Michigan Falls Short On Special Education Services

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Michigan Falls Short On Special Education Services

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July, 2017

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Autism
Michigan
Special Education

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Gongwer News reporting on Michigan’s Policy and Politics shared results of a recent review of Michigan’s schools compared to nationwide expectations. While Michigan did not meet the needs for federal intervention, their report highlights the work still needs to be done within the Michigan and the Department of Education.

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Michigan Falls Short On Special Education Services

Michigan was listed as Needs Assistance again in 2016 by federal officials for its special education services.

The state was one of 28 states and territories the U.S. Department of Education found had not met requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for at least two years, but not so severely that it needed federal intervention.

Another six states and territories were found to have fallen short of the standards for a first year and the Bureau of Indian Education was found to need intervention, having missed the standard for six years.

Michigan met the standard for assistance to those ages two and under, one of 30 jurisdictions to have done so.

The state was faulted mostly for special education students’ performance on the National Assessment for Educational Progress, receiving zeros for 8th grade participation in both the mathematics and reading tests (out of two possible points). The only two score the state received was on percentage of 8th graders scoring basic or above on the test.

For six of the 10 compliance scores, Michigan received the maximum score of two.

The Department of Education, in a statement, agreed with the need for improvement, but not the measures.

“Though we take issue with the review’s use of NAEP scores, rather than more accurate state assessments, to issue these annual determinations, the state does need to make improvements,” the department said. “We see the latest review as an opportunity to get some additional resources from the federal government. The MDE will work together with OSEP to determine the state’s improvement process and identify whatever technical assistance may be needed.”

Copyright 2017 Gongwer News Service, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Evaluation Disputes

While there are a number of areas where an evaluation dispute can arise, the more common ones are: (1) Refusal/Failure to conduct an initial evaluation. (2) Agree to evaluate BUT an excessive delay in completing the evaluation and therefore the eligibility determination. The other area arises when the MET evaluation team agrees that the student is eligible for IDEA based special education services BUT determines that the student does not meet the criteria for eligibility under the Autism Spectrum Disorder criteria at R 340.1715. That issue is addressed in a separate document.

Failure to Conduct an Eligibility Evaluation

If a parent provides a physician’s diagnosis of autism in a written communication to the local special education administrator, the failure to convene the team of evaluators (Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team – MET) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation is very rare. If that happens, the failure to evaluate can be resolved with the filing of a Part 8 written complaint, with the Michigan Department of Education – Office for Special Education Services (1-888-320-8384) and your local school district. The complaint should include the relevant facts and a copy of whatever documentation is available that identifies the child as a person with autism, The Department will assign an investigator to the complaint. The Department will conduct an investigation and issue a written decision within 60 calendar days of the filing of the complaint. R 340.1853(5)

Delay in Evaluation/Eligibility Process

A more common occurrence is that the start of the evaluation is delayed. However, if the parent reminds the school of the requirement of MARSE at R 340.1721b requires that within 10 school days of receipt of a written request for any evaluation, the public agency shall provide the parent with written notice consistent with 34 CFR § 300.503 and shall request written parental consent to evaluate. That consent is usually obtained at a meeting of the evaluators and the parents called a Review of Existing Evaluation Data (REED) meeting. However, parental consent can be granted without a meeting, as long as the parent understands what evaluations will be conducted and what purpose they serve.

Once consent is obtained, the school evaluators have 30 school days from the time from receipt of parental consent for an evaluation to providing the parent the notice of an offer of a free appropriate public education as contained in the IEP document or the determination of ineligibility.

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