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Field Experience C: Practical Implications of IDEA
As a school principal, a foundational understanding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is essential. The special education director, school psychologist, or special education teacher can share information about their roles and responsibilities that will be valuable to your future professional practice. The insights of your principal mentor regarding his or her involvement with special education programs and students, and efforts to collaborate with IEP teams, families, and students, is equally important.
Review the requirements for the current IDEA and meet with a special education director, school psychologist, and special education teacher at your field experience site. In the meeting, discuss their responsibilities as well as the responsibilities of principals in meeting the IDEA guidelines and the needs of these students. Conduct a second interview with your principal mentor about their involvement with special education students, including how they work collaboratively with the IEP teams, families/guardians, and students.
IDEA is the federal law that provides protections for students with learning and other disabilities Among the key provisions are the right to a free and appropriate education, placement in the least restrictive environment, and parent participation The law also establishes safeguards to ensure enforcement. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was enacted by the federal government to ensure that all children with disabilities are provided with equality of [educational] opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency.
Originally adopted in 1975 and amended in 2004, the IDEA aims to curb educational problems associated with low expectations and insufficient focus on alternative research, teaching methods, and tools. Following are the six major principles of the IDEA, focusing on students rights and the responsibilities of public schools to children with disabilities.
1. Free Appropriate Public Education
Under the IDEA, every child with a disability is entitled to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). The IDEA emphasizes special education and related services, which should be designed to meet a childs unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.
Furthermore, courts have held that the IDEA requires schools to prepare Individualized Education Plans, which confer meaningful educational benefit to children with disabilities. The meaningful educational benefit requirement includes a focus on raised student expectations, appropriate progress, and transition into postsecondary education and independent living.
Public schools and local school boards are responsible for ensuring that every child with a disability receives a FAPE.
2. Appropriate Evaluation
The IDEA requires that schools conduct appropriate evaluationsof students who are suspected of having a disability. Anappropriate evaluationmust be implemented by a team of knowledgeable and trained evaluators, must utilize sound evaluation materials and procedures, and must be administered on a non-discriminatory basis.
Children should not be subjected to unnecessary assessments or testing, and evaluations must be geared toward planning for the childs education and future instruction. Finally, an appropriate evaluation must determine and make recommendations regarding a childs eligibility for special education services in a timely manner.
3. Individualized Education Plan
The Individualized Education Plan (IEP) was established by the IDEA to help ensure every childs access to a Free Appropriate Public Education. The IEP is a written document, developed by anIEP team, which draws upon existing evaluation information in order to meet a students unique educational needs.
Under the IDEA, anIEPmust include information regarding a students present levels of educational performance, annual goals and benchmarking objectives, services and supplementary aids to be received, and a detailed explanation of instances where a student is not participating in the general classroom and why.
An IEP is also required to include information regarding consistent reporting on student progress as well as transition to adult life. Finally, it is required that an IEP account for the planning concerns of the parents and child, the strengths of a particular child, and the specific academic, developmental, and functional needs of the child.
4. Least Restrictive Environment
The IDEA places a strong emphasis on placement in a general education setting. Under the IDEA, a student is guaranteed placement in theLeast Restrictive Environment (LRE)possible. Therefore, an IEP team must explore a number of alternatives for enabling a student to participate in the general education classroom. These may include:classroom modifications, supplemental aids and services, alternative instructional methods, etc.
If an IEP team determines that a student cannot be satisfactorily educated in a general education setting, then the team must make responsible efforts to determine the LRE for that student outside of the general classroom.
5. Parent Participation
The IDEA has a special provision for parent participation in placement decisions. Under this provision, state educational agencies and local school boards must ensure that the parents of a child with a disability are members of any group that makes decisions regarding the placement and LRE of that child.
Parents have the right to equal participation in this process, and are entitled to notification of a planned evaluation, access to planning and evaluation materials, and involvement in all meetings regarding their childs placement. Additionally, parents retain the right to refuse further evaluation of their child. Both students and parents must be invited to IEP meetings, and the IDEA explicitly establishes a role for the parent as equal participant and decision maker.
6. Procedural Safeguards
Finally, the IDEA establishes procedural safeguards to help parents and students enforce their rights under federal law. The primary purpose of this requirement is twofold: safeguards protect parental access to information pertaining to placement and transition planning; and procedures are put in place toresolve disagreementsbetween parents and schools regarding the placement of a student.
Under the IDEA procedural safeguards, parents have a right to review all educational records pertaining to their child, receive notice prior to meetings about their childs evaluation, placement, or identification, and to obtain an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) for consideration at such meetings.
If disagreements arise, parents have the right to request mediation or due process hearings with state-level education agencies, and beyond that may appeal the decision in state or federal court.
After the interviews, compile a list of 510 functions required of the principal to meet IDEA guidelines and to best serve and support special education faculty, staff, students, and families. Include 23 community resources that can be used by special education teams to access additional information on specific student needs.
1. The principal is responsible for the education of all students in the school.
2. The principal needs to be familiar with the concept and practice of special education.
3. The principal needs to ensure that staff members know what is necessary for providing special education services.
4. The principal needs to verify that staff members are appropriately implementing services for students with disabilities.
5. The principal should lead efforts for data collection.
6. The principal should ensure that all staff members are aware of the process for identifying students with disabilities.
7. The principal must be prepared to lead meetings related to services for students with disabilities.
8. The principal needs to know all students in the building and be ready to talk about them.
9. The principal needs to know how to prevent discipline problems.
Write a 500-word reflection on your experiences, incorporating PSEL Standards 5, 7, and/or 8 and describing how you might apply what you have learned to your future professional practice.
APA style format is required for the body of this assignment, and PSEL standards should be referenced using APA documentation guidelines.
This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
RUBRIC:
(15) Interview 1 with Special Education Director, School Psychologist, or Special Education Teacher: Responsibilities of the special education director, school psychologist, and special education teacher are thoroughly presented. Principal responsibilities are comprehensively explained.
(15) Interview 2 with Mentor Principal: The principals involvement with special education students and how he or she works collaboratively with the IEP teams, families/guardians, and students is proficiently detailed.
(20) Functions of the Principal/Additional Resources: A list of 5-10 functions for the principal to meet IDEA guidelines to best serve and support special education faculty, staff, students, and families is expertly detailed. 2-3 community resources for special education teams to access additional information on specific student needs are thorough.
(25) Reflection/Implications for Future Practice: Reflection proficiently discusses implications for application as a future practitioner. Elements of PSEL Professional Standards for Educational Leaders 5, 7, and/or 8 are expertly incorporated into reflection.
(5) Documentation of Sources (citations, footnotes, references, bibliography, etc., as appropriate to assignment and style)
(10) The content is well organized and logical. There is a sequential progression of ideas related to each other. The content is presented as a cohesive unit. Provides the audience with a clear sense of the main idea.
(10) Submission is nearly/completely free of mechanical errors and has a clear, logical conceptual framework. Word choice reflects well-developed use of practice and content-related language. Sentence structures are varied and engaging. Interviews:
Principal: #1 Duty for IEPs- Communication
Special Ed teacher: Love the children, develop lesson plans centered around IEP goals, behavior control, train aides to teach so teacher has time for behavioral control.
School psych: Observe and listen to the children, back up the teacher and suggest ideas to him/her.
Special Education Director: Coordinates weekly team meetings with the team consisting of Principal, VP, Small Group Education teachers, Speech teacher, School Psychologist, and District leader assigned to our school. PSEL
Reston, V.A. (2015). Professional Standards for Educational Leaders. Professional Standards for Educational Leaders.
STANDARD 1: MISSION, VISION, AND CORE VALUES:
Effective educational leaders develop, advocate, and enact a shared mission, vision, and core values of high-quality education and academic success and well-being of each student. Effective leaders:
a) Develop an educational mission for the school to promote the academic success and well-being of each student.
b) In collaboration with members of the school and the community and using relevant data, develop and promote a vision for the school on the successful learning and development of each child and on instructional and organizational practices that promote such success.
c) Articulate, advocate, and cultivate core values that define the schools culture and stress the imperative of child-centered education; high expectations and student support; equity, inclusiveness, and social justice; openness, caring, and trust; and continuous improvement.
d) Strategically develop, implement, and evaluate actions to achieve the vision for the school.
e) Review the schools mission and vision and adjust them to changing expectations and opportunities for the school, and changing needs and situations of students.
f) Develop shared understanding of and commitment to mission, vision, and core values within the school and the community.
g) Model and pursue the schools mission, vision, and core values in all aspects of leadership.
STANDARD 2: ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL NORMS:
Effective educational leaders act ethically and according to professional norms to promote each students academic success and well-being. Effective leaders:
a) Act ethically and professionally in personal conduct, relationships with others, decision-making, stewardship of the schools resources, and all aspects of school leadership.
b) Act according to and promote the professional norms of integrity, fairness, transparency, trust, collaboration, perseverance, learning, and continuous improvement.
c) Place children at the center of education and accept responsibility for each students academic success and well-being.
d) Safeguard and promote the values of democracy, individual freedom and responsibility, equity, social justice, community, and diversity.
e) Lead with interpersonal and communication skill, social-emotional insight, and understanding of all students and staff members backgrounds and cultures.
f) Provide moral direction for the school and promote ethical and professional behavior among faculty and staff.
STANDARD 3: EQUITY AND CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS:
Effective educational leaders strive for equity of educational opportunity and culturally responsive practices to promote each students academic success and well-being. Effective leaders:
a) Ensure that each student is treated fairly, respectfully, and with an understanding of each students culture and context.
b) Recognize, respect, and employ each students strengths, diversity, and culture as assets for teaching and learning.
c) Ensure that each student has equitable access to effective teachers, learning opportunities, academic and social support, and other resources necessary for success.
d) Develop student policies and address student misconduct in a positive, fair, and unbiased manner.
e) Confront and alter institutional biases of student marginalization, deficit-based schooling, and low expectations associated with race, class, culture and language, gender and sexual orientation, and disability or special status.
f) Promote the preparation of students to live productively in and contribute to the diverse cultural contexts of a global society.
g) Act with cultural competence and responsiveness in their interactions, decision making, and practice.
h) Address matters of equity and cultural responsiveness in all aspects of leadership.
STANDARD 4: CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION, AND ASSESSMENT
Effective educational leaders develop and support intellectually rigorous and coherent systems of curriculum, instruction, and assessment to promote each students academic success and well-being. Effective leaders:
a) Implement coherent systems of curriculum, instruction, and assessment that promote the mission, vision, and core values of the school, embody high expectations for student learning, align with academic standards, and are culturally responsive.
b) Align and focus systems of curriculum, instruction, and assessment within and across grade levels to promote student academic success, love of learning, the identities and habits of learners, and healthy sense of self.
c) Promote instructional practice that is consistent with knowledge of child learning and development, effective pedagogy, and the needs of each student.
d) Ensure instructional practice that is intellectually challenging, authentic to student experiences, recognizes student strengths, and is differentiated and personalized.
e) Promote the effective use of technology in the service of teaching and learning.
f) Employ valid assessments that are consistent with knowledge of child learning and development and technical standards of measurement.
g) Use assessment data appropriately and within technical limitations to monitor student progress and improve instruction.
STANDARD 5: COMMUNITY OF CARE AND SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS
Effective educational leaders cultivate an inclusive, caring, and supportive school community that promotes the academic success and well-being of each student. Effective leaders:
a) Build and maintain a safe, caring, and healthy school environment that meets that the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs of each student.
b) Create and sustain a school environment in which each student is known, accepted and valued, trusted and respected, cared for, and encouraged to be an active and responsible member of the school community.
c) Provide coherent systems of academic and social supports, services, extracurricular activities, and accommodations to meet the range of learning needs of each student.
d) Promote adult-student, student-peer, and school-community relationships that value and support academic learning and positive social and emotional development.
e) Cultivate and reinforce student engagement in school and positive student conduct.
f) Infuse the schools learning environment with the cultures and languages of the schools community
STANDARD 6: PROFESSIONAL CAPACITY OF SCHOOL PERONNEL
ffective educational leaders develop the professional capacity and practice of school personnel to promote each students academic success and well-being. Effective leaders:
a) Recruit, hire, support, develop, and retain effective and caring teachers and other professional staff and form them into an educationally effective faculty.
b) Plan for and manage staff turnover and succession, providing opportunities for effective induction and mentoring of new personnel.
c) Develop teachers and staff members professional knowledge, skills, and practice through differentiated opportunities for learning and growth, guided by understanding of professional and adult learning and development.
d) Foster continuous improvement of individual and collective instructional capacity to achieve outcomes envisioned for each student.
e) Deliver actionable feedback about instruction and other professional practice through valid, research-anchored systems of supervision and evaluation to support the development of teachers and staff members knowledge, skills, and practice.
f) Empower and motivate teachers and staff to the highest levels of professional practice and to continuous learning and improvement.
g) Develop the capacity, opportunities, and support for teacher leadership and leadership from other members of the school community.
h) Promote the personal and professional health, well-being, and work-life balance of faculty and staff.
i) Tend to their own learning and effectiveness through reflection, study, and improvement, maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
STANDARD 7: PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY FOR TEACHERS AND STAFF:
Effective educational leaders foster a professional community of teachers and other professional staff to promote each students academic success and well-being. Effective leaders:
a) Develop workplace conditions for teachers and other professional staff that promote effective professional development, practice, and student learning.
b) Empower and entrust teachers and staff with collective responsibility for meeting the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs of each student, pursuant to the mission, vision, and core values of the school.
c) Establish and sustain a professional culture of engagement and commitment to shared vision, goals, and objectives pertaining to the education of the whole child; high expectations for professional work; ethical and equitable practice; trust and open communication; collaboration, collective efficacy, and continuous individual and organizational learning and improvement.
d) Promote mutual accountability among teachers and other professional staff for each students success and the effectiveness of the school as a whole.
e) Develop and support open, productive, caring, and trusting working relationships among leaders, faculty, and staff to promote professional capacity and the improvement of practice.
f) Design and implement job-embedded and other opportunities for professional learning collaboratively with faculty and staff.
g) Provide opportunities for collaborative examination of practice, collegial feedback, and collective learning.
h) Encourage faculty-initiated improvement of programs and practices.
STANDARD 8: MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT OF FAMILIES AND COMMUNITY:
Effective educational leaders engage families and the community in meaningful, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial ways to promote each students academic success and well-being. Effective leaders:
a) Are approachable, accessible, and welcoming to families and members of the community.
b) Create and sustain positive, collaborative, and productive relationships with families and the community for the benefit of students.
c) Engage in regular and open two-way communication with families and the community about the school, students, needs, problems, and accomplishments.
d) Maintain a presence in the community to understand its strengths and needs, develop productive relationships, and engage its resources for the school.
e) Create means for the school community to partner with families to support student learning in and out of school.
f) Understand, value, and employ the communitys cultural, social, intellectual, and political resources to promote student learning and school improvement.
g) Develop and provide the school as a resource for families and the community.
h) Advocate for the school and district, and for the importance of education and student needs and priorities to families and the community.
i) Advocate publicly for the needs and priorities of students, families, and the community.
j) Build and sustain productive partnerships with public and private sectors to promote school improvement and student learning.
STANDARD 9: OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT:
Effective educational leaders manage school operations and resources to promote each students academic success and well-being. Effective leaders:
a) Institute, manage, and monitor operations and administrative systems that promote the mission and vision of the school.
b) Strategically manage staff resources, assigning and scheduling teachers and staff to roles and responsibilities that optimize their professional capacity to address each students learning needs. c) Seek, acquire, and manage fiscal, physical, and other resources to support curriculum, instruction, and assessment; student learning community; professional capacity and community; and family and community engagement.
d) Are responsible, ethical, and accountable stewards of the schools monetary and nonmonetary resources, engaging in effective budgeting and accounting practices.
e) Protect teachers and other staff members work and learning from disruption.
f) Employ technology to improve the quality and efficiency of operations and management.
g) Develop and maintain data and communication systems to deliver actionable information for classroom and school improvement.
h) Know, comply with, and help the school community understand local, state, and federal laws, rights, policies, and regulations so as to promote student success.
i) Develop and manage relationships with feeder and connecting schools for enrollment management and curricular and instructional articulation.
j) Develop and manage productive relationships with the central office and school board.
k) Develop and administer systems for fair and equitable management of conflict among students, faculty and staff, leaders, families, and community.
l) Manage governance processes and internal and external politics toward achieving the schools mission and vision.
STANDARD 10: SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT:
Effective educational leaders act as agents of continuous improvement to promote each students academic success and well-being. Effective leaders:
a) Seek to make school more effective for each student, teachers and staff, families, and the community.
b) Use methods of continuous improvement to achieve the vision, fulfill the mission, and promote the core values of the school.
c) Prepare the school and the community for improvement, promoting readiness, an imperative for improvement, instilling mutual commitment and accountability, and developing the knowledge, skills, and motivation to succeed in improvement.
d) Engage others in an ongoing process of evidence-based inquiry, learning, strategic goal setting, planning, implementation, and evaluation for continuous school and classroom improvement.
e) Employ situationally-appropriate strategies for improvement, including transformational and incremental, adaptive approaches and attention to different phases of implementation.
f) Assess and develop the capacity of staff to assess the value and applicability of emerging educational trends and the findings of research for the school and its improvement.
g) Develop technically appropriate systems of data collection, management, analysis, and use, connecting as needed to the district office and external partners for support in planning, implementation, monitoring, feedback, and evaluation.
h) Adopt a systems perspective and promote coherence among improvement efforts and all aspects of school organization, programs, and services.
i) Manage uncertainty, risk, competing initiatives, and politics of change with courage and perseverance, providing support and encouragement, and openly communicating the need for, process for, and outcomes of improvement efforts.
j) Develop and promote leadership among teachers and staff for inquiry, experimentation and innovation, and initiating and implementing improvement.
