Trends in Special Education Newsletter
Our school’s special education programs not only help special students to develop academic skills, but they also ensure that students gain peculiar skills that can help them to become self-reliable community members. The laws governing special education initially focused on preventing discrimination against children with disabilities. However, today new laws are being imposed to ensure that students living with disability can have equal opportunities like other students. The three essential trends include individualized education programs, confidentiality and ensuring a least restrictive environment for special students.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality
As a general education teacher, you will hear a lot of personal information about students, especially those with disabilities. Needless to say, confidentiality is very important. You should discuss information about a specific student only with others who need to know. For example, a 3rd grade teacher might talk with the special education teacher about problems in the classroom with a student who receives services from that teacher but should not discuss these problems with colleagues who are not part of the student’s educational team. Additionally, there needs to be a log of all personnel who see a student’s special education records.
Resource: Top 10 Online PhD in Special Education Programs
Special education programs became obligatory in 1975 to prevent discrimination by public educational institutions against individuals with disabilities. The National Center for Education Statistics reported that, as of 2013, approximately 13 percent of all students in public schools were receiving special education services
In this chapter we discuss the main laws affecting special education and how they apply to you as a general education teacher. The omnibus Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) provide important guidelines and, although the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) focuses on all students, it also has certain implications for students with disabilities.
To provide context, we explain what special education is—its characteristics, who receives it, its purpose and goal, why access to the general education classroom and curriculum is important, and who the various professionals are who work with students with disabilities. We also cover the rights and roles of parents of students with disabilities, again pointing out information that is important for you to know. (Keep in mind that some students with disabilities do not require special education services but may be affected by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; basically, Section 504 is an anti-discrimination statute. For more about Section 504, see Chapter 5.
Individualized Education Programs
The IDEA maintains that parents and teachers of children who qualify for special education must develop an Individualized Education Program, or IEP, that helps establish specific education for a child’s explicit needs. This requires caregivers to meet initially to determine a child’s eligibility for an IEP and to come together annually to develop and assess the educational plan.
The student’s educational strategy must be designated in writing and should include an evaluation and description of the current academic status, measurable goals and objectives, designation of an instructional setting and placement within that setting and transition services for children aged 16 or older. An IEP gives parents the right to dispute any issues with the school district through a neutral third party.
Confidentiality
As a general education teacher, you will hear a lot of personal information about students, especially those with disabilities. Needless to say, confidentiality is very important. You should discuss information about a specific student only with others who need to know. For example, a 3rd grade teacher might talk with the special education teacher about problems in the classroom with a student who receives services from that teacher but should not discuss these problems with colleagues who are not part of the student’s educational team. Additionally, there needs to be a log of all personnel who see a student’s special education records.
Least restrictive environment (LRE)
“Least restrictive environment” is not only a special education term, but also a legal principle—and one of the most important points for general education teachers to know about because it determines where a student with a disability is to receive education services. LRE requires that students with disabilities be educated with their chronologically aged peers to the greatest extent possible, and that typically means in the general education classroom.
Under LRE, students with disabilities who are in general education classrooms are provided with supports and services that meet their needs as much as possible. Students with disabilities are to participate fully, both academically and socially. In addition, the general education teacher is expected to differentiate the methods used to provide services so all students benefit from instruction. Students with disabilities are to be educated in the general education classroom until all available methods to meet their needs in this environment are tried and deemed unsuccessful. A more restrictive setting should be considered only if every available method has been tried in the general education classroom and the needs of a student are still not met. It is important to note that the meaning of “restrictive” is open to interpretation and depends on the specific circumstances. For example, a paraprofessional interacting with a student one-on-one all day in a general education classroom could result in a more restrictive situation than the student would experience in a separate setting for instruction, due to possible social repercussions