User:Eleveille96/sandbox

Long-Term Special Education Substitute Teacher Requirements

There have been cases regarding students who require special education having substitute teachers who are not certified in special education. This page is meant for parents of children who require special education to be made aware of these cases and how it has affected those children. This page will give information about requirements that need to be met for long-term special education substitutes. It will also be a place of guidance for professionals in education to fully understand these requirements. Those who wish to become special education substitute teachers can learn helpful tips from this page. It will include information about training that school districts have provided to special education substitutes.

IDEA

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) states that special education teachers are highly qualified. This meaning that the teacher has certification as a special education teacher or passed the state special education teacher licensing examination and holds a license to teach in the state as a special education teacher, the teacher has not had special education certification waived on a temporary, emergency, or provisional basis, and the teacher holds at least a bachelor’s degree (IDEA, 2004). Students who require special education have the right to a certified special education teacher who will be able to provide the services required by their IEP.

FAPE

FAPE refers to free appropriate public education. Under Section 504, it is required for school districts to provide a free appropriate public education to students who are qualified with a disability. An appropriate education under FAPE (1973) ensures that: education services designed to meet the individual education needs of students with disabilities as adequately as the needs of nondisabled students are met; the education of each student with a disability with nondisabled students, to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of the student with a disability; evaluation and placement procedures established to guard against misclassification or inappropriate placement of students, and a periodic reevaluation of students who have been provided special education or related services; and establishment of due process procedures that enable parents and guardians to: receive required notices; review their child’s records; and challenge identification, evaluation and placement decisions To meet the requirements of FAPE, teachers of students with disabilities must be trained in instructing individuals with disabilities (U.S. Department of Education,1999).

Cases of Substitutes without Special Education Certification

One case that regards a long-term substitute without proper special education certification is from 2005 in Milwaukee. A complaint was made regarding whether the district ensured that a student’s IEP (Individualized Education Program) was accessible to the child’s teachers between September 1 and 9, 2004 and whether a student’s IEP was implemented between those same dates (Taylor, 2019). They write how a long-term substitute must be a licensed teacher or licensed substitute teacher. This specific substitute teacher was licensed for pre-k but was not licensed in special education. The child did not receive special education services from licensed staff for almost two months. The district decided to hold IEP meetings to revise IEPs of the affected children to determine if additional services were needed due to the delay in providing services (Taylor, 2019).

In Philadelphia, students were being denied FAPE due to teacher vacancies. This complaint challenged that students were being denied a free appropriate public education. When the schools were unable to find substitutes, the positions either stayed vacant or were arranged alternate coverage or used teachers who were not qualified. A parent filed a complaint that their child was not receiving special education services that were required under his IEP and also noted three special education vacancies at the school. The School District of Philadelphia did not provide 36 students with special education services required by their IEPs, thus depriving these students of FAPE (Clarke & McInerney, 2017). When the Bureau of Special Education detailed their findings, they included that a significant percentage of the vacancies in the School District of Philadelphia were not qualified, special education teachers. It is stated in IDEA that special education and related services need to be delivered to students by highly qualified personnel. IDEA states that a highly qualified teacher is one who has obtained a full state exam and holds a license to teach in the state (Clarke & McInerney, 2017). The Bureau of Special Education declared that the School District of Philadelphia should be required to adopt policies and practices to ensure that qualified teachers are provided to educate special education students (Clarke & McInerney, 2017).

In Chicago, there has been a shortage of special education substitute teachers. Emily Penn is a Chicago Public Schools social worker, who in the span of 2 years had students with learning disabilities that did not have a special education teacher. In 2019, one hundred special education positions were open for at least 3 months and more than 130 schools got a substitute less than half the time they requested one (Karp, 2019). Thus leaving special education students without instruction, which is against the law and detrimental to their education. These students are not receiving FAPE, which they are required by law to receive.

Special Education Substitute Teacher Training

Jennifer Platt has written an article on how to ensure the quality and preparedness of special education substitute teachers. She writes that special education substitutes should receive the same special training and information that special education teachers do (cite). School districts can collaborate with special education departments at nearby universities to provide professional preparation for special education substitutes (cite). Special education substitutes may be further prepared by observing special education teachers in the classroom and having a mentor. Platt (year) writes that staff development sessions should include the following: Orientation to the district, including policies and procedures, and a map indicating the location of special education classrooms throughout the school district. School district and university organizational charts, including telephone numbers for special education resources and key personnel within the district and university. Description of service delivery options and the responsibility of the substitute within each type of setting (e.g., self-contained classroom, resource setting, inclusion classroom), along with strategies for teaching within each setting. Information about students with special needs, including legal issues, particularly as they affect provision of services to students with disabilities. Professional development sessions in research-based instructional strategies, classroom management, the adaptation of instruction and modification of instructional materials and critical teaching behaviors Substitute teachers who are certified in special education can be hard to find. This is why it is important for school districts to know of the special education substitute requirements. To ensure that school districts are hiring special education substitutes with proper certifications, it is important for hiring agencies to be focused on targeting potential candidates who have obtained special education certification (cite). Training can be provided for both new and existing substitute teachers to prepare them in working with students with disabilities. Along with the proper certifications in special education, it is important that special education substitutes are equipped with other necessary skills to provide an appropriate education to students with disabilities. Engle (2019) gives helpful tips for special education substitutes. Those being that they are able to follow the students' schedule, collaborate with support personnel, work with adaptive equipment, ability to multi-tak, pay detail to safety, and are able to effectively communicate with parents. One cannot simply walk into being a special education substitute teacher. There are many skills along with certification that a potential substitute in special education must have.

Deborah Thompson has written helpful tips and information on substituting in the special education classroom. She talked about her school district’s need for special education substitutes in Georgia. Many substitutes in the Fayette County School System in Georgia wanted to work with special education students, but they felt as though they didn’t have the proper skills to be an effective substitute in a special education classroom (Thompson). The substitutes who were interested in working in special education classrooms were provided with training in special education. They had sessions in cooperative/collaborative instruction, students with learning disabilities, students with intellectual disabilities, students with autism spectrum disorders, students with emotional behavior disorders, and preschool-aged students (Thompson). One tip that Thompson gave is to have the special education teachers leave lesson plans with seating charts that point out which specific students will need assistance. Thompson lists key points that substitutes should remember when they are working in a cooperative classroom. Those being: Be involved in the instructional process. Assist all students by circulating about the room. Be aware of appropriate modifications. Follow the general classroom teacher’s lead. Be careful of requiring oral reading by student Tips on working with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder that Thompson writes are to have written schedules for transition. The parents should be notified of the switch in teachers so they can be prepared in helping their child with the change. Special education substitutes should also receive restraint training, so they can be prepared to help students who have emotional/behavioral concerns. They should also understand and know how to work with the behavior management plan for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. One more helpful tip Thompson gives is to have teachers develop a Substitute Teacher Notebook that details the important information the substitute will need in order to be effective in teaching the students and classroom management. It should include lesson plans, IEP modifications, and behavior intervention plans (Thompson).

References

Clarke, J. R., & McInerney, M. (2017). Re: Denial of FAPE in the School District of Philadelphia - Teacher Vacancies. Retrieved from https://www.elc-pa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/6.17.2017-Ltr.-to-P.-Rivera-re-Denial-of-FAPE.pdf

Engle, P. (2019, June 19). What Are Special Education Substitute Teacher Requirements? Retrieved December 15, 2020, from https://ess.com/blog/articles-special-education-substitute-teacher-requirements/

IDEA–Reauthorized Statute HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS. (2004). Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/tb-qual-teachers.pdf

Karp, S. (2019, August 05). 1 In 3 Chicago Public Schools Went Without A Teacher For a Year. Retrieved December 15, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/local/309/2019/08/05/748114048/1-in-3-chicago-public-schools-went-without-a-teacher-for-a-year

Taylor, C. S. (2019, May 07). IDEA Complaint Decision 05-039. Retrieved December 15, 2020, from https://dpi.wi.gov/sped/idea-complaint-decision-05-039

Thompson, D. K. (n.d.). Substituting in the Special Education Classroom. SubJournal, 1(2),25-30.

U.S. Department of Education. (1999). Free Appropriate Public Education under Section 504. Retrieved December 15, 2020, from https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/edlite-FAPE504.html