IDEA Complaint Decision 24-031

On March 19, 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 identified issues are included below and pertain to the period of time beginning March 19, 2023.

Whether the district properly implemented the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability regarding specially designed instruction utilizing properly licensed staff.

School districts must provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to each student with a disability by developing a program that meets the student’s unique needs, documenting that program in the student’s IEP, and implementing the program as articulated in the IEP. 34 CFR § 300.324. Each school board must ensure every teacher, aide, or other professional staff holds a valid certificate, license, or permit issued by the department for the position for which the individual is employed. Special education services must be provided by properly licensed special education teachers. 34 CFR § 300.156; Wis. Stats § 118.19.

A school district may employ an individual as a short-term substitute teacher employed to teach any subject at any grade level, including special education, for no more than 45 consecutive days in the same teaching assignment. A long-term substitute must be a licensed teacher or a licensed substitute teacher and be employed only in the subject and grade level in which the teacher is licensed. All staff responsible for implementing IEPs, including substitutes, must be informed of their specific responsibilities. An individual providing specially designed instruction, must hold at least a bachelor’s degree 34 CFR §§ 300.156(c)(iii); 34 CFR §300.323 and Wis. Stat. §115.787.

The complainant alleges that the substitute teacher providing the student with specially designed instruction is not appropriately licensed. The substitute teacher currently holds a short-term substitute teaching license that was issued on July 1, 2023. The substitute teacher has an associate degree and began teaching the student on September 5, 2023, and continued to provide instruction until present, with the exception of January 18 and April 1, 2024, where the district moved the short-term substitute teacher to a different assignment to circumvent the 45-day rule specific to short-term substitute teaching assignments. Although the district did provide support to this teacher, this is not a permissible use of a short-term substitute. If a substitute is anticipated to be needed for a long-term assignment, the employee must have a long-term substitute license. The district did not properly implement the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability regarding specially designed instruction utilizing properly licensed staff.

Whether the district properly monitored the student’s progress toward attaining annual IEP goals and provided periodic progress reports to the student’s parents as required by their IEP.

School districts must ensure periodic reports are provided to the parents of a student with a disability on the progress the student is making toward meeting each goal as specified in the student's IEP. 34 CFR §§ 300.320 (a)(3)(ii), 300.323(a); Wis. Stat. § 115.787. The report must address progress toward each stated, measurable goal or objective that is aligned with and directly related to the goal or objective statement and provide data or other information consistent with the baseline and level of attainment for the corresponding goal or objective. The reports must provide sufficient information so the parent can determine the degree to which the student has made progress toward meeting each goal or objective. The IEP team must revise the IEP, as appropriate, to address any lack of expected student progress toward the annual goals and in the general education curriculum if appropriate. CFR §§ 300.324 (b)(1)(ii).

Interviews with district staff and the complainant confirm that staff provided progress reports to the parent as required by the student’s IEP. However, the progress reports contained no data but rather anecdotal information about the student’s progress. The IEP contains two annual goals that state the student will attain the annual goal by meeting two out of three objectives in reading and four out of five short term objectives in math. When benchmarks or short-term objectives are used to measure the annual goal, all benchmarks or short-term objectives must be attained in order for the goal to be considered met. The IEP team met on February 8, 2024, to hold an annual IEP meeting. The IEP team documented the student made progress on the annual goals; however, the IEP did not rely on data to make that determination. The district provided timely progress reports as required by the IEP, but the progress reports did not contain all the sufficient information to determine whether the student made adequate progress towards the annual goals. The district did not properly provide the parent the student’s progress with all the required information.

Within 30 days of the date of this decision, the district must hold an IEP team meeting to determine compensatory services for the student who is the subject of this complaint. In addition, the district must also determine compensatory services for the other students on the short-term substitute teacher’s caseload.

Within 10 days of the IEP meetings held, the district is directed to send to the department a copy of the IEPs. The district must also confirm that an appropriately licensed teacher is assigned to this caseload. Within 30 days of the date of this decision, the district must submit to the department a corrective action plan to ensure school staff are appropriately trained on writing progress reports that provide sufficient information so the parent can determine the degree to which the student has made progress toward meeting each goal. In addition, the district must revise the progress report to include the student’s progress towards each annual goal. A copy of this report must be sent to the department and the parent.

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.