More than 7,000 students in New Orleans have documented special education needs — the true number is likely higher, because the evaluation process can be complicated.
For example, last year, the state found that Algiers Charter, which runs Landry High School, violated federal law because it delayed the special-education process for a student by more than a year.
The finding is a good reminder that schools have a federal obligation to evaluate students with unmet special-ed needs. As the school year begins in the fall, it’s a good time to reassess students’ learning needs, said Sara Godchaux, a law-clinic professor with the Disability Justice Clinic at Loyola University of New Orleans, who walked through the entire process with The Lens.
“If your child is struggling academically or (worrisome) behaviors are starting, it is a good time to make that request,“ she said.
Federal law requires that all students receive the support they need to learn alongside their peers in the classroom.
In Louisiana, roughly 15% of public school students have documented disabilities. Federal nondiscrimination laws, like the well-known Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), give parents the right to ask schools for a special education evaluation.
The start of services: requesting an evaluation
For several years after Katrina, navigating special education was confusing.
Before the storm, special education policy and personnel for all public-school students came from the New Orleans public school district. After the storm, the responsibilities became blurred when the Louisiana Department of Education began running some schools in the city.
In subsequent years, as charter schools expanded rapidly under both the state and city districts, parents were left to wonder who had ultimate responsibility for their kids. Confusion was not uncommon among school officials.
The disjointed system was so broken that parents of special-ed students sued in 2010 and won. Both the state and local agencies remain under a federal court order to ensure they are serving students properly.
Things are a bit clearer today because the legislature put most schools back under local control.
How to request an evaluation
In New Orleans’ all-charter system, parents typically make requests for special-ed evaluations directly to their child’s school.
Parents should ask for an evaluation if their child:
- is struggling academically
- is disciplined frequently, including out-of-school suspensions — whether officially suspended or sent home midday
- has a new medical diagnosis that may affect their learning.
The evaluation request should note the academic, behavioral, or medical reasons for concern.
Always do it in writing, Godchaux advised, and include the principal, special education coordinator, teacher and social worker on emailed requests, she said.
“Getting it to the right people at the school is important,” because not every person knows that that any evaluation request triggers certain next steps by the school.
The core of special ed: Individual Education Plans
Once a parent makes the written request, the school has 15 business days to give the family a consent form or deny the request. A denial must be in writing. (See lower section for appeals.)
After parents sign the consent form, a school has 60 business days to complete the initial evaluation, which may include cognitive and academic assessments, physical needs, and interviews with teachers, parents and the student.
But the burden is not entirely on parents. School teachers and staff must identify and evaluate students who seem to have unmet behavioral or academic needs.
The evaluation will help determine whether the child needs an Individual Education Plan (IEP), a core tenet of federal special education law that protects children’s ability to participate in and make progress in school.
“The goal is always that an IEP makes sure kids can access the curriculum,” Godchaux said.
School personnel don’t determine on their own whether a child needs an IEP. “The parent is part of that team and they have to be included in that decision,” Godchaux said. “That’s really important for parents to know because that doesn’t always happen.”
The discussion about whether an IEP is necessary happens once the evaluation is done and is called a “dissemination meeting” or “eligibility determination meeting. It must occur within 60 business days of the evaluation’s completion.
Because evaluation reports can be more than 50 pages, parents should request a copy of them before the meeting.
If the school and family agree that the student needs an IEP, the school must hold an IEP meeting with parents within 30 days to develop a plan that includes goals, specific services and instruction and describes where those services will occur in the school building.
Don’t forget to ink the plan. “For the initial IEP, the parent does have to sign it for services to start,” Godchaux said.
Services should begin “as soon as possible but not later than 10 school days from the date of signing,” Godchaux said.
Other supports
Children who don’t qualify for an IEP may find the support they need through a different part of disability law: Section 504, which may allow a child to get accommodations and modifications to their work — things like extended time on tests, and individual or small group testing.
“It’s a little less individualized to the child,” Godchaux said. “It doesn’t include goals.” But for kids who don’t need the level of support of an IEP, it can be a really important tool, she said.
Individual Education Plans are checked each year, with a more thorough review every three years.
Appeals
If parents disagree with the school, they can ask for the school to pay for an independent education evaluation, basically a second opinion. That’s called an Independent Education Evaluation.
Parents can also file formal written complaints with the Louisiana Department of Education or to the Orleans district, though the NOLA Public School district’s complaint process can be “confusing,” Godchaux said.
Both agencies issue warnings to schools, like Landry High School, that fail to follow disability law.
Additional resources
For younger children
Ages 0-3: Early Steps provides support to young children with disabilities.
Ages 3-5: Child Search is a federal program run through the NOLA Public Schools district in New Orleans.
Suspensions and Expulsions
Special education students cannot be suspended or removed from school without an evaluation, called a “Manifestation Determination Review.” It determines if the behavior were the result of the student’s disability.
By law, every school must perform an MDR and parents have the right to review the document.
Previous Lens stories covering special education violations:
Joseph A. Craig Charter School broke state law by suspending student who seemed depressed
Carver High broke special-education law by suspending student for nearly 5 weeks
Fannie C. Williams School suspended child; told her to come back with “mental health” eval
KIPP and NOLA Public Schools argue over special education of a kindergartener
