Audience

This online course is intended for physical therapists who provide or intend to provide related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

To register for additional individual sessions in this series - or to register for the full Innovations in School-based Therapy course – visit the On-Demand Courses page.

Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will:

1. Understand foundational federal laws and regulations for ensuring a free and appropriate public education (FAPE), including provision of required related services for students with disabilities under IDEA and Section 504.
2. Apply evidence and data to individualize and make appropriate decisions regarding evaluation, outcome measures, models of service delivery, individualization, advocacy, and evidence-informed interventions.
3. Apply knowledge gained to influence and advocate for appropriate services, staffing, physical activity and fitness, collaboration across practice settings, adequate supports and self-determination for students with disabilities.
4. Incorporate evidenced-informed evaluation and intervention for students with complex disability.
5. Describe the role of school-based physical therapy in provision of assistive technology, individualized transportation services, and to prepare students and their families for adulthood through post-school transition.

On-demand session

• Providing School-Based Physical Therapy Under IDEA & Section 504 - Mary Jane Rapport

Session Descriptions & Speakers

Providing School-Based Physical Therapy under IDEA & Section 504

This session will provide an overview of IDEA and Section 504 as key federal laws that guide service delivery of physical therapy and other supportive services for eligible students with disabilities in public schools. We will discuss the primary requirements for educating all eligible students under IDEA, regardless of the nature or severity of their disability. The similarities and differences between IDEA and Section 504 will be highlighted as related to eligibility, service delivery, and the provision of a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). The session will also address the relationship between the scope of practice under each state’s Physical Therapist Practice Act and requirements of providing physical therapy as a related service under IDEA. Accommodations under Section 504 will be described, and guidance will be offered on developing 504 Plans. This session provides fundamental knowledge for those providing school-based physical therapy services.

Mary Jane Rapport, PT, DPT, PhD, FAPTA, is a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of APTA and a Professor in the Physical Therapy Program at Hawai’i Pacific University. She was previously a long-time faculty member and Associate Director of the University of Colorado Physical Therapy Program. Dr. Rapport held numerous leadership positions while on faculty at the University of Colorado and taught courses in the DPT curriculum. Additionally, Dr. Rapport teaches in the post-professional Pediatric track at Rocky Mountain University, and she has developed courses for the APTA Learning Center, MedBridge, and the Pediatric Residency Education Consortium. In addition to her academic role, she is a long-time school-based PT, providing services on Prince of Wales Island, AK, and through a teletherapy company. Dr. Rapport has a productive record of presentations and publications related to providing physical therapy to children and youth with disabilities with a secondary line of research in physical therapist education.