Special Education in an Era of Inclusion and Standards

Strategies for Teaching Learners with Special Needs: Chapter One

By: Carrie Bertsch

Lets Start with InclusionInclusion- The desire to create a system where

students with special needs receive their education in the general education classroom with non-disabled students.

Supported Education for inclusion emphasizes that successful inclusion hinges on provision of appropriate supports in the general education classroom as a basis for establishing a successful learning environment for students.

Inclusion does not refer to a physical space; it refers to a condition or state of being.The concept of inclusion implies a sense of

belonging and acceptance.

Critical Legislatures in Special EducationEducation for All Handicapped Children Act

(EHA, Public Law 94-142)Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)

Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) and Section 504

EHA (PL 94-142) initially authorized funding to the states to assist in the development, expansion, and improvement of special education programs. Law ensured rights of all children with disabilities.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act states:Any student who has a physical or mental impairment

that substantially limits one or more major life activities can qualify for services under Section 504.

This law provides services to students who may be categorized under IDEA but need certain accommodations and are entitled to protection under law.

IDEARenamed after EHA and reauthorized in 20046 Key Provisions of IDEA

1. Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) School districts must provide special education and

realted services necessary to meet the needs of students with special learning requirements

School must furnish transportation and related services when deemed necessary to ensure appropriate education

If school districts cannot meet a child’s needs, other agencies must provide services at public expense.

2. Appropriate Evaluation Prior to a student receiving special education and

related services for the first time, a full and individual initial nondiscriminatory evaluation must be conducted.

IDEA continued 3.Individualized Education Program (IEP)

Written document summarizing a student’s learning program an is required for every student who qualifies for services.

Establishes learning goals for student4. Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

Schools must educate children with disabilities to as great an extent possible in general education settings with other peers in the most inclusive setting.

5. Parent and Student Participation in Decision Making Parental consent must accompany every decision that affects a child with a

disability. Parents are considered participants in the development of their child’s IEP. Parents have the right to challenge or appeal any decision related to any

aspect of the special education process.6. Procedural Safeguards

Safeguards protect the rights of both parents and children. Parents have the right to educational records, to obtain an independent

educational evaluation, to request a due process hearing, to appeal decisions, and to initiate civil action when appealing a final hearing decision.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

ADA represents broad civil rights coverage for individuals who are disabled.

This law establishes guidelines for employment, public accommodations, transportation, state and local government operations, and telecommunication systems.

A key element of ADA is to protect individuals with disabilities who are “otherwise qualified” from discrimination.

No Child Left BehindReauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary

Education Act (ESEA)Key provisions of NCLB include:

Increased accountability: state standards in reading, math, annual testing for grades 3-8, and adequate yearly progress evaluation.

Parent and student choice: funds available for parents to help their child obtain needs

Greater flexibility to states, school districts, and schoolsPutting reading first: scientifically based reading instruction

and funding provided, so every child can read by the end of third grade

Highly qualified teachers: teachers must be fully qualified by 2006

Standard-Based EducationWhat is taught must be tied to the state-derived content

and performance standards that now exist in almost all states in the core subject areas of language arts/English, math, social studies, and science.

Standards are developed so students demonstrate knowledge and skills necessary to read, write, compute, problem solve, think critically, apply technology, and communicate across subject areas.

Classifying Standards:Content Standard: knowledge, skills, and understanding

that students should attain in academic subjects.Performance Standard: levels of achievement that students

must meet to demonstrate their profieciency in the subjects.

Student AccountabilityThe NCLB Act and standards-based reform

underscore the need for accountability through student evaluation.Typically by means of high stakes standards-

based testing.Most students with disabilities can take regular

district-wide or statewide tests that nondisabled students take. Accommodations, exemptions, and changes to the

way a student takes their test must all be written up in that student’s IEP.

Multi-tiered System of Addressing the Needs of Special Learners

Tier 1 High-Quality Core Instruction: High quality research-

based, and systematic instruction in a challenging curriculum in general education.

Tier 2: High-Quality Targeted Supplemental Instruction: Targeted

and focused interventions to supplement core instructionResponse to Interventions (RTI) in within Tier 2 serves as

important pre-referral data should more formal special education assessment be needed.

Tier 3: High-Quality Intensive Intervention: Specialized

interventions to meet significant needs.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)Universal design can be described as the development of

educational curricula and materials that include potent supports for access and learning from the start, rendering them effective for a far wider range of students that traditional materials.

Main attractions of UDL:It attends to individual needs in general fashion that does not

draw attention for any one individual.Proactive approachDeveloping curricula and materials that attend to the needs of

students with special needs “increases usability for everyone.”

UDL capitalizes on new technologies and electronic resources.

UDL provides new way of looking at students with disabilities- along with a continuum of students with learning-related differences.

Differentiated InstructionDifferentiated instruction is a process to

approach teaching and learning for students of differing abilities in the same class.The intent of this is to maximize each student’s

growth and individual success by meeting each student where he or she is and assisting in the learning process.

The integration of principles of UDL and differentiated instruction provide a potentially powerful way to address the individual needs of a range of students within the general education classroom.

Evidence-Based PracticeGeneral education and special education

require teachers to use interventions that have evidence that they work with the population with who they are being used.

Instructional practices should have a research base if they are to be used with students with special needs.

Diversity ConsiderationsThe dimensions of diversity include:

Cultural, Racial-Ethnic, Behavioral, Physical/Sensory, Intellectual/Cognitive, Sexual Orientation, Economic, English Language Learners, and Setting (urban, migrant)

Teachers must develop a sensitivity to the needs of a diverse group of students and acquire specific knowledge about diverse students and develop skills to address the needs that these students present in the classroom