1.
Unnecessary paperwork
Special
education teachers are often bombarded with a plethora of useless paperwork.
The New
York City Department of Education wrote a sample IEP for a hypothetical
student. The short-term objective was "During daily activities, James will
use a 12” ruler to correctly measure the sides of a square, triangle and
rectangle with sides measuring no more than 12” and record the measurement on a
chart, 4/5 opportunities over a 2 week period." Seems like a good
objective, right? But this is something every 2nd grader will do
anyway, so why does it need to be an IEP goal?
When I was
a senior, my IEP said (don't remember if it was academic performance or Social/Emotional
Performance) that I like to disseminate information I read online. While that
was true, how is that going to help the teachers teach me?
We can
shorten the amount of paperwork required by not writing unnecessary details and
useless goals. Or instead of writing a bunch of goals, we can write best
strategies for teaching the student.
2.
Self-contained classrooms
I spent 10
years full time in a separate, self-contained classroom. Imagine how
stigmatizing it is to the student, to go to a "special" classroom
daily full time for 10 years.
Also this
is excessive for a specific learning disability. I believe a student with mild
disabilities should spend at least 40% of the school day with general education
peers. Yet I didn't.
In 8th
grade my para said I do better in a smaller class, despite the fact I hadn't
been in a large class since Pre K. You never know unless you try. Ironically,
our teacher lectured the class for not trying. No one attempted to do the math
homework because they were afraid to get it wrong.
3.
Oversight
I have
mentioned earlier that I am a former special education student. A lot of the
problems I had could have been avoided with proper oversight. The main purpose
of oversight is to:
1. Make sure
students are getting the services they need
2. Make sure
students are not getting services they don't need
3. Make sure
teachers and schools are doing their job correctly, which should apply to all
students
4.
Transition
Federal
law requires schools to develop a transition plan for students on the first IEP
to be in effect when the child turns 16 they turn 16. Districts may set a lower
age. In NYC the age is 15. Since I was to turn 15 in the middle of my freshman
year, they started the transition plan. This involves having me fill out a
check list to check off what I was interested in (i.e. marine biology, law). A
14 year old doesn't know their life’s goals, especially one that just started
high school and is dumb and immature.
In some
places the age is 12. 80% of college students change their major, so of course
a 12 year old can decide their lifes goals.
5.
Students should have a say in their own IEP
Currently students under 18 don't have the right to
refuse services, withdraw themselves from special education, request mediation,
etc. Only their parents can do that. Schools aren't always right. That's why
mediation exists. But if your parents refuse to use mediation and advocate for
you, you have no legal recourse? Can't students under 18 at least have the
right to formerly challenge their IEP? They should also be notified of this
right.
The IDEA allows students to be placed in residential
schools and hospitals if that's what the IEP team decides. Adults need a court
order to be involuntarily hospitalized, but students don't have the right to
challenge placement in a residential school?
6.
Exit summary
When a student graduates high school, they must
receive an exit summary, another useless paper, or a meaningful summary that
includes current strengths, abilities, skills, functional and academic levels,
needs, limitations, necessary accommodations, and recommendations that will
support the student after high school. No college disability office is going to
accept this piece of paper.
