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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 5. EDUCATION |
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SubTilte 5-E. ORIGINAL TITLE 5 |
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Chapter 5-E30. SPECIAL EDUCATION |
Section 5-E3001. DEFINITIONS
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3001.1When used in this chapter, the following terms and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed.
Act (or IDEA) - the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended (20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq.), and its implementing regulations.
Assessment - the process of collecting data in accordance with § 3005 of this chapter, to be used by the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team to determine a child's educational needs and eligibility for special education and related services.
Assistive technology device - any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability.
Assistive technology service - any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device. Assistive technology service includes:
(a)The evaluation of the needs of a child with a disability, including a functional evaluation of the child in the child's customary environment;
(b)Purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices by children with disabilities;
(c)Selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing assistive technology devices;
(d)Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services with assistive technology devices, such as those associated with existing education and rehabilitation plans and programs;
(e)Training or technical assistance for a child with a disability or, if appropriate, the child's family; and
(f)Training or technical assistance for professionals (including individuals providing education or rehabilitation services), employers, or other individuals who provide services to, employ, or are otherwise substantially involved in the major life functions of a child with a disability.
At no cost - the provision, without charge to the parent, of all:
(a)Assessment procedures performed by the LEA and used to evaluate a child;
(b)Specially designed instruction; and
(c)Assistive technology devices and services required by the IEP.
"At no cost" does not include incidental fees that are typically charged to children without disabilities or to their parents as a part of the regular education program.
Audiology - services which include:
(a)Identification of children with hearing loss;
(b)Determination of the range, nature, and degree of hearing loss, including referral for medical or other professional attention for the habilitation of hearing;
(c)Provision of habilitative activities such as language habilitation, auditory training, speech reading (lip reading), hearing evaluation, and speech conservation;
(d)Creation and administration of programs for the prevention of hearing loss;
(e)Counseling and guidance of children, parents, and teachers regarding hearing loss; and
(f)Determination of the child's need for group and individual amplification, selecting and fitting an appropriate aid, and evaluating the effectiveness of amplification.
Autism - means a developmental disability which:
(a)Does not include emotional disturbance as defined below;
(b)Significantly affects verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction;
(c)Is often evident before three years old;
(d)Adversely affects a child's educational performance; and
(e)May be characterized by:
(1)Engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements;
(2)Resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines; and
(3)Unusual responses to sensory experiences.
Blindness - See Visual Impairment
Business day - Monday through Friday except for Federal and District holidays.
Charter School (or public charter school) - a publicly funded public school established pursuant to the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995, approved April 26, 1996 (110 Stat. 1321; D.C. Official Code §§ 38-1800 et seq.), and is not part of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS).
Child - an individual between the ages of three and twenty-two.
Child with a disability –
(a) In general, a child with:
(1)Intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), serious emotional disturbance (referred to in this chapter as “emotional disturbance”), orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, specific learning disabilities, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities; and
(2)Who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services.
(b) The term “child with a disability” for a child aged three (3) through seven (7) includes a child who experiences developmental delay as defined in this subsection.
Consent - action in which a parent:
(a)Has been fully informed of all information relevant to the activity for which consent is sought, in the parent's native language or other mode of communication;
(b)Understands and agrees in writing to the carrying out of the activity for which the parent's consent is sought, and the consent describes that activity and lists the records, if any, that will be released and to whom; and
(c)Understands that the granting of consent is voluntary on the part of the parent and that it may be revoked at any time.
Counseling services - services provided by qualified social workers, psychologists, guidance counselors, or other qualified personnel.
Day - a calendar day unless otherwise indicated as a school day or a business day.
DCPS - the District of Columbia Public Schools, established by Section 102 of the District of Columbia Public Schools Agency Establishment Act of 2007, effective June 12, 2007 (D.C. Law 17-9; D.C. Official Code § 38-171).
Deaf-blindness - concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational problems that the child cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely as a child with deafness or a child with blindness.
Deafness - a hearing impairment which:
(a)Is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification; and
(b)Adversely affects the child's educational performance.
Developmental Delay - a condition in which a child, three through seven years of age:
(a)experiences severe developmental delays of at least two years below his or her chronological age and/or at least two standard deviations below the mean, as measured by appropriate standardized diagnostic instruments and procedures, in one or more of the following areas:
(1)Physical development;
(2)Language and communication development;
(3)Social or emotional development;
(4)Cognitive development; or
(5)Adaptive development; and
(b)due to the delay(s) described above, requires special education and related services.
No child shall be classified as having “Developmental Delay” based solely on deficits in the area of social and/or emotional development.
"Developmental Delay" does not apply to children with the following disabilities:
(a)autism;
(b)traumatic brain injury;
(c)mental retardation;
(d)emotional disturbance;
(e)other health impairment;
(f)orthopedic impairment;
(g)visual impairment, including blindness;
(h)hearing impairment, including deafness; or
(i)speech/language impairment.
District- the District of Columbia.
Educational Representative – an adult appointed by OSSE to represent the educational interests of a child with a disability who upon reaching eighteen (18) years of age is determined under this chapter to be unable to provide informed consent for educational purposes.
Emotional disturbance - a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance:
(a)An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors;
(b)An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers [*1860] and teachers;
(c)Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;
(d)A general, pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; or
(e)A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
"Emotional disturbance" includes schizophrenia.
"Emotional disturbance" does not include a child who is socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that the child has an emotional disturbance.
Evaluation - includes:
(a)Procedures used in accordance with 34 CFR § 300.500 (b) (2) to determine whether a child has a disability and the nature and extent of the special education and related services that the child needs.
(b)The process of reviewing:
(1)Information from parents;
(2)Existing data; and
(3)Results of assessment procedures used to determine the child's present level of performance, educational needs and whether a child has a disability, and the nature and extent of the special education and related services that the child needs.
(c)A review of all of the above at a meeting of the IEP team.
Extended school year services - special education and related services that:
(a)Are provided to a child with a disability beyond the normal LEA school year, in accordance with the IEP, at no cost to the parents of the child; and
(b)Meet the standards of the LEA.
Free appropriate public education or FAPE - special education and related services that:
(a)Are provided, at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge;
(b)Meet the standards of the SEA, including the requirements of this chapter;
(c)Include preschool, elementary and secondary education; and
(d)Are provided in conformity with an individualized education program that meets the requirements under §§ 3003, 3007-3010, and 3018 of this chapter.
General curriculum - the curricular content adopted by the LEA for all children receiving a public education.
Hearing impairment - an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's educational performance, but which is not included in the definition of deafness in this section.
IDEA (or Act) - the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended (20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq.) and its implementing regulations.
Impartial hearing officer - an individual selected to conduct a due process hearing in accordance with 20 U.S.C. § 1415(f) who:
(a)Is not an employee of a public agency or the LEA that is involved in the education or care of the child; and
(b)Does not have a personal or professional interest that would conflict with the individual's objectivity in the due process hearing.
Incapacitated Individual – shall have the same meaning as the term is defined in D.C. Official Code § 21-2011(11).
Include - the items named are not all of the possible items that are covered, whether like or unlike the ones named.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE) - assessment procedures conducted by a qualified individual who is not an employee of the LEA.
Individualized Education Program (IEP) - a written statement that specifies the special education programs and services to be provided to meet the unique educational needs of a child with a disability, as required under Section 614(d) of IDEA (20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)) and this chapter.
Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) – a written plan for providing early intervention services to an infant or toddler with a disability and the infant’s or toddler’s family that:
(a) Is based on the evaluation and assessment of the child and family, described in 34 C.F.R. § 303.321;
(b) Includes the content of 34 C.F.R. § 303.344;
(c) Is implemented as soon as possible once parental consent for the early intervention services in the IFSP is obtained, consistent with 34 C.F.R. § 303.420; and
(d) Is developed in accordance with the IFSP procedures in 34 C.F.R. §§ 303.342, 303.343, and 303.345.
IEP team - a group of individuals, comprised of the persons listed in § 3003 of this chapter, responsible for:
(a)Identifying and evaluating children with disabilities in a meeting in accordance with 20 U.S.C. § 1414, and §§ 3004 and 3005 of this chapter;
(b)Developing, reviewing, or revising an IEP for a child with a disability; and
(c)Determining the placement of a child with a disability in the least restrictive environment (LRE) in accordance with 20 U.S.C. § 1414 (f), and § 3011 of this chapter.
Infant or toddler with a disability - shall have the same meaning as provided in Section 632(5) of the IDEA (20 U.S.C. § 1432(5)).
Local Education Agency (LEA) - an educational institution at the local level that exists primarily to operate a publicly funded school or schools providing elementary or secondary education in the District of Columbia, including the District of Columbia Public Schools and a District of Columbia public charter school. The term includes public charter schools that have elected, pursuant to D.C. Official Code § 38-1800.02(29), DCPS to serve as the LEA for purposes of IDEA, with such election subject to the provisions of D.C. Official Code § 38-1802.10(c), requiring an LEA to be its own LEA for purposes of IDEA and the Rehabilitation Act unless waived by the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board.
Medical services - services provided by a licensed physician to determine a child's medically related disability that results in the child's need for special education and related services.
Meeting - a prearranged event when personnel of the LEA, a parent, and others who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, at the discretion of the LEA or the parent, come together at the same time and place, in person or telephonically, to discuss matters related to the identification, evaluation, educational placement, and the provision of FAPE for a child with a disability.
"Meeting" does not include:
(a)Informal or unscheduled conversations with LEA personnel;
(b)Conversations on issues such as teaching methodology, lesson plans, or coordination of service provision, if these issues are not addressed on the child's IEP; or
(c)Preparatory activities of LEA personnel necessary to develop a proposal or response to a parent proposal that will be discussed at a later meeting.
Mental retardation - significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior, which is manifested during the developmental period and adversely affects a child's educational performance.
Multiple disabilities - concomitant impairments, such as mental retardation-blindness or mental retardation-orthopedic impairment, the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that the child cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. "Multiple disabilities" does not include children with deaf-blindness.
Native language -
(a)The language or mode of communication normally used by the child, or the language or mode of communication normally used by the parent of the child;
(b)In all direct contact with the child (including evaluation of the child), the language normally used by the child in the home or learning environment;
(c)For an individual with deafness or blindness, or for an individual with no written language, the mode of communication which is normally used by the individual (e.g. Braille, sign language, or oral communication).
Nonacademic and extracurricular activities and services - activities and services that may include:
(a)Meals, recess, counseling services, athletics, transportation, health services, recreational activities, special interest groups or clubs sponsored by the LEA;
(b)Referrals to agencies that provide assistance to individuals with disabilities; and
(c)Employment of children, including employment by the LEA, and assistance in making outside employment available.
Nonpublic school - an educational program that is governed and operated by an individual or entity, not including the Federal government or any state, county, or municipal agency, or division thereof.
Occupational therapy - services performed by a qualified occupational therapist and include:
(a)Improving, developing, or restoring functions impaired or lost through illness, injury, or deprivation;
(b)Improving ability to perform tasks for independent functioning when functions are impaired or lost; and
(c)Preventing, through early intervention, initial or further impairment or loss of function.
Orientation and mobility services - services provided to blind or visually impaired children by qualified personnel to enable those children to attain systematic orientation to and safe movement within their environments in school, home, and community. "Orientation and mobility services" include:
(a)Teaching children spatial and environmental concepts and use of information received by the senses (such as sound, temperature, and vibrations) to establish, maintain, or regain orientation and line of travel (e.g., using sound at a traffic light to cross the street);
(b)Teaching children to use the long cane to supplement visual travel skills or as a tool for safely negotiating the environment for children with no available travel vision;
(c)Teaching children to understand and use remaining vision and distance low vision aids; and
(d)Other concepts, techniques, and tools.
Orthopedic impairment - a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child's educational performance. "Orthopedic impairment" includes impairments:
(a)Caused by congenital anomaly (e.g., clubfoot or absence of some member, etc.);
(b)Caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis or bone tuberculosis, etc.); and
(c)From other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns which cause contractures).
Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) - is the State Education Agency (SEA) for the District of Columbia established by the State Education Office Establishment Act of 2000, effective October 21, 2000 (D.C. Official Code §§ 38-2601 et seq.), with all operational authority for state-level functions, except that delegated to the State Board of Education in D.C. Official Code § 38-2652. As described in D.C. Official Code § 38-2601.01, OSSE performs the functions of a state education agency for the District of Columbia under applicable federal law, including grant-making, oversight, and state educational agency functions for standards, assessments, and federal accountability requirements for elementary and secondary education.
Other health impairment - having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environment stimuli, resulting in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, and adversely affecting a child's educational performance, due to chronic or acute health problems such as:
(a)Asthma;
(b)Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder;
(c)Diabetes;
(d)Epilepsy;
(e)A heart condition;
(f)Hemophilia;
(g)Lead poisoning;
(h)Leukemia;
(i)Nephritis;
(j)Rheumatic fever; and
(k)Sickle cell anemia.
Parent - a natural or adoptive parent of a child, a guardian (but not the District if the child is a ward of the District), a person acting in the place of a parent (such as a grandparent or stepparent with whom the child lives, or a person who is legally responsible for the child's welfare), or a surrogate parent who has been appointed in accordance with 34 C.F.R. § 300.515. A foster parent may act as a parent if:
(a)The natural parent's authority to make educational decisions on the child's behalf has been extinguished under applicable law; and
(b)The foster parent has an ongoing, long-term parental relationship with the child, is willing to make educational decisions for the child as required under the Act, and has no interest that conflicts with the interests of the child.
Parent counseling and training includes:
(a)Assisting parents in understanding the special needs of their child;
(b)Providing parents with information about child development; and
(c)Helping parents acquire the necessary skills that will enable them to support the implementation of their child's IEP.
Personally identifiable information - information that includes:
(a)The name of the child, the child's parent, or other family member;
(b)The address of the child;
(c)A personal identifier such as the child's Social Security number;
(d)A list of personal characteristics or other information that would make it possible to identify the child with reasonable certainty.
Physical education - the development of the following services, specially designed if necessary:
(a)Physical and motor fitness;
(b)Fundamental motor skills and patterns; and
(c)Skills in aquatics, dance, and individual and group games and sports, including intramural and lifetime sports.
"Physical education" includes special physical education, adaptive physical education, movement education, and motor development.
Physical therapy - services provided by a qualified physical therapist.
Psychological services - services that include:
(a)Administering psychological and educational tests, and other assessment procedures;
(b)Interpreting assessment results;
(c)Obtaining, integrating, and interpreting information about child behavior and conditions relating to learning;
(d)Consulting with other staff members in planning school programs to meet the special needs of children as indicated by psychological tests, interviews, and behavioral evaluations;
(e)Planning and managing a program of psychological services, including psychological counseling for children and parents; and
(f)Assisting in developing positive behavioral intervention strategies.
Public charter school - means a publicly funded public school established pursuant to the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995, approved April 26, 1996 (110 Stat. 1321; D.C. Official Code §§ 38-1800 et seq.), and is not part of DCPS.
Public expense - the cost of services paid for or provided by a public agency at no cost to the parent.
Qualified evaluator - an evaluator who has met the SEA-approved or recognized certification, licensing, registration, or other comparable requirements that apply to the evaluator's field in the location where the evaluator practices. For the administration of standardized tests, a person who is trained and knowledgeable and administrates the test in accordance with the instructions provided by the producer of the test.
Qualified personnel - personnel who have met the SEA-approved or recognized certification, licensing, registration, or other comparable requirements that apply to the area in which the individual is providing special education or related services set forth in Chapters 10 and 16.
Recreation - services that include assessment of leisure function, therapeutic recreation services, recreation programs in schools and other community agencies, and leisure education.
Reevaluation - means an evaluation conducted after the initial evaluation in accordance with § 3005 of this chapter.
Rehabilitation Act - means the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, approved September 26, 1973 (87 Stat. 355; 29 U.S. C. §§ 701 et seq.) and its implementing regulations.
Rehabilitation counseling services - services provided:
(a)By qualified personnel in individual or group sessions that focus specifically on:
(1)Career development;
(2)Employment preparation;
(3)Achieving independence, and
(4)Integration in the workplace and community of a child with a disability; and
(b)To children with disabilities by vocational rehabilitation programs funded under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
Related services - transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education. "Related services" include:
(a)Speech-language pathology;
(b)Audiology services;
(c)Psychological services;
(d)Physical and occupational therapy;
(e)Recreation, including therapeutic recreation;
(f)Early identification and assessment of disabilities in children;
(g)Counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling;
(h)Orientation and mobility services;
(i)Medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes;
(j)School health services;
(k)Social work services in schools;
(l)Parent counseling and training; and
(m)Transportation.
School day - a day, including a partial day, when the LEA is open and students are required to be in attendance for instructional purposes.
School health services - services provided by a qualified school nurse or other qualified individual.
Severe discrepancy - A difference of at least two years below a child's chronological age and/or at least two standard deviations below the child's cognitive ability as measured by appropriate standardized diagnostic instruments and procedures.
Social work services in school - include:
(a)Preparing a social or developmental history of a child with a disability;
(b)Group and individual counseling with the child and family;
(c)Working in partnership with parents and others on those problems in a child's living situation (home, school, and community) that affect the child's adjustment in school;
(d)Mobilizing school and community resources to enable the child to learn as effectively as possible in the child's educational program; and
(e)Assisting in the development of positive behavioral intervention strategies.
Special education - specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parent, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, including the instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings. "Special education," if it meets this definition, includes:
(a)Speech-language pathology services;
(b)Vocational education;
(c)Travel training; and
(d)Instruction in physical education if the service consists of specially designed instruction.
Specially designed instruction - the adaptation of content, methodology, or delivery of instruction, as appropriate to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability in order to ensure access to the general curriculum, so that the child can meet the educational standards that apply to each child within the jurisdiction of the District.
Specific Learning Disability (SLD)--a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations, including such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasis. SLD does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, mental retardation, emotional disturbance, or environmental, cultural or economic disadvantage.
Speech or language impairment - a communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, voice impairment, or language impairment that adversely affects a child's educational performance.
Speech-language pathology services - services that include:
(a)Identification of children with speech or language impairments;
(b)Diagnosis and appraisal of specific speech or language impairments;
(c)Referral for medical or other professional attention necessary for the habilitation of speech or language impairments;
(d)Provision of speech and language services for the habilitation or prevention of communicative impairments; and
(e)Counseling and guidance of parents, children, and teachers regarding speech and language impairments.
State Education Agency (SEA)--The Board of Education of the District of Columbia.
Supplementary aids and services - aids, services, and other supports that are provided in regular education classes or other education-related settings to enable a child with a disability to be educated with non-disabled children to the maximum extent appropriate in accordance with § 3012 of this Chapter.
Supported Decision-Making - supports, services, and accommodations that help a child with a disability make his or her own decisions, by using adult friends, family members, professionals, and other people he or she trusts to help understand the issues and choices, ask questions, receive explanations in language he or she understands, and communicate his or her own decisions to others.
Surrogate Parent - an individual who is appointed by the LEA to advocate for the child with a disability, or a child suspected of having a disability, during evaluation through possible placement, when no parent can be identified or the whereabouts of parents cannot be determined or if the child is a ward of the District, as needed.
Transition Services--include:
(a)A coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability, designed within an outcome-oriented process, that promote movement from school to post-school activities including:
(1)Post-secondary education;
(2)Vocational training;
(3)Integrated employment, including supported employment;
(4)Continuing and adult education;
(5)Adult services;
(6)Independent living; or
(7)Community participation.
(b)Activities based on the individual child's needs, taking into account the child's preferences and interests including:
(1)Instruction, related services, community experiences, development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives;
(2)Acquisition of daily living skills, if appropriate; and
(3)Functional vocational evaluation, if appropriate.
Transition services for children with a disability may be special education, if provided as specially designed instruction, or related services, if required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education.
Transportation - services that include:
(a)Travel to and from school and between schools;
(b)Travel in and around school buildings; and
(c)Specialized equipment (such as special or adapted buses, lifts, and ramps) if required to provide special transportation for a child with a disability.
Traumatic brain injury - an acquired injury to the brain, caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. "Traumatic brain injury" includes open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas such as:
(a)Cognition;
(b)Language;
(c)Memory;
(d)Attention;
(e)Reasoning;
(f)Abstract thinking;
(g)Judgment;
(h)Problem solving;
(i)Sensory, perceptual, motor abilities;
(j)Psychosocial behavior;
(k)Physical functions;
(l)Information processing; and
(m)Speech.
"Traumatic brain injury" does not include brain injuries that are:
(a)Congenital or degenerative; or
(b)Brain injuries induced by birth trauma.
Travel Training - providing instruction, as appropriate, to children with significant cognitive disabilities and other children with disabilities who require such instruction, to enable them to:
(a)Develop an awareness of the environment in which they live; and
(b)Learn the skills necessary to move effectively and safely from place to place within that environment (in school, in the home, at work, and in the community).
Visual impairment, including blindness - impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance. "Visual Impairment" includes partial sight and blindness.
Vocational education - organized educational programs which are directly related to the preparation of individuals for paid or unpaid employment, or for additional preparation for a career requiring other than a baccalaureate or advanced degree.