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1. Explain common errors in the evaluation process.
2. Identify common errors in the IEP development process and explain how to avoid them.
3. Examine the extent of the parent participation requirements.
4. Outline the importance of documentation.
5. Describe the legal requirements for and practical uses of the prior written notice.
6. Explain steps in the IEP team’s consideration and offering of placement in the Least restrictive Environment.
7. Review the concerning the general education teacher’s responsibilities for students on IEPs.
8. Become acquainted with new IDEA decisional law.

Identification and Evaluation: Pitfalls to be Avoided

• Child find; avoiding over- and under-identification; documentation of the decision-making process; evaluation timeframes

Common IEP Errors and How to Avoid Them

• Drafting useful Present Levels of Performance
• Drafting of measurable goals and objectives
• How to make the required “Description of Placement” useful
• IEP implementation – where did we go wrong?
• Documenting timely circulation of the IEP

Parent Participation

• What types of errors may result in denial of procedural FAPE?
• What to do when parents seek delay in the IEP and/or evaluation process
• When is it necessary to meet despite parents’ absence from meeting?
• Why have notes or minutes if the rules do not require them?
• Documentation of agreement to amend an IEP without a meeting

The Role of Classroom Teachers on the IEP Team

• Regulatory requirements; functional/practical considerations for general educators on the IEP team; the relevance of licensure requirements

The Prior Written Notice

• “Do we really have to do this?”
• How detailed should the content be?
• How can a prior written notice help a district in the team decision-making process?
• When should the Form 7 or 7a be completed and sent to the parents?

Misconceptions about Least Restrictive Environment

• The Second Circuit’s definition
• Forgotten but crucial elements of the definition
• LRE and the Concept of a Continuum

Placement Decision-Making: Where Do Teams Go Wrong?

• Avoiding “pre-determination” of placement; how to “offer” an IEP and placement; common LRE errors; explaining the process to parents

The Importance (and Usefulness) of Documentation

• Corporate memory; continuity; contact logs, minutes, cover letters; the down siding of tape recordings

Patti Page, is an owner of the Burlington law firm of Stitzel, Page & Fletcher, P.C., where her practice exclusively involves representation of school districts, with a concentration on special education, disabilities and nondiscrimination law, school discipline and confidentiality issues. She received her B.A. degree, summa cum laude, from Tufts University and her J.D. from Stanford University. Ms. Page has taught post-graduate special education and education law courses at Castleton State College, Lyndon State College, and the University of Vermont, and has been a presenter on special education, Section 504 and education law topics for the Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators, the Vermont Principals’ Association, and for numerous supervisory unions and privately-sponsored workshops.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Patti Page is the owner of Stitzel, Page & Fletcher, PC. She receives a speaking honorarium from VCSEA. Ms. Page receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.

Non-financial: Patti Page is a member of the American Bar Association; Vermont Bar Association; and Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators.

Dina Atwood is an owner of the Burlington law firm of Stitzel, Page & Fletcher, P.C. Dina represents school districts and other municipalities, in the areas of collective bargaining, labor and employment law, special education and disabilities law, general school law and student discipline matters. Dina received her B.A. from the University of Rhode Island and her J.D. from Vermont Law School. Dina has taught the graduate level Special Education Law for Special Education Administrators course through Castleton State College, and has presented numerous in-services for educational clients and privately sponsored seminars on a wide range of topics including: HIPAA and FERPA compliance, Section 504, Special Education, and Bullying and Harassment.

Save time and $10 off the price of other submission methods – purchase & take the CE test online for $9.99 USD per participant. Additional processing fees apply for other submission methods (i.e. mail, fax, etc.). Please contact our Customer Service at 1-800-844-8260 for more details.

Listed below are the continuing education credit(s) currently available for this non-interactive self-study package. Please note, your state licensing board dictates whether self study is an acceptable form of continuing education. Please refer to your state rules and regulations.

Certificates of Successful Completion are available for email, download and/or printing from your online account immediately following the successful completion of the post-test/evaluation.

**Materials that are included in this course may include interventions and modalities that are beyond the authorized practice of mental health professionals. As a licensed professional, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined in law as beyond the boundaries of practice in accordance with and in compliance with your professions standards.

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners. For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

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Counselors
This intermediate self-study activity consists of 6.0 clock hours of continuing education instruction. Credit requirements and approvals vary per state board regulations. Please save the course outline, the certificate of completion you receive from the activity and contact your state board or organization to determine specific filing requirements.

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Educators/Teachers
This course consists of 6.0 self-study clock hours. Credit requirements and approvals vary per state board regulations. Please save the course outline, the certificate of completion you receive from this self-study activity and contact your state board or organization to determine specific filing requirements.

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Nurses/Nurse Practitioners/Clinical Nurse Specialists - Credit Expired: 2/18/2018
No CE available for this board.

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Psychologists
This self-study activity consists of 6.0 clock hours of continuing education instruction. Credit requirements and approvals vary per state board regulations. Please save the course outline and the certificate of completion you receive from this self-study activity. Contact us for more information on your state board or organization specific filing requirements.

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Social Workers
PESI, Inc., #1062, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for this self-study course. ACE provider approval period: January 27, 2017 - January 27, 2020. Social Workers completing this course receive 6.0 Clinical Practice continuing education credits. Course Level: Intermediate. Full attendance is required; no partial credits will be offered for partial attendance. A certificate of attendance will be awarded at the end of the program to social workers who complete the program evaluation.

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Other Professions
This self-study activity qualifies for 6.0 clock hours of instructional content as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Retain your certificate of completion and contact your board or organization for specific filing requirements.

Disclaimer: **Information obtained in this course should be used within your scope of practice.
**It is your ethical responsibility to report accurate hours to your licensing board.
**All self-study participants must complete and pass (80% or better) a post-test and evaluation prior to receiving a certificate of completion. If you require a copy of the test/evaluation for CE purposes, please print at the time you take the test. Or you may call our customer service department and a copy of your test/evaluation will be emailed to you. Please allow 30-45 days.

General Education Teachers, Special Education Teachers, School Administrators, School Psychologists, Licensed Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, School Nurses, Related Service Providers, Other Helping Professionals that Work with Children