Roles and Responsibilities of Staff in Collaborative Classrooms
Special Education Teacher
General Education Teacher
Paraprofessional
Collaborates with general education staff
to define roles
Collaborates with special education staff
to define roles
Collaborates with special and general
education staff to define roles
Attends weekly meetings with general
education teacher and related service staff
to plan and discuss issues related to all
students:
1. Comes to meetings prepared
2. Encourages others to share
concerns
3. Identifies concerns without
implicating people
4. Shares ideas and seeks consensus
5. Records on team meeting notes
who is to do what and by when
6. Reviews past meeting notes to
ensure tasks are done
Attends weekly meetings with special
education teacher and related service staff
to plan and discuss issues related to all
students:
1. Comes to meetings prepared
2. Encourages others to share
concerns
3. Identifies concerns without
implicating people
4. Shares ideas and seeks consensus
5. Records on team meeting notes
who is to do what and by when
6. Reviews past meeting notes to
ensure tasks are done
Attends weekly meetings with general and
special education teachers to plan and
discuss issues related to all students:
1. Comes to meetings prepared
2. Identifies concerns
3. Shares ideas and seeks consensus
Provides information to the general
education staff about disabilities, the
special education process, confidentiality,
and individual student IEPs
Provides information to the special
education staff about grading, curricula,
the general education process and
approaches
Plans weekly lesson with general
education teacher and identifies
accommodations and modifications and
co-teaching method to be used
Plans weekly lesson with special education
teacher and shares SOL objectives and
Follows weekly schedule provided by the
essential skills, instructional strategies and special and general education teachers
co-teaching method to be used
Makes curricular accommodations and
modifications
Assists with making curricular
accommodations and modifications
1
Roles and Responsibilities of Staff in Collaborative Classrooms
Special Education Teacher
Participates in collaborative meetings to:
1. Make decisions about teaching IEP
objectives and how progress will be
recorded on objectives
2. Develop IEPs and Behavioral
Intervention Plans (BIPs)
Develops data collection procedures for
IEPs and BIPs and guides others to use in
the classroom
Plans with general education staff
regarding adaptations to schedule, lesson
plans, room arrangements and materials
General Education Teacher
Paraprofessional
Participates in collaborative meetings to:
1. Make decisions about teaching IEP
objectives within the general
education curriculum
2. Assist in developing/updating IEPs
and BIPs
Assists in implementing IEPs and BIPs
within the general education setting
Plans with special education teacher
regarding adaptations to schedule, lesson
plans, room arrangements and materials
Provides large group, small group and
individual instruction to all students
Provides large group, small group and
individual instruction to all students
Coordinates with general education teacher
to communicate with families of students
in the class
Holds joint parent-teacher conferences with
general education teacher
Provides and receives feedback from
general education teacher about use of
teaching strategies
Communicates to general education teacher
any individualized grading procedures
indicated in the IEPs of students with
disabilities
Coordinates with the general education
teacher regarding how grading procedure
will be implemented in the class
Coordinates with special education teacher
to communicate with families of students
in the class
Holds joint parent-teacher conferences with
special education teacher
Provides and receives feedback from
special education teacher about use of
teaching strategies
Assists in collecting data on progress of
students (e.g., IEPs, BIPs, class
assignments)
Provides suggestions to the general and
special education teachers regarding lesson
plans
Participates in instruction of all students
using large and small groups, and
individual instruction
Coordinates with the special education
teacher regarding how grading procedure
will be implemented in the class
2
Roles and Responsibilities of Staff in Collaborative Classrooms
Special Education Teacher
General Education Teacher
Participates in all training activities
provided for the general education teacher
Participates in any special education
training that contains information that is
useful in working with all students in the
collaborative model
Shares weekly schedule with aide
regarding class assignment and role.
Supervises and assists the aide to work
within the collaborative classes
Assists the paraprofessional in working
within the collaborative classes
Coordinates services with therapists and
communicates scheduled appointments
with general education teachers
Paraprofessional
Provides support to students with
disabilities in resource classes
Maintains IEP/eligibility records for the
students with disabilities
Collaborates with special education teacher
on collection of data related to IEP
objectives
Collaborates with general education
teacher to collect, record, and maintain
grades for all students
Maintains all students’ grade records and
records daily/weekly achievements in the
grade books
Collaborates with the general and special
education teachers to develop and
implement activities to promote respect
among all students
Collaborates with the general and special
education teachers to develop and
implement activities to promote respect
among all students
Collaborates with the general and special
education teachers to develop and
implement activities to promote respect
among all students
Keeps other staff informed on known likes,
dislikes, interests and abilities of students
Keeps other staff informed on known likes,
dislikes, interests and abilities of students
Keeps other staff informed on known likes,
dislikes, interests and abilities of students
3