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EQUAL ACCESS TO GRADE LEVEL CONTENT
Remember that equal access to grade level content is the goal
Collaboration between general and special educators is key
BENEFITS OF COLLABORATION
Definition: General and special education teachers working as a team for the benefit of students with disabilities
Promotes understanding of general and special education teacher roles and responsibilities
COLLABORATION
Provides opportunities to gain new skills (e.g., general educator’s knowledge of content—special educator’s knowledge of specialized instructional techniques)
Serves as a support building process that fosters the creation of a collaborative school culture
ACCOMMODATIONS
Definition: Accommodations are practices and procedures in the areas of presentation, response, setting, and timing/scheduling that provide equitable instructional and assessment access for students with disabilities.
Accommodations reduce or eliminate the effects of a student’s disability and do not reduce learning expectations.
ACCOMMODATIONS APPLICATIONS
The use of accommodations is linked through each of these areas:
Classroominstruction
Classroom assessments
State & district assessments
Content standards
ACCOMMODATIONS CATEGORIES
Presentation Accommodations – Allow students to access information in ways that
do not require them to visually read standard print. These alternate modes of access are auditory, multi-sensory, tactile, and visual.
ACCOMMODATIONS CATEGORIES
Response Accommodations – 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.
ACCOMMODATIONS CATEGORIES
Setting Accommodations – Change the location in which a test or assignment
is given or the conditions of the assessment setting.
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.
MODIFICATIONS
Changing, lowering, or reducing learning or assessment expectations
May result in implications that could adversely affect a student throughout that individual’s educational career
Examples include– Requiring a student to learn less material– Revising assignments or tests to make them
easier
Documenting Accommodations
Accommodations can be documented in 3 areas of the IEP– Consideration of Special Factors—
assistive technology devices and services– Supplementary Aids and Services—
aids, services, and other supports– Participation in Assessments—
how a student will participate in state and district-wide assessments
WHAT DOESN’T WORK
Checking off every accommodation available on the IEP form, hoping “something” will work
What else doesn’t work?
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
What are the student’s learning strengths and needs?
How do the student’s learning needs affect the achievement of grade level content standards?
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
What specialized instruction (e.g., learning strategies, organizational skills, reading skills) does the student need to achieve grade level content standards?
What accommodations will increase the student’s access to instruction and assessment by reducing the effects of the disability?
REVIEW CURRENT ACCOMMODATIONS
What accommodations are currently used by the student during instruction and for assessments?
What are results for assignments and assessments when accommodations were used and not used?
Are there effective combinations of accommodations?
REVIEW CURRENT ACCOMMODATIONS
What difficulties did student experience when using accommodations?
What is student’s perception of how well accommodations “worked”?
What are perceptions of parents, teachers and specialists about how well accommodations “worked”?
BASED ON THIS REVIEW
Decide whether the student should– Continue using an accommodation “as is”– Use an accommodation with changes– Have an accommodation discontinued
OF THE ACCOMMODATIONS THAT MATCH THE STUDENT’S NEEDS, CONSIDER
The student’s willingness to learn to use the accommodation
Opportunities to learn how to use the accommodation in classroom settings
Conditions for use on state assessments
PLANNING USE OF NEW ACCOMMODATIONS
Plan how a student will learn to use each new accommodation
Be certain there is sufficient time to learn to use instructional and assessment accommodations before test day
Plan for the ongoing evaluation and improvement of accommodations use
INVOLVE STUDENTS
Involve students in selecting, using, and evaluating accommodations
The more input students have in selecting their accommodations, the more likely the accommodations will be used
Students should see accommodations as adding value to their daily life—not only in school—but for postsecondary, career, and community life
Accommodation and Modification
" I have too many students in my class to follow the I.E.P. and make special accommodations for your child !”
"It's not my job to read and follow the I.E.P. That's only for the special ed teacher" !
These types of comments are unlawful and violate a student’s rights.
Office of Civil Rights
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) enforces Section 504 in programs and activities that receive financial assistance from ED. Recipients of this assistance include public school districts, institutions of higher education, and other state and local education agencies. ED maintains an Office for Civil Rights (OCR), with ten regional offices and a headquarters office in Washington, D.C., to enforce Section 504 and other civil rights laws that pertain to recipients of ED funds.
Legal Protection and Mandate
"No otherwise qualified individual with handicaps in the United States . . . shall, solely by reason of her or his handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance....“
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/hq5269.html
Repercussions of Refusal
Regular classroom teachers employed by a school district will have very limited liability exposure in special education so long as the duties assigned to them regarding implementation of the IEP are executed in a legal and appropriate manner.
Failure to implement the IEP as specified could result in disciplinary action, criminal charges, and civil lawsuits that could result in personal liability exposure.
Repercussion of Refusal
Accommodations, modifications, behavior intervention plans, and supplementary aids and services are examples of IEP items that are typically the responsibility of the regular classroom teacher.
IF a parent believes these items have not been implemented, they may file a complaint with the state department of education alleging noncompliance with the IEP.
Repercussion of Refusal
The state department will launch an inquiry and possible investigation. Typically, if the school district is found to be in noncompliance, a corrective action plan will be developed and the matter is resolved.
If, however, the parent elects to pursue a due process hearing, one will be held to determine if the district did, in fact, fail to implement the agreed-upon IEP and denied the special education student the entitlement to a "free, appropriate public education" (FAPE).
Costly Repercussions
If the hearing officer decides that the school district denied the student FAPE, the district will be required to implement the IEP as written, pay attorney's fees and other costs the parent may have incurred and may be required to pay the cost of compensatory services.
http://www.ci.maryville.tn.us/mhs//MCSSped/teachtools.htm
The regular education teacher who got sued for not following modifications:
The case is Doe v. Withers (W. Va., Cir Ct. 1993). $15,000 was awarded a student with a Learning Disability from a public school History teacher who refused to implement the IEP, when he refused to allow the student to take his exams orally and untimed. This decision alerts teachers that they must be serious about the knowledge, understanding and implementation of the IEP. Students and their families often sue ISDs or School Boards, but this case highlights that an individual teacher may also be targeted.
Litigation
Complaint NO. 03-14 8th grade student
with learning disabilities denied FAPE in part due to failure to implement appropriate accommodations.
Corrective action plan: 1) district must submit massive documentation for a period of years 2) training for staff regarding IEP and accommodations 3) compensatory education
With how much of the IEP should I be familiar?
As a regular classroom teacher, you are required by law to have knowledge regarding the contents of the IEP for each special education student enrolled in your classes, and you are legally obligated to implement any portions of an IEP that apply to you. To successfully meet this obligation, you should read the IEP for each special education student for whom you deliver instruction in order to fully understand the student's education condition, their instructional needs, any specific activities that have been assigned to you and your classroom, and what, if any, accommodations or modifications you should be implementing.
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