Meeting the AT Needs of Preschool Students Under

The IDEA

Ronald M. Hager, Esq., Senior Staff Attorney,

National Disability Rights Network, Washington, D.C.

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This Session Will Focus On:

• The IDEA Part C Program for infants and toddlers

• Selected Issues for Preschool students under Part B of the IDEA

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Additional Materials for This Session Can be Found at:

• AT Advocate Winter 2009-2010 available at http://www.nls.org/av/Winter%2009-10.pdf

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IDEA Part C: Early Intervention Program

• strong emphasis on prevention

• services are designed to meet

developmental needs of each child the “needs of the family related to enhancing

child’s development

• due to young age of child, services may be much less “educational”

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Introduction

States required to develop a:

• “statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system

• that provides early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families”

• Designate a lead agency that is responsible for overall implementation

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Eligibility for Part C

Child must:

• be between birth and age two

• have developmental delay in one or more of the following:

cognitive development physical development including vision and

hearing

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Eligibility, continued

communication development

social or emotional development

adaptive development, or

diagnosed physical or mental condition high probability of resulting in developmental delay, and

at state’s discretion, at-risk infants and toddlers

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Part C is Payor of Last Resort

• Part C is payor of last resort

• Child need not be eligible for Medicaid

• But if available, Medicaid or private insurance must be used to pay for early intervention

• Use cannot result in reduction of coverage

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Process Begins with Referral

• Comprehensive child find system

State must develop and publicize procedures for referring children

Parents may refer directly

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Service Coordinator

• Must be appointed by implementing agency

• Responsible for overall implementation and coordination of services

• Must be from profession most relevant to child or family needs or otherwise qualified

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Comprehensive, Multidisciplinary Evaluation

Designed to identify:

• child’s unique strengths and needs• appropriate services to meet needs• family resources, priorities and concerns • the supports and services necessary to enhance

family’s capacity to meet needs

Must include review of health and medical records

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Evaluation, continued

Must assess functioning level and uniqueneeds of child in following areas:

Cognitive

Physical

Communication

Social and emotional, and

Adaptive behavior

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Developing the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)

IFSP must be based on professionally acceptable

objective criteria

IFSP must be written and include:

• current level of physical (including vision, health, hearing), cognitive, communication, social or emotional, adaptive development

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IFSP, continued

• Family resources, priorities, concerns (if family agrees)

• Expected outcomes and how progress will be evaluated

• Services necessary to meet unique needs including;

Frequency, intensity, method of delivering services Natural environments Location of services Payment arrangements, if any

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IFSP, continued

• any services child needs that are not required under Part C

• funding sources to pay for those services

• name of service coordinator

• projected dates for initiation of services

• anticipated duration of services

• transition plan

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Services Available are Very Broad, Include:

• family training, counseling, home visits

• special instruction

• speech-language pathology and audiology services

• physical therapy

• psychological services

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Available Services, continued

• service coordination services

• medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes

• early identification, screening and assessment services

• health services necessary to benefit from other early intervention services

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Available Services, continued

• social work services

• vision services

• AT devices and AT services

• transportation and related costs necessary to receive other services

List is not exhaustive

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Assistive Technology is Covered Service

AT device:

• any item or piece of equipment

• used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities

• does not include surgically implanted devices• personally prescribed devices may be covered

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AT Service

Directly assists in:

• Selection

• Acquisition

• Use of AT device

• Includes training or technical assistance for professionals, individual or family

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Examples of AT Used by Infants/Toddlers

• Manual or power wheelchairs

• Specialized strollers or car seats

• Specially adapted toys and recreational equipment

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Examples of AT, continued

• Assistive listening devices including hearing aids, personal FM units, CCTV

• Assistive feeding devices including electric feeders

• Augmentative communication devices

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Right to Appeal

• Right to impartial hearing

• Right to confidentiality of records

• Stay put

All services not in dispute continue to be provided

All services currently being provided continue to be provided

• Systemic complaints

Services to preschool students under Part B

• All general rights available to school age students apply

• States may elect to allow parents to have continue to receive services under Part C until they reach kindergarten age

– Services must include an educational component that promotes school readiness

– Including pre-literacy, language and numbers

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Transition to Part B

• Transition plan must be included in IFSP

• Planning meeting must be held at least 90 days before student ages out of Part C

• Must ensure uninterrupted provision of services

• No stay put for Part C services

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FAPE and LRE Apply

• School district must meet LRE even if it does not operate a public preschool

• In such cases, if the district determines that placement in a private preschool program is necessary as a means to provide services to a student in the LRE, the program must be at no cost to the family. 71 Fed. Reg. 46589.

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Transition to School Age Services

• Must be a seamless process

• Due Process rights apply

• Stay put rights apply