Experiencing and Overcoming Idaho IEP Frustrations
Parents of Idaho elementary and secondary school students with educational disabilities know the challenges that their student faces. Grade school years are critical for a young person's mental, emotional, social, and physical development. You want your student to go through elementary, middle, and high school without more challenges than any student faces, certainly without the challenges of having to fight with the school over disability services and accommodations.
The IEP (individualized education plan) process that the federal IDEA law mandates is supposed to help you and your Idaho grade school student avoid school disputes get the special education services your student needs, and ensure your student benefits from a free appropriate public education despite your student's disability. But, the IEP process doesn't always work the way federal lawmakers and education policymakers envision. And when the IEP process doesn't do its job, your student with a disability can suffer severe academic, mental, emotional, and other developmental losses. No parent wants to see their student fall behind in school because of an unaddressed disability. That's the point of the IEP process and laws, to level the educational field for students with disabilities.
Our attorneys are available to serve you and your student in an IEP dispute whether your student attends K-12 school in Boise City, Meridian, Nampa, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Caldwell, Pocatello, Coeur d'Alene, or another Idaho city or town. Call 888.535.3686 now, or complete this contact form, telling us about your student's IEP dispute. Your student's education, development, and future are worth retaining qualified representation.
Getting Qualified Idaho IEP Representation
If you and your student have struggled, and your student's school hasn't provided mandated special education services under an appropriate IEP despite your reasonable demands and parent advocacy, then you and your student need qualified, skilled, and experienced representation. You already know what it's like when Idaho school officials treat you without the respect you deserve as your student's parent. You may have experienced the anger and embarrassment from the superior attitudes that school officials can sometimes express, claiming to know better than you what your disabled student is experiencing and needs. You may know that school officials are no longer listening to you and including you in the way that IEP laws require.
You may also have already consulted an unqualified local lawyer whose experience is in criminal defense, estate planning, business disputes, family disputes, or another common field of law. You may have found local legal representation to lack the knowledge of federal disability laws and lack the experience with academic administrative matters to advocate effectively for you and your student.
Don't go without the qualified, skilled, and experienced IEP legal help your student needs. The Lento Law Firm's premier Education Law Team has successfully helped hundreds of students across the country, including in Idaho, with IEP issues and other matters threatening their education.
Idaho School, School District, and District Region IEP Officials
Idaho's State Board of Education governs Idaho's public schools, including their obligations to provide federally mandated IEP procedures and special education services. When you retain us to pursue your student's IEP dispute to a favorable resolution, our attorneys may deal with State Board of Education officials, officials at the state regional level, school district officials, or your student's school principal or disability accommodations team and officers. We will help you and your student find and communicate with the right officials. Idaho divides the state's school districts into six regions. Our attorneys can help you in any of Idaho's six school district regions, including all of the following districts.
Idaho School District Region 1 IEP Legal Representation
Avery School District # 394, Boundary County School District #101, Coeur d'Alene School District #271, Kellogg Joint District #391, Kootenai Joint District #274, Lake Pend Oreille District #84, Lakeland Joint District #272, Mullan School District #392, Plummer-Worley Joint District #44, Post Falls District #273, St. Maries Joint District #41, Wallace District #393, and West Bonner District #83.
Idaho School District Region 2 IEP Legal Representation
Cottonwood School District #242, Genesee Joint District #282, Highland District #305, Kamiah Joint District #304, Kendrick School District #283, Lapwai District #341, Lewiston Independent District #340, Moscow School District #281, Nezperce District #302, Orofino Joint District #171, Potlatch District #285, Salmon River Joint District #243, Troy School District #287, and Whitepine Joint District #288.
Idaho School District Region 3 IEP Legal Representation
Basin School District #72, Boise School District #1, Bruneau-Grand View Joint District #365, Buhl Joint School District #412, Caldwell School District #132, Cambridge School District #432, Canyon-Owyhee School Service Agency #555, Cascade District #422, Cassia Joint District #151, Council District #13, CuldeSac Joint School District #342, Emmett Independent District #221, Fruitland School District #373, Garden Valley District #71, Glenns Ferry District #192, Homedale Joint District #370, Horseshoe Bend District #73, Kuna Joint District #3, Marsing District #363, McCall-Donnelly District #421, Meadows Valley District #11, Melba Joint District #136, Middleton District #134, Midvale District #433, Mountain Home District #193, Nampa School District #131, New Plymouth School District #372, Notus District #135, Parma School District #137, Payette Joint District #371, Pleasant Valley School District #364, Prairie Elementary District #191, Vallivue School District #139, Weiser District #431, West Ada district #2, Wilder District #133.
Idaho School District Region 4 IEP Legal Representation
Blaine County School District #61, Bliss School District #234, Camas County School District #121, Castleford School District #417, Dietrich School District #314, Filer District #413, Gooding Joint District #231, Hagerman District #243, Hansen District #415, Idaho Educational Services for Deaf & Blind #596, Jerome Joint #261, Kimberly School District #414, Minidoka County Joint District #331, Murtaugh Joint District #418, Richfield District #316, Shoshone Joint District #312, Twin Falls School District #411, Valley District #262, Wendell District #232.
Idaho School District Region 5 IEP Legal Representation
Aberdeen School District #58, American Falls School District #381, Arbon School District #383, Bear Lake County School Dist. #33, Blackfoot School District #55, Grace District #148, Marsh Valley Joint District #21, North Gem School District #149, Oneida County District #351, Pocatello / Chubbuck District #25, Preston Joint District #201, Rockland District #382, Shoshone-Bannock Joint District #537, Soda Springs Joint District #150, West Side School District #202.
Idaho School District Region 6 IEP Legal Representation
Bonneville Joint School District #93, Butte County School District #111, Challis Joint School District #181, Clark County School District #161, Firth School District #59, Fremont County Joint School District #215, Idaho Falls School District #91, Jefferson Joint School District #251, Mackay District #182, Madison School District #321, Ririe School District # 252, Salmon District #291, Shelley Joint District #80, South Lemi District #292, Sugar-Salem District #322, Swan Valley District #92, Teton County School District #401, West Jefferson District #253.
Idaho's Commitment to IEP Implementation
Idaho's State Department of Education publishes a Special Education Manual that the Department distributes to the above local school districts for their adoption to comply with federal IEP mandates. Idaho's Special Education Manual, more than 300 pages in length, carries into effect what the federal IDEA law requires local school districts to do through the IEP process. Don't doubt the willingness of the State Department of Education to support your effort to obtain an appropriate IEP and special education services for your student. And don't doubt that your student's local school district lacks State Department of Education support for IEP procedures and special education services. The Special Education Manual makes clear that your student's school has the knowledge and technical assistance from the State Department of Education the school needs to do as the IDEA law requires for your student's disability.
Idaho's State Department of Education also publishes an IEP Guidance Handbook for special education teachers, counselors, paraprofessionals, general education teachers, school principals, and administrators who work with student disability matters. At more than eighty pages in length, the IEP Guidance Handbook provides abundant detail on the obligations of school teachers and officials to support parents and students in the IEP process. The IEP Guidance Handbook trains school specialists in the IEP process, IEP meetings, performance assessments for disabled students, special education services, the least restrictive environment mandate, and other subjects critical to IEP implementation. Your student's teachers, specialists, and leaders have all the information they need to comply with their federal IEP obligations. You may just need our help in holding those officials accountable to you and your student.
Idaho State Department of Education IEP Overview
Idaho's State Department of Education's Special Education Manual acknowledges that the state's school districts must implement individualized education programs (IEPs) in each of the state's six school district regions. The State Department of Education acknowledges the schools' obligation to comply with the IDEA law and two other federal disability laws applying to schools, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Department further acknowledges the obligation to identify students who may have disabilities interfering with their education and refer those students for evaluation.
Idaho's State Department of Education also acknowledges that schools must adopt and implement an IEP for each student with a qualifying disability. The IEP must ensure that the student with a disability receives a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, notwithstanding the disability. The Department further acknowledges that its schools must involve the disabled student's parent in the IEP process, including getting parental consent for evaluation, services, reevaluation, and other aspects of the individualized education program. We can help if your student's school is not complying with the Idaho State Department of Education's admonitions for meeting the IDEA law's requirements.
Idaho State Department of Education IEP Development
The Idaho State Department of Education's Special Education Manual further acknowledges how its schools must involve you and your student in the school's development of the IEP. Your student's specialists, teachers, and other school officials must not ignore you in the IEP process. The school should have notified you of your student's need for special education services and the school's intent to refer your student for professional evaluation. You may, of course, request that the school do so. But, the school bears the obligation to identify and refer whether you make the request or not. The school must, though, notify you of its steps and seek your involvement, approval, and consent.
Idaho State Department of Education IEP Meetings
The Idaho State Department of Education's Special Education Manual further acknowledges that you and your student have the right to attend IEP team meetings. The school must develop your student's IEP in a meeting with certain individuals whom the IDEA law identifies. The school specialist cannot simply write out the IEP and distribute it for implementation. The IEP team must first meet to discuss, negotiate, and approve the IEP. The school should not be implementing special education services without an IEP.
You and your student generally have the right to attend IEP team meetings. If you feel that your student is too young or otherwise not ready to attend an IEP team meeting, then your student need not attend. You could also defer to IEP team members rather than attend, but you would ordinarily want to be present at all IEP team meetings to advocate for your student. The Department's Special Education Manual acknowledges that the IDEA law generally requires IEP team meetings at least annually and before any significant adjustment to the IEP. Once the IEP is in place, the school should implement the special education services and accommodations it states. A sound IEP is much to your student's advantage. Let us help if school officials haven't afforded you these rights to attend and advocate for your student's IEP rights.
Federal IEP Mandates Idaho's State Department of Education Recognizes
Under the Constitution, federal law is supreme over state law. Thus, Idaho state education officials, from the State Department of Education on down to the classroom teachers, must comply with lawful federal education mandates, even if Idaho state law differs. That's why the Idaho State Department of Education has promulgated such clear and comprehensive materials on federal IEP requirements.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the federal law that mandates individualized education plans (IEPs). If it were not for the IDEA law, local schools might well not have IEPs. The IDEA law uses the concept of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to determine the extent of special education services the school must provide to qualifying students. The IDEA law defines the qualifying disability your student must show for an IEP and special education services. If your student does not qualify under the IDEA law's disability definition, then the school has no federal obligation for an IEP and its special education services. The IDEA law also defines the assistive devices and other equipment schools must offer to qualifying students. If the IDEA law does not include the device or equipment your student seeks within the law's broad definitions, then the school need not provide it. We are available in Idaho to help you enforce your student's federal IEP rights.
Other Federal Disability Laws Idaho's State Department of Education Recognizes
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
As indicated briefly above, the Idaho State Department of Education also recognizes Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as a source of your student's school disability rights. Section 504 prohibits disability discrimination in schools receiving federal funding. Section 504 does not require an IEP process. Section 504 does not even require a written plan, although schools may adopt what they call a 504 Plan. Section 504 can have a broader reach than the IDEA law because Section 504 prohibits disability discrimination without specifying the qualifying disabilities, as the IDEA law does. A 504 Plan might supplement an IEP or provide much of what an IEP might have provided, if the student fails to qualify for an IEP. The Idaho State Department of Education's Special Education Manual encourages schools to adopt 504 Plans to supplement IEP obligations. Because Section 504 deals with discrimination, Section 504 violations may go before a civil rights hearing officer rather than a disability rights hearing panel.
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act
As indicated briefly above, the Idaho State Department of Education also recognizes disabled student rights under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA. Like Section 504, Title II of the ADA prohibits public schools from discriminating based on disability. The ADA's Title II may apply when a student's disability prevents special privileges non-disabled students are enjoying outside the strict definition of a free appropriate public education (FAPE). These fine legal distinctions, though, can be difficult to make. Let our attorneys evaluate your student's Section 504 and ADA Title II rights for additional relief beyond the IEP process the IDEA law mandates.
Idaho State Department of Education IEP Administrative Rules
Idaho's State Department of Education hasn't just distributed detailed special education manuals to local school districts and their specialists. The Department has also adopted administrative regulations carrying out the federal IDEA law. Those Department regulations have the full force and effect of state law. The administrative regulations governing IEPs begin at Idaho Administrative Code Section 08.02.03.109. The administrative regulations closely track, and in some cases refine and amplify, the IDEA law in its definitions and requirements. Our attorneys can use these regulations, in addition to the IDEA law itself, to enforce your student's IEP rights at the local school level.
Idaho Administrative Code Section 08.02.03.109.04 details the requirements for an IEP. The IEP team and school must implement the IEP as soon as adopted. The IEP team has a maximum of sixty days to complete the IEP, but it should usually take much less time. The IEP team must meet at least annually to review the IEP, but any team member, including the student's parent, may request an IEP meeting at any other time. The meeting participants must document attendance.
Idaho Administrative Code IEP Dispute Resolution
Idaho Administrative Code Section 08.02.03.109.05 permits the parent to object to an IEP term or a change in the IEP. The IEP team may meet to attempt to resolve the parent's objection. If the parent continues to object, and the IEP team plans on proceeding, the parent may appeal the decision. The school district may use a mediator to attempt to resolve the IEP dispute. If the IEP dispute does not resolve, the parent may appeal to a district panel for an IEP hearing. The IEP hearing takes place before a trained IEP officer who should be independent of any direct interest or role in the dispute. The hearing officer must follow Idaho Administrative Procedures Act rules for contested hearings.
Retain us to help you pursue this IEP hearing avenue. Attempting to follow the administrative procedures, gather and challenge evidence, and advocate effectively on your student's behalf is often more than a parent without significant legal training and skill can handle. You and your student need our highly qualified academic administrative experience and skills. The hearing officer writes a decision after taking testimony and examining documentary evidence. If you disagree with the decision, you have a limited right under the Idaho Administrative Procedures Act to file a civil court action for review and correction of the decision. Let us help evaluate and pursue your administrative and court rights.
Qualifying for Idaho Special Education
Idaho State Department of Education administrative rules and manuals adopt the IDEA law's qualifying criteria for a student with a disability deserving IEP support. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that your student must have a qualifying disability for which your student needs IEP special education services. Under the IDEA law, only disabilities or impairments having to do with cognition, hearing, speech or language, vision, serious emotional issues, orthopedic issues, autism, traumatic brain injury, and similar health impairments, or certain specific learning disabilities, qualify for IEP services. Let us help you and your student request an administrative hearing on any IEP team denial of special education services for failure to qualify as a student with a disability. The IDEA law and Idaho Administrative Code Section 08.02.03.109.05 authorize you to demand independent evaluation of your student's disability at school cost. Let us help you choose the independent evaluator and advocate for a qualifying disability.
Idaho IEP Special Education Services
The IDEA law and Idaho's implementing manuals and regulations also define the special education services your student may obtain under an IEP. The first service is an evaluation of your student's educational needs to remain in the customary classroom environment. Your student may then receive appropriate assistive technology devices. The devices may be text-to-audio readers, voice recognition for automated writing, and other assistive devices. The school must modify and adapt those devices as necessary. The school must also retain specialist services to work alongside the assistive devices as necessary. The school may also have to train the parent, student, and others in the use of assistive devices and provide other technical assistance.
The school may also have to buy, borrow, and adapt equipment, furnishings, or structures to repair, maintain, and store assistive technology devices. The school may also have to buy and supply furniture for the student's use and produce printed materials, audio-visual instructional materials, and other necessary items in formats other than those non-disabled students use. The school may also have to buy and supply communications and other technological aids and devices and modify textbooks, handouts, and other instructional materials. Let us help if your student's school isn't providing the assistive devices and technical assistance your student's IEP specifies.
Parent Problems Invoking Idaho IEP Rights
Promises are one thing; performance is another. About 11.6% of Idaho grade school students have qualifying disabilities, meaning that they presumably learn under a school-adopted IEP. The percentages vary widely according to the state's six school district regions, from as low as five percent in Region 2 to nearly fifty percent in Region 3. Idaho State Department of Education statistics show that thousands of those disabled students suffer school removal as discipline every year. That statistic reflects a national trend showing how unaccommodated disabilities can adversely affect student behavior and teacher perceptions. Students with unaccommodated disabilities clearly lag in academic performance. In short, many parents have problems invoking their student's IEP rights effectively. Don't let that be your student. Get our skilled and experienced help.
Premier IEP Representation Across Idaho
You and your student may face formidable challenges qualifying your student for an IEP. You may also fail to negotiate a reasonable IEP for the special education services your student needs. You may also need your student's school to implement or adjust the IEP. The Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team has helped hundreds of students nationwide overcome issues relating to disabilities, IEPs, special education services, and other issues. Our attorneys are available whether your student attends school in Boise City, Meridian, Nampa, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Caldwell, Pocatello, Coeur d'Alene, or another Idaho city or town. Call 888.535.3686 now to tell us about your student's case, or complete this contact form.
