Essentials of Special Education

What Educators Need to Know

Catherine Lawless Frank, Stephen B. Richards

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000263350
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Inclusive Education

In this succinct yet comprehensive text, authors Lawless Frank and Richards guide readers through the essential basics that every educator needs to know about special education, covering everything from law to application.

Streamlined and accessible chapters address legal knowledge – Section 504, IDEA, ESSA, and FERPA — assessment and identification, RTI, categories of disability, IEPs, accommodations, co-teaching, and instructional considerations.

Designed to give new educators a focused introduction to critical concepts and terminology, this book also features supplemental online resources including an Instructor's Manual, quizzes, and more.

1Legal Aspects of Special Education

Stephen B. Richards and Sarah Schimmel

Objectives: After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Identify and explain the rights and responsibilities of parents
2. Identify and explain the provisions of Section 504
3. Identify and explain the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
4. Identify and explain the provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act
5. Identify and explain the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

General education teachers are often the bridge to special education for a student and their family. Typically, they are the first to notice and report academic or behavioral concerns and advocate for additional supports and services. Their primary responsibilities involve teaching and monitoring students’ progress, including students with disabilities and other diverse learning needs. The vast majority of students with disabilities spend most, if not all, of their school day alongside their general education peers and are educated by general education teachers. In almost every aspect of special education, from referral to determining eligibility to writing and implementing Individualized Education Programs, general education teachers are vital partners.

The initial relationships that schools develop with students, parents, and families (in this text, the terms parent and families are used as general terms for the primary caregiver of a child) typically start with a general education teacher. This relationship can help parents navigate the complexities of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and special education. MTSS, which includes Response to Intervention (RTI), provides increasing intervention levels to students based on needs with the possible referral and implementation of special education services if warranted. General education teachers often have the closest relationships with families in the initial phases of special education. They may be called upon to explain MTSS, the referral and eligibility for special education process, answer questions, and reassure parents of their child’s rights. They are the link between parents and the school personnel involved in the initial referral and determining the eligibility of a child for special education.

In this text, we will discuss some of the key aspects of special education, focusing on those that are most critical to general education teachers. Chapter 2 will examine MTSS and the general education teachers’ role in all levels or tiers of the process, including providing data-driven instruction to an inclusive classroom, small groups, and possibly intensive individualized instruction. In each tier, these teachers are also responsible for monitoring student progress towards Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals or for documentation to advocate for additional supports and possibly special education services.

General education teachers play a critical role in collecting the necessary data (see Chapter 3 for more information about the eligibility process) to determine whether a student is eligible for:

1. accommodations in the general education classrooms,
2. special education and related services, or
3. remaining in general education with no specific services required.

In each of those three scenarios, the general education teacher’s collaborative role is essential to ensure the student’s timely and impartial evaluation. These evaluations typically begin with a referral from a general education teacher.

To determine eligibility and provide instruction, general education teachers need to be aware of the 13 special education disabilities categories (see Chapter 4 for more information on the characteristics of each disability). Each disability’s criteria provides a generalized characteristic of its impact on the student’s ability to learn and participate in school. General education teachers play a critical role in looking beyond these disability traits to acknowledge the student’s unique characteristics, strengths, and needs.

Each student with a disability has their own Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP documents their annual goals and the supports and services to help them achieve those goals (IEPs are discussed in more detail in Chapter 5). While the special education teacher typically writes the IEP, the general education teacher collaborates to formulate the appropriate goals, provide instruction, administer accommodations and modifications, and monitor the student’s progress. They are essential members of the student’s IEP team.

The components of effective teaching are the same for all students, including those with disabilities and other diverse learning needs. Instructional pedagogies such as direct instruction, sheltered instruction, and Universal Design for Learning incorporate the supports that facilitate learning. At times, students with disabilities are provided accommodations and modifications that are embedded into these pedagogies and documented on their IEPs or 504 Plans. Determining and implementing the appropriate accommodations and modifications is a collaborative team effort involving both general and special education as well as parents and school administrators (for more information on pedagogies, accommodations, 504 Plans, and modifications see Chapter 6).

The responsibilities for providing special education services do not occur in isolation. Teachers, administrators, aides, and related services personnel are also involved in instruction and addressing student progress. At times, this collaborative process may require co-teaching, in which the general education teacher shares the planning, teaching, and assessment of students with another professional. In co-teaching, the teachers form a partnership and share responsibility, students, and the classroom to meet the needs of all students better. More information on collaboration and co-teaching can be found in Chapter 7.

Educating a student involves more than merely providing academic content. Learning is a complex process that often requires additional instructional considerations. Chapter 8 will discuss some of these overarching educational concerns, such as executive functioning, learning strategies, metacognition, and social skills, that facilitate the learning process.

We will begin this text with a chapter on the legal basis and foundation of special education. Laws including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act provide the framework and provisions for special education services and accommodations. The Every Student Succeeds Act and Family Education Rights and Privacy Act apply to all students and set parameters for state- and district-wide assessment and privacy issues. These laws guide special education processes and provide protection for students with disabilities and their parents.

Parent Rights and Responsibilities

Once a decision is made to conduct a multi-factor team evaluation (MFE), a multi-disciplinary evaluation team (MDET) is formed. This team conducts the evaluation to determine whether a student is eligible for special education and related services. At this time, several “due process” mechanisms are required. Among the first is for the school district to ensure:

1. parents are fully informed, in a written notification and orally as needed, as to what the district is proposing to do; the district must document its efforts to inform parents;
2. this written and oral notification is in the parents’ native language, and an interpreter is available as needed for any meeting or communications.

These requirements apply to all communications and meetings concerning the evaluation, placement, and services provided to the student. Due process requirements apply while the student is under consideration even if a student is not ultimately identified for special education.

Once determined that an MFE is needed:

1. the district must obtain the informed consent of the parents before personnel may conduct any evaluations;
2. parents are members of the evaluation team and may contribute their information, thoughts, and experiences to the other members for consideration in the MFE;
3. parents may obtain their own independent evaluation (from professionals such as an educational psychologist not associated with the school) and have those results considered in the MFE;
4. parents must be informed of the results of the MFE within 60 days of giving consent;
5. if their child is eligible for special education and related services, the district must develop an IEP within 30 days, with the parents as members of the IEP team as well; and
6. the district must again obtain informed consent from parents to implement the IEP; the first consent mentioned is only for conducting the MFE; this second consent is to approve the placement of the student in special education and implementation of the student’s IEP (West Virginia Department of Education, Policy 2419 retrieved from www.wvde.us, 05/2020).

General education teachers are involved in the MFE, providing information and data related to the student’s classroom performance. They are members of the IEP team if there is even the possibility the student will be included in general education (which is the vast majority of students on IEPs). They may also be involved in implementing services/accommodations included in the IEP, teaching goals, and progress monitoring. This can sound daunting, but special education, and possibly related services staff will be collaborative partners in the processes. There is a special education teacher or administrator assigned as the individual responsible for overseeing the monitoring and implementation of the IEP.

Case Study 1.1

You are a special education teacher working with a team of 3rd grade general education teachers. One teacher, Ms. Carlie, has a student Katie who is falling further and further behind her peers in reading, writing, and spelling. Katie has been through the multi-tier system of supports required and the interventions have not increased her progress sufficiently. Another teacher, Ms. Farnbach, thinks Katie should be referred for evaluation for special education. A third teacher, Ms. Harper, is on board with the other team members’ thoughts.

Ms. Carlie thinks the evaluation should start immediately – the next day. The school psychologist is scheduled to be in the building to assess another student and the psychologist already knows Katie. Ms. Carlie says “I could ask her to do a couple of assessments – an achievement test and IQ test – that might tell us more.” Ms. Farnbach agrees the test results might help, but she is concerned about whether they should go ahead without at least talking to Katie’s parents. Ms. Carlie and Ms. Harper say they know Katie’s parents very well and the parents are aware Katie has academic issues. Ms. Carlie and Ms. Harper insist they should begin tomorrow; one of them says, “I guarantee Katie’s parents will be on board with this.”

As the special education teacher:

1. What would be your input regarding beginning the evaluation the next day?
2. What step(s) would you suggest be taken as soon as possible?

General education teachers can help keep parents informed, reassure them their student is being treated fairly, and that the IEP is in the student’s best interest. Of course, any IEP member who dissents from any portion of an IEP may voice their disagreement in writing and at the IEP meeting. However, school personnel dissent will not prevent the implementation of an IEP so long as the parents have consented. Once the individual at the IEP meeting who is the local education agency (typically the school district) representative signs off on the IEP, all district personnel are required to comply with the provisions of the IEP, regardless of whether they dissent (Richards, Frank, Sableski, & Arnold, 2019).

If a student has reached the “age of majority” (18 years in most states), the student can take the parents’ place in terms of consent and participation as they are legally an adult. Even if a student does not exercise these rights and the parents remain “in charge,” inviting the student to participate in the IEP process is encouraged by many experts.

More details concerning the MFE and IEP process are presented in Chapters 3 and 5, respectively. The IEP, in particular, is the document most impacting K-12 stu...