Every student in the United States is entitled by law to a free appropriate education. This includes students with disabilities who have federal, state, and local rights and protections, beginning with the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) of 1990.
Rhode Island provides special education services to more than 21,000 K-12 students statewide, including students in public schools and those placed in private special education programs by their district. Rhode Island's four core cities of Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Woonsocket together serve approximately 38,950 students with disabilities. Districts in the remainder of the state serve about 86,150 students. In Rhode Island, as with every state in the country, no district is untouched by the duty to provide students with special education services.
Outside of public schools, other institutions in Rhode Island providing K-12 students with special education services include charter schools like Segue Institute for Learning, Beacon Charter High School for the Arts, Paul Cuffee Charter School, The Hope Academy, and several others; state-operated schools such as William M. Davies Career & Technical High School, DCYF Schools, Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, and Rhode Island School for the Deaf; UCAP; and the Department of Corrections.
If you are a parent or guardian of a student with a disability facing barriers to accessing a high-quality, inclusive education in Rhode Island, every day you wait to secure legal defense is another day school administrators may be violating their rights. When your student's rights are on the line, good intentions don't matter. Results do. As their advocate, it's up to you to seek out a strong legal team experienced in fighting for students with disabilities. The Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm works with students and families nationwide to do just this. Call 888-535-3686 for a consultation now, or tell us about your student and what they are experiencing using our online service.
Special Education: Who Is It For?
Special education refers to services that are designed to ensure students with cognitive, developmental, social, or physical differences or disabilities can access inclusive education. This could include hearing loss, blindness, developmental delays, language impairments, health conditions, speech or language impairments, and learning disorders – ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and dyslexia, for example, as well as psychiatric conditions requiring psychoactive medication.
Federal Laws Mandating Special Education
The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 legally entitle students to support, resources, interventions, and modifications they need to complete their education, depending on age and grade level.
Some key terms:
All children in the United States have a right to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). When additional services are required because of a disability, this should take place at no cost to families.
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), which grow and adjust with students as their education progresses, are plans that outline the supports and services students will receive to meet academic standards.
IDEA requires all states to have in place a state performance plan/annual performance report called the State Performance Plan or Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) that evaluates efforts to implement IDEA components and describes how the state will improve student performance/achievement. You can read about the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) State Performance Plan here.
Schools must make reasonable accommodations so students with disabilities receive a quality of education that is equitable, depending on cost, available resources, and other factors. This could mean equipment, facilities, testing, or schedules put in place to help ensure that a student learns and achieves.
Students with disabilities have a right to learn in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) possible. Removal from general classrooms should take place minimally. This may mean the student receives support from a one-to-one aid in the regular classroom.
These rights and interventions work together with the aim of providing students with disabilities the best possible educational experience.
Rhode Island State Laws Protecting Students with Disabilities
Beyond federal laws, Rhode Island's state laws also mandate what rights students with disabilities have. State laws may include those protecting them from bullying or victimization, behavioral interventions that violate their IEP (manifestation determination), or failure to provide legally mandated services or accommodations, and often detail how federal laws will be implemented and enforced in the state.
Rhode Island's regulations governing the education of children with disabilities are found in its Code of Regulations. These regulations are clearly explained in the state's family-friendly Resource Guide. These regulations aim to ensure a free, appropriate public education for children with disabilities, protect the rights of children with disabilities and their parents, assist agencies in providing for the education of children with disabilities, and assess and ensure the effectiveness of these efforts.
One noteworthy detail about IDEA in Rhode Island is that special education services under the IDEA must be provided until a student's 22nd birthday. In most states, IDEA applies until age 21.
Rhode Island's Approach to Special Education
The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) Office of Student, Community and Academic Supports (OSCAS) oversees state regulations. This office is “dedicated to improving results for infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities ages birth through 22”.
Identifying children eligible for special education services is critical in Rhode Island, as in other areas. The state has published additional standards for meeting Rhode Island special education regulations in the Rhode Island Guidelines for Implementing Child Outreach Screening. Their child outreach goals include screening 100 percent of the state's 3-5 year old children before they start kindergarten, promoting positive outcomes for children who may have a disability or delay, providing information to families about child development (including the development of their child being screened), refer families to high-quality early childhood education and opportunities, collaborate with community child care and other community-based organizations.
Rhode Island also has a panel that serves in an advisory capacity and is comprised of members appointed by the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, including:
- Parents of children with disabilities
- Individuals with disabilities
- Teachers
- Teacher training program representatives
- School administrators
- Representatives from private, public, and charter schools
- State foster care representatives
- State juvenile and adult corrections agency representatives
- Representatives from vocational, community, or businesses involved with transition services
- State and local education officials
Which specific disabilities qualify for special education services may vary by state. Disabilities overseen by the Rhode Island Department of Education in not only public schools but many private schools and agencies in the state include:
- Learning Disabilities (students with learning disabilities make up 35 percent of those receiving special education in Rhode Island)
- Health Impairments (20 percent)
- Speech & Language Impairments (12 percent)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (11 percent)
- Developmental Delays (8 percent)
- Emotional Disturbance (7 percent)
- Intellectual Disability (4 percent)
- Other Disabilities (may include Orthopedic Impairments, Blind & Visual Impairments, Deaf or Hearing Impairments, Traumatic Brain Injuries, or multiple disabilities)
In Rhode Island, students under the Learning Disabilities category make up the largest percentage of students receiving special education services. These students may need interventions in areas like oral expression, listening or reading comprehension, written expression, basic reading skills, or mathematics calculation and reasoning.
Students with Health Impairments also make up a large percentage of students receiving services. Disabilities under this category could include diabetes, epilepsy, heart conditions, sickle cell anemia, or Tourette syndrome.
Students with Speech & Language Impairments – stuttering, apraxia, cleft lip and palate, or dysarthria, for example – also make up a sizable number of students in the state receiving special education services.
The fourth most common type of disability K-12 students in Rhode Island present with is Autism Spectrum Disorder. This is a developmental disability impacting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction. Characteristics may include resistance to changes in daily routines or settings, sensitivity to sensory experiences, and engaging in repetitive activities.
The Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm has experience throughout the United States representing students with a diverse range of disabilities. Our goal is to protect their rights so they can thrive to the greatest extent possible in whatever learning environment best suits them. Hire a legal team that leaves nothing to chance and nothing on the table. Call us now at 888-535-3686 for a consultation. If you prefer to write about what your student is experiencing, our online form is here for you, and you will reach us right away.
K-12 Special Education Services and Supports
K-12 special education spans a wide breadth of supports, services, modifications, accommodations, and interventions. They can vary by district, depending on district resources, but often include:
- use of digital tools
- extended time on assessments
- taking breaks
- curriculum alternatives
- psychological services
- interpreting services
- extra time for assignments
- sensory tools
- speech therapy
- counseling
- occupational or physical therapy
- medical services
Students with disabilities have a right to learn in theLeast Restrictive Environment (LRE) possible and should be separated from regular classrooms as infrequently as possible. In addition to the general classroom, services might be offered in many different settings. In Rhode Island, as of June 2021:
- 73 percent of students in grades K-12 receiving special education services were in their regular classroom for at least 80% of the school day.
- 21 percent were in their regular classroom for less than 80 percent of the school day.
- 5 percent received services in a separate school.
- 1 percent attended school in a residential facility, a correctional facility, at home, or at a hospital.
Providence Public School District's different educational settings and services serve students on a continuum and include:
- Inclusion Support
- Resource Programs
- Self-Contained Support Classrooms
- Center-Based Schools
- Home and Hospital
Each student's IEP will spell out the exact services they will receive and where they will receive them. In Rhode Island, IEPs must include:
- A statement about the student's present levels of academic achievement and performance, including how their disability impacts their education
- Measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals
- What services they should be provided with, including program modifications or supports
- An explanation of the extent to which they will not participate in regular class activities with their nondisabled peers
- Any individual accommodations that will be needed to measure their academic achievement and functional performance
- The time range, frequency, location, and duration of special education services and modifications
- A description of how and when their progress toward goals will be measured and reported
- A description of transition services and measurable postsecondary goals, beginning at age 14 or younger, for students transitioning out of K-12
- A statement indicating that an adult student transitioning out of K-12 has been informed of their rights under IDEA
Whatever a child's disability, they have a right to services, support, and accommodations. If and when a school district fails to acknowledge a child's disability or provide needed accommodations, families should contact the Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team to work toward a resolution.
Protect Your Student's Right to an Education
If you have a concern about your student's special education services, especially one that hasn't been resolved at the school or district level through informal dispute resolutions, the RIDE Office of Student, Community and Academic Supports (OSCAS) recommends several state-level options for resolving issues. These include:
- Mediation, which is a less formal process than a hearing
- An impartial Due Process Hearing presided over by a hearing officer appointed by RIDE. You have the right to be represented by legal counsel at this hearing.
- Before the hearing, you would take part in a Resolution Meeting along with members of your student's IEP team and a school district representative. Here, too, attorneys may be present and participate. and attempt a resolution.
- Anyone can file an Administrative Special Education 60-Day Complaint if they believe the school district has violated federal or state law.
The Lento Law Firm is a premier National Education Law firm serving students with disabilities and their families. We are passionate and experienced advocates who will protect your or your student's rights. Call 888-535-3686 for a consultation now, or use our online service.
