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Description: Manifestation Determination Reviews (MDRs) Toolkit - PEATC has developed another Toolkit to help parents navigate complex special education processes. An MDR is a process used when a student with an IEP has violated the Student Code of Conduct at their school and a change in placement is being considered. The MDR review determines whether the student’s behavior is a manifestation of their disability. If it is, then certain protections under IDEA apply for that student. Our toolkit provides...
Description: The Data Meeting Toolkit is a suite of tools that groups can use to guide conversation around data and support databased decisionmaking. The toolkit provides resources to support success before, during, and after data meetings, including A description of essential data meeting roles and responsibilities, including key stakeholders A protocol of steps before, during, and after meetings to guide selection, analysis, and decisionmaking using data Examples of how to use the toolkit to address a...
Description: View OCR Video Series on Accessibility - The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights announces a video series covering a variety of topics on digital access in education, including how people with disabilities use technology, applicable Federal regulations, and identifying and remediating barriers to access. Whether you are in the educational field or not, these videos have wide ranging coverage for those who want to know: What makes technology accessible for...
Description: The Office of Special Education Programs is excited to release a new OSEP Fast Facts: Race and Ethnicity of Children with Disabilities Served under IDEA Part B and new supplemental tool, Hand In Hand, which explore IDEA, Section 618 data with the specific lens on race and ethnicity. For the Hand In Hand supplemental tool, each display in the OSEP Fast Facts: Race and Ethnicity of Children with Disabilities Served under IDEA Part B is presented with critical questions to allow parents...
Description: This guide aims to help parents like you understand the flexibility provided to States and school districts in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which amended the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a landmark Federal education law. We know that parents are the most important advocates for their children. Because States and school districts have significant flexibility in how they meet the requirements of the law, you have an opportunity to influence how they use that flexibility to...
Description: The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed by President Obama on December 10, 2015, and represents good news for our nation’s schools. This bipartisan measure reauthorizes the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students. The new law builds on key areas of progress in recent years, made possible by the efforts of educators, communities, parents, and students...
Description: Where will a student with a disability receive his or her special education and related services? IDEA requires placement in the least restrictive environment (LRE) for each child, a setting that is based on the child’s IEP. Use the options and paths below to find out more about: who decides placement; how they decide it; what LRE is and why it’s a foundation element in IDEA and in deciding a child’s placement; and how placement can be affected if a child...
Description: The education of children with disabilities is a top national priority. Our nation’s special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), sets high standards for their achievement and guides how special help and services are made available in schools to address their individual needs.
Description: In drafting the provisions of IDEA, our nation’s special education law, Congress clearly contemplated that, at times, there would be disagreements between parents of children with disabilities and the school districts providing special education and related services to their children. While it is expected that parents and school personnel will work in partnership to ensure children with disabilities are provided appropriate services, there are times when the child’s parents and...
Description: About the Training Curriculum Title | Building the Legacy for Our Youngest Children with Disabilities: A Training Curriculum on Part C of IDEA 2004 By Whom? | This training curriculum was produced by NICHCY at the request of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Department of Education. The Center for Parent Information and Resources is pleased to house this curriculum and to make it continuously available. For Whom? | The curriculum is intended to...
Description: Being a parent is the most wonderful—and hardest—job in the world. If you have a child with special needs, your job is no less wonderful, but it can be more complicated. Your child’s education is most likely an area of great interest to you. As a child with a disability, he or she may be eligible for special education services in school. If so, then it will be important for you to learn: more about special education; how special education services can support your child; and...
Description: This joint guidance document represents collaboration between the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) and the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) to implement the provisions of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Fostering Connections) to ensure school stability for children in foster care. This guidance applies to initial and subsequent residence placements while children are in foster care.
Description: Virginia's Guidelines for Educating Students with Specific Learning Disabilities (PDF) Also available as Accessible Word Document (Word) – A resource for teachers and administrators as they address the educational needs of students with a Specific Learning Disability (SLD). These guidelines offer an overview of best practices for educating individuals with SLD. Parents of children with SLD may find this document useful as well. Specific Learning Disability...
Description: Every child is unique and learns in different ways. If your child has been identified as needing special education services to support his or her learning at school, you can play a major role in shaping the services your child receives. This section will help you understand the Individualized Education Program (IEP) and the importance of your participation in developing your child’s IEP Plan. You are a required member of your child’s IEP team, and your ideas must always be considered...
Description: Enforcement The Department's ADA enforcement efforts have helped to ensure that people with disabilities can access Web sites, electronic book readers, online courses, and point-of-sale devices. Technical Assistance and Guidance The Department has developed technical assistance and guidance to help covered entities understand their ADA obligations with regard to accessible technology. Other Federal Accessible Technology Resources and Initiatives
Description: If your child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), IDEA guarantees your some important rights. The right to: Participate in IEP Meetings, An Independent Evaluation, Give (or Deny) Consent, Contest a School's Decision, and Private Education Paid by the Public School (in specific circumstances).
Description: Subtitle VII-B of The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act authorizes the federal Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Program and is the primary piece of federal legislation related to the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness. It was reauthorized in December 2015 by Title IX, Part A, of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Description: This article discusses the following: IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. The purpose of an IEP is to lay out the special education instruction, supports, and services a student needs to thrive in school. IEPs are part of PreK–12 public education.
Description: We are pleased to provide English speakers with quick access to the wealth of information in Spanish on this website. For those of you who don’t speak Spanish, use this page to easily find and share important information with the Spanish speakers you serve in their own language. Use the alphabetical jumps below to search the list for topics in English. Each item starts with the topic/title in English and a link to information in English on that topic. This is followed by the...
Description: Información en español en este sitio, Nos complacemos en facilitar su acceso rápido a nuestra información en español a través de esta lista alfabética organizada por Tema de Discapacidad.
Description: Students with Disabilities and Bullying: Top five things for parents, educators, and students to know 1. The impact – Bullying affects a student’s ability to learn Many students with disabilities are already addressing unique challenges in school. When they are bullied, it can directly impact their ability to learn and grow. Bullying is not a harmless rite of childhood that everyone experiences. Research shows that bullying can negatively impact a child’s access to education...
Description: There are times when parents and schools simply do not agree on some issue affecting a child’s education. They may try informal approaches to resolving the conflict, such as reviewing and revising the child’s IEP or holding a facilitated IEP meeting (an approach emerging in the field). When these don’t result in agreement on what represents an appropriate education for a child, the law (IDEA) provides several approaches that parents and schools can use to help resolve the...
Description: Since the 1960s, there has been a virtual avalanche of federal legislation that relates directly or indirectly to individuals with disabilities, particularly children and youth. These form the core of current protection against discrimination and current guarantees of equal educational opportunity that individuals with disabilities have in our nation.
Description: If you’re looking for information about disabilities in infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities, you’ve come to the right place! The Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR) offers information and connections to the full spectrum of disabilities in children, including developmental delays and rare disorders. Use the links below to learn about typical developmental milestones in childhood, specific disabilities and disorders, and the...
Description: Welcome to the alphabet soup of special education! The disability community is full of acronyms that people constantly use in writing and in conversation, and it’s important to know what those acronyms stand for. Acronyms are used in order to abbreviate names or phrases. The CPIR is pleased to provide this list of special education and disability-related acronyms, and hope it helps our readers quickly connect with the meaning of pivotal acronyms in the field.
Description: Read This Publication If You Want to Know… How to have your child evaluated (at no cost to you) to see why he or she is having difficulty in school What the evaluation process involves and how you can contribute to it How special education can support your child’s learning, if he or she is found eligible for services How your child’s eligibility is determined and your right to participate in making that decision What happens next, if your child is found eligible...
Description: The central “Hub” of information and products created for the network of Parent Centers serving families of children with disabilities All the materials found on the CPIR Hub have been created and archived for Parent Centers around the country to help them provide support and services to the families they serve. The CPIR employs a user-centered process, gathering the perspectives of our experienced audience—Parent Center staff members and other...
Description: Resources - Special Education Regulations & Rights "Your Family's Special Education Rights" identifies key parts of the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004” (IDEA), a federal law governing the education of students with disabilities. IDEA 2004 requires that families be informed of their special education rights, including how families and schools can resolve problems. This document is available in Arabic (PDF), Chinese (PDF), English (PDF), Urdu...
Description: The ECTA Center supports state Part C and Section 619 programs in developing high-quality early intervention and preschool special education service systems, increasing local implementation of evidence-based practices, and enhancing outcomes for young children with disabilities and their families. We are a national technical assistance center focused on building state and local system capacity to improve outcomes for children with disabilities and their families. ECTA Center is funded by a...
Description: Welcome to the U.S. Department of Education’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) website, which brings together IDEA information and resources from the Department and our grantees. Whether you are a student, parent, educator, service provider, or grantee, you are here because you care about children with disabilities and their families and want to find information and explore resources on infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities.
Description: Knowledge is power, particularly in the days after an autism diagnosis. The Autism Speaks 100 Day Kit helps families of children ages four and under make the best possible use of the 100 days following the diagnosis. A 100 Day Kit for school age children is also available. This kit will help you learn more about autism and how to access the services that your child needs. It contains information and advice collected from trusted experts on autism, autistics and parents. The 100...
Description: The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is dedicated to improving results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities ages birth through 21 by providing leadership and financial support to assist states and local districts. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) authorizes formula grants to states, and discretionary grants to institutions of higher education and other non-profit organizations to support research,...
Description: An important responsibility of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability against students with disabilities. OCR receives numerous complaints and inquiries in the area of elementary and secondary education involving Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 794 (Section 504). Most of these concern identification of students who are protected by Section 504 and the means to obtain an appropriate education for such...
Description: The EEOC's goal is to eliminate illegal discrimination from the workplace for all workers. This website is designed to teach you about some of your rights and responsibilities as an employee. Use the menu on the left to learn about different types of discrimination affecting young workers and what you can do to help prevent discrimination in the workplace. (This information is available in Spanish.)