The transformed school counselor chapter 10

Working with Special Needs Students The Transformed School Counselor Chapter 10...  School counselors can ensure that students with learning differences are treated with the same respec

Working with Special

Needs Students

The Transformed School Counselor

Chapter 10

 All school personnel should be sensitive to the time needed to learn, especially for students who struggle to achieve a level of minimum proficiency

 Learning ability is distinct to the individual; each child has unique talents, skills, and limitations

 Each student acquires and applies information differently.

 Effective educators challenge all students to focus on their strengths and overcome the obstacles that are inhibiting their ability to learn

Providing for the Instructional Needs of all Students

A Social Justice Agenda

 Learning ability is a student’s capacity to

master a skill, task, or concept while the term

disability describes a student’s incapability to

accomplish the same skills, task, or concept in certain situations.

 School counselors can ensure that students with learning differences are treated with the same respect as the students who are

considered part of the mainstream.

Response to Intervention

 a framework for organizing, allocating, and evaluating educational resources to meet the instructional needs of all students.

 integrates assessment and intervention within a multilevel prevention system to maximize student achievement and to reduce behavior problems.

 a multitiered approach to help struggling learners.

 targets instruction with the appropriate levels of time and support.

Response to Intervention

RtI and Special Education

 Eligibility for special education can occur when

a student’s response to both the core instruction and supplemental interventions still does not result

in achieving grade-level objectives such as academic benchmarks or expected peer

performance levels

Response to Intervention

The School Counselor’s Role in RtI is to:

 assist teachers with differentiated instructional service delivery, closely monitor student progress, and use data to make informed decisions

 participate in the identification process of students who are struggling in the core academic areas.

 serve as advocates for parents and/or families to best understand what RtI services are and how to maximize the instruction given in school

RtI and the ASCA National Model

RtI and the ASCA National Model, cont’d.

System Support

 School counselors can use the collaborative consultation process with teachers and extend it to the parent/family members, utilizing everyone’s expertise.

Management System

 Managing data, developing action plans, and organizing the delivery of strategies through the use of calendars and counseling logs are some examples of school-counselor- led activities that complement Tier 1, 2, and 3

interventions.

RtI and the ASCA National Model

Accountability System

 When RtI is aligned with the ASCA National Model and MEASURE, school counselors demonstrate their commitment to an effective, efficient, data-driven, and highly collaborative process

Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS)

 PBIS is the application of the RtI framework for the

prevention of behavior difficulties.

 Tier 1 - A school-wide behavioral plan.

 Tier 2 - Working with at-risk students on problem

behaviors.

 Tier 3 - Specific, individual interventions for

high-risk students.

Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975

 The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975),

later renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA),

required states to provide a “free and appropriate education” for all children between the ages of 3 and 21, regardless of the

handicapping condition or disability.

 The Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is the written record

of the needs of each student and the procedures to provide services.

Special Education and School Improvement Agendas

 IDEA focuses on the performance of individual students in an array of areas, while the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is more interested in system-wide outcomes

 Under NCLB and IDEA a school can be identified as in need of improvement when it fails to meet standards for students with disabilities.

Blueprint for Reform

 Blueprint for Reform requires school personnel to provide a wide range of resources and support to ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed in college and in a career.

 The blueprint also increases support for inclusion and encourages the use of assessments.

The Over Identification Debate

 Learning disabilities is by far the largest category of special education.

 Some criticism has been leveled against the teachers.

 Social and cultural changes, such as poverty, may have raised children’s vulnerability to developing learning disabilities.

 Black students have been overrepresented in special education for the past three decades

 Also a higher percentage of males are identified for special education.

Procedural Steps in Special Education Placement

1 Giving Parents/Guardians Notice

2 Evaluation

3 What the Notice Must Contain

4 Timeframe for Initial Evaluation

5 The Scope of Evaluation

6 Review Existing Data

7 Determine Eligibility

8 Triennial Evaluations

Inclusion

 Inclusion involves integrating students with disabilities into the traditional mainstream classroom setting.

 The goal is to make life for those with disabilities

as culturally normative as possible.

 School counselors have a responsibility to seek not only the least restrictive environment but also provide to every student the most challenging

educational opportunity possible

The Dominant Classification:

Learning Disabilities

 A specific learning disability is a disorder in one or more

of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations (USDOE, 2004).

 Genetic, teratogenic, or medical factors may contribute to learning disabilities

 Learning disabilities are manifested frequently in reading, specifically decoding, fluency, and comprehension.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

 It was the first congressional action to mandate that individuals with disabilities could not be discriminated against or denied benefit by any program receiving federal funding solely based on being disabled.

 Also applies to the provision of students whose disabilities are not severe enough to warrant classification but could benefit from supportive services and classroom

modification.

The School Counselor’s Role in the Special Education Identification Process

School counselor should provide support in the referral process, but should not have the dominant responsibility.

Eligibility

 First a student must be identified as having a disability under the definition established by Section 504.

 The provisions in Section 504 regulate four areas: pre-placement evaluation, evaluation, placement, and revaluation

Supporting Every Student’s Right

to a Quality Education

healthy climate in the schools, and serve as an essential resource for students, teachers, parents, and administrators.

bounds of their training to take on inappropriate administrative or supervisory responsibilities.

of the IEP team.