Special Education
What is special education?
Special education is free specially designed instruction developed for students to meet the unique needs of their disability. The specially designed instruction includes services, supports, programs, modifications, and specialized placements (if needed). Special education was created to guarantee that all the educational needs of students are met. In order to see if a student qualifies for special education, they must receive a comprehensive evaluation by their local public school.
Evaluation:
The evaluation process consists of three components: assessments, observations, and a team meeting. After the assessments and observations are conducted, a team meeting with the school psychologist, special education teacher, parents, and service providers if needed (speech language pathologists, occupational and physical therapists, school counselors) will take place to determine if the student falls under one of the IDEA’s categories of disabilities and if so, does the disability affect their ability to make progress in school.
If through the evaluation it is determined that a student qualifies for special education because they have an IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) disability and the disability affects their learning then an IEP (individualized education plan) will be developed for the student. The IEP outlines the student’s present level of performance, what their disability classification is, the supports and modifications they will receive due to their disability, the goals for the student and how the goals will be measured, and lastly the services they will get, how often they will get the services, where they will be give the services, and the manner they will receive their services (individual or group setting).
IDEA’s categories of disabilities:
Autism
Deaf-Blindness
Deafness
Emotional Disturbance
Hearing Impairment
Intellectual Disability
Multiple Disabilities
Orthopedic Impairment
Other Health Impairment (ADHD, executive function)
Specific learning disability (dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia)
Speech or language impairment
Traumatic brain injury
Visual impairment, including blindness
What if students don’t qualify for an IEP?
Students who don’t qualify for an IEP can still get services. A 504 plan can be developed for students who still require special education, but can’t receive an IEP due to their evaluation not determining them to have one of the disabilities defined by The IDEA. A 504 plan is a framework for how the school will support a student with a disability and remove the barriers they have to optimize learning. The 504 plan lists the accommodations that will help the student in school.
How is special education related to Jump into Literacy?
Many of the IDEA’s categories of disabilities affect literacy development. This further disadvantages special education students. Understanding how the disability affects literacy development is important for it allows a literacy curriculum to be created that will help the student. Jump into Literacy eliminates the learning disadvantages that affect special education students and restore the low self-esteem that many special education students have with literacy.