I truly believe in the notion of “inclusionary practices”. For I believe, like so many others, that access to and through the general education classes often presents the best setting for learning. However … I attend meeting and after meeting as an education advocate where I see inclusion appears to be an excuse of not providing specially designed instruction. I will explain:
Within the context of a student who qualifies for Special Education services, the foundation for this determination is most often guided by the team decision that this student has the following:
- Skill deficits within one or more of the following: Academics, Communication- Language, Behavior, Executive Functions – Organization, or other areas. And …
- This requires “specially designed instruction” as designated within the IEP [Individual Education Plan]
Nevertheless, I often see within the IEP documents two indicators that the specially designed instruction may not be “special” when I see that the setting for the support is within the General Education classroom and most notably, the provider of the service is the “General Education” teacher. In most cases, a certificated teacher does not have a specialization in Special Education and likely has an overwhelming class load. So I ask:
- How is this truly specially designed?
- Who really has the time to navigate class sizes above 30 plus students and provide special services to students with an IEP?
The bottom line is as follows:
- Parents are often told, “Inclusion is in your child’s best interest … the least restrictive setting” and trust the team knows what they are talking about.
- The learning goals, associated with the specially designed instruction, require close monitoring for parents to truly understand and see progress within this model.
- Often, the phrase, “making progress” is explained as “good enough” following a year of the IEP implementation rather than a deep dive into measureable goals with tight outcomes.
My suggestion is as follows:
- Make sure the IEP Learning goals are clearly defined based upon skills with clear quantifiable assessments rather than “teacher observation”.
- Make sure the IEP Learning goals are written for each area of deficit to capture the true impact of the disability within the school setting; there is NO LIMIT to the number of goals that need to be written.
- Make sure the assessment tools are understood by you, your child, and the team.
- Make sure progress monitoring occurs as needed and not just when report cards come out or within the annual IEP meeting.
Your thoughts?