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Archive for the ‘Special-Education’ Category

Special education laws have had a substantial impact on bilingual special education. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), originally passed in 1975 and reauthorized in 2004, governs special education services in public schools. The law protects the rights of students with disabilities and their families and tries to ensure that ELLs are assessed fairly. The law includes numerous provisions outlined below.

1. Informed consent: Schools must obtain written informed consent from parents or guardians to evaluate a student. Parents must be fully informed of their rights, any records to be released and to whom, and the nature and purpose of the evaluation. Parents or guardians must be informed in their native language or primary mode of communication.

2. Multidisciplinary team: Students should be assessed by a team of professionals with varied areas of expertise according to the student’s individuals needs. The team should include at least one general education teacher and one special education teacher. For English language learners, the team should include someone with expertise in the language acquisition process.

Nearly every education institution provides a best practice educational program for students who have special needs but this is an issue that needs more support and an option of resources that offer realistic ways to put these suggestions in place.

Current Resources

At the moment we have the option to use curriculum documents, professional reports and therapy recommendations that offer useful suggestions but in all honesty we need more resources especially something that we can take home or to work and use with our children/individuals.

Val Gray

Thank goodness for Val Gray… the reason why is because she has been working for over 25 years with students who have special learning needs across a range of settings. She understands the resource shortage and created the Precision Academics Resource Bank (PARB), which provides resources that support schools and families in the education of students of all ages who have special learning needs.