School Law

This weeks assigment led us on our journey through the wonderful world of ARDs and IEPs. It is a necessary evil we must all contend with to ensure our student's needs are all being met. Here are my findings:

How do school staff members feel about the IEP process as a whole? Is it stressful? Do they feel it represents a true collaboration between parents and staff members to best serve students?

Staff members really don’t mind going through the process because we are trying to develop ways to appropriately reach that individual child and ensure they are making progress. Sometimes it can be hard getting everyone to the meeting, though. Getting all of the paperwork completed appropriately can be very stressful. When the parents are involved, there is true collaboration, but when the parents are not involved, it seems to just be the staff members truly looking out for the student.

Which aspect of the IEP process most confuses or discourages team members?

The IEP’s themselves can be very confusing, especially to new teachers. Determining which type of test to take and what accommodations the child needs can be confusing as well. It can also be confusing when trying to determine how the student initially qualified for special education, whether it is a learning disability, behavior, or some other health impairment, and then relating back to understand how it impacts each individual child.

 How does your school/district determine whether students are eligible for special education?

My school determines eligibility going through the RTI process, starting with tier I, moving to tier II, and ending with tier III. Initially we meet with the RTI team to develop interventions to be implemented. The teacher will document the interventions along the way, and everyone will meet again to evaluate the interventions. If it is needed, more will be put into place and monitored and evaluated as well. Vision and hearing is also screened. The third time we meet, we evaluate interventions, work done within literacy groups, pulling for tutoring, using one on one time, and if the students is still not being successful, we refer them to be tested for special education. The student may also be screened for other things like dyslexia and ADHD. It is a long process but useful in correctly determining whether or not the student has a learning disability or if it is just a lack of motivation or effort.

 What do IEP team members say can be done to better improve the process?

The process can definitely be improved through more parental involvement. The paper work can also be a lot to keep up with and complete by the classroom teacher, so it would be helpful to have a third party assist with it. If the teacher had more resources, like new and innovative interventions, it would be very helpful.

Are students’ IEPs effectively implemented at your school? What can be done to improve implementation?

 Students’ IEPs are effectively implemented and closely monitored at my school. Progress reports are sent home with every report card as well. To improve implementation, it would be helpful to have parental feedback. It would be nice to know if out IEPs have improved the childs outlook not only in school, but at home as well.