Triennial Evaluations: Divorcing the Means from the Ends

Confusion among stakeholders regarding some aspects of the special education process—chiefly the triennial reevaluation—leads to misapplication of rules across districts and states based on interpretations of informal lore-based reasoning. Local education agencies (LEA) can determine that no additional data are needed and advise parents to forego the evaluation. Too, often, families who fear losing special education services for their child will acquiesce and decline the evaluation. Although this may be appropriate for some students, for others it can be a highly questionable and counterproductive decision. We illustrated the ways that avoiding triennial evaluations could hamper the ability of the LEA to adequately foster the student’s independence, monitor the student’s disability condition, and set and reach the student’s Individual Education Plans (IEP) goals. We argued that the major issue in decisions regarding triennial evaluations is centered on determining if a student is still eligible for special education services. This places too much attention on test-based eligibility and too little on educational needs, transition needs, and the instructional program. Triennial reevaluations should pivot from an “eligibility” focus to a “needs” focus, allowing schools and parents to gain a fresh understanding of the individual receiving the services. Failure to do so raises questions about the fidelity of assessment within the structure of special education service provision. Finally, we suggested that the motives underlying the practices for triennial evaluations illustrated here call the pragmatic acceptability of “full inclusion” into question.

School reopening during COVID-19 pandemic: Considering students with disabilities

Over 80% of the children in the world have had their education impacted by COVID-19. For children with disabilities who receive special education services, access to in-person education and other resources at school is particularly important. The American Academy of Pediatrics advocates for students to attend school in person, without specifics for how children with disabilities can safely return to school. To appropriately plan and accommodate children with disabilities we must prioritize safety, allow for adherence to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and preserve essential school staff. The less cumbersome default of confining students with disabilities to home is not acceptable. We provide an outline describing why Individual Education Plans and 504 plans are important, how they are related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and recommendations for measures to help with safe return to school for children with disabilities.

Parents’ Experiences with an Individualized Intervention Designed to Strengthen the Family–School Partnership: The Parents in Partnership with Educators (PIPE) Program

Mental health challenges are common among children, and can interfere with learning and adjustment to school. Although early intervention is crucial and the family–school partnership plays an integral role in the development and implementation of individual education plans (IEPs), there are few supports to assist families in navigating this partnership. This study describes the experiences of parents who participated in the Parents in Partnership with Educators (PIPE) program, an individualized intervention for families who are struggling to communicate and problemsolve with schools around the mental health needs of their children. File review and semi-structured interviews were conducted for ten families. Results indicated that the program gave parents unconditional support and guidance, as well as new skills to help them communicate their perspective in a meaningful way. Parents reported feeling empowered, informed, and prepared to advocate for their children.

STUDENTS WITH A MIGRANT BACKGROUND: POSSIBILITIES AND PROBLEMS OF THEIR INTEGRATION INTO EDUCATION SYSTEM

This paper examines the integration of students with a migrant background and the problems encountered by the teachers, who seek for their successful integration via the educational process. A qualitative approach has been chosen for the research. On the basis of a semi-structured interview (N=12), it is proposed that despite the existing migrant policy, there are still urgent demands from teachers to get specific methodology of working with students from migrant backgrounds. Moreover, the school administration and teachers often have to search for optimal and individual decisions to ensure the process of integration. The most frequently used means of ensuring children’s integration into the educational process include individual education plans, non-formal activities, tutoring in the Lithuanian language, as well as application of the support model for individual student(s). Finally, parent involvement into the processes of children’s education and integration could be more active, yet they themselves often need a lot of support.

IMPLEMENTATION OF EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT FOR A PUPIL WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER IN INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PLAN

The paper aims to propose a process of development of individual educational support based on the analysis of selected items taken from the individual education plans designed for students individually integrated within mainstream primary schools. We analyzed personal files of 18 students diagnosed with developmental learning disorders and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). The results indicate the general formulation of interventions in educational settings.

EAHCA (Education for All Handicapped Children Act); IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)

Chapter 14 includes two cases involving the EAHCA, now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), that have heavily influenced the way public education is provided to school children with disabilities. Hendrick Hudson Board of Education v. Rowley helped to establish the requirements and limits of Individual Education Plans (IEP), a free academic service for any school child with a learning disability. Irving Independent School District v. Tatro, although specific to a child with spina bifida, helped to establish the medical care accommodations that a school must provide for a child with a physical disability.

Recording Support Measures in the Sequential Pedagogical Documents of Children With Special Education Needs

This study investigates the descriptions of support measures in the sequential pedagogical documents (individual education plans or programs and others) of children with special education needs from early childhood education and care to preprimary education. According to the previous research, the role of pedagogical work is largely disregarded in these documents, which typically focus on describing children’s challenges instead of support measures. In this study, the sequential pedagogical documents ( N = 257) of 64 Finnish children were studied for approximately 3 to 6 years, and the data were analyzed by investigating the textual and content-related coherence, as well as the linguistic precision, of the descriptions of support. Consequently, four chronological patterns of describing and developing the support measures—missing, repetitious, disorganized, and explicit—were introduced, and the study results emphasize the importance of the specificity and continuity of documentation.