Field Experience A

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Apr 26, 2024

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Kelsey Maxwell SPD-500 Field Experience A July 19 th , 2023

Special Education Process I interviewed two teachers, 3 rd grade teacher Briana Garcia, and Special Education teacher Jared Pike. They both work at Skyline Ranch in San Tan Valley, Arizona. When discussing the Special Education process, they made sure to tell me that this was the process for Arizona. Some states, the process can be a little different, but most of it is the same. In Arizona, a child is identified through the Child Find process. This is usually done through a 45-day screener or MTSS process. A child can also be referred to the process through a letter from parents or other services. After a referral has taken place, there is a meeting called a Response of Existing Data (RED or MET1) in which the RTI/MTSS team and the MET (Multi-disciplinary Evaluation Team) get together to decide what areas the student should be evaluated in. Once the exact evaluations are agreed upon, the child will be evaluated in the different areas by members of the team. After that data is gathered, the MET team meets again (at a MET2) and will discuss if the student is eligible. The members of this team usually consist of classroom teachers, parents, a LEA (local educational agency) representative, the special education teacher, a school psychologist and any other related service provider (speech, OT, PT). The student will either qualify or not at this meeting. From this meeting, the special education teacher will schedule an IEP meeting where the team decides on goals and accommodations and modifications for the child. The special education process is a complicated and lengthy process. All stakeholders involved need to have a deep enough understanding of the process that they are able to communicate with anyone about where they are in the process. The most important thing to remember about the special education process is that this is the one area in education where everything needs to be followed exactly the way the laws state it. There are many areas where

teachers can get away with doing things their own way. The special education process must be followed to the letter. Confidentiality, Trust, and Other Considerations There are many laws put into place by the federal and state governments that protect children and their information. When it comes to children in special education, the information is on a need-to-know basis and not all information is shared with the general education teachers. One of these laws that protects all children’s information is FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). This law protects the right to privacy for both students and parents. Teachers should not be sharing information about their students without permission. When it comes to special education students, their IEP’s are one of the most confidential documents that schools have on hand. When a special education teacher hands out the IEP information sheets to the general education teacher at Skyline Ranch, the general education teacher is required to sign that they have them, then return them to the special education teacher at the end of the year to be shredded. This information does not want to be spread around as it could lead to a lawsuit due to the students information getting out. Another law that protects students is FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education). This guarantees that all students have access to public education that is free and appropriate. For students with disabilities, this law ensures that they have powerful and legal rights to their education. According to Jared Pike, he says that both these laws seem terrifying at first, but in all honesty “following them takes common sense.” There are a lot of ways to gain trust with both students and parents in special education. I believe that showing the families that you are the biggest supporter of their child is the first step in ensuring there is a trusting collaborative relationship between the teacher and parents. Many

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times, the parents feel like they are the only ones advocating for their child. If a special education teacher becomes an additional advocate, the trust is built. Both Briana and Jared admitted that building the trust of parents is not a simple feat, however, breaking that trust can happen in an instant. Parent Involvement in the IEP Process Jared stated that during the entire special education process, parents are involved and informed. Some parents are more involved than others, but he ensures that parents always know what is happening with their child. He asks the parents to provide input on how their child is doing at home, whether or not they can do independent tasks (cook, clean, dress themselves etc) He also asks parents what [the general education] teachers can do to support their child. In addition to getting parent involvement, Jared said it is important to him that the child themselves were involved in the process. He asks the students to provide information about themselves and what they need to be successful. Occasionally, he allows the students to help run the meetings. Briana mentioned that even before the IEP process begins, most general education teachers are involving parents by updating them and (especially if it is a student who is being identified for the first time) making sure they know where their child is struggling. One of the most profound things Briana said during our interview was “speaking as a parent, I would rather get more information knowing my child is struggling, than hear nothing from their teacher and get a letter stating they want to evaluate them for special education.” When she said this, it really hit me that in many cases, students will not tell their parents if they are struggling, so they may just let it go, then parents find out at the last minute and can feel blindsided. They both stressed the importance of keeping a documentation of every parent interaction when you are informing them of their child struggling. Jared keeps his communications

documented through our Synergy Platform, and Briana keeps hers in writing (email form or direct communication). Either way, each teacher needs to keep these documented. Roles and Data Collection During the IEP process, the roles of the general education teacher and special education teacher are very different. Usually, if the general education teacher is the one who refers a child for special education, they will speak to the parents (either before the meeting or during) to make sure the parents understand the process that is about to begin. They are also the ones that have the most “live data” for the special education teachers once students are on an IEP. Generally, Special education teachers are focusing on the child’s goals in their IEP. The general education teacher focuses on the curriculum that the entire class is learning (with modifications of course). Effective communication is the most important part of the collaborative relationship between general education teachers and special education teachers. There has to be an open line of communication otherwise, the teachers can fail the student. They must work together for the student to be successful. Jared commented that he is constantly asking his general education teachers for information regarding the students on his caseload. The information he asks for is their current grade, how they are doing in the class, what accommodations are being made for the child, and if there are any modifications needed. He believes that by asking these questions often not only ensures that the special education students are making growth, but it can also hold the general education teaches accountable if they slip and begin to not provide the students with their accommodations. Overall, both Jared and Briana had a very different method of collecting data. Jared prefers the digital method. He uses google forms, google spreadsheets to keep record of all the data he gathers from his students. As he has from 20-35 students on his caseload, a lot of the

times working with a minimum of 12 different teachers, this is simpler for him to keep track of everything. He also uses google forms to get information from parents. He believes it is a easy streamlined process for him with the amount of people he communicates with. Briana keeps detailed records on all her students in her physical gradebook. She also takes notes on some of her students when she knows she has to collaborate with the special education teacher. Both are valid methods, it depends on what works best for each individual teacher.

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