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My professional perspective is that of a high school counselor. Counselors must be up-to-date on current laws and policies, especially those that involve student rights, privacy, and equal opportunities for all.

This particular guide is helpful for all educators from K-12 including college-level professionals.

The purpose of this legal guide is to better inform all educators about the admission, review, and dismissal process (ARD) in schools and what impact it has on students, teachers, and parents.

I selected this topic because it is an important process that almost every educator will encounter at least once in their career. Therefore, all educators must gain the necessary knowledge on how the ARD process works in schools and how it is protected under certain policies and laws.

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1. Importance of Topic and Impact:
After interviewing one of the counselors at my school I learned that this topic is important in the field of education, specifically for school counselors for several reasons. In many schools, ARD meetings are usually led by school counselors or SPED (special education specialists). School counselors must be knowledgeable on how to lead such meetings and understand the overall process and purpose of the meeting. Per TEA, the admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee "is the team that meets to determine eligibility based on a full and individual evaluation report and to develop an individualized education program (IEP) for the child, if applicable" (TEA, 2019, p.1) My interviewee further explained that the overall goal of this process is to basically level the playing field and give every child an equal opportunity at success no matter their learning style or disability.
2. Best Practices:

Do your research into learning more about the student having the ARD. For example, do your own class evaluation or assessment preferably with the special Ed specialist or teacher before the meeting.

Be prepared with all available student data to get a full picture of how to best serve the student.

Communication with parents and all parties involved in the child's education is crucial to get a better understanding of how to best assist the student if he/she qualifies for special services.

Lastly, know what the law says you can and cannot do. Research and exhaust all resources that are available to the child to ensure he or she is set up for success.

3. Emerging Issue:
One particular emerging issue related to this topic is how online learning due to the recent pandemic impacted student learning, especially students in need of special individualized services. Due to a shortage of special education and regular education teachers after the pandemic, some students may not be receiving all available resources or assistance as they should. Some school districts across the U.S. continue to struggle with inequitable funding, especially those students living in areas of poverty. For these reasons and many more, educators should stay up-to-date on current laws and policies that impact such issues. Additionally, it is our responsibility to continue advocating for our students to ensure they are receiving all the available resources and support they rightfully need.
The person I interviewed is a school counselor by the name of Adena Bell at North Mesquite H.S.
(Texas Education Agency, 2019)

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The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) is a professional organization for educators, specifically school counselors that provide very beneficial and useful information in the field of school counseling. This site offers beneficial information pertaining to school counselors and what role they play when they are part of an ARD committee. Additionally, this association provides useful information such as up-to-date trends, best practice insight, current educational news, professional development opportunities, and important information pertaining to laws affecting students, educators, and counselors. This professional association is a great organization to be a member of because not only does it offer a wealth of information but also offers legal representation in the event that you are ever involved in a legal matter. According to ASCA, "members receive liability insurance, discounts on publications, and professional development opportunities among many other benefits"
(ASCA, 2022 p. 1).

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In this particular news article of EDweek, the author describes what the federal government is doing to ensure that students with disabilities are not being treated unfairly. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona states that "all students deserve to have their rights protected, and schools deserve greater clarity on how they can avoid the discriminatory use of discipline" (Stanford, 2022, p. 1). He further states that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) will continue to advocate for equal rights of all students, specifically students with disabilities, and ensure they are provided with all available resources and support to help meet their individual needs. This particular article relates to the topic of ARDs because it discusses the importance of advocating for students with disabilities and how they are protected under certain federal laws.
(Stanford, 2022)
Link: https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/new-discipline-guidance-focuses-on-discrimination-against-students-with-disabilities/2022/07

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Schools must determine if a student's behavior is related to their disability before disciplining them, according to new U.S. Department of Education guidance meant to further clarify federal protections against discrimination.

In a call with reporters Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona touted the new guidance as the "most comprehensive" the department has ever released on the topic.

Four new resources for school leaders include two guides on how Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act protect students from discriminatory discipline practices; a guide for stakeholders on "positive, proactive approaches to supporting the needs of children with disabilities"; and a letter from Cardona on the importance of supporting the needs of students with disabilities.

"As this guidance makes clear, the work to ensure students are safe at school is foundational to everything we do," he said. "They must be safe and supported at schools."

Separately, the Education Department is still reviewing its guidance for discipline as it relates to racial discrimination, department officials said Tuesday. They did not provide a timeline for release of that guidance.

Students with disabilities stand out statistically on discipline

Students with disabilities experience disproportionately high rates of expulsion and suspension, the most-recent data from the department's office for civil rights show. In the 2017-18 school year, students with disabilities represented 13 percent of the total student enrollment but experienced 23 percent of all expulsions with educational services and 15 percent of all expulsions without educational services.

In its Section 504 guidance, the department explains that schools are required to provide behavioral supports and services to students with disabilities. Specifically, it states that schools must determine if a student's behavior is related to their disability before expelling or suspending them for that behavior.

In cases where a student is exhibiting disruptive behavior related to their disability, the department encourages school officials to do further evaluation to see if the student needs additional behavioral supports or a change in educational setting to ensure they have access to a free and appropriate public education.

Schools are allowed to discipline students through suspension or expulsion if officials determine the behavior was not connected to the student's disability as long as the discipline is handled in the same way it would be done with students without disabilities, according to the guidance.

The guidance also clarifies that Section 504 prohibits schools from not making reasonable modifications for students with disabilities such as adapting school policies to support student needs; unnecessarily treating a student differently because of their disability; or using policies that have an "unjustified discriminatory effect" on students with disabilities, such as sending students to detention for using profanities when students with Tourette Syndrome may not be able to control their use of those words.

In a question-and-answer document on IDEA, the department clarifies that a student's IEP, or individualized education program, must include the use of "positive behavioral interventions and supports" to address disruptive behavior.

Those behavioral interventions can include "special education and related services, supplementary aids and services, and program modifications or supports for school personnel," according to the document.

"The resources can strengthen school communities so that all students have an inclusive, safe environment that embraces their whole, unique selves," Cardona said to reporters on Tuesday.

Some Democratic lawmakers praised the new guidance, saying it will lead to more-equitable school environments.

"This is an important step forward to help root out discriminatory disciplinary practices in our nation's schools, and I applaud the administration for standing up for the rights of all students-including children with disabilities-to learn in a safe and supportive environment," U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a statement.

What the new guidance says about restraint and seclusion practices

The guidance released Tuesday also clarified that seclusion and restraint practices can constitute disability discrimination. Those practices include any time students are placed in a room alone without the ability to leave or placed in a restraint that restricts their movement as a form of discipline.

The department also said that physical restraints-when adults use their own physical force to restrain a student-could constitute discrimination. However, the use of "physical escort," in which an adult temporarily touches or holds a student's hand, wrist, arm, shoulder, or back "for the purpose of inducing a student who is acting out to walk to a safe location," is not considered a restraint, according to the guidance.

The Education Department has found that restraint and seclusion are disproportionately used on students with disabilities. In the 2017-18 school year, the most recent year of data available, about 102,000 students experienced restraint or seclusion at school, according to the office of civil rights data. While only 13 percent of students enrolled that school year had a disability, 80 percent of students who experienced physical restraint and 77 percent of students who experienced seclusion had a disability.

The latest guidance is not the first time the department has provided clarity on that issue. In 2016, as assistant secretary for civil rights in the Obama administration, the current assistant secretary, Catherine Lhamon, wrote a "Dear Colleague" letter clarifying that the use of seclusion and restraint can constitute discrimination.

What's ahead for efforts to promote racial equity as it relates to discipline

The new guidance is only part of the department's examination of the issue of discrimination in discipline.

In June 2021, the department released a request for public comment on discipline and school climate. The department received over 3,000 comments regarding discrimination of students based on race, sexual orientation, gender, and disabilities, some of which informed Tuesday's guidance.

In 2017-18, the office for civil rights reported that Black students represented 38 percent of the total students who receive one or more out-of-school suspensions but they only accounted for 15 percent of the total school enrollment.

Some civil rights organizations while applauding the guidance on students with disabilities are calling for swift action on the broader guidance.

"We look forward to working with students, families, educators, and the department to ensure the faithful implementation of the guidance and the promises made in our civil rights laws," Liz King, senior program director of education equity at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said in a statement. "Now, we call on the department to move swiftly to update and publish school discipline guidance under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to clarify all students' right to be free from racial discrimination. Every child deserves a safe, welcoming, and inclusive learning environment where they have the chance to learn, grow, and thrive."

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New Discipline Guidance Focuses on Discrimination Against Students With Disabilities

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Schools must determine if a student's behavior is related to their disability before disciplining them, according to new U.S. Department of Education guidance meant to further clarify federal protections against discrimination. In a call with reporters Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona touted the new guidance as the "most comprehensive" the department has ever released on the topic.

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This article discusses the effects schools are continuing to face after the pandemic.

Staff shortages are causing veteran and new teachers to feel overworked and are being assigned extra class coverage duties and sometimes they are not even certified to teach in certain settings (such as in sped classrooms).

Some teachers are new to the profession and just don't have the experience or knowledge on how to best help students with disabilities.

Due to teachers being overworked and underpaid, some are quitting and the domino effect this is causing is devastating, especially to our students requiring special services.

This article ties along with the topic of ARDs because it shows how schools are not adequately staffed therefore, they are probably not meeting the needs of all students as they should.                                  (Lieberman, 2021)
Link: https://www.edweek.org/leadership/how-staff-shortages-are-crushing-schools/2021/10

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Teachers are sacrificing their lunch periods to cover unsupervised classrooms, monitor lunch lines, and get behind the wheel of school buses. Students are enduring prolonged bus rides and diminished meal options. Principals are still searching far and wide to fill dozens of open positions, including for people who quit after the school year started.

And at least several dozen school buildings have temporarily shut down due to an insufficient number of adults on the job.

These are just a few of the many effects widespread staff shortages are having on the nation's 3.2 million teachers, 91,000 principals, and roughly 3 million support staff who work for public schools, according to interviews with educators and administrators and an Education Week analysis of local media reports.

Crucial job openings that would normally attract hundreds of applicants are going to underqualified candidates or remain unfilled, even with higher wages and recruitment bonuses fueled by federal relief aid. When people do get hired, they're taking time off more often because they're sick or were exposed to someone who may have COVID-19.

The current challenges highlight longstanding labor issues in K-12 schools and raise questions about the sustainability of fully reopened school buildings this year as the pandemic wears on. While vaccinations have dimmed the immediacy of the COVID-19 threat for many, the still-ongoing global crisis continues to take a substantial toll.

A longstanding crisis that shows no signs of slowing

This is hardly the first time schools have had trouble filling open positions; many have long struggled to find enough workers qualified to help students with disabilities, for instance.

But the problem right now is particularly acute, and many educators told Education Week they've never seen it worse. Subpar wages, minimal benefits, tough work environments, onerous pandemic protocols, pressing health concerns, contentious political disputes, and a broader trend of disruption in the American labor market are among the factors shaping this year's K-12 chaos.

District leaders and principals are scurrying to raise wages, expand benefits, and turbocharge recruitment drives. But the most common strategy in the short term for tackling the shortage, according to a recent EdWeek Research Center survey conducted between Sept. 29 and Oct. 8, is asking employees to take on additional responsibilities. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they've done that this year.

For many who work in schools, the year has piled new stress on top of old, falling far short of expectations for the coveted return to normalcy that appeared possible as vaccines rolled out earlier this year.

"We're certainly not feeling like we're in this period of recovery that we keep hearing about," said Brooke Olsen-Farrell, superintendent of the Slate Valley district in Vermont. "We're still in this pandemic, and I think feeling the effects even more so this year than ever before."

Olsen-Farrell spoke to Education Week from her home, where she was working remotely last week after her vaccinated husband tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19. The next day, she said, half of the eight nurses for her six-building school system would be out sick or on quarantine.

On the list of positions Olsen-Farrell is having trouble filling: custodians, instructional assistants, bus drivers, special education assistants, and librarians. For the latter, the district cut the middle school library program to prioritize library services for K-5 students.

A middle school social studies teacher and a high school special education teacher both quit during the first week of school.

"They just walked out in the middle of the day, saying it was too much in this kind of environment," she said. "It's just too stressful."

The middle school teacher's replacement started last week; the district has yet to replace the other teacher, Olsen-Farrell wrote in a recent email.

Many exasperated educators are expressing existential concerns about the future of the public education system.

Here's what people who work in school buildings are seeing and feeling as staff shortages persist.

Teachers are filling all kinds of gaps, on top of their regular duties

At Belvidere Central Middle School in Illinois, the assistant principal shares with teachers a daily spreadsheet listing all the teachers who are absent and the timeslots that need to be filled. Thanks to a shortage of substitutes willing to step in, teachers are asked, though not required, to consider giving up their planning period to plug a hole in the schedule.

Johana Avila, a second-year instructor who teaches 6th- and 7th-grade social studies, recently covered a physical education class. It was surprisingly difficult to wrangle the students and teach them a sport she herself wasn't familiar with, she said.

She likely wouldn't offer to serve as a substitute again. "It's almost like you feel a little bit of guilt, I should be covering, I should help out. But at the same time, we're already piled so much with coming up with homework for kids who are quarantined," Avila said. "I just feel like I need that planning time to make sure I'm giving enough for my students."

At Huntington Middle School in Huntington, W.V., teachers are reluctant to give any substitute teachers a negative review in the required paperwork because they're "desperate" for anyone willing to work, said Angela Nottingham, who teaches 7th grade and leads the school's hiring committee for teachers.

Some teachers are volunteering to sacrifice both their planning periods and delaying plans for days off to ensure students are supervised.

"It's like baking a lasagna and baking a cake at the exact same time in the same kitchen, but you can only use one bowl," Nottingham said.

Most schools have avoided reverting back to remote learning even when staffing is thin, but some have had no choice.

The first time, teachers woke up one morning to an email from administrators notifying them that the school building was shut down, said Katherine Maloney-Jacobs, who teaches 3rd grade reading and social studies.

The next time, teachers found out at 5 p.m. the night before-too late to ensure students took home the materials they'd need to keep learning remotely.

"The hardest part was communicating with enough advance notice that parents don't feel caught off guard, or didn't feel pressure to get their students on Zoom at a certain time," she said. "I don't want parents to feel pressured because I know everybody's dealing with a lot right now."

Chaos has prevailed even when the school building is open. On some days, Maloney-Jacobs ends up with five extra students in her class because of teacher absences. She has to quickly integrate them into her classroom routine, find more desks and chairs, and race to make additional copies of assignments.

Olsen-Farrell said she's never seen burnout among staff hit so soon after the school year starts.

"Our teachers are June tired, and it's the beginning of October, but I was saying that at the beginning of September already," she said.

Nottingham said she thinks often about the fact that she could take a job doing data entry from her living room and make more money than she currently does.

"The only thing that my boss can do is say, 'This is happening everywhere,'" she said. "I understand that, and we all understand that. But it just doesn't seem like there's any relief at all."

Administrators struggle to make the case that working in a school will be rewarding

Thirty-percent of district leaders and principals who answered the EdWeek Research Center survey characterized their current staffing shortage as "moderate." Another 25 percent called it "severe," and 15 percent said the issues are "very severe." Only five percent said their schools aren't having staffing issues.

Administrators are faced with tough decisions about allocating resources and their own duties. The challenging conditions in schools don't lend themselves to pitching their work environments to prospective employees.

Several candidates at Oakwood Middle School in Statesville, N.C., have told principal Carrie Tulbert during job interviews that they could likely get paid $7 more per hour working at Chick-Fil-A, "in a great environment serving chicken all day," than they could as a school custodian.

"Typically you could have said, 'Working in education is so rewarding. You get to be with kids no matter what job you're doing, you're impacting kids and how they feel at school,'" Tulbert said.

"Now public education is such a polarizing experience unfortunately, and a political experience, and sometimes a very antagonistic experience because of what's going on in the world, that's hard to say as a recruiter and hiring manager."

The school started the year with two unfilled teacher vacancies. They've since been filled, but there weren't many applicants to choose from, Tulbert said. "You have to find somebody with an amazing heart and passion for teaching. Most of those people are scooped up earlier in the summer," she said.

Even when districts are seeing applications, many candidates lack the proper qualifications.

"We fill them with people who have no teaching experience and who get alternatively certified," said Heath Oates, superintendent of the El Dorado Springs district in Missouri. "Sometimes this works out. Sometimes it doesn't."

More than two-thirds of school district leaders and principals say they're struggling to hire a sufficient number of bus drivers, according to the EdWeek Research Center survey. Forty-one percent said the same about custodians, and 42 percent said the same about cafeteria workers.

Tulbert herself has been putting her bus driving license to use two days a week, covering for drivers who are out sick. She worries about the possibility of a fight breaking out or a parent needing her attention while she's away from the building during the pickup period after classes end.

More broadly, though, she worries that her colleagues are becoming disillusioned with working in education.

"A lot of teachers are now saying, 'I don't want to be an administrator. I wouldn't wish your job on anybody,'" she said. "How do you encourage people to come into a field where we don't have enough custodians so you're going to have to clean your own classroom?"

Students are missing out on crucial services

At the district's Greely Middle School, an 11-person team in the special education department has dwindled to six. Until last week, there was also an opening for a teacher in the behavior program for students who need specialized support and a quieter environment.

Stephanie LeBlanc, an instructional strategist who coordinates students' individual education plans (IEPs), was filling in for the behavior teacher on top of her regular duties. She also recently had to cover an English class because the school didn't have enough substitutes, and the educational technicians who have been helping fill gaps were busy with other substitute assignments.

"Everybody becomes more exhausted because the breaks that we would usually get aren't happening," LeBlanc said. "That cycle causes more people to be out."

The effects of the shortage are falling most heavily on students who need a staff member with them all day. Some students have had to go to unfamiliar classrooms or miss out on crucial opportunities for academically enriching activities.

"We're still meeting all kids' base needs and our minimum requirements," LeBlanc said. "But we really can't go above and beyond and create those fun or creative opportunities."

The Slate Valley district in Vermont has had to send students with disabilities home and offer compensatory services later to make up for their lost time in the building, Olsen-Farrell said.

Students in Syracuse, N.Y., have been missing morning classes and staying in school long after the final bell thanks to a shortage of bus drivers. In Medford, Ore., football games have been canceled, and a larger-than-usual number of students who live close to school buildings no longer have the option to ride the bus.

Schools in Filer, Idaho, closed for a week without remote learning recently due to an insufficient number of teachers. At least one school or district has also shut down temporarily due to staffing concerns in California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee, Vermont, and West Virginia.

"I just think there needs to be recognition for a staffing crisis in education in the United States," Olsen-Farrell said. "I think this is going to be here long after COVID is gone."

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How Staff Shortages Are Crushing Schools

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Teachers are sacrificing their lunch periods to cover unsupervised classrooms, monitor lunch lines, and get behind the wheel of school buses. Students are enduring prolonged bus rides and diminished meal options. Principals are still searching far and wide to fill dozens of open positions, including for people who quit after the school year started.

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The following are certain disability laws protected under Federal law, more specifically:

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR)

The U.S. Department of Justice

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)

1. Section 504: provides civil rights protections to all individuals with disabilities in programs that receive federal funding, which includes most public schools.

(Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973)

(National Network, 2022)

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State Law: Special Education Rules and Regulations | Texas Education Agency

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Texas Law: states that special education services shall be provided to eligible students in accordance with all applicable federal laws and regulations, state statutes, rules of the State Board of Education (SBOE) and the commissioner of education.

Special education services shall be provided to eligible students in accordance with all applicable federal law and regulations, state statutes, rules of the State Board of Education (SBOE) and commissioner of education, and the State Plan Under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). 19 TAC § 89.1001(a)

(Texas Education Agency, 2022)

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This page contains information about special education rules and regulations.

Special Education Rules and Regulations Side by Side

The purpose of the side by side rules is to help educators, parents, and other stakeholders to better understand the federal regulations, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Texas Education Code (TEC), and the Texas Administrative Code (TAC), which is the Commissioner's and State Board of Education (SBOE) Rules. For more information and a side-by-side view of these rules and regulations please visit Special Education Rules and Regulations (side-by-side).

Federal Regulations - IDEA 2004

IDEA is the collection of federal regulations for special education that ensures a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) for students with disabilities that attend public schools. IDEA requires that each public school provide services to eligible special education students in the least restrictive environment (LRE) and in accordance with each student’s individualized education program (IEP). For more information regarding IDEA, please visit:

Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR)

State Rules Not Required by IDEA or Federal Regulations

As part of their annual state application to receive funding, states must identify any rules, regulations, or policies that are state-imposed, and not required by IDEA or federal regulations. States must also inform local educational agencies (LEAs) in writing of such state-imposed rules, regulations, or policies (20 U.S.C. 1407(a)). For a list of state rules not required by IDEA or federal regulations, please visit State Rules (Not required by IDEA or federal Regulations).

Commissioner's Rules

In Texas, special education rules are established by the SBOE and the Commissioner. SBOE and Commissioner’s Rules are a collaboration of state agency rules compiled and published as the TAC. Special-education-related Commissioner's Rules are found in the TAC, Title 19, Chapter 89. To view the Commissioner Rules currently in effect and guidance related to those rules, please visit Commissioner's Rules, currently in effect.

Additional sections of Commissioner Rules related to Special Education include:

§75.1023. Provisions for Individuals who are Members of Special Populations

§89.1230. Eligible Students with Disabilities

§101.1005. Limited English Proficient Students at the Exit Level

§101.1009. Limited English Proficient Students Who Receive Special Education Services

State Board of Education Rules

See TAC, Title 19, Part II, Chapter 89. Title 19 Part II for special-education-related SBOE rules.

Additional sections of SBOE Rules related to special education include:

§101.1. Scope of Rules

§101.5. Student Testing Requirements

Texas State Law

The TEC includes laws and rules passed by the state legislature. These laws and rules apply to most LEAs that are supported in whole or in part by state tax funds. To view TEC legislation online, you may visit the Texas Constitution and Statutes.

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Special Education Rules and Regulations | Texas Education Agency

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This page contains information about special education rules and regulations.

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Federal Law: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

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1. IDEA: it is a statute that mandates free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) for students with disabilities eligible under IDEA.

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 (2004).

(U.S. Department of Education, 2022)

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

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The U.S. Department of Education’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act website brings together department and grantee IDEA information and resources. The IDEA makes available a free appropriate public education to and ensures special education and related services to eligible children with disabilities.

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1. The ADA American with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a broad law that provides civil rights protections to all individuals with disabilities in the US in many different aspects of life. Title II of the ADA prohibits discrimination by state and local governments, which includes public schools.

Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (1990).

(National Network, 2022)

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disability discrimination; laws; disabilities; civil rights; federal aid; education;

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This page links to resources concerning disability discrimination, including relevant laws and faqs.

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Mesquite ISD Local Policy: EHBAB(LEGAL)-P:

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 Slide 10: Local Administrative Law/Policy/Rule

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 Slide 10: Local Administrative Law/Policy/Rule

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The Mesquite ISD local policy states that "the district is responsible for all of the functions for which the IEP team is responsible under federal law and regulations and for which the ARD committee is responsible under state law, including the responsibilities listed in 19 Administrative Code 89.1050. 19 TAC 89.1050(a); 34 C.F.R. 300.116(a), .321(a)"

It is evident that this school district is following Federal and State laws and implementing its own local policies that ensure all students receive the necessary support and resources by forming an ARD committee and following the appropriate steps to further assist all students.

(Mesquite ISD, 2022)

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According to the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors section A.10.F Marginalized Populations:
The school counselor must "advocate for the equitable right and access to free, appropriate public education for all youth in which students are not stigmatized or isolated based on race, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, language, immigration status, juvenile justice/court involvement, housing, socioeconomic status, ability, foster care, transportation, special education, mental health and/or any other exceptionality or special need."

As an advocate for our students, we must ensure that our students are given every opportunity to receive a fair and equal education no matter their learning styles or disabilities.

(American School Counselor Association, 2022)

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The personal connection that I have to this particular topic is that I will one day be a part of a counseling team where I will have to have the necessary knowledge of what an ARD entails and what role I play as a school counselor. I will be responsible for advocating for all my students and I must be aware of what local policies and laws are in place to ensure they are receiving the necessary resources and support so they can continue to be successful socially, emotionally, and academically.

Although I personally never came across such policies or laws while growing up, I am grateful that certain laws were created for those less fortunate students that need needed support. From a parent standpoint, I actually had an experience with the Section 504 process. My child was diagnosed with borderline dyslexia in the second grade and she was protected under the 504 umbrella. Thanks to this law/policy my daughter has certain accommodations in place in all her classes which allow her to be very successful in school. If it wasn't for this law and the support of her teachers she could have been a student that struggles academically. Thankfully, she's been an "A" student for the last several years due to her hard work and school support.

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Slide 13:  Recommendations / Best Practices for Compliance

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Slide 13:  Recommendations / Best Practices for Compliance

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1. Always research and know what the law or policies say about the topic.

2. Attend campus, district, or state-level training on how the process (ARD) works.

3. Don't be afraid to ask questions to your experienced colleagues before you proceed.

4. Continue to stay up-to-date on the topic by attending staff development training opportunities yearly.

5. Join a professional association to have added support and liability protection in the event that you need legal help.

6. Lastly, always do what's best for the student. By practicing ethical and legal behaviors educators should not worry too much about being held liable when they know they are doing the right thing.

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ASCA. (2022). The School Counselor and Students with Disabilities. Home - American School Counselor Association (ASCA). https://www.schoolcounselor.org/

Mesquite ISD. (2022). SPECIAL EDUCATION EHBAB ARD COMMITTEE AND INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM. Policy On Line. https://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Download/369?filename=EHBAB(LEGAL).pdf&filename=EHBAB(LEGAL).pdf

National Network. (2022, July). Disability rights laws in public primary and secondary education: How do they relate? ADA National Network | Information, Guidance, and Training on the Americans with Disabilities Act. https://adata.org/factsheet/disability-rights-laws-public-primary-and-secondary-education-how-do-they-relate

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