I am seeking your input prior to Wednesday March 8th! March 8th in
Carmel, IN I w ill participate in the Article 7 Parent Forum to discuss
verbage that may be changed in Article 7, (Indiana Special Education
Law) to reflect the changes to IDEIA, (Federal Special Education Law).

Some of the topics include Notice of Procedural Safeguards, (NOPS):
IDEA '04 states that NOPS no longer has to be provided at these events
-notification of case conference committee meeting and -
reevaluation

IDEA '04 provides and, as a result, since July 1, 2005, Article 7 has
required, a twoyear statute of llimitations on requests for due process
hearings. The two year exceptions to the statute of limitations are -
if the school made specific misrepresentation that it had resolved the m
atter, and - if the school withheld information required to be provided
to the parent

Article 7 currently requires initial evaluations to be completed and the
case conference committee meeting to be convened witin 60 instructional
days. Idea'04 establises a 60 calendar day time from parental consent
to copletion of an initial evaluation.

IDEA '04 permits an LEA to use a limited percentage of its Part B funds
to serve students who have not yet been indentifies as eligible for
special education services. LEA's are permitted to develop and
implement coordinated early intervening services for students in
Kindergarted though twelfth grade who have not yet been identified as
students needing special education services but who need additional
support to succeed in the general education setting. IDEA '04
encourages schools to used Scientific research-based intervention as
part of the evaluation process.

Article 7 currently requires that in order for a student with a
disability to be identified as a student with a learning disability, the
case conference committee must determine whether a severe discrepency
exists between achievement and ability in at least one area. IDEA '04
states teh Departments of Education may not require LEA's to consider
whether the student has a severe discrepency. However, a discrepency is
still required. The LEA may use a process to determine whether the
student responds to scientific research based intervention as part of
the evaluation process. IDEA '04 has removed the requirement that a
state consider a severe discrepency.

Article 7 currently clearly defines the required case conference
committee participants. IDEA '04 permits members of the xase conference
committee to be excused from all or part of a case conference committee
meeting if the parent and LEA agree, in writing, that the case
conference committee member does not need to attend, and the excused
participant submits to the parent and the case conference committee
prior to the case conference committee meeting, written input iinto the
development of the IEP.

Article 7 currently requires that a students's IEP include "a statement
of measurable annual goals...including benchmarks or short-term
objectives..."
IDEA '04 eliminates the requirement for benchmarks or short term
objectives as a part of each annyal g oal on a students IEP except for
students who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement
standards.

Note: My personal opinion on the above change is that it may
encourage parents to allow alternate assessments,(like ISTAR which
focuses on functional skills rated in a subjective manner rather than an
objective measure of academic skills), in order to keep the short term
benchmarks and objectives. We want as many of our kids as possible to
be taking part in the same assessments as regualr education students and
taking part in the regular education curriculum. My child currently
has ISTAR as a supplemental assessment and it is so subjective and so
many items not even rated that the results are really meaningless.

Article 7 currently requires that beginning at age 14 a student's IEP
should include a statement of the students transition service needs
under the components of the IEP that focus on teh student's course of
study. IDEA '04 states that transition planning is required to begin at
age 16. IDEA '04 also eliminates the requirement of a statement of
interagency linkages or responsibilities.

Note: I will argue for keeping the age for tranisiton planning at
age 14 and retaining the requirments of interagency linkages. When a
student is high school age (14) they need to begin (at least by then)
planning for what comes after public education. It is NEVER to early
to begin identifiying and developing talents of your child/student. I
already with m y son at age 8 find myself watching what he likes to do
and can do well and thinking in terms of future employment opportunities
that he would enjoy as an adult.

Article 7 currently state that the LEA may remove a student to an
Interim Alternative Educational Setting (IAES) for 45 calendar days for
offenses involving drugs, weapons or serious bodily injury. IDEA '04
states that the length of thime that a student may be removed to an IAES
may not exceed 45 school days.

Note: A school year is 180 instructional days. 45 instructional
days is a significant part of the school year.

IDEA '04 and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) both require that all
teachers, including special education teachers responsible for teaching
content areas (reading, math, etc.) be appropriately certified to teach
that content area.

Note; I think this is critical! Academics suffer when our kids
are not in inclusive environments. So if our kids will not be educated
in the classroom with a general education teacher then the assigned
special education tescher must have the skills to ensure our kids
receive academic instruction equal to that in the general education
classroom.

Other issues realte to Early C hildhood programs such as the Least
Restsictive Enviroment, Full tie programs (at least 12 1/2 hours per
week), curriculum with specified aims across doomains.

Article 7 contains provisions that apply to studnts withdisabilities who
have been unilaterally enrolled byt he parents in a school or facility.
(Note that the rule does not apply to students who have been placed in
or referred to a pr ivate school or facility by a public agency.)

For students ages 3-22, the public agency, in providing special
education services to students in private schools, must spend a
proportionate share of federal dollars they receive. The proportionate
s hare is calculated by determining the total number of sutdents with
disabilities rediding in its boundaries and figuring w hat percentage of
them receive services in pri vate schools.