|
by María
Treviño,
Texas Education Agency
NOTE: This paper was published June 2003
as Issue 9 of the LOTE CED Communiqué.
It may be reproduced and distributed to others with acknowledgement
of the LOTE CED as the source. For
best results printing, please access the PDF version
(523K) of this document.
Texas Education AgencyIn September 2002, I was involved in an
Action Research Initiative sponsored by the Languages Other Than
English Center for Educator Development (LOTE CED). Eleven participants
selected topics of interest related to teaching about which they
would pose a question, research an answer, and develop solutions
to improve instruction and learning in their classrooms. I selected
inclusion in the LOTE classroom for many reasons, but most importantly
because of the current influx of special needs students into
LOTE classes. Foreign language teachers struggle to find ways
to teach students with special needs so that they can be successful
language learners. Furthermore, Texas Education Code 28.025 requires
that incoming freshmen of 2004-2005 graduate under the Recommended
Program which calls for Levels I and II of a foreign language.
This means there will be more special needs students in LOTE
classrooms, and teachers will need to be better prepared to develop
and carry out these students’ Individualized Education
Programs (IEPs). To accomplish this task, teachers will need
to be even more highly skilled in their craft and more knowledgeable
about special needs students.
In this brief, I outline a plan
for helping foreign language teachers improve instruction and
learning for special needs students.
In the process, I discuss changes in the student population of
foreign language classrooms and provide background information
on the laws that led to the recognition of the rights of students
with disabilities and that mandated their mainstreaming into
regular education. I share personal reflections and encounters
that I have had with special needs students during my teaching
career, experiences with which many language teachers will likely
identify. I present information gathered from a survey conducted
as part of my research project on inclusion and LOTE and discuss
the initial steps in a follow-up project begun by participants
at the Texas Conference on Coordinating Languages in April 2003.
Finally, I outline proposed future projects regarding inclusion
in the LOTE classroom. I hope that as language teachers read
this issue brief, they become more knowledgeable about inclusion
and the laws regarding its implementation, feel better about
teaching special needs students, and begin a working relationship
with their special education colleagues to help make language
learning a goal for all students.
Meeting Learners’ Special
Needs
LOTE Classrooms: Then and Now. I have
been in education for 31 years, and like so many others who have
been around this
long,
I have seen many changes. The field of foreign languages is certainly
no exception. Foreign language education has made tremendous
advances in all arenas: language instruction, textbooks, materials,
name changes (languages other than English), and especially offering
foreign languages to all students. Our classes have changed dramatically
over the years from enrolling college-bound students with high
grade point averages to including all students of diverse abilities
in the language classroom. At the state level, LOTE is considered
an enrichment content area, but because of the two-year language
requirement for the Recommended Program and the three-year language
requirement for the Distinguished Achievement Program, school
districts often seek to promote foreign language study so that
students can graduate with more than the Minimum Program. In
reality, LOTE has become the fifth core academic area for many
districts along with English Language Arts, Social Studies, Science,
and Mathematics.
When I began my teaching career, the situation
was quite different. Students could only enroll in a foreign
language if they had
a grade of B in English and a recommendation from the English
teacher or guidance counselor. The language teacher was not even
included in the decision-making process. In my classes, I had
mostly students who were high academic achievers, and although
I do not recall a special education department, I do remember
that we received a list from the counselors of those few students
in our classes who were considered “slow learners.” We
were advised that these students needed more time to do their
work, but there was no special staff development for teachers,
and there was no meeting between all concerned individuals to
discuss the students’ educational plans. Teachers read
their lists, made a notation to provide additional assistance,
and moved forward.
During my second year of teaching, I had a
student who required more attention, more time for daily work
and tests, more explanation–more
of everything. In addition to regular classroom instruction,
the student came to my class almost every day before or after
school for additional help. We reviewed the material orally and
in writing and used as many hands-on activities as possible.
She was a delightful student, and she tried very hard. Her mother
wanted her to be a doctor, so she felt more than a bit pressured
to be successful in her classes. One day, this student became
so frustrated that she put her hands on her head in desperation
and said to me, “Sra. Treviño, are you sure you
know how to teach Spanish?” At first I was speechless but
finally said to her, “Yes
hijita*, I
know how to teach Spanish. I just need to find a way to teach you.” She
ultimately passed my class with a C+ and was rightfully proud of her grade.
I, however, was even more proud of the effort that she had invested
to be successful.
inoculate - graft
As a second year teacher, this incident had
a profound effect on me; I realized there was a very long road
ahead. From that
moment, I began to work with the administration and counselors
to change the district regulations regarding student enrollment
in foreign languages. Languages were not just for those college-bound
students with a B in English, and these regulations were keeping
many students from studying a foreign language: average students,
native Spanish-speakers, and special needs students. This experience
helped me to recognize that all students could be successful
if given the right opportunities in the classroom to use their
unique strengths.
Thirty years later, enrollment in foreign languages
has increased to the point that many classes are overflowing,
sometimes with
35 students or more. Most classes are heterogeneous, combining
gifted and talented, average ability, native-speaking, and special
needs students, and teachers are struggling to find the right
combination of instructional strategies to help all of them be
successful. The Texas Education Agency’s TEA Snapshot for
2002 indicates that there were 339,270 gifted and talented students
identified in Texas, or 8.2% of the student population. Special
education data shows that 485,010 special needs students were
identified in the same year. The high enrollment number in special
education clearly indicates a need for specialized training so
that teachers can help students with disabilities achieve their
educational goals in the LOTE classroom and others. But although
Texas Administrative Code 89.2 requires teachers of gifted students
to complete 30 hours of special training with six hours of follow-up
training each year, no such requirement exists for teachers who
must meet the needs of students with disabilities. Teachers must
seek out training on their own unless a district has a specific
requirement for teachers regarding such staff development.
LOTE
Learners: The Law and Compliance. The education of
children with disabilities was first addressed in 1966 with the
amendment
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965
which provided grants to states to help educate children with
disabilities. In 1974, Public Law (PL) 93-380 required states
to adopt a goal of providing “full educational opportunities
to all children with disabilities.” In 1975, Congress enacted
PL 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act which
paved the way for federal funds to be used to ensure that students
with disabilities were given equal opportunity to obtain an education.
Each act included changes to improve upon previous acts so that
special needs students could receive a free and appropriate public
education. In addition, Congress addressed special education
through the Vocational Education Amendments of 1968, the Economic
Opportunity Act of 1972, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the
Higher Education Amendments of 1972, and the Developmental Disabilities
Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 1974 (Turnbull and Turnbull,
1998).
In reviewing the list of early laws enacted to help children
and adults with disabilities, I am astonished that my colleagues
and I did not hear about them as we worked through our undergraduate
studies in the 1970s and 1980s. There was no mention of them
in our education courses or our student teaching; learning to
work with special education students was simply not part of the
education curriculum. If ESEA was implemented in 1965, why were
prospective teachers not exposed to the law? During my student
teaching, I did not encounter any students with special needs
in my classes, but I did observe that special education students
in this particular district were kept separate from those in
regular education–total exclusion. There were no integrated
classes, no socializing at lunch among the two student populations.
My first shock came when I saw some Spanish-speaking students
mixed in with students who had been classified as mentally retarded.
I inquired about their situation since the Spanish speakers did
not seem to be developmentally delayed and was amazed to learn
that they were considered “special ed” because they
could not speak English! The mere fact that the students could
not speak English because they had not been taught English classified
them as retarded. The strong wake-up call I experienced upon
learning of such policies made me question whether I wanted to
pursue a career in teaching. In the long run, however, the experience
made me even more passionate about pursuing education and eliminating
such treatment of students.
The special education program in the
school where I began my professional teaching career in 1972
was also totally exclusionary.
The special education building was the one farthest from the
main campus and, just as I had observed in student teaching,
special education students were not allowed to mingle with regular
education students. In fact, those students did not know what
to make of this isolated group and, in some cases, were actually
scared of them. This scenario was, no doubt, repeated throughout
Texas and probably the nation. If PL 93-380 and PL 94-142 required
states to give equal educational opportunities to handicapped
and disabled children, why did we not see their implementation
at the district level? I had begun teaching in a poor school
district with obviously limited resources, and there were hundreds
of districts in the same economic situation–as there are
today. But economic difficulties did not excuse districts then–or
now–from implementing the law, and there were many court
cases to force districts to comply regardless of the funding
available to them.
In fact, at that time, schools and teachers
were not prepared to deal with students with disabilities. Most
school districts
did not have funding for special programs, nor were they compelled
to address full education of special needs students when they
were struggling to meet the basic requirements established for
the regular education population. Administrators that did attempt
to provide an appropriate learning environment for special needs
students usually based their programs on conventional practices
of the time. But more time and more conventional practice was
not an effective prescription for students with various disabilities.
What teachers needed, but simply did not have, were the necessary
skills to help special needs students be successful in the regular
education classroom.
As I reflect on my early experiences and look at the dates when
many laws were enacted, I ask myself how so little could have
happened over time. I was not an administrator having to make
day-by-day decisions that affected all aspects of educational
practice for hundreds or thousands of students, but I cannot
help but wonder how many children fell through the cracks. What
could have been done to provide the best possible education for
all students? What kind of training would have helped teachers
help special needs students succeed? These questions come too
late for students that passed through the educational system
in the years prior to true mainstreaming, but the answers can
now be applied to ensure success for all students.
LOTE for All:
An IDEA Whose Time Has Come. Even today, despite
subsequent laws that have passed, students with disabilities
continue to face discrimination in education. In an article in
Education Life, Tracey Harden, the parent of a child with disabilities,
says that “while inclusion gets a lot of lip service, it
is one thing to say it, another to do it. Schools tend to be
more accommodating of obvious physical problems than hidden problems
like learning disabilities.” Nevertheless, according to
Turnbull and Turnbull (1998), there are several factors that
have contributed to positive changes in the education and treatment
of students with disabilities. The first was a gradual change
in ideology: “less able” no longer meant “less
worthy,” a recognition that came about through a combination
of legal, political, and human services doctrines. Second, the
terminology used to describe those with special needs changed
from the negative image evoked by “handicapped” to “persons
with disabilities.” (As language teachers, we recognize
that word choice does matter.) Third, scientists were able to
show that persons with mental retardation are capable of learning
different amounts of information in different ways. Fourth, technology
advanced tremendously to allow the use of adaptive devices for
disabled persons. Fifth, family leadership came to the forefront
as families led the movement for better laws for the disabled.
Finally, powerful leaders like President John F. Kennedy, Senator
Hubert Humphrey, and Representative James Foggarty became advocates
and brought these issues before Congress, helping pave the way
for new laws.
In response to repeated complaints about discrimination
against the disabled, Congress passed several entitlements.*
In 1997,
PL 105-17, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
was passed providing federal assistance to special needs students.
In IDEA, Congress recognized 20 years of research and experience
that demonstrates the education of children with disabilities
can be more effective if:
- there are high expectations for these children;
- parents and families
have a stronger role in the educational process;
- local educational
service agencies, state, and federal governments work together
for the benefit of the students;
- these children are provided with
the appropriate services and support in the regular classroom;
- there
is intensive professional development for all personnel;
and
- there
is a focus on resources for teaching and learning.
Based on these
research findings, the purposes of IDEA are:
- (a) to ensure that all children
with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate
public education that emphasizes
special education and related services designed to meet their unique
needs and prepare them for employment and independent
living; (b) to ensure that the rights of children with disabilities
and parents of such children are protected; and (c) to assist States,
localities, educational service agencies, and Federal
agencies
to provide for the education of all children with disabilities;
- to assist States in the implementation of a statewide, comprehensive,
coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency
system of early intervention
services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and
their families;
- to ensure that educators and parents have the necessary
tools to improve educational results for children with
disabilities by supporting systemic-change activities; coordinated
research
and personnel preparation; coordinated technical assistance,
dissemination, and support; and technology development
and media
services; and
- to assess, and ensure the effectiveness of,
efforts to educate children with disabilities.
Furthermore, IDEA
recognized the following categories as eligible for services
(definitions from A Guide to the Admission,
Review
and Dismissal Process, 2002):
a. Mental
Retardation (Educable
Mentally Retarded) – Significantly
sub-average general intellectual functioning existing
concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested
during
the development period.
b. Auditory
Impairment – Hearing
impairment, permanent or fluctuating, includes any
degree of hearing loss ranging
from mild to profound resulting in a diagnosis of hard
of hearing
or deaf.
c. Speech or Language
Impairment – Communication
disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation,
and language or
voice impairments that adversely affects educational
performance.
d. Visual Impairment
and Blindness – Visual impairment
includes any type of sight problem which, even with
correction, adversely affects educational performance.
e. Emotional
Disturbance – A diagnosis of emotional
disturbance means that the student exhibits one or
more of specified characteristics
that are not the result of a temporary reaction to
home, school, or community situations.
f. Orthopedic Impairment – A
severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects
educational performance, including
those caused by congenital anomaly, disease, or other
causes.
g. Autism – A developmental delay that significantly
affects verbal and nonverbal communication and social
interaction.
h. Traumatic Brain Injury – A sudden injury to the brain
caused by an external event, resulting in total or partial
functional disability or psychosocial impairment or both that
adversely
affects the student’s educational performance.
i. Other
Health Impaired – Limited strength, vitality,
or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental
stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect
to the educational environment.
j. Specific Learning Disability – A
disorder in one or more of the processes needed to
receive, understand, or
express
information. The student can have difficulty with basic
reading skills, reading comprehension, written expression,
mathematics
calculation, listening comprehension, and/or oral expression.
k. Deaf-Blind – Combination
of hearing and visual impairments that causes severe communication
and other developmental
and educational problems.
l. Multiple Impairment – Multiple
disabilities that occur in combination with each other
and cause severe educational
problems.
When faced with this potential array of disabilities
in the classroom, what must go through the minds of teachers
as
they see the scores
of faces looking back at them, many with special needs? Beginning
teachers are struggling to learn the school routine and environment,
attending required meetings and staff development, and designing
lessons that engage all students. How can they manage 35
or more students as well as multiple learner variables? Veteran
teachers
may rely on instincts developed over years of classroom experience
to deal with students with special needs. They may even have
participated in some staff development that enriched their
knowledge of learning styles, learning disabilities, and
teaching
strategies.
Still, interviews indicate a high level of frustration among
foreign language teachers at all levels of experience, and
most of this frustration stems from the lack of discipline-specific
training in working with special needs students. The challenge
facing teachers as they address issues of inclusion is one
I
recognize and seek to address through the research project
discussed below.
Meeting Teachers’ Special Needs
Step One: Inclusion Survey. Although
school districts have been mainstreaming students for years,
many more such placements
have
occurred since the implementation of IDEA. Districts have
become more sensitive to students’ educational and
environmental needs, and curriculum specialists are working
with teachers to
improve overall instruction. Many districts are playing “catch-up” in
providing access to school facilities since many school buildings
were built years before accessibility became an issue. Special
education funding has helped districts provide better educational
opportunities for students with disabilities as they have
been mainstreamed into the regular curriculum. But while
funds have
been used to develop curricula and provide staff development
for teachers, it is challenging to meet the specific needs
of every discipline. Because they work with limited staff
development
funds, districts must determine which training model can
best be replicated by different disciplines at the campus
level. It
has been my personal experience and that of many respondents
to the survey discussed below that most of the special education
staff development is generic and not discipline-specific.
Although special needs students have been enrolled in LOTE
classes for years, I wondered how successful we have been
in teaching
them? How successful have the students been in learning the
foreign language of their choice? What can be done to help
foreign language
teachers meet the demands placed on them and help special
needs learners? My first step in answering this question
was to gather
information on the current state of affairs. To that end,
I developed a survey entitled Inclusion in the LOTE Classroom
which was published
in the LOTE CED Lowdown (Vol. 6.1), a newsletter developed
and distributed by the Languages Other Than English Center
for Educator
Development. The survey was also published in the Texas Foreign
Language Association (TFLA) Newsletter and distributed at
the
TFLA Conference in Fort Worth in the fall of 2002. Teachers
were asked to provide information regarding their teaching
experience,
their experience in teaching special needs students, their
involvement in developing IEPs and participating in Admission,
Review, and
Dismissal meetings (ARDs), formal special education training,
and special education staff development specific to LOTE.
Teachers were asked to list two or three learning disabilities
of students
they were currently teaching plus the accommodations and
modifications they were using to meet the students’ needs.
The following is an overview of findings obtained from the
surveys.
IEPs, ARDs, and Staff Development. The 148 surveys
received by the initial deadline included teachers of Spanish,
French,
German,
Latin, Japanese, and Chinese at the middle and high school
levels, ranging from first-year teachers to those with over
25 years
of classroom experience. Twenty-one of the 148 teachers had
formal special education training while 62 teachers had received
some
staff development related to special needs students in the
LOTE classroom; however, the length and depth of the staff
development
was not included for either category. Ninety-eight teachers
indicated they had participated in ARDs, while 50 had not,
even though
39 of the 50 had students with IEPs!
Learning Disabilities. On the survey, teachers listed
all of the disability categories addressed by IDEA (see page
4). They
mentioned students who were dyslexic/dysgraphic, had hearing,
visual, and speech impairments, and were emotionally disturbed.
Teachers also indicated they had students with attention
deficit disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder,
autism,
muscular dystrophy, and Tourette’s syndrome. Some students
were physically handicapped, paraplegic, or had other health
impairments.
Noted also were students with severe depression; mental retardation;
Down syndrome; obsessive/compulsive disorders; and disabilities
in auditory processing, reading comprehension, written expression,
and cognitive difficulty. Surveys indicated some students
had low IQs and still others were performing below grade
level and
exhibiting low self-esteem. One shocking finding was that
two respondents thought that having English as a second language
was a disability!
Modifications and Accommodations. It was
evident from the findings that teachers are still confused
as to the difference
between
a modification and an accommodation for special needs learners.
While it is important to note that these terms are not used
consistently throughout Texas or the United States (modifications,
accommodations,
and adaptations are often used interchangeably), according
to the Texas Education Agency’s Special Education Division,
a modification is something that a teacher does to modify
the content, i.e., a modification of the TEKS as outlined
by an IEP.
An accommodation is what a teacher does to help the student
that changes the learning environment, such as altered seating
arrangements,
use of large print texts, or administration of oral versions
of tests. The respondents’ confusion of the terms was
evident in that the same or similar activities were sometimes
listed
under both categories. Modifications listed included: use
notes when taking a test, allow more time to finish work,
give preferential
seating, give more projects, highlight texts, assign less
homework, give oral directions, assign peer tutoring, tape
reading assignments,
give shorter, modified tests, etc. Sample accommodations
listed include: make special handouts, one-to-one instruction,
modify
tests, give more multiple choice tests, use manipulatives,
change seating arrangements, pair reading, divide tasks into
smaller
segments, etc.
Legal responsibilities. According to responses
on the survey, some teachers were not aware of their legal
responsibilities
regarding students with disabilities.* Other comments included: “I
don’t know the difference between a modification and
an accommodation.” “Large class size hinders
special help for any student.” “I often am at
a loss. I do not understand what is expected of me for these
students. Help
me understand!” “I hear teachers saying such
things as ‘but this is a foreign language. If the student
can’t
perform, he shouldn’t be here.’ We need to know
what our legal responsibilities are, and how to fulfill them.”
Conclusions. The variety and quantity of disabilities
that teachers see on a daily basis can be overwhelming. Teachers
are asked
to comply with IEPs based on ARDs into which they have had
no input. This is a critical omission because the teacher
is ultimately
responsible and legally liable for implementing the IEP and,
therefore, should contribute to what the IEP outlines for
the student in order to ensure his or her success. Obviously,
for
LOTE teachers to provide meaningful input into the IEP, they
need to have discipline-specific training in recognizing
appropriate accommodations and modifications for a variety
of disabilities.
Unfortunately, there are often not enough special education
staff members to provide individual assistance to every teacher
who
has students with IEPs. Foreign language teachers need to
initiate contact and should do so for their own benefit,
as well as
for the students. Jacquelene Turner, Coordinator for Instructional
Programs in Corpus Christi ISD, tells teachers that they
can find support from occupational therapists, physical therapists,
school psychologists, special education teachers, speech
and
language pathologists, educational diagnosticians, audiologists,
and program specialists. Special education staff are not
LOTE teachers and LOTE teachers are not special education
specialists,
so to provide the best possible learning environment for
all students, deciding on an appropriate strategy must become
a
collaborative
effort.
Step Two: Texas Conference on Coordinating Languages. In
April 2003, the Texas Association for Language Supervision sponsored
the 33rd Annual Texas Conference on Coordinating Languages
(TECCL). The focus for this conference was Inclusion in the
LOTE Classroom:
Promoting Success for Special Needs Students. I had the honor
of coordinating the program as an extension of my action
research project and continuing the investigation and development
of
much needed special education materials for LOTE teachers.
Ms. Jacquelene
Turner graciously accepted an invitation to present a session
entitled Special Education in Any Language: Clearly Spoken
Here! In addition, Dr. M. K. McChristian, Director for Languages
other
than English and Mr. Steve Erwin, Director, Technical Assistance & Quality
Assurance, Special Education Department, both from the Richardson
Independent School District, agreed to present a session
on Creating the LD Friendly LOTE Classroom: Strategies for
Success. Though
participants came to the conference with a range of special
education training (or none), both presentations helped lay
the groundwork
for developing materials to help foreign language teachers
work with special needs students. Participants were able
to focus
on special education issues and consider them from their
perspective as LOTE supervisors and teachers.
The main purpose
of the second day of the conference was to begin the development
of a handbook for LOTE teachers
to use
when developing
IEPs and writing their lessons. Participants used a template
and worked in groups to develop a list of modifications and
accommodations to address different disabilities and different
skills (speaking,
listening, reading, and writing) in the LOTE classroom. Eight
disability categories were selected based on responses from
the aforementioned survey as well as suggestions from the
participants: emotional disturbance, autism, visual impairment,
hearing impairment,
orthopedic impairment, speech/language impairment, attention
deficit disorder, and attention deficit/hyperactive disorder.
Participants worked feverishly in developing modifications,
sometimes
pausing and wondering: Is this a modification? Is this an
accommodation? Is this strategy appropriate for this category
of disability?
Jackie Turner continued as our facilitator, working with
the groups in this draft development stage which was not
an easy
one!
Step Three: Follow-up Meetings. This
summer, I plan to meet with a follow-up team of supervisors and
teachers to
continue
developing
the handbook. Consideration will be given to its format to
ensure that the handbook is user-friendly, and additional
disability categories will ultimately be included. Information
pages outlining
the characteristics of each disability will be followed by
pages
including appropriate modifications and accommodations for
LOTE learners with that disability. Special Education teachers
will
be part of the group to guide the committee as they continue
to write modifications and accommodations for the different
learning disability categories. The material developed by
the team in
addition to the material developed at TECCL will be presented
as a session at the TFLA Fall Conference in Austin this coming
October. Participants will be asked to evaluate a draft of
the handbook and to offer suggestions for additions to it.
A final
product will be printed and disseminated in the spring of
2004.
Future Initiatives. It never hurts
to dream! Despite the budget woes that are affecting the state
and local districts,
it is
my wish to continue to work with LOTE district coordinators
and teachers to develop specific staff development modules
that incorporate
training in teaching students with disabilities. The LOTE
Center for Educator Development has trained facilitators
in various
areas relating to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills:
curriculum development, performance-based assessment, rubrics,
and Spanish
for Spanish speakers. Though the LOTE CED will close its
doors as of June 30, 2003, I hope that current facilitators
and new
recruits will carry the torch in providing staff development
on teaching students with disabilities in the LOTE classroom.
It is important to note that many districts have already
begun to address this issue specifically for LOTE instruction
and
therefore will be able to contribute greatly to this endeavor.
In
sum, it is clear to me that teachers want to do their job to
the best of their ability. I believe milestones in
inclusion
can be achieved with greater collaboration among special
education staff, LOTE educators, and administrators at the
district,
campus, and state levels. The task is not an easy one, but
it can be
done. Armed with the facts, discipline-specific training,
the necessary strategies, and a positive attitude, LOTE teachers
can be successful in teaching languages other than English
to all students.
Questions for Reflection
- Do I now have additional background
that helps me understand mainstreaming of special needs students?
- Am
I aware of the laws and my legal responsibilities regarding
the instruction of special needs students and implementing
their IEPs?
- Have I participated in the ARD for every one of
my students for whom I have an IEP?
- Do I know who to contact on
my campus or at the district level for instructional assistance
for special needs students?
(List
everyone who can assist you.)
- Do I understand how my district
addresses modifications and accommodations and how I should
use them in the classroom?
- What staff development is available at
the campus, district, or regional (service centers) levels
to assist me with special
needs students?
References
Fierro-Treviño, M. J. (2002).
Inclusion in the LOTE Classroom Survey. Austin, TX: Texas Education
Agency
(Division of Curriculum
and Professional Development).
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act of 1997, Public Law 105-17 [Online: http://www.ideapractices.org/law/law/idea97A.php (link no longer working 5/2005)].
Learning with
Disabilities: A Mother’s Journey. Education
Life, (April 2003). New York: The New York Times.
Texas Education
Agency. (2002). Public Education Information Management System
(PEIMS) Data. Austin, TX: Author.
Texas Education Agency, Division
of Special Education. (2002). A Guide to the Admission, Review
and Dismissal Process. Austin,
TX: Author.
Turnbull III, J. R., & Turnbull, A. P.
(1998). Free Appropriate Public Education: The Law and Children
with
Disabilities. Denver, CO: Love Publishing Company.
Additional Resources
LD OnLine [Online: http://www.ldonline.org/teaching/ellis/index.html].
McCarney,
S. B. (1993). Pre-referral Intervention Manual. Columbia, MO:
Hawthorne Educational Services.
Shinsky, E. J. (2000). Students
with Special Needs – A
Resource Guide for Teachers. Lansing, MI: Shinsky Seminars.
The
Instant Access Treasure Chest: The Foreign Language Teacher’s
Guide to Learning Disabilities [Online: http://www.fln.vcu.edu/ld/conf.html]
Understanding
Learning Disabilities: How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T.
City Workshop. Harriman, NY: WETA Videos.
Wood, J. (2002). Reaching
the Hard to Teach. Midlothian, VA: Judy Wood, Inc.

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