Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

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The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, known as IDEA, is a federal law that requires states to provide a "free, appropriate public education" to children with disabilities so they can be educated to the greatest extent possible along with all other children. Qualifying children are entitled to special education and related services at no cost to their parents. Each qualifying child is entitled to a full description of those services in an Individualized Education Program (IEP). School districts are required to follow specific procedures to determine a child's eligibility for special education, to develop the child's IEP, and to resolve conflicts. Parents of children with disabilities must be afforded a meaningful opportunity to participate in the development of their child's IEP.

States are permitted to establish laws, guidelines and policies as long as they don't conflict with the requirements of federal law. Therefore, it is necessary to be familiar with the laws that apply in your state.

Usually there are two overall goals for a child with diabetes under IDEA.

• To provide the child with any needed assistance to keep up with schoolwork that the child either missed because he or she was involved with diabetes care, or had difficulty understanding because he or she was experiencing high or low blood sugar levels; and
• To keep the child safe and maintain optimal learning ability by providing the means to keep his or her blood sugar levels in the best control possible.

Other Important Federal Education Laws

IDEA is one of three major federal laws that may provide protection to children with diabetes in schools and day care centers. The other two are Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (referred to as "Section 504") and the Americans with Disabilities Act (referred to as "ADA"). Section 504 and the ADA focus on prohibiting discrimination against children with disabilities, while IDEA focuses on providing special education to a smaller group of children with disabilities. To learn more about these other laws, and to determine which one(s) apply to your situation, please review the materials in the American Diabetes Association's packet of information on education discrimination or call 1-800-DIABETES and ask for the name of your state ADA contact for discrimination matters.

When are children with diabetes covered by IDEA?

To receive services under IDEA, a child with diabetes must show that he or she needs special education and related services in order to benefit from an education. An evaluation of the child must show that, because of the child's diabetes (or other qualifying disability) the child has limited strength, vitality, or alertness that adversely affects the child's educational performance. Simply put, the diabetes must make it more difficult for the child to learn.

For example, it is often difficult to learn when blood sugar levels are either too high or too low. If a child with diabetes is having difficulty controlling his or her blood sugar level, this may hurt how well the child does in school. Classwork might also suffer if a child with diabetes misses a significant amount of classroom instruction each day in order to test his or her blood sugar level.

What is the process for deciding whether a child qualifies under IDEA?

In order to decide if a child qualifies for services under IDEA, a full initial evaluation of the child is conducted by qualified professionals. The child must be assessed in all areas related to the suspected disability, including areas such as social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status, and motor abilities. To start this evaluation process, contact your principal or the school district's coordinator for special education and disability issues. In some school districts when you request that your child be evaluated under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the school may automatically seek to evaluate the child under IDEA. However, parents must consent to evaluation under IDEA.

Parents have the right to an independent educational evaluation at public expense if they disagree with an evaluation obtained by their school district.

What help does a child receive under IDEA?

Special Education

To qualify under IDEA a child must be found to need "special education." Under IDEA, "special education" means a specially designed instruction program that meets the unique needs of a child with a disability. This means adapting what is taught and how it is taught in order to address the child's unique needs. The child must have access to the same general curriculum (or coursework) so that the child can meet the same educational standards (tests, and other measurements used to pass children from grade to grade) that apply to all children in that school district.

For example, a child with diabetes might need a tutor or a classroom aide to help the child catch up with missed schoolwork.

Related Services

In addition to special education, a child who qualifies for special education under IDEA is also entitled to "related services" if needed to help the child benefit from special education. Related services include such things as school health services, transportation, psychological services, therapeutic recreation, rehabilitation counseling, medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes, occupational therapy and physical therapy, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training.

For example, a child with diabetes requires that there be trained staff available at all times who are knowledgeable about diabetes and the child's specific plan for diabetes care. Such staff must know how to recognize and treat high and low blood sugar levels. Younger children may require assistance in blood glucose testing and administering insulin. All of the child's health care needs should be put together into a document called a Health Care Plan which should be developed with input from the child's physician, parents and teachers and made a part of the child's IEP (see discussion below about IEPs).

Least Restrictive Environment

IDEA requires that children with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment (LRE). This means that, to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities are educated with children who are do not have disabilities. A question involving LRE could arise if a school district wanted to bus a child with diabetes to a specific school because that school had a full-time nurse.

What is an Individualized Education Program?

An Individualized Education Program or "IEP" is the document that sets out what the school is going to do to meet the child's individual educational needs. There are a lot of specific rules about developing an IEP, reviewing it (which must be done at least once a year), and what an IEP must contain.

Developing an IEP

The IEP must be developed with input from the child's parents; at least one regular education teacher; at least one of the child's special education teachers or providers; a representative of the school district who is qualified, knowledgeable, and authorized to commit the district to the delivery of resources to the child; a qualified professional who can interpret the evaluation of child; others at the discretion of the parent or the school district; and, where appropriate, the child with a disability. This is the child's IEP Team.

Contents of an IEP

An IEP must contain:

• A statement of the child's present levels of performance, including how the child's disability affects involvement and progress in the general curriculum (for preschoolers, this would be how disability affects participation in appropriate activities);
• A statement of measurable annual goals, including benchmarks or short-term objectives, geared toward enabling the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum and meeting each of the child's other educational needs that result from his or her disability;
• A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services to be provided; and
• A statement of program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided so that the child can:




• Advance toward attaining his or her annual goals;
• Be involved and progress in the general curriculum;
• Participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities;
• Be educated and participate with nondisabled children.
• An explanation of the extent, if any, to which the child will not participate with nondisabled children;
• A statement of any modifications needed for the child to participate in district-wide tests or other assessments;
• A projected date for the beginning of services and the frequency, location and duration of services;
• Beginning at age 14, a statement of the child's service needs for transition to adulthood; and
• A statement of how the child's progress toward the annual goals will be measured and how parents will be regularly informed of progress toward goals.

See the American Diabetes Association's pamphlet "Your School and Your Rights" for examples of accommodations that might be needed by children with diabetes.

What are the parents' rights under IDEA?

One reason some parents like IDEA is that the law offers parents a lot of protections.

Parental Consent

Parents must give informed consent before their child is evaluated or reevaluated and before special education and related services can be started. The school district cannot proceed if the parents won't grant consent. Rather, the school district must request a due process hearing from the state education agency.

Parental Involvement

Parents of a student with a disability must be given the opportunity to inspect and review all of their child's education records and to participate in meetings about their child.

Parents have the right to request an IEP meeting at any time. The school district should grant any reasonable request by parents for an IEP meeting.

The school district must schedule the IEP meeting at a mutually agreed upon time and place. If neither parent can attend, the school district must use other methods to ensure parent participation, including individual or conference calls.

School districts are required to provide written notice to parents in advance of IEP meetings, and that notice must give the purpose of IEP meeting, the time and location of the meeting, and who will be there.

School districts are required to notify the parents of decisions and plans before the district puts the proposed actions into effect.

Notice must be provided in the native language of the parents, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.

What if the parents and the school disagree?

The first course of action is to try to educate your school personnel about diabetes and how it affects your child. Sometimes it helps to have school officials talk to or meet with members of your child's health care team or other medical professionals who work with children with diabetes. Try to negotiate with school officials. You do not have to sign a plan unless you agree to it. However, you are likely to reach agreement more easily if you attempt to understand the concerns of school personnel and negotiate toward an agreement suitable to everyone involved.

But what if you and the school just can't reach agreement? There are several ways of pursuing your child's rights under IDEA. While the information below provides a general explanation of these processes, the procedures differ in each state and a full explanation of the rights of children and parents in this process is beyond the scope of this summary. School districts are required to provide specific information to parents about the various types of appeals and relief that may be obtained in their particular state. For additional information, see the list of resources at the end of this document.

Due Process Procedures through Your School District

IDEA requires school districts to have what are known as "due process procedures." This is a formal process that parents and school districts can use when informal attempts to resolve a conflict fail. For example, these procedures require that the parents be given notice of their rights at various points including when the child is evaluated or reevaluated, in notices for IEP meetings, and when the parents make a complaint.

Due Process Appeals through the State Education Agency

When there is disagreement as to whether a child qualifies under IDEA, the content of the IEP, or the child's placement, either the parents or the school district may request a due process hearing from the state education agency.

Once such a request is filed, the school district must tell the parents that they can attempt to resolve their dispute through mediation if they would like to do so. Mediation is a way of trying to reach agreement with the help of a neutral party.

A due process hearing is an administrative hearing conducted by an impartial hearing officer. Your state law sets forth exactly how this hearing process works in your state. Remember: your school district is required to give you written information about exactly how the process works in your state.

Administrative Complaint Process

If the parents believe that the school district is not complying with an agreed upon IEP, or has failed to provide the procedural safeguards required for developing an IEP, they can challenge this action through what is known as the "administrative complaint process." This is different than the due process hearing described above. Each state is required to establish written procedures for resolving these kinds of complaints. The procedures include an independent investigation and a written decision within 60 days.

Complaints may be filed directly with Office of Special Education Programs of the United States Department of Education (OSEP) and sometimes may also be filed with the state education agency. However, OSEP will usually refer the complaint back to the state education agency.

Lawsuits

Under the IDEA, parents may not file a lawsuit in a court without going through the due process appeal first. If the parents aren't satisfied by the results of the due process hearing, they may sue the school district in court. The final decision from the due process hearing, along with the record of the hearing, is then reviewed by a court. In certain circumstances, an administrative complaint may be appealed in court.

Types of Relief Available

If the parents pursue a due process hearing, mediation, or a lawsuit they can seek remedies such as a fully developed IEP, special education services to make up for missed educational opportunities, and monetary reimbursement for out-of-pocket education costs. Courts may also require the school district to pay for the parents' lawyer.

If the parents pursue the administrative complaint process, the school district may be ordered by the state and/or federal education agency to take corrective action, including following specific instructions for developing a proper IEP or reimbursing the parents for out-of-pocket education costs like tutoring or summer school.

This document was prepared for the American Diabetes Association by Larisa Cummings, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc., and Shereen Arent, Managing Director of Legal Advocacy, American Diabetes Association (March 2000)