Discipline Process For Special Education

Daniel RR was a six years old boy with down syndrome. He was enrolled in El Paso Independent School District. In the 1985 to 1986 school year, Daniel had attended a half-day early childhood program for special education students. Going into the next school year, Daniel’s parents asked if he could be placed into a general education pre-kindergarten classroom. Daniel was permitted to have half day in regular classroom and another half of the day in special education classroom. At the beginning, it seemed not to be the best situation for Daniel, teachers and classmates. His ability required him to get many accommodations and individual attention, and the teacher could not modify curriculum to meet Daniel’s needs without changing it completely. The school team decided to place him back to special education only classroom. But he could get lunch at school cafeteria with other students while his mother was there to supervise. He was also permitted to stay with students without disabilities at recess time. Daniel’s parents were unhappy about the school’s decision. They wanted him to spend more time with students in general education classroom. The school states that his attendance in general education

The first key principle of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is that any student regardless of their disability is entitled to a free and appropriate public education. The term zero reject is commonly used to summarize this principle. An important component of zero reject is for school administrators to understand that the state is responsible for locating, identifying, and providing for students with disabilities from birth through age twenty-one. School officials play an important role in carrying out the state responsibility under the zero reject principle. This principle both implies and specifies the concept that no matter how severe the disability may seem, all children can learn, benefit from, and are entitled to a free and appropriate public education.

“to the maximum extent appropriate” and provides that “when the nature or severity of the handicap is such that education and regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily” the student may be removed to a special education environment. (Beare, P., & Torgerson, C. , 2009, pg. 7)

Some discipline issues that teachers and administrators face are; do we set the same rules for all students, and should the students with special needs have the same consequences as general education students. Students with emotional disabilities often have difficulties with behavior in the following areas: work refusal, outburst (real or perceived persecution). I believe each situation needs to evaluated to determine the consequence of each student. Discipline decisions and actions can vary, such as, if a special needs student is out of class due to discipline issues then the teacher should make sure it is documented for the time they are removed from the classroom, if they are out for more than ten days an ARD meeting needs to be scheduled to look at changes that need to be made and a plan of action needs to take place to help the student be more successful. Some techniques that can be used are, involve all of the students in the

Another positive punishment observed on with 5th-grade general education class where a rude student is made to write an apology; the letter must

Rules, regulations, and federal laws for special education have improved as the years have gone by. This essay will indicate how educators teaching special education must comprehend the mandates of the Individual with Disability Act (IDEA), student and parental rights. This essay will also explain how court cases (past and present) and IDEA has given special education students the ability to receive a Free Appropriate Education (FAPE). My interview with Ms. Patricia Pritchett, Coordinator of Special Education in DeKalb County School District, was able to give me information and guidelines in reference to their county procedures and policies for the special education department. The interview with Ms. Pritchett gave me insight as to special education legal framework and how the constant changes that affects students with disabilities and regular education students.

Sumter County School District 17 is a public school district in South Carolina. T.H. is a student who qualifies for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Sumter County School is appealing the decision of the lower district court, who found that the school district did not provide TH with a Free Appropriate Public Education. The school is also appealing the district court’s findings, which verified that T.H’.s current placement at home was appropriate. The school argues that the home placement of T.H. was not the Least Restrictive Environment. The school district’s appeal further contends that they at least in part provided a FAPE for T.H. because he was making some educational gains during the time in question even though the school was not providing the amount of service indicated in T.H.’s Individualized Education Plan. The school also asserts that they remedied internal problems and were able to provide the full range of time and services require through T.H.’s IEP.

Special education programs and services are available in many school and are fast growing. In a high school, a principal named Debbie Young has been presented with a situation with the parents of a special education student. Mrs. Young has been a special education teacher and assistant principal in a progressive and affluent school district in the South. Mrs. Young was approached by the parents of Jonathan a severely disabled tenth grader whose parents want him to attend one of the schools in the district. He is profoundly mentally disabled, has spastic quadriplegia, and has a seizure disorder. Mrs. Young refuses his parent’s request because of the huge expenses and the school is not an appropriate place for Jonathan.

I am providing an analysis of “Who Decides Where Jerry Goes to School? Family and Educator Conflict in Special Education Placement” by John J. Steffen and Joanne M. Marshall (2006). The school and district’s administrators are facing a conflict with the placement of a special education student. After being diagnosed with several medical disabilities which affected his behavior, the student struggled to achieve success in the initial placement that was chosen for his academic experiences as part of his inclusion in the Exceptional Student Education (ESE) program. However, the procedures, decision making, communication, learning objectives, and follow up process were plagued with mistakes. This decision making process, the conflict between school administrators and parents, and the needs of the student for his success in academic achievement is the focus of this case study analysis.

Within the past decades and a big discussion has occurred regarding the most appropriate setting within which to provide education for students in special education. Although the change in the educational environment is significant for handicapped student the concepts of inclusion also bring up new issues for the regular education classroom teachers.

There are millions of children that are passing through the United States school system every day, not all children possess the same traits, and not all children can learn at the same rate, and do not perform at the same ability. The fact that all children learn differently and some have difficulties learning in general classrooms, special education was put into place to try and take care of these issues. Special education programs were put into place to help all students with disabilities. These children range from general disabilities to more complex and severe disabilities. There has been a revolution occurring in the past several years with education systems, and special education. There have now been several laws that have been

If these students were placed in a regular classroom, they were often functionally excluded, when no support was provided for the child or the teacher. In addition, many students were misclassified following inaccurate assessment, placement or tracking. These past practices have been deemed in violation of a student’s constitutional rights. As a result, IDEA now requires that the educational program that is developed by the IEP team provide the child with opportunities in the least restrictive environment (LRE). LRE is the most normal setting that is possible for the student. The team should take several things into consideration when making this determination. First, they must compare the benefits in the regular class and the benefits in the special class. The U.S. Court of Appeals determined that the appropriateness of placement in the regular classroom is not dependent on the student’s ability to learn the same things the other students learn in the regular classroom. The benefit of social interaction should also be taken into account. Second, consideration should be given to the potentially beneficial or harmful effects that placement in the regular classroom may have on the students involved. Finally, cost should be considered when determining the appropriateness of student placement.

Special Education is a topic of controversy with many advocates fighting for the justice children and adults with special needs so rightfully deserve. With laws being passed and modified so frequently, it is important that the educators being brought into the world have an extensive knowledge of the developmental needs of many different types of children. With this knowledge and their constant measures to keep up to date with the fast-moving world of education, they will be able to deliver an appropriate atmosphere that is in accordance with the law that ensures ethical practices and guidelines are always being followed.

School discipline is to ensure that students and the campus staff are safe and peaceful. According to the U.S. Department of Education on Rethinking Discipline (2017), “Teachers and students deserve school environments that are safe, supportive, and conducive to teaching and learning.” The idea is to decrease bad behavior and school violence which will lead to fewer suspensions and expulsions. There are rules and limitations when it comes to student discipline; there are acts in which students can and must be disciplined. For examples, if a student quality’s for special needs some different guidelines protect them under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s (IDEA). Furthermore, the Education Code, Section 48900 was implied to discipline students who committed any wrongful doing such as attempting or threatening to physical harm another person. In the case f any wrongfulness, the student is forced to be disciplined by being suspended or expulsed from school.

Throughout my career I have always been amazed by how little regular education teachers know about the special education process. On numerous occasions I have had teachers ask me, “Why don’t you just test him, to see if he qualifies?” And when I tried to explain that there was more to the process then just testing, most of the time the teachers would walk away in disgust, without knowing the steps we had to follow in the process.