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You’re excited as a new school year begins. You had a great summer and are ready to go. Once again, you find you have special education students in your classroom, and this year the number has grown to seven. You’re not alone. According to a 2004 Education Week poll, 76 percent of public school teachers teach special education students. With a change in the way federal law governing the education of students with disabilities is being implemented, it looks like your classroom is expected to fit the students with disabilities rather than those students fitting into your “regular” classroom. But you weren’t trained as a special education teacher and from what you hear from many of your colleagues, educator preparation programs still aren’t adjusting teacher training to address this change. You’re frustrated and feeling a sense of helplessness as you try to figure out how you can effectively teach these students….
In this article, TCTA hopes to provide some help in identifying possible sources of support, and has compiled a list of questions related to existing laws/rules that should be helpful to teachers of special education students. (For an overview of the laws/rules related to discipline of special education students, see pages 38-39 of the Survival Guide.)
Q: What is the difference between mainstreaming and inclusion?
A: “Mainstreaming” used to be considered the least restrictive environment appropriate for a special education student and allowed a student with disabilities to be pulled out of the regular classroom for special instruction until his/her academic skills increased to the same, or very nearly the same, level as same-age peers in the regular (general) classroom. The student with disabilities would then be “mainstreamed” back into the general education setting. More recently, the least restrictive option is considered “inclusion,” which emphasizes changing the system rather than the child. Proponents of inclusion insist that it isn’t necessary for a student with disabilities to be “at grade level” in order to receive instruction in the general education setting, but rather that our educational system, structure and practices need to shift and become more flexible, more inclusive, and more collaborative in order to better accommodate students with learning differences.*
Q: Can you initiate the process to see if your student is eligible for special education services?
A: Yes. If you have a student in your class who is still struggling after you’ve provided appropriate support services (tutoring, remediation, etc.), you can refer the student for a full and individual initial evaluation for special education services (19 TAC, Sec. 89.1011).
Q: If a special education student transfers to your district, how quickly can you get the student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP)?
A: Proposed TEA rules require that if your student was in the process of being evaluated for special education eligibility in a previous school district, the current and previous school districts shall work together to ensure prompt completion of the evaluation (within 60 calendar days from the date your student was verified as being evaluated for special education eligibility). If your student transfers from another district and was previously receiving special education services, the school district must either adopt the previous IEP or develop a new one within 30 school days from the date your student is verified to be eligible for special education services. If your student transfers from out of state, the school district must complete an evaluation and develop an IEP within 30 school days from the date your student is verified to be eligible for special education services (proposed 19 TAC, Sec. 89.1050(f)). The receiving district must take reasonable steps to promptly obtain the child’s records, including the IEP, and the sending district must take reasonable steps to promptly respond to the request from the new district (34 CFR, Sec. 300.323(g)).
Q: What is your role in development of an IEP?
A: Once your student is identified as eligible and needing special education services, you will probably serve on the student’s Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committee which is responsible for developing the IEP. Federal law requires that at least one regular education teacher of the child be a member of the ARD committee (34 CFR Sec. 300.321). Additionally, proposed state rules specify that the regular education teacher who serves as a member of the ARD committee should be a regular education teacher who is responsible for implementing a portion of the student’s IEP (proposed 19 TAC, Sec. 89.1050(c)(3)). In developing the IEP, the regular education teacher member of the ARD committee must, to the extent appropriate, participate in the determination of appropriate positive behavioral interventions and support and other strategies for the child; and supplemental aids, services, program modifications, and support for school personnel (34 CFR, Sec. 300.324(a)(3)). All of these provisions ensure that a teacher who will be charged with implementing an IEP has some say in what the IEP will contain and how it will be implemented. TEA rules require that all members of the ARD committee have the opportunity to participate in a collaborative manner in developing the IEP and that a decision of the committee concerning required elements of the IEP must be made by mutual agreement of the required members if possible. As a teacher participating on the ARD committee, you have the right to disagree with decisions made by the committee and to include a statement of disagreement in the committee report and the IEP (19 TAC, Sec. 89.1050(e)).
Q: Why is the IEP important?
A: The IEP essentially serves as the blueprint for you to follow in teaching your student. Federal rules require that the IEP be in effect at the beginning of the school year, so that you aren’t left struggling to educate special education students in your classes without an IEP to follow (34 CFR, section 300.323(a)). The IEP includes a statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals designed to enable your student to make progress in the general education curriculum and to meet other educational needs resulting from the disability. It also must include a statement of the program modifications and supports for school personnel that will be provided to enable your student to advance toward these goals (34 CFR, section 300.320). Proposed TEA rules also require that the IEP for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) must address the suitable staff-to-student ratio appropriate to identified activities and as needed to achieve social/behavioral progress based on the child’s developmental and learning level; professional educator/staff support; and teaching strategies (proposed 19 TAC, section 89.1055(e)(7)).
Q: Do I have to attend each ARD committee meeting?
A: Federal regulations provide that you do not have to attend the IEP team (ARD committee) meeting if the student’s parent and the school district agree in writing that your attendance is not necessary because your area of the curriculum or related services are not being modified or discussed in the meeting. Additionally, even if your area of the curriculum is being discussed, you can request to be excused from the meeting if the parent and your school district consent and if you submit your input to the parent and the ARD committee in writing prior to the meeting (34 CFR, Sec. 300.321(e)(2)).
Q: Does this pose a risk of intentionally excluding a teacher who may not agree with the ARD committee’s decisions?
A: Comments accompanying the federal regulations state that a school district may not routinely or unilaterally excuse IEP team members from attending meetings as parent agreement or consent is required in each instance. “We encourage LEAs (school districts) to carefully consider, based on the individual needs of the child and the issues that need to be addressed at the IEP Team meeting whether it makes sense to offer to hold the IEP Team meeting without a particular IEP Team member in attendance or whether it would be better to reschedule the meeting so that person could attend and participate in the discussion” (comments accompanying 34 CFR, Sec. 300.321(e)).
Q: What if there’s more than one regular education teacher for a child?
A: Although the school district does not have to include more than one regular education teacher in ARD committee meetings, TEA rules provide that school districts must have procedures to ensure that each teacher involved in a student’s instruction has the opportunity to provide input and request assistance regarding the implementation of the student’s IEP. The rules state that these procedures must provide a method for a student’s regular or special education teachers to submit requests for further consideration of the student’s IEP or its implementation, and for the district to determine whether further consideration is necessary and if it will be informal or will require an ARD committee meeting. If the district determines that an ARD committee meeting is necessary, the student’s current regular and special education teachers will have an opportunity to provide input. Federal rules require and the school district must ensure that each teacher who provides instruction to a student with disabilities receives relevant sections of the student’s current IEP and is informed of specific responsibilities related to implementing the IEP, such as goals and benchmarks, and needed accommodations, modifications and supports for the child (34 CFR, Sec. 300.323(d); 19 TAC, Sec. 89.1075(c)).
You want to do the best you can to educate your students. If you are aware of available resources, you are more likely to reach this goal and be successful. Although navigating the complex world of special education laws/rules is daunting, we are hopeful that the information contained in this article will help you to find ways to successfully educate all your students.
*A Model for Inclusive Teacher Preparation, by Dr. Jerry W. Whitworth, Department of Education Chair, Abilene Christian University).
Originally printed in The Classroom Teacher, Fall 2007
Web posted: 08/27/07
