972).
In Arizona, a U.S. district court agreed to a stipulated agreement that children could not be placed in educable mentally retarded classesunless they scored lower than two standard deviations below the population mean on an approved IQ test administered in the child’s ownlanguage. Guadalupe v. Tempe Elementary School also stipulated that other assessment procedures must be used in addition to intelligencetests, and that parental permission must be obtained for such placements (Sattler, 2008).
MILLS v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (1972).
This case set forth future guidelines for federal legislation, including the rights of students with disabilities to have access to a free publiceducation, due process protection, and a mandated requirement to provide special education services regardless of the school district’sfinancial capability (Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia, 348 Supp. 866, CD. DC 1972; contempt proceedings, EHLR 551:643CD. DC 1980).
PASE (PARENTS IN ACTION ON SPECIAL EDUCATION) v. JOSEPH P. HANNON (1980).
In this case regarding bias in IQ testing, the judge (Judge Grady in Illinois) found that on the IQ tests he examined, only 9 of the 488 testquestions were racially biased. Consequently, IQ tests were found not to be discriminatory. Furthermore, Judge Grady indicated that clinicaljudgment also plays a large role in interpreting IQ test results. He stated: “There is no evidence in this record that such misassessments asdo occur are the result of racial bias in test items or in any aspect of the assessment process currently in use in the Chicago public schoolsystem.” Therefore, the decision in PASE resolved some of the controversy about the use of IQ tests for special education classification. As aresult, the use of intelligence tests was acceptable in psychoeducational assessment as long as they followed all other proceduralsafeguards under federal law (PASE v. Joseph P. Hannon, No. 74 C 3586 N.D. Ill. 1980).
LUKE S. AND HANS S. v. NIX ET AL. (1982).
In the state of Louisiana, all evaluations had to be completed within a 60-day time period. The plaintiffs in this case argued that thousandsof students were not being appropriately evaluated within this time period. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and informed the stateof Louisiana that greater prereferral assessment should be done before a referral is made (Luke S. and Hans S. v. Nix et al, cited in Taylor,2009, p. 9).
BOARD OF EDUCATION OF HENDRICK HUDSON SCHOOL DISTRICT v. ROWLEY (1982).
The parents of Amy Rowley, a deaf student with minimal residual hearing and excellent lip-reading skills, sought the services of a full-timeinterpreter in her regular classes. Amy had been provided with an FM trainer (a teacher of the deaf) for 1 hour per day and speechtraining for 3 hours per week. Even though Amy was missing about half of what was being discussed in class, she was very well adjusted,was performing better than the average child in the class, and was advancing easily from grade to grade.
Based on these facts, the U.S. Supreme Court determined in Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson School District v. Rowley that Amy wasreceiving an “appropriate” education without the sign interpreter. In reaching this opinion, the Court concluded that the obligation toprovide an appropriate education does not mean a school must provide the “best” education or one designed to “maximize” a student’spotential. However, the program must be based on the student’s unique individual needs and be designed to enable the student to benefitfrom an education. In other words, the student must be making progress (Hager, 1999, p. 5).
JOSE P. v. AMBACH (1983).
Plaintiffs filed suit against New York City, complaining about the inappropriate delivery of services. The plaintiffs argued that many studentsin special education were not receiving services in an appropriate time frame. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and stated that fromthe time of referral to evaluation a maximum of 30 days can elapse. The court informed the defendants that all evaluations must be “timelyevaluations” (Taylor, 2009, p. 10).
LARRY P. v. RILES (1984).
In this California case, using IQ tests as the assessment measure for placing African American students in special education as mentallyretarded was found to be discriminatory. Schools in California were mandated by the court to reduce the disproportionate representationof African American students in special education. In Larry P. v. Riles, the court determined that IQ tests were discriminatory against AfricanAmericans in three ways:
1. IQ tests actually measure achievement rather than ability. Because African Americans throughout their educational history have beendenied equal educational opportunities through schools segregated by race, they will inevitably have achievement scores lower than thenorms and thus be discriminated against in testing.
2. IQ tests rest on the plausible but unproven assumption that intelligence is distributed in the population in accordance with a normalstatistical curve (bell-shaped), and thus the tests are artificial tools to rank individuals.
3. IQ tests lead to the classification of more African American students than white students in dead-end classes for students with mild tomoderate disabilities [(No. C-71-2270 RFP (1979) and No. 80-4027 DC No. C-71-2270 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit(1984)].
GEORGIA STATE CONFERENCE OF BRANCHES OF NAACP v. STATE OF GEORGIA (1984).
In Georgia State Conference of Branches of NAACP v. State of Georgia, a U.S. court of appeals ruled that African American children schooled inthe state of Georgia were not being discriminated against solely because there was a disproportionate number of them in classes for lowachievers. The court explained that there was no evidence of differential treatment of African American and other students.Overrepresentation of African American children in classes for the mentally retarded by itself was not sufficient to prove discrimination(Sattler, 2008).
DANIEL R. R. v. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION (1989).
Daniel R. R. is one of the crucial cases opening the door to increased inclusion of children with disabilities in regular education classes. Thecourt noted that Congress showed a strong preference favoring mainstreaming—that is, educating the student in the regular educationclassroom with supports. Ironically, the court determined that it was not appropriate to include the child in this case in full-time regulareducation. However, the court’s analysis of the least restrictive environment requirement, especially its interpretation of what is meant byproviding supplementary aids and services in the regular classroom, has been followed by a number of other courts (Hager, 1999, p. 6).
In determining whether it is appropriate to place a student with disabilities in regular education, the student need not be expected to learnat the same rate as the other students in the class. In other words, part of the required supplementary aids and services must be themodification of the regular education curriculum for the student, when needed. The court in Daniel R. R. v. State Board of Education noted,however, that the school need not modify the program “beyond recognition.” Also, in looking at whether it is “appropriate” for the child tobe in regular education—in other words, whether the student can benefit educationally from regular class placement—the school mustconsider the broader educational benefit of contact with nondisabled students, such as opportunities for modeling appropriate behaviorand socialization (Hager, 1999, p. 6).
GERSTMEYER v. HOWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS (1994).
Although Howard School District had been told that a child needed an evaluation before entering the first grade, the evaluation was notdone prior to the child’s entering the first grade. The parents sent their child to private school and the evaluation was only done 6 monthsafter the initial referral. The parents sued the district for the costs of private schooling and tutoring caused by the delay. In Gerstmeyer v.Howard County Public Schools, the court ruled in favor of the parents and made Howard School District reimburse them for all associatedcosts (Taylor, 2009, p. 10).
1.4 THE HISTORY OF FEDERAL LEGISLATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES
As a result of numerous historical court cases, federal legislation for individuals with disabilities began to develop in the early 1970s. Thissection discusses relevant federal legislation that has made a significant impact on the health, welfare, safety, and educational rights of theseindividuals (in the order in which the legislation was enacted).
Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act
Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act is a civil rights law enacted in 1973. It was created to prevent discrimination against allindividuals with disabilities in programs that receive federal funds. For children of school age, Section 504 ensures students of equalopportunity to participate in all school activities (Council of Educators for Students with Disabilities, 2007). Section 504 plays a veryimportant role in assessment, especially for students who do not meet the criteria to be classified for special education. Some students noteligible for services in special education may be entitled to receive accommodations under Section 504 to help them in school. For example,a child with attention deficit disorder (ADD) may meet the criteria for special accommodations under 504, because even though attentiondeficit disorder is not a classification covered under federal law, under Section 504, students with ADD can receive special assistance. Otherstudents who may be helped under Section 504 would be those with asthma, allergies, arthritis, or diabetes, to name just a few (U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, 2006).
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act—P.L. 93-380
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) , often referred to as the Buckley Amendment, gives parents of students under theage of 18, and students age 18 and over, the right to examine records kept in the student’s personal file (Cohen & Spenciner, 2011). FERPAwas passed in 1974 to cover all students, even those in postsecondary education, and includes the following major provisions:
• Parents and eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student’s education records.
• Schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student before releasing any information from a student’s records.
• Parents and eligible students have the right to have the records explained and interpreted by school officials.
• School officials may not destroy any education records if there is an outstanding request to inspect and review them.
• Parents and eligible students who believe that information in the education records is inaccurate or misleading may request that therecords be amended. The parents or eligible students must be advised if the school decides that the records should not be amended,and they have the right to a hearing.
Finally, FERPA mandates that each school district must give parents of students in attendance, or students age 18 or over, an annual noticeto inform them of their rights under this law, including the right of parents or eligible students to file a complaint with the U.S. Departmentof Education.
The Education of All Handicapped Children Act (EHA)—P.L. 94-142
Because of the victories that were being won for students with disabilities in the early 1970s, parents and student advocates began to lobbyCongress for federal laws and money that would ensure that students with disabilities received an education that would meet their needs.In 1975, the stage was clearly set for a national special education law. Years of exclusion, segregation, and denial of basic educationalopportunities to students with disabilities and their families set an imperative for a civil rights law guaranteeing these students access to theeducation system (Heward, 2009).
Despite the advances being made in providing services to students with disabilities, in 1975 Congress found that
• Over 1.75 million children with disabilities were being excluded entirely from receiving a public education solely on the basis of theircondition.
• Over 4 million of the estimated 8 million children with disabilities in this country were not receiving the appropriate educationalservices they needed and were entitled to receive.
• Many other children with disabilities were still being placed in inappropriate educational settings because their disabilities wereundetected or because of a violation of their individual rights.
• Because of the lack of adequate services within the public school system, families were often forced to find services outside the publicschool system, often at great distance from their residences and at their own expense.
• State and local educational agencies have a responsibility to provide education for all children with disabilities.
• It is in the national interest that the federal government assist state and local efforts to provide programs to meet the educational needsof children with disabilities in order to ensure equal protection of the law.
Congress, recognizing the necessity of special education for children with disabilities and concerned about the widespread discrimination,enacted into federal law the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) , P.L. 94-142. Public Law 94-142 set forth federalprocedural safeguards for children with disabilities and their parents (Gargiulo, 2008). This law outlined the entire foundation on whichcurrent special education practices rest and the basis for our current federal law in special education, the Individuals with DisabilitiesEducation Improvement Act (IDEA 2004).
The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act (The Perkins Act)—P.L. 105-332
The Vocational Education Act of 1984 , often referred to as the Carl D. Perkins Act or the Perkins Act, authorizes federal funds to supportvocational education programs. One goal of the Perkins Act is to improve the access of either those who have been underserved in the pastor those who have greater-than-average educational needs. Under the act, “special populations” include those who have a disability, aredisadvantaged, or have limited English proficiency. This law is particularly important because it requires that vocational education beprovided for students with disabilities (U.S. Department of Education, 2011).
The law states that individuals who are members of special populations (including individuals with disabilities) must be provided with equalaccess to recruitment, enrollment, and placement activities in vocational education. In addition, these individuals must be provided withequal access to the full range of vocational education programs available to others, including occupationally specific courses of study,cooperative education, apprenticeship programs, and, to the extent practical, comprehensive guidance and counseling services. Under thelaw, vocational educational planning should be coordinated among public agencies, including vocational education, special education, andthe state vocational rehabilitation agencies. The provision of vocational education to youth with disabilities should be monitored to ensurethat such education is consistent with objectives stated in the student’s IEP.
Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986—P.L. 99-457
In 1983, Congress amended the Education of All Handicapped Children Act to expand incentives for preschool special education programs,early intervention, and transition programs. All programs under EHA became the responsibility of the Office of Special Education Programs(OSEP).
In 1986, Public Law 99-457, Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986 , was passed, amending P.L. 94-142 and requiringthe states to provide a free and appropriate public education to children with disabilities ages 3 through 5. The regulations that governedschool-age children were then made applicable to the assessment of preschool children. In addition, a new part (Part H) was added to thelaw, establishing incentives for serving infants and toddlers with special needs.
The Americans with Disabilities Act—P.L. 101-336
In July 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed into law Public Law 101-336—the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) . He said, “Letthe shameful walls of exclusion finally come tumbling down.” Senator Tom Harkin, the chief sponsor of the act, spoke of this law as the“emancipation proclamation” for people with disabilities. This civil rights law is based on Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of1973, but it further extends the rights of individuals with disabilities. It protects all individuals with disabilities from discrimination andrequires most employers to make reasonable accommodations for them (Office for Civil Rights, 2006).
The ADA plays a very important role in transitional services for students with disabilities. It also figures significantly in making sure that allschool buildings are accessible to people with disabilities. For example, if your school is not accessible for wheelchairs, does not haveemergency exits for all, or does not have ramps, this would be a violation of the ADA.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004; discussed later in this chapter) and ADA differ in certainimportant areas, including the following:
• IDEA 2004 benefits only those who are between certain ages (birth to 21 years). By contrast, ADA benefits all people with disabilities,without regard to their age.
• IDEA 2004 benefits only those people in school. By contrast, ADA benefits people who are employed or who use a wide range of publicand private services.
• IDEA 2004 provides money to state and local agencies to help educate students with disabilities, defining the rights and servicesafforded by law. By contrast, ADA prohibits discrimination, but does not provide money to help anyone comply with it.
Regardless of their differences, IDEA 2004 and ADA work together. IDEA 2004 helps state and local education agencies create services toeducate students with disabilities, and ADA protects students against discrimination when they are not in school.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act—P.L. 101-476
In 1990, the reauthorization of P.L. 94-142 was enacted and became Public Law 101-476. Reauthorization is simply the act of amendingand renewing a law. Public Law 101-476 is widely known as IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) . Under IDEA, most of themandates under 94-142 remained intact (Heward, 2009). However, some of IDEA’s most important revisions and additions included thefollowing:
• Adding significantly to the provisions for very young children with disabilities and for students preparing to leave secondary school
• Adding two new categories in special education: autism and traumatic brain injury
• Removing the term handicapped from the law and substituting the preferred term, disability
• Mandating transition services no later than 16 years of age
• Requiring further public comment on defining attention deficit disorder in the law
• Stating that states can be sued in federal courts for violating the laws
IDEA requires a timely, comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluation, including assessment activities related to the child and the child’s play.For infants and toddlers (birth to 2 years of age), a new program was established to help states develop and implement programs for earlyintervention services.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (IDEA ’97)—P.L. 105-17
IDEA was amended to P.L. 105-17 on June 4, 1997, and is now often referred to as IDEA ’97 . Some of the changes made were substantial,whereas others fine-tuned processes already in place for schools and parents to follow in planning and providing special education andrelated services for children with special needs (Venn, 1999). IDEA ’97:
• strengthened the least restrictive environment mandate
• strengthened parents’ roles further
• added related services to the types of services to be provided for transition services
• strengthened the obligations of other agencies to provide services to students while they are still in school
• emphasized assistive technology
• expanded the number of members of the IEP team
• gave school authorities several options in disciplining a student with a disability
• changed Part H, serving young children, to Part C
• granted the right to receive the related services necessary to benefit from special education instruction
IDEA ’97 and Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 strengthened each other in important areas. For example, they both:
• Called for school systems to carry out a systematic search for every child with a disability in need of a public education
• Mandated a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) regardless of the nature and severity of an individual’s disability
• Made it clear that education and related services must be provided at no cost to parents
• Had similar requirements to ensure that testing and evaluation of a child’s needs are not based on a single testing instrument
• Emphasized the importance of educating children and youth with disabilities with their nondisabled peers to the maximum extentappropriate (National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities, 1996)
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)—P.L. 107-110
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was designed to improve student achievement and change the culture of U.S. schools. PresidentGeorge W. Bush describes this law as the “cornerstone of my administration.” Clearly, our children are our future, and, as President Bushexpressed, “Too many of our neediest children are being left behind.” With passage of NCLB, Congress reauthorized the Elementary andSecondary Education Act (ESEA)—the principal federal law affecting education from kindergarten through high school. In amending ESEA,the new law represents a sweeping overhaul of federal efforts to support elementary and secondary education in the United States. It isbuilt on four commonsense pillars: accountability for results, an emphasis on doing what works based on scientific research, expandedparental options, and expanded local control and flexibility.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004—P.L. 108-446
On December 3, 2004, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) was enacted into law asPublic Law 108-446. The statute, as passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush, reauthorized and made significantchanges to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. IDEA 2004 is intended to help students with disabilities achieve to high standards—by promoting accountability for results, enhancing parent/guardian involvement, and using proven practices and materials. Also, itprovides more flexibility and reduces paperwork burdens for teachers, states, and local school districts.
Enactment of this law provided an opportunity to consider improvements in the current regulations that would strengthen the federaleffort to ensure every student with a disability has available a free and appropriate public education that is of high quality and is designedto achieve the high standards reflected in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left BehindAct of 2001 (NCLB) and its implementing regulations.
The major principles of IDEA 2004 are (Gargiulo, 2008; Friend, 2008; Heward, 2009):
• Before any evaluations, testing, and placement can be done, there must be parental informed consent . The definition of informedconsent is as follows:
• The parent has been fully informed of all information relevant to the activity for which consent is sought, in the family’s nativelanguage, or other mode of communication.
• The parent understands and agrees in writing to the activity for which consent is sought, and the consent describes that activity andlists the records (if any) that will be released and to whom.
• The parent understands that the consent is voluntary and may be revoked at any time.
• All students in special education must be placed in the least restrictive environment: Students with disabilities need to be placed inthe environment that is best suited for their educational needs or, as it was termed, the least restrictive environment (LRE) . Underfederal law, schools must, to the maximum extent possible, ensure that individuals with disabilities, including individuals in public andprivate institutions or other care facilities, are educated with individuals without disabilities. Also, special classes and separate schoolingare to be used only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementaryaids and services cannot be satisfactorily achieved. The settings for placement and service delivery are envisioned to fall on a continuumof least restrictive to most restrictive.
• All students in special education must have an individualized education program (IEP): All students in special education arerequired to have an individualized education program (IEP) designed to meet their needs. The IEP includes both short-term andlong-term goals, along with how and where services will be provided (see Chapter 19 for a comprehensive discussion of thecomponents of an IEP).
• The evaluation for placement in special education must be nondiscriminatory: Under federal law, the following requirements mustbe adhered to for an evaluation to be considered a nondiscriminatory assessment :
1. All instruments used to evaluate a student for determination of a disability should be free from bias.
2. When considering eligibility for special education, the evaluation must be done by a multidisciplinary team.
3. All testing materials and procedures used for the purposes of evaluation and placement of children with disabilities must be selectedand administered so as not to be racially or culturally discriminatory.
4. All tests and other evaluation materials must be validated for the specific purpose for which they are used.
5. Tests and other evaluation materials must be administered by trained personnel in conformance with the instructions provided bytheir producer.
6. No single procedure can be used as the sole criterion for determining an appropriate educational program for a child.
• The individual is assessed in all areas related to the suspected disability: This includes, where appropriate, health, vision, hearing,social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status, and motor abilities.
• Tests must be given and reports must be written in the native language: When doing an assessment, all tests must be given in thechild’s native language , and all reports must be written in the parent’s native language.
• Parents are entitled to due process: All students and their parents are afforded due process . This means that if a conflict ordisagreement ensues concerning a student’s eligibility for special education placement or services, no changes can be made until theissue has been settled by an impartial hearing.
• Zero reject for all students: Zero reject means that all students have the right to a public school education and cannot be excludedbecause of a disability. Students are entitled to a free and appropriate public school education regardless of the extent of the disability.Also, it is the responsibility of each state to find children who may need and be entitled to special education services.
State Laws Relating to Students with Disabilities
How states implement the requirements of federal laws is covered by the primary and basic source of law for the nation—the United StatesConstitution. Federal laws passed by Congress must be based on the provisions of the Constitution. State constitutions and laws may gobeyond what is provided in the federal law, as long as there is no conflict between them, and as long as state laws do not address areasreserved to the federal government, such as providing for the nation’s defense. The major constitutional provisions that are important tochildren and youth with disabilities are (1) those that provide for the spending of money to protect the general welfare and (2) theFourteenth Amendment, which provides that no state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without the due process of lawnor deny equal protection of the laws.” It is important to remember that there is no constitutional provision requiring the federalgovernment to provide education for its citizens. The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution states that “powers not delegated to the UnitedStates by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States.” Therefore, all states have provided for publiceducation, by either state constitution or state law, or both. States are required under the due process and equal protection clauses of theFourteenth Amendment to provide education on an equal basis and to provide due process before denying equal educationalprogramming.
Most laws providing for public education are generally state and local rather than federal. Although some educational programs are highlyregulated by the federal government, education is, for the most part, a state function. It is important to remember that most federal lawsand regulations that provide for educational programming establish minimum standards that states must follow for the delivery of servicesand programs in order to receive federal funds. Quite often, federal laws give flexibility to the states in implementing the programs orservices established with federal funds. Laws and regulations regarding civil rights, on the other hand, are much more firm and concrete. Asfuture special educators, it is therefore essential that you become familiar with your state laws and regulations. It is important to rememberthat laws provide a framework for policy, and regulations provide the specific requirements for implementing the policy. Where there aredifferences, inconsistencies, or ambiguities in interpretation or in implementation, the judicial system is responsible for resolving thesedisputes. Often, court decisions lead to changes in the law or in regulations. It is important to note that laws are not made in a vacuum.Often, laws are made at one level of government in response to developments in other arenas. State and federal law are frequentlyinteractive in this process. The development of special education law is an excellent example. It is likely that interaction among the variousbranches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial) at both the federal and state levels in the development of special education lawand laws protecting the civil rights of individuals with disabilities will continue for some time.
1.5 INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004) an evaluation of a child with a suspected disability must bemade by a multidisciplinary team or groups of persons including at least one teacher or specialist with knowledge in the area of thesuspected disability. These professionals must use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional anddevelopmental information, including information provided by the parent that will assist in determining whether a child has a disability asdefined under federal law (Cohen & Spenciner, 2011). The members of the multidisciplinary team often include the following (Pierangelo &Giuliani, 2009):
• General education teacher
• School psychologist
• Special education evaluator
• Special education teacher
• Speech and language clinician
• Medical personnel (when appropriate)
• Social workers
• School/guidance counselor
• Parents
• School nurse
• Occupational and physical therapists
The roles that each of these people play in the assessment process are discussed thoroughly in Chapter 8.
1.6 CLASSIFICATIONS UNDER IDEA 2004
IDEA 2004 lists separate categories of disabilities under which children may be eligible for special education and related services. Childrenare eligible to receive special education services and supports if they meet the eligibility requirements for at least one of the disablingconditions listed in P.L. 108-446 and it is determined that they are in need of special education services (Gargiulo, 2008).
According to IDEA 2004, Sec. 602(3)(A), a child with a disability is a child
1. with mental retardation, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments, seriousemotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disability;and
2. who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services
The definitions of the 13 disabling conditions under IDEA 2004 are listed below:
Autism : A developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evidentbefore age 3, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagementin repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusualresponses to sensory experiences. The term does not apply if a child’s educational performance is adversely affected because the childhas an emotional disturbance.
Deaf–blindness : Concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and otherdevelopmental and educational problems that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children withdeafness or children with blindness.
Developmental delay : For children ages 3 through 9, a state and local education agency (LEA) may choose to include as an eligible “childwith a disability” a child who is experiencing developmental delays in one or more of the following areas:
• physical development
• cognitive development
• communication development
• social or emotional development
• adaptive development
It must also be determined that, because of the developmental delays, the child needs special education and related services. Developmentaldelays are defined by the state and must be measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures.
Emotional disturbance : A condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a markeddegree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:
• An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors
• An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers
• Inappropriate types of behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances
• A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression
• A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems
The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they havean emotional disturbance.
Hearing impairment : An impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s performance butthat is not included under the definition of deafness in this section. ( Deafness : A hearing impairment so severe that the child is impairedin processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, that adversely affects a child’s educationalperformance.)
Mental retardation : Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behaviorand manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child’s performance.
Multiple disabilities : Concomitant impairments (such as mental retardation–orthopedic impairment) the combination of which causessuch severe educational problems that the problems cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of theimpairments. The term does not include deaf–blindness.
Orthopedic impairment : A severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includesimpairments caused by congenital anomaly (e.g., clubfoot, absence of some member), impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis,bone tuberculosis), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that causecontractures).
Other health impairment : Having limited strength, vitality, or alertness due to chronic or acute health problems, such as a heartcondition, tuberculosis, rheumatic fever, nephritis, asthma, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, epilepsy, lead poisoning, leukemia, or diabetes,that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
Specific learning disability : A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or usinglanguage, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or domathematical calculations. The term includes conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia,and developmental aphasia; it does not include a learning problem that is primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; ofmental retardation; of emotional disturbance; or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. Under IDEA 2004, whendetermining whether a child has a specific disability, a local education agency shall not be required to take into consideration whether achild has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability.
Speech or language impairment : A communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or avoice impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
Traumatic brain injury : An acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functionaldisability or psychosocial impairment or both, and that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term applies to open orclosed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstractthinking; judgment; problem solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; informationprocessing; and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative or to brain injuries induced bybirth trauma.
Visual impairment : An impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The termincludes both partial and total sight blindness.
1.8 PARENTAL CONSENT AND THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS
To protect the legal rights of parents and their children, IDEA 2004 (sec. 300.300) mandates that a school must obtain written permissionbefore any school evaluation for a suspected disability is undertaken. Request for consent for evaluation should not be misinterpreted asa decision that a child has a disability. Rather, it is a means of ensuring that parents have both full knowledge of school actions andinvolvement in the decision-making process. It is important that parents fully understand the reasons for an individual evaluation so thatthey feel comfortable with the decisions they must make. This process of parents’ rights is discussed in great detail in Chapter 8.
1.9 COMPONENTS OF A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT
An evaluation for special education should always be conducted on an individual basis. When completed, it is a comprehensive assessmentof the child’s abilities. Under IDEA (sec. 614(2)(B)), no single measure or assessment is used as the sole criterion for determining anappropriate educational program for a child. Further, the child must be assessed in all areas related to the suspected disability, including,where appropriate, health, vision, hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status,and motor abilities. In light of these mandates, a comprehensive assessment should normally include many of the following:
• An individual psychological evaluation including general intelligence, instructional needs, learning strengths and weaknesses, andsocial–emotional dynamics
• A thorough social history based on interviews with parents and student
• A thorough academic history with interviews or reports from past teachers
• A physical examination including specific assessments that relate to vision, hearing, and health
• A classroom observation of the student in the current educational setting
• An appropriate educational evaluation specifically pinpointing the areas of deficit or suspected disability including, but not limited to,educational achievement, academic needs, learning strengths and weaknesses, and vocational assessments
• A functional behavioral assessment to describe the relationship between a skill or performance problem and variables that contributeto its occurrence
• The purpose of a functional behavioral assessment is to gather broad and specific information in order to better understand thereasons for the student’s problem behavior
• A bilingual assessment for students with limited English proficiency
• Auditory and visual discrimination tests
• Assessment of classroom performance
• Speech and language evaluations, when appropriate
• Physical and/or occupational evaluations, when indicated
• Interviewing the student and significant others in the student’s life
• Examining school records and past evaluation results
• Using information from checklists completed by parents, teachers, or the student
• Evaluating curriculum requirements and options
• Evaluating the student’s type and rate of learning during trial teaching periods
• Evaluating which skills have been and have not been mastered, and in what order unmastered skills need to be taught
• Collecting ratings on teacher attitude toward students with disabilities, peer acceptance, and classroom climate
This information can be gathered in a variety of ways. These may include, but are not limited to norm-referenced tests, informal assessment,criterion-referenced tests, standards-referenced tests, ecological assessment, curriculum-based assessment, curriculum-basedmeasurement, dynamic assessment, portfolio assessment, authentic/naturalistic/performance-based assessment, task analysis, outcome-based assessment, and learning styles assessment (Pierangelo & Giuliani, 2009). All of these are discussed in detail in Chapter 2 of thistextbook.
CONCLUSION
Assessment is a complex process that needs to be conducted by a multidisciplinary team of trained professionals and involves both formaland informal methods of collecting information about the student. Although the team may choose to administer a series of tests to thestudent, by law assessment must involve much more than standardized tests. Interviews of all key participants in the student’s educationand observations of student behaviors in the classroom or in other sites should be included as well. To develop a comprehensive picture ofthe student and to develop practical intervention strategies to address that student’s special needs, the team must ask questions and useassessment techniques that will help them determine the factors that are facilitating—and interfering with—the child’s learning.
It is also important that assessment be an ongoing process. As you will see as you read through this book, the process begins even beforethe student is referred for formal evaluation; his or her teacher or parent may have noticed that some aspect of the student’s performanceor behavior is below expectations and, so, requests an official assessment. After eligibility has been established and the IEP developed forthe student, assessment should continue, through teacher-made tests, through ongoing behavioral assessment, or through other methods.This allows teachers and parents to monitor the student’s progress toward the goals and objectives stated in his or her IEP. Thus,assessment should not end when the eligibility decision is made or the IEP is developed; it has continuing value in contributing to the daily,weekly, and monthly instructional decision making that accompanies the provision of special education and related services.
A thorough and comprehensive assessment can greatly enhance a child’s educational experience. The assessment process has many stepsand needs to be appropriately done. Furthermore, no one individual makes all of the decisions for a child’s classification; it is done by amultidisciplinary team. As future special educators, it is your professional responsibility to understand the laws, steps, and variousassessment measures and procedures used in the special education process so that when you enter the school systems, you can have asignificant and positive impact on all those with whom you are involved in special education.
Vocabulary
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Federal antidiscrimination legislation for people with disabilities enacted in 1990.
Analysis: The processing and understanding of patterns in a child’s educational, social, developmental, environmental, medical, andemotional history.
Assessment approach: The way information is collected for making an educational decision.
Assessment: A process that involves collecting information about a student for the purpose of making decisions.
Autism: A developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evidentbefore age 3.
Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson School District v. Rowley: In Rowley, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that the obligation toprovide an appropriate education does not mean a school must provide the best education or one designed to maximize a student’spotential.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas: In Brown, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal under the FourteenthAmendment of the U.S. Constitution to arbitrarily discriminate against any group of people.
Collection: The process of tracing and gathering information from the many sources of background information on a child, such as schoolrecords, observation, parent intakes, and teacher reports.
Consent for evaluation: A means of ensuring that parents have both full knowledge of school actions and involvement in the decision-making process.
Daniel R. R. v. State Board of Education: One of the important cases that opened the door to increased inclusion of children withdisabilities in regular education classes.
Deaf–blindness: Simultaneous hearing and visual impairments.
Deafness: A hearing impairment so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information, with or without amplification.
Determination: The determination of the presence of a suspected disability using knowledge of the criteria that constitute each category.
Developmental delay: Experiencing delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development,communication.
Diana v. State Board of Education: In this case, California was mandated by the court to correct bias in assessment procedures used withChinese American and Mexican American students.
Due process: The right to an impartial hearing if parents do not agree with the decisions made about their child in the assessment process.
Education of All Handicapped Children Act (EHA): The federal law that set forth procedural safeguards for children with disabilities andtheir parents.
Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986: Amended P.L. 94-142, requiring states to provide a free and appropriatepublic education to children with disabilities ages 3 through 5.
Eligibility and diagnosis: The determination by assessment whether a child is eligible for special education services and what classificationthe child will receive.
Emotional disturbance: A disability whereby a child of typical intelligence has difficulty, over time and to a marked degree, with variousemotional and behavioral issues.
Evaluation: The evaluation of a child’s academic, intellectual, psychological, emotional, perceptual, language, cognitive, and medicaldevelopment in order to determine areas of strength and weakness.
Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): The federal law that gives parents and eligible students the right to examine thestudent’s personal file.
Fourteenth Amendment: The equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution, which states that all people must have equal protectionunder the law.
Georgia State Conference of Branches of NAACP v. State of Georgia: A U.S. court of appeals ruled that overrepresentation of AfricanAmerican children in classes for the mentally retarded by itself was not sufficient to prove discrimination.
Gerstmeyer v. Howard County Public Schools: Here, the court ruled that when a school district delays an evaluation for 6 months, parentscan sue for costs associated with the delay and be reimbursed for all associated costs.
Guadalupe v. Tempe Elementary School: In Arizona, a U.S. district court agreed to a stipulated agreement that children could not be placedin educable mentally retarded classes unless they scored lower than two standard deviations below the population mean on an approvedIQ test administered in the child’s own language.
Hearing impairment: An impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating.
Hobson v. Hansen: A U.S. district court declared that the District of Columbia’s school system’s tracking system was invalid.
IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act): Federal law requiring a timely, comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluation.
IDEA ’97 (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997): Federal law that strengthened parents’ roles and the least restrictiveenvironment mandate.
IDEA 2004 (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act): The federal law that guarantees a “free and appropriateeducation,” including special education and related service programming, to all children and youth with disabilities who require it. IDEA2004 also ensures that the rights of children and youth with disabilities and their parents or guardians are protected (e.g., fairness,appropriateness, and due process in decision making about providing special education and related services to children and youth withdisabilities).
Individualized education program (IEP): The document that sets forth the short-term and long-term goals of each child who is classifiedin special education.
Informed consent: The rights of parents to know exactly what will happen to their children in the process of assessment.
Instructional planning: One of the primary purposes of assessment whereby a plan is developed that is appropriate for a child in specialeducation. The plan should focus on social, academic, physical, and management needs.
Jose P. v. Ambach: The court in this case ruled that evaluations in or for special education services must be “timely evaluations.”
Larry P. v. Riles: In this California case, using IQ tests as the assessment measure for placing African American students in special educationas mentally retarded was found to be discriminatory.
Least restrictive environment (LRE): The idea that all children with disabilities should be educated in an environment that is leastrestrictive, ensuring to the extent possible that they will receive their education with children without disabilities.
Luke S. and Han S. v. Nix et al.: A Louisiana court case in which the court ruled that greater pre-referral assessment should be done beforea referral is made.
Mental retardation: Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior.
Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia: This case set forth future guidelines for federal legislation, including the rights ofstudents to have access to a free public education, due process protection, and a mandated requirement to receive special educationservices regardless of the school district’s financial capability.
Multiple disabilities: The manifestation of two or more disabilities (such as mental retardation and blindness), the combination of whichrequires special accommodation for maximal learning.
Native language: The language that is the primary language for the child and/or his or her parents.
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB): With passage of No Child Left Behind, Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary EducationAct (ESEA). In amending ESEA, the new law represents a sweeping overhaul of federal efforts to support elementary and secondaryeducation in the United States. It is built on four commonsense pillars: accountability for results, an emphasis on doing what works basedon scientific research, expanded parental options, and expanded local control and flexibility.
Nondiscriminatory assessment: Objective and fair testing practices and procedures for all children.
Orthopedic impairment: Physical disabilities including congenital impairments, impairments caused by disease, and impairments fromother causes.
Other health impairment: Having limited strength, vitality, or alertness due to chronic or acute health problems (e.g., diabetes, asthma,hypoglycemia, attention deficit disorder).
PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: In this case, a U.S. federal court in Pennsylvania ratified a consent agreement ensuring thatschools may not exclude students who have been classified with mental retardation.
PASE v. Joseph P. Hannon: Here, the court found that the use of intelligence tests was acceptable in psychoeducational assessment as longas schools followed all other procedural safeguards under federal law.
Reauthorization: The act of amending and renewing a law.
Recommendation: The recommendations concerning educational placement and programs that need to be made to the school, teachers,and parents.
Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act: A civil rights law created to prevent discrimination against all individuals withdisabilities in programs that receive federal funds, as do all public schools.
Specific learning disability: A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in usinglanguage, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematicalcalculations.
Speech or language impairment: A communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voiceimpairment.
Transition services: Services and programs to help students in special education make the transition from high school to college orvocational career.
Traumatic brain injury: An acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functionaldisability or psychosocial impairment or both.
Visual impairment: An impairment in vision (including blindness) that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educationalperformance.
Vocational Education Act of 1984 (Perkins Act): Law authorizing federal funds to support vocational education programs.
Wyatt v. Stickney: In Alabama, a federal court ruled that mentally retarded children in state institutions had a constitutional right totreatment.
Zero reject: All students have the right to a public school education and cannot be excluded because of a disability.