DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
925 Children with Disabilities
proposed
Education Impact Analysis
Pursuant to 14 Del.C. §122(d)
A. Type of Regulatory Action Required
Amendment to Existing Regulation
B. Synopsis of Subject Matter of the Regulation
The Secretary of Education seeks the consent of the State Board of Education to amend 14 DE Admin. Code 925 Children with Disabilities. Section 5.0, Individualized Education Program (IEP), would be amended to add new sections 5.3.2, 5.4.1 and 5.4.2. The change in 5.3.2 requires including the Career Technical Teacher Coordinator in the IEP meeting when the student is in a Cooperative Education Program or a Diversified Occupations Program. The changes in 5.4.1 and 5.4.2 address the use of the IEP forms.
C. Impact Criteria
1. Will the amended regulation help improve student achievement as measured against state achievement standards? The amended regulation addresses changes in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) which may contribute to improved student achievement.
2. Will the amended regulation help ensure that all students receive an equitable education? The amended regulation addresses changes in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) which may contribute to ensuring that all children receive an equitable education.
3. Will the amended regulation help to ensure that all students’ health and safety are adequately protected? The amended regulation addresses changes in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) which may contribute to ensuring that all students’ health and safety are adequately protected.
4. Will the amended regulation help to ensure that all students’ legal rights are respected? The amended regulation addresses changes in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) which may contribute to ensuring that all students’ legal rights are protected.
5. Will the amended regulation preserve the necessary authority and flexibility of decision making at the local board and school level? The amended regulation will preserve the necessary authority and flexibility of decision making at the local board and school level.
6. Will the amended regulation place unnecessary reporting or administrative requirements or mandates upon decision makers at the local board and school levels? The amended regulation will not place any unnecessary reporting or administrative requirements or mandates upon decision makers at the local board and school levels.
7. Will the decision making authority and accountability for addressing the subject to be regulated be placed in the same entity? The decision making authority and accountability for addressing the subject to be regulated will remain in the same entity.
8. Will the amended regulation be consistent with and not an impediment to the implementation of other state educational policies, in particular to state educational policies addressing achievement in the core academic subjects of mathematics, science, language arts and social studies? The amended regulation will be consistent with and not an impediment to the implementation of other state educational policies, in particular to state educational policies addressing achievement in the core academic subjects of mathematics, science, language arts and social studies.
9. Is there a less burdensome method for addressing the purpose of the regulation? The federal law requires the state to make regulations concerning students with disabilities.
10. What is the cost to the State and to the local school boards of compliance with the regulation? There will be no additional cost to the State and to the local school boards of compliance with the regulation.
925 Children With Disabilities
5.0 Individualized Education Program (IEP)
An IEP shall be developed prior to delivery of services and within thirty (30) calendar days following the determination that a child is eligible for special education and related services.
5.1 Transition Between Grades or Levels: During the annual review, the IEP team shall consider the needs of the child with a disability who is scheduled for a move. Communication with the staff of the receiving program shall occur to ensure that a child's transition between grades or levels does not endanger his/her receipt of a free appropriate public education.
5.2 IEP of Transferring Students with Disabilities
5.2.1 A child with a disability who transfers from one school district or other public agency educational program to another must be temporarily placed in an educational setting which appears to be most suited to the child's needs based on a decision mutually agreed upon by the parents and representative of the receiving school district or other public agency.
5.2.2 The request for, and the forwarding of, records shall be in accordance with 29 Del. C. Ch. 5.
5.2.3 A child's IEP from the sending school district or other public agency may be acceptable for temporary provision of special education services. The agreement shall be documented by the signatures of a parent and the receiving principal on a temporary placement form or the cover page of the IEP.
5.2.4 A review of the IEP shall be instituted and completed within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of initial attendance of the child in the receiving agency, and sixty (60) calendar days for students transferring from out- of-state schools. The receiving school is responsible for ensuring that all requirements concerning evaluation, IEP development, placement, and procedural safeguards shall be applied in determining the provision of special education and related services for transferring children.
5.3 IEP Team: Participants at an IEP meeting shall be collectively identified as the IEP Team.
5.3.1 The agency representative must have the authority to commit agency resources and be able to ensure that whatever services are set out in the IEP will actually be provided.
5.3.2 When possible participation in a Cooperative Education Program or a Diversified Occupations Program is to be discussed, the Career Technical Teacher Coordinator shall attend the IEP meeting as per 14 DE Admin. Code 525.
5.3.2 5.3.3 The district shall notify parents of the IEP meeting no less than ten (10) business days prior to the meeting (unless mutually agreed otherwise) to ensure that they have the opportunity to attend, and no less than three (3) business days for removal due to disciplinary action. See 12.0 Disciplinary Procedures.
5.4 Content of the Individualized Education Program: Each child who is determined to be eligible for special education and related services shall have a single IEP.
5.4.1 The Primary IEP form found in The Administrative Manual for Special Education Services (AMSES) (Appendix A) shall be used for students beginning with preschool (age 3), until use of the Secondary IEP form. The Secondary IEP form found in The Administrative Manual for Special Education Services (AMSES) (Appendix A) shall be used beginning in the eighth grade, or earlier, if the IEP team agrees.
5.4.2 The requirement that the local education agencies and other agencies use the forms found in The Administrative Manual for Special Education Services (AMSES) (Appendix A) does not prohibit or prevent an IEP team from including on an IEP any information, service or other notation the team determines necessary to provide Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to any individual child with a disability.
5.4.1 5.4.3 The IEP shall designate whether or not it is necessary to place the child who is transported from school by bus into the charge of a parent or other authorized responsible person.
5.4.2 5.4.4 By the middle of the eighth grade, the IEP shall include plans to determine the child’s interests/ preferences, and to make application to high school and vocational education programs. Full transition services planning will apply by the end of the ninth grade or prior to the child’s 15th birthday, whichever comes first, unless determined appropriate at a younger age by the IEP T team.
5.5 Monitoring IEPs: As part of the on-going responsibility for the monitoring and evaluation of programs to determine compliance with state and federal requirements, the school district and/or other public agency shall review the IEPs of children with disabilities to determine that their content is consistent with requirements of these regulations. Documentation of monitoring efforts shall be maintained by the school district and/or other public agencies.
5.6 Need for Extended School Year Services: Full consideration must be given to the educational needs of each child. The following factors are to be considered by the IEP team in making a decision that, without extended school year services over the summer months, the child would not receive a fFree aAppropriate pPublic eEducation (FAPE) during the regular school year.
5.6.1 Degree of Impairment: The team should determine whether, without extended school year services, appropriate and meaningful progress on IEP goals and objectives will not be achieved, given the nature and/or severity of the child's disability.
5.6.2 Regression/recoupment: Regression refers to a decline in skills specified on the IEP which results from an interruption in programming. Recoupment period is the amount of time required to relearn the skills following the interruption. In making a determination as to whether extended school year services are required, the team should consider that this criterion focuses on students who have a consistent pattern of substantial regression in critical skill areas and for whom the amount of time needed to relearn the skills becomes so significant as to preclude educational progress. The team may utilize predictive data for children in their initial year of programming.
5.6.3 Breakthrough opportunities: The team should determine whether, without extended school year services, the attainment of a nearly acquired critical skill would be significantly jeopardized over the summer break.
5.6.4 Vocational: For children ages 16-20 whose IEPs contain vocational/employment goals and objectives, the team should determine whether paid employment opportunities will be significantly jeopardized if training and job coaching are not provided during the summer break.
5.6.5 Other rare and unusual extenuating circumstances: The team should determine whether any special or extenuating circumstances exist which justify provision of extended school year services to meet FAPE requirements.
5.6.6 Extended school year services are to be based on needs and goals/objectives found within the child's IEP of the school year, though activities may be different.
5.6.7 This regulation does not diminish a child's entitlement to participate, with or without accommodations, in summer school programs provided by local school districts. Normally scheduled summer school programs may be an option for providing extended school year services if such programs can meet the individual needs of each child, per his/her IEP.
5.6.8 The decision of the setting for the delivery of extended school year services shall be an IEP team decision. The team shall document that the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) was considered in making a decision. Districts are not required to establish school programs for non-disabled students for the sole purpose of satisfying the LRE requirements for students receiving extended school year services.
5.6.9 Transportation shall be provided to students except for service provided in the home or hospital. Mileage reimbursement to the family may be used as a transportation option if the parent voluntarily transports the student.
5.6.10 Written notice shall be provided to parents advising them that extended school year services will be discussed at the IEP meeting. The IEP team shall document that extended school year services were considered, and indicate the basis for a decision on the IEP. In cases where parents do not attend the IEP meeting, they would be advised of the decision on extended school year services through the usual IEP follow-up procedures used by the district.
5.6.11 In cases where parents do not agree with the decision on extended school year services, the use of normal procedural safeguards shall be followed. The process shall begin early enough to ensure settlement of the issue prior to the end of the school year.
3 DE Reg. 1551 (5/1/00)
* Please Note: As the rest of the sections were not amended they are not being published. A complete set of the regulations for Children with Disabilities are available at:
http://www.state.de.us/research/AdminCode/title14/900/925%20Children%20with%20Disabilities.shtml#TopOfPage
