Resources for FamiliesNotice of Procedural Safeguards 101 Ways Parents Can Help Students Achieve Special Education Law in Indiana (Article 7) complete text Navigating the Course: A Guide to Article 7 Article 7 requires that each eligible student with a disability enrolled in a public school between the ages of 3 and 22 be provided with a Free Appropriate Public Education or a FAPE. A FAPE is defined as special education and related services that are provided at public expense, and in accordance with an IEP [at no cost to the parent(s)]. A student with a disability is a student who has been evaluated in accordance with [Article 7] and determined eligible for special education and related services by a CCC. Special education is specially designed instruction provided to students who have been determined eligible through an educational evaluation. It must be provided at no cost to the parent(s) and in accordance with the student’s IEP. Related services are services such as occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), an educational interpreter, transportation, etc. that are necessary to allow the student to benefit from his/her special education. “At no cost” means that the parent(s) do not have to pay extra for special education and related services. The school may charge for the same things that it charges the parent(s) of a student without disabilities (such as text book rental, lab fees, etc.). It is the responsibility of the case conference committee (CCC) to determine what services are appropriate depending on the student’s individual educational needs. The CCC is a group of individuals, including parent(s) and school personnel, that determines if the student is eligible for special education and if so, determines the special education and related services to be provided to the student. The CCC must meet at least annually. Article 7 describes the process for parent(s) and school personnel to use in making educational decisions and developing the student’s individualized education program or IEP. An IEP is the written document, developed by parent(s) and school personnel, describing how the student will participate in the general education curriculum, and any special education or related services to be provided. Special education services must be provided in the least restrictive environment (LRE). This means that a student with a disability is educated with students without disabilities to the maximum extent possible for each individual student.
DISABILITY CATEGORIES IN INDIANA Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Autism spectrum disorder is a lifelong developmental disability that includes autistic disorder, Asperger's syndrome, and other pervasive developmental disorders, as described in the current version of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The disability is generally evident before three (3) years of age and significantly affects verbal, nonverbal, or pragmatic communication and social interaction skills and results in an adverse effect on the student's educational performance. Other characteristics often associated include the following: (1) Engagement in: (A) repetitive activities; and (B) stereotyped movements. (2) Resistance to: (A) environmental change; or (B) change in daily routines. (3) Unusual responses to sensory experiences Blind or Low Vision (BLV) “Blind or low vision”, which may be referred to as a visual impairment, means a disability that even with best correction affects the student's ability to use vision for learning, which adversely affects the student's educational performance. The term: (1) includes a reduced ability or a complete inability to utilize the visual system to acquire information; and (2) may include or be limited to a reduction in field of vision. Cognitive Disability (CD) A cognitive disability: (1) is manifested during the developmental period; (2) is characterized by significant limitations in cognitive functioning; (3) is demonstrated through limitations in adaptive behavior; and (4) adversely affects educational performance. (b) A student with a mild cognitive disability has cognitive functioning that generally: (1) falls two (2) standard deviations below the mean; and (2) manifests delays in adaptive behavior consistent with the mild cognitive disability. (c) A student with a moderate cognitive disability has cognitive functioning that generally: (1) falls three (3) standard deviations below the mean; and (2) manifests delays in adaptive behavior consistent with the moderate cognitive disability. (d) A student with a severe cognitive disability has cognitive functioning and adaptive behavior skills that generally: (1) falls four (4) or more standard deviations below the mean; and (2) manifests delays in adaptive behavior consistent with the severe cognitive disability. Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH) “Deaf or hard of hearing”, which may be referred to as a hearing impairment, means the following: (1) A disability that, with or without amplification, adversely affects the student's: (A) ability to use hearing for developing language and learning; (B) educational performance; and (C) developmental progress. (2) The hearing loss may be: (A) permanent or fluctuating; (B) mild to profound; or (C) unilateral or bilateral. (3) Students who are deaf or hard of hearing may use: (A) spoken language; (B) sign language; or (C) a combination of spoken language and signed systems. Deaf-Blind (DB) “Deaf-blind”, which may be referred to as dual sensory impaired, means a disability that: (1) is a concomitant hearing and vision loss or reduction in functional hearing and vision capacity; (2) causes significant communication and adaptive behavior deficits; (3) adversely affects the student's educational performance; and (4) cannot be accommodated for by use of a program or service designed solely for students who are: (A) deaf or hard of hearing; or (B) blind or have low vision. Developmental Delay (DD) (early childhood only) Developmental delay is a disability category solely for students who are at least three (3) years of age and not more than five (5) years of age, or five (5) years of age but not eligible to enroll in kindergarten. Developmental delay means a delay of either two (2) standard deviations below the mean - 72 - in one (1) of the following developmental areas or one and one-half (1.5) standard deviations below the mean in any two (2) of the following developmental areas: (1) Gross or fine motor development. (2) Cognitive development. (3) Receptive or expressive language development. (4) Social or emotional development. (5) Self-help or other adaptive development. Emotional Disability (ED) “Emotional disability” means an inability to learn or progress that cannot be explained by cognitive, sensory, or health factors. The student exhibits one (1) or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects educational performance: (1) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems. (2) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression. (3) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships. (4) Inappropriate behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances. (5) Episodes of psychosis. Language or Speech Impairment (LSI) A language or speech impairment is characterized by one (1) of the following impairments that adversely affects the student's educational performance: (1) Language impairments in the comprehension or expression of spoken or written language resulting from organic or nonorganic causes that are nonmaturational in nature. Language impairments affect the student's primary language systems, in one (1) or more of the following components: (A) Word retrieval. (B) Phonology. (C) Morphology. (D) Syntax. (E) Semantics. (F) Pragmatics. (2) Speech impairments that may include fluency, articulation, and voice disorders in the student's speaking behavior in more than one (1) speaking task that are nonmaturational in nature, including impairments that are the result of a deficiency of structure and function of the oral peripheral mechanism. Multiple Disabilities (MD) “Multiple disabilities” means coexisting disabilities, one of which must be a significant cognitive disability. The coexisting disabilities are lifelong and interfere with independent functioning, and it is difficult to determine which disability most adversely affects educational performance. The term does not include deaf-blind. Other Health Impairment (OHI) “Other health impairment” means having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment that: (1) is due to chronic or acute health problems, such as: (A) asthma; (B) attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; (C) diabetes; (D) epilepsy; (E) a heart condition; (F) hemophilia; (G) lead poisoning; (H) leukemia; (I) nephritis; (J) rheumatic fever; (K) sickle cell anemia; and (L) Tourette syndrome; and (2) adversely affects a student's educational performance. Orthopedic Impairment (OI) An orthopedic impairment is a severe physically disabling condition that adversely affects educational performance. The term may include impairments caused by any of the following: (1) A congenital anomaly. (2) A disease, such as: (A) poliomyelitis; or (B) bone tuberculosis. (3) Other causes, such as: (A) cerebral palsy; (B) amputations; or (C) fractures or burns that cause contractures. Specific Learning Disability (SLD) “Specific learning disability” means a disorder in one (1) or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that adversely affect the student's educational performance, including conditions referred to, or previously referred to, as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. As follows, a specific learning disability: (1) Manifests itself when the student does not achieve adequately for the student's age or to meet state approved grade level standards in one (1) or more of the following areas, when provided with learning experiences and instruction appropriate for the student's age or state approved grade level standards: - 77 - (A) Reading disability, which is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin and has a continuum of severity. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate or fluent, or both, word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. A reading disability may be due to difficulties in the following: (i) Basic reading skills. (ii) Reading fluency skills. (iii) Reading comprehension. (B) Written expression disability, which is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin and has a continuum of severity. Written expression is a complex domain that requires the integration of the following: (i) Oral language. (ii) Written language. (iii) Cognition. (iv) Motor skills. (C) Math disability, which is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin and has a continuum of severity. The ability to perform mathematical computations and reasoning requires multiple core cognitive processes. A math disability may be due to difficulties in the following: (i) Mathematics calculation. (ii) Mathematics problem solving. (D) Oral expression disability, which is a specific learning disability that: (i) is neurological in origin; (ii) has a continuum of severity; and (iii) is characterized by deficits in using expressive language processes to mediate learning of: (AA) reading; (BB) writing; (CC) spelling; or (DD) mathematics; skills. (E) Listening comprehension disability, which is a specific learning disability that: (i) is neurological in origin; (ii) has a continuum of severity; and (iii) is characterized by difficulties in using receptive language processes to mediate learning of: (AA) reading; (BB) writing; (CC) spelling; or (DD) mathematics; skills Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) A traumatic brain injury is an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a student's educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one (1) or more areas, such as the following: (1) Cognition. (2) Language. (3) Memory. (4) Attention. (5) Reasoning. (6) Abstract thinking. (7) Judgment. (8) Problem solving. (9) Sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities. (10) Psychosocial behavior. (11) Physical functions. (12) Information processing. (13) Speech. (b) The term does not apply to brain injuries that are: (1) congenital or degenerative; or (2) induced by birth trauma. TERMINOLOGY The following terms may be confusing and/or are frequently used incorrectly in the elementary and secondary school context. Equal access: equal opportunity of a qualified person with a disability to participate in or benefit from educational aid, benefits, or services Free appropriate public education (FAPE): a term used in the elementary and secondary school context; for purposes of Section 504, refers to the provision of regular or special education and related aids and services that are designed to meet individual educational needs of students with disabilities as adequately as the needs of students without disabilities are met and is based upon adherence to procedures that satisfy the Section 504 requirements pertaining to educational setting, evaluation and placement, and procedural safeguards Placement: a term used in the elementary and secondary school context; refers to regular and/or special educational program in which a student receives educational and/or related services Reasonable accommodation: a term used in the employment context to refer to modifications or adjustments employers make to a job application process, the work environment, the manner or circumstances under which the position held or desired is customarily performed, or that enable a covered entity's employee with a disability to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment; this term is sometimes used incorrectly to refer to related aids and services in the elementary and secondary school context or to refer to academic adjustments, reasonable modifications, and auxiliary aids and services in the postsecondary school context Reasonable modifications: under a regulatory provision implementing Title II of the ADA, public entities are required to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures when the modifications are necessary to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability, unless the public entity can demonstrate that making the modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program, or activity Related services: a term used in the elementary and secondary school context to refer to developmental, corrective, and other supportive services, including psychological, counseling and medical diagnostic services and transportation |