SSW Special Education & IEP Process 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student with autism is transitioning from elementary to middle school. The BEST practice for the school social worker is to:
- Wait until the student starts middle school to assess new support needs
- Facilitate a transition IEP meeting that includes the receiving school's staff before the move (Correct answer)
- Remove all current accommodations to see how the student adjusts to the new environment
- Ensure the student's records are sealed until the new school requests them
Correct answer: Facilitate a transition IEP meeting that includes the receiving school's staff before the move
Proactive transition planning, including a meeting with both sending and receiving school staff, ensures continuity of supports and minimizes disruption for the student.
Question 2: Which of the following eligibility categories under IDEA requires that the disability adversely affect educational performance?
- Only Specific Learning Disability
- Only Emotional Disturbance
- All 13 IDEA eligibility categories (Correct answer)
- Only categories involving cognitive impairment
Correct answer: All 13 IDEA eligibility categories
For all 13 IDEA eligibility categories, the disability must adversely affect the child's educational performance and necessitate special education services.
Question 3: A school social worker is asked to conduct a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA). The primary purpose of an FBA is to:
- Determine the severity of a student's emotional disturbance diagnosis
- Identify the function or purpose the behavior serves for the student (Correct answer)
- Provide documentation for a potential expulsion hearing
- Measure the frequency and duration of all problematic behaviors
Correct answer: Identify the function or purpose the behavior serves for the student
An FBA identifies the antecedents, behaviors, and consequences to determine the function the behavior serves, which then informs the development of an effective BIP.
Question 4: When a student with a disability turns 18 in most states, which of the following procedural safeguard rights transfer to the student?
- All IDEA rights previously held by the parents transfer to the student (Correct answer)
- Rights remain with parents until the student graduates or turns 21
- Rights transfer only if the student has no intellectual disability
- Rights transfer only upon written request from the student
Correct answer: All IDEA rights previously held by the parents transfer to the student
Under IDEA, when a student reaches the age of majority (18 in most states), all procedural safeguard rights transfer from the parents to the student, unless the student has been determined incompetent.
Question 5: Which of the following BEST describes 'supplementary aids and services' in the context of LRE?
- Additional special education classes outside the general education classroom
- Aids, services, and other supports provided in general education to enable students with disabilities to be educated alongside nondisabled peers (Correct answer)
- Tutoring services provided outside of school hours
- Paraprofessional support available only in self-contained classrooms
Correct answer: Aids, services, and other supports provided in general education to enable students with disabilities to be educated alongside nondisabled peers
Supplementary aids and services are provided in general education and other settings to support the participation of students with disabilities alongside their nondisabled peers.
Question 6: A student's IEP team is unable to reach consensus on an appropriate placement. Who has the final authority to make the placement decision?
- The student's parents, since they have ultimate authority over educational decisions
- The general education teacher, as the placement affects their classroom
- The school district, as the responsible local education agency (Correct answer)
- The state education agency, which must approve all placements
Correct answer: The school district, as the responsible local education agency
While IEP decisions are made collaboratively, the school district as the local education agency bears legal responsibility for FAPE and has final decision-making authority on placement, subject to parent appeal rights.
Question 7: Under IDEA's Child Find mandate, schools are required to:
- Evaluate only students who have been referred by a general education teacher
- Identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities, including those in private schools (Correct answer)
- Screen only students who are at risk of academic failure
- Evaluate children referred by parents but not those identified by school staff
Correct answer: Identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities, including those in private schools
Child Find requires districts to actively identify, locate, and evaluate all children with suspected disabilities, including homeless children, children in private schools, and highly mobile children.
SSW Special Education & IEP Process 4
A student with autism is transitioning from elementary to middle school.
The BEST practice for the school social worker is to: