Challenges and Victories of Virtual Environments With Students With Disabilities

2022 ◽  
pp. 233-256
Author(s):  
Dennis Cavitt ◽  
Danielle Kovach

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020 altered the educational environment for everyone. Moving from an in-person environment to a virtual one can be highly problematic for individuals (specifically, students with disabilities) whose teachers most often use direct instruction strategies that require face-to-face interaction. This chapter will help the reader understand the variations of the characteristics of the different disability categories served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This chapter will provide the readers with instructional strategies that effectively mitigate difficulties with instruction in a virtual environment. Additionally, this chapter will examine the challenges observed in students with disabilities that make accessing the virtual educational setting problematic. These areas include race, culture, disability, and low socioeconomic factors. Finally, this chapter will provide the reader with tips from teachers and students as they have struggled to navigate this new educational environment.

Inclusion ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E. Morningstar ◽  
Jennifer A. Kurth

Abstract Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004 established procedural mandates and accountability requirements ensuring all students with disabilities participate and progress in general education curriculum. Broadly speaking, improvements toward greater access have been found for many students with disabilities; however, the extent to which this holds true for students with extensive and pervasive support needs is not evident. Past research associated with least restrictive environment (LRE) for students with extensive and pervasive support needs was considered when replicating previous research using the cumulative placement rate to analyze LRE data for students with extensive and pervasive support needs (autism, intellectual disability, deaf blindness, and multiple disabilities). Results indicate that student with extensive and pervasive support needs have substantially less positive LRE placement trends over the past 15 years with most placed in separate classrooms and settings. Recommendations for transforming federal and state policies and procedures are shared.


Author(s):  
Mitchell L. Yell ◽  
Christine A. Christle

The foundation of inclusion in special education law is the least restrictive environment (LRE) mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This federal mandate requires that all students with disabilities receive their education with students without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. Our purpose in this chapter is to examine the legal basis of inclusion. We first review the historical antecedents of inclusion. Second, we examine the LRE mandate and the student placement requirements of the IDEA. Third, we survey the most important case law rulings regarding LRE and the placement of students with disabilities. Fourth, we consider strategies that have been used to promote inclusive placements and briefly review the literature on these strategies. We end this chapter by offering principles to guide IEP team members in making educationally beneficial and legally correct placement decisions for students with disabilities.


Author(s):  
Pam L. Epler

This chapter is designed to inform and educate secondary (Grades 6–12) pre-service teachers on how to provide content and design assignments for students within the special education continuum. The chapter is divided into 12 sections, one for each IDEA disability category. Each section includes the definition and characteristics of the specific category as well as how it impacts learning. The prevalence of the exceptionality occurring in the secondary classroom is also discussed, thus informing pre-service teacher candidates about which disability categories they are most likely to encounter while teaching. Also included in each section is a discussion and examples of various research-based instructional strategies and assignments as well as resources such as websites or illustrations that can be utilized.


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellary A. Draper

For many years, students with disabilities were educated in separate facilities on separate campuses from their same aged peers. With the original passing of what we now call the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, these students were, and still are, required to be educated in the least restricted environment. Students with disabilities who had previously been separated were brought into their neighborhood schools. As we continue to see more and more students with disabilities in inclusive schools and classrooms, it is important that we work together and collaborate with other teachers and therapists in our schools to provide the best education to these students.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 274-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitchell L. Yell ◽  
Antonis Katsiyannis ◽  
Chad A. Rose ◽  
David E. Houchins

Bullying is a common occurrence in U.S.’s schools and is currently at the forefront of national attention. Unfortunately, students with disabilities are frequently the targets of peer-on-peer bullying. The purpose of this article is to examine the legal ramifications when students with disabilities are bullied in school settings. We address court cases, state educational agency decisions, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) guidance, and Office of Civil Rights (OCR) rulings that have held that bullying may violate Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. School personnel must address the bullying of students with disabilities in a quick and efficient manner. In fact, these decisions show that when bullying is not stopped, school district officials and personnel may be subjecting their school districts to legal risks. We end by proposing how school district officials can develop legally sound policies for identifying, investigating, and responding to incidences of bullying of students with disabilities.


Author(s):  
Michael L. Hardman ◽  
John McDonnell ◽  
Marshall Welch

Since its original passage in 1975 as Public Law 94-142, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has been the cornerstone of practice in special education. This federal law has enabled all eligible students with disabilities to access a free and appropriate public education. During the past 2 years, the 104th Congress has debated vigorously some of the law's basic tenets (e.g., definition of disability, content of the individualized education plan [IEP], parental rights to attorneys, fees, discipline, and placement). The basic requirements of the law remain intact and continue to shape the scope and content of special education. This article addresses whether or not the assumptions upon which IDEA is based remain valid as we approach the 21st century. We critique these assumptions within the context of four requirements of IDEA: (a) eligibility and labeling, (b) free and appropriate public education, (c) the individualized education program (IEP), and (d) the least restrictive environment. Recommendations for changes in existing law relative to each of the above requirements are presented.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 73-80
Author(s):  
Sofia Dermendjieva

As the last institution at the end of the education system, the university is committed to preparing competent professionals for each field of expertise, including future teachers. An essential goal in the training of pedagogical specialists is to get to know the potential of the personality and to enhance its development at all key levels. The situation with Covid-19 has highlighted its growing importance, given the urgent need to transition from face-to-face learning to distance education. In the course of the rapidly spreading epidemic, the role of ICT in education became clear. It has been proven that in the conditions of global crisis it is the information and communication technologies that successfully mediate the learning process. It was found that digital competencies are vital for the subjects in the pedagogical interaction, because they ensure the dialogue in the virtual educational environment. Undoubtedly, the foundation of its qualitative implementation affects the motivation for selfactualization of interacting between teachers and students. After identifying the need to improve the quality of distance education, this article presents the advantages of meaning-centered management of virtual educational environments in the academic preparation of pedagogical specialists. The following questions become relevant: (1) What is the meaning?; (2) What will develop?; (3) How will it be formed?, which respectively constitute the conceptual, personal and activity aspect of the pedagogical interaction from a distance.


2020 ◽  
pp. 002205742094317
Author(s):  
Barbara J. Hickman

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has undergone revisions roughly every 5 years since inception. Despite these modifications, the academic and social outcomes for students with disabilities lag behind those of their regular education peers. Results-Driven Accountability (RDA) was initiated to improve special education outcomes and efficacy. This case study examined the implementation science framework used for RDA. The results surfaced successes and concerns with the implementation process and illuminated barriers unrelated to the RDA initiative but critical for implementation and scaling. The findings from this study may contribute to identifying best practices in large-scale systemic initiatives.


2021 ◽  
pp. 074193252110636
Author(s):  
Michael F. Giangreco ◽  
Robert C. Pennington ◽  
Virginia L. Walker

Although behavior analytic practices have been widely applied in schools to support students with disabilities, there remains limited guidance concerning utilization of these practices in inclusion-oriented schools and, more specifically, the role of the Board Certified Behavior Analyst in the provision of related services. The goal of this article is to encourage discussions among stakeholders hopefully leading to a clearer conceptualization and more effective utilization of behavior analytic practices in inclusion-oriented schools. In addition to discussing the conceptualization of behavior analytic services as a related service and the role of both Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts and Registered Behavior Technicians as paraprofessionals under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, we provide a set of guidelines for related services decision-making practices useful within a collaborative teamwork framework, including behavior analysts, and offer areas for future research.


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