Study Guide for Chapters 1 and 2 for Mid-term on Oct 23
A. Who Is Served Under IDEA?
a. Autism
b. Deaf-blindness
c. Deafness
d. Emotional Disturbance (or serious emotional disturbance)
e. Hearing Impairments
f. Mental Retardation
g. Multiple Disabilities
h. Orthopedic Impairments
i. Other Health Impairments
j. Specific Learning Disabilities
k. Speech or Language Impairments
l. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
m. Visual Impairments Including Blindness
B. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
1. PL. 94-142 - Major Special Education Law – Landmark Legislation – 1975
2. Ages 3-5 entitled to free, appropriate public education
a. Discretionary assistance for birth – 3 years
3. Six Major Principles of the law:
a. Zero Reject: Requires that no child with a disability can be excluded from
public education.
b. Nondiscriminatory Testing: Requires that schools use a variety of
nondiscriminatory methods to determine disability. (Refer students to
Insert: Diversity in the Classroom)
c. Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE): Students who have been referred
to special education must have an individualized education program (IEP)
that details their special learning needs and mandates appropriate services.
d. Least Restrictive Environment: Students with disabilities are entitled to be
educated with their peers in general education classes to the greatest
extent possible.
e. Due Process: Followed in all placement decisions and changes in placement.
f. Parent Participation: Schools must collaborate with parents in the design and
placement of special education services.
4. Additions to the law:
a. Transition Services: All 16 year old students with disabilities must be
provided with a statement of transition service needs in their IEP.
b. Early Childhood Education: Amendments to IDEA is 1986 and 1990 provided
service to infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities.
c. Assessments: Students with disabilities must participate in general stateand district-wide assessment programs.
d. Early Intervening Services: 2004 amendments to IDEA specify that not
more than 15% of the funding local education authority receives from the
federal government can be allocated to programming students not currently
identified for special education but who need academic and behavioral
supports in the general education setting.
C. Models of Service Delivery
Refer students to Figure 1.4: Sample Continuum of Services, from Least Restrictive
to Most Restrictive.
1. The Continuum of Services
2. Where Are Most Students with Disabilities Served?
3. What Are General Education Classroom and Consultation Services?
4. What Are Resource and Self Contained Services?
5. Special Schools and Special Facilities
6. What Other Related Services Are Available?
Chapter 2
A. Strategies for communicating effectively in IEP meetings with parents and
colleagues
1. Use active listening techniques.
a. Nonverbal and verbal actions
b. Informing the speaker that his or her views are important to you.
2. Depersonalizing situations.
a. Avoids negative comments that may hurt an individual’s character.
b. Emphasizes a goal.
c. Beneficial when communicating with everyone, including students, other
teachers, school specialists, administrators, parents, and professionals from
community organizations.
3. Find common goals.
Refer students to Application Activity #8: Plan for improving communication
a. Restate and summarize conversations to identify common goals.
b. Turn conversations into productive problem solving toward goal attainment.
4. Brainstorm possible solutions.
a. Suggestions for solutions are compiled by participants without passing
judgment.
b. All parties become more invested in goal setting.
5. Summarize goals and solutions.
a. Prevents misunderstandings and provides an opportunity for clarification.
6. Follow up to monitoring progress.
Refer students to In the Classroom feature: Communication Summary Sheet
a. Summarizing makes the entire conversation positive and concrete.
b. Goal statement is made, possible solutions are listed, one is selected for
implementation and evaluation, and follow-up target dates are set.
B.
General education prereferral request
1. Formal prereferral request can be made by a teacher, school specialist, parent,
school administrator, or the student
C. Checklist for Steps in General Education Prereferral Intervention Process
1. Strategies are designed, implemented, and evaluated before any formal referral
for special education services.
2. Guidelines for “General Education Intervention”
3. Prereferral procedures are preventative in nature.
4. Procedures provide general education teachers and students with immediate
assistance with classroom- related problems, including disciplinary issues.
a. Establishing timelines
b. Intervention strategies
c. Research on prereferral interventions
d. Response to intervention (RTI) procedures
D. The Individualized Education Program (IEP) must contain:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Student’s current level of educational functioning
Statement of long-term annual goals
Statement of short-term objectives related to disability and educational needs
Statement of special and related services, program modifications, and academic
and nonacademic activities
Statement explaining participation with children without disabilities
Statement of individual modifications in assessment or alternative assessment
measures.
Initiation dates of service delivery, duration, and frequency of services.
Statement of transition services for students 14 years and older, including
interagency responsibilities, and informing children of their rights beginning a
year before they reach age of 14.
Statement of how annual goals will be measured, parents will be informed, and
progress will be monitored.
Objectives for parents to complete in the home (early childhood special
education).
E. Writing IEP Goals and Objectives
1.
Annual goals can refer to academic functioning
a. Measurable, positive, student oriented, and relevant.
b. In addition to academic goals, relevant goals can include social-emotional
functioning, communication, and career/vocational areas when appropriate.
2. Short-term objectives are more limited and precise and specify the steps to be
taken to achieve long-term annual goals.
a. Usually best written when they specify conditions, behavior, and criteria.
F. Transition services in IEP
1.
Required to be written into IEPs when students turn 16, but are appropriate at
younger ages.
2. Can be implemented the year before students begin to accumulate credits
toward high school graduation.
3. Specific interagency linkages and responsibilities must be explicated in the
Individualized Transition Plan (ITP).
G. Monitoring IEP
1.
Legal safeguards are provided to ensure IEPs are monitored to reflect
accurately the needs of individuals with disabilities.
2. Regular reviews and evaluations of progress are required.
3. Due process procedures are always available.
4. Annual review meetings are conducted to monitor progress.
IRIS Module RtI Part 1:
What Is the Rationale for Using RTI?
RTI is a preventive approach that aims to identify struggling students before they fall too
far behind their peers. It is important to note that some students struggle with reading due
to causes other than learning disabilities. Regardless of the cause, RTI will help students to
obtain the appropriate instruction and interventions necessary to improve their academic
progress. Additionally, by providing intervention in the early grades, RTI may also prevent
the inappropriate identification of students for special education services. Think about RTI
as a safety net that provides needed support to students before they have a chance to fail.
The Benefits of Early Intervening
Here are some key points to remember. RTI and early intervening:
 Ensure that all students receive high-quality instruction in the general education
classroom
 Promote immediate intervention as soon as students' reading problems are revealed
 Prevent substantial reading difficulties from developing
 Reduce inappropriate referrals and placements in special education for students
with learning disabilities
Benefits for the Identification of Learning Disabilities
The RTI approach has many benefits, particularly when applied to the identification
of students with reading or learning disabilities. Some of those advantages include:
 Ensuring that struggling readers have received high-quality instruction before
referrals to special education are made
 Using classroom data, rather than subjective observations, to make decisions
about whether students should be referred for an evaluation for special
education services
 Delivering services as soon as students begin to struggle
The basic components to all RTI approaches are:
1.
Universal screening - Every student is assessed using a brief screening tool.
2. Tier 1: Class- or school-wide interventions - Tier 1 includes all students, whether or
not they're struggling
3. Tier 2: Targeted Interventions (Secondary Prevention)
Students receiving Tier 2 instruction require more focused instruction than the
typical classroom reading instruction provides, and it may happen in several ways:
 Provide additional instruction: Under this option, students receive their core reading
program with their classmates and, in addition, receive reading instruction (often in
a small-group format) that supports and reinforces the skills taught in the core
reading program.
 Provide replacement instruction: With this option, which is not the preferred
choice, students receive more intensive instruction outside of the general education
classroom instead of their regular Tier 1 reading instruction. The disadvantage to
this option is that students receive less total instructional time than they would if
Tier 2 were added to Tier 1 instruction.
4. Tier 3: Intensive, Individualized Interventions (Tertiary Preventions)
A small percentage of students require even more intensive, specialized services in order to
become successful readers. Those specialized services, Tier 3 intervention, can be
conceptualized in several ways. Two options for Tier 3 include:
 Providing more intensive, individualized instruction
 Providing special education services