Essay On Special Education Program

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Entrance of a child into special education services can come through referrals made by many different sources. It is a long and tedious process that helps make sure each child is receiving the services he or she needs. This plan is called an IEP(Individualized Education Program). This process and plan gives adage to the old saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.”
The first step of entering a child into the special education program starts in the general education classroom. A teacher may notice behaviors or delays in a student that need to be addressed. Parents may also have requested that the student be referred and evaluated for special education services. The teacher will then begin a pre-referral phase which is an informal process of observing and documenting about the student. The purpose of this phase is to document and explain the difficulties and challenges that the student may be having. Typically, teachers and the family members work together to see if maybe the issues can be resolved in the general education classroom. The teacher may receive help from special education teachers to make basic accommodations and systematically differentiate instruction methods. This phase also allows unnecessary assessments and placements to be avoided. If the student is still having learning difficulties and challenges after this phase they are referred to the special education department and the next phase of having the child evaluated begins.
Parental consent is needed before the child may be evaluated. Evaluation needs to be completed within a reasonable time after the parent gives consent. Once the student is referred to the special education department and consent is given, then a formal evaluation begins to see...

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...it is being followed. The parents and each teacher receives a copy of the IEP so that the specific details in carrying out the IEP are available to everyone.
At this point the child’s IEP must be reviewed annually by the IEP team. This is when the goals that were set are reviewed and new ones are made. In addition to this annual review the student is re-evaluated at least every three years. This review determines if the student is still considered eligible for services as defined by IDEA and if the educational needs of the child are different than they were before.
The process of placing a child in special education is not an easy task. However, to see the benefits of a child being accommodated specifically to their educational needs is something amazing. Everyone deserves the opportunity to learn and this is one way as a teacher I hope to make it happen.

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