Good Morning Everyone!

I want to start todays meeting by thanking everyone in

attendance and introducing each of us. My name is Melanie Dean and I am the
Special Education Teacher here at Monsour Elementary. We also have here Sarahs
parents, our building principal, Sarahs Regular Education teacher (her homeroom
teacher), and our school psychologist. The reason for this meeting today to discuss
and make decisions regarding next steps for Sarah in our school. Sarah has been
experiencing migraines and emotional outbursts during classroom activities and
lessons, which has been effecting her academics as well as her social relationships
with peers. Sarah also has already been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder
(ADD), which has always been manageable and hasnt presented many challenges in
the past. However, her recent behaviors in school have been more concerning since
they are no effecting her academic performance and social relationships.

Id like to begin our meeting today by discussing all of the possibilities that exist,
which may be available in assisting Sarah and her needs. First and foremost, the
term disability refers to any type of impairment in a child or adult. These
impairments could be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, physical, sensory
or any combination of these impairments listed. Disabilities are physical or
mental conditions that limit a persons movements, senses, or activities. Then
becoming even more specific, the term learning disability, often referred to as
Specific Learning Disability, is an umbrella term that covers a wide range of
neurologically based disorders in learning. Learning disabilities vary from
person to person but may include difficulty processing visual or auditory
information such as reading, spelling, writing, and understanding language. It
could also include difficulty prioritizing, organizing, doing mathematics
calculations, and following directions. A student with a learning disability may
struggle with storing information, short and long term memory, using spoken
language, and may have fine motor difficulties such as handwriting or
drawing. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) there are thirteen
different disability categories that Sarah could possibly be identified under in
special education to receive services. These are Intellectual Impairment, Hearing
Impairment, Speech and Language Impairment, Visual Impairment, Emotional
Disturbance, Orthopedic Impairment, Autism, Traumatic Brain Injury, Other Health
Impairment, Specific Learning Disability, Deaf-Blindness, Multiple Disabilities, and
anyone needing Special Education Services. To fall under one of these disability
categories, Sarah would need to meet a certain list of requirements in order to be
eligible to receive special education services.

So lets focus in on Sarahs recent outbursts in class, as well as her ADD diagnosis.
Since she is currently exhibiting these acting out behaviors, I want to explain to
you what a behavior disorder is. A behavior disorder can be used to identify
students with an inability to learn due to their behaviors. Inappropriate
behaviors under this category could be social, emotional, physical, or
psychological. Behavior disorders can be managed in the classroom using a
Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) or a Positive Behavior Interventions
and Supports Plan (PBIS) if needed. Behavior disorders are not covered under
IDEA, along with another disability category, which is socially maladjusted. Socially
maladjusted refers to a student exhibits persistent and frequent behavior that
violates social norms or isnt typical. This could include struggles with
authority or a low threshold for frustration, impulsivity, or manipulative
behaviors. Though also not covered and protected under IDEA, a student with a
behavior disorder or socially maladjusted would qualify to receive a Section 504
Plan which is a plan that offers support to students in their environment and
provides appropriate accommodations in order to help the child.

One category Sarah could potentially qualify under would be Other Health
Impairment or OHI. OHI is used to identify students with limited strength,
vitality, or alertness. This could mean he or she has increased or decreased
alertness to stimuli. A reaction such as this could stem from Asthma, Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or
many others. Sarah could fall under this category due to her ADD diagnosis
however she would need to be tested and evaluation by both a medical team as well
as our school psychologist before making that diagnosis of OHI. Another possibility
could be if Sarah has a learning disability, which I had previously mentioned. If this
were to be the case, accommodations and modifications would be created in an
effort to assist Sarah with as much or as little support as she may need. An
accommodation is a support or aid that would be put into place to help her
complete assignments. For example, giving a student extended time on an
assignment or to complete a test is an example of an accommodation. However
a modification is a change made to an actual assignment or task so that the
students goals in the IEP can be reached. For example, Sarah could only have
2 multiple-choice options for answers rather than 4 like her peers. In order to
diagnosis Sarah with a learning disability, she would need to be evaluated by our
school psychologist. Another category Sarah could fall under could be Emotional
Disturbance. Emotional Disturbance refers to a student with behavioral
concerns. The student could exhibit inappropriate behaviors, have unusual
feelings under normal circumstances, be unhappy or depressed, or could have
physical symptoms associated with these feelings. Emotional disturbance is
related to mental health and can include anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders,
conduct disorders, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD), or
psychotic disorders. For Sarah to be diagnosed as Emotionally Disturbed, she
would need to again be tested by a medical team and our school psychologist. Her
outbursts could be psychologically related or they could just be a factor due to her
migraines. An evaluation would be able to give us all clarity as to what is the main
concern regarding Sarah and her outbursts.

A policy that may affect Sarah is the Zero Reject Policy. This is a philosophy in
the field of education that states no child can be ended an education because
they are considered uneducable. This is one of the six core principles under
IDEA that helps ensure all children receive a Free and Appropriated Public
Education. There was a court case, Timothy W. V. Rochester School District that
intended that all handicapped children be educated and that the most severely
handicapped be given the top priority. However Congress faced an issue with this
because they faced the possibility of the non-educability of the most severely
handicapped. Since this court case, the zero-reject concept has been generally
accepted and no court has disagreed with the decision. Another special education
term that could apply to Sarah if she does get evaluated and requires special
education services is Transition Services. In schools these refer to activities that
prepare a special education student or student with a disability to move from
school to school (elementary to middle school, middle school to high school,
high school to after school.) This would not come into effect until Sarah would
be of age to transition and it would be a part of her IEP or Individualized
Education Plan. This ensures parents that their child is walked through each
and every step in their education when they are diagnosed with a disability. As
Sarahs parents, you will never be alone in this process, should special education
services be the route we end up going. Additional, Sarah could qualify to receive
Related Services, which are areas in education that could include
transportation needs, developmental, or corrective support services. These
services are implemented in order to assist students with a disability and
ensure they benefit from their services. Speech-language pathology,
audiology, interpreting, psychological, and guidance services can be provided
along with occupational and physical therapies. Related Services personnel
work closely with special education teachers to ensure the student with the services
in receiving what is needed in order to meet his/her goals and make progress in
education. If Sarah does get evaluated through the special education process, and is
eligible, she is protected under IDEA to be placed in her Least Restrictive
Environment (LRE.) This means she would have the opportunity to receive her
education and instruction with her non-disabled or regular education peers to
the greatest extend possible.

With Sarahs parents consent today, an evaluation process could begin as mentioned
earlier to determine is Sarah is eligible for special education services and which
disability category she would fall under. If consent is given today and we would
move forward with this process, let me take a minute to list the IEP team members
you would be working with and their roles in Sarahs education. First and foremost
are Sarahs parents, as you are an essential part of the IEP team. Sarahs parents
would be consulted through every step of the IEP process, notified of any changes
when they are made, invited to all annual IEP meetings, and updated with quarterly
progress reports to report on the progress Sarah makes on her IEP goals. Next
would be me, the special education teacher. It is just job to use the evaluation
provided to me by the school psychologist and medical team to write her initial IEP.
This would include her demographic information, present levels, functional
performance, goals, specially designed instruction (SDI), related services (if any),
extended school year (ESY) determination, recommended educational placement,
and more. It is my responsibility to implement her IEP, ensure her regular education
teachers and related staff are also implementing her IEP and SDIs in their time with
her, updating and making changes/revisions as needed, scheduling meetings,
preparing all paperwork, keeping documentation on progress monitoring, creating
progress reports and ensuring they are sent home quarterly, and more. The Local
Education Agency rep (LEA) is another crucial member of the team and is often the
building principal. The regular education teacher(s) are team members as well and
are involved greatly in the IEP process. In preparing evaluations and re-evaluations
on Sarah, the regular education teachers would provide their feedback, data
collection, and information regarding Sarah and their concerns for her education.
Once an IEP is written and implemented, the regular education teachers would
consult with me regularly regarding Sarahs progress, ensuring her SDIs are being
met in the classroom, and possibly even contributing data collection for progress
monitoring purposes. Other team members can include but are not limited to the
school psychological, therapeutic support staff (TSS), all related service providers
such as the speech teacher, guidance counselor, nurse, paraprofessional staff or
personal care assistants (PCA), and many others. The bottom line is, the IEP team
and group of professionals that would support Sarah based on her needs is endless.
The team consults each other, meets and speaks frequently, and ultimately works
together to ensure Sarah is receiving everything she needs in order to succeed
academically, diminish any negative behaviors, and succeed in education. As stated
in the case Plyler V. Doe, public education is not a right provided by the United
States Constitution, but the importance of education in maintaining our basic
institutions make the distinction.

There was a plethora of information presented today regarding Sarah so the next
steps here are for Sarahs parents to process all of this information, come up with
any questions they may have or clarifications they may need, and go from there. If it
results in an evaluation, we will need a permission to evaluate form signed by the
parents and then we will have 60 days to complete Sarahs evaluation to determine
her eligibility for special education services. At that point, we will meet again to
discuss the findings and recommendations. Please feel free to contact me with any
questions or concerns you may have regarding any of the information you received
here today and I look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Thanks everyone for being a part of this meeting today!

References:
Rothstein, L. F., & Johnson, S. F. (2014). Special education law (5th ed.). Thousand
Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.