{"id":5769,"date":"2011-11-17T11:56:10","date_gmt":"2011-11-17T15:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/?p=5769"},"modified":"2011-11-17T11:56:10","modified_gmt":"2011-11-17T15:56:10","slug":"changing-placement-helpful-legal-references","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/changing-placement-helpful-legal-references\/","title":{"rendered":"Changing Placement: Helpful Legal References"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_pop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/gallery\/share-button-gray.png\" style=\"border:0px\" alt=\"Share\" \/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_icon_type = \"labels\";var hupso_background=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_border=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"wrightslaw\";var hupso_url=\"\";var hupso_title=\"Changing%20Placement%3A%20Helpful%20Legal%20References\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><blockquote><p>My principal is requiring that I have meetings to change students&#8217; IEPs to correct the location of services under the direct service hours part of their IEPs.\u00a0 All of their current IEPs state the location as &#8220;Special Education Setting.&#8221; Presently, a non-certified assistant is fulfilling direct service hours in an inclusive setting in the morning.<\/p>\n<p>In the IEP, for location of services, could the &#8220;Special Education Setting&#8221; be interpreted as a setting where a special education teacher is present, such as in an inclusion classroom?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Good questions. It sounds like your principal is asking you to take actions about IEPs that are improper and illegal.<\/p>\n<p>The law <strong>requires<\/strong> placement decisions to be made by a team &#8211; usually the team that developed the child&#8217;s IEP. <strong>Parents are required members of that team<\/strong>. Schools are required to offer a continuum of placements from regular ed class with supplementary services and supports to a special ed class, special ed school, home, hospital etc.<\/p>\n<p>I expect you may have to deal with more requests to do things that are not legal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Legal references are useful when you are dealing with an administrator who is not familiar with the legal requirements for placement, paraprofessionals, etc.<\/strong><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The following text is from Chapter 10 &#8211; Placement in our book, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/store\/aaieps.html\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Wrightslaw: All About IEPs<\/span><\/a>. The book includes over 200 questions and answers about IEPs. Each answer includes endnotes that reference the law or regulation that we relied on in the answer.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;BEGIN TEXT&#8211;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Placement Decisions<\/strong><br \/>\nAfter the IEP team makes decisions about your child\u2019s needs and the special education program, a team will decide your child\u2019s placement \u2014 where the services will be provided. Placement decisions must be individualized and based on your child\u2019s unique needs as described in the IEP.[i]<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who decides where my child will be placed?<\/strong><br \/>\nIn some states, the IEP team makes the placement decision. In other states, the decision may be made by another group of people who are knowledgeable about the child.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do I have a say in decisions about my child\u2019s placement?<\/strong><br \/>\nYes. Parents are members of any group that decides their child\u2019s educational placement.[ii] The team must include people who know:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> The child<\/li>\n<li> What the evaluation results mean<\/li>\n<li> What types of placements are appropriate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>How does the team decide on a child\u2019s placement?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe first option the team must consider is placement in the general education classroom at the school your child would attend if not disabled.[iii] The team needs to answer these questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> Can this child be educated satisfactorily in the general education classroom?<\/li>\n<li> What supplementary aids, services, and supports does the child need to be educated in the general education classroom?[iv]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Are there any rules about placement decisions?<\/strong><br \/>\nYes. Your child\u2019s placement <strong>must<\/strong> be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> Based on your child\u2019s unique needs as documented in the IEP<\/li>\n<li> Determined at least once a year<\/li>\n<li> As close to your child\u2019s home as possible so your child can be educated in the school he would attend if he was not disabled.[v]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Your child\u2019s placement may <strong>not<\/strong> be based on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> Your child\u2019s disability category or label or severity of the disability (i.e., children with autism are placed in a class with other children with autism)<\/li>\n<li> The school\u2019s service delivery model (i.e., all children with learning disabilities receive \u201cpull out\u2019 or resource services)<\/li>\n<li> The availability of special education and related services, staff location, or school district convenience. [vi]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Continuum of Alternative Placements<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that schools provide a continuum of alternative placements for children with disabilities.[vii]<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the \u201ccontinuum of alternative placements?\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nThe continuum of alternative placements\u00a0refers to places where children receive special education services. Placements are on a continuum, from least to most restrictive. Your child\u2019s placement may be in:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A regular classes, with needed supplementary aids and services<\/li>\n<li>A special class where all children in the class receive special education services for some or all of the day<\/li>\n<li>A special school<\/li>\n<li>Home<\/li>\n<li>A hospital or other institution<\/li>\n<li> Another setting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In making a placement decision, the team must look at the full continuum of placement options.[viii]\u00a0 \u00a0. . . .<\/p>\n<p>[i]\u00a0 Commentary in 71 FR at 46588<br \/>\n[ii] \u00a020 U.S.C. \u00a7 1414(e); 34 C.F.R. \u00a7 300.327; also Guide to the IEP: Deciding Placements from the U.S. Department of Education. URL: www.ed.gov\/parents\/needs\/speced\/iepguide\/index.html#deciding<br \/>\n[iii]\u00a0 34 C.F.R. \u00a7 300.116<br \/>\n[iv]\u00a0 34 C.F.R. \u00a7 300.42; 34 C.F.R. \u00a7 300.114 &#8211; 300.116<br \/>\n[v]\u00a0 20 U.S.C. \u00a7 1412(a)(5); 34 C.F.R \u00a7 300.314 &#8211; 300.317<br \/>\n[vi]\u00a0 Commentary in 71 FR at 46588<br \/>\n[vii]\u00a0 20 U.S.C. \u00a7 1412(a)(5); 34 C.F.R. \u00a7 300.115<br \/>\n[viii]\u00a0 34 C.F.R. \u00a7 300.115<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My principal is requiring that I have meetings to change students&#8217; IEPs to correct the location of services under the direct service hours part of their IEPs.\u00a0 All of their <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/changing-placement-helpful-legal-references\/\">Continue Reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[529,122,161],"tags":[810,811,1333,809],"class_list":["post-5769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parent-rights-responsibilities","category-placement","category-teachers","tag-certified-teachers","tag-changing-ieps","tag-inclusion","tag-placement-decisions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5769"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6183,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5769\/revisions\/6183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}