A public education is the right of every child in the U.S. While many students find traditional educational systems of instruction and inclusion sufficient to learn, students with disabilities often have additional challenges learning in the same environment. But, given that education is a right, students with disabilities have access to a wide range of program accommodations, academic support, and other services they may need to graduate from high school.
Special education is the umbrella term encompassing the provisions for students who may face different adversity compared with non-disabled peers in K-12 education. For instance, special education services may include physical aids such as different desks, tech-based supports like audiobooks, extended test times, and even classroom or class schedule modifications. Nevertheless, it's imperative that students with disabilities have individualized plans crafted, not generalized, blanket approaches.
While both federal and state regulations legally require special education services across all school districts, what each district can provide may differ depending on the population's socioeconomic dynamics, the size of the student body, the school's distance from major metropolitan areas, and more. Maryland, for example, is a small yet diverse state, with close proximity to the nation's capital in the east and mountainous, sparsely-populated areas in the west. Therefore, you need professional assistance when obtaining every accommodation your child needs to succeed or when a Maryland school district fails to acknowledge their need. Contact the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team online or call 888-535-3686 to find a resolution.
What is Special Education?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the leading federal law protecting disability rights in K-12 education, which is broken up into four parts, listed as the following:
- Part A: General outline of the statute
- 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 most commonly used section that parents should be familiar with. Students receive special education services under IDEA, but some states and localities may offer additional support.
The law covers students aged between 3-21 years in public school, also approving private agencies to provide services to students with disabilities. Some states may offer special education programs until students turn 22, but the Maryland Department of Disabilities (MDOD) explains that "local public school districts will provide individualized or special education services to students with disabilities from birth until they leave high school. Students who leave high school prior to their 22nd birthday will no longer be eligible for these services."
There are also plenty of common terms parents and students with disabilities will encounter when working with IDEA's provisions and school special education personnel, including the following:
- 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.
- Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP): A Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) regulation providing a written plan for early intervention services to an eligible child and the child's family, based on the multidisciplinary evaluation and assessment of the student and their family.
- 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.
- Section 504 Plans: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was the initial federal law to establish special education requirements, like IEPs. Unlike IEPs, which must be written, 504 Plans have no written requirement but are referred to less often than IEPs.
- 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.
Who Qualifies for Special Education?
At the federal level, there are 13 categories of qualifying disabilities, which place students into the special education system. Therefore, to receive special education services, students must be diagnosed with one or more of the following:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Deafness
- Deaf-blindness
- Emotional disturbance disorders
- 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 Part C. The MSDE includes an additional category for qualification: Developmental Delay. Consistent with the state's preschool special education services, students with disabilities at least three years old are eligible for referral to their local education agency.
It's important to note that a child doesn't automatically qualify for inclusion into the special education system just because they have a disability. The threshold is if special education services are required for the student to maintain "meaningful educational progress." Nevertheless, educational progress means more than just academics, often including non-academic and extracurricular school activities, as well as social behaviors.
How Does Maryland Test Students for Disabilities?
Parents or school personnel may inquire about a student evaluation at any time by submitting a written request to the school principal or school district special education administrator, including reasons for evaluation and efforts to address concerns. If the principal or administrator determines assessments are needed, they will seek parental consent to conduct an assessment with an IEP team. This may also include an IFSP team for related ages.
Assessments are individualized for each student, using a variety of methods and procedures to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information about the child. Information may include, but is not limited to, the following:
- Preschool activities
- General curriculum progress
- Classroom observations
- Printed tests
- Other assessments of a child's aptitude or achievement.
The IEP team will discuss assessment findings for an initial evaluation, which must be completed within 60 days of receiving written parental consent to assess the child. If the IEP team has reason to believe the child has a disability and needs special education services, the student must have an IEP developed within 30 days.
If the IEP team or the school district does not suspect a disability present, parents will be providing written notice of their refusal to implement services. Parents are also not obligated to agree with the district or IEP team's proposals.
Types of Services
Special education services will cover a wide range of accommodations and support. The initial evaluation involving the IEP team and parents may affect the types of assistance students can access, which are contingent on the determined disability.
Accommodations and modifications can be slight or significant changes to the content of the curriculum, student performance expectations, or the educational environment. They may include but are not limited to:
- Course alterations
- Use of tech aids like recording devices
- Oral or open-book exams
- Large-print textbooks
- Extended assignment completion times
- Hard copies of lessons
- Preferential seating
- Frequent reminders of class rules and expectations
Students with disabilities may also receive supplementary aid under IDEA. These services and other supports provided in regular education classes or other education-related settings enable children 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:
- Personal or instructional support from special education personnel
- Interpreters for visual or hearing-impaired students
- Tutoring services
- Regularly scheduled consultations with school or special education personnel
- Other materials, specialized equipment, or personnel services that help the child remain in a traditional classroom setting.
Parents may seek new methods or services they believe would help their child. However, it's important to reiterate that the law only requires that school districts offer only reasonable accommodations, not all accommodations. Moreover, requests for costly additions or those that would only help a limited number of students may be less successful. But those that are inexpensive, easy to add, or would benefit a larger percentage of the student population are more likely to be approved. For example, a request for an innovative computer program that requires trained personnel to operate versus a request for an audio version for the new installment of a textbook that other students are using.
Maryland MANSEF Districts
Sometimes, parents and the school district may decide that a student with disabilities' needs can be better met in a private school. The Maryland Association of Non-public Special Education Facilities (MANSEF) serves students with intensive needs in 24 districts across the state. At least 70 non-public special education facilities promote quality services for over 3,000 children and students with disabilities.
MANSEF combines communities of educators, special education professionals, and parents to work in partnership with state and local education and government officials to provide student support. These districts operate semi-independently of regular school districts and focus on delivering specialized education and services such as occupational therapy, speech therapy, and other support forms crucial for students with disabilities.
Since MANSEF districts are present throughout the state, students can likely attend classes near where they live. But the education your child needs isn't guaranteed at any particular MANSEF school. Your child may require enrollment in a district with more of the resources they need, making transportation and other family logistics problematic for some.
A Maryland Student's Right to Special Education
Students with disabilities have the right to FAPE, including the special education services they need to succeed. But sometimes, options may make it difficult to find the best path, and the process of navigating the system can be complicated. You need a proven professional to ensure your child has the resources they need as required under federal and state law.
Parents will find the guidance of an education law attorney from the Lento Law Firm invaluable for many of the following reasons:
- Discrimination Risks: Even though students with disabilities are protected against discrimination—from students and the school administration—under layers of federal and state laws, a lack of enforcement can severely affect your child.
- Due Process Hearings: If parents disagree with a school district's evaluations or the services provided, they can request a due process hearing from the state's Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH). The Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team can assist students and their families in such proceedings, presenting evidence and making legal arguments to OAH officials.
- Understanding federal and state laws: IDEA, Section 504, IEPs, IFSPs, and other educational regulations are commonly unreadable and may seem vague. However, the Lento Law Firm understands particular nuances within the special education system to ensure that you understand how your child is affected.
- Professional advocacy: Building an IEP is critical to a student's education. Schools may fail to consider the appropriate "reasonable" accommodations for a student to succeed, and an attorney can play a beneficial role in addressing weak points in an IEP, including advocating for resources the student is entitled to by law.
The Lento Law Firm Education Law Team works with families nationwide to advocate for their child and to ensure their student receives the opportunities and accommodations they are entitled to under the law. Contact us online now or call 888-535-3686.
