This document summarizes key legislation and frameworks related to special education. It discusses laws such as IDEA, ADA, Section 504, and NCLB that aim to provide students with disabilities access to education. It also covers inclusion, universal design for learning, response to intervention, standards-based education, and differentiated instruction which are approaches to meet the needs of diverse learners. The goal is for educators to use evidence-based practices and develop sensitivity to include all students no matter their diversity.

1. Chapter 1: Special Education in an Era of Inclusion and Standards SummaryBy: McKinzie Russell

2. Critical LegislatureNo Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)This policy has the intention of helping the students with the most need in our public schools and hold the schools accountable with the students’ learning. The policy holds schools accountable the standardized tests that the students from grades 3-8 would take each year, with the intention that the students would make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) by the year of 2013. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)IDEA has been reauthorized three times before the reauthorization in 2004, and changes were made, but the main idea of the IDEA has stayed intact. IDEA 2004 made a major emphasis on the access to the general education curriculum for all students identified under the law, with six areas that remained in the original framework of the policy. They are Free, Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), Appropriate Evaluation, Individualized Education Program (IEP), Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), parent and student participation in decision making, and Procedural Safeguards.

3. Critical Legislature continuedSection 504Students who qualify to be in the services of Section 504 are, “any student who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities” (8). The most significant added information to Section 504 is students who may not have been under the IDEA and are in need of an accommodation are now protected under law. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)The definitions of disability under Americans with Disabilities Act is quite similar to the definition under Section 504. Educators who happen to serve as advocates for people with disabilities are to protect them from discrimination.

4. InclusionInclusion does not represent a physical space, but rather a condition or the state of being. (11)Inclusion has the ability to allow students to be themselves and have a sense of belonging, which in returns gives them a positive social interaction between others. Inclusion promotes success in the education field for the students.

5. Universal Design of Learning (UDL)UDL minimizes barriers for students which in return maximizes learning.Its intention is to attend to students specific needs without drawing attention to any one individual. It’s based on Vygotsky’s three systems that are active in Learning: Recognition, Strategic, and Affective Systems.

6. UDL continued…Recognition System represents the what of learning, which in Vygotsky’s theory means reception and interpretation of sensory input. (14)Strategic System represents the how of learning, which is the ability to plan and take action. (14)Affective System represents the why of learning, also known as an individual’s motivation to engage in an activity. (14)

7. UDL continued…Curriculum that supports the UDL presentation allows multiple interpretations of representing content and approaching a subject. This curriculum also allows the different ways of showing encouragement to the students learning experience.

8. Response To Intervention (RTI)All students begin in the what is considered Tier 1: High Quality Core Instruction. Students are expected to achieve academic and behavioral goals that are set in the general education setting. This covers 80-85% of all students.Tier 2: High-Quality Targeted Supplemental Instruction is focused on students who do not meet the expectations from the general education setting. This allows students who didn’t qualify under Tier 1 to receive extra instruction in the specific area of content. The students still participates in Tier 1 curriculum. This covers about 15% of students.

9. RTI continued..Tier 3: High-Quality Intensive Intervention allows the students who have “more significant disabilities and more intensive, evidence-based interventions within a range of possible special educations settings” (12). This covers the remaining 5% of students.

10. Standards-Based EducationStandards-Based Education means what ever is being taught within the classroom must be tied to state and performance standards in core subjects like mathematics, language arts, social studies, and science.2 Types of StandardsContent- knowledge, skills, and understanding that should be attained in academic subjects. Performance- levels of achievement that must be met to demonstrate their proficiency in the subjects.

11. Student AccountabilityThrough NCLB Act the accountability for students is through a high stakes test evaluation. Students from grades 3-8 are annually tested on their knowledge of mathematics and reading.Most students with disabilities will take these tests just like their peers without a disability. However, some students will be accommodated while taking these tests to reach their full potential. Some students will be exempt from taking these annual tests, but will take an alternative assessment for an evaluation.

12. Differentiated InstructionDifferentiated Instruction is closely similar to a previously discussed matter, UDL; however, differentiated instruction accommodates a wide range of students’ needs in a general education classroom.

13. Evidence-Based PracticeThis requires educators to use interventions that have been supported and show proven evidence that they work with the student body where they teach. With this said, educators must be aware of using treatments that take valuable instructional and/or financial resources.

14. Diversity ConsiderationsThere is a wide range of diversity in the education field. A multi-tiered system is what is suggested to be used by not only students, but educators as well. Educators are expected to develop a sensitivity towards the needs of a diverse group of students.

15. Each child can learn no matter the diversity of the class.

16. ResourcesPatton, J.; Palloway, E.; and Serna, L. (2008) Strategies For Teaching Learners with Special Needs. Ninth Edition. Merrill Prentice Hall. Picture number 1: http://www.naset.org/uploads/pics/Motivational_Teaching.gifPicture number 2: http://www.houstonisd.org/ExternalFunding/Home/AYP/Images/AYPTeens2.jpg