thank you everyone for joining us for this webinar what is the big idea behind
inclusion my name is Nicol Walsh and I will be helping Jen Cole along with the
presentation before we get started I just wanted some housekeeping
information for everyone I wanted to let you know that PAVE is a nonprofit
organization that provides information training individual assistance and
resources save it's not a legal firm or a legal service agency and as such the
information contained in this webinar is provided for the purpose of informing
the viewer it should not be considered as a means of taking the place of legal
advice that must be obtained through an attorney so welcome everyone we're so
excited I just wanted to let you know some housekeeping information such as
that all participants have been muted but if you do have a question please
feel free to fill out for the under on the sidebar you see on the right-hand
side you'll see a box assess questions click on that and you can send us the
questions that you would like to be answered at the end of the presentation
please type your questions there's also a chat box if you'd like honor
confidentiality because this this webinar is being recorded we will
produce a closed captioned version later on during the week and post it on our
website so keep an eye out for that but yes honor confidentiality these topics
can trigger strong emotion so please practice self-care and stick to the
issues is that do not identify individuals or professionals in the
community so make it a little bit more a Braj so that it can help the rest of the
community and not to stick to one person I would like to let you know about our
speaker her name is Jen Cole she's the director of the parent training and
information and is also the 2015-2016 arc of Snohomish County parent leader of
the year Jen is a graduate of the University of Washington leadership and
neurodevelopmental and related disability
in the land program she lives in the Northwest region of Washington with her
husband son into canine buddy I want to present to you Jen she can take it away
all right thank you so much Nicole and I I'm just pleased to be here with you
today I'm doing this webinar this is our first parent training and information
webinar so welcome and thank you so much for participating to begin with I think
I would love to launch a poll to kind of get a feel for where people are at in
their knowledge of the individuals with Disabilities Education Act so I'm going
to launch the poll right now and you should be seeing that so my question is
on a scale of one to five with five being expert and one as a beginner
please let us know what your knowledge about the individuals with Disabilities
Education Act is so I see people are filling out the poll all right and so
I'm going to close the poll and you should be able to see the results okay
so there are the results so I see that there are individuals who are feel
like they're beginners with this but we also have some individuals that either
fall in between or feel like yeah you know I I think I actually do know a lot
about the IDEA so that's great for us to know thank you for taking that poll all
right so let's close that and let's start with our presentation so a little
bit about pave pave stands for partnerships for action voices for
empowerment we are a not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1979 we
provide support assistance training information and
referrals for families and individuals with disabilities and we really strive
to be a one-stop shop for families so often when families do reach out to pave
they have multiple questions it's usually not just one question so we
really work hard so we could provide information that families need a little
bit about our mission our current mission is a parent organization
providing support advocacy training and informational resources to empower
families and individuals with disabilities and I would just say that's
a whole range of disabilities and even suspected disability our vision is that
we would have an inclusive world that values diversity culture and each
individual as a full and equal member of the community a little bit about our
programs as you can see we have a variety of programs some are specific to
Pierce County but we do have two programs that are statewide and that
Includes parent training and information, and Family to Family Health
Information Center, in Pierce County we have parent to parent, person-centered
planning, PURPAS and in Kitsap, Jefferson and Clallam counties we have the
FYSPRT the Family Youth System Partner Round Table we also have a program for
specialized training of military parents these are military families that have
children with disabilities we do specialized training on installations
not just in Washington State but across the country and around the world we also
have the branch which is the military parent Technical Assistance Center for
other parent centers throughout the country and a new program that we have
coming online this fall is lifespan Respite, if you'd like to learn more about
our programs you can visit our website at www.wapave.org
So, some of the things we do to help families, professionals, community partners
we provide a wide range of informations and education opportunities
we have a regular e-newsletter that goes out we are doing webinars and we
will have them posted on our website we do have translated materials into
Spanish we have bilingual staff that speak
English and Spanish we have our website and we also have Facebook and Twitter
accounts which you can follow and we are quite active on Facebook and Twitter
posting information for families all the time all right so more about our
training today and what we are going to learn we are going to take a deeper look
at what inclusion is on what research says about it we'll look at the benefits
of inclusion we'll see how inclusion is built into the idea the individuals with
Disabilities Education Act and we'll learn the six important principles of
the idea and how they may affect your inclusion efforts as a family member or
as a parent. All right so to begin with what criteria must children with
disabilities meet to be included in general education well there is no
criteria children with disabilities do not have to prove that they can be
included and this is a very important point for parents and family members to
remember
and there are a lot of details to know about inclusion so we're going to take a
look at them right now so what is inclusion well we do have a dictionary
definition to take in or comprise as a whole or a group to contain between or
within so that's the dictionary definition but inclusion is you know
much more than simply having a student in this space of a classroom it's
involving the student actively and having them as a full member of the
classroom community and if you are a parent it's you know important to
remember that your child does have a right to a free appropriate public
education in the least restrictive environment and really with the idea
there is a strong preference for inclusion though inclusion is not
explicitly set stated in the Act there is a strong preference for that
and it's apparent in the spirit and the intent of the laws least restrictive
environment provisions and maybe another thought would be that really
effective inclusion can happen when necessary supports are provided in the
general education classroom so partial inclusion is also partial segregation
and that is not what the idea prefers although the law does permit it when
it's necessary so the point is that special classes separate schooling or
other removal of children with disabilities from the regular
educational environment occurs only when the student cannot be supported
satisfactorily in the regular classroom with the use of supplementary aids and
services so what is conclusion you might look at this picture and you
can definitely get a feel for perhaps what inclusion is not here you see the
image of the door it's closed there might be a feeling of isolation being
scared being alone and really when we think about making this happen for
students I like this quote from James Baldwin in which he says not everything
that is faced can be changed but nothing can be changed until it's faced so
inclusion efforts and work is work it does take a lot and it takes a team
working together to make it happen for the student so what is the alternative
so we have as you can see on the screen exclusion versus inclusion we really
want to be clear what inclusion is and what it feels like and so in the
exclusion model we can see that not everybody is equal or that valued the
same it takes the position that there are those who will learn and some who
will not well it takes the position that only some are needed to contribute and
everyone will benefit from the knowledge and skills of a few so that's one
position but the inclusion position takes the opposite spin on things where
everybody is unique and valued everybody can learn everyone does have a
contribution to make and everybody not only has a contribution but they're
afforded the opportunity to make a contribution
so in also maybe just a thought would be an inclusive situation everyone believes
is that all people have contributions to make and so let's take this example of
an elementary school and where first graders might host a Grandparents
luncheon twice a year and in this model perhaps not everybody has a grandparent
to invite but how can we make this even more inclusive so maybe it's not just
Grandparents but it's any about you know family member a child might want to
invite to be honored on that day when you foster inclusion you acknowledge
that everyone has a responsibility and an opportunity to give every individual
the chance to make a contribution so that's everyone not just a teacher
not just a therapist not just you as a parent but everyone it takes a whole
community to make this happen so what's the alternative I hope at this point you
can see that the rationale for inclusion is really quite simple and the
alternative would be that image on the left side of the screen or the door is
shut now which pitch for as you know any
parent you know which picture do you want of your children in the photo album
do you want them to be in your living room or do you want them involved in a
community and for more most families they would say yes absolutely I want my
child to be involved again in included in a community and what does research
tell us so we're going to move into a second part of learning now where we're
going to look at myths and what the research tells us so one myth might be
that my child needs a special class to learn some families might feel that this
is what their child needs they need a special class they need a segregated
setting and that is you know a position that a family can
take but let's look at the research around that in 2004 fall they did a
study where in which it was revealed that no studies conducted since the late
1970s have shown an academic advantage for students with intellectual and other
developmental disabilities educated in separate settings so that is a research
fact that came up all right and so what's another myth my child needs a
self-contained class she feels safe and comfortable there well let's take a look
at what the research says so research shows that just by being in a
typical classroom children with disabilities have better self-esteem
just by being included I think this is because often students when they're
included it feels empowering to them and it addresses a basic human need for
connectedness exchange and community it addresses our natural curiosity about
each other and the world around us of course there is increased self esteem
when you're part of what's going on your presence is valued and valuable this is
just you know this might be logical and once again every research study since
the 1990s supports this position so let's take a look at another myth having
those kids with my typical child will keep them from learning well let's flip
the coin so this is could be a position where parents who do not have a child
with a disability might be actually blocking inclusion or have real concerns
about it that they're expressing it could be you know even the professionals
who might feel this way they might believe that having kids
of all abilities keeps some children learning or will minimize linear
learning opportunities for others they might think that if they're if the child
is a grade level or even above grade level they shouldn't be dragged down by
children with disabilities so you can kind of see the trend here I'm going to
show you some research that kind of addresses that very clearly and yes
research absolutely shows that this myth is false when you look at this research
finding performance is either as good or even better for typical kids when they
are educated with children with disabilities so imagine that that they
are learning as well as they would have or possibly even even better research
has shown that this is to be true in elementary middle and high school all
across grades typical kids do better when educated inclusively so these
benefits are also consistently demonstrated for students with
disabilities they do better when they're included - well man let's do a couple
more myths and recent verses research my typical child will surely learn bad
behaviors from those kids hmm well let's take a look at that they're sure there
are those people who really feel that a lot of behaviors might be picked up from
students who either struggle with particular behaviors because children
are learning from each other all the time
well surely all children learn behaviors from one another but guess what the
research says students without disabilities experienced increased
self-esteem and an overall improvement of their
self-concept when taught in an inclusive setting so not only do students who have
disabilities have increased self-esteem students without disabilities
experienced so increased self-esteem as well and so you know if you hear from
you know an individual in the community with somebody with this concern you know
you might have a response that could include that you know yes that is a
concern but I'm wondering you know what supports and skills can be taught for
that student to overcome those barriers particularly when it comes to behavior
so yeah all right let's take a look at another one the others do parents just
don't want my child in this class well this is a tough one
and of course you know you know by the trend now I'm going to show you some
research that indicates that inclusive environments do work but facts and
feelings are two different things so two you know and there are too many times
when it just comes down to the feelings of in certain individuals and so let's
see what the research says yeah so parents of children with and without
disabilities felt that inclusion is beneficial socially and developmentally
to all involved all of the parents felt that the benefits of having a student
with disability in their child class far outweighed thank negative so you know I
think that goes back to the kind of the idea about what inclusion is where
everybody is valued for their strengths and their contributions
and so when students without disability see this happening in their own
classroom environment where everybody's being honored for their skills their
strengths and their abilities it it makes everybody feel better
it makes it a place where social-emotional learning can definitely
happen and students feel stronger and capable as they're learning together all
right so right now we're going to look at some
of the benefits of inclusion and you know we talked about the rationale we
talked about this yeah and the myths and the research so let's take some time to
look at the benefits and the outcomes in each of these areas and if you look at
this chart you'll see that this is really interesting when because all
three areas connect and are related to one another so they don't live in
isolation of one another they don't operate independently of each other so
there's membership knowledge and skills and relationships
alright so membership is about your child being accepted it's about you how
your child participates in groups it's about belonging membership can be
achieved in many ways in school and preschool settings like circle time and
other interactive activities on the playground and through clubs or
activities within the class in school here are some other examples
it could include reading groups in the class, class meetings school assemblies
Cub Scouts church activities etc and here are some benefits of inclusion so
reduced fear of human differences and increased comfort and awareness Wow
so you know much more than just tolerance but there
is an acceptance an acceptance of differences another benefit is growth in
social cognition it sounds fancy but this is about being
sensitive and aware in social situations for example this may be just naturally
holding a door open for family members friends and a person in a wheelchair
and when we talk about being aware we are talking about development developing
principles children taking moral stands fighting back against bullying fighting
against discrimination and standing up for what is right another benefit of
inclusion is improvements in self-concept so again like the research
shows typical kids who are educated in inclusive settings feel better about
themselves and have higher esteem to warm and caring friendships now remember
we talked about care when we talked about inclusion and we talked about
relationships well kids that are educated in inclusive settings have
deeper friendships and relationships so you know at this point I don't know
about all of you but this sounds pretty worthwhile to me and as a parent I am a
parent of a child with developmental disabilities you know I want my child to
not only be accepted and I want more than um people just tolerating him I
would really I want people to value him and expect that he's going to make
contributions and knowing that his involvement makes the community a better
place all right so let's look at relationships and you know here we are
talking about friendships that children develop parents and teachers report many
positive outcomes for children who dissipate inclusive education and this
would include more diverse social networks we kind of talked about this in
membership too and like I said before you can see how this diagram is
connected and overlaps with the other areas and so you know again this is more
than just tolerance it's about acceptance and it's about valuing that
person as an individual another benefit is increased patience with and
acceptance of people of all abilities and this is just another benefit of
inclusion patience acceptance I think are very great good things for all
community members another benefit is increased willingness to help others and
accept help from others when necessary so there's always situations where you
know we extend help for people but there are times we have to ask for help and
that should be ok too and so let's take a look at the third outcome of inclusion
knowledge and skills so one of the most persistent myths about inclusion is that
the presence of children with disabilities interferes with the
academic achievement of typically developing children and like I stated
before but I'll say it again there's absolutely no data or research to
support that position in fact the research shows that most practices used
in inclusive educational settings benefit all students and by using these
practices parents teachers and students themselves report many ways in which
student academic achievement goes up and this was recently
this position was recently stated by our Superintendent of Public Instruction
Chris Rekdahl in his address to special education directors in early
August he just really reiterated the fact that if we do improve
outcomes for students with disabilities we actually improve outcomes for all
students and it's a game-changing position where when if we take the close
the opportunity gaps for students with disabilities we also not only help to
close other opportunity gaps but all students benefit from learning together
and having access to supports that maybe are directed at students with
disabilities but others benefit as well so for example you know accommodations
and modifications made for students with disabilities in mind will benefit
everybody we all learn differently and at different rates and when
professionals are creative about ways to help individual students student
achievement goes up so very simple inclusive education settings also allows
students the opportunity to participate in tutoring programs either as tutors or
the ones being tutored and that reciprocal relationship not only
benefits a student who might be struggling or might have learning
differences but it also benefits the other student as well who has maybe
strengths in that area that they're willing to share with others and you
know the presence of therapists for example like physical therapists
learning specialists they can actually help general education teachers
individualize instruction and you know what one does to help one child can
actually help many children so for example in a
childcare setting a speech therapist who might come in to work with a particular
child who might be nonverbal and is working to learn sign language to
communicate will actually benefit other children who have that experience and
exposure to that as well it reinforces learning for all students so at this
point you can see how all three of these benefits are connected together once a
student with a disability is a member of an inclusive educational setting
relationships can form naturally with peers without disabilities
accommodations or modifications made for students with disabilities may benefit
their typically developing peers like the sign language example I just
mentioned most of all students in inclusive settings gain knowledge about
each other and share their skills with one another so all benefit all students
will benefit on being together alright so before we move on to our next two
sections that get into the idea the individuals with Disabilities Education
Act let's kind of just go over some real key points we've covered so far so
children with special needs or disabilities have the right and it is a
right to participate in the same neighborhood and community activities
and programs that they would attend if they did not have a disability as a
nation we call this equal opportunity it's not always easy
because there are always going to be people who do not agree with this but
it's a worthwhile principle for sure and that's one worth fighting for one that's
worth finding those it's worth finding those who do agree and having them
involved in your efforts and in your life there's lots of people who believe
in equal opportunity for all individuals and that should
include students with disabilities
children should have the supports they need to be successful and achieve their
greatest potential so if you recall the pictures at the
beginning if our students our children are not included then they are by
definition excluded so as family members parents we might have to really
brainstorm and be creative about those supports and what they might look like
but sometimes the non-traditional ideas are the best children bring their
inherent gifts to their communities you have to believe that your child is a
gift to the world every child is and believing in this
helps a parent a family member see inclusion in such a positive light
children with special needs or disabilities must be afforded the
dignity of risk so this might be a new concept for some and it's a big one
and it can be a really hard one for parents or family members because truly
no parent wants or family member wants to see his or her child fail no family
member wants to see his or her child being hurt or humiliated and at the same
time we learn a lot from failing and getting hurt children with disabilities
do not have to be sheltered and overly protected they need to be allowed to
experience risk and all the trouble and rewards that go along with that risk and
that's a really hard one I think as a parent myself I continue to kind of
wrestle with that because you know seeing your child work really hard or
potentially failing the first time can be really hard on not only the parent
but for the child and you know but this is
like one way that all children learn is by giving being given the opportunity
and the last one communities should support our children's participation in
all aspects of life surround yourself with a community that believes
this and work to change the mind of others because we know that many many
people and you know benefit from inclusion and there are so many benefits
for our community when all people are being included all
right so what inclusion can mean and that's a valued life so all of the
outcomes and principles we've discussed are good I mean right you know
improvements around membership like acceptance being valued better
relationships improved knowledge and skills who doesn't want this for their
themselves or their community for their children and when you put this all
together the fact is that inclusion can and it does work there are ultimate and
very good outcomes for you your child your community the state our country I
mean the world when all people are valued and included and you know maybe
another thought to kind of connect to being included would be involved
just because a person occupies
occupies the space doesn't mean that they're being included they have to be
involved inclusion leads to a life where people
with disabilities are valued because their differences are respected and
tolerance exists inclusion leads to a real circle of friends for individuals
with disabilities friends are there because they want to be there
not because they are family or because they are paid inclusion also leads to
the individuals with disabilities finding his or her own interest hobbies
and even bigger and more important there are dreams and because they have been
raised in a challenging environment individuals with disabilities who have
been included flourish within these within these interests and dreams and
can honestly and earnestly work towards their goals inclusion leads to more
independent a more independent life this can mean independent housing
independent self care full and more robust choices and inclusion can lead to
far better and broader employment choice and opportunities okay so we are a
little bit halfway through this presentation so let's talk a little bit
more about the individuals with Disabilities Education Act and you know
educating children with disabilities was a principal and objective of Congress
and when they passed the idea it is the primary federal law that protects the
educational rights of students with disabilities federal legislation
mandates that special education for all eligible children in the United States
and territories while the idea does not mandate
inclusion per se like I mentioned earlier it's not specifically stated in
the federal law itself it does indicate a strong preference for these students
special education opportunities to take place along and with their peers without
disabilities the idea might sound simple in its purpose but it's a big law that
ensured students with disabilities can access public education and have
accommodations and modifications to address their individual needs arising
from the ability so I imagine that there are many
of you who are on the webinar that does have a child with a individualized
education program or an IEP or maybe your child does have a 504 plan for
accommodations to access their education
you know the idea is an important educational law for families to
understand if you do not know the basics of the law
we as PAVE and Parent Training Information can provide workshops we
take phone calls when parents or family members or even professionals have
questions about these things and I just would note that before 1975 educational
services to children with just special needs were not protected by federal law
so you know if your child had a disability it was kind of like kind of a
game of darts as to what kind of education your child would receive if
they would receive anything at all and now we do have a law that protects
students with disabilities all right so there are four parts of idea and while
we can't go into all of them in detail I we would like to just kind of go over
them broadly and kind of show you how inclusion is supported in every section
of this important piece of legislation so Part A of IDEA includes the general
provisions of the law its purpose and relevant definitions of the law so I you
know earlier I gave you a summary of the purpose and the last slide while this
whole section quotes research that Congress considered when enacting this
bill it is very interesting to read if you ever have the chance or desire or
even the time to take a look Part B is the part of the law that
addresses special education for children from 3 to 2
years of age Part C of the idea is the part of the law that governs early
intervention programs in all 50 states and territories in our state it's known
as early intervention Part D of the idea includes programs and activities such as
training and personnel or staff development research projects and parent
centers like PAVE it's important to note that the idea specifically requires that
there's one parent training and Information Center in each state the law
says that parent centers are here to help parents and families learn about
their child's disabilities educational needs how to communicate effectively
with school personnel how to participate in education decision-making and about
parental rights and how you the options you have to use those rights so even in
the laws parent training and information centers are part of it to improve
outcomes all right so let's you know ideas first finding a disability is a
natural part of the human experience and in no way diminishes the right of
individuals to participate in or to contribute to society so this might
sound familiar to you and me but maybe again maybe it doesn't if you would feel
that you know you might need to think about this it's you know something to
consider as accepting disability is a natural part of the human experience
so students with disabilities are not so much viewed as those who need to be
fixed or changed but it's part of the natural human condition
and students when given appropriate supports services and education can
either learn strategies to kind of overcome some of their barriers or they
learn that there are ways that they can learn that it was just as valuable as
other students and that's not all so Congress's first finding in the idea
continues with that improving educational results for children with
disabilities as an essential element of our national policy of ensuring
equality of opportunity full participation independent living and
economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities so if you
recall earlier when we were looking at the difference between inclusion and
exclusion if you look at this wording here this is the law Equal Opportunity
there's no exclusion here with the out equal opportunity there can be no
inclusion full participation definitely is a hallmark of inclusion independent
living and self-sufficiency ties back to the part of inclusion we discussed about
not relying on the skills resources or wealth of a few to learn or do for the
rest of us and how about outcomes you know we discussed outcomes around
membership relationships and skills and knowledge so my hope is that at this
point you can see that the idea supports inclusion we understand inclusion
requires equal opportunity to participate to contribute to society and
to become self-sufficient and we've at this point only looked at a small
section of Part A so imagine if we really have the time to like go deeper
into the IDEA okay so this is a little bit out of order
because we're jumping from part a of idea to part C but that's because I want
just kind of just start from the beginning
birth. Infants and toddlers with disabilities from birth to their
third birthday and their families are eligible for early intervention services
under Part C of the idea the early intervention system has a different name
in different parts of the country so like I mentioned earlier in Washington
it's called early intervention but every state might have a different name for
this and early intervention services are defined in the idea statute
as developmental services that to the maximum extent appropriate are provided
in natural environments including home and community settings in which children
without disabilities participate so that could be child care settings you know
natural environments where young young children would be participating in their
communities and that could include the home so now we are going to talk about
the reason we want to make sure we start inclusion early in a child's life Part C
services are meant to ensure a healthy and proactive start for children with
disabilities and Part C talks about natural environments quite simply ask
yourself where would my child be if he or she did not have disabilities and
what's the natural environment perhaps your stay-at-home parent then you know
home would be natural if you're working child care a childcare setting might be
natural maybe it's a combination of both I don't think any of us as parents would
say that a hospital is necessarily natural or a therapy office is natural a
pediatricians office might be more natural but you know what about a park
lots of other kids there right so what IDEA is laying out right from a child's
birth is that even if your child needs something extra he or she still has the
right to be in his or her natural environment and you as the parent the
family member have every right to expect that any services or supports needed are
provided in that natural environment all right so let's jump back to Part B and
this is about students with disabilities from ages 3 to 21 and this is the heart
of the education of your child when your child transitions out of Part C there is
a big world waiting for your child and you lots of choices lots of new
experiences parents and families of children with disabilities really need
to be proactive about their child's education all children are entitled to
be educated for children with disabilities under IDEA that education
is guided by a plan that's known as the individual education program or IEP this
plan spells out exactly what special education services your child will
receive and why and just to be clear notice I said special education services
special education is a service not a place in Washington State on the
procedural safeguards I believe there is a statement does say exactly that
that special education is a service and not a place in fact IDEA states that all
students with disabilities need to be provided access to the general education
curriculum the IEP should focus on extra supports needed for your child to be
learning at the same curriculum as everyone else but you know what about if
your child can't keep pace that's all addressed in the IEP individualized for
your child but again all students should have access to the general education
Curriculum the IEP can outline appropriate modifications and
accommodations get that can make this happen and make it happen in a general
education setting so hmm well Part B curriculum those would be
the grade level standards so public school systems establish the general
educate general curriculum or standards for each grade level and the expectation
that your child should meet these standards or you know learn the
information contained in each standards so that your child if you have a child
in the third grade for example then the law requires that your child have access
to his or her grade level standards so in Washington state we have k-12
learning standards you can look that up on the website for the office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction and
you know so just to kind of pause here if you're like myself you I'm an
older parent and I know that just looking at the standards education has
changed a lot since I went to school there's a lot that students are expected
to learn and they're expected to learn at younger and younger ages so for
example there is a standard in the area of social studies for third grade
students specifically in the area of history that says that the student will
understand and apply knowledge of historical thinking chronological
eras turning points major ideas individuals and themes and local
Washington state tribal United States and world history in order to evaluate
how history shapes the present and the future so that's a lot and that's a lot
for a third grader and you know if you have a child who is you know below grade
level who might have some you know challenges around comprehending
big concepts such as that you might be wondering well why would I have my child
included what would be the opportunities for my child and you know so it's
important to know that you know that's what the regular curriculum teaches but
your team is your IEP team is the team that comes up to with figuring out
how your child can meaningfully participate in that curriculum to make
progress because all students can learn and we would not want to deny them the
opportunity or deny them the dignity of risk to learn these concepts in ways
that are meaningful for that student so if you as a parent have a question you
can look up the standards on the office of the public instruction public and
Superintendent of Public instruction's website all right so there is then Part
D of the IDEA national activities to improve the education of children with
disabilities as a parent you might not know much about Part D and like I
alluded it alluded to before parent training and information centers are
part of Part D it's part of those systemic programs that are targeted at
improving outcomes for students with disabilities and Part D programs have an
important role to play because they've contributed to making educators better
to help all students and especially around professional development and you
know these programs are really important because they also contribute to a body
of knowledge around what are evidence-based practices or best
practices in education so that could include like early childhood education
focusing on getting students ready to be in school with their same age peers
it can include academic instruction it can also include behavioral and social
skills so students can make and have friends gain employment and live
independently it can also include like I said before teacher training so that
they teachers get access to professional development they need to improve their
practices to include all students and yes so Part D is also very important but
kind of the lesser-known part of the IDEA for families
all right so six important principles of IDEA and there are six general themes
outlined here on the slide that weave in and out of both Part B and Part C of
IDEA although they may be called different things in each part of the law
so we'll quickly take a look at each of these because you know showing you that
the IDEA is your legal springboard to your child's education inclusive
settings is not only helpful for you as a parent but also helpful for more
families to understand that as they're working for change in their communities
all right so all means all schools have to educate children no matter the
severity or nature of the disability this obligation is clearly stated in
IDEA as the state's obligation to identify all children with disabilities
the law requires that schools make a free appropriate public education
available to all children with disabilities no matter how severe and a
child may not be excluded because of inappropriate behavior caused by
disability and a child may not be removed or excluded because of a
contagious disease for example unless there's a high risk that that student
potentially can affect others so yeah it's an important principle to
know and how does this affect you know a family member or parents efforts for
inclusion it's just important to remember that your child does have a
right to his or her education and to be in school it's an entitlement for all
children actually all right number two non discriminatory and identification
and evaluation this is the principle that schools and early intervention
programs must evaluate each child and student fairly and without bias
determine to determine if he or she has a disability and if so how that
disability affects education so you do need evaluations to not only determine
eligibility for special education but also to identify that child's strengths
and needs and also to review that child's progress based on state
standards so the evaluation must focus on how your child's disability affects
his or her ability to be involved and to progress in the general education
curriculum and remember in Part C for the little ones
that's the natural environment free and appropriate public education otherwise
known as FAPE - FAPE is very much the cornerstone of addressing the
educational needs of children and students with disabilities its
definition In IDEA begins by saying that FAPE means special education and
related services that are and then the definition gives for necessary features
1. that it's publicly funded meaning that no cost to families just like any
other school-aged child 2. it meets the standards of the State Education Agency
or in our state the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
3. includes an education at elementary middle or secondary school and 4. it's
provided in keeping with the child's IEP individualized education program which
is designed and tailored for that particular student so FAPE is saying
that a child's education should be tailored to that child that it provides
access to the general curriculum and it meets state standards the fourth bullet
on the slide says that FAPE also means that the child benefits educationally
that's not included in the IDEA's definition of FAPE but it certainly has
been included in recent guidance from the US Department of Education and there
are those who know like in 2017 in the Andrew F case the Supreme Court actually
determined to quote "to meet a substantive obligation under the IDEA a
school must offer an IEP an individualized education program that is
reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate and the
light of the child circumstances" the court additionally emphasized that the
requirement that every quote "every child should have the chance to meet
challenging objectives" and the Andrew F decision is important because
it informs our efforts to improve academic outcomes for students with
disabilities alright so least number four least restrictive environment
you'll hear a least restrictive environment often referred to as LRE so
in basic terms LRE refers to the setting or place where a child with a
disability can receive an appropriate education designed to meet his or her
educational needs alongside peers without disabilities to the maximum
extent appropriate so the standard or expectation is that
the education is that education with non-disabled children is absolutely the
first environment to be considered when an IEP team is determining where a
specific child with disabilities will receive his or her special education and
related services according to the Department of Education which wrote the
regulations for IDEA quote "IDEA presumes that the first place meant option
considered for each child with a disability is the regular classroom in
the school that the child would attend if not disabled with appropriate
supplementary aids and services to facilitate such placement"
so requirements like those I just mentioned mean that your child's IEP
team which if you are a parent or family member you are part of first must
determine whether your child can be educated satisfactorily in the regular
education environment with appropriate supplementary aids and
services before the team can consider more restrictive placement options such
as a separated classroom and if the team determines that your child can receive
an appropriate education in the regular classroom with or without supplementary
aids and services then placement in the regular at classroom is the LRE for
your child so you know every state does come up with its own process of looking
at placement during the IEP process so in Washington State when the team is
considering an appropriate placement for the student they must take into account
four factors one being the content of that student's IEP to the LRE
requirements least restrictive environment requirements three the
likelihood that the placement option will provide
a reasonably high probability of assisting your student or the student to
attain his or her annual goals and lastly the consideration of any
potentially harmful effects that the placement option might have on your
student or on the quality of services that your student needs so if you have
more questions about LRE you can definitely give us a call but this is
also on the office of the Superintendent of Public instruction's website under
special education alright number five due process safeguards so safeguards
refers to the principle that students with disabilities and their parents have
the right to be informed of changes to their educational plan or program and
they have the right to participate in the decision-making process surrounding
the design and updating of those plans or programs and to also protest or
disagree with any decisions they believe are adverse to their right to a free and
appropriate public education so many if you do have a child with an IEP or IFSP
an individualized family service plan for the young ones you have likely been
given a copy of your safeguards at least you know once a year you should have at
least received a copy when your child was referred for services so it's really
important as a parent to take a look at those because it does spell out what
your options are and of course we at PAVE are happy to talk with you at any time
about what those options look like and talk through what your options are so
yes take a look at your procedural safeguards there they're there for a
reason and I believe that on the office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction website you can also get a copy there
alright and lastly shared decision-making this is the principle
that parents and students have the right to participate in decisions about the
students education so you know like I said earlier parents you are a very very
important member of the IEP team and there might be times that you might not
feel like it or even times that you don't want to be part of that team but
you know remember like when we in the beginning of the training when we talked
about the criterion for inclusion yes you know your child has a right to
belong because they are who they are and it's the first option that the IEP team
must consider for your child and you as a parent family member you are an
important member in the decision making I think as a parent myself I figured
that by the time my son is done with public education when he graduates from
high school he might have had you know 13 14 different IEP teams and the only
consistent members of those teams will be myself and my husband so it's it's
definitely a journey and you are a very important member of that team because
you carry knowledge of your child you have a vision and high expectations for
your child's learning and you carry that on year after year all right and again
because we mentioned research earlier research always also shows that our kids
students with disabilities do better when we as parents and family members
are active and involved and when you have a child with a disability being
prepared present and participating are very critical
very critical to your child's outcomes
okay so at this point I would like to acknowledge that this inclusion
curriculum was developed in partnership with other parent centers across the
nation and we as parents centers are divided into different regions we are
part of actually region six and it was Region three that Region three parent
Technical Assistance Center that was the lead coordinator on this project and
here on the slide are listed other parent centers who took part in shaping
what's in this curriculum curriculum and we want to wish and express our deep
appreciation for the sharing of their expertise and time and another note is
that while this resource resource was produced by the Center for parent
information and resources under the US Department of Education Office of
special education programs the views expressed here and do not necessarily
represent the positions or policies of the US Department of Education so
there's no official endorsement by the US Department of Ed for any product
commodity or service that's mentioned within today's webinar so we have time
for some questions and Nicol is going to help me with that yes we have a
couple questions here one is what is LRE? okay yes so LRE is least restrictive
environment so teams after they design the IEP the individualized education
program then the team discusses what environment would be the least
restrictive environment for this child to access their learning and also have
access to the general education curriculum
okay I have another one this one says hi my daughter was in pre developmental
preschool and was recommended and I agree for her to attend self-contained
classroom for her kinder year I changed my mind two weeks ago and now I want her
to be in regular kindergarten school I'm waiting for the principal from the
kinder school to respond why am I waiting?
well that's a good question so in Washington State there might be
schools that have not come back into session yet there are some schools or
and districts where teachers have not reported back to work and when we talk
about placement for a student it is a team decision so that includes not only
the family but it includes the members of the IEP team so that could be
potentially one reason why that meeting hasn't taken place yet okay I have
another question how do I incorporate my son into a typical classroom when the
school says no? so when this school says no so as a parent myself if I make a
request with the IEP team about something I feel is appropriate for my
child in terms of their education and they tell me no then an option I have as
a parent is just ask them to put that reason in writing and there is a form
which is called the prior written notice and this is part of your procedural
safeguards the prior written notice is kind of like the thank-you note that
happens after a party and when I say it that way I mean that when a decision is
made an event has happened then the prior written know
or like a thank-you note kind of captures what happened and why it
happened and so that we as parents when we make a request for our child we can
ask for it to be the decision to put it be put into writing and the
justification for it and then we can think about what our options are moving
forward and definitely PAVE is one option you have to kind of call and to
talk about the particulars circumstances around your situation okay
going back to the same question about the the child that daughter that was
going to kindergarten it says thank you well my daughter wait until they decide
school starts on August 31st well she has to wait after school starts until we
make a decision or is it okay for her to start late yeah so again what I would
probably you know an option that you have as a parent is to try to have this
conversation before the the bell rings for the first school day of school
so typically teachers do arrive to report to work several days
before this session starts up and usually the school office is open
and there are options for like scheduling a time for a meeting to talk
about the concerns that you have as a parent before school starts okay so we
have another one that says I have a three-year-old with severe autism he has
meltdowns and is nonverbal how do I introduce him to his preschool to make
it a successful experience? yeah so again you know I think back to earlier in the
presentation when we talked about not only the importance of inclusion but
there's also there are challenges around that and it really does take a team
working together to work through that so an option that you know a family has
when they have a concern about getting their child integrated into school and
having a successful start to the school year is to reach out to the teachers
because they are the ones who have actually quite a bit of knowledge about
you know what can work what can we try and you as the parent also have a lot of
knowledge about what does work for your child what your child's strengths are
and so it's going to take a conversation and working together to come up with the
best options so everybody feels successful and again you know it kind of
goes back to that dignity of risk that we mentioned earlier it's sometimes it
doesn't it doesn't start off smoothly it's hard there's the things to be
figured out but then we as parents have to think well do we try it because my
child needs the opportunity and how can I work together with the school to help
make that happen
okay thank you I have I don't have any more questions on let's give it a little
bit more just to see if anybody else just comes in with another question yeah
sure and maybe yes well we're waiting Nicol I do have another poll for
everyone because I know I covered quite a bit of information and our time
together but I could go ahead and launch the poll all right so here we go
as people are potentially thinking of some more questions
so after participating in today's webinar on the scale of one to five with
five being defined as that you've increased your knowledge of the idea
immensely greatly and one would be that you did not increase your knowledge at
all go ahead and rate yourself
alright looks like we're still collecting maybe a couple responses
alright I'm gonna go ahead and close the poll and give everyone a chance to take
a look at the responses alright there you go so my encouragement for families
and parents is that really it's it's really hard to learn everything that a
parent might think that they need to know in 90 minutes or less and the
things that we think we need to know kind can change it can change with as
our child gets older and new things come up so it's an ongoing learning process
and what I want to encourage everyone is that you know PAVE is here to help you
on that journey to talk about you know issues that are concerning for you to
give you options and give you some potential ways to work through some of
the challenges and we also you know celebrate that you are here today
everybody who joined today's webinar and potentially those who might view this
webinar at a later time thank you thank you for spending this time with us
because it me as one parent like as my parent myself I am always privileged to
get calls from families because it always reminds me that I'm not alone as
a parent on this journey and I always appreciate parents who are working hard
to increase their knowledge and to improve outcomes for their child in
their communities because truly what you do in your community benefits my child
in the Northwest region of this State so thank you for joining us today
and just be encouraged that it's a learning process and it's really hard to
feel like you'll know everything that you need to know in one shot the usually
questions come up later and we're here for you
okay so how would you reach out to PAVE to get some help well I would like you
to know that you know at the conclusion of the webinar you'll get an evaluation
and we appreciate feedback because as this is our first parent training and
information webinar we will continually strive to improve to make things of high
quality for our families so it's relevant for families and then also very
useful for you that's the biggest thing and then this webinar will be posted on
our website and if you would like to get help there's a couple ways you can do
that you can call our 1-800 number 1-800 five seven two seven three six eight and
then press one one five or even better you could go online to our website at
www.wapave.org and we have an online help request that you can fill out and submit
and that submission will go through and a parent resource will follow up with you
to help you access the information you need, so you can make the best decisions that you can for your child
Alright, so, at this time, if there are no more questions, we might be closing our webinar
Just a couple of minutes early, but again, I want to thank you for taking the time
be part of our first webinar and to extend your learning about the
individuals with Disabilities Education Act and how that might apply to your
child's situation and then I also want to give a shout out to Nicol our
wonderful communication specialist here at PAVE who helps make this webinar
happen today alright so if there's no more questions Nicol I think I'm going
to close out and again just thank you everyone
yeah thank you alright have a good day Thanks
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