General Guidance

Back to Compliance

Compliance To Do List (Monthly Timeline)

• End of Year 2022 To Do List
• March 2022
• February 2022
• January 2022
• December 2021
• November 2021
• October 2021
• September 2021
• August 2021
• Compliance To Do List Archives

Myths of the Month

• Assessment (April 2022)
• Specific Learning Disability (April 2022)
• Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) (March 2022)
• Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) (February 2022)
• Transition Assessment (January 2022)
• Other Health Impaired (December 2021)
• Observations (Updated November 2021)
• SMART Goals (November 2021)
• Review of Existing Data (October 2021)
• Shortened School Day (September 2021)
• Serving Private, Parochial, and Homeschooled Students (September 2021)
• Transfer Process (August 2021)
• Compliance Myths Archives

OSEP Guidance & Judicial Decisions

• DESE & MSB v. Springfield R-12 & KL - 8th Circuit US Court of Appeals (This case is important for its final analysis from the Court, “the hearing panel's and district court's decisions echo the same theme – no agency wanted to take responsibility for educating the child, and all of them were attempting to "pass the buck,". 3/1/04)

• Endrew F v. Douglas County School District Case Question and Answers

• Endrew F. Supreme Court Case (Clarification of the educational benefit school districts must confer on children with disabilities to provide them with a FAPE guaranteed by IDEA. 3/22/17)

• Landon v. St. Louis City - 8th Circuit US Court of Appeals (Parents sought reimbursement for a private placement based on the alleged IDEA violations. 3/2/20)

• OSEP Dear Colleague Letter on Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) (Clarifies that individualized education programs (IEP) for children with disabilities must be aligned with state academic content standards for the grade in which a child is enrolled. 11/16/15)

• OSEP Dear Colleague Letter on Supporting Behavior of Students with Disabilities (Emphasizes the requirement that schools provide positive behavioral supports to students with disabilities who need them. 8/1/16)

• OSEP Letter to Anonymous (Offers OSEP’s interpretation of IDEA requirements when a student transfers school districts after a child complaint decision has been rendered. 10/23/19)

• OSEP Letter to Hayden (Describes a distinction between services whose sole purpose is to provide access to education services and those services intended to address a specific skill or behavior in order to provide FAPE. 10/3/94)

• OSEP Letter to Kane (Clarification on the obligation of local educational agencies (LEAs) to provide compensatory services to make up special education and  related services missed when children with disabilities participate in required scheduled State assessment testing. 4/18/18)

Compliance General Guidance

• Academic Performance and Behavior Observation Worksheet (Golden Thread)

• Accommodations Manual for Instruction and Assessment

  • Accommodations and Modification Categories Chart

• Amending Individualized Education Programs: Mastering the Fundamentals

• Adapted Physical Education

• Alternative Methods of Instruction Guidance

• Alternate Assessment (MAP-A)

• Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

  • How to Document ABA within IEP

• Caseload Guidance (See State Plan for Special Education - Regulation VII, page 115)

• Discipline

  • Discipline Process Flowchart (revised 10/17/2017)

  • Discipline Decision Maker Chart (under construction)

  • Discipline of Students Identified as IDEA Eligible or Suspected of Having a Disability Under IDEA (Flow Chart D1)

  • Discipline of Students Not Yet Identified as IDEA Eligible (Flow Chart D2)

• Dispute Resolution Memo and Q&A-07/23/2013 (under construction)

• Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) 

  • Office of Childhood's ECSE webpage

  • Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Frequently Asked Questions

  • Transition from First Steps to Early Childhood Special Education

  • 2021 Virtual Special Education Director Academy: ECSE Presentation

• Early Intervening Services (EIS)

• Use of Funds/ Early Intervening Services (EIS)​

• Educational Decision Maker FAQs​ 

• Educational Surrogate​

• ELL and Special Education​

• Extended School Year Recommendation​

• Frequently Asked Questions​

• Grading, Awarding Credit and Graduation for Students with Disabilities (under construction)

• IDEA 2004: OSEP Q&A(under construction)

• IDEA 2004 Professional Development Series 

• Intellectual Disability Checklist

• Juvenile Justice System 

• Juvenile Detention Facilities

• Knowing When to Use a Shortened School Day: Critical Considerations

  • Word Version

  • PDF Version

• MAP-A (Alternate Assessment)

• Memorandum of Understanding - Early Head Start and First Steps(under construction)

• MOCAP and Special Education FAQ 

• Model Policy on Seclusion and Restraint

• Non-Regulatory Guidance on the IDEA Part B Regulations Regarding Parental Consent for the Use of Public Benefits or Insurance Q&A 

• Occupational Therapy & Physical Therapy Guidelines

• OSEP Topic Brief

• Paraprofessionals (March 2012)(under construction)

• Parent's Guide to Special Education in Missouri (May 2018)

  • English

  • Spanish

• Parents' Rights Under IDEA webinar (July 2017)

  • PowerPoint

• Placements for Special Education​

• Present Level of Academic and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) Compliance Rubric

  • PDF version (10/19/2021)

  • Word Document version (10/19/2021)

• Procedural Safeguards​

• Professional Development Series

• Rehabilitation Services for the Blind​

• Response to Intervention (3-Tiered Models of Intervention)

  • ​Guidelines

  • Guidance

• Review of Existing Data (RED) Rubric

  • Word Version 

  • PDF Version

• Section 504: Rehabilitation Act of 1973

• S.M.A.R.T Goals Rubric

  • Word Version

  • PDF Version

• Sound System Disorder Eligibility Criteria​

• Special Education/English Language Learners (ELL) Webinar Series

• Special Education Placements​

• Specific Learning Disability Observation Guidance Chart

• Specific Learning Disability Discrepancy Score Decision Making Chart

• Speech Implementer Model

• Standards & Indicators​

• State Normative Data for Sound System Disorder​

• State Performance Plan​

• State District Assessment March 2017

• Technical Assistance Bulletins​

• Three-Tiered Models (RtI) [Link to be added]

• Transition 

  • Example IEP - Student A

  • Example IEP - Student B

  • Example IEP - Student C

• Use of Funds/ Early Intervening Services (EIS)  (under construction)

• Webstreams