Dawg Bones

Toolbox Tuesday!! Let’s look at OSERS Q and A on “change of placement”

WE’RE ZOOMING WITH THE DAWG TODAY AT 10!! HOPE YOU CAN JOIN ME AND MY SPECIAL GUEST, NONA MATTHEWS.

The Q and A recently updated by the Department of Education includes eight questions about “changes of placement.” Here are some key points:

  1. A disciplinary removal of a student from the placement called for by the IEP for more than 10 days in a row is a change of placement. This means that virtually every DAEP assignment is a change of placement. This means the school must provide the parents with two documents: the Procedural Safeguards and a Prior Written Notice.
  2. It’s also a change of placement if the student is removed in a series of short term removals (such as suspension) in ways that amount to a “pattern.” That word is defined in the regs to mean any accumulation of removals that 1) add up to more than ten school days; 2) are based on substantially similar behaviors; and 3) because of factors like the length of each removal, the total amount of time, and the proximity of the removals. None of this is new. In the Toolbox we offer suggestions on how to make this “pattern” definition a little more specific.
  3. The Q and A does not answer the age-old question: Does a day in ISS count toward the ten days? Instead, it answers that question with a lawyerly “It depends.” Then it recounts the same three factors DOE has always cited to help answer the question. Not very helpful, and this remains an issue that campus administrators and special education directors need to address.
  4. Here is something important: “In addition, transportation must be provided to a child with a disability placed in an IAES if transportation is required for the child to access the services provided in the IAES.” That’s important because in Texas the DAEP meets the definition of an IAES and is the most commonly used IAES. Are you transporting students to the DAEP? Based on this Q and A, I think we can safely say that the DOE would come down on you if you are not doing so.

On the next Toolbox Tuesday (November 29) we’ll take a look at Section D, which is all about those IAES programs.

DAWG BONE: TRANSPORTING TO THE DAEP LIKELY TO BE AN ISSUE. GIVE IT SOME THOUGHT.

Got a question or comment for the Dawg? Let me hear from you at jwalsh@wabsa.com.

Tomorrow: can an employee be fired for arousing jealousy?