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to School on Civil Rights
VII.
Improving Public Awareness: Technical
Assistance and Public Information for Students with Disabilities,
Their Families, and Advocates
A.
Department of Education--Overview
The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)
has always authorized technical assistance initiatives. Some are directed
to states and other service-providing entities; others are intended
for the public generally. Still others are directed to addressing the
technical assistance needs of students with disabilities, their families,
and their advocates in obtaining the services and supports that must
be made available to students with disabilities under the law. For Fiscal
Year 1999, $44.5 million was appropriated for IDEA technical assistance
and dissemination. These funds provide for "technical assistance and
information, through such mechanisms as institutes, Regional Resource
Centers, clearinghouses, and programs that support states and local
entities in building capacity, to improve early intervention, educational
and transitional services, and results for children with disabilities
and their families and address systemic-change goals and priorities."[314]
In accordance with this authority, the Office of Special Education Programs
(OSEP) has funded three primary technical assistance programs for Fiscal
Year 1999 for students with disabilities, their parents and families,
and advocates. They are the National Information Center for Children
and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY); The Families and Advocates Partnership
for Education (FAPE) project of the Minnesota parent organization (the
PACER Center); and the Parent Training and Information (PTI) centers,
including the Technical Assistance Alliance, also managed by the PACER
Center, which provides technical assistance to the PTIs.
As a result of the 1997 Reauthorization,
OSEP funded Partnership Projects to provide technical assistance to
membership associations representing four different stakeholder groups
involved with the implementation of IDEA: families and advocacy groups,
service providers, local school administrators and policy-makers. Begun
in October 1998, Partnership Projects consists of collaborative initiatives
by all four stakeholder groups to ensure that their grassroots constituents
get consistent information about the Reauthorization changes, as well
as best practices for effectively implementing IDEA. The Partnership
initiative also has a coordinating committee that works on addressing
implementation issues raised by any stakeholder group from all stakeholder
perspectives.
Under other legislative authorities, the
National Institute on Disability & Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR),
the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), and the Department
of Education's (DoED's) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) each also play
a role in providing IDEA- or education-related technical assistance,
information, and materials for students with disabilities, their parents,
and families.
1. OSEP
a. National Information Center for
Children and Youth with Disabilities
The National Information Center for Children
and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) is an information and resource
clearinghouse. NICHCY is an OSEP initiative that provides information
on children and youth with disabilities (birth to age 22). In Fiscal
Year 1999, NICHCY received $1.1 million to operate a clearinghouse that
offers a toll-free number and a web site providing information and materials
about children and youth with disabilities, special education, IDEA,
and related matters. NICHCY receives about 40,000 contacts per year--
including phone calls, e-mail, and mail requests for referral, information,
or technical assistance. About half of these contacts are from professionals
and about half from children with disabilities and their families. NICHCY's
web site provides descriptions of and price information about all printed
publications that it makes available. Most are accessible at the web
site and can be printed out free of charge. NICHCY's web site also offers
a text-only version for individuals with vision disabilities who may
be using a screen reader. Materials provided by NICHCY are available
on computer disk by request.
b. The Families and Advocates Partnership
for Education (FAPE) Project
In 1998 OSEP awarded $6 million in grants
for national education and outreach about IDEA 1997. Four grants of
$1.5 million each per year for up to five years were awarded to three
organizations. Of the three grantees, the parent-run PACER Center based
in Minneapolis, Minnesota, provides material and information specifically
for students, their families, and advocates. The other grantees were
the National Association of State Directors of Special Education and
the Council for Exceptional Children, which was awarded two grants.
c. Parent Training and Information
(PTI) Centers and the Technical Assistance Alliance
The largest source of technical assistance
and information for students, families, and their advocates is the OSEP
Parent Training and Information (PTI) centers funded at $18.5 million
for Fiscal Year 1999 through the OSEP Parent Program. There is at least
one PTI center in each state. Also supported under this funding initiative
is the Technical Assistance Alliance managed by the PACER Center, which
provides technical assistance to the PTIs. Parent Training and Information
centers typically provide training and information about various special
education topics for parents, families, and children living in the areas
served by the individual centers.
The goals of the Parent Program are to
provide information, training, and support to the families of children
with disabilities in becoming more effective advocates for the supports
and services their children need to receive the benefits of a free appropriate
public education under IDEA. The Parent Program recognizes the critical
role of parents in their children's education and aims at preparing
them to be active participants in the Individualized Education Program
(IEP) process, eligibility, and placement decisions. Most important,
the program seeks to impart information about the procedural safeguards
available when the system is out of compliance with the law. These goals
are accomplished through general and specific training, workshops, and
presentations, as well as through printed material(s), newsletters,
web sites, and individual support and advocacy. This training and support
focuses on both individual advocacy and systems advocacy.[315]
PTI services, therefore, can include assisting
parents in understanding the nature of their child's disability and
education needs; providing information about ways parents can communicate
effectively with service-providing personnel; helping parents participate
in the IEP process; assisting parents in obtaining appropriate information
about the range of options, programs, services, and resources available;
helping parents understand IDEA procedural safeguards; and assisting
parents in understanding IDEA and participation in school reform activities.[316]
The PTIs are currently assembling a comprehensive
list of their combined technical assistance, training, and informational
materials for parents and families. The list had not been completed
nor was preliminary information available during the course of this
study. The PTIs are also working on a report showing how many students,
parents, families, and others annually receive some form of technical
assistance from the various centers, but it also had not yet been completed
at the conclusion of this study, and preliminary data were not available.
d. The Technical Assistance Alliance
for Parent Centers
The Technical Assistance Alliance for Parent
Centers (the Alliance) has served as the coordinating office for the
Technical Assistance to Parent Projects since October 1, 1997. The Alliance
provides technical assistance for establishing, developing, and coordinating
Parent Training and Information centers under IDEA. The Alliance maintains
a web site with links to PTIs and other parent resources and organizations.
The site is available in a text-only as well as a graphic format. On
request the Alliance provides technical assistance materials on audiotape
and in large print, and audio described and captioned videos.
e. Technical Assistance to Indian Communities
OSEP has worked closely with parents, educators,
tribal leaders, and advocates in the Native American community. For
example, OSEP staff participated in the National Indian School Board
Association's 1997 and 1998 annual conferences and the National Indian
Education Association's 1998 conference, conducting focus groups and
individual meetings with parents, tribal leaders, and advocates. In
1999, OSEP provided an intensive two-day training for Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) staff, including non-central office staff. OSEP has also
worked with BIA staff in providing training to OSEP monitoring staff
regarding Native American cultures. OSEP will be working closely in
the future with BIA's newly created special education advisory board.
Despite OSEP's increased efforts, Native
American leaders report a lack of general knowledge among local people
about the law, their rights under the law, and the role of BIA in ensuring
that all requirements of Part B are met. Improved implementation of
IDEA in Native American communities depends, in part, on effective participation
by parents of children with disabilities, tribal leaders, and representatives
from national Indian education organizations on the advisory boards
and steering committees directing BIA efforts.
2. National Institute on
Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)
The National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), one of three OSERS programs, undertakes
research related to the rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities.
Some NIDRR projects include the development of training, technical assistance,
and other general materials related to IDEA or other special education
issues. Some projects develop materials specifically for parents and
families. Others are aimed at various professional audiences but may
be of general interest to parents. NIDRR also administers the Protection
& Advocacy for Assistive Technology (PAAT) program, created in 1994
when Congress expanded the Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals
with Disabilities Act (Tech Act) to include funding for Parent and Advocacy
systems (P&As) to "assist individuals with disabilities and their
family members, guardians, advocates, and authorized representatives
in accessing technology devices and assistive technology services" through
case management, legal representation, and self-advocacy training.
3. Rehabilitation Services Administration
(RSA)
RSA administers the Protection and Advocacy
for Individual Rights (PAIR) program, established by Congress as a national
program under the Rehabilitation Act in 1993. PAIR programs were created
to protect and advocate for the legal and human rights of persons with
disabilities who were not covered by previous legislation.
4. Office for Civil
Rights
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) regularly
provides technical assistance to parents and educators on rights under
Section 504 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
through presentations at conferences, community meetings, published
materials, and posting of information on DoED's web site. A toll-free
number, staffed at the OCR headquarters office in Washington, DC, handled
nearly 5,000 inquires in FY 1998.[317] OCR staff members at headquarters
and in the 12 enforcement offices throughout the country handle many
more inquiries from students and parents by telephone, written correspondence,
and electronic mail. In addition, OCR provides technical assistance
on the rights of students with disabilities to the students themselves,
their families, and educators in conjunction with the investigation
of disability complaints, which make up 60% of OCR's total complaint
receipts.[318]
5. Department of Health and Human
Services-- Administration on
Developmental Disabilities
The Administration for Children, Youth,
and Families' Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) administers
the Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Developmental Disabilities
(PADD) program, a system in each state and territory that provides protection
of the rights of persons with disabilities through legally based advocacy.
The P&As system was created by the Developmental Disabilities Assistance
and Bill of Rights (DD) Act of 1975.
The National Association of Protection
and Advocacy Systems (NAPAS) reports providing about 250,000 individuals
annually with information, technical assistance, and referral to other
resources. Of this number, approximately 40,000 students with disabilities,
their parents, and their families are provided with information related
to their educational rights and responsibilities under IDEA. NAPAS also
reports representing approximately 19,000 students with disabilities
in IDEA matters either with informal or formal advocacy, or representation
at administrative hearings or in court.[319]
B.
Resource List of IDEA and Education-Related
Technical Assistance, Training, and Informational Materials Collection
Approach
In an effort to identify federally funded
IDEA- and education-related technical assistance and informational materials
for students with disabilities, parents, and families, lists of materials
were collected from sources that could verify federal support for the
creation of the documents. These sources included NICHCY, the National
Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC)--a NIDRR project that collects
and disseminates the results of federally funded research projects--
some individual PTI centers, the Technical Assistance Alliance, NAPAS,
and several NIDRR-funded grantees. A database was created that assigned
the titles to one of two audience categories: Category One--students,
parents and families, and advocates; Category Two--general audience.
Those titles included in the general audience category were also considered
useful to parents, although they are not the intended primary audience
as far as could be discerned from indicators such as the works' title,
abstract, source, and keywords.
Titles were not included when professionals
were clearly the intended audience, or applicability to and interest
for parents and families was not apparent. If the information was available,
the database also includes a notation if the materials are available
in languages other than English, and whether the list's source--web
site or larger databases such as found on NARIC for example--indicated
whether the materials are available in alternative formats such as audiotape,
disk, or Braille.
Two hundred eighteen federally funded education
or IDEA technical assistance, training, public, or general information
titles were identified that were either created for parents and families
or that are potentially useful to them. Of these, 66 appear aimed at
either a general or a professional audience, but could be of interest
to parents and families; and 152 were specifically created for students
with disabilities, their parents and families, and advocates. Three
are advertised as available in Braille; four are videos; three of the
videos provide captioning. Forty- eight titles are available in languages
other than English; 90 titles are available in full text format on the
web. The titles were assigned to the 24 content categories in the following
table:
Table 24: IDEA /
Education-Related Technical Assistance Materials and Information
| Category |
Number of Titles |
| Technology |
34 |
| General Interest |
20 |
| Disability/Diagnosis |
23 |
| Transition |
22 |
| Law/Rights |
30 |
| Advocacy/Communication |
14 |
| Individualized Education
Plan |
12 |
| Resources |
11 |
| Inclusion |
9 |
| Assessment |
8 |
| Related Services |
6 |
| For Students Only |
4 |
| Juvenile Justice |
4 |
| Discipline |
4 |
| Due Process |
4 |
| Families |
3 |
| Organizing |
2 |
| Mediation,
Literature, Gender, Culture, Private Schools, Culturally Appropriate
Services, Least Restrictive Environment and Miscellaneous |
8
(1 ea.) |
| Total |
218 |
C.
Findings and Recommendations
Finding # VII.1
During 1999, OSEP committed about one-third of its technical assistance
resources to informational programs for students, parents, and families--an
increase from previous years.
This increase showed a clear commitment to enhancing the ability of
students and parents to participate in the educational planning process
by developing and disseminating training and informational materials
and resources, providing peer and professional support, and strengthening
parent organizations through capacity building.
Recommendation # VII.1
The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)
should strongly promote inter- and intra-agency collaboration to leverage
existing resources available to help states correct areas of noncompliance.
The objective of this collaboration should be to make available the
technical assistance materials and programs state education agencies
(SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) may request or be required
to accept in order to correct specific noncompliance problems.
Finding # VII.2
Only 2 percent of OSERS' resource list publications provided support
and information to students themselves in planning their own educational
and transition programs.
OSERS' resource materials and programs needed greater emphasis on helping
students with disabilities to understand and advocate for their civil
rights as students in public schools, and in the transition to living
as adults with disabilities in their communities. As OSERS continues
to stress transition from school to work and community life, students
and their parents must understand how IDEA, ADA, the Fair Housing Act
(FHAA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act affect their opportunities
for meaningful integration, employment, and access to post-secondary
educational programs.
Recommendation # VII.2
OSERS should prepare students for effective self-advocacy in their
education planning and transition to employment and independent living
by (1) expanding its resource publications dealing with these issues,
(2) developing training initiatives and technical assistance materials,
and (3) supporting model student-led self-advocacy programs.
OSEP should develop materials and provide training for students with
disabilities and their parents about the provisions of the ADA, Section
504, FHAA, and other pertinent disability laws to help young adults
with disabilities understand their civil rights and inform them about
the programs available to assist their transition from school to independent
living in the community, employment, and post secondary education. Greater
emphasis on self-advocacy also will prepare students with disabilities
and their families to support state and federal compliance monitoring
and enforcement activities more effectively.
Finding # VII.3
OSEP's outreach priorities and resource materials did not address
judicial interpretations of IDEA and OSEP policies in a way that assists
students with disabilities and their parents in understanding of their
implications.
Since schools are familiar with legal developments, students and parents
can be disadvantaged without this same information.
Recommendation # VII.3
OSEP should fund the development of materials and provide training
and technical assistance for parents and students on the implications
of judicial interpretations of IDEA court cases and OSEP policies.
Finding # VII.4
Current technical assistance initiatives have not met the need for
materials, training and technical assistance to help students with disabilities
and their parents understand and evaluate their states' monitoring system.
Recommendation # VII.4
OSEP should initiate and develop a program to train students with
disabilities and parents in evaluating the effectiveness of their state's
IDEA compliance monitoring systems and their state's self-assessment
process.
Finding # VII.5
Twenty-two percent of technical assistance and informational materials
from the resource list were either directed to non-English speaking
audiences or available in languages other than English.
Recommendation # VII.5
OSERS should continue to expand its initiatives to serve non-English
speaking groups and create culturally appropriate training materials
by (1) increasing outreach to minority students and parents, (2) enhancing
the capability of the Technical Assistance Alliance, PTIs, the National
Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), and NIDRR research projects
to create culturally appropriate non-English language materials, and
(3) translating more existing materials into languages other than English.
This percentage is a notable increase from previous years, yet there
are still too few culturally appropriate materials available in languages
other than English in relation to the number of students and their families
needing them.
Finding # VII.6
The need for training of students with disabilities and their parents
in the requirements of IDEA is especially urgent in communities where
noncompliance persists over time. Despite a steady increase over time
in the amount of technical assistance materials available to under-served
populations of students with disabilities and their families, noncompliance
still tends to persist at a higher rate and over longer periods of time
in these communities.
The resource list shows that materials are still scarce for students
with disabilities in the juvenile justice, immigration, and naturalization
and child welfare systems, as well as for students attending schools
operated or funded by the BIA. Multicultural and language-appropriate
materials for these groups are scarcer still.
Recommendation # VII.6A
OSEP should expand its program support for initiatives that promote
educational opportunities and rights for under-served populations of
children and youth with disabilities and their families. More programs
are needed to explain IDEA's requirements in light of the unique needs
of students with disabilities involved in the juvenile justice, immigration,
and naturalization and child welfare systems, as well as in schools
operated or funded by BIA, to their families and advocates, as follows:
- culturally appropriate technical
assistance to ensure the ability of Native American children with
disabilities, their families, tribal leaders, and advocates in every
interested tribe to participate as full partners in implementing IDEA
in their communities. Culturally appropriate training and technical
assistance should be developed and delivered through the satellite
offices of disability technical assistance centers (DBTACs) around
the country that are managed and staffed primarily by Native Americans.
- training of the appropriate players
in the juvenile justice system, including judicial and institutional
personnel, in IDEA's civil rights requirements, how they apply within
the juvenile justice system, and ways the law can be used to help
minimize detention of children with disabilities in the juvenile justice
system.
- training of the appropriate players
in the immigration and naturalization and child welfare systems, including
federal and state agency, judicial, and institutional personnel, in
IDEA's civil rights requirements.
Recommendation # VII.6B
OSEP, in conjunction with the Department of Justice Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), should also fund training
programs for special education lawyers on applying IDEA in the criminal
justice system, and for public defenders and staff on IDEA's educational
requirements to enable both to advocate more effectively for the educational
rights of students with disabilities involved in state and local criminal
justice systems.
Finding # VII.7A
The Department of Education's IDEA technical assistance program addressed
a wide range of important information and training needs. The overall
strategy, however, did not seem to place priority on developing a comprehensive,
coordinated, and targeted technical assistance system in each state
focused on empowering students with disabilities and their families
for effective self-advocacy to address documented areas of noncompliance
state-wide.
Finding # VII.7B
The advocacy training programs and services available in most states
fell far short of the existing need.
Recommendation # VII.7
The Department of Education should give priority support to the
formation of a comprehensive, high quality, and coordinated technical
assistance system in each state by developing a separate OSEP-administered
funding stream to aid federally funded advocacy groups in coordinating
and making available self-advocacy training programs, resources, and
services to students with disabilities and their parents throughout
the state. Elements of the coordinated technical assistance systems
should include the following:
- The availability of a lawyer at
every state PTI center, protection and advocacy agency, and independent
living center able to provide competent legal advice to students with
disabilities and their parents in advocating for their rights.
- Self-advocacy training programs
for students with disabilities and their parents focused on civil
rights awareness, education and transition planning, and independent
living in the community.
- The establishment of a national
backup center to make legal materials, training, and other supports
available for attorneys working on IDEA cases and issues at the state
level.
- Expansion of involvement by the
private bar and legal services organizations in providing legal advice
to students with disabilities and their parents in advocating for
their legal rights under IDEA.
The key disability advocacy organizations
at the state level (PTIs, P&As, and IL centers) need additional funding
to effectively implement a joint collaborative strategy for increased
outreach and education of the general public and state legislators, technical
assistance and advocacy for transition planning and services, independent
monitoring of state compliance with IDEA, and affordable legal assistance
to parents advocating for their child with a disability. The goal of the
collaborative strategy is to increase each state's compliance with FAPE,
LRE, IEP, Transition, General Supervision, Procedural Safeguards, and
Protection in Evaluation.
Part VIII summarizes the findings and
recommendations of this report.
To Part
VIII, Summary and Conclusions
To TOC,
IDEA Compliance Report
Endnotes
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