Special Education is a program in which students are qualified, meaning they must be tested for SpEd to be an appropriate placement. Parental consent and involvement is required under IDEA (The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, most recently updated in 2004). Special Education is supported and direct by federal laws and a certified Special Education teacher.
Students can be tested two ways:
A parents can request Special Education testing
Data can support a Special Education referral, which requires parental approval and consent
Check with your Admin and school district before talking to parents about Special Education testing, even if parents request it. Some principals and/or schools want to be directly involved in the entire conversation and/or process.
Now let's look at the two ways for students to be tested. If a parent requests Special Education testing...if you're an experienced teacher, you know the drill...if you're not, here's some basic steps you can follow (again, check with admin and district, too).
Tell the parent that you will let your principal know that they've requested SpEd testing.
Set up a follow-up conference with the parent.
Inform your principal. At this time, you will want to bring data to support testing, or data showing the student does not need testing or needs more time. Data can include academics and behavior, or just one of the two.
If the data supports SpEd testing, you will receive
Parental consent forms
Parent paperwork
Teacher paperwork
Once all paperwork is turned in, by law, the student must be tested within 60 days (school days). In Texas, the requirement is 45 days. Federal law requires 60 days, though.
If you feel comfortable at the parent conference, you can share data as to why/or why not you agree with parents. I've had parents that have asked and I've told them that their child hasn't been in school long enough to support SpEd testing, their child hasn't had Tier 2/3 support long enough to know if there is a learning disability, that absences have interfered with learning and we need to give them time to be in school before going that route, etc. Most of the time, unless it's very obvious or there's an outside diagnosis, I've told parents that we should continue learning and doing tutoring or receiving Tier services and meet back in 3 months to discuss progress.
If data supports a SpEd referral, be sure data is taken over time. Many times teachers will use one data point to show the student is behind. That does not mean there's a learning disability inhibiting their learning. It could be something else, like trauma. So, data must be reflected over time and reflect best teaching practices, such as small group learning, intervention (Tier 2 and 3), and/or tutoring. If data reflects in inability to make progress, inform your principal that you are considering a SpEd referral. It's a delicate conversation to be had with parents. This is a good time for a mentor or principal to sit in or support in the conversation. If growth and progress is being reported to parents, then parents are aware of their child's struggles. This is why it's so important to be communicating growth, or lack there of, with parents consistently.
If a student qualifies for SpEd, they will be placed in the LRE (Least Restrictive Environment). That means it may be General Education (continue being a participant in your classroom) and be pulled by the Resource/SpEd teacher for individual work in skills 30-60 minutes a class. They can also be placed in a classroom that better fits their needs, like a self-contained SpEd classroom meeting their needs from behavioral needs to alternative means of communication to medically fragile. Know that the ultimate goal is to be in the LRE, which is also required under the law, IDEA.
RTI and Special Education Relationship
RTI and SpEd are designed to coincide as a SpEd referral needs data and RTI requires data of progress, regression, or a change in programing need. If a student does not enter General Education with an outside diagnosis, or their behaviors and academic achievement are not detrimental to learning, RTI is the process to go through to determine if specialized, intentional short-term learning is needed, or that there is a possible disability inhibiting growth.
RTI, Response to Intervention, and SpEd are two separate systems, though RTI data supports a SpEd referral
RTI requires a licensed teacher (unless at a Charter School)
SpEd requires a certified Special Education teacher (one more certification on top of a teaching certification)
RTI is included in General Education
SpEd can include students in General Education serviced by a Resource teacher, or students can be placed in a classroom tailored to fit their needs. That classroom must be the LRE, Least Restrictive Environment, as determined by the ARD committee
RTI includes 3 tiers:
RTI and SpEd require parents to be notified
SpEd requires parents to give written consent and be part of ARD committees
SpEd is supported and implemented by federal laws, IDEA being a main law
Lastly, Dyslexia and Speech are housed under the SpEd umbrella, but do not necessarily require students to be supported by a Resource/SpEd teacher. These diagnoses and testing for them can be backed by a dyslexia teacher reviewing writing and reading samples or Speech concern. They require less documentation on average, though they require parental consent, an ARD meeting, and testing.
