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Victories and Challenges for Special Education
By Laura Knoy on Wednesday, July 1, 2009.
Many cash-strapped states have made large cuts to special education. But parents are demanding their special needs children get equal educational opportunities, and a recent Supreme Court case in Oregon may be a victory for their side. We'll look at the state of special education in New Hampshire and in America.
Guests
- Cheryl M. Jorgensen, Assistant Research Professor and Project Director at the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire; she works on state and federal education policy issues, and teaches in the special education program at UNH
- Kassandra Spanos Ardinger, president of the Concord School Board
- Kathleen Murphy, director of the Division of Instruction at the New Hampshire Department of Education
We'll also hear from
- Matt Bernard, a Civics and Economics teacher at Pembroke Academy; special education students are mainstreamed into his classes
- Kirsten Murphy, Executive Director of ARCH (Autism Resources for the Community and Home) and Administrative Director for the New Hampshire Council on Autism Spectrum Disorder
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Hello - all,
Thanks for hosting this show.
I am parent of a child with Autism, and work with parents everyday who work very hard to ensure their children get the support they need in order benefit from the special education system, and also work with those who struggle to advocate at a level to ensure their rights are protected. There is a huge discreptancey in services, and I don't think it's fair that the quality of child's education, and the schools compliance with IDEA law depends of a parent abilities to be a great advocate.
Laura,
I work at a therapeutic high school in Methuen, Mass. We have a student body from 25 to 30 students who have not been successful in the regular high school. Our students are bright and motivated but have needs that were not being met in their home school districts. There are a lot of kids who could thrive in an environment like ours yet, I have seen, when I worked in the regular high school, that some of these kids would have just stopped coming to school or been placed in the behavior room, which never challenged them academically. The students that we do get generally have parents who advocate well for their kids. They don't take "No" for an answer when it comes to what they believe is best for their child. Many parents simply do not know what is available (unfortunately the school district will rarely recommend a program outside of their own) and how much power they have when it comes to gaining access to effective special education programs.
I agree with Elizabeth, even great advocates have to work at getting services, the correct placement or school, measurable and meaningful goals for their child on an IEP. I see many parents with out the skills who are by means of not knowing the special ed laws and strategies that their children lose out. Many schools, I am assuming for lack of money, do not take advantage of trainings to increase teacher knowledge about specific disabilities. I taught in the past and had no knowledge of spec. ed. I have a child with an IEP and this world I am in is complex, intense and is 24/7. I also agree with Kirsten that many departments in NH need to work together.
Dear Laura, The subject of Special Education needs more time than just a one hour program. Please consider having another program on this subject. I tuned in too late to comment, which is sad. I was a parent/child advocate for many years. I dealt with children who were dyslexic and not getting the help they needed in the public school system. There are two types of tests that can be administered to children to gauge their progress in school. One being much more specific than the other. The two tests are criteron reference testing, the other is norm reference testing. Norm reference testing penalizes children with disabilities as it is a 'means test'. Criteron reference testing tests the child on what they have learned. It will show if they have mastered subject matter, what needs to be reviewed and in what areas the child can advance. Please won't you have another program dealing with these particular tests? Thanks in advance for considering this very important matter.
When I studied education in the late eighties, early nineties, I was taught that special education was a concept that ran the spectrum from developmental disability to the gifted/talented. I would agree with all the guests that the benefits to ALL students in the classroom emerge, when utilizing the inclusive classroom and differentiating their curriculums to the students' needs, and I wholeheartedly embrace this approach.
My concern with Special Education in NH is that it doesn't take into consideration the needs of the gifted student. Resources are unavailable because New Hampshire doesn't include the other end of the spectrum under the Special Needs umbrella. No IEP is required for gifted students, to ensure that they too are challenged and learn each and every day.
The "difference" aspect that comes into play with special needs students as they approach adolescence is not being addressed for gifted students, either. The outcast from peer groups isn't always a disabled student--It can sometimes be a student who is intellectually operating on a different plane than their peers and has difficulty relating to other students their age.