Improving Opportunities to Enhance “Membership” within the General Education Setting

1. Improving Opportunities to Enhance “Membership” within the General Education Setting Meredith Penner & Shannon McMahon Program & Training Specialists BCIU #22

2. Outcomes: Identify the 3 areas of “access” Develop strategies within each area to improve inclusive opportunities for students Improve instructional opportunities for students with complex support needs within the general education curriculum Increase awareness of resources available to facilitate participation and learning

3. Membership I count Participation General Education Instruction Learning I belong Social & Other Academic Everything Else Adapted from Michael McSheehan, Institute on Disability, University of New Hampshire, 2009

4. Why is there such a push for inclusion? Legal Reasons Other Reasons • Gaskin v. Pennsylvania • Least Restrictive Environment • Supplemental Aids and Services • Chapter 14 regulations • FAPE & IDEA • Fair doesn’t mean equal • Social gains • Generalization • Access to same opportunities • Special Education is a service NOT a place

5. Historical Perspective: Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (SCD) • Before the 1970s • Keep children with SCD in institutions • Early 1970s • Bring students with SCD into public schools • Teach all students with SCD the early childhood (preschool and kindergartencurriculum • 1980s • Teach functional and life skills 1990s • Ensure social inclusion, self-determination, and assistive technology 2000 – present • Provide access to general academic curriculum as well as functional skills, social skills, self determination, and assistive technology Washington Alternate Assessment System: Portfolio Assessment

8. Least Restrictive Environment • Child must be educated in the general education setting to the greatest extent possible considering all of the possible supplemental aids and services • Inclusion does not mean that the student’s progress must be measured by mastery of general education curriculum, but could be measured by progress made toward IEP goals and objectives • The levels of supports and accommodations needed are to provide students the opportunity to participate with their non-disabled peers in a general education setting NOT to be used as a basis for placing them in an alternate (more restrictive) setting • Burns,Edward. (2003) A Handbook for Supplementary Aids and Services. Springfield Ill: Charles C. Thomas

10. Approximate State Targets (2010) % of special education students placed in: General Ed >80% 65% General Ed 40-79% 24% General Ed < 40 8.7% Alternate Placements 3.3% 100 schools were identified over the last 5 years in PA for improvement plans in these various categories as a result of the Gaskins Settlement

11. Diana Browning Wright, Teaching & Learning 2003

12. What are supplementary aids and services? Aids, services and other supports Provided in regular education classes or other related settings Enable children with disabilities to be educated with non-disabled children to the maximum extent appropriate IDEA 2004 Section 602(33)

13. Supplementary Aids and Services(Etscheidt & Bartlett, 1999)

15. What is the SaS Toolkit?The Supplementary Aids and Services Toolkit guides teams through steps that lead to the identification of services and supports to enable a student with a disability to learn and succeed within general education classroom settings. A multi-step student specific collaborative process Identifies potential barriers that exist in the general education if nothing is changed Identifies support options to increase student learning & participation in general education classrooms Focuses on changing the student, you develop ways of adapting and modifying the environment.

17. Considering the Full Range of SaS • SaS should be: • Available to all students who need them • Designed to provide meaningful educational benefit • Provided in a manner that avoids stigmatizing students

18. Potential Support Strategies: Collaborative Examples Scheduled team meetings Co-teaching Friendship facilitation Ongoing consultation Weekly/daily communication Staff training Mentor teachers

19. Potential Support Strategies: Instructional Examples Using keyboard/portable device; instruction in keyboarding skills; use of scribe Reading directions aloud Using special paper or writing tools Simplifying directions Providing visual cues Increasing individualized assistance Presenting instruction differently Allowing students to respond in a different manner Modifying curricular goals

20. Potential Support Strategies: Social-Behavioral Examples Behavioral support plan Social skill training Scheduled breaks Friendship facilitation or Circle of Friends Changing the “rules” (e.g. allowing gum or water bottle to address sensory needs)

21. Potential Support Strategies: Physical Examples Arrange furniture differently Allow testing in a separate room Allow extended time or multiple sessions to complete tests Provide student requested breaks in pre-set area out of the classroom Allow water bottle or sensory toy at desk Make available an adapted chair

22. Determination of SaS:What it is NOT Listing every accommodation available on the IEP form, hoping “something” will work Using a standard set of accommodations for each student who has a similar disability label Making modifications without assessing and discussing thoroughly what the student may need

23. What SaS is NOT (Cont.) Developing an IEP without an analysis of potential general education environments Limiting consideration of SAS to those that the team has experience in implementing Beginning the IEP development process with a predetermined placement already in mind, based on whether the student currently is placed and/or his/her disability

24. Examples: Change in rules or expectations Use of a calculator Social Skill Instruction Adapted seating TEXT ON TAPE Visual schedule Visual prompts to stay on task Advance notice for change in routine Textured bulletin board Fidget seat Teacher Training Extra time to take tests Provide for Sensory Breaks Ability Awareness training Modified Curriculum Collaboration time for teachers to talk Seating to allow visual access from the right PRE-TEACHING Air conditioned Classroom Private Duty Nurse Chunky crayons Teacher Aide Assistance

25. Who Completes the SaS Tool Kit? Parent Special Ed Teacher General Ed Teacher Principal OT and PT Special Ed Supervisor Other Support Staff

26. Component A COMPONENT A- provides an overview of the SaS consideration process, describing who is responsible for actions at each step of the process.

27. Component B Student Profile: Summary of Strengths, Needs, and Learning Characteristics COMPONENT B- assists teams in organizing student specific information in a format designated to facilitate instructional planning and problem-solving to support inclusive practices.

28. Component C COMPONENT C - the tool that guides IEP team members through a four-step process and results in the identification of student-specific, environmentally-referenced supplementary aids and services. Step 1: Environmental Scan of General Education Classroom * To be completed by the general education teacher (with input from the special education teacher as needed) prior to the team meeting

29. Supplementary Aids and Services (SAS) Consideration Tool1 Student: Date: Identify classroom(s) used as a reference point for Step 1: Completed By: Step 1: Environmental Scan of General Education Classroom Step 2: Identify Barriers to Learning and Participation Step 3: Identify Support Strategies Use, as a reference point, the general classroom(s) this student would attend if he or she did not have a disability. In collaboration with the general education teacher(s), create a profile of the instructional environment(s) by circling the number that best describes the frequency of use of identified materials and instructional practices. Given what you know about this student, identify any difficulties you can anticipate in this setting, based on his/her current skills, needs, and learning style. Identify supplementary aids and services that could support this student’s participation and learning in this class. Consider all possibilities, consulting available resources and support personnel. 1.1 Instructional Method/ Materials Frequency of Use2 • Printed Materials • Textbook • Workbook • Trade book • Worksheets • Newspapers/magazines • Other ____________________ • Other ____________________ 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 2Coding Key: 1 = never; 2 = occasionally; 3 = frequently

30. Component D Self-Check for Teams COMPONENT D is a self-assessment tool for teams to use as they move through the SaS Consideration Toolkit to ensure fidelity in the development of an IEP that is focused on maximizing student participation in the LRE and meaningful access to the general education curriculum.

31. Determine which SaS will be implemented: • Identify the most appropriate supplementary aids and services needed to support this student’s learning in general education settings

32. SaS Includes Supports for Adults, too!! Adults need supports to do things in ways that they have not had previous experience Identify training, technical assistance, administrative support needs, and other resources that are needed to deliver supplementary aids and services in ways that are new to instructional personnel

33. What Happens When?

34. Whether students’ needs have been met is reflected not only by whether they have attained certain objectives, but by the impact the educational experiences have had on their lives.Michael Giangreco, 1994