Special Education as an Alternative to Academic Failure

Qualifications for At-Risk Status

Students are defined by the following qualifications for at-risk of academic failure.• Remediation • Retention• Dropping out• Substandard basic skills

Risk Factors Defined

• Remediation refers to additional instruction for students who do not demonstrate competency in reading, writing, and mathematics at an expected rate.

• Retention is the practice of having a student repeat a grade due to poor academic performance.

Risk Factors (continued)

• Dropouts are students who do not graduate from high school.

• Substandard basic skills exists when individuals cannot read, write, or utilize math skills at levels necessary to perform in school or in the workplace.

Poverty’s Impact on At-Risk Students

• Poverty intensifies risk factors.– Family poverty affects the status of

students at risk because students whose families live in poverty often come to school without their basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, and health care being met. –Over 25% of children living in urban areas

are living at or below the poverty level (Vaughn, Bos, Schumm, 2007).

For your Information

• Academic instruction designed to make up for lack of prior educational opportunities is called compensatory education.

• Response to Intervention (RtI)is an alternative to academic failure that should be tried prior to placement in special education.

Commonalities Among Risk Factors

• The common characteristics of students at risk is that they are not achieving in school as the should be.

• Other warning signals are poor academic performance, counterproductive attitudes/behavior toward academic success, and excessive absenteeism.

Multiple Causation Theory (MCT) of Academic Failure

• MCT suggest that some students may be at risk due to one primary condition, often multiple conditions interact to compound learning challenges.– Ex. Juan is a 4th grader reading on the 1st grade

level. His parents are migrant farm workers so Juan must move with his family at least twice a year. He has attended many different schools.

Evaluation for Special Education

• If RtI fails, special education is the next step in preventing academic failure.–An initial SPED evaluation must be

comprehensive. Information must be gathered in all areas related to the suspected disability, including information and input from the parent(s).

Comprehensive Evaluation

Individual student’s comprehensive educational evaluation should occur in the categories:

• Development • Cognition (ability to acquire knowledge)• Academic achievement,• Functional performance or adaptive behavior,• Communication skills,• Motor skills and sensory responses, and• Social and developmental history.

Evaluation (continued)

• The educational evaluation must include a review of any available medical and/or mental health information, other assessments, or information that will help the Case Conference Committee (CCC) make its determinations.

WHO CONDUCTS THE Initial SPED EVALUATION?

• A multidisciplinary team, sometimes called the M-Team, conducts the educational evaluation.

• This team likely includes a parent (s), general education teacher; a special education teacher; a school psychologist or speech language pathologist; or other qualified professional(s) based on the student’s unique needs or suspected disability.

How Long Does the Evaluation Take?

• The M-Team must complete its evaluation, and the CCC must convene within 50 school

days from the date written parental consent provided to licensed school personnel, except in five situations.

1.RtI 4. Move 2.Expedited evaluation 5. Unavailable kid3.Student’s 3rd birthday

Situation 1

• If the student has completed the RTI process and not made adequate progress within

an appropriate period of time, the school has 20 school days from the date licensed

personnel receive written parental consent to conduct the evaluation and convene

the CCC.

Situation 2

• There is a similar 20 school day timeline if the parent(s) requests an initial evaluation

• during the time a student is suspended or expelled. This is often referred to as an

• expedited evaluation.

Situation 3

• For a student who is receiving First Steps early intervention services (from birth to age 3) and transitions from the First Steps program to the public school early childhood program the timeline is different.

• In this situation, the initial educational evaluationmust be completed, the CCC convened, and any necessary special education

• services made available for the student no later than the student’s 3rd birthday.

Situation 4

• If the parent(s) provides written consent for an educational evaluation in one school corporation and the student moves to another school corporation while the evaluation is pending, the “new” school corporation must complete the educational evaluation as quickly as possible and within a time period agreed upon by the school and the parent(s).

Situation 5

• If the parent(s) repeatedly fails to make the student available for the educational evaluation the school must document these events and will not necessarily be held to the 50 school day timeline.

After the Evaluation

An evaluation report, and the school sends a written notice to the parent(s) that includes:

• A summary of the evaluation results.• The school’s proposal on the student’s disability

eligibility.• An explanation of the reasons for the school’s

proposal.Note: The school must prepare the written notice

at least five (5) school days before the Case Conference Committee meetings is scheduled to occur.

The Final Step

• The final step in the educational evaluation process is the initial Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meeting.

• The CCC reviews the evaluation results and other information, finalizes eligibility, and a develops an individualized education program.

If no request was made by the parent(s) at the time written consent was provided, the school provides a copy of the evaluation report at the IEP meeting.

Small Group Discussion

• Pick one academic risk factor you as a teacher have control over?

• What are your responsibilities regarding conditions over which you have no control?

• What happens if the parent(s) does not consent to have their child evaluated for a disability?

Questions