Family Matter Parent Training & Information Center

Articles/Legislative Updates

National Family Advocacy Support and Training (FAST) Project
You are invited to be in a national research study of supports for families of youth with disabilities. This Survey is for the parent or primary caregiver of a young person with disabilities between 12 and 22 years old. If you qualify please click on the following link to partake in this Pacer Center research study: http://rtc.umn.edu/fast/main/index.asp

Your Answers to the questions on the National Family Support Survey are confidential and will help the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, parent centers, and researchers understand the information and supports families need to prepare for moving into adulthood.

The information you share is extremely valuable and may help to inform program development for youth with disabilities in the future. We encourage you to participate and greatly appreciate your time.

The Family Advocacy and Support Training (FAST) Project is funded by the Administration on Development Disabilities (ADD) as a Project of National Significance. FAST is a project of PACER Center in Minnesota in collaboration with Parent Centers throughout the United States and Territories and with the help of the University of Minnesota.

IDEA Discipline Tool
A new tool to help parents and professionals understand and apply IDEA's discipline provisions is now available at: http://ideadiscipline.blogspot.com . The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides special rules about disciplining children with disabilities. These rules can be difficult to understand and apply correctly. This tool will help you understand how IDEA's discipline rules apply to specific situations. You provide the situation, and the tool tells you what rules apply (what the school must, may, and may not do). Note: The tool currently only includes the federal requirements. Federal requirements apply in all states; states can add, but not subtract, protections from the federal law. The tool also doesn't incorporate court decisions. But it's still a useful tool! (Segment taken in part from NE-PACT E-News, March 2009).

Summary of Changes in the IDEA 2004 Regulations (10 pages, pdf)

Table of Regulations (5 pages, pdf)

Subpart A - General - Includes Purposes, Definitions (10 pages, pdf)

Subpart B - State Eligibility, General - Includes FAPE and LRE requirements, ESY, services to children in private schools, state and LEA eligibility (29 pages, pdf)

Subpart C - Local Educational Agency Eligibility - Includes Early Intervening Services (8 pages, pdf)

Subpart D - Evaluations, Reevaluations, Eligibility, Individualized Education Programs, and Educational Placements (14 pages, pdf)

Subpart E - Procedural Safeguards - Includes due process procedures, procedural safeguards notice, mediation, due process hearings, model due process form, resolution process, timelines, attorneys fees, child's status during proceedings; discipline, manifestation determination; transfer of rights at age of majority, etc. (17 pages, pdf)

Wrightslaw Reformats IDEA 2004 Regs - and Why
Peter Wright reformatted the federal regulations for the IDEA 2004 statute, the most current law, to make them more readable. Follow the links to the Wrights law website for the current regulations.

Summary of Changes in the IDEA 2004 Regulations (10 pages, pdf)

Table of Regulations (5 pages, pdf)

Subpart A - General - Includes Purposes, Definitions (10 pages, pdf)

Subpart B - State Eligibility, General - Includes FAPE and LRE requirements, ESY, services to children in private schools, state and LEA eligibility (29 pages, pdf)

Subpart C - Local Educational Agency Eligibility - Includes Early Intervening Services (8 pages, pdf)

Subpart D - Evaluations, Reevaluations, Eligibility, Individualized Education Programs, and Educational Placements (14 pages, pdf)

Subpart F - Monitoring, Enforcement, Confidentiality, and Program Information (9 pages, pdf)

Subpart G - Authorization; Allotment; Use of Funds; Authorization of Appropriations (11 pages, pdf)

Subpart H - Preschool Grants for Children with Disabilities (4 pages, pdf)

According to 20 USC Section 1417(e), model IEP, IFSP, Procedural Safeguard Notice, and Prior Written Notice forms shall be published "No later than the date that the Secretary publishes final regulations ..." (See page 124 of Wrightslaw: IDEA 2004.)

MODEL FORMS
OSEP (the Office of Special Education Programs) has published the model forms that were required to be made available at the time IDEA's regulations were made final. This includes model forms on the IEP, the procedural safeguards notice, and prior written notice. For model forms, click here.

Guidance from Department of Education
Changes in IDEA 2004: Documents from OSEP - Since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 took effect on July 1, 2005, the Department of Education has published documents about changes in the law. Each document focuses on a specific topic (IEPs, assessments, discipline, etc.). List of documents.

Learn more about the law and regulations at the IDEA 2004 Statute and Regulations page.

Effective Date-
The federal IDEA regulations went into effect on October 14, 2006.

ISBE releases 2005 Annual Report on Special Education Performance
To view a printable copy of the report, please download this report.

You can also email ISBE for a print copy to review or contact Family Matters for a copy.

Illinois Special Education 2007 rules: Click here to download rules.

Illinois School Code, click on link below and choose 105 ILCS 5/ School Code :
Get the Illinois School Code

Your Three-Step Plan to Stopping Bullying
Discovering that your child is being bullied can be devastating. You may feel bewildered, scared, sad, guilty, angry, or helpless. You may even feel like a target yourself.

While it is important to recognize and acknowledge all those emotions, remember that feelings alone will not change the situation. The most effective thing you can do is focus on the issue and develop a plan.

Here are tools, strategies, and tips that can help you develop successful short-term and longer-term plans for protecting your child from bullying.

1. First, make sure that the issue is bullying and not routine childhood conflict. It’s bullying if the action is hurtful, intentional, and repetitive, and there is a power imbalance between the children. Sometimes, children are afraid or embarrassed to talk about bullying. If you suspect your child may be a target of bullying, you may want to try these approaches to find out for sure.

      • Ask and listen
          – Did someone hurt you on purpose?
          – Is the other person bigger than you or scary to you?
          – Did the child know you were being hurt?

     • Watch for signs, such as:
          – Suddenly wanting to be driven to school instead of taking the bus
          – Unexplained stomachaches or headaches
          – Changes in sleep routines or temperament

2. If your child is being bullied, you can take action at home to help your child learn how to respond more effectively.
     • Teach direct and indirect techniques for dealing with bullies. You may want to encourage
        your child to:
          – Avoid situations where bullying occurs.
          – Hang out with classmates, friends, peers, or siblings
          – Tell the child who is bullying to stop.
          – Do something the bully does not expect or want: yell, blow a whistle, laugh.

     • Encourage group involvement. Children who interact with peers are less likely to be
        bullied. You may want to help your child:
          – Join an after-school program or activity.
          – Develop a hobby that allows interaction with others.

3. If your child is being bullied at school, you can work with teachers and administrators to create a safe environment.
     • Talk with teachers and administrators.
          – Notify them of the situation in writing. Schools are obligated to respond to bullying.
          – Discuss ways the school can help, such as by developing a bullying awareness program.

     • Be part of your child’s school.
          – Join the PTA and raise awareness of bullying as an issue.
          – Offer to speak to the school board and be the "bullying expert."
          – If your child has disabilities, you can build bullying prevention goals into your
             child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Visit this website to learn more!

This article may be reproduced for free in your publication or on your Web site with the following credit: © 2006 PACER Center. Reprinted with permission. For more information on bullying prevention, contact PACER Center at 952-838-9000 or 888-248-0822 (toll free).