Education
The Individualized Education Program (IEP)
From Theory to Practice: Removing Barriers to your Child's Right to an IEP
Policy letters issued by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), are an effective tool for removal of barriers for access to assistive technology. They can be used in individual cases to
remove a barrier and enable a student to have access to technology. In broad systems change efforts they can ultimately lead to legislative changes.
Action steps for each policy letter related to assistive technology to date have been published by UCP. Below is a sample of actions steps suggested from the August 1990 policy letter related to the right to assistive technology in Individualized Education Plans.
State Level
- Arrange a meeting with your state Director of Special Education.
- Seek an acceptable resolution to the following issues:
- What steps will the state agency take to ensure compliance by all local educational agencies in the state with the new OSEP policy letter on the right to assistive technology?
- Will a set of model or instructive guidelines be developed on a state level to assist compliance of local education agencies?
- What monitoring of local school systems will be done to ensure LEA compliance?
- Can agreement be reached in writing on a definition of practices that would improve access and availability of assistive technology on a statewide basis to school-age children with disabilities?
- What steps will the state agency take to ensure compliance by all local educational agencies in the state with the new OSEP policy letter on the right to assistive technology?
- Consider the establishment of a task force that includes parents, therapists, non-profit providers, and local school system representatives to develop compliance guidelines. Issues to be addressed include:
- Adequate notice to families about the right to assistive technology;
- Identification and assessment process;
- Building appropriate system capacity and competencies to provide:
- appropriate services (training and equipment purchases)
- appropriate integration of technology as a means of improving learning, mobility, communication, interaction with non-disabled peers;
- dispute resolution and transition of technology supports after a student ages out of special education.
- appropriate services (training and equipment purchases)
- Adequate notice to families about the right to assistive technology;
Local Level
- Share this article and policy letter with parents, therapists, educators, and administrators.
- Arrange for a meeting with your local Director of Special Education to discuss a process to ensure appropriate assessment of students' needs for assistive technology:
- Will notice be provided to parents of the right to assistive technology?
- Will a process be established or refined to identify students who have needs for assistive technology that remain unmet in the current school year?
- Who will participate on the assessment team? What are their qualifications to evaluate the utilization of technology devices and/or services to benefit from special education or facilitate
a student's education in a regular education environment?
- What standards will be applied to determine if technology needs meet requirements of FAPE (free appropriate public education) as "special education, related service, or a supplementary aid or service?"
- To what extent will parents, students, teachers, and therapists be involved in the assessment process and the determination of unmet technology needs to be documented and responded to on the student's IEP?
- When there are disagreements between the student's [parents and school system personnel] what process will be in place to conduct further or an independent evaluation of technology needs?
- Will the full scope of technology interventions be considered to respond to problems of learning, mobility, communication, and non-[disabled] peer interaction in the least restrictive environment?
- Will notice be provided to parents of the right to assistive technology?
- If the above list of issues are not worked out to satisfaction, consider:
- Contacting the state Director of Special Education to provide technical assistance. Call and/or write to the Director, Office of Special Education Programs, (202) 205- 5507, 330 C Street, SW, Washington, DC 20202-2736 to intervene and assist in resolving problem issues.
- Decisions must be made on an individual student basis, not for a group of students or based on a particular type of disability. Cost and availability of devices and/or services cannot be a part of the decision-making process to meet a student's right to a free appropriate public education.
Individual Advocacy
Listed below are some of the steps that can be taken in assisting students who need assistive technology to benefit from their Individualized Education Plan (IEP):
- Make the school aware that assistive technology needs to be considered as part of the student's educational plan. This should be done by requesting, in writing, to a representative of the school district, an evaluation or re-evaluation of the child. State that you believe your child can benefit educationally from the use of assistive technology.
- The school district must provide the evaluation. If you receive an evaluation that is not appropriate, ask for an independent evaluation.
- Upon completion of the evaluation, an IEP meeting should be convened to determine how to meet the goals and objectives for the student's educational plan with the use of the appropriate assistive technology.
- Remember, according to federal law and policy, if your child needs assistive technology to benefit from his\her educational program, it must be part of the IEP and at no cost to the parent. Policy letters are useful tools in reminding the school district of students' rights as they relate to assistive technology.
If you are dealing with a negative response to your requests for proper evaluation, provision of technology, or taking technology home, for example, these letters can and should be used.
If you disagree with the school district at any step in the process, you may request an impartial due process hearing. If you need legal assistance, you may contact your state Protection and Advocacy agency. In addition, each state has a Parent Training and Information Center that may be able to offer assistance.
The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and no official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of the opinions expressed herein should be inferred.