OCR PAR Issues Brochure - Special Education

This KnowledgeBase archive includes content and external links that were accurate and relevant as of September 30, 2019.

Districts may not assign students to special education programs on the basis of criteria that essentially measure and evaluate English language skills. Districts may not refuse to provide alternative language services and special education to students who need both.

In reviewing whether a district's special education referral and evaluation procedures are in compliance with legal requirements, OCR generally recommends that district staff consider the effect of the language development and proficiency of language-minority students. If a student is not proficient in the language skills required to complete an evaluative instrument, the results may not be valid. If district staff rely primarily on invalid evaluative data, without considering other sources of information about the student, the district may be in violation of civil rights laws.

• The district should ensure that LEP students are being placed in the special education program because of actual qualifying conditions, and not simply because of cultural differences or a lack of English-language skills.
• The parents of special education LEP students should receive notices of procedural safeguards and other information in a language they understand.
• The district should use appropriate assessment methods for LEP students that take into account language and cultural differences. If validated tests are not available in the student's primary language, the district should use alternative assessment procedures.
• Interpreters and other staff who assist in the assessment of LEP students should be trained to carry out the procedures.

Source:

PAR Issues Brochure; Educational Services for Limited-English Proficient Students; issued by the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Region VII, Kansas City, Missouri. Profile, Assessment and Resolution Reviews, a Region VII Pilot Project.

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