On November 1, 2023, the Department of Public Instruction (department) received a complaint under state and federal special education law from #### (complainant) against the #### (district). This is the department’s decision regarding that complaint. The issues pertain to the period of time beginning November 1, 2022, and are included below.
Whether the district properly developed the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability regarding academic needs and related goals.
School districts must provide each student with a disability with a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment. School districts meet their obligation to provide FAPE to each student with a disability, in part, by developing an IEP based on the student’s unique, disability-related needs that is reasonably calculated to enable the student to make progress appropriate in light of the student’s circumstances, documenting that program in the IEP, and implementing the program as articulated in the IEP. For most students, the IEP must be designed to allow the student to progress from grade to grade, but if that is not possible, the IEP should be appropriately ambitious in light of the child’s circumstances. 34 CFR §§ 300.320-300.324; Wis. Stat. § 115.78[2]; Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, 137 S.Ct. 988. The IEP team must identify how the student's disability affects the student's involvement and progress in the general curriculum, develop measurable annual goals designed to meet the student's disability-related needs, align special education services to enable the student to advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals, make progress in the general curriculum, and be educated with nondisabled students. 34 CFR §§ 300.320 and 300.323. In developing each child’s IEP, the IEP team must consider the concerns of the parents. 34 CFR §§ 300.324. Decisions about student participation in alternate assessment and curriculum have significant consequences, and IEP teams need to take great care to ensure each student’s participation is determined based on accurate, current information. All students should have annual goals that are appropriately ambitious given their individual circumstances. Whenever questions arise about the appropriateness of an individual student’s IEP, teams should consider whether their current information is sufficient, and if not, consider conducting a reevaluation.
The student who is the subject of this complaint has a variety of medical needs and qualifies for special education under the disability area of Other Health Impairment. The student receives specially designed instruction for reading, writing, and math. In addition, the student also receives adaptive physical education and services to address both a hearing impairment (including instruction in listening comprehension and self-advocacy skill development) and a visual impairment. The student requires related services for orientation and mobility, occupational therapy, audiological maintenance, speech and language, and school nursing and health services for the distribution of medication and monitoring of blood sugar levels. The student’s parents disenrolled the student from the school district on October 6, 2023, and are currently providing home-based private education.
A paraprofessional accompanied the student to general education classes. General education teachers state the student enjoyed participating in class and being with their peers, but the academic content was often challenging for the student as they were working below grade level expectations. The student also required assistance from the paraprofessional or teacher to complete independent work. School staff had to modify general education assignments for the student in order to allow access and participation in the general education curriculum.
The complainant had specific concerns regarding what they consider to be a mismatch between the complexity of curriculum and the student’s capabilities. The student’s instruction is based on a curriculum aligned to alternate achievement standards for students with significant cognitive disabilities. The student participates in the state’s alternate assessment. The parent felt that the student’s participation in the alternate assessment was not thoroughly discussed or the checklist about the student’s participation completed during the annual IEP meeting. Interviews with district staff confirm that the participation in alternate assessment checklist was reviewed and discussed with the parent during the annual IEP meeting held on March 28, 2023. The IEP team also documented that the parent participated in this decision and discussion under the assessment section of the IEP. The following was documented in the student’s IEP under the effects of disability section “The student has difficulty engaging in age-expected classroom activities due to delays in their academic skills. The student’s current reading skills are far below her grade-level peers. The student has deficits in their phonological awareness skills, decoding, and word recognition skills. The student also has a difficult time completing math activities. The student has difficulty with completing addition and subtraction problems featuring two-digit numbers, fractions, and identifying coins and their values. The student has a difficult time composing a variety of writing that utilizes organization, transition words, and varied word choices. The student requires specially designed instruction in the areas of reading, math, and writing in the special education setting in order to help her demonstrate an understanding and ability to apply knowledge and skills toward the Essential Elements”.
The student’s most recent IEP dated March 28, 2023, clearly documents the student’s disability-related needs. Each need is addressed by at least one annual goal and specially designed instruction as well as related services. All services are in alignment with the student’s needs. Progress reports show that the student was making adequate progress on all annual IEP goals prior to being homeschooled. The district properly developed the student’s IEP in regard to academic needs and related goals.
Whether the district properly developed and implemented the student’s IEP regarding services of an educational assistant.
Each student’s IEP must include a statement of the special education, related services, and supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child, including the projected date for the beginning of the services and the anticipated duration of the services. All services must be clearly stated in the IEP in a manner that can be understood by all involved in the development and implementation of the IEP. 34 CFR §§ 300.320(a)(4) and (a)(7). Districts must ensure that each service provider is informed of their specific responsibilities related to implementing each student's IEP and the specific accommodations, modifications, and supports the district must provide the student in accordance with the IEP. 34 CFR § 300.324(d).
The student’s parent expressed concerns that the paraprofessionals supporting the student were not properly trained regarding the student’s medical needs. The student’s IEP lists daily adult support for the full school day under supplementary aids and services to assist the student in the areas of eating/food prep, hygiene, dressing, recess, toileting, mobility, supervision/cueing. In addition, the student’s IEP includes school nursing and health related services for 10 minutes per day for medication distribution as well as any time the student’s blood sugar levels fluctuate. A health plan for the student was also developed and had been shared with all staff working with the student. The health plan is referenced in the student’s IEP under the present levels of academic achievement and functional performance. Staff interviewed said they were aware of the student’s health plan, and all had trained on the student’s medical needs. The district properly developed and implemented the student’s IEP regarding services of an educational assistant.
Properly provided the student an educational placement in the least restrictive environment.
In Wisconsin, placements of students with disabilities must be determined by IEP teams in conformity with least restrictive environment (LRE) requirements. To the maximum extent appropriate, students must be educated with students who do not have disabilities. Each student’s placement determination must be based on the student’s individual needs as specified in the IEP; be determined at least annually; be as close as possible to the student’s home; and, unless the student requires some other arrangement, in the school, the student would attend if not disabled. Students with disabilities should not be removed from education in an age-appropriate regular education classroom solely because of needed modifications in the general education curriculum. Removal from the regular education environment should only occur if the nature or severity of a student’s disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. The IEP team must document its placement decision, including its consideration of LRE, in the IEP. Wis. Stat. § 115.79; 34 CFR §§ 300.114 - 300.116.
The parent expressed concerns with the amount of time the student was being taken out of the general education classroom for specially designed instruction and felt the student should have more time in the general education classroom. The parent and director of special education met on August 2, 2023, to discuss the concerns. The director of special education suggested placing the student in a different homeroom so that a special education teacher could co-teach and provide more of the student’s specially designed instruction within the general education setting. This change of placement was not done as part of an IEP team meeting. On September 18, 2023, the special education teacher sent an email stating they would no longer provide the student with specially designed instruction (SDI) in the general education setting and will be providing SDI in the special education classroom. There was no IEP team meeting held to discuss this change in the student’s placement. The parent responded by requesting an IEP meeting and the special education teacher replied promptly by providing available dates and times. The parent did not respond to that email, and district staff sent a second attempt to arrange an IEP team meeting via email to the parent on September 21, 2023. On September 22, 2023, the parent responded via email stating that they would be homeschooling the student and the student’s last day of school would be October 6, 2023.
The student’s placement was not properly changed when it was made outside of an IEP team meeting, and the IEP team did not determine whether the placement was in the least restrictive environment. Although the student is currently not enrolled in public school, the student is a resident of the school district, and the parent has the option to re-enroll the student. If the parent re-enrolls the student, the district must conduct an IEP team meeting to discuss and determine the student’s placement in accordance with the least restrictive environment requirements. If the student is removed from the general education environment for any part of the school day, the IEP must document other options considered and why those options were rejected. Within 30 days of the date of this decision, the district must submit to the department for approval a corrective action plan to ensure IEP teams properly determine and document placement decisions including proper considerations regarding least restrictive environment.
All noncompliance identified above must be corrected as soon as possible but in no case, more than one year from the date of this decision. 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. For more information, visit the department’s website at http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/dispute-resolution or contact the special education team at (608) 266-1781.
For questions about this information, contact dpispeddata@dpi.wi.gov (608) 266-1781