2. What is Special Education?
Special education is the practice of educating
students in a way that provides
accommodations that address their individual
differences, disabilities, and special needs.
Special education is for students with disabilities,
which are defined under IDEA as follows:
• Autism
• Deaf-Blindness
• Emotional Disturbance
• Hearing Impairment
• Intellectual Disability
According to IDEA, it is specially designed
instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique
needs of a child with disability.
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other Health Impairment
• Specific Learning Disability
• Speech Impairment
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Visual Impairment
• Multiple disabilities
3. Three Relevant
Laws and Policies
Some of the most important laws and policies pertaining to
special education and students with exceptional learning
needs are the Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities
Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and
the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
The special education law is Section 504 of the Americans
with Disabilities Act. This law stipulates that students with
disabilities must have the same access to education as
other children.
IDEA is the most comprehensive federal law regarding
special education. According to this law, students with
disabilities have a number of basic rights. The most
significant rights are: The right to a free and appropriate
public education.
FERPA restricts access to a student’s record, from behavior
to grades, except for people who directly work with the
student. Parents can look at, amend and control the
information in their child’s cumulative folder while their
student is in school. Teachers who work directly with that
student have access to those files, but they are prohibited
from disclosing information, such as grades or testing, to
anyone else who is not on a accommodations list for that
student. Violating FERPA could lead to disciplinary actions.
4. Special Education Issues
Current Trending Issues in
Special Education
Technology: integration of
user-friendly and
advanced tools to engage
students receiving IEP.
Trauma-Informed
Teaching: providing proper
training to professionals to
address trauma addresses
learning disability.
Homelessness: it is
imperative that we serve
the students by ensuring
they have what they need
within and beyond the
classroom.
Twice-
Exceptional Students:
flexibility to students with
remarkable learning
abilities but has concerning
learning abilities in some
content areas.
Parental Support: parental
involvement is needed to
ensure consistency in
accommodations as part
of the IEP.
Next Steps for Educators:
up to date and
professional development
for consistent acquisition
and application of
knowledge to better
support the students.
5. Special Education
Policies
Eight Core Principles of Special Education
Special education law as it currently stands
embodies eight core principles:
• Child find/zero reject
• Nondiscriminatory evaluation
• Individualized education program (IEP)
• Free appropriate public education (FAPE)
• Least restrictive environment (LRE)
• Related services
• Parent participation
• Confidentiality
6. Learner Rights
The IEP Contract- If a child has a disability, the
school district must write an IEP for him or her. This
means that if a school does not provide services
agreed upon within the IEP, it’s in violation of the
law.
Free and Appropriate Public Education- every
student is entitled to an education that is based
upon the child’s unique needs.
Least Restrictive Environment- The law also requires
that students with disabilities be educated in the
least restrictive environment (LRE).
Informed Consent-it must present an evaluation
plan to the parent and receive signed consent.
Until consent is obtained, a district cannot evaluate
a student; to do so is a violation of the law.
Native Language-This means that the district is
required to evaluate a student in his or her native
language before they can identify that student as
having a disability and provide special
education services.
Disputes-Special Education law allows parents or
districts to ask for any of three dispute resolution
processes.
Stay Put-While an IEP or offer of FAPE is in dispute, the
parent can request that the student remain in his or
her current educational placement.
Timelines-he or she must be evaluated and the
answer must be yes to the following three questions:
1. Does your child have a disability?
2. Does the disability cause an educational impact to
his or her education?
3. Is the child in need of special education (defined as
“specially designed instruction”)?
As a parent, you can request an assessment, and the
district must comply by assessing your child or writing
a notice of action (a legal form) denying the request.
7. Teacher Responsibilities
Expectations of the Profession:
In public schools, special education
teachers need a minimum bachelor’s
degree in elementary education, a content
area such as math, or in special education.
The program of study combines classroom
learning with field work, such as student
teaching. Teachers also need a license,
with requirements that vary by state.
A special education teacher works as part
of a team that helps students that have
disabilities that affect their learning. This
may include mental, physical, and/or
emotional impairments. Special education
teachers adapt general education lessons
on various subjects to meet the learning
challenges of each student.
Codes of Ethics/Professional Standards:
Educators must recognize a responsibility to
children with special needs, their parents,
the community, to other professionals, and
to themselves.
Responsibility to persons served
professionally and to research participants,
both human and animal.
Responsibility for one's professional
competence.
Responsibility to the public.
Responsibility for professional relationships.
8. Code of Ethics
Certified Personnel in the Commonwealth
1. Shall strive toward excellence, recognize the importance of the pursuit of truth, nurture democratic citizenship, and
safeguard the freedom to learn and to teach;
2. Shall believe in the worth and dignity of each human being and in educational opportunities for all;
3. Shall strive to uphold the responsibilities of the education profession, including the following obligations to students, to
parents, and to the education profession.
To students
1. Shall provide students with professional education services in a nondiscriminatory manner and in consonance with
accepted best practice known to the educator;
2. Shall respect the constitutional rights of all students;
3. Shall take reasonable measures to protect the health, safety, and emotional well-being of students;
4. Shall not use professional relationships or authority with students for personal advantage;
5. Shall keep in confidence information about students which has been obtained in the course of professional service,
unless disclosure serves professional purposes or is required by law;
6. Shall not knowingly make false or malicious statements about students or colleagues;
7. Shall refrain from subjecting students to embarrassment or disparagement; and
8. Shall not engage in any sexually related behavior with a student with or without consent but shall maintain a
professional approach with students. Sexually related behavior shall include such behaviors as sexual jokes; sexual
remarks; sexual kidding or teasing; sexual innuendo; pressure for dates or sexual favors; inappropriate physical touching,
kissing, or grabbing; rape; threats of physical harm; and sexual assault.
9. Code of Ethics
To parents
1. Shall make reasonable effort to communicate to parents' information which should be revealed in the interest of the student;
2. Shall endeavor to understand community cultures and diverse home environments of students;
3. Shall not knowingly distort or misrepresent facts concerning educational issues;
4. Shall distinguish between personal views and the views of the employing educational agency;
5. Shall not interfere in the exercise of political and citizenship rights and responsibilities of others;
6. Shall not use institutional privileges for private gain, for the promotion of political candidates, or for partisan political activities;
and
7. Shall not accept gratuities, gifts, or favors that might impair or appear to impair professional judgment and shall not offer any of
these to obtain special advantage.
To the education profession
1. Shall exemplify behaviors which maintain the dignity and integrity of the profession;
2. Shall accord just and equitable treatment to all members of the profession in the exercise of their professional rights and
responsibilities;
3. Shall keep in confidence information acquired about colleagues in the course of employment, unless disclosure serves
professional purposes or is required by law;
4. Shall not use coercive means or give special treatment in order to influence professional decisions;
5. Shall apply for, accept, offer, or assign a position or responsibility only based on professional preparation and legal qualifications;
and
6. Shall not knowingly falsify or misrepresent records of facts relating to the educator's own qualifications or those of other
professionals.
10. Professional
standards of
practice, including:
Practices for
advocating to meet
the needs of all
learners
Practices to promote
learners meeting
their full potential
Practices to demonstrate
respect for learners as
individuals with differing
personal and family
backgrounds and various skills,
abilities, and interests
Practices to
demonstrate
collaboration with
learners, families,
and colleagues
The Professional
Standards
of Practice!
11. Practices to
promote learners
meeting their full
potential
•Providing a conducive
learning environment.
Identifying students'
passion.
•Boosting the students'
self-esteem.
• Getting
the students involved.
•Teachers should get
creative in teaching
techniques
•Motivating Students Thro
ugh Offering Incentives.
Set Goals Together.
Practices to
demonstrate
respect for learners
as individuals with
differing personal
and family
backgrounds and
various skills,
abilities, and
interests
Model respect for all students
by treating students fairly.
Meet the individual needs of
each student. Speak
respectfully of students, their
parents and other cultures.
Reprimand students in private
if possible so they are not
singled out in front of their
peers. Insist on respectful
interactions between
students.
Practices to
demonstrate
collaboration with
learners, families,
and colleagues
To build a culture of
collaborative family
engagement, the following
are useful practices.
• Develop and support two-
way communication
between teachers and
parents.
• Encourage communication
among parents
• Consider parents’
perspectives.
• Move beyond event-based
engagement.
• Encourage families to
engage with their children
in ways that are integrated
with the overall curriculum
• Find ways to build parents’
knowledge and
confidence.
Practices for
advocating to
meet the needs of
all learners
Students have complex, varying
needs — some of which they can
voice for themselves, some of which
may be less visible or difficult to
meet. While many students are
becoming champions of
articulating and fighting for their
own needs (often, with the help of
supportive teachers!) they often
ultimately need adults to advocate
for them. Educators are in a unique
position to both identify and
understand student needs and
advocate for their students to
receive the support they require to
thrive.
Let’s learn more
about these
professional
standards!
12.
13. References:
D. Bateman (2021), Teacher's Guide to Special Education, from:
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/116019/chapters/Special-Education-and-
the-Laws-That-Affect-It.aspx
EPSB (2018), Educator Ethics: Code of Ethics, from:
http://www.epsb.ky.gov/mod/page/view.php?id=55#:~:text=1%20Shall%20make%20
reasonable%20effort%20to%20communicate%20to,misrepresent%20facts%20concer
ning%20educational%20issues%3B%20More%20items...%20
K. Thorson (2018), Creating a Culture of Collaborative Family Engagement, from:
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2018/04/creating-a-culture-of-collaborative-family-
engagement/
Special Education Guide (2021), Legal Rights to Services, from:
https://www.specialeducationguide.com/pre-k-12/what-is-special-education/legal-
rights-to-services/
