Independent Educational Evaluation

Parents Right to an Independent Evaluation
If you, as parents of a child with a disability, disagree with the results of your child's evaluation as obtained by the public agency, you have the right to obtain what is known as an Independent Educational Evaluation, or IEE. An IEE means an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the public agency responsible for the education of your child. If you ask for an IEE, the public agency must provide you with, among other things, information about where an IEE may be obtained.

Who pays for the independent evaluation? The answer is that some IEEs are at public expense and others are paid for by the parents. For example, if you are the parent of a child with a disability and you disagree with the public agency's evaluation, you may request an IEE at public expense. "At public expense" means that the public agency either pays for the full cost of the evaluation or ensures that the evaluation is otherwise provided at no cost to you as parents. The public agency may grant your request and pay for the IEE, or it may initiate a hearing to show that its own evaluation was appropriate. The public agency may ask why you object to the public evaluation. However, the agency may not require you to explain, and it may not unreasonably delay either providing the IEE at public expense or initiating a due process hearing to defend the public evaluation.

If the public agency initiates a hearing and the final decision of the hearing officer is that the agency's evaluation was appropriate, then you still have the right to an IEE but not at public expense. As part of a due process hearing, a hearing officer may also request an IEE; if so, that IEE must be at public expense. Whenever an IEE is publicly funded, that IEE must meet the same criteria that the public agency uses when it initiates an evaluation. The public agency must tell you what these criteria are--such as location of the evaluation and the qualifications of the examiner--and they must be the same criteria the public agency uses when it initiates an evaluation, to the extent they are consistent with your right to an IEE. However, the public agency may not impose other conditions or timelines related to your obtaining an IEE at public expense.

Of course, you have the right to have your child independently evaluated at any time at your own expense. (Note: When the same tests are repeated within a short time period, the validity of the results can be seriously weakened.) The results of this evaluation must be considered by the public agency, if it meets agency criteria, in any decision made with respect to providing your child with FAPE. The results may also be presented as evidence at a hearing regarding your child.


This is legal information only, not legal advice!
The above listed information about special education law is for general information only. General legal information is not the same as legal advice -- which requires the application of law to an individual's specific circumstances. Although I believe the information to be accurate and useful, I strongly recommend that you consult a lawyer if you want professional advice regarding your specific legal situation and do not rely solely on the information provided above.

Functional Behavioral Assessments and Positive Interventions

What is Positive Behavioral Support?
A collaborative assessment-based process to develop an effective, individualized intervention for students with challenging behavior. Support plans focus on proactive and educative approaches.

For what reasons do we use PBS?
A pattern of dangerous, destructive, or highly disruptive behavior exists
Behavioral concerns are resulting in exclusion from integrated activities
Difficulties persist despite less comprehensive or systematic approaches

Who is involved in the PBS process?
A collaborative team consisting of the individual, their families, direct support providers (teachers, therapists, etc.) administrators and others responsible for implementing the support plan; effective teams include members who can:
Establish a collective vision regarding the goals of intervention
Communicate, resolve conflicts, and share in decision-making
Make a commitment to implement and evaluate interventions
Effectively access and utilize resources and natural supports

How is PBS implemented?
The behavioral support team, often facilitated by individuals skilled in this process:
1.identifies goals of intervention
2.gathers relevant information
3.develops summary statements
4.generates a behavioral support plan
5.implements strategies and monitors outcomes


Positive Behavioral Support Process (Case Example)

Identify Goals of Intervention: Based on the available information, the team identifies the specific concerns:
What the child is saying or doing that is problematic (observable behaviors)
To what extent these behaviors are occurring
What goals the team hopes to achieve through intervention

Johnny’s disruptive behavior is interfering with the other student’s learning. The team is considering alternative placement. His disruptions include slamming materials and making noises (e.g., bird calls). Teacher observations indicate that these behaviors occur 10-15 times per class. Johnny is also failing academically. The team determines that their goals are to:
Decrease Johnny’s disruptive behavior
Increase the assignments he completes
Improve relationships with peers
Maintain Johnny’s current placement



Gather Relevant Information: Members of the behavioral support team gather information through a variety of sources:
Review of existing records
Interviews of support providers
Direct observations

Members of Johnny’s team divide responsibility for information gathering. The school counselor reviews his records (disciplinary referrals, anecdotal records, psychological evaluations). The behavior specialist and assistant principal conduct interviews with Johnny, his family, his teacher, and a cafeteria aide. The teacher tallies incidents of disruptive behavior in the classroom and the behavior specialist does “ABC recording” to identify events or circumstances that may be affecting Johnny’s behavior. The team then reviews the information gathered to discern patterns.
Develop Summary Statements: The team uses information gathered to create statements that describe relationships between Johnny’s behaviors of concern and the environment. The statements include: When, Where and with whom the behavior is least/most likely to occur.
What happens following the behavior? Other variables that appear to affect the student’s behavior.

The team develops the following summary statements:
During paper and pencil activities where students are working independently for longer than 10 minutes, Johnny makes noises and slams materials on his desk; this results in the teacher checking his work and reminding him to be quiet. If Johnny’s disruptive behavior continues following redirection (and peers begin to complain), his teacher sends him to time-out, which results in him avoiding the academic assignment. Johnny’s behaviors of concern never occur during music or cooperative learning activities.


Generate Behavioral Support Plan: A plan is developed based on the summary statements that best fit within the environments in which it will be used. The plan includes:
Adjustments to the environment that reduce the likelihood of problems
Teaching replacement skills and building competencies
The most natural and least intrusive consequences to promote positive, and deter problem, behavior a crisis intervention plan (if needed)

The team generates a behavioral support plan to include:
Increased use of cooperative learning strategies in the classroom
Allowing Johnny to use a keyboard when working on lengthy written assignments
Teaching Johnny to raise his hand when he needs assistance, is ready to have his work checked, or needs a break.
Providing attention whenever Johnny raises his hand, even if just to say “I’ll be there in a minute.” Ignoring all noises, and instructing his peers to do the same.
Minimizing the use of time-out; instead, allowing Johnny to earn homework passes for assignments completed.
Encouraging Johnny to join Band and to develop friendships.

Implement and Monitor Outcomes: The team works together to insure that the plan is implemented with consistency, and effective in achieving their goals. The team identifies the training and resources needed, determines who is responsible for monitoring implementation, evaluates outcomes (through continued data collection), and communication periodically, making adjustments in the plan as needed.

Members of Johnny’s team divide responsibility for implementing and monitoring the plan. The counselor assists the teacher in altering the activity schedule in her class and observes in the class biweekly to take data and provide extra support. The teacher implements the plan and tallies incidents of disruptive behavior. Johnny’s mother provides support at home. Team members then communicate by phone periodically, making changes to the plan as needed. Six weeks later, the team reconvenes to evaluate the outcomes and to celebrate the positive changes.


What resources are available on PBS?

Koegel, L.K., Koegel, R.L., & Dunlap, G. (1996). Positive behavioral support: Including people with difficult behavior in the community. Baltimore, Paul H. Brooks.

O;Neill, R.E., Horner, R.H., Albin, R.W., Sprague, J.R., Storey, K., & Newton, J.S. (1997). Functional assessment and program development for problem behavior: A practical Handbook. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole



This is legal information only, not legal advice!
The above listed information about special education law is for general information only. General legal information is not the same as legal advice -- which requires the application of law to an individual's specific circumstances. Although I believe the information to be accurate and useful, I strongly recommend that you consult a lawyer if you want professional advice regarding your specific legal situation and do not rely solely on the information provided above.

What Are Specific Learning Disabilities?

Learning disability is a general term that describes specific kinds of learning problems. A learning disability can cause a person to have trouble learning and using certain skills. The skills most often affected are: reading, writing, listening, speaking, reasoning, and doing math.

Learning disabilities (LD) vary from person to person. One person with LD may not have the same kind of learning problems as another person with LD. Sara, in our example above, has trouble with reading and writing. Another person with LD may have problems with understanding math. Still another person may have trouble in each of these areas, as well as with understanding what people are saying.

Researchers think that learning disabilities are caused by differences in how a person's brain works and how it processes information. Children with learning disabilities are not "dumb" or "lazy." In fact, they usually have average or above average intelligence. Their brains just process information differently.

The definition of "learning disability" just below comes from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The IDEA is the federal law that guides how schools provide special education and related services to children with disabilities. The special help that Sara is receiving is an example of special education.

There is no "cure" for learning disabilities. They are life-long. However, children with LD can be high achievers and can be taught ways to get around the learning disability. With the right help, children with LD can and do learn successfully.

IDEA's Definition of "Learning Disability"

Our nation's special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, defines a specific learning disability as . . .
". . . a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia."
However, learning disabilities do not include, "…learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage." 34 Code of Federal Regulations §300.8(c)(10)

How Common are Learning Disabilities?

Very common! As many as 1 out of every 5 people in the United States has a learning disability. Almost 3 million children (ages 3 through 21) have some form of a learning disability and receive special education in school. In fact, over half of all children who receive special education have a learning disability (Twenty-sixth Annual Report to Congress, U.S. Department of Education, 2006).

What are the Signs of a Learning Disability?

There is no one sign that shows a person has a learning disability. Experts look for a noticeable difference between how well a child does in school and how well he or she could do, given his or her intelligence or ability. There are also certain clues that may mean a child has a learning disability. We've listed a few below. Most relate to elementary school tasks, because learning disabilities tend to be identified in elementary school. A child probably won't show all of these signs, or even most of them. However, if a child shows a number of these problems, then parents and the teacher should consider the possibility that the child has a learning disability.
When a child has a learning disability, he or she:
may have trouble learning the alphabet, rhyming words, or connecting letters to their sounds;
may make many mistakes when reading aloud, and repeat and pause often;
may not understand what he or she reads;
may have real trouble with spelling;
may have very messy handwriting or hold a pencil awkwardly;
may struggle to express ideas in writing;
may learn language late and have a limited vocabulary;
may have trouble remembering the sounds that letters make or hearing slight differences between words;
may have trouble understanding jokes, comic strips, and sarcasm;
may have trouble following directions;
may mispronounce words or use a wrong word that sounds similar;
may have trouble organizing what he or she wants to say or not be able to think of the word he or she needs for writing or conversation;
may not follow the social rules of conversation, such as taking turns, and may stand too close to the listener;
may confuse math symbols and misread numbers;
may not be able to retell a story in order (what happened first, second, third); or
may not know where to begin a task or how to go on from there.
If a child has unexpected problems learning to read, write, listen, speak, or do math, then teachers and parents may want to investigate more. The same is true if the child is struggling to do any one of these skills. The child may need to be evaluated to see if he or she has a learning disability.

Information obtained from NICHCY.org /http://www.nichcy.org/Disabilities/Specific/Pages/LD.aspx
Additional information available from this site.

This is legal information only, not legal advice!
The above listed information about special education law is for general information only. General legal information is not the same as legal advice -- which requires the application of law to an individual's specific circumstances. Although I believe the information to be accurate and useful, I strongly recommend that you consult a lawyer if you want professional advice regarding your specific legal situation and do not