On October 30, 2019, the Department of Public Instruction (department) received a complaint under state and federal special education law from XXXXX (guardian) against the XXXXX (district). This is the department’s decision regarding the complaint. The issues are whether the district, during the 2019-2020 school year, properly developed and implemented the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability.
The student’s IEP in effect for the 2019-20 school year, dated December 10, 2018, was properly developed according to the requirements specified in 34 CFR 300.320 of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) regulations. The IEP team considered the student’s present level of academic achievement and functional performance, information about the student’s strengths, and information provided by the student’s guardian. The team considered all special factors noting that the student’s behavior interfered with his learning or that of others and specified positive behavior supports and interventions to be provided for the student. The team also developed a behavior intervention plan for the student addressing the student’s propensity for eloping. The IEP identified ten annual goals aligned with the disability-related needs of the student. The IEP contained appropriately described supplementary aids and services, specially designed instruction, related services, and program modifications and supports for school personnel designed to allow the student to progress in the general curriculum and make progress towards annual goals. The IEP appropriately described the extent to which the student would not participate in the regular education environment with nondisabled peers.
The student’s guardian states that the student’s IEP was not implemented during the 2019-20 school year. As evidence of this, the guardian points to the student’s work rarely being sent home; the student’s continued elopement from class; the student’s reluctance to attend school; and allegedly misleading information provided during an IEP team meeting on November 5, 2019. The department’s investigator interviewed district staff responsible for implementing the student’s IEP and examined written records related to the provision of services specified in the student’s IEP. The evidence indicated the student’s IEP has been implemented in all respects including the provision of special education and related services, the provision of positive behavior supports and interventions, and adherence to the student’s behavior intervention plan. There was no evidence indicating any of the data provided for review by the IEP team and documented in the student’s November IEP was incorrect.
This concludes our review of this complaint. This decision is final for the IDEA State Complaint process. These issues may be addressed through other dispute resolutions, including mediation and due process hearings. Visit http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/dispute-resolution for more information.
Sincerely,
//signed by BVH 12/26/19
Barbara Van Haren, PhD
Assistant State Superintendent
Division for Learning Support
dec:pas