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#1 Professional Perspective/Audience/Topic  

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#1 Professional Perspective/Audience/Topic  

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I am a third grade teacher in Katy ISD working towards a master's in Curriculum and Instruction. The audience is elementary school teachers in Katy ISD who teach general education classes. Due to Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), there are many students with disabilities being taught by general education teachers in mainstream classrooms. It is important that teachers are equipped to meet these students needs in their learning environment.

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General education teachers at all level are being faced with the responsibility of teaching students with disabilities in their classrooms. There are currently over 6.5 million students with disabilities receiving an education in a public school (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.). Students with disabilities are given an equal education as their nondisabled peers. General education teachers must be prepared to teach both sets of students in their classrooms.

Although the law requires that students suffering from a disability learn in their least restrictive environment which is often times the general education classroom, many teachers are ill equipped to teach this set of students. These children are more likely taught by a teacher with a general education certification and training, than special education. Teacher education programs have not grown as the legislation has changed to better equip teachers for educating disabled students. A study shows that only 50% of teachers properly differentiate instruction for students with disabilities (Dixon, Yssel, McConnell & Hardin, 2016) .

Dixon, F. A., Yssel, N., McConnell, J. M., & Hardin, T. (2016). Differentiation instruction, professional development, and teacher efficacy. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 37(2), 111-127. doi: 10.1177/0162353214529042

U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Thirty years of progress in educating children with disabilities through IDEA. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/leg/idea/history30.html

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Michaels, S. (2017). Giving special education students what they need. National Education Association. Retrieved from https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips/giving-special-education-students-what-they

The National Education Association produced a blog acknowledging the challenges of teaching students with disabilities with tips to give them an equal education. They advise general education teachers to build an environment where students with disabilities feel accepted so that they are free to learn. By building positive experiences in school for students suffering from a disability, children will be less likely to focus on their academic struggles.

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Samuels, C. (2016). Vouchers Put Some Parents in Squeeze on Special Education Rights. Education Week. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/07/20/vouchers-put-some-parents-in-squeeze-on.html

-An elementary student Emma was diagnosed with dyslexia and dyscalculia at an early age. She began receiving special education services and had an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) made by her public school.

-After several years of falling more behind in school, her family became frustrated with the lack of help she was getting from her public school while learning in her Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).

-The family decided to make a change and sent Emma to a private school where the teachers were trained to work with special education students. The public school must pay for her tuition in a situation like this because of their lack of support for Emma's needs.

-Although, students are required to receive an equal education by their public school district there are times when their needs can't be met by the public school they are in and they must go to a private school. In this situation, districts are required to pay the families back. The court ruled in this case that Emma's needs could be better met at the private school.

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Barnes, E. (2017). New Supreme Court Decision Benefits Students with IEPs. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/new-supreme-court-decision-benefits-students-iep-elizabeth-w-barnes

-Endrew, a child with autism began receiving special education services from the start of preschool and had an IEP. When he reached fourth grade his parents became concerned he was not progressing or being challenged despite his disability.

-After more adjustments were made to his IEP and things still did not improve his parents decided to send him to a private school who specialized in the help he needed while also challenging him.

-Endrew's family expected the school district to reimburse them since they thought the school failed to give him the help he required.

-The Colorado Department of Education ruled against Endrew's family saying the district did not need to reimburse them and should instead make his IEP more challenging.

-There are certain circumstances where SPED students can be reimbursed for going to a private school when the public education system can not give them a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).

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U.S. Const. amend. XIV.

Constitutional Law

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript

This fourteenth amendment ensures that nobody in the United States is denied, “life, liberty, or property.” This constitutional law requires all people, regardless of disability to have equal protection. Education has been considered under life, liberty, or property. This law serves as a basis for future laws that grant disabled citizens access to education in the U.S.

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Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794 et seq.

Statutory Law

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:29%20section:701%20edition:prelim)

Section 504 ensures that students with disabilities are given an equal education. Children with disabilities are given equal access as their peers to an education under this law. The law does not specify the importance of modifications and accommodations for students with disabilities. Although, by offering accommodations and modifications students with disabilities are given an equal education as those with out a disability.

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Burlington School Committee v. Massachusetts Department Of Education, 471 U.S. 359 (1985).

Judicial Law

https://www.wrightslaw.com/law/caselaw/ussupct.burlington.htm

This court case shows the importance of Individualized Education Plans (IEP) and their purpose to meet students needs. If the IEP a school provides does not differentiate instruction to meet the students needs the child’s parents can send their kid to a private school in the area and the school must reimburse them. In this case the IEP proposed that the student should be in a 6 person class at the school. The parents did not like this and wanted their son sent to a private school where he could be in a regular classroom with teachers trained to help him with his specific learning needs. The court ruled that the private school would actually be the place where he could learn in his Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and the district must reimburse the family for him to attend there.

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Special Education, 34 C.F.R. § 300.300 et seq.

Administrative Law

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=c9a0f678db40105483383cf7ccc4b6a8&mc=true&node=se34.2.300_139&rgn=div8

The laws found in the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) serve to ensure that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is properly put into practice. The law defines special education and other terms teachers must know in order to implement an equal educational experience for their disabled students. The C.F.R. goes into detail how to meet each students individual needs through specially designed instruction and other avenues of instruction. The evaluation process and IEP's are discussed in detail.

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Katy Independent School District. (2020, August). Roosevelt Alexander Elementary Staff Handbook 2020-2021, 31, Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o6TK_a2ER35mP8QDe3S50h-2qT_T6-j0/view

Administrative Law

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o6TK_a2ER35mP8QDe3S50h-2qT_T6-j0/view

The staff handbook for Katy ISD elementary schools ensures that each teacher is given a binder with the specific accommodations and modifications for each student in their class who falls under Section 504 or Special Education. These documents ensure that each teacher differentiates instruction to reach each individual’s needs so that students with disabilities are given an equal education as their nondisabled peers. The administrative laws found in the handbook serve to ensure that the school is in compliance with IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

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Standard 3.4 of the Educators' Code of Ethics states that, "the educator shall not exclude a student from participation in a program, deny benefits to a student, or grant an advantage to a student on the basis of race, color, gender, disability, national origin, religion, family status, or sexual orientation.

According to standard 3.4 a teacher can not discriminate against a student who has disabilities. He or she must give any student with a disability equal access to to programs and benefits as other kids in the class with out disabilities. The teacher also can not grant advantages to the student because they have a disability.

Educators' Code of Ethics, 19 Tex. Admin. Code § 247.2.

https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=7&ch=247&rl=2

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Project IDEAL Online. (n.d.). Project IDEAL. Retrieved from http://projectidealonline.org/

http://projectidealonline.org/

Project IDEAL is a website for teachers in Texas who work with students with disabilities. They explain the 13 categories of disabilities that fall under Special Education in IDEA. The organization helps equip teachers to serve students with disabilities in the classroom.

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-Give students with disabilities equal opportunities at school and in the classroom. Do your part to make sure they receive the help they need.

-Implement accommodations and modifications for students with disabilities according to what is specified in their 504 or Individualized Education Plan.

-As a general education teacher, it is important to participate in professional development on teaching students with disabilities so that you are prepared when they are in your class, their least restrictive environment (LRE).

-General Education teachers must be prepared to participate in the Admissions Reviewal Dismissal (ARD) and 504 meetings that are held for students in their class.

-Include ways to differentiate instruction for your disabled students in lesson plans so that each student's needs are met.

-Know and study your students with disabilities learning, physical, and emotional needs that are explained in the binder given by Katy ISD,

-Keep a record of all accommodations and modifications given and needed in the classroom. Keep records on any change in behaviors or performance. Make copies of students work to use as samples in any 504 or ARD meetings.