defined as “an expectation of performance that differs in complexity from a grade-level achievement standard” (U.S. Department of Education, 2005, p. 20). In addition to alternate achievement standards, states have the option of developing modified achievement standards for students whose disabilities are so severe that they are unable to achieve grade-level proficiency or progress in the same time frame as other students (McLaughlin, 2010). Only a very few states have developed modified achievement standards, and it is unlikely that these standards will be continued when NCLB is reauthorized. As of this writing, draft legislation for this reauthorization has been released.
Visit http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/states/index.html for more information on NCLB and students with disabilities.
Highly Qualified Special Education Teacher
Another provision in both NCLB and IDEA refers to highly qualified special education teachers. Under IDEA 2004, a highly qualified special education teacher is defined as someone holding full state certification and meeting the same requirements as general educators if he or she teaches core academic subject matter (such as English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, art, or history and geography) at middle and high school levels. Teachers of students held to alternate achievement standards in middle and high school should be certified or qualified in “subject matter knowledge appropriate to the level of instruction being provided” (“Q and A,” 2007).
These requirements have implications for where and from whom a student with a disability receives his or her instruction. Middle or secondary students with disabilities must receive instruction in the previously mentioned content areas from teachers—special or general education—who are considered qualified by their state to teach that content. The “generic” special education teacher cannot be the primary instructor in these areas. It can be very difficult to find a teacher who is qualified in certain content areas such as algebra, geometry, or the physical sciences and in teaching students with disabilities. This requirement has led to increased use of co-teaching and collaborative models (which we discuss in chapter 4) that enable teachers to share expertise and collectively determine how best to deliver the content to every student.
Defining a Highly Qualified Special Education Teacher
In general, to be considered a highly qualified special education teacher, IDEA requires the following (Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities, 2010b):
• Full state certification or licensure as a special education teacher
• No waiving of certification or licensure requirements on an emergency, temporary, or provisional basis
• A minimum of a bachelor’s degree
However, there are different requirements for special education teachers who teach core academic subjects, alternative achievement standards, and multiple subjects. Please visit http://nichcy.org/schools-administrators/hqt for more information about the federal requirements for highly qualified special education teachers. For a list of additional resources that contain information on staff development and qualified personnel, see the section on qualified personnel in appendix A (page 68).
Visit go.solution-tree.com/specialneeds for links to the websites mentioned in this book.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act
In addition to IDEA, two civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of an individual’s disability include (1) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and (2) the Americans With Disabilities Act. Any student with a documented disability is covered under Section 504, but not all of these students are eligible under IDEA.
Section 504
Section 504 protects both children and adults with disabilities from discrimination in institutions receiving federal funds. Under Section 504, administrators, teachers, school psychologists, and other school personnel are required to identify students with disabilities and provide these students with educational opportunities equal to the educational opportunities offered to their nondisabled peers. To qualify for protection under Section 504, an individual must be considered a handicapped person. Although the original definition of individuals protected under Section 504 was relatively narrow, the law was amended in 1974 to define a handicapped person as “any person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person’s major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment” (U.S. Department of Education, 1996).
The definition in Section 504 is much broader than the definitions of the disability categories provided under IDEA. Under this definition, students protected under Section 504 range from those with Tourette syndrome, asthma, AIDS, and diabetes to students with alcohol and drug problems. Thus, students who are eligible for IDEA services are also protected under Section 504 but not all students who are eligible for Section 504 services will be eligible to receive services under IDEA. Essentially, the definition of a disability in Section 504 encompasses all students who have an impairment that affects a major life activity.
The protection from discrimination provided through Section 504 also includes participation in extracurricular activities and architectural accessibility. Section 504 not only protects the rights of students at the preschool, elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels in the classroom but also applies during school district programs such as afterschool care and summer programs (Yell, 2006). Persons who qualify under the protections of Section 504 may not be discriminated against in programs receiving federal assistance and are entitled to reasonable accommodations to facilitate their participation. A few examples of reasonable accommodations that schools may be responsible for providing include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Changes to the classroom environment such as seating arrangements, reduction of visual or auditory distraction, or use of study carrels or partitions
• Changes to the testing environment such as extending the amount of time to take the exam, providing the test orally, allowing for open-book testing, or allowing the student to dictate answers on a tape recorder
• Use of a student’s behavior intervention plan
• Provision of textbooks and materials with enlarged print, highlighted textbooks, or books on tape
• Changes to homework and in-class assignments such as providing extra time to complete assigned work, allowing for written assignments to be delivered orally, or segmenting long assignments into discrete shorter tasks
Section 504 Key Provisions
In contrast to IDEA, there are no federal funds available under Section 504 to assist school districts and other institutions in meeting the requirements of the law.
Under Section 504, students with disabilities are entitled to:
• Protection from discrimination in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools
• School programs, structures, and activities that are physically accessible
• Facilities and services that are comparable to general education facilities and services
