Thinking Vertically: Facilitating Transition for Students With Disabilities

2021 ◽  
pp. 104837132110344
Author(s):  
Ellary A. Draper
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Special Education ◽  
Early Intervention ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Special Educators ◽  
Individualized Education Program ◽  
Special Education Transition

Within special education, transition is a required part of a student’s Individualized Education Program, specifically the transition from school to postsecondary life. Recently, special educators have begun to investigate best practices of transition at all levels—early intervention into school, elementary to middle school, and middle to high school. Yet in music education transition is not widely discussed for students with and without disabilities. This article includes an overview of best practices of transition in special education and provides ideas on how to implement these practices in music education to better facilitate transition between schools to postsecondary life for students with disabilities.

Recent and Continuing Initiatives and Practices in Special Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 32-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice-Ann Darrow ◽  
Mary S. Adamek
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Special Education ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Individualized Education Program ◽  
The United States ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Basic Understanding ◽  
Education Act

A number of initiatives in special education have occurred in the United States over the years, some mandated by amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Having a working knowledge of these initiatives allows music educators to have informed discussions with colleagues and parents and participate more fully in Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. Adopting special education practices that are appropriate to music education can also promote consistent and coordinated efforts on behalf of students with disabilities. This article includes summaries of current practices and initiatives in special education. For music educators who would like a basic understanding of their colleagues’ discipline, these summaries offer useful information that can facilitate the inclusion of students with disabilities.

The Emperor Has No Clothes: Improving the Quality and Compliance of ITPs

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 146-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Greene
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Individualized Education Program ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Transition Plan ◽  
Age Appropriate ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Assessment Results

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) requires that an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for students with disabilities, age 16 years and older, include age appropriate transition assessment results aligned with measurable postsecondary goals. This section of the IEP is typically known as an Individual Transition Plan (ITP). A recent investigation found a number of ITPs did not meet the requirements of the IDEA. To support special education teachers in writing IDEA-compliant ITPs, this article presents suggestions for developing quality ITPs with specific emphasis on transition assessment. Discussion includes potential explanations for the lack of quality in presenting transition assessment results, recommendations for conducting transition assessment, transition assessment resources, and examples of quality and IDEA-compliant ITPs.

Teaching Transition Self-Determination Knowledge and Skills Using the ME! Bell Ringers

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mindy E. Lingo ◽  
Kendra L. Williams-Diehm ◽  
James E. Martin ◽  
Amber E. McConnell
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Individualized Education Program ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Self Advocacy ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Disability Awareness

Special education teachers report lack of time and a shortage of appropriate curricula as reasons impeding implementation of transition education in their classrooms. However, research indicates school and postschool outcomes of students with disabilities improve significantly with transition instruction. The ME! Lessons for Teaching Self-Awareness and Self-Advocacy materials and activities were developed to teach students to understand their disability and abilities, rights and responsibilities, and self-advocacy skills, which are all critical self-determination components. This article details a time-efficient means to teach the essence of the ME! Lessons using ME! Bell Ringers, which include instruction in self-advocacy, student involvement in individualized education program (IEP), and disability awareness, using 10-min lessons that can be taught at the beginning of class in a daily or weekly format.

Seclusion and Restraint of Students With Disabilities: A 1-Year Legal Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela M.T. Prince ◽  
June Gothberg
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Individualized Education Program ◽  
Positive Behavior Supports ◽  
Positive Behavior ◽  
Court Cases ◽  
Education Community ◽  
Special Ed ◽  
Behavior Supports

News of teenager’s death in California shocked the special education community in early December 2018. Despite the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act’s provision for positive behavior supports for students with disabilities, these inidividuals continue to be secluded and restrained at disproportionately higher rates than their nondisabled peers. Using the Special Ed Connection® database, the authors identified 11 court cases from 2018 and analyzed their contents based on individualized education program (IEP) behavior components, type of restraints used, and prevalence of seclusion. Within these cases, all 12 included students were boys, four IEPs included behavior components, nine students were physically or mechanically restrained, and two were secluded. A review of the four cases that included the use of positive behavior supports is included.

Overcoming Common Misunderstandings About Students With Disabilities Who Are English Language Learners

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory A. Cheatham ◽  
Juliet E. Hart Barnett
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Special Educators ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Individualized Education Program ◽  
Research Literature

Special education programs are increasingly serving students with disabilities who are English language learners and their families. Facilitating bilingualism is an effective practice and aligns with culturally responsive special education service provision. It is critical for special educators and service providers to learn about bilingualism, second language learning, and students with disabilities to responsibly participate in individualized education program team decision making. This column presents five misunderstandings about students who are English language learners with disabilities. Based on the research literature, responses to each misunderstanding are presented and include implications and recommendations for special educators.

scholarly journals Exploring How the Functioning of IEP Teams Online Meets the Needs of Students with Disabilities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan L. Sharp
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Individualized Education Program ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Individualized Education ◽  
Iep Team

Students with disabilities (SWD) are participating in supplemental online programs (SOP) and through the provisions of special education must receive specialized instruction to meet their academic potential. These students have a group of individuals, including educators, specialists, school leaders, and their own parents, collaborating to implement learning accommodations for them to support their academic success. This group is known as the Individualized Education Program Team (IEP Team). Without accommodations to the learning environment and to their learning activities, the academic achievement of SWD may be adversely impacted. The IEP Team must collaborate to create an effective Individualized Education Program (IEP) that is specially designed for their target student in the student’s current educational placement. Special Education Directors (SED) are central to the functioning of IEP Teams as they support SWD in SOP. This relationship, and the resulting provision of special education services, has not been thoroughly researched. The purposes of this mixed methods study were to identify the needs of SWD in SOP, to identify the processes used by IEP Teams to support SWD in SOP, and to determine how those processes meet the needs and support SWD in SOP. The first phase of research was a quantitative online survey of SED followed by a second phase of qualitative semi-structured interviews of selected participants which more fully elucidated current student needs and IEP Team processes that address those needs and support these students. Findings include a confidence in the established IEP Team process and in special education staff, concerns over the ability of special education staff to support or accommodate SWD in online courses, the perception that the needs of SWD in online educations settings are different than those in face-to-face settings, the perception that the SED give significant guidance to IEP Teams while allowing them independent function, and the use of the Covid-19 related increase in online learning to identify ways to better serve SWD online. This research suggests IEP Teams return to the IEP Team meeting and to the familiar process through which to do the requisite work to support SWD in online educational settings.

Supporting the needs of students with undiagnosed disabilities

2018 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Silverman Schechter
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Special Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Public University ◽  
School Experience ◽  
Recent Survey ◽  
Special Education Services ◽  
Education Services ◽  
Underserved Students ◽  
Postsecondary Success

Students with disabilities, especially those with non-apparent conditions, are entering universities in growing numbers. Yet more and more students are going off to college unprepared to manage their disabilities, in part because their high schools are overburdened, understaffed, and uninformed to identify and support them. A recent survey of students receiving disability supports at one public university revealed that the majority of these undergraduates with disabilities did not receive special education services in high school, instead waiting until college to seek help. Respondents reflected on what could have been improved about their high school experience, and they offered advice to school practitioners as to how to support these underserved students for postsecondary success.

scholarly journals Teachers’ Perceptions of Inclusion in a Pilot Inclusive Education Program: Implications for Instructional Leadership

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Y. Mngo ◽  
Agnes Y. Mngo
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Integrated Classrooms

The opinions of general education secondary school teachers in seven select schools involved in a pilot inclusive education program in the Northwest Region of Cameroon were sought. The findings reveal that most teachers in Cameroon still prefer separate special education institutions to inclusive ones. These conclusions contradict earlier research which showed that resistance to integrated classrooms was emanating from beliefs and customs. Teachers with some training on teaching students with disabilities and more experienced and highly educated teachers were more supportive of inclusive education indicating that resistance to the practice is linked to inadequate or complete lack of teachers’ preparedness. Younger, less experienced teachers with no training in special education indicated less enthusiasm regarding the benefits of inclusion, their ability to manage integrated classrooms, and teach students with disabilities. The implication of these findings for future research, institutional support systems, institutional policies, and overall instructional leadership is discussed in this article.

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