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VPIC Programs | Vermont Special Education Regulations Survey Results Responses and Comments made by Parents to a Survey Regarding the Proposed Special Education Regulations, Submitted April 4, 2006 Total Number of Participants/Responses: 59 Towns which participated and responded: 39 (See a list of towns which participated.) Quicklinks: You may use the following quicklinks to navigate the survey results - Section 1: Definitions (6 Questions) Section 2: Evaluations (3 Questions) Section 3: Individual Educational Programs (IEP) (9 Questions) Section 4: Dispute Resolution (6 Questions) Section 5: Educational Surrogate Parents (1 Question) Section 6: Discipline (1 Question) SECTION 1: DEFINITIONS → Parent; Foster Parent Vermont’s current regulations state that foster parents appointed the educational surrogate parent by the Vermont Educational Surrogate Parent Program can serve as the parent for the IDEA purposes. (Participating in planning the child’s evaluation and IEP, having parental rights and decision-making ability.) Under prior federal law foster parents could make decisions regarding the special education of children in their care only when the foster parent “has an ongoing, long term parental relationship with the child” and is willing to make such decisions. Under the new IDEA this provision has been removed. Should Vermont’s special education regulations be revised to include the requirement that foster parents with an ongoing, long term parental relationship with the child can serve as the parent for special education purposes?
View All Written Comments for this Question → Scientifically-Based Research; Peer Reviewed Research The new IDEA requires the use of teaching methods that are scientifically-based, research-based and/or peer-reviewed research when teaching children with disabilities, wherever practicable. Should these terms be defined in the Vermont special education regulations?
View All Written Comments for this Question Should the Vermont Department of Education maintain a list of instructional methods that meet these requirements?
View All Written Comments for this Question Should the Vermont Department of Education maintain a list of professionals who are knowledgeable in these instructional methods and offer parents and schools training on the various methods?
View All Written Comments for this Question → Functional Assessment; Functional Goals, Functional Performance Under the new IDEA, schools must consider more than a child’s academic performance. Schools must now consider a child’s functional performance, conduct assessments of a child’s functional abilities outside of academics and must develop functional goals as part of a child’s IEP. However, the term “functional” has not been defined in the law itself. Should Vermont’s special education regulations define the term “functional”?
View All Written Comments for this Question → Special Education Services The definition of special education services includes special physical education, adapted physical education, movement education and motor development. Should Vermont’s special education regulations clarify which children are eligible for specialized physical education?
View All Written Comments for this Question Back to Top and Table of Contents! SECTION 2: EVALUATION → Children with Suspected Learning Disabilities Under the prior law, children with suspected specific learning disabilities could only be identified as such if the child demonstrated a “severe discrepancy” between the child’s ability (IQ) and his or her achievement. This has often been referred to as the “wait to fail” model. Under the new IDEA, school districts may not be required to use the severe discrepancy model. The new law permits districts to use a “response to intervention” (RTI) or another alternative approach to determine the existence of a specific learning disability.
The Vermont Department of Education has indicated that it will take about six years to develop the expertise to effectively implement the RTI approach. At present, the proposed state rules leave the decision as to what methodology to use to the school districts.
View All Written Comments for this Question Should Vermont’s special education regulations be revised to include a classroom observation as a component of evaluations for all children suspected of having a disability?
View All Written Comments for this Question → Autism To be eligible for special education services, a child must have one of the disabilities listed in the federal and state regulations. One of the disability categories is autism. Autism is only one of the disorders that fall within what are referred to in diagnostic manuals as “autism spectrum disorders. The other diagnoses that fall within this disability classification are: Asperger’s Syndrome, Rhetts Syndrome Childhood Disintegrative Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Delay-Not otherwise specified. However, parents have had difficulty accessing special education services for their children who have one of the others diagnoses that fall under the autism spectrum. Because their child does not demonstrate the characteristics need for a diagnosis of autism, they are denied eligibility under this disability category even though the impact of their child’s autism related disability is comparable to that for children with other disabilities. Should the Vermont special education regulations be revised to change the autism category to “autism spectrum disorders” and include under that category all diagnoses that fall within the autism spectrum?
View All Written Comments for this Question Back to Top and Table of Contents! SECTION 3: INDIVIDUAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS (IEP) → Attendance at IEP Meetings: When parents do not attend meetings (1) Detailed records of telephone calls made or attempted and the results of those calls; (2) Copies of correspondence sent to the parents and any responses received; and (3) Detailed records of visits made to the parent’s home or place of employment and the results of those visits.
View All Written Comments for this Question → Attendance at IEP Meetings: When team members can be excused Under the new IDEA, members of the IEP team can be excused from participating in some or all of the meeting if the member’s participation is not necessary because the member’s area of the curriculum or related services is not being discussed or modified at the meeting.
View All Written Comments for this Question The agreement to excuse a member of the IEP team members from participation in an IEP meeting requires the excused member to submit, in writing, his or her input into the IEP development prior to the meeting. Should the Vermont special education regulations include a specific timeline, for example, one week or more, for receipt of the written input?
View All Written Comments for this Question → Changes in the IEP Under the prior law, changes to an IEP after the annual review were only made at an IEP team meeting. The IEP document was revised to reflect the changes made by the team and all members of the team, including parents, received a copy of the revised IEP. Under the new IDEA, changes to the IEP can also be made without a meeting and documentation of the change can be reflected in an amendment attached to the original IEP. Federal law states that parents can obtain a copy of the amended IEP “upon request”. Do you support Vermont’s proposed special education regulation that requires schools to provide parents with a copy of the amended IEP automatically, rather than upon request?
View All Written Comments for this Question → Content Of The IEP Under the prior law and regulations short-term objectives or benchmarks were required elements of a child’s IEP. They were intended to provide parents with a way to measure and monitor their child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals for the child. Under the new IDEA, short term objectives or benchmarks are only required for those children with the most severe disabilities. For all of the other children, the new law the IEP must contain “a description of how the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals... will be measured and when periodic reports on the progress the child is making toward meeting the annual goals... will be provided.” The new IDEA suggests that quarterly or other periodic reports issued at the same time that report cards are issued as an example that meets the progress reporting requirements. Do you support Vermont’s proposed special education regulations to retain short-term objectives as a required component of the child’s IEP?
View All Written Comments for this Question Would it be acceptable to you as a parent to not have short-term objectives in the IEP if an alternate means of measuring your child’s progress was established?
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→ Transition from High School to Adult Life
One of the purposes of the IDEA is preparation of the student for the transition from school to adult living, including preparation for further education, employment, and independent living. Under the prior law, the IEP team was required to include in the IEP a description of the student’s transition needs at age 14 or younger, if appropriate. This included a focus on the courses of study, such as the student’s enrollment in advanced placement courses or vocational education, the student needed to successfully move from school to adulthood. The IEP team was required to update this statement annually. At age 16, the IEP needed to include a description of the actual services needed to assist the student transitioning from school to adulthood. Under the new IDEA, the requirement to begin the transition process at age 14 was eliminated. The Law now requires that beginning with the first IEP in effect at age 16, or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP team, the IEP must include a statement of appropriate and measurable post-secondary goals based upon age appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, independent living skills and a statement of transition services (including courses of study) needed to assist the child in reaching those goals. Do you support the proposed Vermont special education regulation to maintain the requirement that IEP teams begin the transition planning process at age 14 or younger, if appropriate?
View All Written Comments for this Question → Graduation Under the new IDEA, when a student with a disability graduates with a regular diploma or ages out of special education eligibility at age 22, the school district must provide the student with a summary of the student’s academic achievement and functional performance, which must include recommendations on how to assist the child in meeting the child’s post secondary goals. Neither the proposed federal nor the proposed State regulations describe what the specific content of the summary should be. Should the Vermont special education regulations describe what information must be included in the summary of a student’s academic and functional performance?
View All Written Comments for this Question Should the Vermont Department of Education create a form as part of the IEP that provides schools with a list of information required to provide the student with a summary of academic achievement and functional performance, including recommendations on how to assist the child in meeting the child’s post secondary goals?
View All Written Comments for this Question Back to Top and Table of Contents! SECTON 4: DISPUTE RESOLUTION → Mediation: Attorneys
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