For students with disabilities, special education is not only a crucial part of their education, it's also their right. The United States gives all children access to a free public education, and this extends to special education support and services.
If and when school districts fail to provide students with this right, families have a variety of avenues to address these issues and find a resolution. Whether a school district denies a request for evaluation, fails to implement a student's IEP, or provides ineffective services and accommodations, families do not simply have to accept a district's decision.
The Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm works with families throughout Nevada to address issues with special education. We focus on student-centric resolutions that keep the focus on your child's education and future. Parents and guardians can call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out an online form to learn more about how we can assist your student.
What is Special Education?
Special education covers a spectrum of services and accommodations that support students with disabilities. These disabilities may be intellectual or physical and may be minor or severe. Federal law defines special education as “specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability.”
Despite using the word “special,” special education isn't an extra or bonus. It's a key part of education for any student who has disabilities. For many students, special education services enable them to succeed in school or to learn in nontraditional ways.
The fact that a student requires special education support has no relation to their intelligence. Some research even indicates students with disabilities are more likely to meet the definition of intellectually gifted. Another way to think of special education is that it merely helps support students who learn differently.
Nevada school districts use a variety of terms when referring to the departments and offices that oversee special education. Nevada's Department of Education's Office of Inclusive Education oversees special education in the state. Churchill County School District follows the state's lead with its Office of Inclusive Services. Humboldt County School District's special education services fall under its Department of Educational Opportunity.
Regardless of the term used, schools have the same obligations under federal and state laws to provide special education services.
Federal Law
Three federal laws – the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) – are the foundation for disability rights in the United States. The ADA is the broadest, while IDEA and Section are the most relevant for special education.
IDEA
IDEA is the central law for K-12 students with disabilities. IDEA applies to all public schools, and students with disabilities can receive services from their home school even if they are not enrolled as a student.
One of the key provisions of IDEA is the establishment of IEPs, or Individualized Education Plans. IEPs are written documents that establish the services and support a student with a qualifying disability receives. Families and school officials create IEPs during meetings. Once agreed upon, IEPs are legally binding. Washoe County School District provides a good summary of IEPs and the process.
Section 504
Students who do not qualify for support under IDEA may still qualify under Section 504 and its 504 Plans, which are similar to IEPs. Section 504 uses a broader definition of disability.
Section 504 bans discrimination on the basis of disability. It applies both in the classroom and in extracurricular activities, including athletics.
Churchill County School District has several resources on special education. This includes a link to the U.S. Department of Education's guide to Section 504.
Who Qualifies for Special Education
How a student qualifies for special education depends on whether they qualify under IDEA or Section 504. A student must qualify as having a disability to receive special education services.
Under IDEA, a student must:
- Have a qualifying disability and
- That disability must impact their ability to learn
IDEA establishes a baseline for qualifying disabilities, and states may include additional disabilities. School districts must follow both federal and state definitions of a qualifying disability. As the Elko County School District lists, Nevada considers the following as qualifying disabilities:
- Developmentally delayed
- Mental retardation
- Learning disabled
- Speech and language impairment
- Visual or hearing impairment
- Orthopedic impairment
- Health impairment
- Multiple impairment
- Traumatic brain injury
- Emotional disturbance
- Autism
Section 504, in comparison, uses the same definition as the ADA for disability. Section 504 and the ADA define a disability as:
- “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual;
- a record of such an impairment; or
- being regarded as having such an impairment.”
This definition avoids a closed list, as IDEA uses, which is why more students qualify for special education under Section 504.
The ADA does provide examples of what major life activities are. These include seeing, hearing, speaking, learning, and reading. In other words, any disability that interferes with a student's ability to learn in school qualifies as a disability under the ADA and Section 504.
Child Find
Federal law requires that all school districts have procedures to identify children who may have disabilities. This program is known as Child Find. This program applies to all individuals under the age of 21 who have not graduated from high school.
Schools must have, at the least, contact information that allows members of the community to refer a child for evaluation. This information can often be found on a school website, such as Pershing County School District, including a link with all relevant contact information. Clark County School District has a brochure with both contact information and a description of Child Find.
Developmental Delays
For some babies and toddlers, when developmental delays are serious enough, these delays may qualify as a disability. This will then allow students to receive services from the Nevada Early Intervention Services (NEIS) System. Elko County School District provides the following examples of what types of delays may qualify:
- Cognitive abilities, social or emotional
- Receptive or expressive language
- Self-help skills
- Gross/Fine motor function
These developmental delays are not merely that a child is below average compared to children of the same age group. Nevada provides parents and guardians with guides to help them determine when a delay is severe enough to need early intervention services.
How to Qualify for Special Education
If you believe your student has a disability that requires special education services, you can request an assessment and evaluation through your local school. Others, including teachers, may also refer your student for assessment, and parents do have the option of declining evaluation.
If parents or guardians agree to allow the evaluation, schools will then complete an evaluation that must be “sufficiently comprehensive.” These evaluations and assessments should be unique to your student and their suspected disability. A child's age may also determine what evaluation they undergo. Schools may also rely on a student's educational or medical records when determining whether they have a disability.
Evaluations are important not just because they determine whether a child has a disability. An evaluation's results affect what services or accommodations a student may access.
If a student is found to have a disability, schools will then meet with parents to discuss the next steps. For students who qualify for an IEP, families will then meet with school officials to create that document. While IEPs are legally binding, they can be revised at any point, and IDEA requires annual IEP revision meetings. While families can waive these revision meetings, these annual meetings are a good opportunity to review and adjust a student's IEP to reflect their current abilities and goals.
IDEA requires reassessment every three years, although schools and parents can agree to waive reassessment. Reassessment can be useful if parents or guardians believe previous assessments were incomplete or no longer reflect their student's current abilities.
Dispute Resolution
Given how a child's education can shape their life, disagreements between families and school districts about special education are not uncommon. IDEA requires all states to have dispute-resolution.
Before turning to one of these options, families should, when possible, seek more informal resolution options. When parents or guardians disagree about a district's decisions or have other concerns, they should begin by talking with a member of the school staff, such as their child's teacher, or arranging a meeting.
The goal of this conversation should be to understand the reason behind each party's position. In some cases, knowing the ‘why' can help both sides reach a resolution.
When more informal avenues fail to result in a solution, families can turn to one of the following dispute-resolution options:
- IEP Facilitation
- Mediation
- State Complaint
- Due Process Hearing
IEP facilitation and mediation both involve a neutral third party guiding a discussion between families and schools and encouraging open communication. This third party will not make any decisions.
Anyone can file a state complaint. This option is less about an individual child and more about general issues, such as potential violations of the law.
Due process hearings are similar to a traditional court case. Each side will present evidence and witnesses to a third party, who will make a decision about the case.
Families can initiate these dispute resolution procedures at any point in the special education process, including when a school denies a child special education services. They may also be able to appeal these decisions.
Knowing which dispute resolution option is best for your student's situation can be difficult to determine. The Education Law Team helps families understand each dispute resolution option and choose the path that is best for their unique situation.
Special Education Terms and Acronyms
Special education has dozens of special terms and acronyms. Some are general, and others, such as ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), are specific to a disability. Three terms are worth mentioning because of how often they appear.
The United States gives all students the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). For students with disabilities, this extends to special education. If a school fails to provide a student with special education services, that school is denying a student their right to a free appropriate public education.
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) emphasizes putting students with disabilities in general education classrooms and participating in the general school community as much as possible. The exception is if such a placement is not in a student's best interests.
Finally, schools must provide students with reasonable accommodations. This means that schools do not have to provide the best, most expensive, most effective, or newest accommodations to students. If an accommodation or service is effective, it likely meets the standard of reasonable accommodations.
Accommodations must also not place an undue burden on others. High costs, a significant requirement on a teacher's time, or placing other students at a disadvantage are three examples of undue burdens.
Accommodations also do not have to place a student on identical footing to their classmates. Accommodations and modifications need only to place a student on a similar footing to others.
District-Specific Programs
Neither federal nor state law requires that schools provide specific services or accommodations. That one district provides a service or accommodation does not mean another district has to provide it.
Two school districts, Carson City and Clark County, give an idea of some of the more standard services schools make available to their students. Carson City School District provides Adaptive PE and Comprehensive Life Skills as part of its special education services.
Many schools offer early education and transition services for students beginning and ending their K-12 school years. Clark County School District offers early childhood services, or preschool, at several of the district's elementary schools, and transition services to help students move into and thrive in the workplace.
When asking about these programs, families should inquire about the admission criteria. A school district may require that a student's IEP include Extended School Year Services. In some cases, parents may need to schedule an additional meeting with a school district to request revisions to an IEP to allow their student to benefit from these programs.
Special Education is Education
Ensuring your student has the necessary support from their school's special education department can make or break their education. When schools fail to provide needed special education services, parents and guardians need to address the issue as soon as possible.
The Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team helps families navigate special education issues, including dispute resolution. If your student is not receiving the special education services they need, contact us at 888-535-3686 or fill out an online form.
