Category Archives: school system policies
Effective communication is important to good working relationships between parents and schools. This is especially true when it comes to communication about special education. Parents are often the first to express concerns about their child’s development or learning. Parents are also required members of any group that makes decisions about special education evaluation, eligibility or development of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) for an eligible student with disability. Whether you are at the beginning of the special education process or an IEP team veteran, it is important to use words that express your thoughts accurately.
Remember that communication is a 2-way street. There is a message that is sent and a message that is received. Unfortunately, they are not always the same thing. The chart below gives examples of words or expressions that may seem similar, but could mean something very different when used in special education-related conversations. Using the wrong term can lead to confusion, frustration and/or an unintended result.
|Asking for extra help or tutoring for a struggling student.
This could lead to adjustments by the general education teacher, a referral to the school’s intervention team, or the parent might be told about tutoring available through the school or how they can find a private tutor.
|Request for a special education evaluation or special education services.
This will trigger a formal process to gather information and determine if the student is eligible for special education services.
The student is enrolled in a public school that typically provides limited educational services either in the home or another community setting.
In N.C., home schools are considered private schools. Public school systems are not required to provide instruction except under certain circumstances.
|Revoke consent for special education services.
All special education services will stop. Parents cannot hold school system responsible for providing FAPE.
|Refuse a specific special education service while keeping other services and supports.
IEP Team must consider options and decide how to ensure that the student receives FAPE. There should not be an automatic “all-or-nothing” threat.
Student is improving their academic or functional skills.
Student is improving at an accelerated rate that will close the skill gap with typical peers over time.
If you are communicating with others and the response is not what you expect, check to make sure that they understood you correctly. It may be necessary to clarify what you mean. Consider using different words or giving an example. Words do matter!
It has taken years of planning and preparation, but the Every Child Accountability and Tracking System (ECATS) is finally operating in all North Carolina public schools that serve students in grades K-12. ECATS is a data system made up of three modules: Special Education, Service Documentation, and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). ECATS provides a way to capture high quality information in a consistent way for a variety of purposes.
The Special Education module will help the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) better do its job of monitoring and assisting Local Education Agencies (LEAs). The goal is that children with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. NCDPI also has to collect data and make reports to the U.S. Department of Education.
Changes were made to several special education forms as part of the transition to ECATS. When their child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) is re-written, parents will notice that some sections of the form have been moved around and/or changed in some way. The new IEP form still contains all of the information required by federal and state laws.
The biggest change is that all of the child’s Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) statements are clustered together in the one section of the IEP. The new IEP form has a place to list the results of an initial evaluation or re-evaluation, as well as other data. For each skill area included in the evaluation, the IEP Team then has to decide (and document) if the student requires specially designed instruction (i.e., special education) in that area. Sometimes the answer will be “yes,” and sometimes it will be “no.” For students with existing IEPs, there should be PLAAFP statements for all skill areas where there are concerns.
The Annual Goals are also clustered together, but in a different section that will probably be two or more pages after the PLAAFP. This may make it more challenging to compare the proposed goals with the relevant PLAAFP statements. That comparison helps determine whether the goal is appropriately ambitious, yet reasonable for the student.
Parents can request a hard copy of the draft IEP so they can have the PLAAFP statements in front of them while the annual goals are developed. Other IEP team members may find this helpful as well.
Change happens, but it is easier to accept when you are prepared. If you would like to look at the new Exceptional Children Forms, you can find them here: