Ch.2: Current Practices for Meeting the Needs of Exceptional Learners

Education Legislation

• No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

• Individuals with Disabilities Act, 1990 (amended 2004)

Civil Rights Legislation

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

• Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990 (amended 2008)

Major Provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

• A free appropriate public edu (FAPE)

• Least restrictive environment (LRE)

• Individualized Edu Program (IEP)

• Procedural due process 

• Nondiscriminatory evaluation/assessment 

• parent/guardian consultation (participation)

• personnel development 

IDEA requirements for special ed identification

1. Child Find

2. Referral (once you’ve found something out that kick starts the process)

3. Evaluation (nondiscrimination ESSENTIAL here)

4. Eligibility Determination 

Response to Intervention (RTI)

• A student’s response (change or lack of change) in academic performance or behavior as a result of instruction

• Multiple tiers for identification and intervention

• Specific assessment practices and screening 

• Progress monitoring 

• Early intervention services 

individualizing edu for students w/ disabilities

• Individualized Edu Program (IEP)

• Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)

• Individual Transition Plan (ITP)

• 504 Plan 

Legal requirements for IEPs

• present levels of academic and functional performance

• annual goals w/ metrics 

• related services and supplementary aids 

• assessment accommodations

• transition plans for students at age 16

IEP Team Make-up

• the child’s parents 

• at least one gen ed teacher 

• at least one special ed teacher/service provider 

• LEA representative qualified to provide or supervise provision of services and resources

• other personnel w/ knowledge or expertise regarding the child (invited by school or fam)

• the child w/ disability, when appropriate

Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)

• legal doc detailing early intervention for infants and toddlers with disabilities 

• similar to IEP but also includes family 

• typically written for children up to age 3

requirements for IFSP

• present levels of dev (physical, cognitive, communicative, psychosocial, adaptive behavior)

• family strengths, resources, concerns, priorities 

• statement of major outcomes expected for child/family

• frequency, intensity, and method of service delivery 

• description of environment where services will be provided 

• projected date when services will begin and anticipated duration of services 

• identified service coordinator/case manager 

• transition plan to public school services 

• written consent from parent/guardian

Individual Transition Plan (ITP)

• included in IEP for students age 16 but may be included earlier

• revised annually 

• includes coordinated set of outcome-oriented activities 

• promotes movement from school to next opportunity 

• describes linkages and/or responsibilities of each participating agency before the student leaves school 

right path to placement 

1. evaluation/identification 

2. IEP

3. placement 

least restrictive environment (lre)

• 64% of students w/ disabilities served in gen ed classes

• very few students placed outside of typical schools

ways students w/ disabilities can participate in the regular classroom

• collaborative consultation 

• co-teaching and other team arrangements 

• curricula and instructional strategies (cooperative learning, peer-meditated instruction, partial participation)

• accommodations and adaptations 

academic accommodations

1. early access to assignments 

2. early access to course syllabus 

3. decrease assignment length 

4. access to audiobooks

5. break long assignments into smaller parts 

6. early registration or priority scheduling 

7. speech to text 

8. text to speech 

9. interpreters 

10. breaks 

expectations for all educators

• make max effort to accommodate individual need s

• evaluate academic abilities and disabilities 

• refer for evaluation

• participate in eligibility conferences 

• participate in writing IEPs

• communicate w/ parents or guardians 

• participate in due process hearings

• collab w/ other professionals 

expectations for special ed educators

• using evidence based practice 

• managing serious behavior problems 

• evaluating technological advances 

• knowing special ed law 

• have a responsibility to offer not just good instruction but instruction that is highly individualized, intensive, relentless, urgent, and goal-directed 

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

• makes learning more accessible 

• may benefit all learners 

modifications of UDL

• representation

• expression

• engagement 

• make things useable by more people 

• may still need to customize for individuals 

ELLs

• students whose first language is not English but who are learning English (speakers a lang other than English at home and needs support learning English)

  • academic (read, write, listen, speak) and social contexts

• other terms: limited English proficient (LEP)

ELL (NYS def)

those who, by reason of foreign birth or ancestry, speak or understand a lang other than english nad speak or understand little or no english, and require support in order to become proficient in English and are identified pursuant to Section 154.3 of the Commissioner’s Regulations

ELLs (Ontario def)

students who provincially funded English language schools whose first language is a language other than English, or is a variety of English that is significantly different from the variety used for instruction in Ontario’s schools and who may require focused educational support to assist them in attaining proficiency in English

lang distinctions among ELLs

• recent arrivers 

  • some knowledge of english skills

  • little or no knowledge of english

• simultaneously bilinguals: learning two langs at once

• sequential bilinguals: strong first lang and learning english as a new lang

Newcomers

• in our schools for 3 years or less and are ELLs

• ELLs in our schools one year or less and exempt from ELA

developing ELLs

received ELL services for 4-6 yrs

long-term ELLs

completed at least 6 yrs of ELL services in NYS schools and continue to require ELL services 

ELL students with disabilities

• served by an IEP

• IEP determines a student’s eligibility for special ed services and lang in which special ed services are delivered 

students with interrupted/inconsistent formal ed

attended schools in US for less than 12 months and who, upon initial enrollment in schools are 2 or more yrs below grade level in literacy in their home lang and/or more yrs below grade level in math due to inconsistent or interrupted schooling prior to arrival in the US

former ELLs

• identified as an ELL and has met the criteria for exiting ELL status

• upon exiting ELL status, former ELL are entitled to receive at least 2 years of former ELL services 

past schooling experiences (ELL)

• no formal edu 

• inconsistent or sporadic edu 

• regularly attended one school w/ a consistent curriculum 

what can we learn from national data? (National Center for Edu Stats)

• trends in % of ELLs w/ disabilities 

  • categories of ELLs w/ disabilities 

    • classroom placement of ELLs w/ disabilities 

      • implications 

English learners are expected to

• acquire English proficiency

• simultaneously learn all content knowledge required at their grade level  

learning english: inappropriate expectations can result in

• inappropriate refers to special ed

• sharing info that ELLs may not comprehend

• failure to provide necessary supports to acquire new content lang

Cummins’ Iceberg Theory

• BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills)

• CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency)

BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills)

• content embedded 

• the language necessary for day to day living, including conversations with friends, informal interaction 

CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency)

• content reduced (fewer non-verbal cues and the language is more abstract)

• the language necessary to understand and discuss content in the classroom

program models

• english as a new (second) lang

  • TESOL major/ESL classroom

• two way dual lang (two-way immersion)

• developmental bilingual edu

• transitional bilingual ed 

ELLs who are identified as eligible for special edu:

• continue receiving lang acquisition services

• continue to participate in the district’s bilingual edu or EL program

• if the student cannot participate bc of a disability w/out special ed supports, the district must consider specially designed instructional programs provided by appropriately qualified staff

• if out of placement district, bilingual and/or ENL program will be made available  

committee on preschool special ed

invite personnel w/ knowledge of second lang needs, must consider lang needs when developing IEPs

committee on special ed

IEP must consider what is needed for bilingual or ENL instruction, identify in the IEP of an ELL w/ a disability any testing accommodations (up to 2 yrs after achieving proficiency) 

instructional practices: lang instruction for ELLs should be integrated into all content-area classes 

1. activate background knowledge 

2. teach vocab 

3. teach comprehensive strategies 

4. differentiate instruction

5. provide opportunities for practice 

6. sheltered instruction 

cultural and linguistic diversity in special ed

• ethnicity and exceptionality

• identification and assessment

  • RTI

  • testing accommodations

  • universal screening

• overrepresentation

• appropriate services and instruction