Special Education
Special education provides vision, leadership, and expertise to schools and offices regarding the implementation of curricular and instructional initiatives that support the achievement of students with disabilities in compliance with state and federal mandates.
Compliance
The department of compliance has a responsibility, under federal statute and regulations, to have a system of general supervision that monitors the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) by local education agencies, or school districts. The system is accountable for enforcing the requirements and for ensuring continuous improvement. The primary focus of federal and state monitoring activities are to improve educational results and functional outcomes for all children with disabilities and ensure that states meet the program requirements under this part, with a particular emphasis on those requirements that are closely related to improving educational results for children with disabilities.
- Adapted Physical Education
- Arts Education
- Assistive Technology
- Child Search
- Extended School Year
- Inclusion
- Pupil Appraisal
- Special Education
Adapted Physical Education
Physical education is an essential part of the basic educational program and contributes to the development of the total individual. Every student with a disability is entitled to participate in a program activity, specially designed if necessary. Adapted physical educators facilitate the optimal physical and emotional development of children with disabilities and recognize the wide range of motor abilities found in atypical populations. Adapted Physical Education (APE) services accommodate students of all ages and functional abilities via systemically designed instructional programs focused on functional mobility skills, motor and physical fitness, life time leisure and age-appropriate gross motor competencies.
- What is Adapted Physical Education?
- Why is Adapted PE Important?
- How Students Receive Adapted PE
- Where and When Students Receive Adapted PE
What is Adapted Physical Education?
Adapted Physical Education is an INSTRUCTIONAL program provided by teachers certified in Adapted Physical Education.
It is a specifically designed physical education program for students with disabilities who are unable to participate and benefit fully in regular physical education.
It is individualized to meet the identified motor/physical education needs of students in special education.
The student’s program may include consultation, support, modifications or inclusion in regular PE, OR self-contained Adapted PE instruction, OR a combination of regular and adapted physical education.
The APE Program includes:
- Instruction by teachers certified in Adapted PE
- Curriculum aligned with Louisiana Physical Education standards
- Peer-tutoring
- Buddy Program in regular P.E.
- Orientation and Mobility Skills
- Health Education
- Creole Curriculum/Wheelchair Sports and Mobility Curriculum
- Special Olympics
- Sports for individuals with physical disabilities
Why is Adapted PE Important?
Movement is a pre-requisite for most of our educational activities. Individuals with inefficient movement patterns may encounter added difficulties in vocational, social, emotional and educational areas. It is essential to provide success-oriented activities to students who have interests, capabilities and limitations that are not met through the regular PE program.
Adapted PE emphasizes:
- Physical and motor fitness
- Motor skills and patterns
- Body mechanics
- Individual games and sports for lifetime enjoyment and fitness
- Leisure/recreation activities
- Healthy Lifestyles
Students are also taught to apply motor and recreational skills to various home and community settings, to facilitate socialization, self and peer group acceptance, and normalization in the community.
How Students Receive Adapted PE
Students must qualify for Adapted physical education according to criteria established by the Louisiana Department of Education. When a student is having difficulty performing in regular physical education, a motor screening is initially conducted by the regular physical education teacher PRIOR to referral. The Academic/ Behavioral Intervention Team at the school will be contacted. If warranted, evaluation will then be conducted by Adapted PE personnel. When a student qualifies for APE services, the type and frequency of services will be determined by the IEP team.
Students who have the following characteristics will be considered for screening and referral:
- Developmental delays in chronologically age-appropriate motor skills;
- Difficulty with equilibrium responses and balance activities;
- Lack of strength, endurance, flexibility;
- Poor body or spatial awareness;
- Chronic medical conditions;
- Lack of appropriate play and socialization behavior;
- Poor auditory processing.
Where and When Students Receive Adapted PE
Students receive APE during their school day. The class is scheduled according to the needs of the student as indicated on the IEP. Typically, students participate in some regular physical education with support from a para-educator or inclusion support from the adapted physical education teacher. However, many students require instruction in a self-contained class with other students with disabilities. Instruction may occur outdoors on school grounds, in the gym, or in another defined space.
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Arts Education
The Arts in Education program enhances the classroom curriculum of students with special needs and engages them in the learning process through arts integration. The program provides artist residencies, staff development for teachers, performances by professional artists, talent development, and Very Special Arts Festivals.
Arts Residencies
Funding from current Federal Public Law along with grants from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Louisiana Decentralized Arts Funding Program, VSA arts of Louisiana, and other public sources enable professional arts educators to work in classrooms through artist residency programs. These artists implement Disciplined-Based Art Education programs that reinforce GLEs (grade level expectations) across the curriculum and facilitate creative expression. Elementary as well as secondary schools within the parish receive artist-in-the classroom residencies on a rotating basis.
Teacher Workshops
The artist/facilitator and contracted arts educators conduct parish-wide workshops for teachers that enhance arts integration and support Act 175. This legislation, passed in 2007, requires Louisiana K-8 public schools to provide 60 minutes of instruction in the performing arts and 60 minutes of instruction in the visual arts each week for all students beginning in the 2010-2011 school year.
Performing Artists
Festival grants from VSA arts of Louisiana and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation support yearly performances by various groups including: Playmakers of Baton Rouge Children’s Theater, Jazz Centennial Celebration (Charmaine Neville and Band), and Papillion. These performances take place during the weeks designated for Very Special Arts Festivals.
Very Special Arts Fesitvals
Very Special Arts Festivals are held in participating schools during designated weeks of each school year. These school-based celebrations bring guest artists to schools to work with students with special needs in self-contained classes, inclusion settings and large assemblies. Teaching artists (TA) conduct art activities in classrooms while performing artists (PA) present live performances for student assemblies. In-keeping with the school system’s policy of inclusion, students from the general education program participate in VSA Festival events along with students with special needs. The principal of each school designates a teacher as the festival director who guides his/her school in designing activities that meet specific needs and wishes. Funding, planning resources and on-going support comes from Special Programs and VSA arts of Louisiana. Approximately 70 schools participate each year, with the over-all program impacting approximately 9,000 students.
Assistive Technology
Assistive technology devices are mechanical aids which substitute for or enhance the function of some physical or mental ability that is impaired. Assistive technology can be anything homemade, purchased off the shelf, modified, or commercially available which is used to help an individual perform some task of daily living. The term assistive technology encompasses a broad range of devices from “low tech” (e.g., pencil grips, splints, paper stabilizers) to “high tech” (e.g., computers, voice synthesizers, braille readers). These devices include the entire range of supportive tools and equipment from adapted spoons to wheelchairs and computer systems for environmental control.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal special education law, provides the following legal definition of an assistive technology device: “any item, piece of equipment, or product system… that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.” Under IDEA, assistive technology devices can be used in the educational setting to provide a variety of accommodations or adaptations for people with disabilities.
The IDEA also lists the services a school district may need to provide in order to ensure that assistive technology is useful to a student in the school setting. The law defines assistive technology service as: “any service that directly assists an individual with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device.” This service includes all of the following possibilities:
- evaluation of the technology needs of the individual, including a functional evaluation in the individual’s customary environment;
- purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices for individuals with disabilities;
- selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing of assistive technology devices;
- coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services with assistive technology devices, such as those associated with existing education and rehabilitation plans and programs;
- assistive technology training or technical assistance with assistive technology for an individual with a disability, or, where appropriate, the family of an individual with disabilities;
- training or technical assistance for professionals, employers, or other individuals who provide services to, employ, or otherwise are substantially involved in the major life functions of individuals with disabilities.
The intention of the special education law is that, if a student with disabilities needs technology in order to be able to learn, the school district will (a) evaluate the student’s technology needs, (b) acquire the necessary technology, (c) coordinate technology use with other therapies and interventions, and (d) provide training for the individual, the individual’s family, and the school staff in the effective use of the technology.
During the time that students with disabilities are in school, they can have the opportunity to learn to use technology at the same time that they are learning academic subjects and social skills. The efficient and effective use of assistive technology can be as basic a skill for students with disabilities as reading, writing, and arithmetic since the use of technology can go a long way toward circumventing the limitations of the disability and providing students with disabilities with a “level playing field” in every area of life accomplishment.
- What are Accommodations?
- What is an Adaptation? How Does Adaptation Differ From Accommodation?
- What are Common Types of Assistive Technology? Does Assistive Technology Just Mean Computers?
- What Sort of Students Might Use Assistive Technology?
- Isn't Assistive Technology Appropriate Only For Students with More Severe Disabilities?
- Isn't Assistive Technology Just a Crutch? Won't Students Become Too Dependent on Technology and Not Learn to Use the Skills They Have?
- When is Using Assistive Technology Appropriate?
- Summary
What are Accommodations?
Accommodations are reasonable modifications that are made to compensate for skills or abilities that an individual lacks. For example, if a person does not digest spicy foods well, we might accommodate this individual by adjusting his or her diet so that the person was eating only bland foods.
When the word accommodation is used in connection with disability issues, it refers to a way of modifying a task or assignment so that a person with a disability can participate in spite of whatever challenges the disability may pose. For example, when a student who is unable to remember math facts is allowed to do math problems with a calculator, the use of the calculator is an accommodation which allows the student to work around his or her disability. With an accommodation, the student can still perform math problems, but the student does so using a different method.
In the school setting, sometimes it is necessary to make accommodations for individuals with disabilities in order to compensate for skills or abilities that they do not have. For example, for some students with learning disabilities, learning to spell words correctly may be a skill they never acquire or never acquire with a high enough degree of fluency to do them any good in written expression. To compensate for this inability to spell, such students may be encouraged to use alternative methods for spelling like a spell check software program on the computer or a hand-held spelling device.
What is an Adaptation? How Does Adaptation Differ From Accommodation?
Adaptation means developing unique devices or methods designed specifically to assist persons with disabilities to perform daily tasks. An adaptation is something specially designed which is not normally used by other people. An accommodation, on the other hand, is simply a change in routine, method, or approach which may be used by people with or without disabilities. Examples of adaptations include special grips to turn stove knobs or specially designed keyboards to operate computers.
What are Common Types of Assistive Technology? Does Assistive Technology Just Mean Computers?
Assistive technology certainly includes computers, but it also refers to a number of other types of accommodations and adaptations which enable individuals with disabilities to function more independently. Computers are an important type of assistive technology because they open up so many exciting possibilities for writing, speaking, finding information, or controlling an individual’s environment. But computers are not the only avenues to solving problems through technology. There are many low tech (and low cost) solutions for problems that disabilities pose. Examples of inexpensive, low tech solutions include wrist splints, clip boards for holding papers steady, or velcro tabs to keep positioning pads in place.
The following is a list of common assistive technology applications:
Positioning. In the classroom, individuals with physical disabilities may need assistance with their positions for seating so that they can participate effectively in school work. Generally, therapists try to achieve an upright, forward facing position by using padding, structured chairs, straps, supports, or restraints to hold the body in a stable and comfortable manner. Also considered is the student’s position in relation to peers and the teacher. Often, it is necessary to design positioning systems for a variety of settings so that the student can participate in multiple activities at school. Examples of equipment used for positioning are side lying frames, walkers, crawling assists, floor sitters, chair inserts, wheelchairs, straps, trays, standing aids, bean bag chairs, sand bags, and so forth.
Access. In order to participate in school tasks, some students require special devices that provide access to computers or environmental controls. The first step in providing access is to determine which body parts can be used to indicate the student’s intentions. Controllable, anatomical sites like eye blinks, head or neck movements, or mouth movements may be used to operate equipment which provides access to the computer. Once a controllable, anatomical site has been determined, then decisions can be made about input devices, selection techniques (direct, scanning), and acceleration strategies (coding, prediction). Input devices include such things as switches, alternative keyboards, mouse, trackball, touch window, speech recognition, and head pointers. Once computer access has been established, it should be coordinated with other systems that the student is using including powered mobility, communication or listening devices, and environmental control systems.
Input
- Alternate keyboards
- Interface devices
- Joysticks
- Keyboard modifications
- Keyboard additions
- Optical pointing devices
- Pointing and typing aids
- Switches with scanning
- Scanners & optical character recognition
- Trackballs
- Touch screens
- Voice recognition
Processing
- Abbreviation/expansion and macro programs
- Access utilities
- Menu management programs
- Reading comprehension programs
- Writing composition programs
- Writing enhancement tools (i.e. grammar checkers)
Output
- Braille displays and embossers
- Monitor additions
- Screen enlargement programs
- Screen readers
- Speech synthesizers
- Talking and large print word processors
Access can also refer to physical entrance and exit of buildings or facilities. This kind of assistive technology includes modifications to buildings, rooms and other facilities that let people with physical impairments use ramps and door openers to enter, allow people with visual disabilities to follow braille directions and move more freely within a facility, and people of short stature or people who use wheelchairs to reach pay phones or operate elevators. Accessibility to shopping centers, places of business, schools, recreation, transportation is possible because of assistive technology modifications.
Environmental Control. Independent use of equipment in the classroom can be achieved for students with physical disabilities through various types of environmental controls, including remote control switches and special adaptations of on/off switches to make them accessible (e.g. velcro attachments, pointer sticks).
Robotic arms and other environmental control systems turn lights on and off, open doors, operate appliances. Locational and orientation systems give people with vision impairments information about where they are, what the ground nearby is like, and whether or not there is a curb close by.
Augmentative Communication. Every student in school needs some method of communication in order to interact with others and learn from social contact. Students who are nonverbal or whose speech is not fluent or understandable enough to communicate effectively may benefit from using some type of communication device or devices. Communication devices include such things as symbol systems, communication boards and wallets, programmable switches, electronic communication devices, speech synthesizers, recorded speech devices, communication enhancement software, and voiced word processing.
Assistive Listening. Much of the time in school, students are expected to learn through listening. Students who have hearing impairments or auditory processing problems can be at a distinct disadvantage unless they learn to use the hearing they have, or they develop alternative means for getting information. Hearing problems may be progressive, permanent, or intermittent. Any of these impairments may interfere significantly with learning to speak, read, and follow directions. Assistive devices to help with hearing and auditory processing problems include: hearing aids, personal FM units, sound field FM systems, Phonic Ear, TDDs, or closed caption TV.
Visual Aids. Vision is also a major learning mode. General methods for assisting with vision problems include increasing contrast, enlarging stimuli and making use of tactile and auditory models. Devices that assist with vision include screen readers, screen enlargers, magnifiers, large-type books, taped books, Braillers, light boxes, high contrast materials, thermoform graphics, synthesizers, and scanners.
Mobility. Individuals whose physical impairments limit their mobility may need any of a number of devices to help them get around in the school building and participate in student activities. Mobility devices include such things as self-propelled walkers, manual or powered wheelchairs, and powered recreational vehicles like bikes and scooters.
Computer-Based Instruction. Computer-based instruction can make possible independent participation in activities related to the curriculum. Software can be selected which mirrors the conceptual framework of the regular curriculum, but offers an alternative way of responding to exercises and learning activities. Software can provide the tools for written expression, spelling, calculation, reading, basic reasoning, and higher level thinking skills. The computer can also be used to access a wide variety of databases.
Social Interaction and Recreation. Students with disabilities want to have fun and interact socially with their peers. Assistive technology can help them to participate in all sorts of recreational activities which can be interactive with friends. Some adapted recreational activities include drawing software, computer games, computer simulations, painting with a head or mouth wand, interactive laser disks, and adapted puzzles.
Self Care. In order to benefit from education, some students require assistance with self care activities like feeding, dressing, and toileting. Assistive devices which assist with self care include such things as robotics, electric feeders, adapted utensils, specially designed toilet seats, and aids for tooth brushing, washing, dressing, and grooming.
What Sort of Students Might Use Assistive Technology?
Students who require assistive technology are those with mental or physical impairments that interfere with learning or other life functions. The technology helps the student to overcome or compensate for the impairment and be more independent in participating at school. Students who benefit from assistive technology may have mild learning problems like learning disabilities or they may have physical or cognitive disabilities that range from mild to severe. Assistive technology is not necessary or helpful for every student in special education, but it is an important part of the support system for many students with identified disabilities.
Isn't Assistive Technology Appropriate Only For Students with More Severe Disabilities?
Assistive technology is simply a set of tools that can be used to compensate for some deficit that a person may have. For individuals with severe mental or physical disabilities, the technological solutions can help to solve multiple and complex problems, but individuals with less involved problems also can benefit from assistive technology. For example, individuals with learning disabilities who have difficulty with reading or writing can benefit educationally from using the word processing and voiced reading capabilities of computers.
Isn't Assistive Technology Just a Crutch? Won't Students Become Too Dependent on Technology and Not Learn to Use the Skills They Have?
Assistive technology should be used as support for learning and performing daily tasks. In general, assistive technology is appropriate when it compensates for disabilities so that the individual can function as normally as possible. If assistive technology is necessary for a student to have access to educational opportunities, or to benefit from education, then it is not a “crutch,” but a legitimate support.
Some skills are too laborious or taxing to accomplish at a rate or with degree of proficiency to allow for participation in the least restrictive environment. With assistive technology, the student can participate more fully and more closely approximate the levels of achievement and interaction of his or her peers.
The use of assistive technology enhances function and increases skills and opportunities. Though a student may be dependent upon a particular device in order to perform skillfully, denying the device denies the student an opportunity ever to achieve success at the level of his or her potential.
When is Using Assistive Technology Appropriate?
Assistive technology may be considered appropriate when it does any or all of the following things:
- Enables an individual to perform functions that can be achieved by no other means
- Enables an individual to approximate normal fluency, rate, or standards–a level of accomplishment which could not be achieved by any other means
- Provides access for participation in programs or activities which otherwise would be closed to the individual
- Increases endurance or ability to persevere and complete tasks that otherwise are too laborious to be attempted on a routine basis
- Enables an individual to concentrate on learning or employment tasks, rather than mechanical tasks
- Provides greater access to information
- Supports normal social interactions with peers and adults
- Supports participation in the least restrictive educational environment.
Summary
Assistive technology means any device which helps an individual with an impairment to perform tasks of daily living. There is a wide range of types of devices in assistive technology from low tech, homemade aids to computers and sophisticated electronic equipment. Assistive technology is one of the services which can be provided in a special education program under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The requirements of IDEA say that students who need assistive technology are entitled to the aids and devices and the assistive technology services (e.g., evaluation for assistive technology and modification and maintenance of equipment) that are necessary for the student to benefit from a free, appropriate public education (FAPE).
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Child Search
Child Find is a nationwide effort to locate all children with disabilities, ages zero through twenty-one, who are not receiving educational services. Child Find is a part of Special Education in Louisiana schools. It is designed to identify, locate, and evaluate children who may be in need of special education services and are not currently enrolled in school.
Which Children are Eligible?
Children ages 0 through 22, who are not enrolled in an educational program and may have a special need in one or more of the following areas,
- Speech or Language
- Vision or Hearing
- Physical or Orthopedic Adaptation
- Emotional Development
- Social Development
- Learning Development
- Intellectual Development
Whom Do I Contact?
If you know of any individuals who have disabilities, are between the ages of birth-21 years, and who are not receiving educational services, or any individuals who may be gifted and/or talented between the ages of 3-21 years, please complete the below referral form:
https://forms.gle/JyoQCon4SQMPjeE77
Jefferson Parish Schools
Pupil Appraisal Department
For questions about completing the referral form, please call (504) 349-8663.
Child Find Letters
For children not enrolled in school, contact child search at precious.kirk@jpschools.org. We look because we have programs that may help! If you feel your child has a problem that affects his/her ability to learn or demonstrates a special skill or talent, and you would like to schedule a conference with the teacher, please complete a form below and return it to the school. At this conference, you and your child’s teacher will discuss any concerns and the option to refer your child to the Academic/Behavior Intervention Team.
Extended School Year
For some students, the provision of a free appropriate public education(FAPE) means extending instruction and related services beyond the typical school year. An extended school year program must be provided for any student with disabilities who is eligible for such services,and the determination of eligibility to provide such services is made annually by the IEP team. Preparation for the determination must begin early in the school year in order to carefully collect the data that will be needed in order to make an accurate determination. Teachers collect data relating to specific skills and behaviors that have been identified on the current Individualized Education Plan (IEP), just as they would to determine if appropriate progress is being made during the school year. The decision of whether or not a child is eligible is determined by a student’s ability to maintain learned skills identified on the IEP during the typical school year.
Extended School Year (ESY) services are:
- to maintain learned skills, not develop new skills
- to target goals and objectives derived from the current IEP
- determined on an individualized, case by case basis
- provided at no cost to families, and with no budgetary constraints as a factor
- based on the needs of the individual child, and thus there is no specific amount of time required (typically not the same as what the child may receive during the school year)
- developed through creative use of educational and other personnel
- provided in a variety of environments, including the home setting
- available to any student who is eligible
- evaluated annually and based on data collected during the current year to determine eligibility
- discussed at the IEP meeting by the IEP team
Extended School Year (ESY) services are not:
- to develop new skills
- a traditional summer school program
- to meet newly developed goals and objectives
- to make up for absences incurred during vacation or suspension
- provided for the convenience of families, e.g. to substitute for childcare or to maintain the families’ job security
- to replace or duplicate alternative community resources
The IEP team must discuss ESY services at an initial IEP meeting and at every annual IEP meeting. Team members may also discuss ESY services through an addendum to the annual IEP if necessary. School staff members, parent(s), and/or the student may request an IEP meeting at any time to discuss ESY services.
ESY services are only necessary to ensure a FAPE when the benefits a student gains during the regular school year will be significantly jeopardized if the student is not provided with an educational program during breaks in instruction. ESY services are intended to address critical life skills. A critical life skill includes any skill determined by the IEP team to be critical to the student’s overall educational progress, including social and behavior skills. In determining critical life skills for the specific needs of the student, the IEP team may consider those skills that lead to independent living, including toileting, feeding, communicating, dressing, and other self-help skills. In some cases, the IEP team may consider and address academic and behavioral issues. Depending on factors, such as a student’s age, ability, and the number of years the student has left in school, the areas of reading, math, and written language could be considered critical life skills.
Any child receiving special education services, regardless of disability category, may be eligible to receive ESY services if the IEP team determines that they are necessary for the student to receive FAPE. The IEP team members should discuss the following factors when they are considering ESY services:
- Regression and Recoupment–The IEP team must determine whether, without these services, there is a likelihood of substantial regression of critical life skills caused by a school break and it is expected that the student will not recover those lost skills within a reasonable amount of time following the school break (e.g., six to eight weeks after summer break).
- Degree of Progress–The IEP team must review the student’s progress toward the IEP goals and objectives targeting critical life skills and determines whether, without these services, the student’s degree or rate of progress toward those goals or objectives significantly jeopardize the student’s receipt of educational benefit from his or her educational program during the regular school year.
- Emerging Skills and Breakthrough Opportunities–The IEP team reviews all IEP goals targeting critical life skills to determine whether any of these skills are at a breakthrough point. When critical life skills are at this point, the IEP team needs to determine whether the interruption in services and instruction on those goals or objectives during the school break is likely to significantly jeopardize the student’s receipt of educational benefit from his or her educational program during the regular school year.
- Interfering Behaviors–The IEP team determines whether the student demonstrates any interfering behavior(s) such as stereotypic, ritualistic, aggressive, or self-injurious behavior(s) targeted by the IEP goals which substantially jeopardize the student’s receipt of educational benefit from his or her educational program during the regular school year. The team also determines whether the interruption of programming for these interfering behaviors is likely to significantly jeopardize the student’s receipt of benefit from his or her educational programming during the next school year.
- Nature and/or Severity of the Disability–The IEP team determines whether, without ESY services, the nature and/or severity of the student’s disability is likely to significantly jeopardize the student’s receipt of benefit from his or her educational program during the regular school year.
- Special Circumstances or Other Factors–The IEP team determines whether, without ESY services, there are any special circumstances that will significantly jeopardize the student’s receipt of benefit from his or her education program during the regular school year.
ESY services may be delivered through a variety of settings and methods, examples of which might include classroom instruction, a parent-guided home program with progress periodically monitored by the teacher, and/or consultative or supervisory support from staff members within community settings.
Inclusion
Inclusion is an effort to make sure that all students benefit by becoming important and contributing members of their school communities. It is the attempt to make sure that students with disabilities go to school along with their friends and neighbors while also receiving the “specially designed instruction and support” they need to succeed as learners and to achieve with high standards. Inclusion is different than past efforts at mainstreaming and integration. Inclusive schooling practices embrace the idea that, since everyone is an individual, schools, teaching, and learning must be organized so that every student gets a learning experience that “fits.”
What Does an Inclusive School Look Like?
- Administrators guide and support inclusive practices, ensuring a safe and welcoming environment
- Teachers believe they are accountable for ALL students
- The collaborative structures in place enables staff to be responsive to changes
- Students with disabilities are educated along side their typical peers
- All students are recognized and celebrated for their unique talents
- All students are actively engaged
- Classes consist of diverse learners
- Teachers value each unique learning styles, and meet those individuals’ needs
- Multiple methods of student expression and assessments exist
Pupil Appraisal
The major goal of pupil appraisal personnel is to advocate for children. In partial pursuit of this goal, pupil appraisal personnel assist students and school staff in enhancing the benefits of a general education program whenever possible. If a student is suspected of having a disabling condition or an exceptional talent, pupil appraisal personnel attempt to provide a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary evaluation that reflects an student’s unique and current strengths and needs. The multi-disciplinary aspect of pupil appraisal is an ongoing effort to provide support and professional resources to students, their families, and school personnel.
Pupil Appraisal Services consist of three disciplines: educational diagnostician, school psychologist, and school social worker.
Pupil Appraisal Personnel provides support services to school’s Academic/Behavior Intervention Team (A/BIT), evaluation services, and teacher/staff development to schools to enhance outcomes for students.
Academic/Behavior Intervention Team (A/BIT) is a general education problem solving committee, chaired by the principal or administrative designee, and staffed with general and special educators, pupil appraisal, and related service personnel. Parents of referred students are also active members. It is not a fast track to special education identification, rather, it should be the engine that drives each school’s activities.
The purpose is to intercede with students determined to be at risk and provide interventions to remediate academic deficits or behavioral challenges. A three-tiered process, referred to as Response to Intervention (RTI), provides evidenced-based interventions and monitors progress in an effort to maintain the student in the general education setting, and at the same time, improve academic/behavior performance. Pupil Appraisal and related service personnel assist the A/BIT with intervention design, progress monitoring, data review, and decision making regarding the appropriate next steps for a student. Parents are notified each nine weeks of the student’s progress and status in the A/BIT process.
Special Education
The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a written plan developed for each student eligible under IDEA that describes how the school district will educate the student. The parent(s) and a team of educators develop the IEP based on the available information about the student. IDEA requires that school districts include comprehensive information about the student on the IEP, including:
- Academic goals
- Services the student will receive
- Prescribed management of the student’s behaviors (if needed)
- Accommodations to be provided in the general education and special education classrooms
- Accommodations to be provided on statewide assessments
- Type of statewide assessment in which the student will participate
- Prescribed assistive technology (if needed)
- Transition services and post-secondary outcomes
The IEP is the tool used to determine what services a student receives and what a free, appropriate, public education (FAPE) means for that student.