(A) Each educational agency shall adopt and
implement written policies and procedures approved by the Ohio department of
education, office for exceptional children, that ensure all children with
disabilities residing within the district, including children with disabilities
who are homeless children or are wards of the state, and children with
disabilities attending nonpublic schools, regardless of the severity of their
disability, and who are in need of special education and related services are
identified, located, and evaluated as required by the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, as amended by the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Improvement Act of 2004, December 2004 (IDEA) and federal regulations
at 34 C.F.R. Part
300 (October 13, 2006) pertaining to child find, including
the regulations at 34 C.F.R.
300.111 and
300.646.
(B) Child find
(1) General
The child find policies and procedures that each educational
agency adopts and implements under this rule shall ensure that:
(a) All children with disabilities residing
in the state, including children with disabilities who are homeless children or
are wards of the state, and children with disabilities attending nonpublic
schools, regardless of the severity of their disability, and who are in need of
special education and related services, are identified, located, and evaluated;
and
(b) A practical method is
developed and implemented to determine which children are currently receiving
needed special education and related services.
(2) Use of the term developmental delay
The following provisions apply with respect to implementing the
child find requirements of this rule:
(a) The Ohio department of education has
adopted in rule
3301-51-11 of the Administrative
Code a definition of "developmental delay" under
34 C.F.R.
300.8(b) and under that
section has determined in rule
3301-51-01 of the Administrative
Code that the term applies to children aged three through
five
nine
years;
(b) A school district of
residence is not required to adopt and use the term developmental delay for any
children within its jurisdiction;
(c) If a school district of residence uses
the term developmental delay for children described in rule
3301-51-01 of the Administrative
Code as experiencing developmental delays, the school district must conform to
both the state's definition of that term in rule
3301-51-11 of the Administrative
Code and to the age range of three through
five
nine years of
age which is the age range subset that has been adopted by the Ohio department
of education in rule
3301-51-01 of the Administrative
Code.
(3) Other children
in child find
Child find must also include:
(a) Children who are suspected of being a
child with a disability under the definition of child with a disability in
paragraph (B)(10) of rule
3301-51-01 of the Administrative
Code and in need of special education, even though they are advancing from
grade to grade; and
(b) Highly
mobile children, including migrant children.
(4) Construction
Nothing in the IDEA requires that children be classified by
their disability so long as each child who has a disability that is listed in
the definition of child with a disability in paragraph (B)(10) of rule
3301-51-01 of the Administrative
Code and who, by reason of that disability, needs special education and related
services is regarded as a child with a disability under Part B of the
IDEA.
(C)
Disproportionality
(1) The school district
must annually report data to be examined by the Ohio department of education to
determine if significant disproportionality based on race and ethnicity is
occurring in the school district with respect to:
(a) The identification of children as
children with disabilities, including the identification of children as
children with disabilities in accordance with a particular impairment described
in section 602(3) of IDEA and as defined in rule
3301-51-01 of the Administrative
Code;
(b) The placement in
particular educational settings of these children; and
(c) The incidence, duration, and type of
disciplinary removals from placement, including suspensions and
expulsions.
(2) To
determine if significant disproportionality is occurring in the school
district, the Ohio department of education must apply the risk ratio threshold
or thresholds determined by the Ohio department of education to risk ratios or
alternate risk ratios, as appropriate, in each category described in paragraph
(C)(1) of this rule and the following racial and ethnic groups:
(a) Hispanic/Latino of any race; and, for
individuals who are non-Hispanic/Latino only;
(b) American Indian or Alaska
Native;
(c) Asian;
(d) Black or African American;
(e) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander;
(f) White; and
(g) Two or more races.
(3) Review and revision of policies,
practices, and procedures
In the case of a determination of significant
disproportionality with respect to the identification of children as children
with disabilities or the placement in particular educational settings,
including disciplinary removals of such children, in accordance with paragraph
(C)(1) of this rule, the school district must ensure the following:
(a) Provide for the annual review and, if
appropriate, revision of the policies, practices, and procedures used in
identification or placement in particular education settings, including
disciplinary removals, to ensure that the policies, practices, and procedures
comply with the requirements of IDEA.
(b) Publicly report on the revision of
policies, practices, and procedures described under this rule consistent with
the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974,
January 1974, its implementing regulations in 34 CFR part
99 (January 2012),
and Section 618(b)(1) of IDEA.
(4) Comprehensive coordinated early
intervening services.
Except as provided in paragraph (C)(5) of this rule, the school
district identified under (C)(1) of this rule shall reserve the maximum amount
of funds under section 613(f) of IDEA to provide comprehensive coordinated
early intervening services to address factors contributing to the significant
disproportionality.
(a) In
implementing comprehensive coordinated early intervening services a school
district:
(i) May carry out activities that
include professional development and educational and behavioral evaluations,
services, and supports.
(ii) Must
identify and address the factors contributing to the significant
disproportionality, which may include, among other identified factors the
following:
(a) A lack of
access to scientifically based instruction;
(b) Economic, cultural, or
linguistic barriers to appropriate identification or placement in particular
educational settings;
(c) Inappropriate use of
disciplinary removals; lack of access to appropriate diagnostic
screenings;
(d)
Differences in academic achievement levels; and
(e) Policies, practices, or
procedures that contribute to the significant disproportionality.
(iii) Must address a policy,
practice, or procedure it identifies as contributing to the significant
disproportionality, including a policy, practice or procedure that results in a
failure to identify, or the inappropriate identification of, a racial or ethnic
group (or groups).
(b) A
school district may use funds reserved for comprehensive coordinated early
intervening services to serve children from age three through grade twelve,
particularly, but not exclusively, children in those groups that were
significantly over identified under paragraph (C)(1) of this rule, including:
(i) Children who are not currently identified
as needing special education or related services but who need additional
academic and behavioral support to succeed in a general education environment;
and
(ii) Children with
disabilities.
(c) A
school district may not limit the provision of comprehensive coordinated early
intervening services under this paragraph to children with
disabilities.
(5)
Exception to comprehensive coordinated early intervening services
A school district that serves only children with disabilities
identified under paragraph (C)(1) of this rule shall not be required to reserve
funds to provide comprehensive coordinated early intervening services.
(6) Rule of construction
Nothing in this rule authorizes the school district to develop
or implement policies, practices, or procedures that result in actions that
violate the requirements of this rule, including requirements related to child
find and ensuring that a free appropriate public education is available to all
eligible children with disabilities.
(7) General
If a school district is found by the department to have
significant disproportionality in any category for three consecutive years
without reasonable progress, the department may direct the school district to:
Review their policies, procedures and practices related to identification,
placement and discipline of children with disabilities:
(a) Review their policies, procedures and
practices related to identification, placement and discipline of children with
disabilities;
(b) Identify the
factors that may be contributing to significant disproportionality;
and
(c) Redirect fifteen per cent
of IDEA funds toward comprehensive coordinated early intervening services,
which are designed to address the contributing factors and include professional
development, education and behavioral evaluations, services and
supports.
(D)
Data reporting
(1) Each school district and
other educational agencies shall maintain an education management information
system and submit data to the Ohio department of education pursuant to rule
3301-14-01 of the Administrative
Code as well as the data reporting required under
20 U.S.C.
1418.
(2) County boards of developmental
disabilities and state institutions operated under the Ohio department of
mental health, Ohio department of youth services, and the Ohio central school
system shall submit data reports directly to the Ohio department of education
on prescribed forms and in the prescribed manner.
(3) The collection and use of data to meet
the requirements of this rule are subject to the confidentiality requirements
in rule
3301-51-04 of the Administrative
Code.
