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The IDEA 2004 Part B final regulations add new requirements to strengthen appropriate service delivery to culturally and linguistically diverse students.
One addition to the regulations on evaluation procedures requires that assessment and other evaluation materials should not only be provided and administered in the child's native language or other mode of communication, but they also should be "in the form most likely to yield accurate information on what the child knows and can do academically, developmentally, and functionally." For culturally and linguistically diverse students, the "form" in which evaluation procedures are administered will vary. The addition of this new language emphasizes the allowance of variance from standard testing procedures when necessary in order to appropriately assess a student.
The regulations made significant strides in addressing the over-representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education. A new provision in the 2006 regulations requires states to review racial and ethnic breakdown of students who receive special education services to determine disproportionality. Districts that have a significant disproportionality will now be required to review and revise policies, procedures, and practices. In addition, these states will be required to set aside up to 15% of their federal aid for students who need "additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in a general education environment," according to the law. Early intervening services should be targeted particularly, although not exclusively, to over-identified groups.
The new regulations clearly define steps that must be taken to address the problem of disproportionality in special education. In particular, mandating that funds be allotted for early intervening services is an excellent strategy to reduce this problem. Research has shown that early intervening strategies assist in reducing the number of inappropriate referrals to special education.
—Claudia Saad
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