Protection and Advocacy Q & A
By Paul Rasinski in Cooperation with MDLC
MD TAP and Maryland Disability Law Center (MDLC) will present a Question and Answer Column in MD TAP's Electronic Newsletter format and print editions of TAPPING TECHNOLOGY.
With the Column, MDLC's Assistive Technology Unit will field questions related to Special Education, including but not limited to:
- Identification of students with disabilities
- Individualized Education Program (IEP)
- Related services
- Placement
- Due process hearings
- Suspension, expulsion and other disciplinary actions
- Records
- Important timelines
Questions about most legal issues pertaining to assistive technology will be welcomed and answered. Direct answers will be given as well as Helpful Hints and Tips on strategy for dealing with the system. In some instances, Information on receiving assistance in other forms will be given.
So, prepare your questions and submit them as soon as possible to:
MDLC Assistive Technology Unit
Leslie Seid Margolis, Esquire
Theresa R. McGuire, Paralegal
Maryland Disability Law Center
1800 N. Charles Street
Suite 204
Baltimore, MD 21201
410/727-6352
800/233-7201
410/727-6387 (TDD)
410/727-6389 (FAX)
You may also email your questions to TAPPING TECHNOLOGY.
Let's Get Started With Our First Quesion
Who is eligible for special education?
Children with disabilities from birth to age
21 may be eligible for special education. School-age children
usually receive special education services in public or private
schools. Preschool children may receive a part-time school
program or services at home.
A child is considered educationally handicapped or disabled if he
or she is having trouble learning in school because of mental,
physical and/or emotional disabilities.
Some of the disabilities that can make a child eligible for special
education are:
- Mental retardation
- Serious emotional disturbance
- Learning disabilities
- Autism
- Deafness/hearing impairment
- Blindness/visual impairment
- Physical disabilities
- Brain injury
- Speech and language impairment
Children from birth to 21 who have disabilities that affect their
ability to learn may be eligible for special education.
Who decides if your child is eligible for special education?
All decisions about special education are made by an Admission,
Review and Dismissal (ARD) committee. You have a right to
attend and participate in all ARD committee meetings about your
child.
Depending on the purpose of the ARD meeting, the ARD
committee may include:
- a chairperson;
- people who are familiar with your child,
such as special education
teachers and, sometimes, health department personnel;
- the professionals who have tested your
child for specific disabilities (such
as a speech pathologist or vision teacher);
- your child's classroom teacher;
- other school personnel who are familiar
with your child;
- advocates or friends you have asked to
attend;
- you and, if you think it is appropriate, your
child.
Most school systems use more than one level of ARD committee to
make special education decisions. Usually, there is a local
committee meeting at your child's school. This may be followed by
a central or county ARD committee meeting, depending on your
child's needs. Even if more than one committee meets, the timeline
for holding the ARD meeting applies. See: Important Timelines.
The Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) committee makes all
decisions about your child's disability, his or her eligibility for
special education, and what his or her placement should be.
How do you find out if your child is eligible for special education?
A child becomes eligible for special education when he or she is
identified as disabled by an ARD committee. Most school systems
use a two-step identification process--screening and assessment.
