Paper Number: FY 2004-12
February 2004
Technical Assistance Paper
312272
Speech and Language Services for Students with Disabilities
Background
Complaints have been filed with the Of
fice for Civil Rights (OCR) alleging that the Florida Department of
Education (DOE) engaged in a pattern and practice of denial of speech and language therapy services to
students with disabilities. Subsequently
, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) cited a finding
of noncompliance related to the option of speech and language services for students with disabilities in
Florida’
s 2001 monitoring report.
As part of the State Improvement Plan required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
DOE proposed actions to OCR and OSEP to resolve this issue. For additional background information, see
DPS Memo 02-90 (appendix A).
The Florida Department of Education has identified some areas where further clarification of district
procedures is necessary to ensure that students with disabilities who need speech or language services
receive such services in order to benefit from special education programs. The purpose of this technical
assistance paper is to provide school districts and families with information regarding the option for students
identified as autistic, developmentally delayed, traumatic brain injured, or deaf or hard-of-hearing to receive
speech or language services without meeting eligibility criteria under Rule 6A-6.03012, FAC,
Special
Programs for Students Who Are Speech and Language Impaired.
Introduction
Analysis of 2002 student data (Survey 9, December 2002) indicates that 24% of the state’
s total population
of students with disabilities is identified as having a primary disability of speech/language impaired, and an
additional 19% is identified as having a secondary disability of speech/language impaired. For a more
complete data analysis, see DPS Memo 04-009 (appendix B).
At this time, the special education programs listed below are the only programs for which the option to
receive speech or language services without meeting additional eligibility criteria under Rule 6A-6.03012,
FAC,
Special Programs for Students Who Are Speech and Language Impaired,
is available. The State Board
of Education Rules for these programs all consider a deficit in the area of speech or language as part of the
eligibility criteria.
■
Rule 6A-6.03023, FAC,
Special Programs for Students Who Are Autistic
, requires evidence of
severely delayed or absent speech/language skills as one area of the eligibility criteria.
REFER
TO:
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PAPERS
APs) are produced periodically by
the Bureau of Instructional Support and Community Services to present
discussion of current topics. The TAPs may be used for inservice sessions,
technical assistance visits, parent organization meetings, or interdisciplinary
discussion groups. Topics are identified by state steering committees, district
personnel, and individuals, or from program compliance monitoring.
BUREAU OF INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT AND COMMUNITY SERVICES
Lezlie Cline
Program Development and Services
850-245-0478
Lezlie.Cline@FLDOE.org
325 West Gaines Street, Room 601
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
QUESTIONS
(T
■
Rule 6A-6.03013, FAC,
Special Programs for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing,
lists
evidence of delayed communication skills as one of the areas that may be used to meet the eligibility
criteria for the program.
■
Rule 6A-6.03027, FAC,
Special Programs for Children Three Through Five Years Old Who Are
Developmentally Delayed
, lists evidence of delayed communication skills as an area that may be
used to meet the eligibility criteria for the program.
■
Rule 6A-6.03015(4), FAC,
Students With Traumatic Brain Injury,
also lists evidence of a significant
difficulty in language or speech as areas that may be used to meet the eligibility criteria for the
program.
If the individual educational plan (IEP) team determines that a student identified as autistic, developmentally
delayed, traumatic brain injured, or deaf or hard-of-hearing who has a delay or absence of communication
skills as documented by the initial speech/language evaluation is in need of speech or language services,
such student does not have to meet the additional eligibility criteria under Rule 6A-6.03012, FAC,
Special
Programs for Students Who Are Speech and Language Impaired,
in order to receive speech or language
services.
This option for students identified as autistic, developmentally delayed, traumatic brain injured, and deaf or
hard-of-hearing is effective beginning the first day of school for 2003-2004. School districts are required to
re-submit the speech/language portion of their 2003-2004 Special Programs and Procedures for Exceptional
Students (SP&P) document to their local school boards for approval. (This portion of the SP&P document
was sent to districts electronically.)
Current procedures for determining the need for speech or language services for children below age three as
stated in Rule 6A-6.03031, FAC,
Special Programs For Children Birth Through Two Years Old Who Are
Developmentally Delayed,
or Rule 6A-6.03030, FAC,
Special Programs for Children Birth Through Two
Years Old Who Have Established Conditions
remain the same. These children may receive speech or language
services if the initial speech/language evaluation supports a communication delay and the family support
plan (FSP) team determines the child needs speech or language services.
Determining the Need for Speech and Language Services
In order for a student to receive speech or language services without meeting eligibility criteria under Rule
6A-6.03012, FAC,
Special Programs for Students Who Are Speech and Language Impaired
, the student
must be identified as a student with a disability in one of the following program areas:
■
Autistic
(Rule 6A-6.03023, FAC)—demonstrated evidence of severely delayed or absent speech/
language skills
■
Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing
(Rule 6A-6.03013, FAC)—demonstrated evidence that the hearing
threshold level interferes with progress in the area of linguistic and communicative skills
■
Traumatic Brain Injury
(Rule 6A-6.03015 (4), FAC)—significant dif
ficulty requiring an adaptation
to the curriculum in the areas of language or speech
■
Three Through Five Years Old Who Are Developmentally Delayed
(Rule 6A-6.03027, FAC)—
score 2 standard deviations below the mean or a 25% delay on measures yielding scores in months
in the area of
communication development
; or score 1.5 standard deviations below the mean or a
20% delay on measures yielding scores in months in the area of
communication development and
in
at least
one other area of development
(The student should have communication goals that cannot
be met through the general classroom curriculum.)
2?
■
Childr
en Birth Through Two Years Old Who Are Developmentally Delayed
(Rule 6A-6.03031,
FAC)
—
if the initial speech/language evaluation supports a communication delay and the family
support plan (FSP) team determines the child needs speech or language services
■
Children Birth Through Two Years Old Who Have Established Conditions
(Rule 6A-6.03030,
FAC)—if the initial speech/language evaluation supports a communication delay and the family
support plan (FSP) team determines the child needs speech or language services.
After reviewing the initial speech/language evaluation results, the speech/language pathologist must use
professional judgment to interpret the impact of the delayed or absent speech or language skills on the
ability of the student to benefit from special education services. The IEP team must develop additional
communication goals and objectives that cannot be met solely through the general classroom curriculum.
The student does not have to meet additional eligibility criteria under Rule 6A-6.03012, FAC,
Special
Programs for Students Who Are Speech and Language Impaired
. The IEP or FSP team, which must include
a speech/language pathologist (SLP), determines the need, type, frequency, and duration of the therapy as
well as the appropriate service delivery model.
Questions and Answers
1.? What are the procedures for determining that a student currently identified as autistic,
developmentally delayed, traumatic brain injured, or deaf or hard-of-hearing, who is not eligible
for speech or language services under Rule 6A-6.03012, FAC,
Special Programs for Students Who
Are Speech and Language Impaired,
may receive speech or language services?
The IEP or FSP team, which must include a speech/language pathologist, should address this option on
an individual basis for students who have communication needs that cannot be met in their educational
curriculum. The IEP or FSP team must follow the reevaluation process; review the student’
s initial
speech/language evaluation results, current IEP or FSP goals and objectives in the area of communication,
classroom performance, and parent/teacher reports of performance; and determine if additional speech
or language testing is needed.
The student does not have to meet additional eligibility criteria under Rule 6A-6.03012, FAC, in order
to receive speech or language services if the student is currently receiving special education services.
Based on the information obtained, the IEP or FSP team must determine if the student needs speech or
language services to be provided specifically by an SLP. The IEP or FSP team determines the need,
type, frequency, and duration of the therapy, as well as the appropriate service delivery model.
2.? Must all students identified as autistic, developmentally delayed, traumatic brain injured, or deaf
or hard-of-hearing receive speech/language services under this option?
No. Each IEP or FSP team should address this issue through the reevaluation process on an individual
basis for a student who has communication needs that cannot be met in their educational curriculum.
3.? How should speech/language services provided to a student described under this option be recorded
on the IEP?
For data entry purposes, the paperwork required by the district for adding a secondary area of disability
should be completed. Speech or language therapy is identified as a special education service (not a
related service) and is coded as F (speech) or G (language).
3?
4.? If a student identified under this option is no longer in need of speech/language services, how
should the student be dismissed from speech/language?
The IEP or FSP team, which includes the SLP, determines if the student is no longer in need of speech
or language services according to the dismissal criteria specified in the district’
s SP&P document. The
decision to discontinue therapy should be based on the student’
s current performance and any other
relevant information.
5.? Must a student identified as developmentally delayed meet initial eligibility criteria under Rule
6A-6.03012, FAC, to continue to receive speech or language services after the student’s sixth
birthday?
A student identified as developmentally delayed must be reevaluated by the student’
s sixth birthday.
The student may continue to receive speech or language services, if the student continues to be identified
as a student with a disability and the IEP team determines the continued need for speech or language
services.
6.? Who can meet the communication (e.g., language or assistive technology) needs of a student with
a disability?
Communication needs of all students with disabilities must be considered by the IEP team as required
by federal regulations, 34 CFR 300.346(a)(2)(iv)
.
Those communication needs addressed on the IEP
may be provided by general or special education teachers as part of the daily curriculum for the student
or by a speech/language pathologist. A speech/language pathologist can also provide support services to
school personnel for a student that has not been identified as speech or language impaired.
4?
Appendix A
DPS Memo 02-90
Provision of Speech/Language Services to Students with Disabilties
Appendix B
DPS Memo 04-009
July 25, 2003
Provision of Speech/Language Service to Students with Disabilities