Mass Advocates for Children Staff
Answer Parents' Special Education Law Questions

Q.: My child currently has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), but is not making adequate progress socially or emotionally. The school district refuses to provide additional supports and services, because in their view my child is doing satisfactorily academically. How can I advocate to get services that address my child’s social and emotional learning needs? What can I do to ensure that the Team puts these services into the IEP?

Answer: Unfortunately, this is a common problem. All too often, school districts fail adequately to address the complex social, emotional, behavioral, and pragmatic language learning needs that result from Asperger’s Syndrome. This is especially true if the student is passing from grade to grade. However, the special education laws provide clear and strong protections for these students.

The first thing that parents and advocates need to keep in mind is the law’s requirement that every IEP address the student’s unique needs. See 34 C.F.R. §§300.1, 300.26, 300.347. Federal law makes clear that an IEP must address not only the student’s needs “to enable the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum,” but also the “other educational needs that result from the child’s disability.” See 34 C.F.R. §300.347(a)(2). Thus, the IEP must address “all of a child’s special education and related services needs, whether they are academic, physical, emotional or social.” Arlington Public Schools, 8 MSER 187, 195 (BSEA 2002)(citing Lenn v. Portland Sch. Comm., 998 F.2d 1083 (1st Cir. 1993), and 34 C.F.R. §300.300(a)(3)(i))(emphasis in original). Federal law states, in addition, that the services provided under an IEP should prepare the student for employment and independent living. See 34 C.F.R. §300.1(a). Moreover, the law explicitly recognizes that a child with a disability may be entitled to services even if that child is advancing from grade to grade. See 34 CFR 300.121(e)(1).

Under Massachusetts law, in order for a student to “progress effectively in the general education program,” he or she must show “documented growth in the acquisition of knowledge and skills, including social/emotional development,” consistent with the student’s chronological age, developmental expectations, and individual educational potential. 603 CMR 28.02(18)(emphasis added). For example, a student with Asperger’s Syndrome who exhibits significant delays in his or her social skills and language pragmatics (social isolation, communication difficulties, lack of awareness of social conventions and codes of conduct, etc.) can and should receive necessary services and accommodations to address these needs, even if the student’s academic progress is on par with age expectations. A student can also receive services to ensure that he or she is able to generalize behavioral and social skills to various settings. See, e.g., Northbridge Public Schools, 9 MSER 96, 108 (BSEA 2003)(discussed below); Medford Public Schools, 8 MSER 329, 349 (BSEA 2002). Often a child’s emotional development may be overlooked, or the parents may be told that this issue is not the “school’s problem,” because academically the student is progressing at or above grade level. Parents need to make clear that the school is a crucial partner at each stage, up through and including high school (or, in appropriate cases, to age 22), in developing the social, communication and coping skills necessary for the student to live and work independently.

When advocating for services and accommodations to address social and behavioral needs, parents and advocates should utilize the section of the IEP entitled “Present Levels of Educational Performance; B: Other Educational Needs.” (This is normally on page 3 or 4 of the IEP.) It is very important to check off all of the specific areas of need resulting from the student’s Asperger’s Syndrome. Depending on the child, these may include “adaptive physical education,” “extra curriculum activities,” “social/emotional needs,” “communication” (all students),” “behavior,” and/or “nonacademic activities.” This page also includes a box for “other,” where needs such as occupational therapy/sensory integration can be specified. If the IEP specifies that the student’s learning needs include social and emotional areas, then the IEP must provide goals, services, and supports to meet each of those needs. 34 C.F.R. §300.347(a). Parents and advocates should make sure that any specialized instruction or service that the student will require is reflected in the section of the IEP entitled “Service Delivery.” (This section, often referred to as the “service delivery grid,” is normally on page 8 of the IEP.)

Recent decisions by the Massachusetts Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) illustrate the strong protections available to address all of a student’s learning needs resulting from Asperger’s Syndrome. One case involved a 12-year-old student with Asperger’s Syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) who displayed significant impairments in pragmatic, social, adaptive, and organizational skills, despite superior cognitive functioning. The BSEA held that the school district’s proposed IEP for the student was inappropriate because, “despite the professional awareness that Asperger’s Syndrome is, fundamentally, a disorder of pragmatics, no specific services tailored to this area of need were proposed in the [student’s] IEP.” The hearing officer ruled that the IEP was inappropriate because it failed to include “services addressing the most critical areas of need as identified by [the student’s] parents, teachers and evaluators: social and language pragmatics.” Wachusett Regional School District, 103 LRP 35897, BSEA 03-3728, 9 MSER 205, 209 (2003)(emphasis added).

Another recent case involved a nine-year-old with Asperger’s Syndrome, ADHD, and bipolar disorder. Despite the student’s adequate academic progress, his behavioral and social learning needs resulting from his disability significantly impaired his functioning at school, at home, and in the community. The hearing officer found that the student needed more intensive direct instruction and practice in social and behavioral skills than he was receiving during the school day. She observed that, “unless the Student learns to generalize social and behavior skills, it will be very difficult for him to become more independent and to remain in the mainstream as he gets older, and falls further behind his peers.” Ultimately, the hearing officer ruled that the student was entitled to additional social/behavioral skills instruction and practice in both an extended day (after-school) and extended school year (summer) program. The hearing officer also required the district to provide the student with compensatory services to make up for its violation of his rights over the preceding two years. Northbridge Public Schools, 103 LRP 21936, 9 MSER 96, 109 (BSEA, May 20, 2003).

Another important issue for parents to remember is that the law requires school districts to ensure that students with disabilities participate in nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of the student. Thus, as appropriate and based on the needs of the individual student, the IEP should also address any services or accommodations necessary for a student with Asperger’s to participate in activities such as athletics, recreational activities, special interest groups or clubs sponsored by the school district, and vocational opportunities and training. See 20 USCS § 1414(d)(1)(A)(iii); 34 CFR §§300.306, 300.553.

In summary, the law clearly requires school districts to meet the unique learning needs of students with Asperger’s Syndrome and to ensure that these students are prepared to succeed in jobs and the community. Parents and advocates can use these legal tools to make sure that the school district addresses all areas of a student’s educational need (including academic, social, emotional, and behavioral) that result from Asperger’s Syndrome. These provisions of the law are critical to help ensure that students with Asperger’s Syndrome receive equal educational opportunities. (Don’t miss 5/2/05 Q&A at AANE! See more about MAC & their work at: www.massadvocates.org.)

Back to Top