U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has expressed her commitment to ensuring that infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities and their families receive support and services they are entitled to under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Recently, the Department of Education’s IDEA website, IDEA.ed.gov, which provides information and resources related to the IDEA 2004 reauthorization, was unavailable due to a technical malfunction from an external hosting service provider. Once the IDEA website became functional again, the Secretary directed the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to create a new and improved IDEA site and include stakeholder input as part of the development process. The current IDEA.ed.gov site will remain available to users during and after the development of the new IDEA website.
OSERS is seeking input from users of the IDEA.ed.gov website as part of our effort to provide updated, easy-to-navigate IDEA resources to children with disabilities and their families, teachers, administrators, advocates, and other stakeholders.
To help us facilitate this effort, we ask that you address the following items in the comment section below:
- What are the resources you use most often at IDEA.ed.gov?
- What additional information and/or functionality would you like to see included in the new IDEA site?
- Your title or role/designation (such as student, parent, educator, advocate, counselor, etc.), to help us gain a better understanding of who uses IDEA.ed.gov.
OSERS appreciates your support and suggestions as we continue efforts to improve our online resources as part of our commitment to ensure that infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities and their families have the supports and services guaranteed under the IDEA.
To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personally identifiable information, such as a name of a child or school personnel, a Social Security number, an address, a phone number or an email address in the body of your comment. Comments containing the aforementioned information will not be allowed to remain on this site.
If you have a child-specific complaint or issue, please contact our customer service line at 202-245-7459.
I use the IDEA website as a tool to advocate for my children with disabilities. My top three priorities for the IDEA website:
1. Email address of Federal and State authority responsible for enforcement if IDEA and it’s various regulations (should include contacts for FERPA, FOIA, Code of Professional Conduct etc.) The laws in IDEA are good, however, enforcement is impossible without retaining an Attorney.
2. SRBI for specific disabilities.
3. Progress Monitoring; guidelines, regulations and best practices.
4. Link to State Statutes; mandating States to provide Statutes to be searchable by topic.
Suggest having a link that provides an executive summary for pediatricians and other healthcare providers on: 1. Basics of IDEA 2.
What pediatrician can do to help get appropriate services for their patients 3. Resources to direct parents to 4. How pediatricians can advocate for patients when there is a dispute
As a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) and a related service provider for children with disabilities, I use IDEA.ed.gov to find current information that support Therapeutic Recreation services being offered in school systems. I most often encourage other educators, families, and students to search the related services sections of the IDEA legislation to discover that Therapeutic Recreation is a related service to which all students with disabilities are entitled to support children in benefiting from their special education program.
What additional information and/or functionality would you like to see included in the new IDEA site?
Differing levels of professional preparedness for therapeutic recreation professionals leads to significant variations in the quality of services provided to students with disabilities. Research shows that benefits of quality recreation and physical activity services are not distributed equally across all children in public schools, particularly children with disabilities.
Therapeutic Recreation is not defined in IDEA.gov. I recommend a detailed description of Therapeutic Recreation to define the role of this service and the service provider.
The American Therapeutic Recreation Association defines Therapeutic Recreation as: “Recreational therapy, also known as therapeutic recreation, is a systematic process that utilizes recreation and other activity-based interventions to address the assessed needs of individuals with illnesses and/or disabling conditions, as a means to psychological and physical health, recovery and well-being.”
The National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification® (NCTRC®) is a non-profit, international organization dedicated to professional excellence for the protection of consumers through the certification of recreational therapists. Professional recognition is granted by NCTRC to individuals who apply and meet established standards for certification, including education, experience, and continuing professional development. The Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist® (CTRS®) credential is offered to qualified individuals based on these stringent requirements. The CTRS should be identified as the highly qualified personnel to provide recreation, including therapeutic recreation, as a related service.
Your title or role/designation (such as student, parent, educator, advocate, counselor, etc.), to help us gain a better understanding of who uses IDEA.ed.gov.
IEP Related Service Provider, Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS), Recreational Therapist, Disability Advocate
Secretary DeVos,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment and raise concerns that will impact the redesign of the IDEA.gov website. No one in America has filed more federal web accessibility complaints than I have. I have also run web accessibility checks on the Ed.gov, IDEA.gov and OCR.gov websites and all have accessibility issues for individuals who are blind, have low vision issues, are deaf and hard of hearing and with fine motor impairments. It is unfair that public school districts, state departments of education, state schools for the blind and deaf, PTI’s, public libraries and colleges and universities must have websites in compliance pursuant to Section 504 and Title II of the ADA and the same standards do not apply to Ed.gov, IDEA.gov and OCR.gov. Everyone has a right to accessible information and the Ed.gov, IDEA.gov and OCR.gov websites should be an exemplary standard that meets WCAG 2.0 Section 508 .
The National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC) supports the comments submitted by the CCD Education Task Force (http://c-c-d.org/fichiers/CCD-comments-on-IDEA-website-04-24-17-final-letterhead.pdf). In addition, NDSC offers the following recommendations:
The CCD comments discuss linking various U.S. Department of Education (ED) web pages through the idea.ed.gov website. We recommend adding the IDEA monitoring web pages to this list. We also recommend that ED maintain and update the topic briefs, video clips, training materials, dialogue guides, Q&A’s, presentations and webcasts, as well as add these tools for new topics. These tools help families and educators understand complex legislative and regulatory language as it relates to real world practice.
To Whom It May Concern:
The Education Taskforce of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities appreciates the opportunity to provide input on how the IDEA.ed.gov website can be updated to better support children with disabilities and their families, teachers, administrators, advocates, and other stakeholders. The CCD Education Task Force advocates for Federal public policy that ensures the self- determination, independence, empowerment, integration, and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of society.
The idea.ed.gov website has often served as a resource to parents, educators, and the advocacy community. While our comments will focus on how to improve idea.ed.gov, we urge the Department to consider how to align and streamline all of its online resources so that parents, educators, and the public can easily access information about laws impacting students with disabilities. This transparency is vital to upholding the mission and vision of IDEA.
(1) Serve as IDEA Information Hub
It is important for the public to have easily accessible information related to IDEA. One of the benefits of idea.ed.gov has been the ability to simultaneously search for key terms in the IDEA law and regulations. To build upon this functionality, the Department should consider cross referencing the following resources on the idea.ed.gov website: (1) relevant guidance, (2) Dear Colleague letters, (3) links to technical assistance & dissemination centers, (4) related IES research; (5) related information collected from the Office for Civil Rights, including findings from the Civil Rights Data Collection; and (6) links to any other relevant information. By creating a central place that stores information relevant to IDEA and by making this information searchable and accessible, the public will have the opportunity to better understand the law and its implications for children and youth.
(2) Accessibility
Translation of the idea.ed.gov website into Spanish and other languages is critical to reach the maximum number of families as possible. Additionally, USED must ensure that the content is available in read-aloud mode and is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities consistent with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, particularly the adoption of best practices to ensure that electronic content conforms to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, conforms to the applicable functional performance criteria, and that all functionality is accessible either directly or by supporting the use of assistive technology.
(3) Streamline & align with other federal initiatives for maximum transparency
Historically, the Department has provided public access to many informational resources related to IDEA. Making this information publicly available is critical to high quality implementation of IDEA. In rethinking idea.ed.gov, we encourage the Department to take a critical look at how to reorganize existing resources to improve public access. For example, the Civil Rights Data Collection and findings has information that is likely relevant for audiences interested in accessing idea.ed.gov, and should be cross-referenced. The annual 618 data collection has its own home on a separate website. There is also another page that provides information on research to practice initiatives funded by OSEP, and another that shares information on IDEA annual determinations and other data displays. All of these initiatives are important and should be linked together in a more cohesive and accessible way. The public would greatly benefit from an IDEA-related website that connects each of these pages and allows users to search for a key word to access information generated from across the Department, its various initiatives, and resource centers.
The CCD Education Taskforce appreciates the opportunity to share our views of how to improve the idea.ed.gov website. Again, we strongly encourage the Department to consider how the redesign of the idea.ed.gov website can complement, align and streamline other initiatives. Most importantly, we urge the Department to maintain transparency, quality, and timeliness in the information it provides to the public.
Sincerely,
The Advocacy Institute
American Council of the Blind
American Foundation for the Blind
American Network of Community Options and Resources
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Autism Society
Brain Injury Association of America
Council for Learning Disabilities
Institute for Educational Leadership
Learning Disabilities Association of America
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
National Association of State Directors of Special Education
National Association of State Head Injury Administrators
National Center for Learning Disabilities
National Disability Rights Network
National Down Syndrome Congress
National PTA
Perkins School for the Blind
United Spinal Association
I submit the following comments on behalf of myself and other American Speech-Language-Hearing Association staff users of the idea.ed.gov website to be considered as the Department works towards developing a new and improved IDEA website:
General Comments
Reformat the IDEA Part B and Part C pages to make all sections more consumer friendly/easier to navigate, as well as provide easy access to more detailed information, if so desired. The Part B site allows the user to easily delve into the details of the issue. The Part C site is more consumer friendly; however, easy access to more detailed information is challenging.
Questions Posed:
1.What are the resources you use most often at IDEA.ed.gov?
Reformat idea.ed.gov to make all sections more consumer friendly and easier to navigate through the Part B and Part C pages. We use the IDEA website as follows:
IDEA Part B
• research what the statute and regulations say on a particular issue
• answer technical assistance questions
• refer ASHA members and consumers to the site for a first-hand look at the laws and regulations
• obtain/review ED guidance (letters and memos) to help members make policy decisions at the state/LEA levels
• guide parents/consumers to learn more about the law and regulations
• access to the following sections: the browse major topics, training materials presentations, dialogue guides, helpful links, Dear Colleague Letters, Search feature, etc.
Other useful sections include:
• Topic Briefs
• Details of the Part B regulations including Preamble- Major Changes in the Regulations and Analysis of Comments and Changes
• Browse Major Topics
• Search feature
IDEA Part C
• Make these pages more searchable. We do not use the IDEA Part C pages as much as the IDEA Part B site primarily because it’s not as easily searchable as the Part B site.
2. What additional information and/or functionality would you like to see included in the new IDEA site?
IDEA Part B
• Make the IDEA Part B format more up-to-date in appearance and more user and consumer friendly
• Expand the search engine to allow for more descriptions of content that you are seeking. For example, list the titles of the related sections or statute
• Bookmark links to specific regulations that are mentioned in the Topic Briefs
• Add the topic of Adversely Affects Educational Performance to the Major Topics list
• Add tabs/sections for each of the 13 disability categories to explain each and link to resources
IDEA Part C
• Expand major topics on the Part C site, it is currently limited only to training materials. Include topics such as: IFSP, native language natural environment, etc.
• While the IDEA Part C site has a consumer friendly format, the search feature does not bring up the actual regulatory language for users who are seeking more detailed regulatory information.
• There is not an outline or abbreviated table of contents for the statute or the regulations on the Part C site; thereby, making it difficult to search. That option should be available for users. Therefore, a side tab for major section links of the statute and regulations should be provided when those main tabs are selected.
Add links to the following:
• Relevant court cases
• Requirements for other related legislation (e.g., ADA, ESSA, Section 504, HEA, Medicaid in schools) and describe the interaction between them.
• State Department of Education regulations and statutes
Other
• IDEA data.org, which is linked, should provide information on personnel shortages.
3. Your title or role/designation (such as student, parent, educator, advocate, counselor, etc.), to help us gain a better understanding of who uses IDEA.ed.gov.
Catherine D. Clarke
Director, Education and Regulatory Advocacy
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
I represent the National Association of Private Special Education Centers (NAPSEC). I use the website to get the most up to date information on IDEA to share with my membership and the families that contact us when searching for an appropriate private specialized education placement for their child.
I mostly use the determination letters section. I also use the State Parent training and information centers as a resource for families. Families mainly want information on what their rights are in getting the appropriate services for their child. I think it would be helpful to have this information laid out in a reader friendly manner, not just the section of the law or regulations, that list the continuum of alternative placements and services options under the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) requirement so families know all of their rights and services under the law and how and when they are to be utilized by schools.
By the time they find us they are very frustrated and have been through more than they should when trying to get the services that are provided for them by law. Based on the calls to our office, it is clear that there is much education yet to be done on the law, for both families and schools.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Sherry L. Kolbe
NAPSEC
http://www.napsec.org
The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) appreciates the opportunity to provide comments to the U.S. Department of Education regarding the development of a new and improved IDEA website. NAfME is among the world’s largest arts education organizations, representing over 131,000 music educators, students, and advocates across the nation. Our mission is to advance music education by promoting the understanding and making of music by all, regardless of one’s circumstance and background. Below are suggestions we would like to see created and/or maintained in the development of the new idea.ed.gov webpage:
1. The resources on the IDEA website that are most relevant to music educators include:
• Individualized Education Programs (IEP)
• Procedural Safeguards
• Training Materials (Part B and Part C)
• Presentations
• Dialogue Guides
• Q&A Documents
• Response to Intervention (RTI)
• Parent Center Hub with stakeholder success quotes
2. Music educators are constantly seeking materials for use in furthering their professional development. Because of that, we are seeking:
• Consistent and frequent updates to website content.
• Further information on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and how the inclusion of “music” and “arts” in the definition of a “Well-Rounded Education” may impact students with disabilities by providing them greater opportunities to access music and arts education.
• More training resources, modules, and briefs in formats similar to those provided by the National Information Center for Handicapped Children and Youth (NICHCY). Music educators often used these briefs for their own professional development.
The previous website served as an important tool and resource for our educators, and we urge the Department maintain its effectiveness in supporting music educators. We again appreciate the opportunity to provide our input on how to improve the IDEA webpage, and please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
The National Association for Music Education
We laud the Department of Education for reaching out to the community of users of the IDEA.ed.gov website to seek stakeholder feedback as the site is being redesigned to ensure that it includes easy-to-navigate IDEA resources for children with disabilities and their families, teachers, administrators, advocates, and stakeholders– such as the Learner Variability and Special Education Team at Teach For America.
Teach For America is a national non-profit organization that recruits, trains and supports a diverse network of leaders working to ensure all students have access to an excellent public education. Our corps members start by teaching in low-income communities for two years and, as alumni, expand opportunity for children from classrooms, schools, and every sector and field that shape the broader system in which schools operate. Core to the mission of Teach For America is the belief that all children regardless of race, socio-economic status, and ability or learning difference deserve the opportunity to receive an excellent education. The work of the Learner Viability and Special Education team at Teach For America aims to support all of our teachers in meeting the needs of all learners, including learners with disabilities, and also specifically support the needs of our over 1100 special educators in over 40 states across the country.
In connecting with teachers within our own community of educators and others, we gathered information on what resources they most often use from the IDEA.ed.gov website, as well as what additional information and functionality would be helpful in a new IDEA site.
ACCESSIBILITY:
Especially given the focus on this website, our community believes it needs to be made accessible to users with disabilities, who may need to navigate the site in a variety of ways. We strongly suggest that the Department consult with experts who have specific expertise in crafting an accessible website and using gold-standard practices in this area. Additionally, ensuring that the IDEA.ed.gov website can be made available in Spanish and other languages is important in helping all parents access and understand the resources and policies which directly impact their children.
RESOURCES:
For our community of PK-12 educators, the resources that they access the most frequently relate to the following topics:
• Discipline
• Disproportionality
• Evaluation and Reevaluation
• Highly Qualified Teachers
• Identification of Specific Learning Disabilities
• Individualized Education Program (IEP)
• Secondary Transition
• Statewide and District Assessments
ENSURING THE SITE IS A “ONE-STOP SHOP”:
Our community finds useful the ability to come to what is largely a “one stop shop” to access all IDEA resources, including the resources, the statute, regulations, model forms as well as Q & A documents and encourages the next version of the website to include all up-to-date resources on one site. That said, currently, the site redirects users to another site for some resources, naming that some of the resources on IDEA.ed.gov are outdated, and we would find it useful if all materials were updated and on one site, or at least that the materials and resources which were outdated were clearly marked as such.
FUNCTIONALITY & USER-FRIENDLINESS:
In terms of the basic functionality and user-friendliness of the site, we believe that the structure of the site and how to navigate it could be made more intuitive, and we suggest using images on the site to promote understanding of the content and also suggest taking note of the use of non-standard fonts that are disconnected from other styles that are used on the pages.
We additionally suggest further considering the myriad of users of the site and crafting resources to meet their multiple needs. For example, given that many users of the site are parents of students with disabilities and others who are seeking to learn more about services and resources for students with disabilities, we believe that the system/website should better speak in the language of the users of the site, using words, phrases, and concepts that will be familiar to the user, rather than to experts in the field. Even something as simple as “birth-2” may not be intuitive to a user of this site (whereas language like “Infants and toddlers with disabilities (2 years old or younger) or (grade 2 or younger)—would be more easily accessible). Several educators with whom we work and support specifically named the language on parts of the site as seeming like it was not written for an audience of teachers and parents, but rather more for policymakers, who are also an important stakeholder group. Accessible “topic briefs,” as opposed to only linking to statutory text, was something that these users named as something that would be very useful.
Finally, we suggest that the website be developed to work on a mobile device so that the resources and information the website contains can be made even more accessible.
We greatly appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback and input on how the IDEA.ed.gov website can be improved, and thank the Department for this opportunity to provide input on the site to better meet the needs of children with disabilities and their families, as well as teachers, administrators, advocates and other stakeholders.
Sincerely,
Kate Blanchard
Managing Director, Learner Variability and Special Education Team
Teach For America
Hello everyone,
I want to take this time to thank Betsy DeVos for giving parents, students, advocates, stakeholders, teachers in all subject areas, therapists, faculty, administrators and professionals in the field a voice to improve the IDEA site. An idea to consider in improving the IDEA site is to allow parents, students, advocates, stakeholders, teachers in all subject areas, therapists, faculty, administrators and professionals in the field to keep having an ongoing communication about the IDEA site. This way all parties involved in IDEA will be up to date on what is current rather than have something from back in 1997.
As a Recreation therapy with an active Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist Certification in NY State it would be a significant to decide a section on the IDEA site towards Related services especially about Recreation therapy and Service Coordination. Families with children who are in Special Education may not be aware and may not be told during their IEP meetings that they can have a Recreation therapist as part of their child’s treatment plan. Recreation Therapy is considered a Related Service through IDEA just like Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy is under IDEA in the Related Services section. However, the way Recreation Therapy is described under Related Services in IDEA is very confusing and has not been given the voice it deserves to become another valuable service for families, educators and students to utilize in their IEP. Having a section decided to Recreation Therapy through the IDEA site can give families, educators and students a more clear and concise matter on what Recreation Therapy is, what Recreation Therapist do, how can families obtain this service and the steps they need to get it. To achieve this goal a helpful suggestion that I would like to put out there is to have an ongoing collaboration with organizations related to Recreation Therapy and active Recreation Therapists that are working in the school sector currently throughout the United States to help build and maintain this section on the IDEA site. Two organization to start off with this process is to connect to NYSTRA which is NY chapter on Recreation Therapy and ATRA which is the national organization dedicate to Recreation Therapy.
https://www.nystra.org/
https://www.atra-online.com/
Another related service that families, educators and students may not know about is Service Coordination. Although to my knowledge Service Coordination is not a related Service under IDEA it should still be on the IDEA site because many families that receive special education in their school districts may also receive service coordination as an outside service. As a past Service Coordinator that worked in a non-for profit dedicated to help families who have disabilities, I have learned significantly how a Service Coordinator has an active role in the schools. This includes contacting the child’s teacher to check on progress, obtain a copy of their ISP, work with the school’s transition coordinator when a child is aging out of school services and attend IEP and CSE meetings upon the parent’s request. Having a section on the IDEA site about what Service Coordination is, the duties and responsibilities that Service Coordinators has in their schools can help families, educators and students understand further about Service Coordination and their role in the Special Education process. To help get this idea going a suggestion that I would also like to put out there is to reach out to Disability Service organizations that offers Service Coordination in the US and have an ongoing collaboration with active Service Coordinators to assist with building and maintaining this section on the IDEA site.
Thank you for taking the time in reading this and for the opportunity for giving parents, students, advocates, stakeholders, teachers in all subject areas, therapists, faculty, administrators and professionals in the field a voice to improve the IDEA site.
Sincerely,
Katherine Mahlum MS, CTRS, and past Service Coordinator for a non-for profit
I am a physical educator in Georgia and have taught students with disabilities in my classes. I value PE for all students and it can be challenging to include students with disabilities from time to time. Finding research based quality resources that I can access instantly are really needed to provide these students with a quality learning environment. It would be beneficial to have access to resources that provide strategies as well as resources that explain IDEA’s requirements as it relates to physical education for children with disabilities. It is perhaps one of the biggest challenges physical education teachers face due to the dynamic nature of our classes.
What are the resources you use most often at IDEA.ed.gov?
The resources I use the most is the Q&A documents because it allows me to see clarification of the answers to some questions that I might have and questions that others asked that may be valuable information or something I did not think of.
What additional information and/or functionality would you like to see included in the new IDEA site?
I do not believe that the site needs anything added to the site.
Your title or role/designation (such as student, parent, educator, advocate, counselor, etc.), to help us gain a better understanding of who uses IDEA.ed.gov.
Student at Plymouth state university in Plymouth New Hampshire.
Hello,
I am a student at Plymouth State University studying Early Childhood Education and learning how to become a better advocate for children with disabilities. I think that this website is very well organized and laid out and covers many topics, laws and rights. It is a good place to find out more information about a certain topic and would be very easy to find the information you need. It is very detailed and covers a lot. The website for Part C of the IDEA is a little more confusing than the Part B website, but it still has the same information. I think it would be helpful if they were laid out in the same way.
To Whom It May Concern:
The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) appreciates the opportunity to provide input on how the IDEA.ed.gov website can be updated to better support children with disabilities and their families, teachers, administrators, advocates, and other stakeholders. NCLD works on behalf of the 1 in 5 children with learning attention issues and their families.
The idea.ed.gov website has often served as a resource to our parents, educators, and advocacy community. While our comments will focus on how to improve idea.ed.gov, we urge the Department to consider how to align and streamline all of its online resources so that parents, educators, and the public can easily access information about laws impacting students with disabilities. This transparency is vital to upholding the mission and vision of IDEA.
(1) Serve as IDEA Information Hub
It is important for parents and educators to have easy to access information related to IDEA. One of the benefits of idea.ed.gov has been the ability to simultaneously search for key terms in the IDEA law and regulations. To build upon this functionality, the Department should consider cross referencing the following resources on the idea.ed.gov website: (1) relevant guidance, (2) Dear Colleague letters, (3) links to technical assistance & dissemination centers, (4) related IES research; (5) related information collected from the Office of Civil Rights, including findings from the Civil Rights Data Collect; and (6) links to any other relevant information. By creating a central place that stores information relevant to IDEA and by making this information searchable and accessible, the public will have the opportunity to better understand the law and its implications for children and youth.
(2) Accessibility
Translation of the idea.ed.gov website into Spanish and other languages is critical to reach the maximum number of families as possible. Additionally, USED should ensure that the content is available in read-aloud mode and is fully compatible with other assistive technology and is in compliance with the latest web accessibility standards.
(3) Streamline & align with other federal initiatives for maximum transparency
Historically, the Department has provided public access to many informational resources related to IDEA. Making this information publicly available is critical to high quality implementation of IDEA. In rethinking idea.ed.gov, we encourage the Department to take a critical look at how to reorganize existing resources can improve public access. For example, the Civil Rights Data Collection and findings has information that is likely relevant for audiences interested in accessing idea.ed.gov, and should be cross-referenced. The public would greatly benefit from an IDEA related website that allows users to search for a key word to access information generated from across the Department and its funded centers.
In closing, we appreciate the opportunity to share our views of how to improve the idea.ed.gov website. Again, we strongly encourage the Department to consider how the redesign of the idea.ed.gov website can complement, align and streamline other initiatives. Most importantly, we urge the Department to maintain transparency, quality, and timeliness in the information it provides to the public.
Sincerely,
Lindsay E. Jones, Esq.
Vice President, Chief Policy & Advocacy Officer
National Center for Learning Disabilities
Studies from the CDC have shown that individuals with disabilities are more likely than people without disabilities to report:
•Poorer overall health.
•Less access to adequate health care.
•Smoking and physical inactivity.
People with disabilities need health care, health and physical activity programs for the same reasons anyone else does—to stay well, active, and a part of the community.
As an Adapted Physical Education specialist in Washington State, I see the potential impact we can have by providing physical education for ALL individuals. Students with disabilities need to learn life skills – healthy eating and exercise, care for their bodies, appropriate social skills, motor skills, self-efficacy, healthy choices, team work, and cooperation. These need to be taught using modified and accommodated curricula and teaching designed for individuals. ALL students should be challenged and provided the opportunity to grow. To advocate for basic education for our students with disabilities, which includes the ability to learn about and lead a healthy lifestyle, we need easy access to the laws and policies for our leadership, administrators, teachers, and families. Administrators and teachers at all levels are still are not informed about physical education, and a tab on the left under “Browse Major Topics” would greatly help inform decision makers. When proper programs, opportunities and trained teachers are in place, we develop an inclusive community and individuals that lead an active healthy life.
I am currently finishing my master’s degree in Adapted Physical Education and will be teaching in the upcoming school year. I would like to see more information about Adapted physical education on the website as well as information about interscholastic and disability sports available for our students. I know these are all things that parents will be asking me about in the near future and I would like to have a clear website to direct them to.
I am a nationally certified adapted physical educator and am nationally board certified in early and middle childhood physical education. I am currently the vice president for the national consortium for physical education for individuals with disabilities, past president for the Maryland adapted physical education consortium and adapted physical education teacher for Montgomery County public schools in Maryland. I have used the IDEA.gov website many times over the course of my career to inform my own knowledge or the knowledge of others. Most often, I would use the search box to go directly to what I was looking for and would ask if possible to make it a little more direct. I would like to see a tab specifically for physical education so that I and others may be more informed on the aspects of the law that directly relate to physical education. Administrators at all levels and teachers alike still are not informed about physical education, and a tab on the left under “Browse Major Topics” would greatly help inform decision makers, especially in a time when the 2016 U.S report card on physical activity indicates the health and nutrition of the youth continue to suffer.
Thank you for accepting comments on this.
Use of IDEA.ed.gov Site
I regularly use the content included in the IDEA Building the Legacy Part B website such as the IEP and Evaluation and Reevaluation sites. This content is also used by my university students and parents with whom I am affiliated as an advocate. In addition to this information I regularly use content from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) site (https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/osep-idea.html) including the Dear Colleague letters. I would request that the new website have links to this content as well.
Additional Information Needed on the New IDEA Site
Adapted physical education (i.e., specially designed physical education) is a direct instructional service provided under IDEA (2004, 34 CFR §300.39) and available to qualified students with disabilities with an IEP. However, many parents/families do not (a) understand adapted physical education (APE) as a service, (b) understand that APE is a direct rather than related service, and (c) know how to advocate for or request the service for students with disabilities who qualify. In addition to parents, members of the IEP team such as diagnosticians, special educators, therapists, etc. are often misinformed or uninformed about APE services, which contributes to confusion about APE service delivery and underuse as a special education service.
The revised IDEA website must extend the information provided in the 2010 Government Accountability Report (GAO) entitled, “Students With Disabilities: More Information and Guidance Could Improve Opportunities in Physical Education and Athletics” and clarify for the states and parents that then specially-designed instruction in physical education is needed then APE services must be made available to students with disabilities as a part of the IEP [34 CFR §300.39(b)(2)]. Additional information should be provided to aide educators and parents with advocating for and accessing appropriate APE services including clarity on who is qualified to determine eligibility for [34 CFR §300.304(c)(1)] and provide such services [34 CFR §300.39(b)(2)].
It is also imperative that the new or revised IDEA website including information specific to athletics and other non-academic services for students with disabilities (34 CFR §300.107) as addressed within the 2010 GAO Report and the January 25, 2013 US Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, Dear Colleague Letter. It must be clear to parents and educators that access to extracurricular activities, including sports and athletics, are a guaranteed by IDEA as a part of a free and appropriate public education and must be addressed as a part of a student’s education program.
Title or Role/Designation of IDEA.ed.gov User
I am a teacher educator, advocate, the President of the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities (www.NCPEID.org), and the parent of a child with a hearing impairment.
I am the public policy director for the National Catholic Educational Association and frequently am asked to respond to questions from the field regarding implementation of the equitable services provisions of IDEA. The OSERs website is woefully lacking in accessible information pertaining to parentally-placed students that should be understood by both private school officials and LEA representatives who handle the consultation process. These sites on the website of the Office of Nonpublic Education should have a prominent place on this website as well:
Q&As on Serving Parentally Placed Students with Disabilities
http://idea-b.ed.gov/explore/view/p/,root,dynamic,QaCorner,1,.html
PowerPoint Presentation that relates to Department’s Equitable Services Implementation Plan (ESIP) for Parentally Placed Students with Disabilities in Non public schools.
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/idea04.pdf
Booklet that clearly explains the requirements of the law and the obligations of the LEA regarding serving parentally placed students with disabilities in non-public schools. https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/speced/privateschools/idea.pdf
I would like to support the inclusion of links to adapted physical education resources. Others have already provided some of the links that could be included.
Adapted Physical Education can be the only service a person receives on an IEP being listed as “unduplicated”. Many administrators and special education directors think the person already has to be in “Special Ed.” and on an IEP before the student can even assessed and this is incorrect.
Hello,
I am an adapted physical educator and Special Olympics coordinator in North Georgia. I would like to see important documents clearly included on the new site that pertains to physical education, Interscholastic disability sport, and disability sport. Parents of the students I coach and teach are constantly asking for this type of guidance.
The ED already has some documents published for the public. For example,
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/dcl-factsheet-201301-504.html
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-519
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/equal-pe.pdf
Please keep these documents available to parents and teachers.
Sincerely,
Amy Aenchbacher, EdS, CAPE
I agree with Amy and believe if there was a physical education link under “Browse Major Topics”, this information would be great to be included under it.
Hello,
I am a faculty member who teaches adapted physical education courses in a health and physical education program. In addition, I am the current chair of the adapted physical education/ activity SIG for our national physical education organization (SHAPE America) and a board member of the National Consortium of Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities. I believe it will be essential to include information pertaining to the rights of students with disabilities regarding physical education on the IDEA site. This information could then be easily disseminated to those being trained as physical educators, providing them with the requisite background to justify proper modifications and accommodations for those with disabilities in physical education / adapted physical education contexts. Thank you.
I agree with Justin, and believe if there was a physical education link under “Browse Major Topics”, this information would be great to be included under it.
Greetings,
I am a certified adapted physical educator, disability sports specialist, and inclusive fitness trainer.
It certainly would be helpful to include relevant information addressing physical education services as mandated by IDEA. I also respectfully suggest that you include resource links related to physical education for children with disabilities,
such as-
APENS.org
NCPEID.org
http://www.shapeamerica.org/events/adapted-physical-education.cfm
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/pe.index.htm
Most respectfully,
Dave Martinez, CAPE, CDSS, CIFT
I am a physical education teacher educator. One of the programs in which I teach is an Adapted Physical Education master’s program. Resources pertinent to Adapted Physical Education should be available on the new IDEA site. These sources would be useful for administrators, parents, teacher educators, and in-service and pre-service teachers. Thank you.
I agree with Dave and believe if there was a physical education link under “Browse Major Topics”, this information would be great to include.
What are the resources you use most often at IDEA.ed.gov?: Secondary Transition, Special Education, and Rehabilitation Services Administration. In addition all things OSERS.
What additional information and/or functionality would you like to see included in the new IDEA site?: I would like to see more information about WIOA, Pre-Employment Transition Services (WINTAC), the collaborative relationship between LEAs and Local Vocational Rehabilitation Units in States (specifically in Oregon), the Youth Transition Program (www.ytporegon.org)
Your title or role/designation (such as student, parent, educator, advocate, counselor, etc.), to help us gain a better understanding of who uses IDEA.ed.gov.:
Peter FitzGerald
Technical Assistance Provider
Youth Transition Program
University of Oregon
3425 N.E. 25th Avenue
Portland, OR 97212-2508
(503) 522-6973
petefitz@q.com
http://www.ytporegon.org/
I am a parent of two children with extra needs–one with multiple learning disabilities and one with ADHD. I have used the website to find legal information and guidance to help advocate for my children. I suggest a page for parents that is easy to read and understand. One that provides step-by-step guidance for parents in knowing when to ask for help, identifying the help, and parent/student rights. Please put this information in Spanish, too. You may want to ask parents of children with disabilities to help design the page. Thank you for requesting input.
I am a special education supervisor, county-wide special education compliance monitor, state complaint investigator, and mediator. I use IDEA.ed.gov on a daily basis. Almost all of the resources I have created include a citation and link to the IDEA.ed.gov site. Some of these resources are for parents or parent groups. Others are more technical and designed for general education administrators, special education administrators and services providers, and other professionals.
In addition to searching the text of IDEA itself, I use the FAQ the most. I would like for there to be more connection between the IDEA.ed.gov cite and the other guidance from U.S. ED. like a link to related Dear Colleague letters.
I am a private practice Speech Language Pathologist. I serve the pediatric population. Often I am the first person to direct families to the school district for early intervention. As well, I coordinate with a wide variety of school districts when working on IEPs. It would be great to have a direct link from the Department of education to the IDEA resource site so that parents find information efficiently. To educate a child and to do so early is an asset to our community, our families, and our future.
Hello and thank you for requesting feedback. I am a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments in Texas. The IDEA website is great for accessing regulations, specifically for discussions with administrators and families regarding IEPs. I notice that there is language about alignment with NCLB but nothing about ESSA (which took the place of NCLB in 2015). This should be updated to reflect the revisions.
On the main site, if one clicks on Laws and Guidance and then looks under IDEA, there is not link to the IDEA website, only a link the text of the act itself and to an info page. Additionally at the bottom of the main page, IDEA is not listed under the law and guidance header. I would appreciate a more direct IDEA link.
Comments from an advocate — I would like to see the link http://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center/ added to the IDEA website so parents can be directed to their Center for Parent Information and Resources in their state to get assistance with IDEA questions, and IDEA information, and trainings about IDEA from the state in which they live.
I like the Building the Legacy 2004 training information. I think this needs to stay on the new IDEA website. I like Browse Topical Areas section. The most important topics to me on the new website probably are:
Discipline
Evaluation and Reevaluation
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
Monitoring and Enforcement
Private Schools
Procedural Safeguards
Secondary Transition
I am an advocate for a non-governmental organization that is a non-profit and we serve children with disabilities and families 0-22, We have a library and engage in school site advocacy as well.
We use the law and regulations consistently.
We like technical assistance documents we can download and share through our library and with client families.
We would love a feature that identifies by state if a charter school ever accepts a child with intellectual disabilities because although the Charter Schools in Nevada report on their IDEA funding forms that they are buying up to 30 iPads a year for “functional curriculum” not one single charter school in our state will take a child with any disability except spectrum disorders (ADD, ADHD, autism) and only of ID is not co-occurring and some student’s with Specific Learning Disabilities). I’m sure administrators are making good use of the devices for themselves, its just very frustrating to see IDEA money going to schools that refuse to accept children with developmental disabilities and where our state law even allows them to “send them back” to their home district if their needs are too great. Take the money, just not the students. So yea. Let us know by state of that ever changes. Maybe a counter of kids with developmental disabilities who are allowed money follows the student in public school, and access to charter schools.
Senior Advocate
CSD/Children’s Advocacy Project
4600 Kietzke Lane
Bldg. C Suite 123
Reno NV 89502
It was quite upsetting to find the link to the IDEA website no longer on the the Dept of Ed page. Many use this on a very regular basis. Please return the link the website to the main Department of Education page. Thank you
The documents I use most are the “Dear Colleague” letters and regulations. Recently needed more information on related services in the IEP and could not locate a resource on the site that offered any information other than restate of the regulations.
I am a special education supervisor. I use Building the Legacy and the search function to help me find information in IDEA.
What are the resources you use most often at IDEA.ed.gov?
I primarily utilize the site to get specific wording from the law.
What additional information and/or functionality would you like to see included in the new IDEA site?
* Make certain that links and information are current and not outdated.
* Provide links to state offices of special education.
* Provide sample templates for everything from FBAs to an IEP form.
* Provide TA numbers for those whose questions go beyond what is contained in the web pages.
Your title or role/designation (such as student, parent, educator, advocate, counselor, etc.), to help us gain a better understanding of who uses IDEA.ed.gov.
I am a Director of Special Education and have worked at the State level off and on for years. I specialize in charter schools. I have worked in several states over past years.
Please put a link for easier access.
https://sites.ed.gov/osers/2017/03/department-of-education-seeks-comments-on-new-idea-website/
I am the mother of two children with disabilities, and an advocate the rights of people with autism. I use the IDEA website for the language of laws and regulations, for data about the current and historical situation of children with disabilities, and for notices about new programs.
I found the design of the new website relatively user friendly, but the contents disappointing. I understand this is a work in progress, but the search capability is very limited. I got zero responses to several searches. I also find that the website is very narrowly tied to the text of IDEA and the associated regulations, rather than more broadly to issues related to the education of children with disabilities. It would be nice if there could be links to relevant material on other government websites (or at least hints that there IS material on other websites).
There should definitely be a link to the IDEA site on the main Dept. of Education website–which is currently in far worse shape than the IDEA website. The organization of the D of E website is completely mystifying.
I am a parent and an advocate at Center for Independent Living in Illinois. A co-worker and I reviewed the website. Following are the things we would like to share with you.
• Create and distribute a monthly news letter
1. New Memos
2. Recent Court Cases
3. New additions to website
• Have links to each of the States, State Board of Education’s Special Education home page
• The website is not easy to use or user-friendly
1. Multiple clicks required to open “linked documents”
A. Documents are owned by other websites-why not link to additional resources?
2. Add a return to top link to viewing statutes
• IDEA 2004. Part C: what is it you want a parent to see first landing- it says it should be a one stop shop for resources-where are the resources? Information needs to be provided in a more user friendly, visually interactive format
1. If I am a new parent, this current format offers me no guidance on where to start-break website up to help guide families on where to start
2. Q&A Quarter-links to State Early Intervention Offices? Why aren’t questions going to be answered- maybe the title of this section is confusing?
I use the rules & regulations of both Part C & B, as well as the guidance and Dear Colleague Letters. I do not think the website is easy to navigate with regards to both the regulations & guidance documents. I agree with other comments that IDEA should be a direct link for the DoE page, that entering hot links would be helpful, have a section specific for general educators, and that the website should meet accessibility requirements.
I have been in the field of special education since the passing of 94-142 and am currently a consultant in the field.
Link to the state Education Department and translation to Spanish and Creole.
I am a parent of a child who recently transitioned from an IEP to a 504 in our local public school. Our journey to understand the supports to which our child was entitled has not been smooth.
1) The IDEA page is useful, but could be more user friendly –less scrolling through long documents and more hyperlinked headings would help.
2) connection to relevant state regulations would be helpful
3) bringing the reading level on the website downto a lower level may make the information more universally understandable. My 14-year old needs to understand the information that applies to grow in self-advocacy. Infographics would be a major improvement.
4)more information about giftedness and transition from k-6 to middle school to high school to college to career would useful.
Keyword search is a vital functionality in navigating the CFR. Searching Prior Written Notice should result in the CFR links related to PWN. Increasing links between the CFR and OSEP/OCR letters of guidance would be very helpful, to further explain the CFR. Training links were previously very helpful and updated training links would be very helpful.
I am a parent of multiple children with disabilities and a community advocate.
Hello,
I understand the content covered in this page may have to be broken down by key stakeholders such as state, county, local DOE administrators/professionals, parents, older students, and advocates.
So, with that said, I am writing as a spouse of a Marine to address some of the needs of military families. Our community makes multiple moves during the career of our active duty service member. Because of that, it helps to have a central location navigate state contacts for content areas/topics covered under IDEA. For instance, I would love to see information on the different state and regional grantees you support (such as the ECAC Parent Center in North Carolina), state DOE and DODEA contacts that cover IDEA content areas/topics.
Hello,
I am an occasional visitor to the IDEA site as a parent and international development professional.
I agree with other comments, specifically:
– The Part B and Part C pages look nothing alike. Why?
– The Part B site looks outdated and has poor navigation
– Part B’s Major Topics pages have zero description or context to guide the user
– Additional languages, local resources, etc. will improve accessibility
Please link the IDEA website properly to the main Department of Education page. Thank you
For the typical parent, the website if hard to navigate.
There is no clarification whether or not a parent can tape record an ESE meeting in a State where it is only 2 party consent. This gives the parent/student, who may not be able to be at the meeting in person, access to the process that they would not normally have if the coparent can not make it to the meeting due to job conflicts. Districts are telling parents they have to bring in documentation from a doctor describing their disability, thus violating the parents privacy.
For the typical parent, the website if hard to navigate.
There is no clarification whether or not a parent can tape record an ESE meeting in a State where it is only 2 party consent. This gives the parent/student, who may not be able to be at the meeting in person, access to the process that they would not normally have if the coparent can not make it to the meeting due to job conflicts. Districts are telling parents they have to bring in documentation from a doctor describing their disability, thus violating the parents privacy.
I would like to see detailed information on the specifics of the law and disability law history listed again. I used to cite this website in doctoral course papers. Parents need a section too that educate them on the law and how it pertains to their child’s public school.
I am a doctoral student studying disability in higher education.
Hi there. The thing I want to see is for the link to the IDEA resources page to be direct from the home page of the DoE page. Right now you have to go to “How to Find” to get to it.
You have IDEA stuff linked off that legal page, but the IDEA.ed.gov is not one of those links
The resources I use, which should be easily accessible on the new website pertain to information related to: a) IDEA regulations; b) research-based strategies/interventions for students with disabilities; and c) resources for parents.
National and State data pertaining to students with disabilities should also be provided —- the same way it use to be provided via your old IDEAdata.org website.
I am currently a tenure track faculty member training individuals who are interested in earning their special education master’s degree and state licensure as special education teachers.
I would like information on comparing the states and their regulations on specific aspects of the law. Implementation looks different from state to state. For instance, Texas doesn’t include gifted students as special education students, while other states do. Guidance letters are extremely important to give in depth guidance and interpretation. Guidance on the law and regulations with a quick search ability and case guidance would be helpful.
1. Specific instructions on how to request a TEAM meeting, what the deadlines are and mean, and what rights the student has that the parents are responsible for, and also the difference between an IEP and a 504 and how they are implemented;
2. Updated information on iPad apps with grants to provide access to dyslexic, autistic and sensory challenged kids;
3. Parent forums and teacher forums for information exchange and support, or at least links to groups that provide that support by state and also by topic;
4. A “fast facts” page a parent can go to for a quick, plain English tutorial on how to address concerns he or she might have about her child;
5. Resource pages broken down by topic including reading materials for parents who want detailed explanations of their child’s condition.
6. A sample testing report with the elements explained.
7. The IDEA website should be readily available on a URL that parents who don’t know what they are looking for can find. If a parent types, “How do I know if my child is learning disabled?” this website should pop up. There should be a bold link to it above the fold on the DOE website.
The resources I use most often at IDEA.ed.gov are postings of regulations and statute. I have often had occasion to use in meetings for my daughter or to guide other parents.
I would love for the regs to be more easily navigated, printed, and searched. I know it seems counterintuitive, but having a nicely formatted printed version of the regs is pretty handy for parents.
I am a ‘veteran parent’ and education professional.
I am a retired Infant-Toddler specialist and a current Head Start volunteer.
Regarding Part C, the Q&A section of the web site should be renamed – maybe feedback – since there are no answers and prior questions cannot be seen. The model IFSP link on the Home tab is dead. The reason Modules 2 -7 are missing on the major topics tab should be clarified (they do not apply to Part C), Part C Guidance on the Major Topics tab should be placed more prominantly with an indication of the contents to encourage exploration.
The formats for the Part B and Part C web sites are completely different. There should be consistency between the two. The organization of Part B is very confusing to me. Clearly, Part B is far more complex than Part C, but tab format might make it easier to access relevant information. At least some of the topics in the “Check These Out” box in Part B could be changed to a series of tabs to make access to the statute, regs and training more prominant. The Trainings link doesn’t lead to any training material and could instead be linked to the Dialog Guides page as this is where training material links are located. Since the items under Major Topics lead to the matching Dialog Guide, Major Topics might work as a tab. The Dialogue Guides pages themselves seem well set up to accomodate additional training materials as they are added.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on the web site.
I am a researcher/faculty member at a university. I often direct students and parents to this site – for various types of information and I also use the site to read regulations, priorities, and upcoming grant opportunities.
The functionality of the site is poor. Please do not have so much information on a page – scrolling and scrolling is problematic, particularly if anyone wants to print. I suggest that after clicking from the menu on the right, that the key information for a given topic be parsed more efficiently and that submenus be used –
The site looks very much like “old” days of the internet. Look at the Head Start website for an example on a functional, contemporary website. The IES website is also well done. Follow the examples please – and your visitors will have a much better experience.
I’m a special education resource teacher of elementary school. I would like to see more resources for assistive technology in regards to iPads. Many students with Language impairments/deficits and autisim would benefit from the applications designed to meet their needs. Currently, in our district, this is not an option from the AT department. We need more grant opportunities for special education teachers.
As a parent advocate for students with Dyslexia, I find many families need resources first about their special education rights and second about those rights as they pertain to Dyslexia.
When searching “Dyslexia” on the site, the resources/guidance previously provided on Dyslexia does not come up. Only references to Statutes and Regulations. I would respectfully request that the guidance documents and information specific to Dyslexia be built in to the site to be easily accessible for use by families and parents.
Recreational Therapy is a related service for individuals with an IEP, however many families are not aware that this is a covered service, nor aware of how to best request and advocate for it. Unfortunately, we often hear that other professionals on the student’s IEP team are also not fully aware of Recreational Therapy and what it can offer, which also contributes to lack of it’s utilization. The site needs to clearly list and explain ALL of the services available to students with special needs and provide resources to help families and IEP team members become more fully aware of the multitude of services available and how to access them. We are doing a dis-service to the students, and potentially limiting their success, by not taking advantage of all of the services in which they are ENTITLED, which includes Recreational Therapy provided by an individual that possesses the national CTRS credential (Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist).
As a parent of a child with an IEP and an educator who has referred children for special services, I used the due process parts of the website as well as the timeline for services. A more user friendly timeline would be better.
My son will start school and an IEP program this summer. Now, he is under CDSA. So, I’m new to this website. But, on first glance, it is not user friendly at all. Clicking a link takes you to a page of links with no context or narrative. The structure and interface of this site could help guide users to resources but now it assumes prior knowledge to navigate the site. Even starting with basic definitions and charts that visualize where your needs fit in the larger landscape would be a huge help.
I agree with Mary who commented that there is a need for Mental Health Services at the school level, and I would add, collaboration with evidence-based services: wraparound therapeutic services, temporary home teaching, Collaborative Problem Solving training as promoted by Dr Ross Greene (“Lost at School” & other pubs). As Dr. Greene says, “Children do well if they can.” Promote ideas & methods that stop blaming parents. Look at healthy school lunches & make it part of the curriculum (as done in France, or even Waldorf schools). Incorporate & fund Arts & Music programs. My son did not have an IEP until 9th grade when he shut down & wanted to kill himself. I stayed home to raise him & there was no trauma. But he showed signs of Sensory Processing Disorder, Aspergers traits (extreme social anxiety), etc. at Kindergarten level. He performed well academically, but I can’t help bet feel ripped off by a ‘system’ that is not built to include learning differences. Early intervention is key, as my son’s best friend with Aspergers Dx received many services & now on his way to college, whereas mine was undiagnosed & struggling to graduate with his peers.
Hello,
I am a parent of two children on the spectrum. One child is on an IEP and the other on a 504. Neither child’s needs are actually addressed. Neither have academic challenges but social/emotional and communication deficits. Schools here are quick to push kid off of ieps and they have to flounder until they fall below their peers significantly. I advocate for both if my children within the rules of IDEA, FAPE, and Section 504. The rules don’t help many of the kids that are twice exceptional, or they just fall through be he cracks of the system. It would help if there were more accountability for education systems, and if there were more honest to goodness ‘individual’ learning opportunities. Also, what protections would be in place for states that do not fully fund education like Washington state?
Would it be possible to create a telephone hotline for individuals to call to have their questions answered? This could include a Spanish hotline as well. Although there are many people in this country with the skills necessary to research the website and submit questions by email, there also exist many parents who lack these basic skills. We need to have a designated telephone hotline for parents and grandparents to call to discuss their concerns with people trained in the IDEA. This could either be at the national or state level. In order to serve the needs of our most vulnerable students, we have to consider the challenge their parents face in regard to our accessibility.
It seems to me that there should be an easily found and searchable version of the full text of IDEA on the site. Also, that text should have embedded links to other sections whenever one is mentioned in it. Also, anywhere on the site that it is mentioned that one should see their state regulations for something, there should be a link to search your states regulations on that exact thing.
I would like to more information on inclusion and inclusive educational practices for students with disabilities. I would also like to see links to information for general education teachers on inclusion of students with disabilities with an IEP or 504 plan. I also would like the site translated into Spanish and other languages please.
As a principal I would like to see more information on inclusive education for students with IEPs. I would like to see resources for general education teachers on how to better facilitate inclusive learning for students with a variety of disabilities. I also would like to see this website easily translated into Spanish as well as other languages that represent our students in our schools within the United States.
Hello – I’m the Executive Director of Student Services in Hillsboro School District in Hillsboro, OR. We are working on becoming a more inclusive school district. I would like to see some resources for educators regarding the law and inclusion, how districts can lead/practice inclusion and why inclusion is extremely important for us to educate all students. One such website is the following:
http://www.inclusiveschooling.com
Thank you,
Elaine Fox, Ed.D.
Some of the previous content is no longer available on the new site. I would recommend ensuring the following are on:
National Center for Parent Information and Resources
http://www.parentcenterhub.org/ or Spanish http://www.parentcenterhub.org/lista-espanol/
See also information on IDEA at http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/idea/
Parent Training and Information Centers-listed on CPIR
http://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center/
The Resources for Access, Independence, Self-Advocacy and Employment Center
http://www.spanadvocacy.org/content/national-raise-technical-assistance-center
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
http://www.pbis.org/
Information for families http://www.pbis.org/family can also put Spanish in search box
Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education
http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/
Information for families http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/forfamilymembers.cfm
Or Spanish http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/index_espanol.cfm
US Department of Education-Federal Resources for Stakeholders
https://www.osepideasthatwork.org/node/175 can also put Spanish in search box
Yes, I agree with your recommendations. Thank you!
While I agree with the previous comments about content and functional improvements that are needed on the IDEA site, I also think that it is important for people with disabilities who rely on the use of assistive technology to be able to access this site without barriers.
For this reason, OSEP needs to acknowledge that 56.7 million – or nearly one in five Americans – live with some form of disability and that action must be taken to ensure that the new site design complies with WCAG 2.0, Level AA for accessibility.
A recent review of government websites shows that many of them do not comply with the federal government’s own regulations for accessibility (https://www.fedscoop.com/page-load-speeds-accessibility-issues-hamper-federal-website-experience-itif-says/).
The IDEA site should serve as an exemplar of accessibility, rather than fall into the ranks of other government sites that miss the mark.
In K-12 education, the issue of accessibility is a huge problem. Accessibility is being largely ignored in the midst of a rapid migration to digital content, the use of open educational resources (OER) and districts creating their own curricula. To quote Dr. Dave Edyburn, “Whereas inclusion has provided access to the general education classroom, there is little evidence to indicate that students with disabilities have been provided with equally effective access to the general curriculum.”
This reality has to change and that change starts with OSEP leading by example.
Agree! Equal access to all curriculum and resources is a necessity!
Excellent suggestion
Thank you for addressing this issue! Absolutely agree.
As the CEO of the 501c3 non-profit, Dyslexic Advantage, I would like to see more user-friendly resources about Dyslexia, the most common learning difference. Recent guidance letters about dyslexia by Michael Yudin and Arne Duncan should be included as well as practical information about what protections should be available for students with dyslexia under the IDEA. The site should also be accessible to dyslexics with adjustable fonts and text to speech options as many parents of dyslexic children are also dyslexic themselves.
The issues that are critical to our community include the IEP and 504 processes, right and process to appeal when students aren’t receiving an appropriate education, and the clarification that students don’t need to be failing to still qualify for appropriate accommodations and supports.
On the current site, when the term ‘dyslexia’ is put into the search function, there is no hierarchy of helpful information geared to parents or dyslexic students. The site merely lists whenever the term ‘dyslexia’ is used in a statute. It is difficult for someone to know what supports and protections a student may have.
Please feel free to contact me / our organization for additional feedback We appreciate the initiative to design a better and more helpful website. We have one of the largest organizations of dyslexic families in the US (50,000) and several in our community are both dyslexic and user design professionals.
As a parent of a dyslexic child, I would like to reinforce the above comment. The IDEA website is not a resource that I rely on for guidance in the following areas:
Dyslexia screening
State laws specific to Dyslexia
Info re IEP and 504 rights and accommodation.
Options for Structured Literacy programs in the public schools.
Assistive Technologies for the Dyslexic child that are available in the public schools.
Structured Literacy training ex: Orton-Gillingham, programs for educators.
List of parent advocacy groups.
Thank you for considering
I agree with both Fernette and Michelle. I am an educator, certified Dyslexia Practitioner, Individual with Dyslexia and have two (adult) children with Dyslexia… I feel it is EXTREMELY important that the IDEA website has CLEAR, easy to use links and language to access information and continue to build upon momentum to require states and public schools (and any schools receiving public funds from ANY sources whatsoever, including “grants”, “vouchers”, “scholarships” etc. from public funds) to provide screening measures, early identification and assessment measures, structured literacy instruction and intervention as early as possible by trained/certified professionals. It is also essential that clear processes, recommendations and guidelines for the identification, assessment, intervention, instruction, advocacy and supports and accommodations for students with Dyslexia in conjunction with information from The International Dyslexia Association and many innovative and cutting edge resources, such as Fernette’s incredibly useful Dyslexic Advantage organization (which offers a monthly magazine free of charge and an additional Premium subscription at an extremely affordable rate).
It is EXTREMELY important that the language of ESSA identifying Dyslexia, Dysgraphia and Dyscalculia be maintained as LEARNING DISABILITIES (in and of themselves) and that these MUST be NAMED and IDENTIFIED (and student need must be addressed) in Public Schools and ANY organizations receiving ANY funding from the federal government. It is essential that this language and these recommendations and the funding formerly allocated to address Dyslexia within the US Educational System NOT be abandoned, and if any changes to existing Educational law are being made, that these crucial changes are not eliminated or altered, as these recommendations and the focus of funding etc. has been DECADES in the making!
As a parent of three children on IEPs, please make an infographic, so that families who may not be English Proficient can see the due process of IDEA. I have ALWAYS wanted to see a “roadmap” if you will of the Special Education process. Even after three children having MFEs/ETRs every three years, I still find the whole system tedious and confusing. Also posting “typical” benchmarks and standards would be beneficial, so we can easily see where our children need to be and help with goal writing. Thank you for bringing the site back.
I agree with all of this, as another parent of two children on IEPs!
As the parent of a student with special needs and New York City resident, I use this website frequently to research my son’s rights under federal law. This site is a valuable resource for anyone who works in education or with someone who has special needs, and I just wanted to show support for this online portal of essential information. Thank you!
Our government need to educate teachers and principles what IDEA and FAPE is and have information regarding students rights. In our district, if they can’t accommodate they tailor the assessment so they don’t have to bear the burden. So disabilities which are not related to strictly academics are ignored. The office of civil rights needs to be present to ensure accountability. Like all minories- they disappear if you close your eyes- not a solution.
Much agree with this comment!
I am a school based physical therapist and an early intervention therapist. I agree the calls for translation links to other languages, particularly Spanish. I also agree the text of the law needs to be easily accessible. Parents and professionals need to be able to navigate this site more intuitively. I appreciate the opportunity to voice an opinion in this redesign process and to read what others have to say.
I don’t have all day to comb over the site, but here are a few easy thoughts. The page (in Chrome) is hard to read. It looks like it was programmed by an eighth grader. It covers only half my screen, whereas the main Ed.gov page covers the entire screen. This page I’m writing on is in full screen. I use the IDEAS that Work page and when I type that into the search box, it gives me “2314 matches found” with everything BUT a link to the site for Ideas that Work (SERIOUSLY, I’m not looking for 2,314 documents that have the word idea in it. I’m looking for the link to that page and it should be top of the NUMBER ONE search stack.) I did find it under the TA&D Network link on the right-hand side of the page, but again, seriously, how am I supposed to know that the TA&D Network links to Ideas that Work. Your department is so jargony as to be of little help to time-starved parents looking for help for their disabled children. The information on Dyslexia is so weak (eight results in the search feature?)
I don’t understand why it needs changing. Seems more of a solution looking for a problem. I didn’t think the old site was/is broken. Seems like a bureaucrat is looking for job security. Maybe you could put those that want to change the site into the schools to see how it is actually used?
I’d like to see some basic information that is more easily accessible to all users. Things like the main protections of the IDEA (FAPE, LRE, IEP, Due Process, Fair Assessment), with a user-friendly description of each. I think that basic information should head each of the pages, with the appropriate links to the official documents. For teachers, it would be nice to have information about universal design for learning, as well as links to pertinent education research – particularly from major sources like the American Education Research Association. Mostly, I’m just worried that individuals with disabilities will end up being again sorted into isolated, lesser schools if the voucher system does not mandate IDEA compliance in schools receiving federal funds. I’d like to know how that will be prevented.
(1) the basic process of referral, assessment, development, and implementation of an IEP, and it’s review and revision, should be easy to find and understand. (2) The big key concerns should be easy to find and understand how they are supposed to be handled, e.g., academic instruction, communication, behavior, accommodations, modifications, and placement. With each subject you can break them down into sub topics. There should be a table of contents and subject matter site map. (3) There should be a resource tab with links to the codes and regulations, OSEP letters, and every state agency that decides issues. (4) Videos, forms, and other informational downloads should be easy to find by types. E.g., click here for a full list of videos. (5) There should be a translated version of the site into different languages that is easy to identify from the front page and the first thing someone should see on the front page of each of the translated sites is their right to translation and participation in the process. (6) The website should also include information on the current regulatory process so people can comment on changes, making it clear when the timeframes start and end in the process. (7) Everyone on the old page should have a place on the new page, to ensure it is equally up to par in content.
There are a lot of things that should be done but it should be well organized and information driven. The current site is not bad but it’s outdated. Sepecial education is not easy for parents to understand and the families are often dealing with a lot so become an expert is not always practical. I personally would recommend hiring a majority of people who work with Parents, not local educational agencies, because they are familiar with speaking to families and how information should be presented. You should strive for an objective understanding of the IDEA’s legal requirements when describing the rights and responsibilities.
I agree with this, and especially like the suggestion in #6 to show the current regulations/changes in progress.
I am a parent. I would like to see a detailed explanation about how the IDEA will be enforced if school vouchers are put into place. I have used the site for ECI resources and to research how IDEA applies to private school students.
As an educator who supports school choice, I would like to see more services for students with mental health issues. They are not covered with PLSA or gardener scholarships and they do not necessarily need a specialized school, rather, support within school or for full time homeschool/tutoring/therapy. Mental is grossly underserved and must be addressed. IDEA needs to pay more attention to this.
I feel we need more individualized learning. In the 1950’s and 1960’s that is the kind of teaching that was done. I am not saying we need one room schools but we have gotten away from students learning on their own ability. We have put students in boxes 6 year olds go in first grade 7 year olds go in 2nd grade and so on box after box. It has been proven over and over children do not all learn at the same pace yet they are being made to do just that. If you don’t keep up you are pushed on any way. We need to get back to teaching on the ability of the child not the box.
There is very little support for children with Autism and they mostly get baby sat rather than taught. I would like to see diet become a major factor in the classroom, as it is so important for these kids. The schools all give the kids junk food that makes them stim and become aggressive. The kids need additional time to prepare for and to take exams for a high school diploma. They are called “developmentally delayed,” however where is the additional compensatory time for them to get their diploma? 21 years is insufficient. These kids also need tutors at home, provided by Dept of Education.
Emily raises a valid point. According to the Autism Speaks organization’s website, “Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders are among the most common medical conditions associated with autism.” As an educator myself, I certainly have seen evidence in the viability of this statement. Diet and nutrition should be incorporated into the IDEA website in some capacity.
There are units for Autistic students that address the needs, including nutrition. Funding the program is an issue especially in rural areas that do not have a tax base to provide incentives to attract highly qualified teachers for regular classes, much less special needs units.
I am a teacher, certified administrator and a parent. Regretfully, I have found the IDEA website to lack substance in two areas.
First, please address the needs of gifted students on the site. There are states that realize “gifted” is a special need and thus afford the gifted population individualized education programs (IEP’s) to address their unique needs. Regretfully, this is not the case nationwide. A strong commitment to this country’s gifted population is not reflected on the US Department of Education’s website. This needs to be improved upon.
My second suggestion relates to a quality arts education that extends to students with special needs. The arts are integral to every child’s growth and development. The department’s website should provide not only a statement on the importance of quality arts instruction for the student with special needs. It should include resources as to how to effectively incorporate quality arts instruction into the educational program for these students. Arts education should be regarded as a necessary component of a quality education.
With all the cuts, and the push to Charter schools, I am afraid that IDEA will be lost and ESE children will suffer. If we are going to have Charters, we must insist that IDEA be followed and that Special Services must be provided. In Texas, speech therapy will no longer be covered by insurance. The IDEA website should provide parents with alternatives for the un- oor underinsured.
There should also be ways for the parents to learn what they can do to keep IDEA fully supported.
I have taught special ed for 36 years.
I hold a masters’ degree is exceptional education and have almost 30 years experience. I use this site when advocating for my students to help ensure they receive the services they are entitled to under IDEA. Sadly, many parents do not know their rights as they are pushed through the system by “experts” who sit at a table and say they know what is best for their children. I would recommend this site be more user friendly, using clear and easy to understand language to guide users to the resources they need. Q & A pages on specific topics such as: IEPs, related services, extended school year, etc. might be helpful – I’d love to see a “Send your question” section.
Specially trained administrators who have a thorough knowledge of all special needs students, ones that cannot be pulled out to help in the regular ed admin
I would like to ensure that any school that accepts federal or state funding (directly or through school vouchers) must adhere to IDEA laws and guidelines.
Searching for Guidance letters, Policy updates, etc. A prior search engine would allow you to filter the topic by type of material, whether it be guidance letters, policy, decisions, laws, etc. Having a filter on searching would be extremely helpful!
I second Robbi Cooper – Parent Advocate Decoding Dyslexia’s comments regarding IDEA.
Parent
You might take a look at the resources offered on the website of the National Association of Special Education Teachers, which although most are only available to subscribers has much practical information that the IDEA does not. Such as IEP Development, How to Series, and more practical information for both teachers and parents. It would be useful for the IDEA website to have a section for teachers and parents that are geared toward their needs.
I would recommend pictures for the front page be more representative of the age span through 22.
OSEP Guidance Letters are vital to parents and it would be helpful if these were easy to find, LEA’s and SEA’s also use guidance letters, they help all understand complex issues.
Text of IDEA could be indexed and easily click able from one section to another. It would be great to be able print off sections.
The search function could point to evidence-based best practices, links to local, state, and national resources. It would be very helpful if one wanted information on Dyslexia that the search of the term would bring up numerous links from definitions to guidance to regulations to parent resources.
As a member of Decoding Dyslexia I would be happy to help on a task force to make disability resources that parents use frequently more straightforward from your site. I would also like to discuss how new education models could be implemented with disability in mind upfront to ensure success for both students and the schools that serve them.
Success or failure for students with disabilities hinges on good planning upfront. Thanks for making sure your site works in the very best manner and includes easy to find information to serve this amazing population of students to support families and schools in helping them find success.
I find myself regularly in disagreements with my LEA and need to be able to cite law to resolve the disagreement. Therefore, I would like a way to search OSERS decisions and court cases for legal decisions. I also think some basic training information in a video format would be helpful to both parents and educators.
Search wrightslaw.com
Great easy case law on this site
Hello, I am a parent.
I would like to see IDEA.gov translated into other languages, particularly Spanish. In Texas, ESL families are disproportionately and negatively affected by a lack of knowledge about their children’s’ rights. There was a 12 year illegal cap on special ed services in Texas and a high percentage of the children denied services were Spanish speaking. I think information about the website should be included on all public school registration forms.
Hello. The IDEA website needs to be available in Spanish and other languages, as ESL families are disproportionately and negatively affected by a lack of knowledge of their kids’ educational rights. In Texas, Spanish speaking special needs families were systematically denied services because of an illegal special ed cap for 12 years. Information in Spanish and the inclusion of the website on all public school registration forms would be helpful.
I am simply a mom of a mentally ill 2nd grader. I know nothing about all the things you spoke of above. I know nothing about all the laws that apply. I am too busy running between therapist appointments and psychiatrist appointments and dodging her attempts to kick me and hit me and break everything in the house. And take calls from the school about how she is tearing things from the walls and is being put in the ” control room” yet again. I”m too busy trying to survive life with my daughter.
Ask for help from your schools child study team Schools have psychologists Social Workers mental health workers to help your child in school. And help you navigate the community system
If your child has an iep call for demand iep revision meeting something not working.
May need behavior plan or more restrictive environment
Um, that doesn’t always help. In our personal story it resulted in my child being sent home almost daily. The school refused to call it a suspension, but they told me I had to leave work to get my child. My kid wasn’t getting an education anyway when most of the day is spent against a wall, in the corner, and the closet in the teachers lounge. Then I lost my job. I finally withdrew my child once the teachers started bullying and no one at school would help us. No one wants to help us.
Even if the school wasn’t calling it a suspension, if they were being sent home IT WAS. An LEA has 10 days and that time when they call you to come pick them up early is included in that 10 days, fyi. I work in SPED compliance in NC and look at these things. I would take your documentation to someone higher up than the principal at the school. Because, depending on your child’s eligibility, behavioral needs, and the pattern of the behavior, sounds like some manifestation determination meetings should have taken place. As another commentator said, LRE should have been adjusted by the school.
She has an iep with a behavior plan that only works as well as her medication works. Which I am made to feel is my fault. I wish the school worked with me and her care /therapy team. It is all so adversarial with I and my daughter caught in the middle. I wish there was some sort of advocate entity of the state I could turn to to represent my daughter’s best interests without costing me funds I don’t have. Isn’t that part of the best educational situation?
Contact your state department of public instruction. There is someone there to work with you. And once your school/EC Director becomes aware that you have contacted the State they will be MUCH more willing to work with you.
We need more support for children with mental health issues. I hope this can be front and center with changes in education
I agree with K and want to add, make sure your doctors and the school are in communication with each other. Also, sometimes a different setting or teacher/para could be a better fit for your child. Work with teachers to come up with a behavior plan specifically for positive reinforcements. Figure out what will work for your child at home and share with teachers.
Parents and educators need vetted resources they can turn to when they have questions about their rights and responsibilities. As a parent, retired educator and practicing advocate I rely on idea.ed.gov on a regular basis.
One of my fears is, the Department of Education will be terminated on Dec. 31, 2018, as proposed in a current House Bill in Congress. If that occurs, what resources will be available for parents, educators, self-advocates, and community members?
I most often use the links for the Regulations and FAQ. I have my own presentations I use for speaking. However, if the Presentations could be updated so they are more engaging – less text on the slides, more images, and notes for the presenter – many parent support groups and other organizations could use them for training purposes.
I don’t think the current video clips are very useful. If those could be re-done that would be helpful. When I worked for a Parent Training and Information Center, I referred to the Dialogue Guides.
I suggest adding information that could be more easily understood by self-advocates.
The other source of information I use on a weekly basis are the OSEP Guidance Letters. Again, if the Department of Education is eliminated we will lose this rich resource.
Thank you for posting this survey. Hopefully, you will receive input from many more people.
I am a researcher who likes to keep abreast of the Department of Ed’s upcoming research priorities and grant opportunities. I like to make comments on the priorities and learn of grant opportunities in a timely manner. Please make these easy to find in your new website design. Thank you.
Hello,
As a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) and a former related service provider for individuals with special needs with IEPs, I use IDEA.ed.gov to find current information to support Therapeutic Recreation services being offered in school systems. I most often encourage other educators, families, and students to search the related services sections of the IDEA legislation to discover that Therapeutic Recreation is a related service to which all students with special needs are entitled. So many educators, families, and students are unaware of the related services that are potentially available to them, and this needs to change. IDEA.gov could really help improve the advocacy of these truly beneficial services available to all of our students with special needs.
I would like to see a greater highlight, and as a result, advocacy for all the possible related services legally available to students with special needs in the school systems, especially Therapeutic Recreation, provided by a CTRS, as a related service.
I would like to ensure that any school that accepts federal or state funding (directly or through school vouchers) must adhere to IDEA laws and guidelines.
Look into the state complaint process for your state. They will investigate and mandate a resolution based on findings.
Yes!!!!!!
As a parent of a preschooler with an intellectual disability I’ve relied on the IDEA website for legalese concerning my son’s right to an inclusive and supportive education. I’ve used it to fight for ESY in my local school district. If I’m not mistaken, IDEA is up for reauthorization soon. I would like any new legislation to be included. Also, many parents are anxious about their child’s right to IDEA being eroded by a voucher system, because most private schools deny students like my son. I would like reassurance that my son will be able to use a voucher and still have his IDEA rights protected.
Would like a better avenue than litigiousness when it comes to making schools more accountable for figuring out and correctly enforcing the different ways our children with autism learn. All schools have to do now is meet a legal minimum of effort in trying to educate our children with autism. I am a mother of an 8 year old with autism in a public school that is overwhelmed with a large population of preschool and elementary students with autism. I have found IDEA to be a stale topic that does not serve its audience. I am looking forward to different ideas about IDEA on this website.
It’s unfortunate that the lack of funding to schools is at the heart of all issues concerning properly educating students with and without special needs. Schools need to be accountable and strive to be however, can only work within the confines and limitations of funding and available resources.
I agree, there needs to be a better avenue than litigation.
Yes all students have a right to Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and it’s not fair if a parent can not find or afford a school that caters to their child’s needs. This will always be the struggle amongst the classes. However, pursuing litigation against schools will not produce a better outcome for all.
Keep the text of IDEA indexed and easily click able and indexed from one section to another. As a parent I have needed the actual text of the law to remind others of my child’s rights. Just having a pdf to scroll through makes the law difficult to access. Please keep the text of the law as it is currently constituted.
I’m a former teacher educator – and have a doctorate in Special Education, as such I have relied on OSERS, IDEA and ed.gov resources in the past. I am also the mom of a toddler. In that role (as a concerned parent looking for information) I found the site to be overly technical and not welcoming to the stakeholders for which it should be the most accessible. The search function didn’t give me any evidence-based best practices, past research results, or even promising practices. Links to local, state, and national resources would be a plus too. Thank you.
Site looks good. The only issue I see is the ease of the search tool. If I search for “Resource room research” I see pages of “Regulations”, etc. Is there a way to identify the need that we are actually searching for?
I am an SEA Special Education Administrator. I use the IDEA website daily. Primarily the Part B regulations. I regularly copy and paste regulations to send to parents, teachers, administrators, advocates, and others. The current word and PDF versions copy and paste poorly. It would be most helpful for there to perhaps be a hyperlink attached to each individual regulation that would lead to a better printer and copy version. Thank you for your consideration.
As an educator of learning differences and a parent of learning differences, I want continued and seamless support of IDEA (2004), LRE and full support of all things educational within the world of learning differences. I want best practices and best motivations in helping to guide our young people toward citizenship. My web hub is http://www.GettingSorted.com, which leads you to all the related URLs.
I teach workshops in the community, and continue to build educational content. I am in your service.
Hello,
I am the director of Montana US Department of Education funded Parent Training and Information Center for the state of Montana. The three resources we use most are the IDEA site, the Guidance Letters, and OCR. The IDEA site is a quick way to find portions of the rules and law that may be shared with families, schools, or others when questions arise. We refer people on a daily basis to the site. The guidance letters are also useful to educate both families and schools on their rights and responsibilities. Because the source is the department, the content receives respect. Finally, OCR is very responsive to inquiries and has a wealth of information to share. There is a need on the part of schools and families for guidance on model implementation of 504.