On January 12, 2024, 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 issue identified is whether the district, beginning January 12, 2023, properly implemented the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability regarding school psychology services, reduced assignments, and behavioral supports.
School districts must provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to each student with a disability by developing an IEP that meets the student's unique needs, and providing the services required by each student's IEP. 34 CFR §§ 300.323(c)(2) & 300.324. Whenever a student with a disability exhibits behaviors that impede the student's learning or that of others, districts must consider the use of positive behavioral interventions and supports and other strategies to address that behavior. If a student displays inappropriate behavior despite having an IEP that includes behavioral supports, this may indicate that the behavioral supports in the IEP are not being appropriately implemented or are not appropriate for the student. In these situations, the IEP team should meet to review whether the supports and services are being implemented or whether the supports and services are effective and revise the IEP accordingly. 34 CFR § 300.324 (a)(2)(i).
The student who is the subject of this complaint attends a district middle school. The student’s IEP was developed on March 21, 2023, and they have disability related needs in the areas of attention, executive functioning, and social/emotional skills. The IEP notes the student’s behavior impedes their learning or that of others, specifically that the student has difficulty with being on task, starting and completing work, and communicating with adults and peers. The student’s IEP includes supplementary aids and services, including assignments to be broken down into manageable chunks, and assignments reduced by 25%. The student has the option to work individually instead of in a group. The IEP includes the use of fidget objects to help the student stay focused and provides for the student to take tests in small group settings with extended time. The IEP also includes psychological services for 20 minutes once per week to help with social and emotional skills.
The student was involved in a behavioral incident on December 8, 2023. The student received a suspension as a result of the incident. The student’s parent was concerned that inconsistent implementation of the supports in the student’s IEP may have been a factor in the student’s behavior, which staff described as unexpected and atypical for the student.
On December 21, 2023, the student’s IEP team met to review and revise the student’s IEP, in part to address the parent’s concerns about the behavioral incident, including a discussion about whether the student’s behavioral supports were effective or needed to be revised. The IEP team replaced the weekly school psychological services with school counseling services. The IEP team explained the student was showing more signs of social anxiety and ADHD and had a greater comfort level with the school counselor as compared to the school psychologist. The IEP continued the supplementary aids and services described above and added the ability of the student to request a break from class twice a day for five minutes. The IEP team also replaced a general education class with a study hall where the student could touch base with the special education teacher to get assignments organized and talk about feelings and anxieties.
In the complaint, the student’s parent raised concerns that the psychological and school counseling services have been provided only sporadically, and that the student’s assignments were rarely reduced as required by the IEP.
The school psychologist and the school counselor explained they used check-in and check-out procedures with the student at the beginning and end of the day to ascertain the student’s level of anxiety. The student often stayed in the office with them at the start of the day and worked on a strategy of tapping to relieve stress. Both the counselor and the school psychologist kept logs to document the times they met with the student over the school year to demonstrate the related services requirement had been met. In addition, the student’s teachers provided evidence of their implementation of the student’s supplementary aids and services. They routinely provided the student more time for homework, reduced the length of assignments, and allowed the student to take breaks and work individually rather than in groups. All teachers had observed the student use fidget objects or take walks during class to relax and stay focused. Teachers also demonstrated that they provided accommodations to enable the student to take tests in small groups with more time to complete the test. Staff provided evidence of implementation including sections of their grade books documenting reduced assignments for the student. Staff also shared several emails from the staff to the parent describing various reductions in assignments or strategies to complete assignments. The district properly implemented the student’s IEP regarding school psychology services, reduced assignments, and behavioral supports.
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.