The Pleasantville SEPTA Handbook: click here for the link to the PDF
Accommodations Checklist: click here for handy reference guide
The Disability Law Handbook is now available on our website at: http://www.swdbtac.org/html/publications/dlh/index.html We encourage you to download and print as many copies as you would like. We will keep you on our listserv and update you when we have more publications of the handbook available and other resources we are developing. The book will also be translated into Spanish and we expect to have it available electronically in about three weeks.
This Disability Law Handbook is a 50-page guide to the basics of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability related laws. Written in an FAQ format, The Disability Law Handbook answers questions about the Americans with Disabilities Act, the ADA Amendments Act, the Rehabilitation Act, Social Security, the Air Carrier Access Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, and the Fair Housing Act Amendments.
ADA-OHIO (The Americans with Disabilities Act)
700 Morse Road, Suite 220
Columbus, OH 43214
614-844-5410
614-844-5537 FAX
adaohio@aol.com
http://www.ada-ohio.org/
ADA-OHIO is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
WRIGHTSLAW LEGAL INFO:
For detailed information about Education Law, please go to www.wrightslaw.com for information or consult an attorney.
The information listed below is from the Wrights Law web site and is not legal advice, but meant to be used as a guide for parents who are looking for resources on education laws.
I. IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)
2. Section 504 Plans
3. NCLB (No Child Left Behind)
4. RTI (Response to Intervention)
1. What You Need to Know About IDEA 2004: http://www.wrightslaw.com/idea/art.htm
IDEA 2004: What You Need to Know About Functional Goals in IEPS - Pat Howey answers questions about functional goals in IEPs. The IDEA 2004 statute and federal regulations include specific requirements about using present levels of functional performance to develop functional goals in the IEPs for all children with disabilities. Pat also teaches you how to find answers to your questions in references that are available on Wrightslaw.
IDEA 2004: What You Need to Know About IEPs for Children with Behavior Problems - IDEA 2004 and the special education regulations include specific requirements for IEPs of children whose behavior impedes their learning or the learning of other children, including training teachers to use positive behavioral interventions and strategies.
IDEA 2004: IEPs, Highly Qualified Teachers & Research Based Instruction Learn about new language in IDEA 2004 that is designed to ensure that children with disabilities are taught by highly qualified teachers and receive research based instruction. This article includes new requirements for personnel training, IEPs, and scientifically based instruction.
IDEA 2004: Can the IEP Team Prepare a "Draft IEP?" IDEA 2004 discourages the use of "draft IEPs" because they send a message that parental concerns and parental participation are not valued. Since some IEP teams will continue to use draft IEPs, Pat Howey describes the pros and cons and how you can turn a lemon (draft IEP) into lemonade.
The Most Powerful Advocacy Tool in IDEA 2004: Your State Advisory Panel - Sue Heath explains why state advisory panels are powerful tools for change, and asks you to get involved.
IDEA 2004: Specific Learning Disabilities: Discrepancy v. Response to Intervention Models- In IDEA 2004, Congress changed the law about how to identify children with specific learning disabilities. Schools “shall not be required to take into consideration whether a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability..." In this article, we look at response to intervention or response to instruction (RTI) models, discrepancy models, and how the changes in IDEA 2004 may affect millions of children who have been identified with specific learning disabilities.
10 Tips: How to Use IDEA 2004 to Improve Education for Children with Disabilities - Parent attorney Wayne Steedman explains how IDEA 2004 creates a higher standard for a free, appropriate public education and how parents can use NCLB to obtain a better IEP for their children. Learn how to include research based methodology in the IEP and ensure how to that the IEP goals are comprehensive, specific -- and measurable. Wayne advises you about pitfalls to avoid and offers advice about how you can resolve disputes without resorting to a due process hearing - and what you should do if you cannot resolve your dispute.
IDEA 2004: Roadmap to the IEP - How did IEPs change under IDEA 2004? What does the law say about developing, reviewing and revising IEPs? Who may be excused from IEP meetings, when, how? When can the child's IEP be changed without an IEP meeting? What services must be provided when a child transfers to a district in the same state? A different state? What are “multi-year IEPs”?
IDEA 2004: What You Need to Know About IEP Team Members & IEP Team Attendance - Learn about IEP team members and IEP team attendance, when team members may be excused from a meeting, and what parents and the school district must do before a team member may be excused.
2. What you need to know about Section 504 Plans: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADA_Amendments_Act_of_2008
Q. Who may be protected under Section 504, but not under IDEA? A student with AIDS? A student with ADD? A student with chronic asthma?
A. Section 504 is a civil rights law. Section 504 protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination. Section 504 ensures that children with disabilities have equal access to an education.
All three students would be protected from discrimination under Section 504. Each of these students may also be eligible for special education and related services under IDEA.
Eligibility for special education and related services under IDEA (and eligibility for protection from discrimination under Section 504) is not disability-specific. This means that one child who has ADD or asthma or AIDS is eligible for special education services under IDEA (which always makes a child eligible under 504) while another child who has ADD or asthma or AIDS is not eligible for services under IDEA, but may be protected from discrimination under Section 504.
These decisions are specific to each child.
If the child has a disability that adversely affects educational performance, the child is eligible for special education services under IDEA. Children who eligible for special education services under IDEA are protected under Section 504 (but the converse is not true).
If the child has a disability that does not adversely affect educational performance, then the child will not be eligible for special education services under IDEA but will usually be entitled to protections under Section 504.
3. No Child Left Behind: http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml?src=mr
Parents & Parental Involvement http://www.wrightslaw.com/nclb/art.htm
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Terms Every Parent Should Know. This article from the U.S. Department of Education details commonly used terms that parents may hear when discussing or reading about No Child Left Behind.
A Parent's Guide to No Child Left Behind. Sue Heath, co-author of Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind, describes new requirements for teachers and paraprofessionals, school and school district report cards, annual testing in math and reading. Learn about new options for parents, including transfers from failing schools and free supplemental services - tutoring, after-school programs and summer school. Printer-friendly version of A Parent's Guide to No Child Left Behind to distribute.
Schools Must Measure Progress & Report Results to Parents. Schools must measure each child's progress every year and report these results to parents and the public. Yes, this requirement applies to children in special education.
School Choice Opportunities under No Child Left Behind. Candace Cortiella, director of The Advocacy Institute, answers parents' questions about public school choice under NCLB.
Using the No Child Left Behind Act to Improve Schools in Your State - A Toolkit for Business Leaders published by the Business Roundtable
An Action Guide for Community and Parent Leaders - Using NCLB to Improve Student Achievement by Public Education Network
What Does No Child Left Behind Mean to Families, Teachers, Community Leaders? Information for parents, teachers, school board members and community leaders from U. S. Department of Education.
A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family and Community Connections on Student Achievement by Southwest Educational Development Laboratory
4. RTI (Response to Intervention) http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/rti.index.htm
When Congress reauthorized IDEA, they changed the law about identifying children with specific learning disabilities. Schools will “not be required to take into consideration whether a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability ..." (Section 1414(b)) (Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition, page 97)
What is Response to Intervention? How will these new practices affect struggling children who have not yet been identified with specific learning disabilities? How will this affect the millions of children who have been identified with specific learning disabilities and who are receiving special education services?
The devil is in the details. The success of Response to Intervention (RTI) will depend on whether it is appropriately implemented by highly-trained professionals - and this is likely to be a problem.
To answer your questions about Response to Intervention, we collected articles and free publications from a variety of sources. We found that some experts endorse RTI, while others are less enthusiastic.
We encourage you to study these issues. This page includes articles, free publications, and recommended websites.