Everything
that we have learned is important and has relevance. However, I believe the issues that I will
deal with on a daily basis such as RTI, IDEA, FERPA, and due process are the
ones that will take up most of the time when it comes to student management. These are all things that cannot be avoided
and a day won’t go by when issues involving these items won’t occur. Other things like Equal Access will pop up
here and there but will not require the same attention.
As
I am writing this I realize that RTI and IDEA, while they are seriously
important to the success of students they are also interconnected with managing
teachers because they all walk hand in hand.
The
impetus behind the surge of current RTI initiatives stems from (a) needed
improvements in the traditional general and special education systems and (b)
the widespread accessibility of instructional methods with proven effectiveness
(National Association of State Directors of Special Education [NASDSE], 2005).
(Martinez, Nellis, and Prendergast, 2006, p2)
Interventions, IEPs, and 504s are not only
important for the overall success of success in determining the needs of
students so that they are placed appropriately, but that everything is carried
out consistently by all teachers to ensure the greatest benefit by the
students.
With
the lack of systemic guidelines for selecting and implementing allowable
accommodations, it follows that decisions about accommodations for instruction
and about assessments are based on inconsistent and often unreliable sources of
information, including but not limited to (a) teacher’s prior experience, (b)
parent preference, (c) ease of providing the accommodation, and (d) inferences
about student performance (Fuchs & Fuchs, 1999). The Standards for
Educational and Psychological Testing (American Educational Research
Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on
Measurement in Education, 1999) have recognized that educators’ “professional
judgment necessarily plays a significant role in decisions about test
accommodations” (p. 102). Therefore, the assumption that the IEP provides the
best reflection of students’ justifiable accommodations may be more imagined
than actual. Even if the team responsible for writing a student’s IEP has
followed the procedural requirements mandated by IDEIA, it is conceivable that
they will not arrive at an appropriate accommodation decision. (Ketterlin-Geller,
et al, 2007, p196)
It is absolutely
imperative that the principal mandates and makes certain that the teachers
carry out IEPs as written and in a systematic way. Only then will it be possible to accurately
measure what works and what does not, thereby enabling the team to make
accurate and worthwhile adjustments when necessary.
FERPA
is another hot button that has relevance to student management even if it does
pertain to records and other information.
However, it is more relevant when managing teachers because they have to
deal with parents and students on a daily basis and must keep in mind what they
may and may not say when discussing children with other people. Where student speech is concerned they go
ahead and blurt out everything that they want. In my school we weren’t even
allow to say the other student’s name when talking to parents about an issue
that occurred between their children.
I
realize now that they way we do things might be with good intentions but they
are not by the letter of the law. I find
that to be true with several things at my school.
Directory Information
Can be released:
• Name
• Address
• Phone/email
• Attendance dates
Can’t be released:
• SSN
• Student ID number
•
Race/gender/ethnicity
• School transcripts
• Grades
(Hopson, nd, slide
26)
Finally,
due process is a bit easier to manage.
In my school every time a student gets a reprimand or a write-up it is
mandatory that the teacher places a phone call home. The student is also notified by the teacher
that this is happening. Therefore, there
are no surprises. Once the behavior
becomes a referral and the teacher notifies the student and makes the phone
call home, her role is complete. Then
once it is in the system the principal and or designee follows up with an
investigation before issuing a formal punishment for the offense. I have found that in my school, once a
write-up occurs the designee or principal simply blames the teacher for the
behavior of the student saving themselves a lot of effort.
Martinez, R. S., Nellis, L. M., & Prendergast, K. A.,
(2006). Closing the
achievement gap series,
part II: Response to
intervention (RTI) - Basic elements, practical application, and policy
recommendations. Education Policy Brief, 4(8), Center for Evaluation and
Education Policy, Indiana University. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No.
ED 495749).
Ketterlin-Geller, L. R., Alonso, J., Brown-Monegan, J., &
Tindal, G. (2007). Recommendations
for accommodations:
Implications of (in)consistency. Remedial
and Special Education, 28(4), 194-206.
Hopson, M., (nd).,
School law: Week four lecture, slide 26
