WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!
(THE DO’S & DON’TS OF SERVING STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES IN THE GENERAL ED. SETTING)
October 7, 2016, ROE Fall Institute
Presented by: Tri-County Sp. Ed. Administrators
Jan Pearcy, Director
Kim Williams, Tech. Asst. Supervisor
Dana Stuart, Tech. Asst. Supervisor
For Today
• Legal implications
• Accommodations & Modifications
• Behavior Intervention
Current Federal/State Focus for Sp. Ed.
• LRE: Least Restrictive Environment
Education of students with disabilities with non-disabled
peers to the greatest extent possible in the home district.
• Legally required to offer a continuum of services
• General ed. setting should be considered/ tried first
• Truency/tardies ≠ need for change of placement to separate facility
• RtI: Response to Intervention
Expectation: Data driven referrals for Sp. Ed. evaluation
•
•
•
•
Legally must consider RtI data prior to referral (SLD)
Chronic truency/tardies ≠ eligibility for special education/IEP.
Need for accommodations ≠ eligibility for special education/IEP.
Sp. Ed. Eligibility criteria is 2 pronged:
• Student has a documented disability (13 categories of Sp. Ed. eligibility)
• Student required specialized instruction in order to make sufficient progress
Special Ed. Red Flags
% of district students with an IEP
National 12.9% State: 14% TCSE: 17%
(Several districts over 20%)
Indicator 5A: % of students with IEPs in Gen.
Ed. Setting 80% or more of their day
ISBE Goal = 55% TCSE Avg: 48%
(Several districts don’t meet state goal)
% of student with IEPs in separate facilities
ISBE Goal = 3.9% TCSE Avg: 9%
(Several districts over 10%)
IEP Meetings
5 Required Participants: required to stay entire meeting
• LEA (ability to authorize use of district funds/staff)
• Special Ed. Teacher
• General Ed. Teacher (knowledge of gen. ed. progress)
• Parent (if student 18+, must have permission to invite)
• Student (required at 14 ½)
Others as appropriate: Support services personnel (Social
worker, psychologist, SLP, OT/PT, VI/HI, etc.)
(If you don’t show or leave early, parent consent
is required to continue with the meeting.)
Roles & Responsibilities
Special Educators:
• Assess student strengths/needs, document requirements
for accommodations/modifications for gen. ed. classroom
• Provide /teach to use accommodations/modifications
• Assist with making modifications to curriculum/grades
• Assist with data collection procedures
• Analyze student progress, make recommendations for
decreasing or increasing time in the Gen. Ed. setting and
make recommendations for discontinuing special ed.
supports/eligibility
Roles & Responsibilities
General Educators:
• Use RtI process prior to referral for an evaluation
• Learn to use (AND USE) listed accommodations/modifications
• Learn to read (AND FOLLOW) Behavior Intervention Plans
• Provide notes, study guides, copies of tests, vocabulary lists,
etc… as requested by Sp. Ed. Teacher IN A TIMELY MANNER!!!!
• Avoid the “F” Word
• Keep records/data about student progress. (Or lack of…)
• Keep Sp. Ed. Teacher informed of any concerns.
Implementation of IEP is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!!
If you see a need for changes, talk with your Sp. Ed. teacher.
YOUR Rights Under IDEA
• To review students’ educational records
• To disagree with other IEP Team members
Good idea to discuss with others involved ahead of
meeting to try to reach consensus on issues. (Sp. Ed.
Teacher, Administrators, etc…)
• To ask questions for clarification
You aren’t expected to know everything you need to know
to work with students with disabilities. After all, you are
not a special educator!! It is their job to make sure you
understand what your responsibilities are.
Most Common Gen. Ed. Legal Mistakes
• Failure to document student progress toward IEP Goals/Objectives
• Using the “F” word in front of parents (Fair)
• Limiting your time for an IEP meeting
• Nailing your own coffin shut during an IEP meeting
(Use common sense when you speak.)
• Failing to implement the IEP
• Blaming the student/parent for school’s failure to implement IEP.
• Refusing to consider parental requests/input/outside reports
• Caving into parent demands
• Applying same disciplinary rules to students with & without
disabilities.
Legal Risks for Violating the IDEA
• Compensatory Ed. Services
• Funding for Private School Placement
• Attorney’s Fees
• Punitive Damages against a district with cases of
bad faith
If you willfully fail to implement the
IEP, you can be personally liable.
Most Common Types of Disabilities
Specific Learning Disability: one + of 7 skills domains:
Oral expression
Listening comprehension
Basic reading skill
Written expression
Reading comprehension
Math reasoning
Math calculation
Other common categories frequently in Gen Ed. setting:
• Emotional Disorders (BD is no more. Stop using this acronym please.)
• OHI: (Other Health Impaired) Often for diagnosis of ADHD
• Autism Spectrum Disorders
• AND students with 504 Plans
Accommodations & Modifications
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Accommodations
Modifications
Don’t change curricular
expectations, just
presentation of curricular
content.
Change the expectations
Test is administered in parts
Worksheets in large print
Color coded materials
Use of calculator
Spelling words on computer
Study Guide
Word bank for tests
Copy of Notes
Examples:
• Remove essay questions
• Alternative grading scale
• Shorten assignments
• Drawing a picture instead
of giving oral report
• Working from functional
textbooks
Accommodations Categories
• Presentation Accommodations
• Response Accommodations
• Setting Accommodations
• Timing/Scheduling Accommodations
• Materials Accommodations
Accommodations Categories
Presentation/Materials Accommodations (Input)
• Allow students to access information in ways that do not
require them to visually read standard print. (auditory, multisensory, tactile, visual)
Examples:
• Worksheets in large print/Braille
• Study Guide
• Color coded materials
• Copy of Notes
• Demonstration
• Use of manipulatives (Hands on)
Accommodations Categories
Response Accommodations (Output)
• Allow students to complete assignments, tests, and
activities in different ways or to solve or organize
problems using some type of assistive device or
organizer.
Examples:
• Spelling words on computer
• Allow answers to be given orally/dictated
• Sign language/communication device
Accommodations Categories
Setting Accommodations
• Change the location in which a test or assignment is
given or the conditions of the setting.
Examples:
• Take a test with one staff person
• Take test in special ed. classroom
• Lighting/noise level/temperature altered
• Cooperative groups
Accommodations Categories
Timing/Scheduling Accommodations
• Increase the allowable length of time to complete a test
or assignment and may also change the way the time is
organized.
Examples:
• Test is administered in parts over time
• Give first page. After complete, give page 2.
• Extra time
Modifications Categories
• Participation
•
•
•
•
Adapt extent to which student is actively involved in the task.
Size of assignment
Adapt number of items, delete essay questions
Difficulty
Focus on key concepts
Alternate Goals
Adapt outcome expectations while using same materials.
Substitute/Parallel Curriculum
Student works on computer skills or functional activity related
to what is being done by other students.
Accommodations
Extended time
Taped textbooks
Reduce distractions
Small groups
Taped lectures
Frequent breaks
Reduced writing
Grade only what finished Clearly defined limits
Shortened assignments Credit for effort
Cooling off period
Assignment notebooks
Limit repetitive test items Behavior check cards
Study guides/outlines
Oral, short-answer tests Concrete, + reinforcers
Small steps
Manuscript, not cursive
Calculator
Read to or paraphrase
One-to-one contact
Visual materials
Multi-modalities
Tutoring assistance
Computer/spell check
Mnemonic aids/devices Emphasis on successes Notetaker
Grading Practices
• “If students learn in different ways, then it just follows that
you have to evaluate them in different ways.”
• Give an equal opportunity to demonstrate knowledge.
• Be consistent with school policy
• Communicate to families the performance of children
• Be consistent with the IEP for the student
• Use multiple measures to evaluate progress.
• Use a variety of techniques to document student growth
• Consider alternative/modified grading practices
Grading Ideas
Keep in mind the requirements for promotion!
• Special Ed./Gen. Ed teachers can assign grades
together.
• Adjust test scores
(Ex: take out essay questions & adjust total points)
• Development of an instruction packet:
(Student develops packet of materials to show
knowledge & understanding of content of the unit)
• Consider effort and participation
• Pass/Fail Grades
• Checklist of Skills
• Special Projects
Questions…..Thoughts….
• The man (or woman) who can make hard things easy is
the educator.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a
fire.
-William Butler Yeats
Managing Classroom Behavior
• Create an effective learning environment
• Promote productivity within the classroom
• Identify ways to solve classroom management issues and
•
•
•
•
•
control problem situations
Communicate with parents and students
Help students assume responsibility for their behavior
Enhance teaching and decrease disruptive behavior
Identify common misbehaviors
Build relationships with students
Create An Effective Learning Environment
• Organized, visually stimulating room arrangement that
•
•
•
•
•
•
maximizes space
Arrange furniture to allow quick access to students
Reduce noise to keep learning at an optimal level
Have privacy dividers or study carrels available
Use visual or auditory prompts to signal change in activity
Play a variety of music to calm, relax, or stimulate thinking
Be responsive to physical needs (e.g. food, water,
bathroom, exercise)
Create An Effective Learning Environment
• Provide both soft and bright light areas in classrooms
• Incorporate move-around breaks and exercises in the
schedule following extended seat activities
• Seat active students away from high-traffic areas, close to
direct instruction, and in proximity to students who work
on task
• Provide a Suggestion Box where students offer input on
how to make the class more interesting and meaningful
• Set room temperature at a comfortable level
AFTER
BEFORE
BEFORE
AFTER
What Are
Concerns?
Distracting Bulletin
Boards within sight
Desk Facing
Windows
Distracting Bulletin
Boards to Student’s
Back
Desk Clear of
Unneeded Items
Unneeded Items Put in
Back Pack
Limited distractions
surrounding student
Desk facing
front/teacher
Promote Productivity Within The
Classroom
• Use time management tools (e.g. assignment sheets,
•
•
•
•
•
calendars, and student planners
Use both visual and verbal formats when making
assignments
Break lengthy assignments into smaller time frame
Monitor progress of assignments periodically by talking to
students to see what has been accomplished
Place a daily schedule in the classroom for everyone to
see
Use signals to transition
Promote Productivity Within The
Classroom
• Develop and use individual contracts to improve student
use of time
• Use positive reinforcement to recognize completion of
assignments
• Offer suggestions to parents on how to support and assist
in time management
Need Help?
• Visit Tri-County Special Education Web Site.
http://www.tcse.us/programdescriptions/behavior-intervention-programs/
• Resources
• Board Certified Behavior Analyst Intern
• Trainings (October 20, 2016 @ 8:30-3:30)
http://www.tcse.us/educator-resources2/professional-development