For the 2016 Annual OCD Conference

1. Navigating through High School
and Beyond…
Linda and Stephen Palmer, Rochester, NY
Peggy Thomas, Fayetteville, GA

2.  The most important guiding principle of the IDEA is that
each child has the right to the Least Restrictive
Environment (LRE), which means that s/he will be
educated with peers in the general education setting “to
the maximum extent that is appropriate.”
 This means that students will only be sent to special
classes or separate programs when the supports and
services cannot provide them with an appropriate
education.
 The tool that schools use to formally provide supports
and services to students is called the IEP, or the
Individualized Educational Program.
The foundation law for Special Education is called IDEA, the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1975).

3. What is an IEP?
An IEP is a customized education plan. It considers the student’s current level of
functioning, measures of performance and ability, and the student’s needs for the future.
The IEP prescribes the supports (i.e. paraprofessional in class), modifications (i.e.
extended time on tests) and services (i.e. speech therapy, special transportation) that the
student needs. Schools are required by law to adhere to the IEP. It is reviewed and
updated at least once each year.
How does a student qualify for an IEP?
Students must have a disability that is listed in the IDEA legislation.
The student’s disability must affect the child’s ability to learn in the regular education
classroom.
Other efforts to support the student have not helped the child make the necessary gains.

4. What is the process to get my child an IEP?
 Someone decides to pursue special education supports. That person can be a
parent, a teacher, a counselor, an administrator.
 The school administers several tests to the child.
 A committee convenes to discuss the findings of the tests as well as any
comments that teachers, staff and parents share.
 The committee consists of: parents, a classroom teacher, a special
education teacher, a school psychologist, an administrator, and the child,
when mature.
 An IEP document is drafted that outlines all supports for the child. Parents
must sign the IEP, but are not required to do so if there is a dispute regarding
services/supports.

5. What happens if my child is denied an IEP?
The law that governs Special Education has very specific criteria and school districts often prefer not
to place a child in Special Education. If you are denied an IEP, you can still ask that your child be
reviewed for a 504 plan.
To be eligible under Section 504, a student must:
 have a physical or mental impairment (permanent or
temporary) that substantially limits one or more major
life activities;
 have a record of such an impairment; or
 be regarded as having such an impairment.
 Section 504 regulations do not provide an exhaustive list
of specific diseases or conditions that constitute physical
or mental impairments.

6. What kinds of accommodations could a 504 provide?
 Environmental strategies, such as special seating or sensory break
 Organizational strategies, such as graphic organizers or checking the student’s planner
 Behavioral strategies, such as recording and reporting of student’s behavior
 Presentation strategies, such as recorded lessons, study guides or A/V equipment
 Modified assignments
 Modified assessments

7. Alternative HS settings/considerations
 Homeschooling
 Medical leave
 Private tutoring
 Online school
 Alternative Schools

8. ChildParent/s
School
staff
Mental
health
professionals

9. Resources
http://www.advocatesforchildren.org/sites/default/files/library/section_504_guide.pdf?pt=1
www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/ieps/understanding-individualized-
education-programs
http://www.warmlinefrc.org/uploads/5/9/5/8/5958794/section_504_accomodations.pdf
http://www.going-to-college.org/