Opinion ID: 1843606
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: special education shall be a part of an inclusive system of education.

Text: Defendants shall establish and implement a system of special education services and supports for students with disabilities which: provides for instruction and services in a variety of instructional environments (including those outside the school), and provides for modifications of those environments when necessary; supports the provision of special and regular instruction in the regular class with supplementary aids and services in the school the student would normally attend if not disabled unless the services required in the IEP cannot be provided in that environment; carries out modifications and adaptations in curriculum, program of study, and assessments to accommodate identified needs; makes available the assistive technology necessary to assist students in attaining their educational goals; makes available special education administrative expertise to ensure the implementation of necessary services at the building level, while assuring that the accountability for provision of those services is assigned to the school; ensures that students with cognitive disabilities are taught academic, economic, social and self-help skills in appropriate environments (i.e. those that provide the opportunity for the student to perform these skills in age appropriate settings, including job sites, community-based instructional settings, and recreation and social settings); and makes available training for regular education teachers, special education teachers, teachers' aides, principals, administrators, parents and students, on the topic of instruction in the regular classroom, including positive behavioral support strategies. The State Department of Education (SDE) shall be enabled to carry out its responsibilities and held accountable for doing so. The SDE shall have sufficient staff, resources and authority to perform properly the functions assigned to it. The Defendants shall review every method of administration used by the SDE to provide program support including, but not limited to, monitoring and enforcement, investigation and resolution of complaints, preparation and selection of due process hearing officers, provision of technical assistance, comprehensive system of personnel development, support of transportation of students with disabilities, facilities planning, review of local applications, and administration of funds. SDE staff shall receive the training to provide the leadership and support necessary to carry out the new roles and responsibilities in this Order. Training shall include activities and materials sufficient to acquire knowledge and skills in all substantive areas covered in this Order. Communicating this Order will require the acquisition of many new skills and roles. Training shall include at a minimum assessments, instructional support, curriculum adaptation, inclusion and new methods of administration. SDE staff shall be involved in determining training needs. With respect to the provision of education to students with disabilities, such training will be provided by individuals who have experience, qualifications and expertise in the following areas: (1) the operation and administration of schools which provide services to students in integrated instructional environments including scheduling to support collaborative teaming, building-wide leadership, related staff training, and appropriate [health] and safety policies; (2) the rationale and benefits of inclusive education; and (3) training teachers and staff in the strengths and weaknesses of persons with disabilities, the methods for supporting instruction to children with disabilities in the regular classroom, strategies for developing and implementing collaborative service delivery, providing related services in integrated environments, developing community based instruction and school to work transitions, and positive support strategies and functional assessment of problem behavior. Special education is an integral part of all activities in this plan. Because of the unique challenges confronted by students with disabilities and the professionals who serve them, several specific activities shall be carried out. The SDE is responsible for exercising supervisory authority over all special education programs administered with the state. In order to ensure that each student with a disability receives an appropriate education which meets all state and federal standards, the following responsibilities shall be carried out: the establishment and implementation of policy, program evaluation, the review and approval of Local Education Agency (LEA) applications, the investigation and resolution of complaints, the dissemination and adoption of promising practices, the provision of technical assistance, the correction of identified deficiencies, the dissemination of information on program requirements, the utilization of appropriate methods to administer funds, the enforcement of all legal obligations and the implementation of a comprehensive system of personnel development for administrators, teachers and related service personnel. The comprehensive system of personnel development shall include at a minimum: the rationale and benefits of inclusive education, the strengths and weaknesses of persons with disabilities, the methods for supporting instruction to children with disabilities in the regular classroom, strategies for developing and implementing collaborative service delivery, providing related services in integrated environments, community based instruction and transition to work strategies, and positive support strategies and functional assessment of problem behavior. The Defendants shall develop a plan to prevent incorrect designation of students as needing, or as not needing, special education programs, and to prevent the misclassification of students within special education programs and categories, with special attention to ensuring that race is not a factor in identification and classification decisions. The SDE shall undertake a statewide training and technical assistance initiative to eliminate any unnecessary identification of students as being in need of special education. In carrying out this initiative, the State shall: Identify any school systems identifying greater than 12% as part of their annual child count, review the records of identified students in the schools to determine whether or not assessments are appropriate, complete and meet state standards. On the basis of this determination, the SDE shall provide training for all relevant staff designed to remedy the problems identified. At a minimum the training shall include: the proper and effective use of teacher assistance teams and mentor staff, and procedures and methods for assisting teachers in providing appropriate and specialized instruction prior to referral for special education. The training shall also include the process of making eligibility determinations including specific consideration of the student who has one or more disabilities, situations where one or more of the disabilities adversely affects educational performance, and situations where the adverse effect on educational performance cannot be effectively addressed if the student is provided with special education and/or related services. Defendants shall ensure that in developing its LEA plan for special education, each school system shall design and implement, in consultation with parents, a comprehensive system of educational services that will result, to the maximum extent possible, in all students, including students with disabilities, participating in the regular classroom. At the building level, services shall be used to avoid inappropriate use of special education resources. A school system has complied with this LEA plan requirement if it has carried out the requirements of this Order and the plan meets the following criteria: the system follows all state eligibility standards for special education; the system provides early education services to all eligible children with disabilities from the age of three; the system makes every possible effort to identify and serve children with disabilities in the early grades and to provide appropriate services before more serious problems develop; the system employs and trains regular classroom teachers who can teach children with a wide variation in learning styles and individual strengths and weaknesses; the system makes use to the greatest extent possible of instructional support resources designed and implemented to accommodate children in the regular classroom; the system has provided for on-site consultation, technical assistance and inservice training when necessary; the system ensures that the individualized education plan for each child with a disability removed from a regular class environment includes goals and objectives designed to move that child into a less restrictive environment at the earliest appropriate opportunity; and the system includes in its plan all additional policies and procedures required by the State Department of Education. Defendants shall develop a comprehensive plan for the implementation of the special education services required in this Order. The plan shall comply with the standards and requirements in this Order and the Order of March 31, 1993. This plan shall be incorporated into the state plan for special education that is required by federal law, and shall be binding on all programs administered within the state. The plan will be completed no later than six months after the effective date of this Order and will be submitted to the Court. Parties will have 45 days to file objections to the plan with the Court.