Chapter 581-015

581-015-2240 Requirement for Least Restrictive Environment School districts must ensure that: (1) To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who do not ha…

581-015-2245 Alternative Placements and Supplementary Aids and Services School districts must ensure that a continuum of alternative placements is available to meet the needs of children with disabilities for special education and related services. The continuum must: (1) Include…

581-015-2250 Placement of the Child School districts must ensure that: (1) The educational placement of a child with a disability: (a) Is determined by a group of persons, including the parents, and other persons knowledgeable about the child, the meaning of the evaluation data, …

581-015-2255 Nonacademic Settings (1) In providing or arranging for the provision of nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities, including meals, recess periods, and the services and activities described in OAR 581-015-2070, each school district must ensure that each…

581-015-2260 Rights of Children with Disabilities in Private Schools Placed or Referred by Public Agencies Each public agency must ensure that a child with a disability who is placed in or referred to a private preschool, school or facility by the public agency as a means of prov…

581-015-2265 Obligations of Public Agencies that Contract with Approved Private Schools (1) For the purposes of this rule, "public agency" means school districts and other public agencies that contract to provide EI/ECSE or special education. Public agencies may contract with pri…

581-015-2270 Standards for Approval of Private Schools for School-age Children (1) Applicability: (a) This rule applies to private schools that intend to provide special education and related services to school-age children with disabilities who are placed in the school by a scho…

581-015-2275 Standards for Approval of Private Preschools (1) Applicability: (a) This rule applies to private preschools that intend to provide a preschool setting, early intervention (EI) or early childhood special education (ECSE) and related services, in accordance with an ind…

581-015-2280 Process for Approval of Private School or Preschool as a Contractor with Public Agencies (1) Initial approval: A private school or private preschool applying for initial approval may submit an application to the Department at any time pursuant to OAR 581-015-2270 and…

581-015-2285 Suspension, Revocation or Refusal to Renew Approval The Department may suspend, revoke or refuse to renew its approval of a private school or preschool to contract with public agencies for the provision of early intervention, early childhood special education or spec…

581-015-2290 Appeal of Denial, Suspension, Revocation or Refusal to Renew Approval A private school or preschool may appeal the Department's denial, suspension, revocation or refusal to renew approval of a private school or preschool to contract with public agencies for the provi…

581-015-2295 Out-of-State Placements for Special Education (1) Any private educational institution located outside the state of Oregon which provides special education to Oregon students eligible for special education pursuant to a contract with an Oregon district, ESD, or the Or…

581-015-2300 Access to Student Education Records (1) For purposes of ensuring the safeguards required for education records of children with disabilities, including early intervention and early childhood special education records, the Department adopts by reference the provisions…

581-015-2305 Independent Educational Evaluation (1) A parent of a child with a disability or suspected disability has the right to an independent educational evaluation at public expense if the parent disagrees with an evaluation obtained by the school district. (a) "Independent …

581-015-2310 Prior Written Notice (1) For purposes of this rule, school district also means ECSE program and its contractors and subcontractors. (2) Prior written notice must be given to the parent of a child, and to the adult student after rights have transferred, within a reaso…

581-015-2315 Notice of Procedural Safeguards (1) School districts must give parents a copy of the Notice of Procedural Safeguards at a minimum only one time per year, except that a copy must be given to the parents: (a) Upon initial referral or parent request for evaluation; (b) …

581-015-2320 Surrogate Parents (1) Each public agency must ensure that the rights of a child and, as determined appropriate under OAR 581-015-2325, adult student with a disability are protected by determining the need for, and when appropriate assigning, a surrogate parent when n…

581-015-2325 Transfer of Procedural Rights at Age of Majority (1) When a child with a disability reaches the age of majority under ORS 109.510 or 109.520, or is emancipated pursuant to 419B.550 to 419B.558, the rights accorded to the child’s parents under the special education la…

581-015-2330 Notice of Transfer of Rights at Majority (1) The school district must provide notice to the child and the parent that rights will transfer at the age of majority. This notice must be provided at the IEP meeting and documented on the IEP: (a) At least one year before …

581-015-2335 Mediation (1) The Department offers mediation at no cost to the parties to resolve special education disputes, including matters arising before the filing of a complaint or hearing request. (2) Mediation: (a) Must be voluntary on the part of the parties; (b) Must not…

581-015-2340 Procedural Rules for Due Process Hearings (1) Pursuant to an interagency agreement with the Office of Administrative Hearings, the Office of Administrative Hearings will assign administrative law judges to conduct special education due process hearings. (2) The Depar…

581-015-2345 Hearing Request and Response (1) Request for Hearing: (a) Parent Requests for a Due Process Hearing: (A) A parent may request a due process hearing in accordance with subsection(3) if the parent does not agree with the identification, evaluation, educational placemen…

581-015-2350 Sufficiency of Hearing Request (1) A written request for hearing will be deemed sufficient unless the party receiving the request notifies the administrative law judge and the other party in writing, within 15 days of receipt of the hearing request, that the receivin…

581-015-2355 Resolution Process (1) Resolution meeting: (a) Within 15 days of receiving a parent’s due process hearing request, the school district must hold a resolution meeting with the parents and the relevant member or members of the IEP team who have specific knowledge of th…

581-015-2360 Pre-Hearing Conference, Notice of Hearing and Hearing Rights (1) Upon receipt of a written request by a parent or the school district for a hearing regarding the identification, evaluation, individualized education program, educational placement of the child or the p…

581-015-2365 Criteria for Administrative Law Judge (1) An administrative law judge appointed to conduct a hearing regarding the identification, evaluation, educational placement of a child, or the provision of a free appropriate public education to a child who may have a disabili…

581-015-2370 Conduct of Hearing (1) The hearing will be conducted by and under the control of the administrative law judge appointed under 581-015-2360. (2) At the discretion of the administrative law judge, the hearing will be conducted in the following manner: (a) Statement and…

581-015-2375 Decision of Administrative Law Judge (1) The decision of the hearing officer in a contested case will comply with ORS 343.167. (2) The decision will be entered and mailed to the parties not later than 45 days after the expiration of the resolution period under OAR 58…

581-015-2380 Informal Disposition Nothing contained herein shall be construed to preclude any system of consultations or conferences with parents that is used by school districts with regard to identification, evaluation or educational placement of a child with a disability. Such…

581-015-2383 Failure to Appear at a Hearing (1) When a parent, having requested a hearing, fails to appear at the specified time and place, the administrative law judge must enter a decision which supports the school district action. (2) The decision supporting the school distric…

581-015-2385 Hearing Costs (1) Costs of the Proceedings: (a) The school district must reimburse the Department for the costs related to conducting the hearing, including pre-hearing conferences, scheduling arrangements, and other related matters. (b) The school district must prov…

581-015-2390 Definitions for Hearings Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act The following definitions apply to OAR 581-015-2395: (1) "Student with a disability under Section 504" means any student who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more…

581-015-2395 Procedures for a Hearing under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (1) The parent or guardian of a qualified student with a disability under section 504 may file a written request for a hearing with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction with respec…

581-015-2400 Definitions For the purposes of OAR 581-015-2400 through 581-015-2445, the following definitions apply: (1) "Behavioral intervention plan" means an individualized plan, including positive interventions, designed to assist a student to decrease inappropriate behavior …

581-015-2405 Disciplinary Removals for Up to 10 School Days for Children with Disabilities (1) School districts may remove a child with a disability who violates a code of student conduct from the child’s current educational placement to an appropriate interim alternative educati…

581-015-2410 Additional Disciplinary Removals of Up to 10 School Days Each (No Pattern) (1) School districts may remove a child with a disability who violates a code of student conduct from the child’s current educational placement to an appropriate interim alternative educationa…

581-015-2415 Disciplinary Removals of More than 10 School Days (Pattern or Consecutive) (1) A disciplinary removal is considered a change in educational placement and the school district must follow special education due process procedures if: (a) The removal will be for more tha…

581-015-2420 Manifestation Determination (1) In determining whether the child's behavior is a manifestation of the child's disability, the school district, the parent, and relevant members of the IEP team (as determined by the parent and the district) must review all relevant inf…

581-015-2425 Removal to an Interim Alternative Educational Setting by School District (1) Definitions: (a) "Drug" means illegal drug or controlled substance but does not include a substance that is legally possessed or used under the supervision of a licensed health-care professi…

581-015-2430 Removal to an Interim Alternative Educational Setting by Administrative Law Judge (Injurious Behavior) (1) "Injurious behavior" means behavior that is substantially likely to result in injury to the child or to others. (2) School districts may request an expedited du…

581-015-2435 Requirements of an Interim Alternative Educational Setting An interim alternative educational setting under OAR 581-015-2415 and 581-015-2425 must: (1) Be determined by the child’s IEP team; and (2) Enable the child to: (a) Continue to participate in the general curr…

581-015-2440 Protections for Children Not Yet Eligible for Special Education (1) The provisions of OAR 581-015-2400 through 581-015-2435 apply to children not yet identified as children with disabilities if the school district had knowledge that the child was a child with a disab…

581-015-2445 Expedited Due Process Hearings (1) An expedited due process hearing must be held if a hearing is requested under OAR 581-015-2345 because: (a) In a dispute over a disciplinary action for a child with a disability, the child's parent disagrees with a determination tha…

581-015-2450 Definitions For the purposes of OAR 581-015-2450 through 581-015-2515, the following definitions apply: (1) "Enrolled in a public school or ECSE program" means enrolled in, attending, and, for children ages 7 to 18, not exempt from compulsory school attendance as a p…

581-015-2455 Provision of services for Private School Children with Disabilities (1) Each public agency must provide for participation in special education and related services to private school children with disabilities who are enrolled in private schools located within the sch…

581-015-2460 Services Plan (1) If a child with a disability is enrolled by a parent in private school and will receive special education or related services from a public agency, the public agency must: (a) Initiate and conduct meetings to develop, review and revise a services pl…

581-015-2465 Documentation Requirements Each public agency must maintain in its records and provide annually to the Department the following information for parentally-placed private school children: (1) The number of parentally-placed private school children evaluated; (2) The n…

581-015-2470 Expenditures for Parentally-Placed Private School Children (1) Formulas for determining funds available for provision of special education and related services to private school children with disabilities: (a) For school-age children: Each school district must spend …

581-015-2475 Private School Child Count Each public agency must: (1) After timely and meaningful consultation with representatives of private school children consistent with OAR 581-015-2480, determine the number of private school children with disabilities attending private scho…

581-015-2480 Consultation with Representatives of Private School Children with Disabilities (1) To ensure timely and meaningful consultation, public agencies must consult with representatives of private school children with disabilities during the design and development of specia…