I hear it all the time:
“My CSE said they cannot recommend a specific methodology” or
“Methodology cannot go on an IEP” or
“Methodology is best left up to the teachers who have many tools in their toolbox – no need to restrict them to a certain methodology”
But what if your child NEEDS a certain methodology to make progress? What if there are only certain methodologies that have been PROVEN EFFECTIVE through independent or peer-reviewed studies?
Think ABA for a child with behaviors related to Autism
Or
PROMPT speech therapy for a child diagnosed with Apraxia
Or
Orton-Gillingham Instruction for a child diagnosed with Dyslexia
...
THE ANSWER: Although an IEP does not have to contain a methodology, a methodology CAN go on an IEP and, in fact, SHOULD go on an IEP if that is the only way the child can be expected to learn.
Here is the relevant law in NY:
In developing an IEP for a student with a disability, a CSE must recommend services and programs that are, to the extent practicable, based on peer-reviewed research. N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 8, § 200.4(d)(2)(v)(b) (“The recommended program and services shall, to the extent practicable, be based on peer-reviewed research . . . .”).
Of course, every IEP needs to be “reasonably calculated to enable [the student] to make progress appropriate in light of his circumstances” as required by the IDEA as interpreted in Endrew F. v. Douglas Cnty. Sch. Dist. RE-1, 137 S. Ct. 988, 999 (2017). So if there is a program known to the district and proven effective, based on peer-reviewed research, for remediating deficits similar to your child's deficits, shouldn’t the district be obligated to use it with your child?
EVEN IF there are multiple methodologies that could work/that have been proven effective by the peer-reviewed research, you, as parents, ought to know which one the teachers/providers are choosing to use and they ought to be using that one consistently and with fidelity. So it needs to be specified on your child's IEP!
How will anyone working with your child know to follow the methodology?
And what about if you move? How will the next school district know where to pick up where the prior school left off?
What if your child’s teacher suddenly changes or goes on maternity leave? How will your child be guaranteed continuity in services and instruction?
In addition, if the methodology is being used consistently and progress is being monitored, your child’s goals and objectives should be drafted based on and in line with the methodology chosen and the program’s proven success rates.
If YOUR district or CSE refuses to consider a program proven effective by peer-reviewed research…if they refuse to rely on the decades of scientific literature out there that spells out what WORKS, call us TODAY!