The related services that a student receives are based upon his or her unique needs related to disability. So it’s important to know what kinds of related services are available and which would appropriately support the student’s learning.
IEP is an acronym for Individualized Education Program. The primary vehicle for providing FAPE is through an appropriately developed IEP.
Schools are to give parents the Texas Education Agency (TEA) document Notice of Procedural Safeguards Rights of Parents of Students with Disabilities at least once a year. It is also to be given when an initial evaluation for special education services is begun or when a parent requests an evaluation, when the first state complaint or due process hearing complaint is made in a school year, and whenever a parent requests a copy. There are common mistakes that many parents make in regards to this document and their rights. […]
Ask five people and you might easily get five different answers, including at least one response of, “Huh?” The term procedural safeguards sounds rather legalistic and perhaps even a little scary. When it comes to education, what or who needs to be safeguarded? Children? Parents? Teachers? Schools? For our purposes, Procedural Safeguards are a set of requirements to ensure that children with disabilities are provided with a free appropriate public education, according to the standards and mechanisms established by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its regulations. Stated in another way, Procedural Safeguards serve [...]
Under the IDEA children with disabilities are entitled to a "free appropriate public education (FAPE) designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living. FAPE requires that a school district provide special education and related services designed to meet the needs of a particular student and are in conformity with the IEP. There is a two part process in determining if a student is to be provided services through special education. Federal regulations require that eligibility for special education services be determined by a two-step process based on: 1. The presence of a disability, [...]
Recall the law: Districts “must take steps, including the provision of supplementary aids and services determined appropriate and necessary by the child’s IEP Team, to provide nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities in the manner necessary to afford children with disabilities an equal opportunity for participation in those services and activities. (b) Nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities may include counseling services, athletics, transportation, health services, recreational activities, special interest groups or clubs sponsored by the public agency.” 300.107 […]
