Field Experience A

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Grand Canyon University *

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Sociology

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Apr 26, 2024

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Kelsey Maxwell SPD-500 Field Experience A July 19 th , 2023
Special Education Process I interviewed two teachers, 3 rd grade teacher Briana Garcia, and Special Education teacher Jared Pike. They both work at Skyline Ranch in San Tan Valley, Arizona. When discussing the Special Education process, they made sure to tell me that this was the process for Arizona. Some states, the process can be a little different, but most of it is the same. In Arizona, a child is identified through the Child Find process. This is usually done through a 45-day screener or MTSS process. A child can also be referred to the process through a letter from parents or other services. After a referral has taken place, there is a meeting called a Response of Existing Data (RED or MET1) in which the RTI/MTSS team and the MET (Multi-disciplinary Evaluation Team) get together to decide what areas the student should be evaluated in. Once the exact evaluations are agreed upon, the child will be evaluated in the different areas by members of the team. After that data is gathered, the MET team meets again (at a MET2) and will discuss if the student is eligible. The members of this team usually consist of classroom teachers, parents, a LEA (local educational agency) representative, the special education teacher, a school psychologist and any other related service provider (speech, OT, PT). The student will either qualify or not at this meeting. From this meeting, the special education teacher will schedule an IEP meeting where the team decides on goals and accommodations and modifications for the child. The special education process is a complicated and lengthy process. All stakeholders involved need to have a deep enough understanding of the process that they are able to communicate with anyone about where they are in the process. The most important thing to remember about the special education process is that this is the one area in education where everything needs to be followed exactly the way the laws state it. There are many areas where
teachers can get away with doing things their own way. The special education process must be followed to the letter. Confidentiality, Trust, and Other Considerations There are many laws put into place by the federal and state governments that protect children and their information. When it comes to children in special education, the information is on a need-to-know basis and not all information is shared with the general education teachers. One of these laws that protects all children’s information is FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). This law protects the right to privacy for both students and parents. Teachers should not be sharing information about their students without permission. When it comes to special education students, their IEP’s are one of the most confidential documents that schools have on hand. When a special education teacher hands out the IEP information sheets to the general education teacher at Skyline Ranch, the general education teacher is required to sign that they have them, then return them to the special education teacher at the end of the year to be shredded. This information does not want to be spread around as it could lead to a lawsuit due to the students information getting out. Another law that protects students is FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education). This guarantees that all students have access to public education that is free and appropriate. For students with disabilities, this law ensures that they have powerful and legal rights to their education. According to Jared Pike, he says that both these laws seem terrifying at first, but in all honesty “following them takes common sense.” There are a lot of ways to gain trust with both students and parents in special education. I believe that showing the families that you are the biggest supporter of their child is the first step in ensuring there is a trusting collaborative relationship between the teacher and parents. Many
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