On May 20, 2024 (form dated May 17, 2024), the Department of Public Instruction (department) received a complaint under state and federal special education law from #### (complainant) against the #### (school). This is the department’s decision regarding that complaint. The issues identified are whether the school, during the 2023-24 school year, properly provided the student an educational placement in the least restrictive environment (LRE) and properly developed and implemented the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability specific to the provision of paraprofessional support and behavior supports.
Whether the school properly provided the student an educational placement in the least restrictive environment.
Placement decisions for students with disabilities must be made by each student’s IEP team based on the student’s unique needs. The IEP team must include the student’s parents, and other persons knowledgeable about the student, the meaning of the evaluation data, and the available placement options. 34 CFR § 300.116(a)(1). Local education agencies must provide each student with a disability a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). To the maximum extent appropriate, school districts must ensure students with disabilities are educated with students who are nondisabled. Special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of students with disabilities from the regular educational environment should be used only 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. 34 CFR § 300.114(a)(2). Unless the IEP requires some other arrangement, the student must be educated in the school that he or she would attend if nondisabled and, in selecting the LRE, consideration must be given to any potential harmful effect on the student or on the quality of services that the student needs. In addition, the student must not be removed from education in age-appropriate regular classrooms solely because of needed modifications in the general education curriculum. 34 CFR § 300.116(a)(2)(e). LEAs must ensure the availability of a continuum of alternative placements to meet the needs of students with disabilities. 34 CFR § 300.115.
The student who is the subject of this complaint attended eighth grade at the school, which is an independent charter school, for the 2023-24 school year. The student meets special education eligibility criteria for intellectual disability and a speech/language impairment. The student does not use spoken language and communicates using a speech generating device, vocalizations, gestures, and modified signs. The student participated in alternate instruction and curriculum aligned with alternate achievement standards. The student received specially designed instruction in a 1:1 setting. The student’s IEP team ensured the student would have opportunities to interact with nondisabled peers and school staff was mindful about providing for them, but the student usually preferred to limit their engagement with other students.
Since the 2022-23 school year, the student often experienced dysregulation and engaged in behaviors that included yelling, eloping, throwing objects, ignoring adult directions, and pounding on or slamming doors. Staff conducted a functional behavioral assessment that concluded the possible functions were attention-seeking and communicating feelings such as anger, frustration, or stress. The student required adult supervision throughout the entire day for safety. The student’s IEP team met on November 9, 2023, to discuss the student’s decreased participation in educational activities and increasing dysregulation and behaviors. The IEP team determined the student did not make adequate progress towards achieving their IEP goals during the 2022-23 school year and during the first quarter of the 2023-24 school year. The team discussed other placement options for the student The IEP team agreed to investigate other placement option and schedule tours with the family. The team planned to reconvene to discuss observations and placement after the student’s family had the opportunity to tour the alternative placements.
The team decided not to tour two of the potential placements due to concerns about the schools’ programming. The student’s parents, a family advocate, school psychologist, special education director, and the student’s special education teacher toured an alternative school on November 30, 2023. The same group toured the student’s resident district high school on December 7, 2023. On December 13, 2024, the parent sent an email to the special education director indicating that the family did not consider the alternative school a viable option because of travel distance and lack of access to students without disabilities. The IEP team met on January 11, 2024. They discussed the school tours and alternative placement options. The team considered and rejected placement at the three alternative schools. The parents indicated they intended to enroll the student in the district of residence for the 2024-25 academic school year. The IEP team considered the potential impact of the student transitioning to the resident school district during the final semester in the 2023-24 school year. The IEP team determined it would be too disruptive to have a major transition to a short-term alternative placement for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year only to have another major transition in August for the start of the 2024-25 school year. The IEP team determined that the student should remain at the independent charter school for the rest of the 2023-24 school year.
On January 26, 2024, the student’s IEP team met to develop the student’s annual IEP. The IEP team identified new goal areas and placed greater emphasis on the student’s participation. The student attended the school through the end of the 2023-24 school year.
Charter schools, like school districts, must ensure the availability of a continuum of alternative placements to meet the needs of students with disabilities. Letter to Anonymous, 53 IDELR 127, Office of Special Education Programs (March 30, 2009). The IEP team met frequently to discuss challenges of meeting the student’s academic needs and providing opportunities to interact with nondisabled peers. School staff believed that the school was struggling to meet the student’s needs, making an alternative placement the best option for the student long term. Meanwhile, the parents planned to enroll the student in the resident district high school for the 2024-25 school year. The IEP team recognized two substantial changes would have a negative impact on the student’s progress. Mindful of the student’s difficulties with large transitions, the IEP team decided to hold off on an alternative placement to avoid the student starting a placement at an alternative school for the end of 2023-24 and change to a different school for 2024-25. The school’s actions to consider alternative placements as an IEP team but hold off on a transition during the 2023-24 school year were based on the student’s individualized needs. The school properly provided an educational placement in the least restrictive environment for the student during the 2023-24 school year.
Whether the school properly developed and implemented the IEP specific to the provision of paraprofessional support and behavior supports.
Local education agencies meet their obligation to provide a free appropriate public education to each student with a disability, in part, by developing and implementing each student’s IEP. The IEP must include clear descriptions of the amount, frequency, location, and duration of services, so the commitment of resources is clear to all IEP team members, including the parent, and all involved in implementing the IEP. Staff responsible for implementing the student’s IEP must be informed of their specific responsibilities. 34 CFR § 300.323; Wis. Stat. § 115.787.
The student requires daily adult supervision and assistance, adult support to participate in all curriculum areas, and 1:1 adult assistance with the bathroom. In order to provide this adult supervision and support, the school provided the student a full time paraprofessional. The school properly developed and implemented the IEP regarding these supports.
The student’s IEPs provide for many supplementary aids and services to address the student’s behavioral needs including modifications to coursework and assessments, adaptive seating, noise canceling headphones, visual timers, visual schedules and supports, tactile manipulatives and fidgets, positive reinforcement, behavior-specific praise, video modeling, social stories, and sensory supports. The IEP in effect at the start of the 2023-24 school year specifically included social stories, sensory supports, and video modeling to be provided “as needed” without further description of the conditions that required staff to implement the supports. These descriptions were unclear and did not explain the school’s commitment of resources.
During the 2023-24 school year, IEP team members discussed the student’s behavior at three IEP team meetings. The special education teacher that attended the IEP team meetings worked very closely with the student and communicated throughout the day with the student’s paraprofessional. Both staff articulated a shared understanding of when and how to provide behavior supports that aligned with the annual IEP developed on January 26, 2024, which clarified the frequency and amount from the previous IEP. After the annual IEP revisions, the student’s participation increased, and their behavior regulation started to improve. No further corrective action is required.
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