DESE Special Education & IEP Development 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under IDEA's Child Find obligation, which students must be identified and evaluated for potential disabilities?
- Only students enrolled in public school who fail a grade
- All children from birth through age 21, including those in private schools and home-schooled (Correct answer)
- Only students referred by their classroom teacher
- Students ages 6–18 enrolled in public school programs
Correct answer: All children from birth through age 21, including those in private schools and home-schooled
Child Find requires states to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities from birth through 21, regardless of school setting.
Question 2: Which of the following is NOT a required member of an IEP team?
- At least one general education teacher of the student
- A representative of the local educational agency (LEA)
- The student's physician (Correct answer)
- A special education teacher or provider
Correct answer: The student's physician
IDEA specifies required IEP team members, and while a physician's input may be useful, they are not a mandated team member.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA)?
- To diagnose a student with an emotional disturbance
- To identify the function or purpose that a problem behavior serves for the student (Correct answer)
- To determine academic eligibility for special education services
- To document behavioral incidents for disciplinary records
Correct answer: To identify the function or purpose that a problem behavior serves for the student
An FBA is conducted to understand why a student engages in problem behavior by identifying the behavior's function, which informs intervention planning.
Question 4: When a student with a disability transfers from another state, the new school district must:
- Conduct a full evaluation before providing any services
- Provide comparable services in consultation with the parent while reviewing prior IEP records (Correct answer)
- Place the student in general education until a new IEP is developed
- Require the sending state to conduct a new evaluation
Correct answer: Provide comparable services in consultation with the parent while reviewing prior IEP records
IDEA requires the new district to provide comparable services to the student while reviewing previous IEP documents and determining continued eligibility.
Question 5: Which of the following scenarios represents a violation of FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education)?
- A school provides a student with a learning disability access to a resource room
- A school delays completing a student's initial IEP for six months after determining eligibility (Correct answer)
- A school places a student with autism in a self-contained classroom with appropriate supports
- A school provides speech therapy twice weekly as specified in the student's IEP
Correct answer: A school delays completing a student's initial IEP for six months after determining eligibility
IDEA requires an IEP to be developed within 30 days of determining a student's eligibility; a six-month delay violates FAPE.
Question 6: Transition services in an IEP must begin no later than:
- Age 14 or 8th grade, whichever comes first
- The first IEP in effect when the student turns 16 (Correct answer)
- Age 18 when adult services become available
- The year the student enters high school
Correct answer: The first IEP in effect when the student turns 16
Under IDEA 2004, transition services must be included in the IEP in effect when the student turns 16, though states may require earlier.
Question 7: A Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) is most appropriately developed when:
- A student receives three or more office referrals in one semester
- A student's behavior impedes their learning or the learning of others, as identified through an FBA (Correct answer)
- A student is diagnosed with ADHD by a licensed psychologist
- A student has been suspended more than once during the school year
Correct answer: A student's behavior impedes their learning or the learning of others, as identified through an FBA
A BIP is developed based on FBA findings when a student's behavior interferes with learning, providing proactive strategies to address the behavior's function.
DESE Special Education & IEP Development 3
Under IDEA's Child Find obligation, which students must be identified and evaluated for potential disabilities?