OAE Special Education (043) cheat sheet

IDEA disability categories (13): 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, visual impairment including blindness.

Specific learning disability exclusionary criterion: a disability is not SLD if the determinant factor is lack of appropriate instruction in reading or math, limited English proficiency, or cultural/economic disadvantage.

Dyslexia = word-level decoding and spelling deficit; dyscalculia = number sense and fact retrieval deficit; dysgraphia = written expression and handwriting deficit. They are manifestations of SLD, not separate IDEA categories.

Emotional disturbance requires one or more of five characteristics (inability to learn, relationship problems, inappropriate behavior, pervasive unhappiness/depression, physical symptoms/fears) exhibited over a long period and to a marked degree, adversely affecting performance.

ADHD is typically served under other health impairment (OHI) when it adversely affects educational performance; it is not its own IDEA category.

Autism eligibility centers on deficits in social communication and restricted/repetitive behavior that adversely affect educational performance; a diagnosis alone does not establish eligibility.

Intellectual disability requires significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior, manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affect educational performance.

Deaf-blindness is a combined hearing and vision impairment whose severity prevents the child from being accommodated solely through programs for deafness or blindness.

Twice-exceptional (2e) students show gifted ability plus a disability; strengths can mask the disability and the disability can mask giftedness, so both need assessment.

Child Find: districts must identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities residing in the jurisdiction who need special education, including private school and homeless children.

Evaluation timeline under IDEA: initial evaluation completed within 60 days of receiving parental consent, unless the state establishes its own timeframe; consent may be revoked at any time.

Evaluation must use a variety of assessment tools and strategies, not a single measure or assessment, and must be technically sound and administered by trained personnel.

Assessments must be selected and administered so as not to be racially or culturally discriminatory and administered in the child's native language or mode of communication unless clearly not feasible.

RTI cannot be used to delay or deny a parent's request for an initial evaluation; a district must respond to the request in writing within state timelines.

Disproportionality: assessments must be validated for the specific purpose for which they are used; screening instruments alone are insufficient to determine eligibility.

IEP team must review existing evaluation data (REED) before determining whether additional data are needed; parents may request additional assessments.

Reevaluation occurs at least every three years unless the parent and district agree that it is unnecessary.

Procedural safeguards notice is provided once per year and upon initial referral, filing of a due process complaint, or a disciplinary change of placement.

Required IEP team: parent, at least one regular education teacher (if the child is or may be in general education), at least one special education teacher/provider, a district representative qualified to supervise provision of services, an individual who can interpret evaluation results, and the child when appropriate.

IEP must include present levels of academic achievement and functional performance (PLAAFP), measurable annual goals, and a statement of how progress toward goals will be measured and reported.

IEP must specify special education and related services, supplementary aids and services, program modifications, and supports for school personnel, based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable.

Least restrictive environment statement: explain the extent, if any, to which the child will not participate with nondisabled peers in the regular class and activities.

Transition planning begins no later than the first IEP in effect when the student turns 16 (some states use 14); it must include appropriate measurable postsecondary goals and transition services.

By age 16 (or younger if determined appropriate), the IEP must include a statement that the child has been informed of rights that transfer at the age of majority.

Extended school year (ESY) services are determined by the IEP team based on regression/recoupment and critical-point-of-instruction data, not by disability category.

Amendments to an IEP may be made without a full meeting if the parent and district agree in writing, though the parent may request a meeting; the team must be informed of changes.

IEP must be in effect at the beginning of each school year and reviewed at least annually.

Explicit instruction sequence: modeling, guided practice with corrective feedback, and independent practice to mastery; effective for SLD and students with significant cognitive needs.

Systematic phonics instruction (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension) is the evidence base for reading intervention under IDEA and ESSA evidence tiers.

CRA (concrete-representational-abstract) sequence supports math instruction for students with learning disabilities and intellectual disability.

Self-monitoring and self-regulation strategies (e.g., self-questioning, goal-setting, self-recording) improve on-task behavior and academic accuracy.

Mnemonic devices and graphic organizers support recall and comprehension for students with SLD and ADHD.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles: multiple means of representation, engagement, and action/expression; used to design accessible instruction for all students.

Assistive technology consideration is required at every IEP meeting; the team must document whether the student needs AT devices/services and, if not, that consideration occurred.

Progress monitoring using curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is used to adjust intervention intensity within multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS).

Differentiation is not the same as modification: accommodations change how a student accesses content, while modifications change what the student is expected to learn.

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) identifies antecedents, behaviors, and consequences; a behavior intervention plan (BIP) is developed from FBA results and included in the IEP when behavior impedes learning.

Manifestation determination review (MDR) is required when a disciplinary change of placement exceeds 10 consecutive school days or constitutes a pattern; the team determines whether the behavior was caused by or directly related to the disability or a failure to implement the IEP.

If behavior is a manifestation of the disability, the student returns to the prior placement unless the parent and district agree otherwise; the IEP team must conduct an FBA and implement or revise a BIP.

Special circumstances permit removal to an interim alternative educational setting for up to 45 school days regardless of manifestation for weapons, drugs, or serious bodily injury.

Positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) tiers: universal (Tier 1), targeted (Tier 2), and intensive individualized (Tier 3).

Restraint and seclusion policies vary by state; IDEA does not authorize use of restraint or seclusion as a planned intervention, and any use must be documented and reviewed.

Environmental accommodations include preferential seating, reduced visual clutter, noise reduction, predictable routines, and clear visual schedules.

Behavior-specific praise and token economies are reinforcement-based strategies that increase desired behavior; extinction and response cost reduce behavior but require careful planning.

Confidentiality: FERPA governs education records; parents have the right to inspect and review records within 45 days of request and to request amendment.

IDEA procedural safeguards include prior written notice, informed consent, access to records, independent educational evaluation (IEE) at public expense when parents disagree with the district evaluation, and due process.

Independent educational evaluation: parents may obtain an IEE at public expense if they disagree with the district's evaluation; the district must either fund it or file for a due process hearing to show its evaluation was appropriate.

Co-teaching models: one teach/one observe, one teach/one assist, station teaching, parallel teaching, alternative teaching, and team teaching.

Collaboration with paraprofessionals requires clear roles, supervision, and training; paraprofessionals may not be the sole provider of special education services.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act provides accommodations for students with disabilities who do not need special education but require equal access; 504 plans are distinct from IEPs.

Transition collaboration involves interagency agreements with vocational rehabilitation, developmental disabilities agencies, and other adult service providers.

Cultural responsiveness in collaboration includes working with interpreters, honoring family preferences, and avoiding deficit framing of families.