IDEA Complaint Decision 24-062

On May 16, 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, during the 2023-24 school year, properly implemented the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability utilizing properly trained and licensed staff.

School districts must provide a free appropriate public education 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. 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). 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.

The student who is the subject of this complaint has complex medical and physical needs, and their disability impacts their ability to communicate verbally. In the complaint, the student’s parent raised concerns regarding whether the student’s special education teacher provided the student’s specially designed instruction and whether the student was participating in general education classes with nondisabled peers as required by the IEP. The student’s IEP in effect at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year required the district to provide the student 1,815 minutes of specially designed instruction weekly in a special education setting to focus on academic, social, behavior, and daily living skills. The IEP specified that the student was to “attend specials and other developmental opportunities such as music class and a grading group with… grade level peers with support, along with Social and emotional learning (SEL) weekly, and a literature heavy class time for 225 minutes per week in general education.” The district provided documentation that the special education teacher was appropriately licensed to provide special education. However, they were unable to provide any documentation that the special education teacher provided the student’s specially designed instruction minutes as written in the IEP.

The special education teacher was absent between the dates of April 25, 2024, to May 1, 2024, and May 13, 2024, to May 20, 2024. Although the district utilized licensed staff to cover the teacher’s absences, the district was unable to provide documentation on whether the student’s specially designed instruction was implemented and whether staff were informed of their duties or were given copies of the student’s IEP. The district was similarly unable to provide documentation whether the student attended any general education classes as required by the IEP. The district did not properly implement the student’s IEP.

Within 30 days of the date of this decision, the district must hold an IEP team meeting to determine compensatory services the student requires due to not properly implementing the student’s IEP. The district is directed to send to the department a copy of the IEP within 10 days of the meeting.

In addition to the corrective action proposed by the district, prior to the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, the district is required to review the IEPs of all the students assigned to the same teacher during the 2023-24 school year to determine whether compensatory services are required. Within 20 days of the date of this decision, the district is directed to develop and submit to the department for approval a corrective action plan to ensure staff are prepared to properly implement all components of the IEPs of students in the student’s school at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.

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.