GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
Graduate Council MODIFIED Certificate, Concentration, Track, or Degree Program
Coordination/Approval Form
College of Education and Human Development
(Please complete this form and attach any related materials. Forward it as an email attachment to the Secretary of the Graduate Council. A printed copy of the form with signatures should be brought to the Graduate Council
Meeting. If no coordination with other units is requires, simply indicate “None” on the form.
Title of Certificate: Students with Disabilities who Access the General Curriculum
Level (Masters/Ph.D.): masters level
Please Indicate:______ Program ___x__ Certificate _______ Concentration _______ Track
Description of the change in the certificate : Beginning July 2008, the VA Dept of Ed will license special education teachers (formerly licensed in LD, ED, or MR) in a new non-categorical designation: “Students with disabilities who access the general curriculum.” To align with the new licensure category, the special education program is modifying its current “ED/LD/MR” certificate by changing a few course names and descriptions and using an already existing course “adapted curriculum” to provide the necessary additional content. Current students will complete the current ED/LD/MR certificate. New students beginning July 2008 will complete the revised certificate. Therefore, this certificate will be added until such time as current students have completed the coursework.
Approval from other units:
Please list those units outside of your own who may be affected by these. Each of these units must approve this change prior to its being submitted to the Graduate Council for approval.
Unit:
Head of Unit’s Signature:
None
Head of Unit’s Signature:
Unit:
Head of Unit’s Signature:
Unit:
Date:
Date:
Date:
Submitted by: Mark Goor____________________________________ Email: mgoor@gmu.edu
Graduate Council approval:____________________________________ Date: _____________
Graduate Council representative: ________________________________ Date: _____________
Provost Office representative: __________________________________ Date: _____________

Certificate Modification Rationale:
Beginning in July 2008, the Virginia Department of Education will license special education teachers (who were formerly licensed in learning disabilities, emotional disturbance, mental retardation, and severe disabilities) in two larger groups:

Students with disabilities who access the general curriculum

Students with disabilities who require an adapted curriculum
To align with the new licensure category for teachers of students with mild disabilities (access to general curriculum) the special education program has modified its ED/LD/MR certificate and revised relevant course descriptions:
EDSE 501: Introduction to Special
Education (3 credits)
EDSE 502: Classroom Management and
Applied Behavior Analysis (3 credits)
EDSE 503: Language Development and
Reading (3 credits)
In-depth coverage of reading instruction for students with special needs. Topics include language development and emergent literacy skills; reading subskills including auditory discrimination and phonemic awareness, decoding and word reading; reading comprehension; and use of technological advances in the teaching of reading.
EDSE 540: Characteristics of Students with
Emotional Disturbance and Learning
Disabilities (3 credits)
Covers theories and specific conditions in learning disabilities and emotional disorders. Includes the impact of these learning and behavioral differences on academic and social and emotional performances. Addresses diversity within student populations. Experiential, observational, and interactive strategies, including use of technological advances are used to facilitate fulfillment of the outcomes established for the course. Field experience required.
EDSE 501: Introduction to Special
Education (3 credits) [same]
EDSE 502: Classroom Management and
Applied Behavior Analysis (3 credits)
[same]
EDSE 503: Language Development and
Reading (3 credits)
Identifies literacy skills for typical students, and describes reading, language, and writing instruction for students with mild disabilities who access the general curriculum. Topics include emergent literacy skills, phonemic awareness, vocabulary development, and comprehension.
Prerequisites: EDSE 501 Introduction to
Special Education & EDSE 540
Characteristics of Students with
Disabilities who access the general curriculum
EDSE 540: Characteristics of Students with Disabilities who Access the General
Curriculum (3 credits)
Examines the characteristics of students with mild disabilities. Emphasis on etiology, contributing factors, conditions that affect learning, the challenges of identifying students with disabilities, and the need for academic, social and emotional accommodations and support.
Field experience required
Prerequisites: none

EDSE 542: Characteristics of Students with
Mental Retardation OR EDSE 547:
Medical and Developmental Risk Factors for Children with Disabilities (3 credits)
EDSE 647: Introduction to Psycho-
Educational Assessment (3 credits)
Offers knowledge and experiential learning activities related to assessment of students with mild disabilities. Includes statistical and psychometric concepts in assessment.
Addresses norm-referenced, criterionreferenced, and curriculum-based, as well as informal assessment. Provides experiences in administering, scoring, and interpreting academic and behavior assessment instruments, writing reports and developing Individualized Education
Program using existing and emerging technologies. Considers use of assessment results for instructional and placement decisions.
EDSE 628: Elementary Reading,
Curriculum and Strategies for Mild
Disabilities (3 credits)
Applies research on teacher effectiveness, teacher accountability, instructional approaches, and advances in technology at the elementary level for individuals with emotional disturbance, learning disabilities, and mental retardation. Includes curriculum and instructional strategies in reading, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and social skills; cognitive strategies in self-regulation, study skills, attention, memory, and motivation; and peer-mediated instruction including cooperative learning and peer tutoring.
OR
EDSE 626: The inclusive Classroom (3 credits)
EDSE 661: Curriculum and Methods:
Severe Disabilities (3 credits)
Focuses on current best practices in curriculum, and methods for students with severe disabilities, including specific strategies for working with heterogeneous groups of students in inclusive settings, and methods for adapting the general education
EDSE 542 OR 547: Deleted
EDSE 627: Assessment
Offers knowledge and experiential learning activities related to assessment of students with mild disabilities. Includes statistical and psychometric concepts in assessment.
Addresses norm-referenced, criterionreferenced, curriculum-based, and informal assessment for instructional and placement decisions.
EDSE 628: Elementary Reading,
Curriculum, and Strategies for Students with Mild Disabilities (3 credits)
Applies research on instructional approaches, in elementary curriculum for individuals with disabilities accessing general education curriculums. Includes curriculum/instructional strategies in reading, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, cognitive strategies, study skills, attention/memory, and peermediated instruction.
EDSE 544: Adaptive Instructional
Methods and Transition for Secondary
Learners
Focuses on all aspects of transition and alternate assessments for secondary learners with disabilities. Provides strategies for teaching functional academics and social/life skills, facilitating the

curriculum to include students with severe disabilities.
EDSE 629: Secondary Curriculum and
Strategies for Mild Disabilities (3 credits)
Applies research on teacher effectiveness, teacher accountability, instructional approaches, and technological advances at the secondary level for individuals with emotional disturbance, learning disabilities, and mental retardation. Includes curriculum and instructional strategies in reading, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and social skills; cognitive strategies in self-regulation, study skills, attention, memory, and motivation; and peer-mediated instruction including cooperative learning and peer tutoring.
EDSE 662: Consultation and Collaboration
(3 credits)
EDSE 791: Midpoint Portfolio (1 credit)
(Must be taken concurrently with the fourth or fifth special education course)
EDSE 792: Final Portfolio (1 credit) (Must be taken concurrently with last special education course)
EDSE 790: Internship in Special
Education (4 credits) (Two experiences) transition to post secondary environments.
EDSE 629: Secondary Curriculum and
Strategies for Students with Mild
Disabilities (3 credits)
Applies research on teacher effectiveness, accountability, and instructional approaches at the secondary level for individuals with mild disabilities. Includes instructional methods necessary for teaching reading, writing, math, and other content areas across the curriculum.
EDSE 662: Consultation and
Collaboration (3 credits) [same]
EDSE 791: Midpoint Portfolio (1 credit)
(Must be taken concurrently with the fourth or fifth special education course) [same]
EDSE 792: Final Portfolio (1 credit)
(Must be taken concurrently with last special education course) [same]
EDSE 790: Internship in Special
Education (4 credits) (Two experiences)
[same]