Special Education Compliance Manual for Administrators

Abstract

During the past 40 years, American schools have had to respond to many new pressures and challenges from federal legislation concerning students with disabilities. Chief among these are the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA, 2004) and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2001). Principals have training, experience, and expertise administering and supervising instruction in their schools. However, this training does not typically include comprehensive knowledge of special education and assurance that the procedures required for ensuring the needs of students with special needs are met and their rights are protected (Van Horn, Burello, & De Clue, 1992).Given the complexity of the roles and responsibilities of principals, it is not surprising that many feel poorly prepared as leaders of special education services in their buildings (Crockett, 2002). At this time school administrators do not have a clear cut "question-answer resource" to assist them in interpreting and complying with the rules and regulations for serving students with disabilities as mandated by federal and state educational agencies.The purpose of this dissertation was to develop a practical manual which could be used by administrators to meet the rules and regulations mandated by IDEIA (2004) and No Child Left Behind (2001). This manual includes compliance issues, guidelines and recommended practices to assist principals and staff in meeting all compliance standards.This manual has many implications. First, this manual identifies the current issues in special education and provides recommendations. Second, the manual will be a resource for principals to assist them in administering and monitoring special education practices to identify, assess and develop Individualized Education Programs, and meet parent and student rights, and due process procedures. Third, this manual will be of use to administrators in understanding the special education process and the necessary actions taken by schools to comply with the rules and regulations. Fourth, this manual may be of service to pre-service and in-service trainers who are preparing administrators for the nation's schools.