WEBVTT 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:11.119 Welcome to Unlimited Parenting. This is a show 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:13.519 where we discuss what it's like having children 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:16.320 with disabilities and or special health care 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:19.940 needs. Today, I am honored to be sitting down 00:00:19.940 --> 00:00:23.600 with IPUL's Education Director, also known as 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:27.120 a PTI Director, to discuss the first two steps 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:30.800 of the special education process under the Individuals 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:34.679 with Disabilities Education Act, henceforth referred 00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:38.020 to as IDEA. Would you like to introduce yourself, 00:00:38.219 --> 00:00:43.000 Education Director? Hello, Unlimited Parenting 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:46.579 listeners. It's just me. It's just Melissa. It's 00:00:46.579 --> 00:00:51.259 just me. We got ya. We had him. We had him, dude. 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:53.960 We totally had him. Oh, my gosh. Okay, well, 00:00:54.100 --> 00:00:56.820 whether you're in the capital of Boise or a rural 00:00:56.820 --> 00:01:00.840 community like Arco or Bonners Ferry, so, again, 00:01:00.939 --> 00:01:02.740 today we're talking about the first two steps 00:01:02.740 --> 00:01:06.810 of special education, which are... referral, 00:01:06.810 --> 00:01:11.629 and evaluation. And this is a series that, so 00:01:11.629 --> 00:01:13.989 obviously there are 10, there are 10 steps and 00:01:13.989 --> 00:01:17.489 we're going to take two steps per episode. So 00:01:17.489 --> 00:01:21.730 hopefully this gets you feeling prepared and 00:01:21.730 --> 00:01:25.430 ready to go and knowing what to expect if you 00:01:25.430 --> 00:01:29.430 are going into kindergarten this year or if you 00:01:29.430 --> 00:01:32.010 feel like your child may be was supported by 00:01:32.010 --> 00:01:34.629 a 504 and isn't supported anymore i don't know 00:01:34.629 --> 00:01:37.930 any other yeah just kind of where to start right 00:01:37.930 --> 00:01:40.329 thank you where to start no matter where you're 00:01:40.329 --> 00:01:43.609 at in the process or how the process starts for 00:01:43.609 --> 00:01:44.909 you because there's a couple different ways it 00:01:44.909 --> 00:01:48.730 could start too right what a great segue so a 00:01:48.730 --> 00:01:51.629 referral happens talking about oh my god here 00:01:51.629 --> 00:01:54.909 we go i'll do it by myself i'm just kidding so 00:01:54.909 --> 00:01:56.989 step one the referral this happens when someone 00:01:56.989 --> 00:02:01.319 a teacher a counselor the parent believes a child 00:02:01.319 --> 00:02:03.760 may have a disability that's affecting their 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:05.519 ability to learn at school. And I think that 00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:08.719 that part is key. Yeah. Because you could have 00:02:08.719 --> 00:02:11.639 a kid like mine who definitely has a documented 00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:14.879 disability, but it doesn't impact them as much 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:19.860 at school. Exactly. So they don't get IEP supports, 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:23.020 which we'll get more into that in a minute. But 00:02:23.020 --> 00:02:25.400 remember that a disability that affects their 00:02:25.400 --> 00:02:29.050 ability to learn at school. So every school district 00:02:29.050 --> 00:02:33.229 has a Child Find responsibility under IDEA. The 00:02:33.229 --> 00:02:36.710 Child Find system includes all students who reside 00:02:36.710 --> 00:02:41.830 or are enrolled within a school district's geographic 00:02:41.830 --> 00:02:44.669 boundaries. So I'm going to quote the following 00:02:44.669 --> 00:02:46.889 from the Special Education Manual, but I will 00:02:46.889 --> 00:02:50.310 also add this caveat. This episode was recorded 00:02:50.310 --> 00:02:55.310 July of 2025. Please keep that in mind because 00:02:55.310 --> 00:02:57.729 the special education manual is going through 00:02:57.729 --> 00:03:03.129 some revisions and changes. So as it stands right 00:03:03.129 --> 00:03:05.610 now, July of 2025, this is factual information. 00:03:06.210 --> 00:03:10.129 So child find. We're looking at those students 00:03:10.129 --> 00:03:13.770 who are enrolled or may be enrolled in the district, 00:03:14.009 --> 00:03:16.969 enrolled in a charter or an alternative school, 00:03:17.229 --> 00:03:22.379 enrolled in homeschool. Enrolled in parentally 00:03:22.379 --> 00:03:25.360 placed private elementary and secondary education 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:29.159 schools, including religious schools, which is 00:03:29.159 --> 00:03:32.620 going to become important again later. Yep. Located. 00:03:32.620 --> 00:03:37.060 Okay, so let's repeat that again. Including religious 00:03:37.060 --> 00:03:40.879 schools that are located in the district's geographic 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:45.500 boundaries, including out -of -state parentally 00:03:45.500 --> 00:03:48.360 placed private school children, students with 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:51.469 disabilities. Those that are not enrolled in 00:03:51.469 --> 00:03:53.789 elementary or secondary school, but they're between 00:03:53.789 --> 00:03:56.949 the ages of three and five. Advancing from grade 00:03:56.949 --> 00:04:00.150 to grade. Those students who may be migrant or 00:04:00.150 --> 00:04:02.750 homeless as defined by the McKinney -Vento and 00:04:02.750 --> 00:04:08.889 words of the state. So House Bill 93. Correct. 00:04:09.229 --> 00:04:12.430 Essentially what we're saying here is that even 00:04:12.430 --> 00:04:17.000 if you're going to go to a private school. The 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:19.379 school district in your neighboring community 00:04:19.379 --> 00:04:23.100 in which you reside is your geographical boundary 00:04:23.100 --> 00:04:26.980 is the one who has the responsibility to assess. 00:04:27.339 --> 00:04:30.459 Correct. Yes. So your neighborhood school, the 00:04:30.459 --> 00:04:33.680 onus is on that public school district to do 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:38.100 the assessment portion or even that identification 00:04:38.100 --> 00:04:43.629 portion. They are. And this is going to come 00:04:43.629 --> 00:04:47.089 into question with our religious or our non -traditional, 00:04:47.250 --> 00:04:51.910 non -public schools. Let's just say that. Because 00:04:51.910 --> 00:04:59.569 they will not be obligated to perform evaluations 00:04:59.569 --> 00:05:03.410 that they may. The onus is on the public school 00:05:03.410 --> 00:05:06.470 district to provide to do that. So if you're 00:05:06.470 --> 00:05:09.569 a private school and I'm a public school. and 00:05:09.569 --> 00:05:12.730 a family is choosing to see you, you can say, 00:05:12.910 --> 00:05:16.610 hey, I don't have any reason to test you, but 00:05:16.610 --> 00:05:18.870 let me tell you what, Allison over there, she 00:05:18.870 --> 00:05:21.550 has to no matter what. So then you could come 00:05:21.550 --> 00:05:26.009 and see me. I could spend my resources assessing 00:05:26.009 --> 00:05:28.970 and then I could say, here's a beautiful laid 00:05:28.970 --> 00:05:31.910 out plan for you. And then the parent could either. 00:05:32.939 --> 00:05:36.240 Stay with me and accept my plan in the school 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:40.060 setting. Yeah. Or take the plan that I got. We 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:43.779 made and then bring it to you and say, is there 00:05:43.779 --> 00:05:47.980 any way to adapt this plan in your setting? Theoretically, 00:05:47.980 --> 00:05:50.980 absolutely. And that's probably what we see happening. 00:05:51.699 --> 00:05:55.939 But parents need to be mindful that those non 00:05:55.939 --> 00:05:59.100 -public schools, those those private schools 00:05:59.100 --> 00:06:04.319 have no obligation. to uphold IDEA. Now, they 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:06.339 could take that plan and they could say to the 00:06:06.339 --> 00:06:08.980 family, yeah, we could try to make this work, 00:06:09.100 --> 00:06:14.639 but they have no implications. They do not have 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:17.199 to follow IDEA. And you may be wondering why 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:19.589 even bring this up. Yeah. Why are we bringing 00:06:19.589 --> 00:06:22.449 this up? If it doesn't matter, because as a PTI, 00:06:22.670 --> 00:06:25.769 it's our job to explain all the different choices 00:06:25.769 --> 00:06:29.430 that you have available to you at any time. And 00:06:29.430 --> 00:06:33.139 now House Bill 93. has kind of thrown in a little 00:06:33.139 --> 00:06:35.899 bit of extra sugar and spice and jazz into all 00:06:35.899 --> 00:06:39.079 of that so we're reminding you of all your choices 00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:42.500 of all of your options and also just so you know 00:06:42.500 --> 00:06:45.500 what some of the outcomes could be of those things 00:06:45.500 --> 00:06:48.800 yeah and i guess so that parents like what happens 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:53.379 if i see another family getting evaluated at 00:06:53.379 --> 00:06:56.660 our school and then the child we don't ever see 00:06:56.660 --> 00:06:58.620 that child again yeah so some families might 00:06:58.620 --> 00:07:01.259 wonder like what's what's this have what happening 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:04.980 and so potentially that's maybe what you do see 00:07:04.980 --> 00:07:09.560 in the coming years in our state and again I 00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:11.899 want to remind everybody listening that when 00:07:11.899 --> 00:07:14.240 you're listening to this recording this was recorded 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:17.720 the beginning of July of 2025 as it stands right 00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:21.319 now The state of Idaho does not have a disability 00:07:21.319 --> 00:07:25.160 specific school except for the state funded school 00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:28.639 for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:32.420 and blind or low vision. We do have that school 00:07:32.420 --> 00:07:34.639 that's disability specific, but we do not have 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:37.100 an autism school. We don't have a Down syndrome 00:07:37.100 --> 00:07:40.519 school. Many other states that neighbor us do. 00:07:42.139 --> 00:07:45.800 If an autism school were to, let's say, pop up 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:47.980 somewhere within the Treasure Valley or northern 00:07:47.980 --> 00:07:51.779 Idaho, anywhere, the neighboring school district 00:07:51.779 --> 00:07:56.360 would be the one who is in charge of. Yes. Child. 00:07:56.779 --> 00:08:02.519 Yep. Absolutely. But that doesn't apply to charters, 00:08:02.519 --> 00:08:04.500 though, because charters are their own. Charters 00:08:04.500 --> 00:08:07.319 are public. LEA. They're public schools. And 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:11.120 that's where people kind of get a little confused 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:14.779 is the wrong word. It's like there are so many. 00:08:14.860 --> 00:08:16.360 And then you're going to start throwing in things 00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:22.420 like micropods and. Co -ops. And so this obviously 00:08:22.420 --> 00:08:26.300 this is a detail. That's why we broke apart all 00:08:26.300 --> 00:08:28.620 the steps, because we knew there were lots of 00:08:28.620 --> 00:08:30.800 different ways to get into the weeds with these 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:33.220 steps. And we wanted to let the conversations 00:08:33.220 --> 00:08:36.399 kind of happen naturally. But that's why I think 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:40.120 parents are like, well, how the charter, the 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:41.960 charter does it. Well, that's because the charter 00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:46.230 is a public school, but a private school. So 00:08:46.230 --> 00:08:48.970 it makes more sense. But I have a lot of parents 00:08:48.970 --> 00:08:52.149 that I help who say, well, then my school district, 00:08:52.269 --> 00:08:55.269 but you already attend a charter. It is its own 00:08:55.269 --> 00:08:57.610 school district. Good. As long as I've made that 00:08:57.610 --> 00:09:00.710 absolutely convoluted and clear as mud, I'm glad. 00:09:01.409 --> 00:09:04.419 And hey, I'm just throwing this out there. we're 00:09:04.419 --> 00:09:06.539 here to answer all of these convoluted questions 00:09:06.539 --> 00:09:09.659 we have some our self -guided modules that may 00:09:09.659 --> 00:09:12.679 go through some of these questions but just call 00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:15.519 us i would exactly please follow us these are 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:17.919 very one -off situations a lot of these are going 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:20.039 to be so call us and we can walk you through 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:22.419 and the best part of calling us is when you call 00:09:22.419 --> 00:09:24.539 us you might hear my voice you might hear melissa's 00:09:24.539 --> 00:09:26.799 voice you might get sarah but you're getting 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:29.539 all of us because we're all going to talk and 00:09:29.539 --> 00:09:31.639 say well what about this would you've tried this 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:34.179 or Exactly. Say you're getting everybody. But 00:09:34.179 --> 00:09:38.000 back to the referral process. It always starts 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:41.480 with a formal request for an evaluation. Yep. 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:47.059 Could that request be verbal? Sure. And theoretically, 00:09:47.379 --> 00:09:51.279 anything can be verbal, right? It can. But iPoll. 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:57.029 Exactly. Yep. iPoll's never going to. encourage 00:09:57.029 --> 00:09:59.169 you to make that request verbally we would always 00:09:59.169 --> 00:10:01.789 suggest that you put everything in writing why 00:10:01.789 --> 00:10:05.210 because it's easier to keep track for everyone 00:10:05.210 --> 00:10:09.690 involved on the timeline on who submitted the 00:10:09.690 --> 00:10:14.850 request on how we're following up iPoll actually 00:10:14.850 --> 00:10:18.279 has a resource you made it I think you made it 00:10:18.279 --> 00:10:20.899 didn't you the steps to evaluation i did we're 00:10:20.899 --> 00:10:23.159 going to include it it'll tell you the steps 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:25.379 to evaluation i know we're talking about this 00:10:25.379 --> 00:10:28.039 part during referral but it'll include the steps 00:10:28.039 --> 00:10:31.399 to evaluation and how you can actually make that 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:34.080 referral and it includes a letter template letter 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:36.679 yep that you can customize for your own child 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:40.960 um and and whatever your district may be but 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:43.899 it gives you the basics and then you can hop 00:10:43.899 --> 00:10:45.919 in the rest so you don't even have to think about 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:47.960 how to write the letter you just add in your 00:10:47.960 --> 00:10:50.139 information we're just trying to make things 00:10:50.139 --> 00:10:53.039 so much easier for everybody so you do the formal 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:55.179 request the school will provide you with your 00:10:55.179 --> 00:10:58.259 procedural safeguards notice which is a fancy 00:10:58.259 --> 00:11:00.320 way of saying your rights and responsibilities 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:02.860 yep you're going to get one of them every single 00:11:02.860 --> 00:11:05.000 year at every single other iep meeting if you 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:07.779 want it exactly you should yeah and then you 00:11:07.779 --> 00:11:10.100 should be having a meeting to discuss the concerns 00:11:10.100 --> 00:11:13.940 what you want to assess for decide if a full 00:11:13.940 --> 00:11:17.320 evaluation is appropriate if it is appropriate 00:11:17.320 --> 00:11:20.000 sorry and then explain what assessments might 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:22.639 take place so for example if you're assessing 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:26.200 an autistic child a lot of times an slp will 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:28.500 be involved because there's deficits in communication 00:11:28.500 --> 00:11:33.039 even if you say something to the effect of my 00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:36.490 child has uh typically developing expressive 00:11:36.490 --> 00:11:40.190 language they're gonna say let's just throw in 00:11:40.190 --> 00:11:43.110 an slp we're gonna do auditory processing we're 00:11:43.110 --> 00:11:47.350 gonna do the whole shebang if the team agrees 00:11:47.350 --> 00:11:49.850 if everybody agrees these are the assessments 00:11:49.850 --> 00:11:52.269 we're gonna do this we're all on the same page 00:11:52.269 --> 00:11:54.570 then you're gonna sign a consent for an evaluation 00:11:54.570 --> 00:11:57.990 yep if not then the school needs to give you 00:11:57.990 --> 00:12:03.230 a what that's you what you're gonna answer that 00:12:04.050 --> 00:12:07.809 If the school decides they're not going to. Oh, 00:12:08.009 --> 00:12:09.789 you're going to get a prior written notice. Exactly. 00:12:09.809 --> 00:12:13.990 Sorry, I threw her off. What? I was trying to 00:12:13.990 --> 00:12:16.330 have fun, but then I was also, you can't see 00:12:16.330 --> 00:12:18.450 it because this isn't a video podcast, but I 00:12:18.450 --> 00:12:20.409 was holding my head too. And she was like, oh 00:12:20.409 --> 00:12:23.620 God, she's having a medical event. Okay. Sorry, 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:26.000 you're going to get a prior written notice that 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:30.080 explains to you why the why they're choosing 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:32.820 not to move forward with evaluations. Maybe they 00:12:32.820 --> 00:12:35.960 don't they don't at this point feel that it's 00:12:35.960 --> 00:12:38.139 necessary for your child to be evaluated. And 00:12:38.139 --> 00:12:40.120 they're going to sometimes this is where they 00:12:40.120 --> 00:12:42.659 say, but we think that that your student could 00:12:42.659 --> 00:12:46.220 be supported by a 504 or offer some accommodations 00:12:46.220 --> 00:12:50.220 through a 504 plan. But well, Nostradamus over 00:12:50.220 --> 00:12:53.500 here is ruining my mock scenario. Just kidding. 00:12:53.559 --> 00:12:55.659 See, this is what I want. I also wanted to prove 00:12:55.659 --> 00:12:58.399 this point is that even if Melissa has no idea 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:00.820 what I'm about to say, she already knows exactly 00:13:00.820 --> 00:13:03.539 what I'm about to say. Okay. Okay. But I do want 00:13:03.539 --> 00:13:06.120 to point out something really important. Did 00:13:06.120 --> 00:13:09.000 I miss? No, you didn't miss it. But I do just 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:12.259 want to highlight this. The prior written notice 00:13:12.259 --> 00:13:17.279 and the procedural safeguards must be in the 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:19.639 family's native language. Oh, yeah. that's huge 00:13:19.639 --> 00:13:22.600 so in other words a lot of people question you 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:25.620 know like what is native language so if i am 00:13:25.620 --> 00:13:29.639 a family that has immigrated from a french -speaking 00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:33.960 country french is my native language but what 00:13:33.960 --> 00:13:36.779 if i prefer receiving my information in english 00:13:36.779 --> 00:13:40.440 so it's the language that you that your family 00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:43.460 uses most most often or feels most comfortable 00:13:43.460 --> 00:13:45.799 receiving that information and so that's not 00:13:45.799 --> 00:13:49.009 trying to I've also had this question asked of 00:13:49.009 --> 00:13:51.929 me where even if French is the language that 00:13:51.929 --> 00:13:53.789 you grew up speaking, you could still access 00:13:53.789 --> 00:13:56.649 your information in English and use it as a native 00:13:56.649 --> 00:13:58.850 language. So you don't need your information 00:13:58.850 --> 00:14:01.809 in French. So people have asked me really super 00:14:01.809 --> 00:14:03.669 niche questions like that. So I'll give that 00:14:03.669 --> 00:14:06.850 to you. It's native language means whatever language 00:14:06.850 --> 00:14:10.409 you feel most comfortable receiving that information 00:14:10.409 --> 00:14:13.309 in. The special education manual really means 00:14:13.309 --> 00:14:16.679 business about this in particular. because they 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:20.200 have, it's like a page and a half of very specific 00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:24.679 rules that you follow if a family doesn't communicate 00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:28.100 in written language. Like how do you still get 00:14:28.100 --> 00:14:30.320 their rights and responsibilities to them? So 00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:33.960 this is a very important little caveat. Because 00:14:33.960 --> 00:14:37.600 you're right. This is the family's rights. It 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:40.070 is. their responsibility it is what they are 00:14:40.070 --> 00:14:43.210 required to do in the special education piece 00:14:43.210 --> 00:14:45.509 because we're team members we are absolutely 00:14:45.509 --> 00:14:48.690 iep team members so we have a little we have 00:14:48.690 --> 00:14:51.129 some responsibility in it too so we want to ensure 00:14:51.129 --> 00:14:54.529 that all families have access to reading that 00:14:54.529 --> 00:14:57.870 yeah understanding where their piece of the puzzle 00:14:57.870 --> 00:15:00.750 is yeah that's that's all i gotta say about that 00:15:00.750 --> 00:15:03.649 and if you have questions ask yeah ask us ask 00:15:03.649 --> 00:15:06.340 the team And if you don't feel comfortable asking 00:15:06.340 --> 00:15:08.460 your team, we have lots of tips and tricks that 00:15:08.460 --> 00:15:11.419 you can get back to, get back to comfortable 00:15:11.419 --> 00:15:14.299 with the team. We have that too. Okay. I want 00:15:14.299 --> 00:15:16.379 to talk about two scenarios before we move into 00:15:16.379 --> 00:15:20.679 evaluation. Okay. So the first is Tasha. She 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:24.139 lives in Boise. Her son Malik is in second grade. 00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:27.440 Okay. Tasha lives in Boise, Malik second grade. 00:15:27.980 --> 00:15:31.419 he's he's bright like a gifted kid but he's off 00:15:31.419 --> 00:15:34.100 task blurts out answers struggles completing 00:15:34.100 --> 00:15:37.620 assignments this could be a fake name of a real 00:15:37.620 --> 00:15:42.379 child we know okay uh uh my son's school i mean 00:15:42.379 --> 00:15:45.080 tasha's son uh they've tried behavior charts 00:15:45.080 --> 00:15:47.320 and preferred seating but you know what it's 00:15:47.320 --> 00:15:51.179 just not working so tasha submits a written request 00:15:51.179 --> 00:15:54.470 for an evaluation the school begins Quickly, 00:15:54.570 --> 00:15:56.830 they respond and they agree to the evaluation 00:15:56.830 --> 00:15:59.789 process. We're going to hear the rest of Tasha's 00:15:59.789 --> 00:16:02.529 story at the end. Okay. Once she gets through 00:16:02.529 --> 00:16:04.389 evaluation, but that's what you have right now. 00:16:04.429 --> 00:16:07.009 That's where she is. She reached out to us. We 00:16:07.009 --> 00:16:12.129 gave her that. She's got the process. Now we're 00:16:12.129 --> 00:16:15.269 going to meet Mike. Mike's up in KMEI. He's got 00:16:15.269 --> 00:16:18.129 his daughter, Rosie, a kindergartner. She speaks 00:16:18.129 --> 00:16:21.029 only a few words and struggles to follow classroom 00:16:21.029 --> 00:16:24.779 routines. But get this, the local school district, 00:16:24.940 --> 00:16:28.120 because it's Kamei, doesn't have a speech therapist 00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:31.799 on site right this very second. So they've contacted 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:35.100 a regional support provider because even in rural 00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:38.259 Idaho, your child is protected under the law. 00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:41.059 So the school works with Mike to begin a full 00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:43.279 evaluation. And they're going to start by using 00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:47.200 teletherapy for speech and language testing because 00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:50.340 the rules still apply no matter what part of 00:16:50.340 --> 00:16:53.960 Idaho you're in. but yeah in some parts of idaho 00:16:53.960 --> 00:16:56.460 it may require you to get slightly more creative 00:16:56.460 --> 00:16:59.240 absolutely and the professionals know how to 00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:02.019 get creative so i'm just saying even if you're 00:17:02.019 --> 00:17:04.279 not in the great state of ada you can trust the 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:07.519 process because even people who have never been 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:11.240 to kami i like myself know how to navigate if 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:13.180 there's a will there there should be a way amen 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:16.900 okay okay now let's move to evaluation so after 00:17:16.900 --> 00:17:20.039 you've signed the consent the school has 60 calendar 00:17:20.039 --> 00:17:23.160 days to complete the evaluation right and then 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:27.880 30 days from IEP to implementation yep so calendar 00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:32.420 yes calendar calendar days this includes academic 00:17:32.420 --> 00:17:35.859 assessments classroom observations crucially 00:17:35.859 --> 00:17:39.980 input from the parent absolutely behavior and 00:17:39.980 --> 00:17:44.930 speech -language screenings if needed So again, 00:17:45.650 --> 00:17:47.990 I just want to throw this out there. The specific 00:17:47.990 --> 00:17:51.869 composition of an evaluation team will vary depending 00:17:51.869 --> 00:17:56.670 on the student's suspected disability. You mean 00:17:56.670 --> 00:18:03.190 it's individually? Yes. The parent or the adult 00:18:03.190 --> 00:18:06.769 student is always a member of that team and should. 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:09.980 always be given an opportunity to provide input 00:18:09.980 --> 00:18:13.500 the evaluation team conducts its review on existing 00:18:13.500 --> 00:18:17.900 data makes a decision however all required team 00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:21.279 members must participate so that's the parent 00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:25.799 a district okay you go for it a district representative 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:29.079 a general education teacher and then a special 00:18:29.079 --> 00:18:32.789 education teacher And then potentially a qualified 00:18:32.789 --> 00:18:35.549 professional who can interpret assessment results. 00:18:35.849 --> 00:18:38.289 Because we're talking about that first meeting. 00:18:38.430 --> 00:18:40.309 So there are always the four core that Melissa 00:18:40.309 --> 00:18:42.950 said. But in that first meeting, even if you 00:18:42.950 --> 00:18:46.950 don't, even if Tasha and Malik don't need an 00:18:46.950 --> 00:18:50.589 SLP for an autism diagnosis, they're there in 00:18:50.589 --> 00:18:53.069 the beginning. Right. And that is because they 00:18:53.069 --> 00:18:55.940 are a licensed. clinical professional that can 00:18:55.940 --> 00:18:58.900 explain and interpret those assessment results. 00:18:59.240 --> 00:19:03.599 A general education teacher cannot interpret, 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:09.759 help me out. A WISC. A WISC, yes, exactly. You 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:12.019 need a psychologist for that. Exactly, that is 00:19:12.019 --> 00:19:14.839 a perfect example. That is not something that 00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:18.779 just anyone can interpret and explain the assessment 00:19:18.779 --> 00:19:20.460 results. So that's why we have to have those 00:19:20.460 --> 00:19:22.980 people there. And then again, I know this gets 00:19:22.980 --> 00:19:25.099 really into the weeds, but I really want to make 00:19:25.099 --> 00:19:28.720 one more point. The words eligibility and assessment 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:31.299 get used interchangeably, but they're really 00:19:31.299 --> 00:19:34.140 serving two different purposes. So an evaluation 00:19:34.140 --> 00:19:39.279 determines the extent of support needed and includes 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:42.079 which assessments to use. But the assessments 00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:46.319 are integral to the evaluation process, and they 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:49.920 refer to the formal and informal processes of 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:55.500 gathering. information to support the eligibility 00:19:55.500 --> 00:19:59.599 be super confusing yeah it is but when some people 00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:04.480 say my child is getting assessed it I have had 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:06.599 several scenarios where you have to get into 00:20:06.599 --> 00:20:09.319 the weeds with that because you don't in special 00:20:09.319 --> 00:20:11.720 education they don't necessarily always mean 00:20:11.720 --> 00:20:15.420 the same thing and different districts will use 00:20:15.420 --> 00:20:20.720 though Yeah. Again, call us. Just call us. A 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:24.539 lot of these are so one -offs. But either way, 00:20:24.579 --> 00:20:26.839 at the end of the day, eligibility and assessment 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:29.119 have the same goal to determine if your child 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:32.339 qualifies for services under IDEA. And they always 00:20:32.339 --> 00:20:36.180 do this using the three -prong test. So the first 00:20:36.180 --> 00:20:39.079 prong is to qualify for services, a student must 00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:43.619 meet the criteria for one. or more of 14 categories 00:20:43.619 --> 00:20:46.960 do you want to go one for one again no i hate 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:50.519 doing that because i always miss one or and it's 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:53.200 like the most obvious one i always miss okay 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:57.400 there are 14 categories autism spectrum disorder 00:20:57.400 --> 00:21:01.380 intellectual disability deaf blindness deaf or 00:21:01.380 --> 00:21:04.579 hard of hearing developmental delay up to age 00:21:04.579 --> 00:21:08.279 nine in the state of idaho um emotional behavioral 00:21:08.279 --> 00:21:11.680 disorder Other health impairment, that's where 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:13.859 you might get something like ADHD, epilepsy, 00:21:14.279 --> 00:21:17.660 chronic illness, Angelman. Specific learning 00:21:17.660 --> 00:21:21.299 disability, that's your dyslexia, dysgraphia. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:24.980 multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairments, 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:27.660 speech or language impairment, language, speech 00:21:27.660 --> 00:21:30.640 or language impairment, speech, traumatic brain 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:33.140 injury and visual impairment, including blindness. 00:21:33.380 --> 00:21:35.619 So the school team is going to collect evidence 00:21:35.619 --> 00:21:38.059 through assessments and observation to determine 00:21:38.059 --> 00:21:39.700 if your child meets one or more of these criteria. 00:21:39.940 --> 00:21:43.579 I also want to add that you could be a student 00:21:43.579 --> 00:21:46.579 supported by a 504 meeting this criteria, too. 00:21:46.740 --> 00:21:50.009 Yes. So they're going to get more specific as 00:21:50.009 --> 00:21:53.009 we go on. So prong two, an adverse effect on 00:21:53.009 --> 00:21:55.789 education, whether that's academic or functional. 00:21:55.970 --> 00:21:59.130 So this is where the team asks themselves, does 00:21:59.130 --> 00:22:03.369 this child's disability affect their ability 00:22:03.369 --> 00:22:07.569 to learn, behave, or participate in any kind 00:22:07.569 --> 00:22:10.910 of school activities? So they could have a difficulty 00:22:10.910 --> 00:22:13.750 with reading, attention, math, communication. 00:22:14.940 --> 00:22:19.079 So even if a child has a diagnosis like autism, 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:23.819 ADHD, they must show that it's inversely impacting 00:22:23.819 --> 00:22:27.000 their educational performance to qualify. And 00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:29.440 why am I getting so specific with that? Because 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:33.400 your girl has two children with autism diagnoses 00:22:33.400 --> 00:22:37.420 who do not qualify for an IEP. So you can still 00:22:37.420 --> 00:22:41.859 meet prongs one and two. And not qualify. Correct. 00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:45.319 Because of prong, numero, trace. Number three 00:22:45.319 --> 00:22:48.720 right here. A need for specially designed instruction. 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:51.839 So that's finally the team asks themselves, does 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:55.859 this child need teaching different in content, 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:59.319 method, delivery than what is provided to their 00:22:59.319 --> 00:23:02.240 typically developing peers? So if you answer 00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:06.289 yes to all three of those questions. Cha -ching, 00:23:06.390 --> 00:23:08.809 your child qualifies for an individualized education 00:23:08.809 --> 00:23:14.170 plan or program, IEP. If not, the team may recommend 00:23:14.170 --> 00:23:17.670 a 504, which is essentially a series of accommodations. 00:23:17.849 --> 00:23:21.730 It changes to how. How your child is accessing. 00:23:21.990 --> 00:23:26.049 Not what. Mm -hmm. Okay, so let's go back to 00:23:26.049 --> 00:23:30.750 our scenarios. Okay. Tammy or? Malik. Oh. The 00:23:30.750 --> 00:23:33.289 little Tasha's. Tasha. Tasha and Malik. Get it 00:23:33.289 --> 00:23:37.299 together. Tamara, Tasha. His ADHD falls under 00:23:37.299 --> 00:23:40.440 OHI, other health impairment. But through the 00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:43.160 evaluation, the team finds that his academic 00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:47.180 performance is at grade level. And he has been 00:23:47.180 --> 00:23:50.559 responding really well to minor changes, minor 00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:53.920 accommodations like breaks and flexible seating. 00:23:54.200 --> 00:23:58.180 Since Malik was determined to not need specialized 00:23:58.180 --> 00:24:00.140 instruction, he doesn't need different math, 00:24:00.299 --> 00:24:03.019 different reading. The team recommends a 504 00:24:03.019 --> 00:24:05.720 plan with accommodations. And accommodations 00:24:05.720 --> 00:24:09.000 like brakes. And flexible seating, headphones, 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:11.819 those types of things. Those are also what happened 00:24:11.819 --> 00:24:14.779 to make my children successful. But back to Rosie. 00:24:15.140 --> 00:24:18.500 Rosie in Kamii, her evaluation showed that she 00:24:18.500 --> 00:24:21.359 has expressive and receptive language delays. 00:24:21.720 --> 00:24:24.980 She qualifies under speech or language impairment 00:24:24.980 --> 00:24:28.539 language. So she's met prong one. Her difficulty 00:24:28.539 --> 00:24:31.140 expressing needs and following classroom directions 00:24:31.140 --> 00:24:34.579 is negatively impacting her access to learning. 00:24:34.759 --> 00:24:38.039 She's met prong two. The team determines that 00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:41.019 she's met prong three. She does need speech therapy 00:24:41.019 --> 00:24:44.759 and small group instruction, which cannot be 00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:47.220 provided through general education alone. So 00:24:47.220 --> 00:24:50.180 she has qualified for an IEP and now she's starting 00:24:50.180 --> 00:24:55.579 services. So. Again, there are some small differences 00:24:55.579 --> 00:24:59.099 between urban and rural. If you're in a rural 00:24:59.099 --> 00:25:02.539 setting, potentially specialists travel between 00:25:02.539 --> 00:25:05.819 districts. Or are shared between districts. Exactly. 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:08.759 They might have smaller teams. They might be 00:25:08.759 --> 00:25:12.740 way more flexible. They might have virtual options 00:25:12.740 --> 00:25:16.920 for therapies. Yep. Whereas if you're in an urban 00:25:16.920 --> 00:25:19.259 setting, like if you're in West Ada, so that's 00:25:19.259 --> 00:25:22.349 Meridian, Idaho's largest school district. There's 00:25:22.349 --> 00:25:25.930 probably in -house evaluators, potentially larger 00:25:25.930 --> 00:25:31.869 special education teams. It really is hyper -specific, 00:25:31.990 --> 00:25:37.509 but just an example. So those are the first two 00:25:37.509 --> 00:25:40.769 steps, and that was a lot of information. It 00:25:40.769 --> 00:25:44.609 was. But if I could give you two things to take 00:25:44.609 --> 00:25:46.529 away from this, it would be the three prongs, 00:25:46.569 --> 00:25:50.599 which are... have a disability outlined by the 00:25:50.599 --> 00:25:55.500 14 categories, have that effect adversely affect 00:25:55.500 --> 00:25:59.000 a student's education developmentally, functionally, 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:03.740 academically, and arguably most importantly. 00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:08.039 This is the one that hangs people up. Is needs 00:26:08.039 --> 00:26:10.440 specially designed instruction that is not the 00:26:10.440 --> 00:26:13.380 same as your typically developing peers. And 00:26:13.380 --> 00:26:16.569 also just know. That if for some reason you don't 00:26:16.569 --> 00:26:18.529 qualify for an IEP, whatever the reason may be, 00:26:18.609 --> 00:26:22.509 you potentially qualify for a 504. Nobody, if 00:26:22.509 --> 00:26:25.750 you have requested an IEP evaluation or an educator 00:26:25.750 --> 00:26:31.289 has, that's kind of a show of a need of support. 00:26:31.430 --> 00:26:33.789 So this student is going to be supported. Yeah, 00:26:33.809 --> 00:26:36.890 somehow, someway. So you may be asking yourself 00:26:36.890 --> 00:26:39.869 at this point, what do you do today? What can 00:26:39.869 --> 00:26:42.640 I do today? to get ready for the beginning of 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:45.440 this school year if i think my child might need 00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:49.339 that yes here are some suggestions that i have 00:26:49.339 --> 00:26:53.160 come up with keep a folder of school work notes 00:26:53.160 --> 00:26:56.920 report cards anything that you think that you 00:26:56.920 --> 00:27:02.940 could breed thank you again more data Write down 00:27:02.940 --> 00:27:05.980 any concerns you have or observations that you 00:27:05.980 --> 00:27:07.680 have noticed, because how many times have you 00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:09.460 been at your child's well child check and gone 00:27:09.460 --> 00:27:14.380 completely blank? Yep. I strongly suggest writing 00:27:14.380 --> 00:27:16.880 them down as they come to you, even if it's on 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:20.240 your notes pad in your phone. And I would add 00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:24.880 to that if generalized community input, too. 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:27.700 So if your child is seeing an outside provider 00:27:27.700 --> 00:27:30.339 and, you know, maybe a speech provider or an 00:27:30.339 --> 00:27:33.779 OT. I don't know about your kiddo, but every 00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:35.900 time mine sees one, they kind of give me a download 00:27:35.900 --> 00:27:38.099 of some things that we're working on. That's 00:27:38.099 --> 00:27:40.059 really good information to share to a team too. 00:27:40.299 --> 00:27:43.339 And that's generalized across environments. Agreed. 00:27:43.339 --> 00:27:46.940 And the team is required to review outside information 00:27:46.940 --> 00:27:51.019 that you bring. So you do not have to bring outside 00:27:51.019 --> 00:27:54.180 information. If you choose not to, that's always 00:27:54.180 --> 00:27:56.579 your choice. But if you do bring it, the team 00:27:56.579 --> 00:28:00.559 is required to review it. Ask for a meeting with 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:04.230 your team. Today, there's nothing that says that 00:28:04.230 --> 00:28:07.210 that request for an evaluation, that form that 00:28:07.210 --> 00:28:10.269 we'll have linked that Miss Melissa made. There's 00:28:10.269 --> 00:28:12.150 nothing to say that you can't send that right 00:28:12.150 --> 00:28:16.890 now. Potentially educators are out of their contract. 00:28:17.269 --> 00:28:20.670 Yep. But it's one of those your emails will be 00:28:20.670 --> 00:28:23.150 responded to in the order in which they were 00:28:23.150 --> 00:28:27.009 received type of a thing. So if you suspect I 00:28:27.009 --> 00:28:32.450 would reach out now to get it on the radar. And 00:28:32.450 --> 00:28:34.450 then again, yeah, submit a written request for 00:28:34.450 --> 00:28:37.769 evaluation. And then finally, reach out to us. 00:28:38.450 --> 00:28:41.190 If you want to just talk something through or 00:28:41.190 --> 00:28:43.369 brainstorm, you don't have to call us with like 00:28:43.369 --> 00:28:46.190 an ID. You don't have to wait until you have 00:28:46.190 --> 00:28:48.890 an IDEA violation to call us. You can call us 00:28:48.890 --> 00:28:51.730 and say, hey, I heard that you're all special 00:28:51.730 --> 00:28:54.339 needs parents over there. Can you tell me what 00:28:54.339 --> 00:28:56.980 you would do in this situation? Exactly. And 00:28:56.980 --> 00:28:59.460 one thing you got to know about me is that if 00:28:59.460 --> 00:29:01.000 you ask me that question, I'm going to tell you 00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:03.960 exactly what I would do in that situation. I 00:29:03.960 --> 00:29:06.240 guess the other thing is, is this is a really 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:08.519 good time to spend some time educating yourself 00:29:08.519 --> 00:29:12.500 about the process, about what the steps are going 00:29:12.500 --> 00:29:14.440 to look like so that you can go into the school 00:29:14.440 --> 00:29:18.099 year being armed with a bunch of knowledge. Exactly. 00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:23.329 This honestly. Honestly, honestly, though, this 00:29:23.329 --> 00:29:25.869 is the time to tap into those articulates that 00:29:25.869 --> 00:29:31.190 we have made. Yes. The deep dive into IEPs. This 00:29:31.190 --> 00:29:34.849 is a good time to. Your school's not going to 00:29:34.849 --> 00:29:37.009 know what happened next year. This is crazy for 00:29:37.009 --> 00:29:39.309 me to say this in this podcast episode, but this 00:29:39.309 --> 00:29:42.109 is a really good time to even make sure that 00:29:42.109 --> 00:29:44.150 your demographic information is updated with 00:29:44.150 --> 00:29:47.369 Medicaid. Yeah, I think this like summer break 00:29:47.369 --> 00:29:50.230 time is a really good time, especially since 00:29:50.230 --> 00:29:54.069 July is kind of when the laws that the legislature 00:29:54.069 --> 00:29:57.910 has passed are all kind of going into coming 00:29:57.910 --> 00:30:02.470 into effect, I would say now. So again, this 00:30:02.470 --> 00:30:05.349 is it. That was steps one and two. You made it. 00:30:05.369 --> 00:30:08.690 Listen to this episode as many times as you need. 00:30:09.480 --> 00:30:12.119 In our next episode, we're going to talk about 00:30:12.119 --> 00:30:14.960 steps three and four. So those are eligibility, 00:30:15.299 --> 00:30:17.900 like actually having the eligibility meeting, 00:30:18.019 --> 00:30:22.700 and then the actual IEP meeting itself. So again, 00:30:22.759 --> 00:30:25.500 prepare for next episode to also be a little 00:30:25.500 --> 00:30:28.640 bit longer and a lot of information. How do you 00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:30.940 prepare? So these are some things that you could 00:30:30.940 --> 00:30:33.279 have answered in your next episode if your girl, 00:30:33.380 --> 00:30:36.920 me, stays on track. How to prepare, what questions 00:30:36.920 --> 00:30:39.720 to ask, and crucially, what do you do if you 00:30:39.720 --> 00:30:42.180 disagree? Yeah. Because you're going to. Yeah. 00:30:42.220 --> 00:30:43.819 Because it's a group of people in a room, right? 00:30:44.259 --> 00:30:46.680 And you're talking about your kid. Exactly. We're 00:30:46.680 --> 00:30:48.559 going to talk about that a lot, too. So until 00:30:48.559 --> 00:30:51.380 then, remember, you know your child best. Yep. 00:30:51.700 --> 00:30:55.240 Trust your voice. Ask your questions. Always 00:30:55.240 --> 00:30:57.730 feel like it's a place to ask questions. And 00:30:57.730 --> 00:31:01.029 please reach out to us if you have any questions 00:31:01.029 --> 00:31:03.650 at all. Can I say one thing? Oh, my God, please. 00:31:03.890 --> 00:31:06.470 A cheesy one. But knowledge is power. Yes. The 00:31:06.470 --> 00:31:10.650 more I learn, the better parent I am. Are you 00:31:10.650 --> 00:31:14.369 saying, like, learn or perish? No, I didn't want 00:31:14.369 --> 00:31:25.369 to steal that. Thank you so much, everyone out 00:31:25.369 --> 00:31:27.630 there, for listening in. And know that if you 00:31:27.630 --> 00:31:31.430 are in Idaho or planning on moving to Idaho and 00:31:31.430 --> 00:31:34.450 have questions on systems or services for children 00:31:34.450 --> 00:31:37.009 with disabilities, please consider reaching out 00:31:37.009 --> 00:31:40.589 to us on our website at iPullIdaho, that's I 00:31:40.589 --> 00:31:46.950 -P -U -L -Idaho .org, or by calling us at 208 00:31:46.950 --> 00:31:52.069 -342 -5884. Be sure to tune in next time. Until 00:31:52.069 --> 00:31:55.710 then... This has been unlimited parenting. Thanks 00:31:55.710 --> 00:31:56.269 for listening.