The U.S. federal government guarantees that every child has access to an education without charge. Traditional school districts fulfill most of Louisiana's student needs, from those in sprawling urban and suburban centers to the more rural expanses and small parishes. However, students with disabilities and others with divergent prerequisites can have challenges learning in conventional settings, creating special education needs.
Special education and the support services found within the branch of K-12 education cover an eclectic compilation of unique approaches to traditional schooling methods to keep up with individual student needs. Most K-12 schools have in-house special education programs with dedicated teachers, staff members, and classrooms. While some school districts often enhance their own programs with external special education and alternative education means, there are sometimes regional and statewide institutions that can take in students with elevated demands. However, special education can also include more subtle aids like the audio version of a new textbook, a modified class schedule, or even preferential seating.
Even though federal and state regulations require schools to provide special education services to maintain the same statewide academic guidelines as students in traditional programs, what each district can provide can differ based on a variety of factors. In Louisiana, the district's population, its distance from a major city, local economic dynamics, and others can influence how students with disabilities gain academic accommodations and modifications.
Regardless of where your child attends school or the resources of the local school district in Louisiana, they have the right to the accommodations they need to gain the same education as their peers. The Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team works with students with disabilities and their families nationwide, providing a path to the special education support systems required to graduate. Louisiana school districts often maintain drawn-out, complex procedures to officially grant disability accommodations and other special education provisions. For your child's immediate assistance, call 888-535-3686 or contact the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team online today.
What is Special Education in Louisiana?
In Louisiana, special education is led by both federal and state law, which directs state and local educational agencies to provide each student with a disability or alternative need a free public education in an appropriate environment. Special education is defined under state law as "specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability." Needs can be met with the following:
- Student instruction in the classroom, home, hospitals, and other institutions
- Specialized physical education instructions
- Speech-language pathology services
- Travel training
- Vocational education
Academic and general education methods that are "specially designed" for students will also take into account the following:
- Unique needs of the student based on their disability.
- Access to the general curriculum to align with the district or state's educational standards set for all students.
The primary federal law protecting disability rights in K-12 education is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The four-part law has categories directed at different age groups eligible for public education supplements, and states use some to expand student provisions. They include the following:
- Part A: General outline
- Part B: Federally-backed, state-provided student assistance (ages 3-21)
- Part C: Early intervention services for infants and toddlers
- Part D: Parent training and information and state personnel development
IDEA Part B is the section that parents should be familiar with due to its covering of students through age 21.
Common Special Education Terms
Although students with disabilities will receive unique assistance depending on what they require to succeed in academic life, there are some commonalities within the scope of special education.
- Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE): Under federal law, every student is entitled to a public education without charge and tailored to meet their needs. The primary objective of IDEA is to provide FAPE for students with disabilities to have access to an education comparable in quality to that available to non-disabled peers.
- Individualized Education Programs (IEPs): Strategic plans created in collaboration with special education personnel, parents, and sometimes the student to create guidelines of support and resources. These can include reasonable accommodations a school makes to provide students with disabilities the same level of education and access to FAPE as those without disabilities.
- Reasonable Accommodations: To fulfill FAPE requirements, schools must provide accommodations to students with disabilities, which are outlined in a student's IEP. However, the federal provision does not include the "best" accommodations, only "reasonable" ones for qualifying disabilities.
- Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): This is the environment students with disabilities must be in to make them part of the school community. What LRE means depends on each student's disability and their best interests but will involve the implementation of reasonable accommodations for the student to gain the same quality of education as non-disabled peers.
What Students Qualify for Special Education?
IDEA outlines 13 categories of disabilities that are legally required to be met with reasonable accommodations or other special education services. They include the following:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Deafness
- Deaf-Blindness
- Emotional Disturbance Disorders
- Intellectual Disabilities
- Hearing Impairments
- Multiple Disabilities
- Orthopedic Impairments
- Specific Learning Disabilities
- Speech or Language Impairments
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Visual Impairments
- Other Health impairments
As mentioned before, some states expand special education services under IDEA's state-managed provisions. The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) includes two additional categories: Developmental Delay and Gifted and Talented.
Parents will likely be hopeful that their children have access to accommodations and support through numerous special education categories. However, parents need to understand that their children do not automatically qualify for any special education service just because they have a diagnosed disability. First, there must be a series of meetings in a joint effort between parents, school officials, and the district's special education personnel to determine that the student will have forward progress academically and socially with the assigned support systems.
How Does Louisiana Test Students for Disabilities?
Assessments to determine disabilities or the need for special education services will be individualized for each student. The analysis will include using a variety of methods and procedures to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information about the child. All services a child is entitled to will be documented in an IEP.
Throughout the process, parents and relevant educational personnel will determine the following information:
- Current levels of academic achievement and functional performance
- How the child's disability affects their involvement and progress in the general education curriculum
- Planning measurable academic and functional goals
- A statement of the special education services, including appropriate supplementary aids
If the school or district's IEP team fails to reveal a disability, parents will be provided a written notice of their refusal to implement special education services. Parents are also not obligated to agree with the district or IEP team's proposals, and the entire process can only be initiated with parental or guardian approval.
Types of Services for Louisiana Special Education Students
Special education services will cover a wide range of accommodations and modifications, whether they are slight or significant changes to the content of the curriculum, student performance expectations, or the educational environment. Each will be outlined in the student's IEP and may include but are not limited to:
- Physical therapy
- Interpreting services
- Audiology services
- Orientation and mobility services
- Medical services
- Behavioral counseling
- Family counseling
- Occupational therapy
- Speech therapy
- Specialized transportation
Students with disabilities may also receive supplementary aid under IDEA to enable students with disabilities to be a part of the same learning environment as non-disabled children to the maximum extent appropriate. Supplementary aids can be as wide-ranging as accommodations and modifications, including some of the following:
- Oral or open-book exams
- Large-print textbooks
- Extended assignment completion times
- Preferential seating
- Frequent reminders of class rules and expectations
- Personal or instructional support from special education personnel
- Tutoring services
- Other materials, specialized equipment, or personnel services that help the child remain in a traditional classroom setting.
Fortunately, the provisions of IDEA also often extend to extracurricular activities, promoting the inclusion of students with disabilities in the broader student community. But services still vary from school district to school district.
Parents may believe that they can vie for new or different special education services or accommodations. While parents hold the authority to confirm or deny the school or IEP team's suggestions or implementation, federal law only requires that schools offer reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities, not all accommodations. But encouragement from parents and guardians can work.
For example, parents who request services that would require a team of specially-trained professionals to employ are unlikely to be entertained by the school considering their funding requirements. However, accommodations that are less expensive, easy to implement, or would assist a number of students are more likely to be approved. Students who may need the audio version of the new edition of the textbook other students are using are more likely to be fulfilled by the school or district.
Louisiana Special School District
Louisiana's special school district plays a unique and important role in the state's educational landscape. They are primarily responsible for providing specialized educational services to students with disabilities who may find elevated educational challenges in traditional environments—even with program accommodations and modifications.
The state's special school district includes 17 statewide program sites that support students with developmental delays, mental and behavioral disabilities, and other needs that accommodations in traditional learning environments cannot meet. Programs also provide functional living skill instruction to prepare students for life after graduation.
Louisiana Special Education Dispute Resolution
Occasionally, parents may disagree with the school, the district's IEP team, or other special education personnel about what their student needs to make meaningful educational progress. When administrative conflict arises, the LDOE offers several resolution options, including the following:
- Informal Complaint/Early Resolution Process: Parents and school district personnel work cooperatively to mend disputes, with a 15-day timeframe under LDOE oversight.
- IEP Facilitation: Voluntary for both parties, an LDOE IEP Facilitator fosters communication between parents and special education officials to manage the dispute.
- Mediation: A third party from the LDOE assists parents and school staff when they are clarifying IEP and special education issues in a confidential setting. Signed mediation agreements are legally binding on both parties and enforceable in court.
- Formal Complaint Investigation: Sitting between mediation and a due process hearing, the investigative process is an alternative if the 15-day early resolution process fails and a more official means of determination is required to resolve disputes. The LDOE Complaint Investigator has 45 days after the end of the initial 15-day period or 60 days if extended.
- Due Process Hearing: In front of an administrative law judge (ALJ), both parties will make arguments for their respective viewpoints. The ALJ will then make a recommendation, which is legally binding if accepted by both parties.
A Louisiana Student's Right to Special Education
Although students with disabilities have the right to gain a free public education, sometimes the path to obtaining legally required accommodations is fraught with confusion and complexity. However, parents can gain the help their child needs to guide them through the assessment process, advocate for the necessary accommodations, and help maintain education goals through graduation.
The Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team is fundamental in providing clear guidance with the following issues integral to special education.
- Legal Comprehension: IDEA and other federal and state regulations are often filled with legal jargon. The Education Law Team understands particular nuances to ensure you know how your child can be affected and address any points of weakness within a student's IEP or other support systems.
- Discrimination Risks: Students with disabilities are protected against discrimination, but a lack of enforcement can severely affect their academic journey. Seeking help from the Lento Law Firm will protect your child against discrimination from the school or institution.
- Administrative Hearings: While LDOE makes dispute resolution possible for parents, the Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team can assist families in such proceedings, presenting evidence and arguing before an ALJ.
The Lento Law Firm Education Law Team assists students and families nationwide to ensure they receive the educational opportunities afforded to them under federal and state law. To get started, contact the Lento Law Firm online or call 888-535-3686 now.
