Branch of Exceptional Education

Office of Indian Education Programs

Bureau of Indian Affairs

IDEA ’97 Implementation Plan

Introduction

Implementation Plan Development

In June 1997, amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act became law. The resulting statute and the accompanying regulations must be implemented in all special education programs in the United States. To assist in the implementation of the statute and regulations, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) of the U.S. Department of Education met with each state and U.S. entity, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP), Branch of Exceptional Education (BEE). The purpose of each on-site visit was to facilitate the development of IDEA ’97 Implementation Agreements. The implementation plan will serve as the guiding document as BIA/OIEP/BEE agencies/areas make changes to policies and procedures to ensure adherence to IDEA ’97 statute and regulations.

Implementation Plan Purpose

The implementation plan describes how the BIA/OIEP/BEE education agencies/areas will implement IDEA ’97. It is organized in eleven sections including:

Each section contains IDEA ’97 highlights; goals; objectives for the Branch of Exceptional Education, Education Line Officers/Special Education Coordinators, and Schools; documentation of results; and deadlines. In addition to the specific goals and objectives listed, all policies, procedures, and forms will be reviewed and if necessary, revised to ensure compliance with federal statute and regulations. Work Groups will be established to identify and complete the specific activities needed to address the objectives in each of the sections.

Recommendations of the Stakeholders

OSEP asked that the IDEA ’97 implementation plan be developed by a representative group of stakeholders. Groups involved in the information dissemination and feedback process included parents, advocacy groups, protection and advocacy groups, teachers, related service providers, building administrators, special education coordinators, education line officers, higher education institutions, community agencies, tribal representatives, and staff from the Office of Indian Education Programs. These people provided comments and feedback regarding all sections of the IDEA ’97 statute and thus provided the foundation for the implementation plan. Following is a list of the stakeholders’ specific comments grouped by section.

Discipline Requirements

  1. Provide inservice on each component of the discipline requirements – Provide a handbook to parents.
  2. School administrators must clearly understand discipline requirements.
  3. Students need to have a clear understanding of school rules. Student handbooks must be consistent with federal regulations.
  4. Involve school board in discipline procedures training.
  5. Provide training to school psychologists regarding the discipline requirements.
  6. Encourage parents to work with schools rather than withdraw their children from school when behavior problems occur.
  7. Work toward establishing a consistent system of discipline between home and school.
  8. Parents need to support the implementation of school rules.
  9. Encourage parents to use positive behavioral interventions with their children at home.
  10. Parents must be fully informed of discipline issues and incidents. Contact and copy of Incident Form sent to the parents.
  11. Provide advocates for students who have reached the age of majority especially those who are referred to law enforcement. Parents may need to retain custody of students who are unable to make decisions independently.
  12. Increase communication with social agencies i.e., juvenile probation and child protection.
  13. Improve communication between schools and law enforcement.
  14. Develop proactive, validated discipline strategies (including teaching students to monitor their own behavior).
  15. Incorporate cultural, traditional practices, morals, and values when establishing behavior interventions.
  16. Encourage the use of school-wide discipline programs.
  17. Establish a multi-disciplinary taskforce to focus on discipline issues.
  18. Special educators must know when kids are removed from school.
  19. Ensure that least restrictive environment issues are considered when disciplining students.
  20. Ensure that students are not excluded from services according to discipline requirements.
  21. Develop interim alternative educational settings especially for small rural schools.
  22. Consider research-based alternatives for increasing the attendance of students with behavior problems.
  23. Stop suspending students for absenteeism.
  24. Suspension procedures must be in line with discipline regulations.
  25. Administrators must have an efficient process for "knowing" which students are in special education.
  26. Administrators MUST follow through with the discipline requirements.
  27. Schools need a reliable system for reporting suspensions and expulsions. (What about incidents that occur in the dorms?)

Funding Issues

  1. Consider the needs of schools on reservations especially contract and grant schools located in rural areas.
  2. ISEP will be updated in terms of the implications for placement (provision of services).

Evaluation-Reevaluation-Eligibility

  1. Provide training to parents before the evaluation process begins.
  2. Clairfy who can make a referral especially for students who have behavior problems.
  3. Determine who pays for medical or psychological assessments? (May collaborate with Human Service Agencies)
  4. Provide clarification on the need for evaluation and reevaluation.
  5. Train general educators and parents regarding their role in the evaluation/reevaluation process (submitting relevant data).
  6. Train on the eligibility criteria.
  7. Provide more information about assessment procedures and instruments to parents.
  8. Streamline data collection - avoid over testing students and simplify interpretation procedures. Conduct evaluations in a timely manner.
  9. Increase the use of informal assessments.
  10. Use diagnostic teaching to assess students.
  11. Link evaluation results to progress in general curriculum.
  12. Write evaluation reports so that information is usable and understandable.
  13. Make evaluation and reports more educationally relevant and meaningful.
  14. Provide parents with the option to obtain evaluation reports individually before meeting.
  15. Clarify that evaluations must include information related to enabling the child to be involved in and make progress in the general curriculum.
  16. Provide more information about specific disabilities rather than just labeling. Also, consider using the developmental delay category to age 9.
  17. When a child is eligible, establish criteria for deciding if child needs special education.
  18. Provide inservice on conditions such as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and how these conditions fit with eligibility categories.

Individualized Education Programs

  1. Train on related service options including orientation and mobility.
  2. Explain to building principals their new role in the IEP process – knowledgeable about general curriculum and ability to commit resources.
  3. Train on "measurable annual goals," "benchmarks," and "short term objectives".
  4. Provide inservice to regular educators regarding their involvement in the IEP process.
  5. Arrange IEPs meetings at convenient times and places for parents.
  6. Provide the option of a pre-orientation meeting/training with parents before IEP meetings occur.
  7. Get students more involved in the notification and IEP process.
  8. Clarify the progress reporting process to all personnel.
  9. Clarify that students with disabilities will be involved.
  10. Train regular educators on modifications and accommodations.
  11. Establish and train on what a modified curriculum and accommodations are and how it applies to grades, class ranking, and graduation requirements.
  12. Link with school reform efforts.
  13. Tie interventions to assessment.
  14. Make sure parents are fully informed of placement options.
  15. Improve quality of instruction.
  16. Increase access to the general curriculum.
  17. Focus on the need to provide increased related services (i.e., speech therapy). Consider regional agreements for providing related services.
  18. Increase and improve transition services. We must prepare our children for life after school services are finished and provide services in the community.
  19. Early Intervention: Tribal programs must be involved. Communication regarding transition to school programs needs to be increased.

Monitoring and Record Keeping

  1. Increase the consistency of forms.
  2. Establish system of internal accountability.
  3. Provide clear and consistent interpretation of rules and regulations.
  4. Carefully consider the terminology used when establishing requirements (MUST vs. SHOULD).
  5. Enforce and make certain compliance monitoring occurs. Specify enforcement provisions.
  6. Make school accountable for implementing discipline requirements.
  7. Ensure that special education and related services are actually being provided.

General Parent Issues

  1. Parent Training Initiative grants must address the needs of parents who live in rural areas.
  2. Consider using a Parent to Parent model to provide inservice.
  3. Operationalize and train on the concept of team membership.
  4. Be patient with parents in helping them understand and accept the disabilities of their children. Show that you CARE!
  5. Parents are professionals and must be treated as such.
  6. Parents want more input.
  7. Increase coordination and cooperation between programs.
  8. Consider the Healthy Start model of incentives to families.
  9. Meet with parents in comfortable environments and at convenient times and places for parents.
  10. Develop and use alternative means to communicate with parents who are unable to attend meetings (technology).
  11. Increase direct communication with parents especially for parents of students living in boarding schools.
  12. Communicate in an honest way. Avoid using jargon.
  13. Communicate with parents in their first language.

Procedural Safeguards (Parent Rights)

  1. Clearly define and train on how the term "parent" is used.
  2. Provide a "cookbook" format manual to parents regarding procedural safeguards.
  3. Provide parents with information that allows them to make informed decisions (pros and cons of options considered).
  4. Provide training on the new mediation process.
  5. Develop and train on an effective Due Process complaint procedure system for parents in BIA schools.
  6. Limited English Proficiency definitions as tied in with Department of Education definitions.
  7. Clearly define and train on the age of majority and the transfer of rights process (§300.517 draft regulations).
  8. Need to recruit and train mediators and hearing officers who also understand tribal law.
  9. Parents must be provided with sufficient time to understand procedures -- start early, don't rush.
  10. Make procedural safeguards available in alternate formats (audio-tapes).
  11. Hold an information sharing meeting with hearing officers, mediators, special education coordinators, education line officers, and monitors.

Personnel Preparation Issues

  1. Provide release time training for regular and special educators.
  2. Tribal administrators must be included in all training and inservice.
  3. School administrators must be trained and well versed in applicable regulations for students with disabilities. They must be sensitive and committed to keeping students in schools and providing successful experiences.
  4. Tribally controlled community colleges should be involved in the training process. Increase the number of on-site training programs. Get communities involved in recruitment.
  5. Increase skills of special educators.
  6. Training should include all school personnel (cooks, bus drivers, custodial staff, special education teachers, dorm staff, and regular education teachers).
  7. Use the paraprofessional model where it is needed.
  8. Encourage the training of paraprofessionals to become certified teachers and therapists.
  9. Hire skilled leadership personnel.
  10. Encourage the hiring of certified and licensed personnel.
  11. Utilize personnel effectively.
  12. Hire and/or train school personnel who have skills in the area of positive discipline procedures.

Child Find Activities

  1. Increase community involvement and training.
  2. Coordinate policies and procedures between BIA/OIEP/Branch of Exceptional Education, Tribes, and States.
  3. People who work with children who have special needs must increase communication with tribal government.
  4. Tribal leaders need to be involved and parents need to be informed.
  5. Increase community involvement and training.

Advisory Board

  1. We must be concerned about the quality of life and the importance of "family".
  2. Honor cultural practices of students and families.
  3. The majority of the participants should be parents of students with disabilities.
  4. We need to develop answers as a group, not just listing problems and issues.
  5. We also need a vehicle to obtain local input.

School Reform

  1. Clarify the state assessment process to all personnel.
  2. Clarify that students with disabilities will be involved

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