Hearings Scheduled on Special Education Rules
Proposed rules to help schools determine children’s need for special
education are up for public comment in the next two weeks.
The state Department of Public Instruction has scheduled a series of
public hearings on proposed rules setting eligibility criteria for children
with disabilities. The intent of the rules is to assist teams that prepare
individualized education programs (IEPs) in making an accurate determination
of an impairment and need for special education.
The agency says the intent is not to expand the number of children eligible
for special education, or to cause the identification rate of children
with disabilities to increase.
“Some of the criteria are drastically different than those currently
in place,” said WEAC Instruction and Professional Development Director
Katie Schultz Stout. “Members need to let the DPI know their opinions
of the rules in person or in writing. People directly involved in making
assessments should share their experience and knowledge with the agency.
They are the ones who can best say whether the criteria will allow teams
to appropriately identify student needs.”
The department is asking for comments on whether the proposed rules would
result in increased special education rates. Under the proposed rules,
an IEP team evaluating a child with a potential disability must:
- Use more than one procedure to determine whether the child has a disability
or to set the appropriate educational program for the child.
- Decide whether an impairment specified in the rules adversely affects
the child’s educational performance, requiring the need for special
education and related services for the child.
- Determine the child’s needs that cannot be met in the regular
education setting; modifications that can be made in the regular education
program; potential harmful effects if the child does not receive special
education; and the need for additions or modifications to the child’s
special education and related services in order for the child to meet
his or her goals.
The rules also describe eligibility criteria to identify children with
cognitive disabilities; visual, hearing, speech and language impairments;
specific learning disabilities; and emotional behavioral disabilities.
The hearing schedule:
- Dec. 7: 3-7 p.m., Portage Public Library.
- Dec. 8: 3-7 p.m., CESA 6, Oshkosh; and CESA 3, Fennimore.
- Dec. 9: 3-7 p.m., Western Wisconsin Technical College, La Crosse;
and CESA 8, Gillett.
- Dec 10: 3-7 p.m., Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Green Bay.
- Dec. 14: 4-7 p.m., GEF 3 Building, Madison.
- Dec. 15: 3-7 p.m., Milwaukee Public Schools Administration Building.
Written comments should go to Lori Slausen, administrative rules coordinator,
125 S. Webster St., P.O. Box 7841, Madison, WI 53707 by Dec. 31. The rules
are online at www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dlsea/een/doc/eenidea2.doc.
Posted December 4, 1998