Resolution Session
A resolution session is a face-to-face meeting between a parent and school district officials following the filing of a due process complaint. The resolution session is designed to give the parties the chance to settle the case before a due process hearing.
Unlike mediation, which is completely optional and voluntary, resolution sessions are required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [20 USC 1415 (f)(1)(B); 34 CFR 300.510]. IDEA requires the school district to convene a resolution session within 15 days of the filing of a due process complaint. Relevant members of the IEP Team must be present, i.e., those who have knowledge of the issues raised in the due process complaint, as well as someone who has decision-making authority, i.e., someone who has authority to legally bind the school district. Parents also must be present.
A parent must participate in a resolution session if the parent filed a due process complaint and the district will not agree to waive the session.
A parent should participate when the resolution session will involve higher-level personnel than have not been involved to date. Even if a parent feels fairly certain that no resolution will be reached, the discussions at the resolution session inevitably give the parent a better sense of the district’s defense against the parent’s claims.
Mediation should not be requested in certain situations. For example, if the IEP team has not addressed the core issue but could do so if it held a meeting, the parent should first request that the IEP Team meet to consider the issue.
In general, mediation is not useful when the issue is not timely enough to be heard at due process. If the statute of limitations has run out (two years from the disputed IEP decision, unless the state has a different time limit), school officials have no incentive to enter an agreement. Also, if either the parents or the district is firmly opposed to a compromise, or if all potential personnel have already been involved and the issue has been thoroughly explored without success, mediation is less likely to effectively resolve the dispute.
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
This refers to the educational placement that your child is entitled to and that approximates the closest to typical functioning as possible, considering the child’s needs. For example: a preschool-aged child with autism will most likely fair better in a preschool with typically developing children as peer models with an ABA-trained aide accompanying him/her during the school day, than in a Special Education setting. The general education classroom would be the least restrictive environment (closest to how typically developing children are educated). A special day class (SDC), with only special needs children is more restrictive, less typical. Many times school districts push for special day classes versus general education settings with a one-to-one aide, as this is much more economical for the district. This is when we would use the term LRE to advocate for general education, the least restrictive setting.
Please note that there is no right or wrong here, and there are many facets to making decisions that are right for your unique learner. It is fine if you decide the general education classroom is not an appropriate fit for your child, but let that be based on important considerations, not because it is cheaper for the school district!
IEP (Individualized Education Plan)
The Individualized Education Plan (Also referred to as Individualized Education Program) is a legal document under United States law that is developed for each public school child in the U.S. who needs special education. Typically, the parents/guardians, special education teacher, general education teacher, school administrator, and any other stakeholders in the student’s education are participants in the IEP meeting.
A parent (or school staff) can request a periodic review anytime throughout the school year, instead of waiting for their annual review to raise concerns, ask questions, or seek clarification. Parents have the opportunity to revisit their student’s IEP goals with baseline and benchmark information, current classroom accommodations, and modifications to direct services within the IEP.
Mediation should not be requested in certain situations. For example, if the IEP team has not addressed the core issue but could do so if it held a meeting, the parent should first request that the IEP Team meet to consider the issue.
In general, mediation is not useful when the issue is not timely enough to be heard at due process. If the statute of limitations has run out (two years from the disputed IEP decision, unless the state has a different time limit), school officials have no incentive to enter an agreement. Also, if either the parents or the district is firmly opposed to a compromise, or if all potential personnel have already been involved and the issue has been thoroughly explored without success, mediation is less likely to effectively resolve the dispute.
Triennial Meeting
A Triennial Meeting is a reevaluation of current disability status, and is conducted within three calendar years of the last assessment or more. frequently if requested by the student's parent or teacher. The reevaluation determines if the student continues to have a disability and if he/she continues to require special education services.
IEE (Independent Educational Evaluation)
If you, as a parent of a child with a disability, do not agree with the results of the individualized evaluation of your child, as conducted by the school system, you have the right to obtain what is known as an Independent Educational Evaluation, or an IEE (§300.502). This means that you may ask that a professional, competent evaluator who is not employed by the school system conduct another evaluation of your child.
If you request an IEE of your child, the school must provide you with information about where you can obtain such an evaluation.
Some IEE's are conducted at public expense (meaning, the school system pays for the evaluation), and others are paid for by the parents.
The school may grant your request and pay for the IEE, or it may file a due process complaint and request a due process hearing to demonstrate that its own evaluation was appropriate. The school may ask you why you object to its evaluation, but it may not require that you explain, or cause unreasonable delays in providing the IEE at public expense or in initiating due process to defend its evaluation.
If the school initiates due process, and the final decision of the hearing officer is that the evaluation of the school was appropriate, you still have the right to an IEE but not at public expense. If you have an IEE conducted of your child, you will have to pay for it yourself.
Sometimes, as part of a due process hearing, the hearing officer will ask that an IEE be conducted of the child. If this happens, the evaluation must always be conducted at public expense.
Mediation should not be requested in certain situations. For example, if the IEP team has not addressed the core issue but could do so if it held a meeting, the parent should first request that the IEP Team meet to consider the issue.
In general, mediation is not useful when the issue is not timely enough to be heard at due process. If the statute of limitations has run out (two years from the disputed IEP decision, unless the state has a different time limit), school officials have no incentive to enter an agreement. Also, if either the parents or the district is firmly opposed to a compromise, or if all potential personnel have already been involved and the issue has been thoroughly explored without success, mediation is less likely to effectively resolve the dispute.
§300.320 Definition of individualized education program (5) An explanation of the extent, if any, to which the child will not participate with nondisabled children in the regular class and in the activities described in paragraph (a)(4) of this section; The IEP team must provide a written justification regarding their decision to place a student in any setting outside the regular classroom. Removal from the regular educational classroom shall occur only when the nature or severity of the child's needs is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
Woodcock Johnson (WJ4)
The Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Cognitive Abilities –Fourth Edition (WJ-IV COG; Schrank, McGrew, & Mather, 2014) is an individually-administered, norm-referenced instrument that measures general intellectual ability (g) and specific cognitive abilities in persons age 2 to 90+ years old.
The test is oral in format and almost conversational in tone. PAC strives to keep the testing experience casual and non-intimidating for your child. The WJ-IV Standard has 5 subtests and takes 60-90 minutes to administer, but the exam is not timed.
Yes. The WJ IV Dyslexia Report provides an organizational framework for assessing the characteristics of dyslexia. The report includes a dyslexia score profile and interpretive overviews. Examiners can include interventions and information from the Dyslexia Teacher and Parent Checklists as well as other WIIIP checklists.
Yes. The Woodcock–Johnson Test, Developed in 1977 by Richard Woodcock and Mary E. Bonner Johnson, is one of the most popular IQ tests available today.
Preliminary results show good reliability estimates, particularly for the general intelligence composite scores (BIA, GIA, Gf–Gc) and cluster scores. The WJ IV appears a good measure of general intelligence and provides useful measures of academic achievement, which may well be how the WJ IV will be primarily used.
Consultation
Typically, we can cover everything in about 20-30 minutes.