Today's Quick Tip - Transportation and the IEP

Today's Quick Tip - Transportation and the IEP

Did you know? If your child has an IEP and Transportation is written in the IEP and your child gets suspended from the bus that IF the school doesn't provide another means of getting your child to school during the bus suspension that those days are counted against the 10 school days that your child can be sent home, suspended, RPC'd without the district having to provide FAPE. 

Here is a section of IDEA 2004 from Idea.ed.gov that explains this protection:

Discipline and Transportation

Question:    If transportation is included in the IEP for a child with a disability who has documented behavioral concerns on the bus, but not at school, when may a school district suspend the child from the bus for behavioral issues and not provide some other form of transportation to and from school?

Answer:    If transportation is included in the child’s IEP, a bus suspension must be treated as a suspension and all of the discipline procedures applicable to children with disabilities would apply. An LEA is not required to provide alternative transportation to a child with a disability who has been suspended from transportation for 10 school days or less unless the LEA provides alternative transportation to children without disabilities who have been similarly suspended from bus service. 

If a child with a disability is suspended from transportation for more than 10 school days in the same school year, and transportation is included in the child’s IEP, during any subsequent suspensions the LEA must provide services to the child to the extent required.  Generally, this means that the child must (1) continue to receive educational services so as to enable the child to continue to participate in the general education curriculum, although in another setting, and to progress toward meeting the goals set out in the child’s IEP, and (2) receive as appropriate a functional behavioral assessment, and behavioral intervention services and modifications that are designed to address the behavior violation(s) so that they do not recur. 

Additionally, the suspension of a student with a disability from transportation may constitute a change of placement if a district has been transporting the student, suspends the student from the transportation as a disciplinary measure, and provides no other form of transportation.  If a student is suspended from transportation for more than 10 consecutive school days, or is repeatedly suspended, and such suspensions constitute a pattern. (2), a change of placement has occurred.  In such situations, the LEA, parent, and relevant members of the IEP Team must determine whether the conduct was a manifestation of the child’s disability, using the process.  If the conduct is a manifestation of the child’s disability, the IEP Team must take the steps outlined in IDEA 204, and also must return the child to the placement from which the child was removed, unless the parent and the LEA agree to a change of placement as part of the modification of the behavioral intervention plan.  

Regardless of the procedures discussed above, school personnel may remove a student to an interim alternative educational setting for not more than 45 school days without regard to whether the behavior is determined to be a manifestation of the child’s disability, if the child has taken any of the actions specified in IDEA 2004 regarding weapons, illegal drugs, or the infliction of serious bodily injury. 

(IDEA 2004, http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/,root,dynamic,QaCorner,12)

Brief Definitions:

LEA - Local Educational Agency typically a Principle, Vice Principle, someone in Administration that knows the curriculum, the IEP requirements and laws, and knowledgeable of programs, services, and resources so that they can inform, explain, and answer questions parents might have in those areas. You can find the LEA on the signature page of your child's IEP. They are a required member. They LEA may change from time to time as well. You can also look on your Written Prior Notice if you have a meeting scheduled.

Placement - That is your child's educational services, related services, specially designed instruction, aids/supplements, accommodations, and modifications. All of those combined determines placement where the educational, behavioral, social/emotional, and related services are delivered to your child. This is an IEP team decision. It could be Gen Ed setting all services/supports are delivered in the class with no pull outs, it could be a mix of pull outs and Gen Ed, it could be Self-Contained (the are many types and vary State to State on the names they call these classrooms), then there is Special Schools, Hospitals, Home-bound.


Drugs, Weapons, and Bodily harm (the 3 deadly sins) can result in your child being removed immediately from school for up to 45 school days without regards to a Manifestation. YOUR CHILD CANNOT BE EXPELLED. After the 10th school day (in total all year) the school MUST provide services that allow your child to continue to work on their IEP goals, Related Services, Accommodations, specially designed instruction, and the supports necessary for your child to continue to make progress towards those goals. A Functional Behavioral Assessment should be conducted, a positive behavior intervention plan that addresses teaching the child about the action committed to ensure that it will not happen again, and if need be discussed and decided as a team - adding goals/services to address behavior/teach appropriate behavior. Your child needs to be provided access to the Gen Ed curriculum during this time. (FAPE)


Interim Alternative Educational Setting (IAES) - This could look very different for every child. This could mean a be behavior school for the length of the discipline action, 1:1 services provided for 6-10 hours per week at the home (you can advocate for more especially if your child has a lot of needs), meeting a teacher at public local to deliver services - again, it all depends on the child, the offense, the child's needs, etc. If services haven't begun and your child's been out of school for over 10 school days - call your district office! There should be a department that handles the IAES services - Interim Alternative Instruction (IAI) is what are district calls their department. 

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SMART Goals

Do you ever wonder what a good goal is? I'm sure you've searched the "goal bank" looking for goals that might be good for your child, but here's just a little tip on writing goals that are unique, individualized, and specific to your child's needs.

First, look at your child's present levels. Where are his/her struggles? Identify them (I use a highlighter)

Then follow this:
S Specific
M Measurable
A Achievable/Attainable  
R Realistic and relevant
T Time-limited (1 year)

Specific - you want your child's goal to be specific! You don't want "William will increase his language by the end of second semester" 

Well, that's not very specific, is it? We don't know by how much, in what settings or if this is expressive language, written language, functional, fluency, social, receptive etc..  

A better goal based on Williams assessments/present levels would be - "William will name items from an array of 25 symbols when given verbal clues describing appearance, function, or other features, in 8 of 10 opportunities supported by General Education, Speech Therapist, and Special Education Teachers"

Measurable - That would be the 8 out of 10 opportunities. If you feel that may be too high you and the team can talk about what might be more attainable. It could even look like 80% , 75%, 7 out of 10, 90% - how ever it's written there it should be measurable. This is also important for collecting data and how close William is to reaching this goal.

Achievable/ Attainable - You know your child best! Look closely at his/her annual goals. Look at the benchmarks (I call them baby steps) in how they are going to reach that annual goal. Is this something you can see your child doing from where she/he is at now? Talk with the team, go over your concerns, ask them to explain how they plan to reach that goal (what does that look like?) and if the team needs to  - rewrite that goal to something more attainable. If he/she reaches the goal sooner, you can always meet again and create a new goal.

Realistic/Relevant - This is important because this is the part of the goal that because the unique and individualized piece. Make sure this is a goal that is relevant to YOUR child and unique to YOUR child's needs.

Time Limited - 1 year. We want all goal reached by the next annual IEP meeting. There is an issue when we have to write the same goal over and over. If your child isn't reaching his/her goals we need to discuss as a team what we can do differently to help meet the needs of the child.

Well, that's a start on creating unique and individualized goals for your child!


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I always say a picture is worth a 1000 words

In this case, I hope it's worth more funding and understanding. 

I'm a photographer myself (hobbyist) and I always aim my images to hopefully strike emotion in the people who view them. 

I hope that her visual story makes the difference needed for change. Here's a quote that reminded me of her mission. 

"In a picture, it should be possible to discover new things every time you see it. But you can look at a picture for a week together and never think of it again. You can also look at a picture for a second and think of it all your life".  - Joan Miro

 Photos Shine Light On Need For Medicaid Waivers

By Gracie Bonds Staples, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS | February 23, 2015

Beate Sass photographs Diane Stewart caring for her son Aaron, 21, brushing his teeth at the family home in Milton, Ga. Sass uses photography to tell the stories of people with developmental disabilities in order to educate and build support for funding for support services. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)Christine is 23 now. Attending The Community School in Decatur, Ga., and participating in its young-adults-in-transition program. Happy.But Beate Sass knows her daughter might be vastly different had it not been for the army of friends and family who helped them navigate this life.And so the moment Sass completed the Partners and Policymaking training offered last spring by the Georgia service provider All About Developmental Disabilities, she knew what she had to do.“A lot of emphasis was placed on the importance of educating the public and Georgia policymakers about developmental disabilities,” Sass said. “I decided to focus on the importance of funding so persons with developmental disabilities can access services that will enable them to lead meaningful and productive lives.”Specifically, the Decatur photographer decided to advocate for badly needed Medicaid waivers, which provide funding for long-term care services in home and community-based settings.In Georgia, 98,000 people live with developmental disabilities. And although 7,400 of them are on waiting lists for a waiver, the state legislature last year approved money for only 400 new waivers.This year, Sass said, the Georgia Counsel for Developmental Disabilities will ask for funding to support 1,000 waivers.In addition, AADD is asking for increased funds for supported employment so that the 1,300 young adults aging out of high school this spring can secure jobs.“Without funding to support these young adults, often there is nothing meaningful for them to do,” Sass said. “They sit at home, become isolated, depressed and lose the precious skills they have worked so hard to achieve. It’s not unusual for a parent to have to quit their job to take care of them.”Sass knows because Christine has autism and cerebral palsy and because she has watched friends struggle to carve out meaningful lives for their children with disabilities.Until recently, caring for Christine required a lot of her attention and energy. Now that Christine has support, Sass has launched “Real Stories, Real People”, a website containing photo essays about individuals living with developmental disabilities and their families.“The photos depict lives well lived as a result of support through funding with a Medicaid waiver and lives that are devoid of meaning because they lack that support and funding,” Sass said.She hopes the photos will inspire legislators to increase funding.“Since most parents caring for a loved one with a developmental disability are too overwhelmed to meet with their legislators, I have chosen to be their voice and take their stories to the Capitol and to our communities,” Sass said.She plans to create a traveling exhibit and a publication that will be given to lawmakers and the public next year.The seed for the project was planted nearly five years ago when her family lived in Tallahassee, Fla.“I was already photographing people in my community and telling their stories but just didn’t know how to showcase the lives of those living with developmental disabilities.”Sass began recruiting families who wanted to share their stories. After a telephone conversation, she arranges an appointment to get to know them, their daily routine and the message they want to convey.Rebecca Fincher and her husband Bill of Johns Creek, Ga., were among the first to share a story about the daily struggles of raising a special needs child.“It’s like scheduling around a newborn or toddler that never grows up,” said Rebecca Fincher. “You have to plan and act on the needs of that person 24 hours a day.”At 22, John Fincher is the youngest of the couple’s three children. Last October, he aged out of high school without funding for a Medicaid waiver but was recently granted one. Without it, Fincher said he wouldn’t have much of a future and neither would she.Fincher feels luckier than most, but her personal and professional lives have suffered.“I’d love to work on a habitat house, routinely work out at the Y, travel with my husband but even a trip to the grocery store has to be scheduled and planned for,” she said.The public rarely sees the demands caregivers face, Sass said. They don’t see them feeding them, bathing them, lifting them.“That’s part of the personal story that they don’t share,” she said. “I hope the photo essays I have created will provide a better understanding of the unique challenges people with developmental disabilities and their families experience in their daily lives and why funding for support is critical.”

Student Participation is Valuable - Transition

These clips are great! Sadly all too often scenarios like this one happen. 

Do you want to share how you would do things differently? What would you say as a parent in this situation?

I'll give everyone some time to share their ideas. I'll be checking in to see your thoughts and I'll have some goodies for you on this topic!