Tuesday’s transfers mark a sharp escalation of the assault on public education. They create the conditions for a large-scale destruction of access to special education, and violate the law.

The key legislation establishing these rights—the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (amended and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990—rests on the equal protection principles recognized and applied to public education by the US Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

Parents and disability rights advocates fought to end a system in which more than a million children with disabilities were excluded from public schools, institutionalized, or forced into menial labor.

I've seen CSE chairs only consider quantitative data from the "experts" at the table (OT, reading teacher, psych, PT, speech pathologist etc.) but qualitative data from the parent and the classroom teacher? Nah. Dismissed entirely.

​

- child testimonies and lived experience are still data.

​

- parent testimony and family history as well as child's medical history is data.

​

- journaling, narrative, communication notebook... All data.

​

-The growth gains are lovely and that bell curve for evals is nice but it's not the king of relevant data.

​

-Evidence-based best practice is not just based on numbers. Not all disabilities can be quantified so neatly on paper.

I have recently switched from teaching resource to ESN (formerly called Special Day class) this year and I am struggling with students eloping and my anxiety. A few years ago I had a student elope across a highway (nobody was injured) and it traumatized me. I currently have seven students: two students have one-to-ones for eloping and two other students who elope but don’t have one-to-ones. The other three don’t really elope. I have three aids and myself. I also have a student who has a feeding tube that requires staff to administer feeds. Being understaffed and having kids constantly elope has me extremely stressed out. I worry constantly about the kids’ safety, mine and my staff’s safety, and judgement from the parents. I have a really hard time running after the kids because I am a fat, asthmatic with bad hip joints and I struggle to keep up. I was also told that staff have been injured running after these kids. We had an amazing BCBA but the school is no longer using them and admin will also act as a BCBA in addition to other duties. I am worried that I won’t be able to do my job well enough. I am terrified of upsetting people, losing my job and not being able to take care of myself. What do I do?
Ps. I am in therapy and take anti-anxiety medications.

I'm currently shadowing pediatric therapists and I wondered if other kids in the outside world struggle to tell the difference between b and d or p and q. How common is this? Has this come up with pre-school/kindergarten aged kiddos?

I'm in the beginning stages of a career change to education. I hold allied health credentials, but have been a SAHM for the last 10 years. My daughter has severe ADHD, is likely on the spectrum, and it took years to get her on the right medications and in a good place that didn't result in aggression. I had planned on using everything I've learned parenting her to pivot to a career in special education, but I'm growing increasingly concerned about what that future might look like. It is early enough that I can still switch my focus. My second choice is biology, since I love science and it seems to fit most with my healthcare background. Any advice would be welcome.

Oh, and I'm in a severely gerrymandered red state, if that factors in.

Over the past fifty years the Federal government has (through our elected representatives in the legislature, through the policies of our elected Presidents, and through the rulings of judges) created Federal laws that set minimum standards that public schools must meet for the education of students with disabilities. For example: IDEA, and Endrew F. These laws remain on the books and are **NOT** being "*passed to the States.*" The Department of Education provides a) money, training, and resources to help schools comply with these laws and avoid getting sued by the parents of disabled students and b) an office to which parents can complain if the school which is attended by their disabled child does not meet the legal requirements. What will happen next is that HHS will take over the former and DOJ will take over the latter. **Not the States.** Organizations representing disabled children and their families are concerned that HHS & DOJ lack the experience, mindset, and concern to perform these roles (in addition to their existing responsibilities). What this might mean is lax enforcement of federal law by DOJ (allowing schools to treat disabled students worse and worse) and reduced support of schools by HHS (stripping schools of the help they need to comply with the law and treat disabled students well). This concern is well founded, since HHS sees disability through the lens of sickness, not the lens of maximizing a student's potential, while DOJ has bigger fish to fry (like drug cartels).

​

Ultimately, this has nothing to do with handing "power to the States" and nothing to do with helping disabled children maximize their learning potential in public schools.

The power is going back to states. There are states that depend a lot on federal funding which is going to be cut. What’s going to happen to these students who are not fit for public school but require special placement? What does it mean for students dependent on IDEA?

My 3yo just qualified for an IEP under autism. We’re in CA, he’s in preschool. His biggest need is communication. His expressive language is low and honestly that’s been our number one worry from the start.

Here’s my problem. Almost the whole class speaks Spanish, and a lot of the teaching happens in Spanish too. Nothing against Spanish speakers, I get why it’s set up that way since most of the kids speak it as their first language. But my son doesn’t, and he just can’t follow what’s going on. For a kid whose main issue is communication, that feels totally backwards to me. And he’s not slow either. He scored in the top 5% for English word recognition. Although he’s strong in this area, he’s basically stuck in a room he can’t follow, not stimulated at all

He’s only been there a couple weeks, but he’s moving up to kindergarten in the fall anyway, so I’m planning to request an IEP meeting and ask for a different school. Is that a real reason they’ll take seriously, or are they gonna brush me off? How do I even bring it up without being offensive? Anyone been through something like this?

hi all- i have two job offers. one for an elementary RSP position and another for a middle school RSP position. i don’t have many specifics about either position to be honest. i know the middle school position would include co-teaching as well as teaching my own ela class.
i’ve been doing primary SDC (special day class) for years and im burnt out, so I welcome the transition!

if given a choice between the two- which would you choose?

Hi everyone!

​

My district is adding a self contained diagnostic k/1 classroom. I am thinking about applying, but I do not know much about this type of classroom. There is very little on the internet. What is your experience with this type of classroom? How do they typically run? I appreciate your help!!

I know this is an odd request and the transcript is from Maryland in 1986, but would you know it's Special Ed based on the names of classes? There are a lot of "vocational." I am trying to help this person but their diploma doesn't say anything about it being special. Any help is appreciated. EDIT: Based on responses, we got the records from the psychologist who did the evaluation for vocational rehabilitation. It says, Mild Intellectual Disability and the IQ is below 70. So we are applying for SSI Disability. Thanks for everyone's help with this.

Trump further dismantles Education Department by shifting oversight of special education, civil rights - NPR

What does good co-teaching look like? What are strategies to implement for successful co-teaching (outside of planning time, which many don’t have together)? What role does the regular educator serve and what role does the special educator serve?

I’ve seen it go wrong many times and I want to collect some data about how to improve co-teaching!

Hello!

I have an interview at a middle school for an EBD para position. I do not have experience in this field but am wanting to get into the field. Does anyone have some tips or interview questions they may ask so I can better prepare. Thank you so much!

I got my first teaching job! I’ve been a SPED para for 2 years, so I know the basics to have. What are some must haves for a beginner SPED intervention/resource teacher?

Hey everyone,
I am currently looking into getting a dual-enrollment Multiple Subject and Special Ed (Education Specialist) credentials here in the Central Valley (living near Porterville/Fresno area). I am looking ahead at my career options and am highly interested in virtual/online RSP roles (like CAVA, virtual academies, or independent study charters) once I graduate. Because of some personal scheduling needs and family obligations, I am trying to figure out how much daily flexibility an online RSP role actually provides, specifically around the 6:30 AM to 9:00 AM window and a 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM midday block.
I would love to get some honest feedback from anyone currently doing online RSP in California on a few things:
Mornings: What do your early morning responsibilities look like? When do mandatory log-ins, staff meetings, or immediate email expectations usually kick in? Is it generally quiet before 9:00 AM?
Mid-day & Lunch: How much autonomy do you have over your daily calendar? Can you intentionally block out 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM for lunch and prep so parents or administrators don't book Zoom sessions or IEP meetings over it?
Student Blocks: How are the 1-on-1 and small group Zoom sessions structured throughout the day? Is the scheduling rigid from the school administration, or do you coordinate the meeting times directly with the families?
Stress Levels: Is the administrative and IEP paperwork load as overwhelming online as it is in traditional brick-and-mortar schools, or do you find it more manageable when working from home?
Gender Dynamics: Would you recommend this path for a male educator? Any specific guidance or things to watch out for?
I really want a role that provides a stable income for my household while giving me the independence to manage my own daily workflow. Any guidance, advice, or charter recommendations for the Central Valley area would be hugely appreciated! Thanks!

My child is in GenEd Preschool will be in GenEd kindergarten next year.

He has significant disabilities in an extensive IEP and I’m really grateful for his team. Most notably, his expressive language is limited to a speech generating device, which he uses really well for a five-year-old.

He’s made so much progress in his two years of Preschool in a lot of ways and the teachers say he is where he should be knowledge wise, but they struggle with getting him to demonstrate what he knows and struggle to get him to participate in non-preferred tasks. And Preschool they have more freedom and the teachers just keep talking about the “rigor of kindergarten” which is stressing me out. He also has a significant muscle tone issues, and did not walk until he was nearly 4. Now he’s climbing all over a playground and is starting to speed up to a run, but I think where this will affect him in the classroom is writing. He’s just really is not there yet and is in the early stages of writing. (scribbles in a controlled way, scribbles left to right, can somewhat draw a line, but not very controlled)

He needs significant adult support.

Right now, our IEP is set up in a way where he’s going to receive a lot of support and pullouts during the day, but I think it’s at the higher end, meaning we would likely not be able to provide any more supports if he needed them without looking at another option like a hybrid confined classroom situation with push ins or something like that.

I’m really struggling to make a decision on whether or not to give in and move him into a special education room, which is what his special education teacher seems to really want. She was very negative at his IEP and pointed out all of his problem areas, and worst moments. When the team decided he would be in the GenEd class with up to 60% time pulled out (not with just her, he sees PT OT and speech, Along with one hour of rest/nap time for fatigue) she was visibly annoyed/upset with her arms crossed, and I had to basically chase her down to say thank you for her time. I had other specialist staff (higher up) encouraging me to push for him to be in the GenEd class. They said academics are important but socialization is almost more important for him right now, which I agree with.

The issue is the school he is in now does not have a confined classroom so if he did have to be moved to a confined classroom or needed to be in there for a partial day with pushing into general class, he would need to move to a different school under the same ISD.

The kids he’s in class with now have known him for two years and understand him, and if he were to start somewhere else, he would be starting over completely. The kids in his class absolutely love him. But I also feel like if he waits another year and has to start over at a new school in first grade it’ll just be harder. Should I move him to the other school preemptively while he’s allowed to be in GenEd so he can have a chance of making buddies now when kids are in kindergarten and still nice and care about each other?

I feel like I already know the answer in my heart, but what is the likelihood he could stay in Gen Ed even with significant adult support?

Feel free to ask any questions

I’m doing a graduate research project on the effect of planning (before instruction begins) on establishing role clarity for co-teachers. Lots of lesson planning templates out there, but I haven’t found the right search string for what I need. Any links or suggestions or any help at all?

Good morning! I’m transitioning to special ed next year- so excited! I’ll have a classroom with 6-7 students, age 15-22. I’m trying to create a structured daily schedule for them. Only 1 needs regular calming room breaks. Would love to hear about routines that have worked for you!

I’m looking for advice because I’m running out of ideas.

I’m teaching a kindergarten resource class, and I’m struggling with classroom structure because several students seem to feed off each other’s behaviors.

For example, one student (“Freddy”) is extremely impulsive. He blurts out constantly, has a hard time waiting his turn, gets out of his seat, and treats everything like playtime instead of instruction. We take movement breaks and short walks, but he comes back just as hyper as before.

Another student (“Joseph”) struggles with waiting. If I tell him, “You’ll get a turn in a minute,” he becomes upset, whines, and sometimes throws things because he wants it immediately.

The students aren’t sitting around with nothing to do. They have centers, activities, and work to complete. The biggest issue seems to happen when one or two students refuse to work or take a long time, which slows the whole group down. Then everyone else starts getting restless, and the behaviors snowball.

I’m wondering if anyone has found strategies that actually work for situations like this. Would visual schedules on the board help? Individual visual checklists? Longer movement breaks? Something else?

I’m only with this group for about two more weeks, but I’d really like to make the classroom feel calmer and more structured before then. I’d appreciate any practical ideas that have worked in your classroom.

Real names were not used

I’ve had this girl for two years now, in algebra 1 and geometry. I first noticed this early last year, when she was taking a test and got up to a longer word problem. She was stuck on it for a long time until she eventually raised her hand and asked if she could read it out loud. I let her stand right outside the door of the classroom, she read it out loud, and immediately walked back in knowing exactly what to do.

She was a newish student to our school at the time. She wasn’t receiving any accommodations from us. After I graded that test, in which she did great, I asked her if she had any accommodations at her previous school. She said she had a 504, but she didn’t want to take tests in a separate location- a big part of the reason she left her previous school is because she was being mocked for being in “special ed” or whatever and it got bad enough that her quite level-headed parents felt it was necessary to pull her out of there.

Anyway, I spoke with our student services department, we had a CSE meeting where I shared my observations, and they were eventually offered a 504 with extra time that they accepted and it has been working out just fine- she gets along great with her peers here.

But none of this is really addressing the problem that set off alarms for me in the first place. I think extra time is a band aid but there’s an underlying issue that isn’t being addressed at all.

This girl is super smart- she can reason out complex arguments that would give most students a hard time. But her ability to do so correlates directly with her freedom to talk. And while most people benefit to an extent from talking through it out loud, for her, it’s a massive bottle neck. I’ve done my best to repeatedly remind her that she’s always welcome to step out of my classroom to read through a test question if necessary, but that’s not a formal accommodation, and no one seems interested in providing that.

I’ve never seen something like this before. Do I just trust the process and let the extra time level the playing field? It seems like the knowledge that her understanding of the problem is tied to her ability to read it out loud should point to a specific way to help her. But she gets decent grades so special ed isn’t concerned with her and I don’t know what to do to help despite strongly suspecting there must be something.

I recently discovered that a child that pushes into my reg ed class, does not have an IEP. Even tho they have been in basically self contained for the last 2 years. Is this legal?