IDEA Complaint Decision 25-031

On February 26, 2025 (form dated February 25, 2025), 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 February 25, 2024, properly implemented the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability.

 

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 by implementing special education and related services in accordance with the student's IEP. 34 CFR §§ 300.323(c)(2) & 300.324. Each student’s IEP must address the student's needs that result from the student's disability in order to enable the student to be involved and make appropriate progress in the general education curriculum and toward their IEP goals, and meet the student's other educational needs that result from the student's disability. The IEP must include a statement of the special education services to be provided to the student. 34 CFR §§300.320(a), 300.324(a). Districts must ensure that the student's IEP is accessible to each regular education teacher, special education teacher, related services provider, and any other service provider who is responsible for its implementation and that they are informed of their specific responsibilities. 34 CFR § 300.323(d).

 

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. 34 CFR § 300.324 (a)(2)(i). 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. The IEP team should also consider whether a functional behavioral assessment is necessary to better understand the function of the student's behavior. It is critical that services and supports are designed to support the needs of students with disabilities and ensure FAPE are appropriately implemented to avoid an overreliance of exclusionary discipline in response to a student’s behavior. Questions and Answers: Addressing the Needs of Children with Disabilities and IDEA's Discipline Provisions, U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, July 19, 2022.

 

At the beginning of the relevant time period, the student who is the subject of this complaint attended third grade in the district. The IEP in effect, which was developed while the student was in second grade, provided specially designed instruction in literacy and math, related services for speech-language therapy and occupational therapy, and adult assistance and support for communication and regulation. The district met to reevaluate the student on March 11, 2024. On April 9, 2024, the IEP team met to develop the student’s annual IEP informed by the recent evaluation. The IEP team reviewed the student’s progress towards their annual goals, finding that the student met two of the five annual goals. The team determined that a major factor in the student’s lack of progress was the student’s behavior when they became frustrated and the student’s difficulty with staying on-task. The IEP team proposed solutions including consistent modeling of communication devices to support the student’s progress toward meeting their social communication goal and working on task completion with support and movement for both their math and literacy goals. The IEP team added specially designed instruction for academic engagement, increased access to sensory and communication supports throughout the student’s day, and provided the student with alternative ways to demonstrate knowledge. Staff were able to provide the student either low-tech (laminated flip book with illustrations) or high-tech (augmentative and alternative communication [AAC] device) options to support their communication.

 

At the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, when the student was in fourth grade, they became dysregulated with increased frequency. They exhibited behaviors including throwing items, spitting, and aggressive behavior toward staff. The student’s IEP team met and developed a behavior intervention plan (BIP) on November 13, 2024. Staff described difficulty identifying signs of the student’s frustration prior to incidents. The IEP team added positive behavioral strategies including social stories for safety, and positive praise and rewards when the student requested a break. The IEP team decided to focus more on the low-tech communication options in the short term as the student was less likely to become frustrated with them versus the AAC device, which the student would sometimes throw. Speech therapy continued to incorporate the AAC device, which remained in the classroom throughout the day. District staff reported that after developing the BIP, the frequency of behavior incidents decreased, but the intensity of each incident remained severe. The IEP team met again to review and revise the student’s IEP and BIP on December 12, 2024, and January 7, 2025.

 

 

The family's private occupational therapist observed the student in the classroom on January 16, 2025. The family's private speech language pathologist observed the student in the classroom on January 23, 2025. Both private therapists reported back to the IEP team with recommendations. Both attended an IEP team meeting on January 26, 2025, and suggested increased adult support. At the meeting, the student’s parent and district staff also agreed that the student needed increased adult support. The IEP team added dedicated 1:1 adult support in general education classrooms and 1:2 adult support during specially designed instruction in the special education classroom.

 

All teachers and service providers had electronic access to the student’s IEPs. After the annual IEP team meeting on April 9, 2024, the IEP team met four times to discuss and understand the student’s behavior, develop a BIP, and revise the IEP and BIP. The district provided an implementation spreadsheet staff used to describe services and track their implementation. Staff updated this spreadsheet each time the IEP team added services or supports. The district provided documentation demonstrating its implementation of the student’s IEPs, including schedules, logs, and examples of support materials. The district properly implemented the student’s IEP.

 

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.