Regular Ed Classroom Special Ed Kids Modifications, Accommodations, Confidentiality & the IEP
Penny McCormick-Gilles, NCSP • School Psychology Education Services • Former Special Education Director • PBIS Coordinator • Special Education Reviewer • Penny.mccormick-gilles@k12.sd.us • 605-207-0243
Special Education is a Service – Not a Place When educators view special education as a “place,” they fail to evaluate and address the child’s unique needs and how they can meet these needs.
GOAL FOR TODAY is to understand: • 1. Accommodations & Modifications • 2. Who is responsible for IEP implementation • 3. Importance of following the IEP • 4. Working together (sped & classroom) & Confidentiality • 5. Time for Questions
What Do You Need to Know About Special Education? • General education teachers teach all students. • General education teachers are required by law to follow a student's IEP. • It is the responsibility of the general education teacher to ensure that all aspects of the IEP are being followed in the general education class, particularly the accommodations. • Ignorance of the law is no defense, nor is ignorance of what is in the IEP, if it isn't being followed.
Accommodations, Modifications & the IEP • Some students with disabilities need accommodations or modifications to their educational program in order to participate in the general curriculum and to be successful in school. • Both can be a part of an IEP and therefore need to be implemented.
What is the Difference Between Modification and Accommodation? Modification - A change in what is being taught or expected from a student. ü Shortend assignment. ü Reduce difficulty of assignment. ü Reduce reading level on assignment. Accommodation- A change that helps a student overcome or work around the disability. ü Allow for oral response. ü Provide an audiotape of lesson or books. ü Provide copies of teacher’s lesson.
Modifications • Basically a modification is a change to what is expected of the students with a disability. • A modification is an adjustment to an assignment or a test that changes the standard or what the test or assignment is supposed to measure.
Accommodations • "Accommodations are intended to lessen the effects of a student's disability; they are not intended to reduce learning expectations" (National Center for Learning Disabilities, 2007).
Accommodations • Tools and procedures that give students with disabilities an opportunity for equal access to participate in classroom instruction and learning activities. • Enhance a student's ability to participate in the classroom and meet the expectations of the instructor and the curriculum. • Changes are typically made to the way information is delivered and accessed which "levels the playing field" for students with various abilities.
Simply • Accommodations change how a student learns or is tested without changing the learning goal. Modifications change the learning goal for an individual student. Modifications are used when the general curriculum is too advanced for a student and modifications usually involve changing an assignment or objective.
MOST IMPORTANT • Any accommodations or modifications an IEP team chooses must be based on the individual needs of students, and the changes must be provided if included in the child’s IEP.
This Means That….. • All areas in which a student requires accommodations or modifications, they MUST be provided.
Not Just a Piece of Paper
Remember, as the classroom teacher • You have important input into the IEP. • You know the student • You know the interventions you have tried • You know what your students need to learn • You know if there are any social issues to be addressed
AND • YOU are the teacher – whenever I ask a student whose room he (or she) is in, the answer is never the resource room. • Still you have a support person in the sped teacher
Who is Responsible for Ensuring IEP is Properly Implemented? • School administration and the special education/ special services director have the responsibility of making sure that the services contained in the child’s IEP are delivered as written. • Each of the child’s teachers and service providers have access to the IEP and should be aware of his or her specific responsibilities for carrying out IEP services. Including all accommodations, modifications, and supports that must be provided to the child, in maintaining compliance with the student’s IEP.
Sticky Point! • A special education teacher has to follow the IEP. • 20 minutes of reading instruction does not mean a math paper that wasn’t finished. • Is homework helper on the IEP?
Communication • …communication must be maintained with all of the team members and the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) must be followed at all times. IEPs are essentially the blueprint for a student's education…. • * ( Meeting Their Needs: A Guide to Individualized Education Plans ).
Regular ED Teacher Needs to Know: ü Nature of the disability – how it will impact performance in the classroom ü What the IEP says ü Goals/objectives ü Other services the student will receive
Regular Ed Teacher Also Needs to Know: ü What accommodations or modifications are needed in your classroom ü How you will implement them ü Recommendations of things that have worked in the past ü Who to talk to if you have a question
Your Directions are on the IEP! • Be given an outline of a lesson • Use a calculator or table of “math facts” • Work or take a test in a different setting, such as a quiet room with few distractions • Sit where he learns best (for example, near the teacher) • Use sensory tools such as an exercise band that can be looped around a chair’s legs (so fidgety kids can kick it and quietly get their energy out) • Take more time to complete a project • Complete fewer or different homework problems than peers • Write shorter papers • Learn different material (such as continuing to work on multiplication while classmates move on to fractions)
Benefits of Everyone Working Together • Monitor students progress toward goals and objectives. • Exchange ideas on how to continue to make gains toward goals. • Discuss options. • Plan for interventions • Generate strategies. • Celebrate successes.
Think of the student in your room
# 1 • The student has a disability and must receive specialized instruction, accommodations, modifications, and related services in accordance with his/her Individualized Education Program (IEP).
# 2 • Federal law requires that all teachers providing instruction and services for students with disabilities must be aware of the needs of the student. As such, accommodations and modifications required by the IEP must be incorporated into classroom instruction and assessment.
# 3 • Information about the IEP or the disability is CONFIDENTIAL and may only be shared with appropriate staff (or others with authorization from parents).
Why Confidential? • Through the IEP process very personal and sensitive information about students and families is created, collected, and shared. This often includes information about the social, emotional, and educational status of the student. Such information must be held confidential and must only be shared with individuals who need the information to provide services to the student or who have a legitimate educational need for the information.
And…...... • This is not intended to inhibit professional communication, but to ensure that confidential information about students and their families is treated appropriately.
Legitimate Educational Interest • Not in the teachers’ lounge • Not to other parents • Knowing how to explain ”fair” (what someone needs not all the same) • When in doubt keep quiet until you know it is Ok.
Most often asked questions: What if: • The student does not want to follow the plan in my class? or • What if I don’t think the accommodation is working?
Same Answer for Both Questions • You follow the IEP, remember it's a legal document. • This is where good communication between sped teachers and classroom teachers comes into play.
ALL DONE
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