Group Offers Tools for Postsecondary Success

The National Alliance for Secondary Education and Transition (NASET) is offering a toolkit to help districts evaluate and improve secondary education and better prepare all students, including those with disabilities, so they can succeed in the future.

NEA is an active member of NASET, a national coalition of more than 40 organizations formed to identify what students need to succeed in "postsecondary education and training, civic engagement, meaningful employment, and adult life."

The National Standards and Quality Indicators: Transition Toolkit for Systems Improvement  uses current research on five standards -- effective schooling, career preparatory experiences, youth development and youth leadership, family involvement and connecting activities -- combined with the expertise of those who work in these fields to help districts:

• better understand their current operations
• identify areas of strength, weakness, and opportunity
• create action for improving and scaling up systems
• assess progress

Included in the Transition Toolkit is a Self-Assessment Tool to help identify how evident certain quality indicators are in a state or community based on a four-point scale. Respondents then communicate individual ratings to reach a consensus and calculate a score for each of the five standards.

Following the "Self-Assessment" is a "Priority Setting" worksheet to rate the importance of each of the standards. Combined, these two tools can provide school districts with useful information for both short-term and long-term planning.

November 2005

Posted: November 18th, 2005 under Education.
Comments: none

Parents Must Prove Claims of Inadequate IEP

On Nov. 14, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that parents, not school officials, have the burden of proving a parents' claim that an individualized educational program (IEP) for a child with a disability does not satisfy the child's needs.

The 6-2 ruling came in the case of Schaffer v. Weast .  The case focused on who has the burden of proof in disputed cases under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  NEA supported the position that educators should not have the burden of proving that an IEP is appropriate but rather that parents who reject the IEP need to be able to prove why the IEP is not appropriate.

Justice O'Connor: Burden Placed on Party Seeking Relief

The Supreme Court agreed with that position.  Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote for the majority: "The burden of persuasion in an administrative hearing challenging an Individual Educational Plan is properly placed on the party seeking relief, whether that is the disabled child or the school district." In the Weast case, the Fourth Circuit had ruled the same way, reversing a District Court ruling putting the burden on the school district.

The parents' appeal to the Supreme Court argued unsuccessfully that school officials must always justify the appropriateness of a disabled child's IEP. 

The key issue with the Schaffer v. Weast decision is that it is the "complaining" or "challenging" party that owns the burden of proof. If the parents are alleging that the IEP is not appropriate, then they have the burden to prove this is so. If the school district alleges that the child's education is not appropriate (e.g., if the parents refuse to sign an IEP that has been changed or refuse to allow the child to be evaluated), then the district has the "burden of proof."

Ruling Will Impact Different States Differently

Patti Ralabate, NEA's special education expert, said the ruling will impact states differently depending upon what is already in place in the states.  There are some states that have already determined who has the burden of proof by legislation or previous court action.

In those states that have already determined that the school district has the burden of proof no matter whether the district or the parents are challenging the IEP, then the Schaffer v. Weast decision will have no effect. Likewise, some states already had determined that it is always the "challenging party" that has the burden of proof.

According to the Wrightslaw Web site , the Supreme Court ruling affects states as shown here:

(Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., took no part in this decision. Dissents were filed by Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.)
The Court brief is on the Supreme Court's Web site (PDF, 26 pages).

November 2005

Posted: November 18th, 2005 under Education.
Comments: none

National Inclusive Schools Week 
to Focus on Closing Achievement Gap

NEA will be celebrating National Inclusive Schools Week from December 5-9, 2005 in partnership with the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative, a network of special and general education leaders working together to improve outcomes for students with disabilities in the nation's urban schools, and Education Development Center, Inc., an international non-profit organization.

National Inclusive Schools Week highlights and celebrates the progress America's schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to all students, including those who have disabilities and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

This year's theme "Bridging the Gap: Achievement for All" focuses on how schools and districts are narrowing the disparity in academic performance between individual groups of students -- otherwise known as the achievement gap.

Here are five ways you can celebrate National Inclusive Schools Week:

1. Post announcements about your celebration plans in school and community newsletters, bulletin boards, and local TV.
2. Encourage your school board and local and state elected officials to issue a proclamation declaring December 5-9 Inclusive Schools Week in your community (a sample proclamation is provided in the "Celebration Kit").
3. Share your thoughts about the slogan: "Great things happen in inclusive schools." Visit the 5th Annual National Inclusive Schools Week Web site to read what others are saying about the benefits of inclusive schools, and then post your own reflections on this message.
4. Celebrate the diversity and inclusive environment in your school and community. Host an event that brings the diverse members of the school and community together to share their reflections about what it means to be included.
5. Write a letter-to-the-editor and/or an op-ed piece in your local newspaper and invite the media to your event(s).

An updated version of the program's "Celebration Kit" will provide educators, students, and families with everything they need to participate in the Week, including new celebration ideas and activities for bridging the gap in educational performance; publications that focus on the benefits of inclusive schools; suggested readings for children and adults; and materials to use in promoting the Week in their schools and communities.

Posted: November 15th, 2005 under Education.
Comments: none