Supporting Families in
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For Children: |
For Parents: |
For Teachers: |
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A strong dynamic parent and professional partnership is critical if we are to achieve a positive outcome for our children. Schools cannot educate children alone. We recognize the value of parent support and involvement and that with one another's support, our children's educational experience will be enhanced. Let us do everything in our power to cement and sustain this commitment so that our children may have every opportunity to become successful contributing members of our communities.
US Department of Health & Human Services. (1987). Easing the Transition from Preschool to Kindergarten. US Government Printing Office.
Colorado Department of Education, Early Childhood Initiatives. (2000). IDEA Part C - Part B Side by Side Comparison. Colorado Department of Education.
A Comparison between Infant/Toddler Supports and Services and Preschool/School Age Special Education IDEA Parts C and B |
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Part C: Infants and Toddlers |
Part B. Children with Disabilities |
Responsible Agencies |
Colorado Department of Education (CDE) |
Colorado Department of Education, Local Education Agencies (LEA) |
Governing Laws |
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C, Public Law 105-17, Colorado Revised Statues Title 27, Article 10.5 |
IDEA/Part B, Public Law 105-17, Rules for the Administration of the Exceptional Children's Education Act, Article 20 of Title 22, C.R.S. (ECEA) |
Ages |
Children, Ages Birth through two, inclusive. |
Children, ages three through twenty-one, including those who have been suspended or expelled from school. |
Goals |
The focus is on supporting the family to meet the developmental needs of the child with a delay/disability. |
The focus is on the child and his/her educational needs. |
Child Find |
LEA has the responsibility to design a process to inform the public and to identify locale, and evaluate children ages birth -21 who may be eligible to receive special education services. Once a child is identified, a referral must be made to the local Part C agency within 2 working days. In most states, a community-wide interagency process is often used to meet this requirement. |
LEA has the responsibility to design a process to inform the public and to identify locale, and evaluate children ages birth to 21 who may be eligible to receive special education services. |
Referral |
Referral may be initiated directly by a parent or other interested persons. Upon receipt of any referral, a public agency will appoint a service coordinator, who will as soon as possible and within 45 calendar days complete an evaluation and assessment and hold a meeting to develop an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). |
Referral may be initiated directly by a parent, school, or other interested persons. Upon receipt of a written parental permission to assess, assessment, planning, determination of disability, and if disabled, Individual Education Program (IEP) development shall be completed within 45 school days. |
Evaluation |
A multi disciplinary team of qualified professionals completes an evaluation that must include comprehensive, formal and informal information from multiple sources in the following domains: cognitive, physical, communication,. social/emotional. Adaptive and family-directed voluntary assessment of resources, priorities and concerns, and must be conducted in the family's native language. |
A multidisciplinary team of qualified professionals completes evaluation. Must include formal and informal measures, from multiple sources in the following domains: cognition, physical, communication, social/emotional, and education and must be conducted in a family's native language. |
Eligibility |
An eligible child is one who is under age 3 who meets the criteria of significant delay in development in at least one of the following domains: cognition, communication, physical (including vision and hearing), social or emotional development and adaptive behavior, OR who has a condition associated with significant delays in development. |
An eligible child is one who is 3 through 21 and by reason of one or more of the following conditions, is unable to receive reasonable educational benefit from regular education; physical impairment, vision and or hearing impairment, significant limited intellectual capacity, emotional disability, perceptual or communicative disability or speech/language disability OR may qualify as a child with a disability if multiple sources of information are utilized and such a child meets the criteria specified in the state special education plan. |
Family Involvement |
Families must be involved in the IFSP process. An IFSP meeting may not be held without the parent or surrogate parent's participation. Written parental consent is necessary for a child's evaluation and delivery of services. An assessment of the family's resources, priorities, and concerns are a voluntary part of the evaluation/assessment process. Parents may refuse any service offered and maintain their right to any services they choose. |
Part B of IDEA advocates strengthening the role of parents in the special education process and ensuring that parents of eligible children have meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children at school and at home, Families must be involved in the IEP process. The LEA must take steps to ensure that they are afforded the opportunity to participate,. Written parental consent is necessary for a child's evaluation and delivery of services. LEAs must ensure that the parents are regularly informed of their child's progress toward annual goals. |
Type of Plan |
An IFSP is a written plan that is used to document desired outcomes for the infant or toddler's developmental growth and learning and the services to be provided to the eligible child and family. IFSPs are reviewed at least once every six months with the service coordinator and rewritten annually. IFSPs must include a statement of the child's present level of development, statement of the family's resources, priorities and concerns, a statement of the major outcomes expected and the criteria, procedures, and timelines used, a statement of necessary early intervention services, a statement of the natural environments in which services will be provided, the projected dates for initiation and anticipated duration, the identification of the service coordinator, and the steps to be taken to support the transition of child to preschool or other appropriate services. |
An IEP is a written document that includes a statement of the child's present levels of educational performance, a statement of measurable annual goals,. Including benchmarks or short term objectives, a statement of program modification or supports, an explanation of the extent to which the child will not participate in the regular class, the projected date for beginning services, anticipated frequency and duration, statement of how the child's progress toward the goals will be measured and how the child's parents will be regularly informed of the child's progress. The IEP must also contain a completed transition plan if applicable. |
Service Coordination |
Each eligible infant or toddler and their family must be provided with one service coordinator. The designated service coordinator should be the person who is most immediately relevant to the infant or toddler's or family's needs. That person is responsible for: coordinating all services across agency lines, facilitating connections between families and potential supports and serving as the single point of contact in helping parents obtain the services and assistance they need. Service coordination is an active, ongoing process that involves assisting parents in gaining access to the early intervention services and supports, coordinating the provision of services and supports, facilitating the timely delivery of services and continuously seeking all services and supports necessary |
Under special education law, there is no requirement that a service coordinator be designated for a child and their family. As listed in IDEA, child find coordination includes many components which are a part of service coordination. These are planning and development in the areas of public awareness, community referral systems, screening and evaluation, service coordination and staff development. Also listed are coordination and implementation in the areas of interagency collaboration, screening procedures, including vision and hearing, and referral procedures to parents and children about all public and private resources that can meet identified needs. |
Services |
These services are designed to meet the developmental needs of each child and the family's needs related to enhancing their child's development. They are provided by qualified personnel in conformity with the IFSP and to the maximum extent appropriate are provided in natural environments, including the home and community settings where children without disabilities participate. Services included are:
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Special education means specially designed instructions; related services means developmental and other supportive services required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special and regular education . Services included are:
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Service Delivery |
Early intervention services and supports are to be provided in the child and family's natural environments, to the maximum extent appropriate, including home and community locations where infants and toddlers without disabilities participate, Services are developed in conjunction with the family to meet their own identified needs and priorities and are respectful of their unique culture, customs and daily routines, and are delivered in the family's native language. |
In special education, to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities are educated with children who are not disabled. Preschool service opportunities vary as to location and characteristics, which impacts the intensity of services and the level of personnel involvement. |
Transition between Part C and Part B |
Transition planning begins at least six months, but preferably between 9 and 12 months prior to the child's third birthday for all children eligible under Part C, or begins as soon as possible for children who are newly identified and are over age two. The process needs to include parents and personnel from the child's current, past and future settings or service providers, including representatives from the LEA, if the child is transitioning into LEA services. If a child is not eligible for Part B preschool services, the transition team will discuss options of other appropriate services with the family. |
A representative of the LEA will participate in the transition process, beginning at least six months but preferably between 9 and 12 months prior to the child's third birthday. Children transitioning into preschool services must meet the state eligibility criteria. In the case of a child who may not be eligible for preschool services, the transition team will discuss options of other appropriate services with the family. NOTE: In the case of a child with a disability, age 3 through 5, LEA may choose to have IFSP serve as IEP. (See IDEA P.L. 105-17 Section 636 and Federal Register 34CFR Part B, Section 300.342.) |
Comparison of IDEA Parts B and C Specific to Hearing Disabilities |
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Part C: Infants and Toddlers |
Part B. Children with Disabilities |
Definitions |
[(303 12 (b)(2)] (I) Identification of children with impairments using at risk criteria and appropriate audiological screening techniques. (i) Determination of the range, nature, and degree of hearing loss and communication functions, by use of audiological evaluation procedures; (ii) Referral for medical and other services necessary for the habituation or rehabilitation of children with auditory impairment; (iii) Provision of auditory training, aural rehabilitation, speech reading and listening device orientation and training, and other services; (iv) Provision of services for the prevention of hearing loss, and (vi) Determination of the child's need for individual amplification, including selecting, fitting and dispensing of appropriate listening and vibrotactile devices, and evaluating the effectiveness of those devices. |
[300.24(b)(1)] (i) Identification of children with hearing loss; Determination of the range, nature, and degree of hearing loss, including referral for medical or other professional attention for the habilitation of hearing; (iii) Provision of habilitation activities, such as language habilitation, auditory training, speech reading, (lipreading), hearing evaluation, and speech conservation: (iv) Creation and administration of programs for prevention of hearing loss; (v) Counseling and guidance of pupils, parents, and teachers regarding hearing loss; (vi) Determination of the child's need for group and individual amplification, selecting and fitting an appropriate aid, and evaluating the effectiveness of amplification. |
Communication |
Note: Language regarding communication has been proposed in the IDEA reauthorization. |
(34CFR300.346[a]) (2) Consideration of special factors. (iv) Consider the communication needs of the child and in the case of a child who is deaf or hearing, consider the child's language and communication needs, opportunities for direct communication with peers and professional personnel in the child's language and communication mode, academic level, and full range of needs, including opportunities for direct instruction in the child's language and communication mode, and (v) Consider whether the child requires assistive technology devices and services. |
Placement |
[303.341(a)] Policies and procedures on natural environments. (1) to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of the child, early intervention services must be provided in natural environments, including the home and community settings in which children without disabilities participate. (2) As used in paragraph (b) (1) of this section, natural environments means settings that are natural or normal for the child's age peers who have no disabilities. |
(300.130) Least restrictive environment.- Placement occurs so that, to the maximum extent possible, children with disabilities are educated with children who are not disabled. Removal to special classes occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability prevents successful education in regular classes, even with the use of supplementary aids and services. A continuum of alternative educational services from more restrictive to less restrictive is provided by the public agency. Placement decisions are determined by the goals and objectives of the student's IEP and are reviewed annually. |
For a printable Adobe Acrobat PDF version of this article click below.
Supporting Families in Transition PDF
Adapted from "Transition: Making it a Process Rather than an Event",
Educational Audiology Review 18(3),p 5-11 (2001). by Cheryl Deconde Johnson.
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