3.2.1 Special Education

All of you as teachers may be working in mainstream classes with children who have disabilities that may or may not have been identified. These often can include speech and language impairments, ADHD, asthma and a variety of others. Based on federal legislation, Special Education (SPED) is designed to help the student who needs extra help receive an individualized education so the child can succeed in the classroom environment. At both the state and federal level there are acts that are aimed at helping these students. Included in these acts are, the Individuals with Disability Education Act, the 504 Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and various others.

For the teachers and the schools, this results in lots of paperwork and deadlines, but a failure to comply could result in a loss of funding. However, remember the school is the one that will be held liable for the child. To help identify children with disabilities, Virginia has 15 categories or handicapping conditions that provide criteria for SPED services. The school districts then decide which of these they want to recognize and work with. One problem is that the criteria often do not fit many children with learning or behavior problems.

Now in the school about 10% of students are identified as having a disability and are given aid in the school. Although, in reality, the
population with some form of disability is believed to be around 30%. A parent has the option of moving their child if they feel that the student is not getting their needs met. When a parent moves a child to a new school, the parent can also remove information from the child's file and doesn't have to let the school know that the child has a problem. So you, as a teacher, may get a student who, as far as you or your school knows, has not been diagnosed with anything. Another option that a parent has it that he/she can sue the school using due process if he/she feels that the child's needs are not being met. As Dr. Allen has pointed out in other lectures, if you make enough noise you will be heard. Besides, schools hate being sued because it is costly and time consuming, so they will often bend over
backwards to help parents out.

Now if you get a student that you feel has a learning or behavior problem, there is a process that your school has for helping the student. The first step is a paper-trail -- keep track of the items that have happened to make you believe the student has a disability. Once you have a history of the child, you should make a referral. With the parent's permission, this will result in a screening by a special education team which will take an in-depth look at the student and in particular may elicit a psychological and medical evaluation. However, realize that this is not a quick process and in fact will take about 3 months. If you talk to the parents about their child, realize that you are not allowed to say that their child has ADHD or some other disorder. Instead, say something like "I see this and this interfering with Tommy's learning and you may want to take him to a physician to clarify his needs".

	What are the first two things you should do as a teacher if you suspect one of your students a disability?	Answer Here
	Mrs. Brock teaches a first-grade class that has thirty students in it. She notices that one of her students, Jonathan, will not stay in his seat at all, regardless of what tasks are assigned to the class. Most first graders are antsy, but Jonathan is exceptionally so. What should Mrs. Brock do in order to determine whether Jonathan is eligible for special education services? l?	Answer Here