Florida 's Laws Regarding The Instruction Of Exceptional Students

Disability can impact on many areas of a child’s life and it is essential that we plan and support the child in all these areas so they can achieve realistic goals for thir age and abilities.

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.

If a student has a learning disability that should be immediately addressed by perhaps sending those students for one hour to a special need class at the school or getting permission from the parent to provide him or her with tutorial on certain days, if it is necessary this show that the

This is called due process. This procedure of obtaining consent for an assessment insures the fairness of educational decisions and the responsibility of both the school professionals and the parents. McLoughlin (2008) Once the consent has been given in writing, a systematic plan for assessment is developed, called the Individualized Assessment Plan or IAP. The IAP focuses on three main areas of concern; the student’s skills and abilities, the curriculum, and the learning environment. This allows the assessment to concentrate on the areas pertinent to education, provide information about instructional design, placement, and other aspects of the educational program. These assessments include a general IQ test (WISC), an academic proficiency test (Woodcock Johnson III), and a social-emotional test (BASC). Additional non-formal testing such as speech and language assessments and academic indicator exams may also be administered depending on the IAP and the specific concerns of the student. The IAP must be completed within 30 days to prevent the prolonged delay of services for students who are eligible and need special education

First, Rather than focusing on the child's learning deficiencies, emphasize and reward the child’s strengths and encourage them to find new interest and hobbies. Second it is important to meet with the child's teachers, tutors, and school support personnel to understand performance levels, and attitude toward school. After the student has been evaluated they are now eligible for special education services. Special education services are provided to student to work with a team of professionals, including your child's teacher, to develop an Individualized Education Program. The individualized education program is created to provide a summary of child’s current education and future goals within education. Children with learning disabilities need to know that they are loved and that they are not dumb. They need to know that they are intelligent normal people who just have trouble learning because their mind process words and information differently. Students with learning disabilities are just like every other student they just need more focus on certain learning

In 1991 the Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was replaced by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This law was passed to provide free and appropriate public education to every child with a disability. It requires that each child with a disability “have access to the program best suited to that child’s special needs which is as close as possible to a normal child’s educational program” (Martin, 1978). The Individualized education program (IEP) was developed to help provide a written record of students’ needs and procedures for each child that receives special education services. The IEP will list all the services to be provided, the student's performance level, academic performance, and

The special education teacher is in charge of informing the family on when and where the Individualized Education Program will take place. The family of the student will discuss the necessary content of the individual’s program, how reports will be received to express the child’s progress, and who will be included within the Individualized Education Program team. There will also be considerations in the development of the program, the specific role of the regular education teacher, and the requests of review and revision of the Individualized Education Program. Overall, the family plays a huge role in developing the Individualized Education Program and the parent’s consent must be obtained in order for the IEP to go forward or even be altered.

IFSP focuses on individualizes supports for a child and their family to enhance the development of the child. It minimizes the need for special education.

There are a few ways to try and minimize the label of disability placed unjustly on students due to diversity. When compiling individual assessments more extensive background information needs to be gathered pertaining to school attendance, family structure, cultural beliefs, household changes and moves, and medical, developmental, and educational histories (Ralabate, & Klotz, 2007). If there is a possible language barrier then a dual language assessment evaluation should be given. Also included in an individualized comprehensive evaluation is how a student responds to scientific evidence-based interventions.

An accommodation is considered standard when a change in the routine conditions under which students take MCAS tests and does not alter what the test is intended to measure. MCAS defines a nonstandard accommodation as an accommodation that changes the way an MCAS test is presented or changes the way a student responds to test questions; and alters a portion of what the test is intended to measure. Nonstandard accommodations, such as a test administrator reading aloud the English Language Arts Reading Comprehension test, are intended for use by a very small number of students with disabilities who meet certain

Students with disabilities are increasingly being included in large scale, high-stakes testing programs despite inadequate accommodations. In recent years, the school system has increased pressure on students in regards to testing. In the past, Kentucky has done a poor job of including impaired students in its statewide assessments; mainly in failing to provide the mandated accommodations for disabled students. In order to help these students with their learning skills, test scores, appropriate testing accommodations and the performance of students with disabilities. Results indicate that most Kentucky students have been included in the CATS assessment, but many the scores obtained from disabled students may not be reliable due to

Information about current educational performance and how the disability affects the child’s involvement and progress in the general curriculum (TEKS).

“The IEP, Individualized Education Program, is a document that is developed for each public school child who is eligible for special education” The IEP describes how the student learns, how the student best demonstrates that learning and what teachers and service providers will do to help the student learn more effectively. When developing an IEP the team will consider how their students specific disability affects their learning and come up with goals and objectives that will accommodate those needs and place the student in the least restrictive environment to achieve the goals and

In order for a student to be diagnosed for any disability, there is a process that involves many people that are important in the child’s life. The school must conduct tests that measure the child’s academic success in the classroom, as well as tests that measure IQ (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children), work samples, developmental history (usually get this information from the parents), physical exams (vision, hearing etc.), psychological tests, adaptive skills (BASC) and other areas as needed. Testing is usually done by professionals from various disciplines. In order to qualify for special education services under IDEA, the disability must impact the child’s ability to be academically successful (IDEA, 2004).

Since I have a special needs child, and have taught for sixteen years, I was familiar with many of the questions asked on the self-study assignment. However, I did gain a few new insights about students identified with moderate to severe/profound disabilities in our school district. Since I teach in the elementary school, I was unaware of the number of special needs students with