IDEA Complaint Decision 24-069

On May 21, 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 issues are whether the district, beginning the 2023-24 school year, properly developed the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability regarding post high school transition services and properly determined the student’s educational placement.

 

Whether the district properly developed the IEP of a student with a disability regarding post high school transition services.

Beginning at the age of 14, each student’s IEP must include a postsecondary transition plan (PTP) including appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills; and the transition services (including courses of study) needed to assist the student in reaching those goals. The plan must be reviewed at least annually. 34 CFR § 300.320(b); Wis. Stat. § 115.787(2)(g)1 and 2.

The student who is the subject of this complaint was 18 years of age during the entirety of the 2023-24 school year. The PTP in effect for the student at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year was developed on January 27, 2023, at an IEP team meeting, as required. The PTP included measurable postsecondary goals in the areas of education and employment and indicated that the student did not have a need for a goal in the area of independent living skills. The transition service included in the PTP, was to discuss college requirements and options with the student, family, and the school counselor. The student’s IEP team met to conduct the student’s annual IEP team meeting on January 23, 2024. The team added three measurable postsecondary goals in the area of independent living skills and outlined four annual goals that would help the student make progress toward these postsecondary goals. A transition service was added to determine the supports needed for the student to be safe in the community.

 

At the time of the January 23, 2024, IEP team meeting, the IEP team had thought the student would graduate from high school at the end of the school year. The complainant raised concerns that the student did not have sufficient daily living skills to warrant graduation at the end of the school term. The IEP team decided to administer transition assessments to gather more information. The IEP met again on April 18, April 26, and May 29, 2024, to discuss the results of the transition assessments and update the student’s IEP and PTP. The IEP team determined that the student would not graduate at the end of the school year. On April 26, 2024, the IEP team revised the student’s postsecondary education goal from attending a 2-year university to receiving on the job training. They also replaced the three independent living skills goals from January 2024 with five new measurable goals, and added several annual goals designed to help the student make progress toward their transition goals. In addition, six new transition services were added to the PTP that were designed to improve the academic and functional achievement of the student. The district properly developed the IEP regarding post high school transition services.

 

Whether the district properly determined the student’s educational placement.

 

Under Wisconsin law, each student's IEP team must determine the student's educational placement, and the placement determination must be made through an IEP team meeting. Wis. Stat. § 115.78(2). Any time a district proposes or refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement or the provision of a free appropriate public education to a student with a disability, the district must provide the parents prior written notice, including, if applicable, a copy of the student’s IEP, a reasonable time before any proposed changes take effect. 34 CFR §300.503.

 

During the IEP team meetings on April 18 and 26, 2024, the complainant requested that the student receive an educational placement at a neighboring public school district, given they had a more robust postsecondary transition program. The IEP team discussed the request but ultimately rejected it as district staff determined that they could adequately meet all of the student’s individual needs within the district. The parent again requested an alternate placement, through an email written by the parent’s advocate, on May 13, 2024, after receiving draft copies of the student’s IEP and PTP. The district responded by sending the parent prior written notice acknowledging and formally rejecting the request. The district properly determined the student’s educational placement.

 

 

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.