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K-12 General educator and special educator knowledge and preparedness in special education law
Title
K-12 General educator and special educator knowledge and preparedness in special education law
Year Issued
2024
Abstract
Together, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act protect students with disabilities from discrimination and ensure that services are received in order to access the general education curriculum. K-12 general educatio...
Show moreTogether, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act protect students with disabilities from discrimination and ensure that services are received in order to access the general education curriculum. K-12 general education teachers and special education teachers are among the most critical individuals in implementing the federal laws that protect students with disabilities in the school setting. Despite the shift to inclusive practices that is safeguarded by extensive procedures subject to litigation, past research has revealed a gap between educator knowledge and preparedness to implement special education law in the classroom. The purpose of the research was to answer the research questions, “What undergraduate preparation and professional development training do K-12 general educators and special educators receive regarding IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, in one public school district?” and “To what extent are K-12 general education and special education teachers familiar with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, in one public school district?” To obtain this information, a qualitative study was conducted consisting of a 10-question open-ended survey which was distributed to 10 general education teachers and 10 special education teachers in one public school district. Survey data was analyzed using an open-coding method. Three major findings emerged from the data and were categorized into themes. Theme one concluded that educator’s obtain knowledge of IDEA and Section 504 mainly by means of professional development and through a district administrator. Secondly, educators identify the main components of IDEA as being FAPE, LRE, IEPs, and parental involvement. The tertiary theme revealed educator’s identify the main component of Section 504 to be protection from discrimination for students with disabilities. Findings suggest that teachers may receive more training and coursework geared towards The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act when compared to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Additionally, years of experience seemed to have little impact on knowledge and preparedness pertaining to special education federal law.
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Author
McBroom, Kelley
A multi-level quantitative analysis on factors affecting special education compliance
Title
A multi-level quantitative analysis on factors affecting special education compliance
Year Issued
2022
Abstract
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a federal law that requires that students with disabilities are provided with a Free and Appropriate Public Education. The cost of ensuring FAPE can be quite high for students that require more specialized supports; ...
Show moreThe Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a federal law that requires that students with disabilities are provided with a Free and Appropriate Public Education. The cost of ensuring FAPE can be quite high for students that require more specialized supports; however, in not meeting that standard, districts may be liable for compensatory education. Much of the responsibility to fund special education, especially in Pennsylvania, falls on the schools to raise through local taxes. This has put schools in very challenging circumstances in regard to their budget. States across the country have conducted a Costing Out Analysis to review the necessary spending levels reviewed for education. Many studies discuss the need for higher funding allocations from state and federal governments so that the high-cost burden does not fall on LEAs and local tax dollars to meet the IDEA compliance requirements. While overall compliance with IDEA has improved over time, it is still an issue that needs to be addressed. This study used multiple regression to determine if there is a link between compliance with the Cyclical Monitoring for Continuous Improvement and factors such as special education spending and percentage of population receiving special education supports. The data are all public record and was collected through Pennsylvania Department of Education online Databases. The data revealed a regression model suggests that the relationship between the number of areas of non-compliance has a significantly moderate negative correlation with both the number of special education expenditures and the percentage of special education students. The model can explain or predict 11.4% of the number of areas of noncompliance in a school district.
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Author
Karam, Justin