Top Special Education Schools
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What Is Special Education?
Special education is in place in every elementary and secondary school across America. In order to meet the needs of students who require additional services above those provided by regular education, school boards have instituted these programs across the nation. What is special education, exactly? Special education is specially designed instruction that is provided at no cost to parents, that meets the needs of children with disabilities or other special needs. Special education is demanding, stressful and highly rewarding, making it one of the best careers in education. If you would like to provide valuable educational services to the students who need them most, go back to college today and start your career training in special education.
What is special education?
What is special education? Special education is implemented to ensure that students are provided with extra services, programs, support, environments or specialized placements that will meet all of their educational needs. These services are provided at no cost to qualifying students and their families. Although each state and school district may have different rules, policies, regulations and laws that govern special education, all in the United States must comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Act.
Generally, the types of disabilities or exceptionalities are clearly defined in the laws that regulate special education services. Typically, students who qualify for special education have education needs that require additional support. These needs include students who are gifted, those who have learning disabilities, and those with certain medical and/or mental disorders.
What is special education? – qualifying
The process required for a student to be qualified to receive special education services is long and involved. Typically, a regular classroom teacher will notice anomalies in a student’s abilities and/or performance. The teacher will then document student performance and progress, then make a referral for special education testing. In certain cases, parents may also make such referrals. In any case, parents should provide documentation from doctors, mental health professionals or any other pertinent information to their child’s condition.
The child will then be subjected to a series of evaluations, assessments and psychological evaluations. Depending on the results, the student may then be placed in special education services. Implementation of this plan involves the special education staff, regular education teachers and parents working together to develop an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that clearly defines all relevant services the student needs to succeed. The IEP will then be regularly evaluated and modified to ensure that the student continues to make appropriate gains toward his or her full academic potential. Occasionally, special education services will help a student make such progress that he or she will be able to test out of special education, and rejoin the regular education environment full time.
For anyone wondering what is special education, it is a truly valuable set of services that are custom-tailored to meet the academic needs of those who are developmentally, psychologically, behaviorally or mentally challenged. It is also in place to ensure that those who are exceptional or gifted will receive the sufficient opportunities and challenges to meet their maximum educational potential.
