Chapter 14 Rethinking Special Education

Common-Sense Proposals for Reform 1.Focus on improving general education for all students Improved education for all means fewer students identified Schools should develop inclusive programs based on effective teaching practices that improve outcomes for both students with and without disabilities

Common-Sense Proposals for Reform 2.Work to end “medical model” in which IDEA eligibility for services requires a specialist’s diagnosis Model is costly, problematic, and inexact Often kicks in too late Better solution is to provide timely and appropriate education services for all students in our schools, based on their performance, without the need for a label

Common-Sense Proposals for Reform 3.End compliance-based approach to special education Parents and teachers should be liberated from endless form-filling and meetings Compliance does not improve student results Time on task in classrooms improves results

Common-Sense Proposals for Reform 4.End adversarial approach of “private enforcement” by parents and use other dispute resolution models mediators and ombudsmen or federal and state enforcement mechanisms can encourage trust-building and collaboration between schools and parents

Something Has Got to Change: Rethinking Special Education School districts spending an increasing percentage of their total budget on special education, but most districts cannot calculate their total financial commitment to special education Pressure for increased spending is only going to intensify The number of students with special needs is growing The number of students with significant special needs is increasing even faster, requiring more costly services

Something Has Got to Change: Rethinking Special Education Despite rising costs of special education, the Arlington, Massachusetts school district was able to Reduce real special education spending Raise student achievement Increase parent satisfaction Significantly increase reading proficiency Close a large percentage of the achievement gap Reduce per pupil spending

Something Has Got to Change: Rethinking Special Education How districts spend money is more important than how much they spend Three strategies for boosting achievement Relentlessly focus on reading Shift responsibility to general education Maximize student time with content expert teachers

Something Has Got to Change: Rethinking Special Education Relentlessly focus on reading Clear and rigorous grade-level expectations for reading proficiency Frequent measurement of achievement and growth Early identification Immediate and intensive additional instruction for struggling readers Remediation and intervention Balanced instruction in five areas of reading Explicit instruction in phonics in the earlier grades and comprehension in the later Skilled teachers for reading

Something Has Got to Change: Rethinking Special Education Shifting responsibility to general education Key element for reducing special education costs is to help students learn in gen ed If students never fall behind, they are more likely to graduate Special education services are the most expensive form of remediation and intervention By vesting more responsibility in general educators, especially content expert educators, schools can save funds while putting children in front of the best trained teachers

Something Has Got to Change: Rethinking Special Education Maximize student time with content expert teachers Special education teachers are often expected to teach all subjects to their students Most students in special education have already been taught the subject earlier in the day by a certified teacher By shifting resources from special education to general education, students with special needs can take the same class for periods a day

Something Has Got to Change: Rethinking Special Education Rethink how we deploy support staff Co-teaching sounds great but can be difficult to implement Support therapists and paraprofessionals Design and apply measures of effectiveness Manage and track data of services, hours spent, and number of paraprofessionals Ability to compare the data aids in learning from other practices already in place Inconsistent identification criteria causes under/over-identification of students with disabilities

Something Has Got to Change: Rethinking Special Education Align management skills with responsibilities Many instructors are put in a leadership position that differs from their skill set Need to redesign special education’s organizational structure Policy implications Focus regulatory oversight on outcomes, not inputs Do not restrict grant dollars to special education Redefine highly qualified teachers under NCLB Collect different types of data Create unambiguous standards for eligibility and services

Conclusions and Principles for Reform Principles for Reform Make IDEA standards- and Performance-based Streamline the number of special education categories Focus on prevention and early intervention Encourage flexibility, innovation, and choice Provide adequate funding End double standards