Placement Options | Laws | Advocacy | Inclusion | Transition 

Educational or Placement Options

Educational or placement options vary across the country, but no matter what your choices are, you must do some digging to find out everything you can about the options available in your school district. Following are examples of placement options.

Regular classroom: The student is kept within an age-appropriate class. The classroom teacher is responsible for monitoring progress. The child receives no special support outside the regular class.

Ask: What accommodations will be offered? How will his identified special needs be met? Will he be given pre-teaching review or re-teaching of skills and concepts? What training has the teacher received to address my child's needs? How will his progress be monitored? What will be different about this situation than his classroom learning before he was considered exceptional?

Modified program in the regular classroom setting: This is sometimes called an adapted program.

Ask: What subjects will be modified? How will what he is doing differ from regular class assignments? Will my child cover the same curriculum as the rest of the class so that at the end of the year he will have covered the curriculum for his grade? Who will do the modifying? Does this mean a watered-down program? Will my child need a modified program during all his school years? Will this modified program be recognized in order for him to graduate into high school?

Resource person within the regular classroom setting: The student remains within the regular classroom and receives help from a resource teacher or teacher's aide in weak subject areas. As the regular teacher teaches the rest of the class, the resource teacher and student work either one-on-one or with other students in a small group.

Ask: Will the special education teacher work on the same material with my child, as the rest of the class is working on? Will my child be doing math, for example, at the same time as his peers do math or will he be missing the subject that is being taught to the rest of the class? Will my child feel uncomfortable being singled out for special instruction? Will there be more than one child working with the special education teacher? Will my child be able to learn without being distracted by the other lesson being taught? What are the logistical details for this approach? What qualifications does this resource person have? How are outcomes measured?

Resource room help on a part-time basis: The child is withdrawn from the regular class for special instruction (e.g., 45 minutes a day – twice a week) one-on-one or in a group.

Ask: How big is the group and will they all be from the same class or grade? What will my child be missing in the regular classroom and what will be put into place for him to catch up on what he is missing while withdrawn from the class? How will this program meet my child's identified special needs? How will outcomes be measured?

Placement in a self-contained special education class: The student is a member of a much smaller special education class. Classmates are primary or junior level students, depending on his age.

Ask: Is the class solely for children with learning disabilities or are there children with social difficulties and children with developmental delays as well? How will this program meet his identified special needs? How long will my child need this special class? What are the qualifications of the teacher? Will my child be integrated with other children for less academic subjects (e.g., physical education). Will my child be involved in the regular life of the school (e.g., choir, clubs)? Is there a stigma to being in that class? Will my child be integrated into the regular program as his academic subjects become stronger? Are there children of his same gender in this smaller class?

Private school: The school board may not be able to provide appropriate services and programming for your child due to a lack of specialized teachers or a lack of programming and services due to geographic remoteness. For these reasons, the school board may recommend a private school specializing in learning disabilities.

Ask: Why is the private school the preferred option? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Do the teachers have special education training? What are the school fees? If the public school recommends this as the only option, will this cost be covered by the school board? What about transportation costs?

Update on new bill SB 10 - Georgia Special Needs Scholarship  
This is the new bill that would allow families to receive school vouchers if the child is currently in the public school system, has a diagnosis and an IEP.

The Individual Education Plan

Once a child is identified as being 'exceptional' the school team develops a learning plan for the child that is specific to his special needs called an individual education plan (IEP).

The IEP is a very detailed plan with goals matched to outcomes on a day-to-day basis. It is intended to cover all classes all day at school, not just the one hour the child may be spending in the resource room or special education class. Think of the IEP as the action plan for the programming ideas discussed at the IPRC. For example, if it was decided at the IPRC meeting that the child needed withdrawal support from a special education teacher three times a week and help from a speech pathologist once a week, the IEP would outline when those supports would be given, whether the child would work alone or in group settings, what outcomes would be expected, what timeframes seemed reasonable and so on.

The IEP is developed by a committee or team that includes the student's classroom teacher, a special education representative, the school principal, one or both parents, an advocate (at the request of a parent) and remedial helpers such as speech-language practitioners or audiologists. A social worker may be a member of the team. Sometimes the child is part of the IEP team if this is appropriate.

Together the team develops a plan. IEP meetings vary in number, often one or two sessions are enough to settle the details. The team reviews the child's academic performance levels, develops short-term and long-term goals with accompanying specific outcomes; reviews the special education services that are available; agrees on start-up dates for programming and duration of services; and develops a transition plan to bridge current classroom teaching with the new program, if that is necessary. Once the IEP is agreed upon, parents and school officials sign an agreement that outlines exactly what the student needs and what will be done to meet those needs.

The focus of the IEP should be the development of strategies to build on the child's strengths in order to remediate weaknesses and build self-esteem. Educators agree that the best strategy for helping the child with learning disabilities is to concentrate on strengthening the child's existing abilities, while working steadily to improve weaker skills. For example, if the child has excellent verbal skills but is totally frustrated putting thoughts on paper, the IEP might specify that his reports be given orally. If the child is strong in math and poor in reading, the IEP might specify having him coach a classmate who is struggling with math; reading support might include reading two key paragraphs in the sports section of the newspaper each night to a parent.

If you have an IEP for your child, you should keep a watchful eye that it is being followed. You may want to review the short-term goals with the teacher every three months so that you have a regular pattern for measuring progress. You can use the IEP as a guide to measure progress as shown in report cards each term. The IEP is your insurance that specific outcomes will result from specific activities; each year you will play a key role in its review and revision and success. You can request a review of the IEP at any time if you believe the overall goals and specific targets are not being achieved.

Guidelines for Successful Implementation of the IEP

• Ensure that the IEP includes strategies for building on the child's strengths.

• Make participation in the IEP process a priority.

• Establish good communication with the other members of the IEP team.

• Find out all you can about the placement options available to you.

• Monitor progress carefully.
  
   

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