FTCE Exceptional Student Education K-12 cheat sheet

IDEA (originally PL 94-142, Education for All Handicapped Children Act, 1975) guarantees FAPE in the least restrictive environment for eligible students ages 3-21 through an IEP; Part C covers infants and toddlers ages 0-2 through an IFSP.

The 13 IDEA disability categories are: autism, deaf-blindness, deafness, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairment including blindness.

IDEA's six core principles: zero reject, nondiscriminatory evaluation, free appropriate public education, least restrictive environment, procedural due process, and parent and student participation.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973) prohibits disability discrimination in federally funded programs; eligibility requires only a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, so it is broader than IDEA and provides accommodations without an IEP or IDEA funding.

The ADA (1990) extends nondiscrimination beyond schools to employment, public services, and places of public accommodation, but does not itself fund or create IEP services.

Child Find requires states to identify, locate, and evaluate all children suspected of having a disability, including children who are homeless, wards of the state, or enrolled by their parents in private schools.

Specific learning disability is the largest eligibility category nationally, typically about one-third to 40 percent of all students served under IDEA.

Giftedness is not an IDEA category; Florida serves gifted students through state ESE eligibility rules and an Educational Plan (EP), which is not an IEP.

LRE is determined individually: removal from general education is permissible only when education in regular classes with supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily, and the district must make available a full continuum of alternative placements.

Florida timeline: the initial evaluation must be completed within 60 school days of receiving parental consent, and if the child is eligible an IEP must be developed within 30 calendar days of the eligibility determination.

Reevaluation is required at least every three years (triennial) unless the parent and the school district agree in writing that a reevaluation is unnecessary.

Score conversions to memorize: standard score mean 100, SD 15; T-score mean 50, SD 10; stanine mean 5 (range 1-9); scaled score mean 10, SD 3; percentile rank is the percentage of the norm group scoring at or below the obtained score, not percent correct.

Reliability refers to consistency of scores; validity refers to whether the instrument measures what it claims. A test can be reliable without being valid, but cannot be valid without being reliable.

The standard error of measurement estimates error in an obtained score and is used to build confidence intervals; differences between two scores should not be treated as real unless they exceed the error band.

Age-equivalent and grade-equivalent scores are the least technically defensible metrics because equal units are not maintained across the distribution; standard scores and percentile ranks are preferred for eligibility decisions.

Norm-referenced tests compare a student to a standardization sample; criterion-referenced tests compare performance to a fixed set of skills or a mastery standard and are better suited to instructional planning.

Curriculum-based measurement uses brief, standardized, timed probes administered repeatedly to quantify rate of growth and to judge whether an intervention is producing adequate response.

RTI is a multi-tiered framework: Tier 1 universal core instruction plus screening, Tier 2 targeted small-group intervention, Tier 3 intensive individualized intervention, all with progress monitoring and data-based decision rules.

IDEA assessment safeguards: instruments must be validated for the purpose used, administered by trained personnel, selected to assess specific areas of need, administered in the child's native language or mode of communication, and must not be racially or culturally discriminatory.

Alternate assessment on grade-level content standards (Florida's FSAA) is reserved for students with significant cognitive disabilities who require extensive direct instruction and supports across academic and adaptive domains.

Universal Design for Learning rests on three principles: multiple means of engagement (the why of learning), multiple means of representation (the what), and multiple means of action and expression (the how).

The five essential components of reading instruction identified by the National Reading Panel are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension; explicit, systematic phonics is the evidence-based approach for word-level reading difficulty.

Explicit instruction sequence: review and gain attention, state objective, model with clear demonstrations, provide guided practice with high response rates and corrective feedback, then independent practice to mastery.

Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) is the standard math sequence: manipulatives, then visual or drawn representations, then symbolic procedures, with the concrete stage faded gradually.

A prompt hierarchy is delivered least-to-most intrusive (verbal, gestural, model, physical) or most-to-least for errorless learning; prompts are systematically faded and data are collected on the level needed for correct responding.

Task analysis breaks a chained skill into discrete sequenced steps that are taught forward chaining, backward chaining, or total task presentation, with data taken step by step.

Accommodations change access without changing expectations (extended time, preferential seating, read-aloud, calculator, scribe); modifications change what is taught or the performance standard (reduced grade-level content, alternate assessment).

Co-teaching models: one teach/one observe, one teach/one assist, station teaching, parallel teaching, alternative teaching, and team teaching; station and parallel models increase active engagement and small-group contact.

Assistive technology ranges from low-tech (pencil grips, highlighters, picture schedules) to high-tech (speech-generating devices, text-to-speech, AAC systems); the SETT framework considers Student, Environment, Tasks, and Tools.

Transition planning content: measurable postsecondary goals in education or training, employment, and (as appropriate) independent living, plus transition services, course of study, and age-appropriate transition assessments; IDEA requires this no later than the first IEP in effect at age 16, and Florida requires a standard-diploma decision statement by age 14.

Functional behavioral assessment identifies antecedents, the target behavior, and consequences, then hypothesizes function: access to attention, escape or avoidance, access to tangibles or activities, or automatic/sensory reinforcement.

A behavior intervention plan must be based on the FBA, teach a functionally equivalent replacement behavior, alter antecedents, and arrange consequences; it is included in the IEP when behavior impedes the child's learning or that of others.

A manifestation determination review must occur within 10 school days of any decision to change placement for disciplinary reasons and must answer two questions: was the conduct caused by or directly and substantially related to the disability, and was it the direct result of the district's failure to implement the IEP.

A school may remove a student with a disability for up to 10 consecutive school days for any violation of the code of conduct, but removal beyond 10 school days (or a pattern totaling more than 10 days that constitutes a change of placement) requires services that enable progress toward IEP goals.

An interim alternative educational setting (IAES) is allowed for up to 45 school days for carrying or possessing a weapon, possessing or using illegal drugs, or inflicting serious bodily injury, regardless of the manifestation determination.

PBIS is a three-tier data-driven framework: universal schoolwide expectations and teaching (Tier 1), targeted group interventions such as check-in/check-out and social skills groups (Tier 2), and intensive individualized function-based supports (Tier 3).

Schedules of reinforcement: fixed ratio produces a pause after reinforcement; variable ratio yields high steady rates resistant to extinction; fixed interval produces scalloped responding; variable interval produces moderate steady rates; continuous reinforcement is used for acquisition and then thinned.

Extinction removes the maintaining reinforcer and typically produces an initial increase in rate, intensity, or variability (an extinction burst) before the behavior decreases; response cost removes earned reinforcement contingent on behavior.

Antecedent-based procedures prevent behavior before it occurs: precorrection, behavioral momentum (high-probability request sequences), clear expectations, structured routines, modified task difficulty, and signaled transitions.

Required IEP team members: the parent, at least one general education teacher if the child is or may be placed in general education, at least one special education teacher or provider, an LEA representative qualified to supervise special education and authorized to commit resources, an individual who can interpret evaluation results, related services personnel as appropriate, the student when appropriate, and other invitees at the parent's or district's discretion.

Prior written notice must be given to parents a reasonable time before the district proposes or refuses to initiate or change identification, evaluation, educational placement, or the provision of FAPE.

Procedural safeguards include parental consent, access to records, independent educational evaluation at public expense when parents disagree with a district evaluation, mediation, state complaint procedures, and due process hearings with a two-year statute of limitations on filing in Florida.

The IEP must be reviewed at least annually and must contain present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, measurable annual goals, a statement of special education and related services, explanation of LRE, accommodations for state and district testing, and a schedule for reporting progress to parents.

Transition services must be based on age-appropriate transition assessments, include measurable postsecondary goals, coordinated transition services and activities, and a course of study that will help the student reach those goals.

At age 18 in Florida (the age of majority) rights transfer to the student unless a legal determination of incompetence has been made; the district must notify the student and parent at least one year before the transfer.

A Summary of Performance must be provided when a student exits school by graduation or exceeding the age of eligibility, summarizing academic achievement and functional performance with recommendations for meeting postsecondary goals.

Key interagency partners include Vocational Rehabilitation for job training and placement, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Children and Families, and Centers for Independent Living.

FERPA governs confidentiality of education records: parents have the right to inspect and amend records, and information may be disclosed without consent only under specified exceptions such as directory information or a legitimate educational interest (need to know).