Special Educators on the IEP Team
From NICHCY
NOTE: In Texas, the IEP Team is referred to as the ARD Committee.
Not less than one of the child’s special education teachers must also be included in the IEP team, or, when appropriate, a special education provider of the child. The child’s special education teacher has a lot to contribute at the IEP team meeting, including important information and experience about how to educate children with disabilities. Because of his or her training in special education, this teacher can talk about such issues as:
- how to modify the general education curriculum to help the child learn;
- the supplementary aids and services that the child may need to be successful in the regular classroom and elsewhere;
- how to modify testing or to provide the test with individual appropriate accommodations so that the child can show what he or she has learned; and
- other aspects of individualizing instruction to meet the child’s unique needs.
Beyond helping to write the IEP, the special educator has responsibility for working with the child to implement the IEP. He or she may:
- work with the child in a resource room or special class devoted to children receiving special education services;
- team teach with the child’s regular education teacher; and/or
- work with other school staff, particularly the regular education teacher, to provide expertise about addressing the child’s unique needs.
Obviously, having the special educator at the table is a very important part of writing an appropriate IEP for a child with a disability.
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