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Public Comment

SPED GUIDANCE: Special Education Timelines and COVID-19 and Other Resources

SPED GUIDANCE: Special Education Timelines and COVID-19 and Other Resources

Wed, Mar 18, 2020
Updates
COVID-19
Special Education

Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS has received many questions regarding special education timelines during school closures associated with COVID-19. We recognize that, during this time, there may be challenges in meeting deadlines. Please see the this guidance document (Updated 4/1/20) that contains guidance on timelines, provided in good faith based on guidance from OSEP.

There are a few other resources that may be useful for you to review:

  • The ADE delivered a COVID-19 webinar today to district and charter leaders, as well as education stakeholders. The webinar was hosted with the support of the AZ School Board Association. Participant size was limited, but the webinar was recorded and is available on ADE’s COVID-19 webpage. There is a short section on special education that is taken primarily from the OSEP Q & A document recently disseminated, but also contains a few pieces of information gained from the “Joint Webinar on COVID 19 and Students with Disabilities” held on March 13.
  • The “Joint Webinar on COVID 19 and Students with Disabilities” was presented by Laurie VanderPloeg, OSEP Director, along with representatives from NASDSE, CASE, and the CCCSO. It is a review of the OSEP Q & A Document, including IDEA, Part C, and Section 504 students, and also contains a general question and answer section. The recording of the webinar is available in the link.
  • The ADE provided information on “School Closures: Clarification and Guidance,” today. This information is also available on the ADE COVID 19 webpage and concretely outlines which schools and programs are and are not closed, per the Governor’s declaration. It also provides some general information about school closure.

Additionally, ADE/ESS is in the process of developing a COVID-19 ESS subpage that will be linked to the overall ADE COVID-19 page. It will contain special education-specific information, as well as an evolving Q & A document based on questions that are submitted to ADE and ESS. Please be patient as ESS receives questions, processes information, seeks guidance, and provides answers. This is a quickly-changing landscape of information and resources, and ESS is working closely with OSEP, national technical assistance groups, and state leadership to get the most accurate information to you.

Any questions can be sent to the [email protected]. Thank you all for your work during this time.

Recent Articles

FAQs: Progress Reports

What are the IDEA requirements regarding IEP goal progress reports?

An IEP must include information as to “[w]hen periodic reports on the progress the child is making toward meeting the annual goals (such as through the use of quarterly or other periodic reports, concurrent with the issuance of report cards) will be provided.” [34 C.F.R. § 300.320(a)(3)(ii)]

FAQs: Placement (Educational Placement)

Can an IEP team decide to provide a student with instruction at home only if the student’s medical doctor provides a medical order for instruction at home?

No. Homebound instruction under State law and home-based instruction under the IDEA are not the same thing. Arizona law identifies “homebound” as a funding category that can be used to provide instruction to a student whose doctor has certified that the student is unable to attend regular classes due to illness, disease, accident or other health condition “for a period of not less than three school months.” [A.R.S.

FAQs: Parents

How is “parent” defined in the IDEA regulations, and who can legally act as a parent?

According to the regulations that implement the IDEA, “[p]arent means — (1) A biological or adoptive parent of a child; (2) A foster parent; (3) A guardian generally authorized to act as the child’s parent or authorized to make educational decisions for the child (but not the State if the child is a ward of the State); (4) An individual acting in the place of a biological or adoptive parent (including a grandparent, stepparent, or another relative) with whom the child lives, or an individual who is

FAQs: Meeting Notice, Prior Written Notice (PWN), and Procedural Safeguards Notice (PSN)

When and how often does a school need to provide parents with PSN (procedural safeguards notice)?

The regulations that implement the IDEA require that a school provide parents with PSN at least once annually and at specific milestones: upon initial referral or parent request for an evaluation, upon receipt of the first state complaint or the first due process complaint in a school year, at the time of some disciplinary actions, and upon request by a parent. [34 C.F.R. § 300.504(a)]

FAQs: Myths of Special Education

Can medical doctors prescribe special education?

No. Following a review of existing data and the administration of any additional assessments determined necessary, a group of qualified professionals and the parent of the child determines whether the child is a child with a disability and the educational needs of the child. [See 34 C.F.R. § 300.306] Information from a medical doctor should be considered by the multidisciplinary evaluation team (MET), but no one individual can determine that a child meets eligibility requirements; eligibility requires a team decision.

FAQs: Manifestation Determinations

When does a manifestation determination meeting need to occur?

Within 10 school days of any decision to change the placement of a child with a disability because of a violation of a code of student conduct, the school, the parent, and relevant members of the child’s IEP Team must conduct a manifestation determination. [34 C.F.R. § 300.530(e)(1)] A change of placement occurs if: (1) the student is removed for more than 10 consecutive school days, or (2) the student is subjected to a series of removals that constitute a pattern. [34 C.F.R.

FAQs: IEP Team Authority

Do IEP teams have the authority to retain a student to repeat a grade level, or promote a student eligible for special education to the next grade level?

Arizona law invests in teachers the duty to make the decision to promote a pupil from grade to grade or retain a pupil, and to pass or fail a pupil in a course in high school. [See A.R.S. § § 15-701(E) and 15-701.01(E)] The teacher’s decision may be overturned by the public education agency’s governing board. [A.R.S.

FAQs: IEP Team

Are related service providers required to attend IEP meetings?

When assembling an IEP team, a school is required by the regulations that implement the IDEA to include, at a minimum, a regular education teacher of the child, a special education teacher of the child, the parent(s), an agency representative who has the authority to commit resources, someone to explain evaluation results, and, when appropriate, the child. [34 C.F.R.

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