Every child is unique and learns differently. There may be some children who may have difficulty keeping up in a General Education class. After careful observation from the parent, teacher and school counselor some students may require special education services.
I had the opportunity to interview Mrs. Meredith Collack. She is a Placement Specialist for the Placement and Assessment Services Unit for Montgomery Public Schools.
Me: How is the student identified for Special Education referral?
Meredith Collack: Two paths A) School referral- school teams work collaboratively to identify students who are struggling in school (academical, socially, behaviorally)and discuss whether the student requires an intervention academic intervention such as a special reading program, a social intervention such as meeting with the counselor or behavioral intervention such as Functional Behavior Analysis and Behavior Intervention Plan. Once the student is receiving an intervention, the school team meets periodically to discuss progress. If it's working, they decide to continue or discontinue. If not making progress, they need to revise the intervention or do some more analysis and come back again. If the student continues to not make progress, a special education referral is an option.
B) Parent referral- parents contact the school in writing and ask for his/her child to be evaluated for special education. There is a 90 day timeline at this point.
Mrs. Collack then began to explain that regardless of who makes the referral once its made they have 90 days. In Montgomery county they have a screening. This is where they look at the results of the intervention. They look at the information gathered from teachers, parents, counselors, health, including a classroom observation of the student. That team meets to discuss and see if a disability is suspected. If so that team determines what assessments are needed to complete the evaluation ( therapies) written parent authorization is obtained and the team has 60 to 90 days to complete the assessments. Once the assessments are completed the team reconvenes for an evaluation IEP meeting. During the meeting all the assessment results are shared and it is determine then if the student qualifies for a educational disability and if special education services are warranted. If Special Education services are required an IEP is needs to be developed and drafted. The team meets again to finalize the IEP and obtain parental authorization.
I also interviewed a friend of mines who I went to school with who now teaches elementary education in Macon Georgia. Daniel Wright explained that all teaching tactics( audio, visual, tactile) are exhausted before a student gets an IEP or a label. Other signs that may warrant a evaluation outside of the not being able to keep up or understand the work is violent outburst. Often the students that are not comprehending the lessons become embarrassed and act out. Parents are notified she said, but it takes 4 to 5 points of contact before a school can move forward with placing a student. .
Mrs. Collack, and Ms. Wright both agreed that parental involvement is critical. The sooner a student gets evaluated the sooner he/she will receive help.
Mrs. Collack informed me that after the IEP is assigned there is a special education teacher/team leader or counselor that manages the referral. The counselor needs to ensure that all required paperwork is completed prior to the screening meeting. The teacher is assigned as a case manager to ensure the child is being provided services. The case manager gathers the data and reports progress on the IEP to parents every quarter(marking period).
Ms. Dana Caldwell a friend of mines who teaches 4/5 grade at P.S. 76 in Harlem NY, told me that the referral process is quite similar to the process I mentioned above. P.S. 76 is a poor school and so the referrals for IEP are not always done. Many of the students have behavioral problems which is not necessarily due to a disability. The household situation for many of those students is not stable. A child may have several violent outburst and when the thought of an evaluation is mentioned to parent of that said child,the parent becomes enraged and very often in denial. For the students that are diagnosed with a disability the proper resources are not always provided. The school doesn't have the funding for all the technology that is needed. The teachers there do their best to make sure the needs of the student are met. Ms. Caldwell did say that parents need to be educated more on the process of an IEP and their rights.
Both teachers complained about the lack of Special Education teachers, case managers and paraprofessionals. This causes a backlog in regards to evaluation. The teachers are overworked. I think back to the student I was assigned to that would have several violent outburst in class. There was not enough staff to properly deal with him. He was evaluated but he did not receive his para ( me) until the end of December. I saw how over worked his therapist were so I took on the role and provided him with an extension of his therapies every day. I utilized technology every chance I got to help him. I used software on the I-pad, apps I had on my phone, even a v-tech writing tool called with an app called Mr. Pencil. This allowed him to hold a pencil correctly and write his letters.
I watched the video about the Mesquite School, and their concept of Reteach and enrich is simply brilliant. Its the common sense factor to possibly do away with unnecessary evaluation of students who just need a refresher course. The teachers that I interviewed didn't mention a lot in regards to technology being incorporated into the personalized learning, but they did sound exhausted with the system. They are having to play dual roles of general education teacher and special education teacher.
I have personally seen the stress of teachers when it comes to the special education referral process. Children will receive a para and would still have these violent outburst and the case manager would find a way to blame the para. In one of my cases I was not allowed to call the dean if my student had a violent outburst, I just had to deal with it. They felt the paraprofessional was all the help a student needed. The special education referral process in its true form can work wonders for a student. Its unfortunate that for many students who need it, low income schools, under staffing and lack of resources for parents can make this service a nightmare.
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