March 2024 – Special Educator e-Journal

Learning Survey – Earn up $45 in Amazon Gift Cards

Dear Special Education Teachers:

We are developing a social and emotional learning survey, specifically designed to assess students with learning disabilities – and we would be grateful for your help.

To participate, you will respond to questions that measure the social and emotional learning of up to three of your students with learning disabilities. We will not be collecting information that would identify your school or your students.

For each student that you assess, you will earn a $15 Amazon gift card. Each assessment should take approximately 15 minutes. You can evaluate up to three students, which would result in a $45 Amazon gift card – this should take approximately 45 minutes.

You may select ‘skip question’ for any survey item.

Here is the link for the survey: SURVEY LINK 

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Amber DeBono at adebono@winstonprep.edu

Table of Contents

• Special Education Legal Alert. By Perry A. Zirkel
• Consequences Don’t Change Behaviors, Relationships Do, However…..By Matthew Tucker
• State-by-State Breakdown of $1.2 Billion in SAVE Plan Forgiveness
• U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Releases New Resources on Students with Disabilities
• Myths and Facts Surrounding Assistive Technology Devices
• Trauma and Specific Populations
• Book Review: Stop Leading Start Building By Jordyn Romanski
• Book Review: Special Education Leadership: A Personal Journey. By Sandra Juntunen
• Latest Employment Opportunities Posted on NASET 
• Acknowledgements

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Special Education Legal Alert

By Perry A. Zirkel

© February 2024

This month’s update identifies recent court decisions that illustrate the application of the IDEA in relation to in-home services, evaluating all areas of suspected disability, and the statute of limitations.  For related publications and earlier monthly updates, see perryzirkel.com.

On January 17, 2024, the federal district court for New Jersey issued an unofficially published decision in S.M. v. Freehold Regional School District Board of Education addressing the FAPE claim for compensatory education for 2017–18 and 2018–19 on behalf of a then 19-year-old with autism and a history of extreme problematic behaviors in opposition to attending any school or participating in instruction at home.  In 2013–14, the district arranged for a comprehensive in-home special education program via a private agency that was unsuccessful.  For the next 3 years, the district provided for a residential placement, where his behaviors significantly improved.  His parents withdrew him contrary to the recommendation of the state disabilities agency.  Based on a district-funded independent educational evaluation (IEE), the student’s IEP for 2017-18 included door to door transportation services, an individual transportation aide, and a day school for students with autism.  Due to their work schedules, his parents were not available for at least an hour before the bus arrived to take him to school.  During fall 2017, his oppositional conduct escalated, including altercations with his parents and self-injurious behaviors.  The state disabilities agency twice provided an aide to come to the home to assist in getting him ready for the school bus, but these attempts were fruitless.  For 2017–18, he had 29 days of absence and 40 days of lateness, and for 2018–19, he had 86 absences and 38 days of lateness.  The school district arranged for residential placement starting in the second semester of 2018–19, but the parents refused to cooperate, filing for a due process hearing.  The hearing was delayed due to the pandemic, but the parents agreed in the interim to alter the stay-put to the residential placement, where he remained until aging out in June 2020.  In October 2021, the hearing officer issued his decision, denying compensatory education.  The parents appealed the case to federal court.
The parents’ first contention was that the district should have provided home-based assistance to address the transitioning issues each morning to get him from ready for the school bus arrival.	Citing the relatively few analogous other court rulings, which rejected before-school services beyond transportation, and the particular circumstances of this case, which included the fruitless prior attempts at in-home aide services, the court concluded that the parents had not met their burden to provide an IDEA entitlement to such assistance.
The parents’ alternate assertion is that the district should have provided in-home instruction as the special education placement based on the initial results of the IEPs for 2017–18 and 2018–19.	Interpreting the IDEA and New Jersey regulations as providing for in-home instruction only when appropriate and after exhausting less restrictive alternatives, the court concluded that it would not have met this first of these two requirements in light of the recommendations of the IEE and the unsuccessful prior experience.
The parents’ final claim was that the district failed to reevaluate their son during the 2017–18 and 2018-19 school years.	Rejecting this claim, the court concluded that (a) the three-year period for reevaluation, starting with the IEE in February 2017, had not passed, and (b) in the absence of a parental or teacher request, the specific circumstances did not warrant a reevaluation.
The rulings in this decision should not be over-generalized in light of the limited applicable case law and the particular factual circumstances of this case.  Nevertheless, it is relatively clear that parents face a steep uphill slope in seeking in-home services before school.  Moreover, neither parents nor districts should insist on in-home special education services except in the relatively few cases that this placement complies with both the FAPE and LRE requirements of the IDEA.  Finally, the reevaluation issue at most would constitute a procedural violation, thus requiring preponderant proof of a substantive loss to the student or to the parents’ participation right.

On December 21, 2023, a federal district court in California issued an officially published decision in J.R. v. Ventura Unified School District addressing a compensatory education claim that covered a 9-year period.  In May 2012, when the child was in first grade, the district determined that he was eligible for an IEP under the primary classification of specific learning disability (SLD) and secondary classification of speech impairment.  During the next 9 years, the district’s school psychologists conducted 3 reevaluations confirming these eligibility classifications without testing for autism despite the child’s nonverbal and verbal communication difficulties.  In April 2021, the parents filed for a due process hearing asserting that district failed to assess the child in all areas of suspected disability since 2012.  Their evidence included a private evaluation from their clinical psychologist expert who diagnosed him with autism and testified that the district had reason to suspect this classification based on his “verbal/nonverbal deficits, and social immaturity, which [the district] documented in each triennial assessment report, and IEP [since 2012].”  The hearing officer decided that under the IDEA’s two-year statute of limitations, the applicable period started in April 2019 and for this period the district violated this “all areas” obligation.  Concluding that this procedural violation resulted in a substantive denial of FAPE by significantly impeding the parents’ opportunity for participation in the IEP process, the hearing officer awarded 152 hours of compensatory education amounting to $19,000 (12 mos. x 12.7 hrs./mo. x $125/hr.).  The parents appealed, seeking extension of the compensatory education award to cover the previous 7 years.
For the statute of limitations, the parents challenged the hearing officer’s rulings that (1) they “knew or should have known” (KOSHK) based on the combination of the 2012 evaluation and the 3 resulting annual IEPs that documented his communication and behavioral problems, and (2) neither the IDEA’s misrepresentation nor information-withholding exceptions applied.	The court concluded that the hearing officer erred as a matter of law by (1) applying the KOSHK standard based on experts’ specialized knowledge rather than what these parents subjectively knew or objectively had reason to know, and, alternatively, (2) failing to find, for the exceptions, that the district “at least recklessly misrepresented [the student’s] assessment results” and/or “withheld information that prevented the Parents from understanding, based on those results, that [the district] had improperly diagnosed [him] since 2012.”
The parents claimed that the Ninth Circuit’s Timothy O. decision (2016), which held that the failure to administer standardized tests for autism upon having reason to suspect this disability was a FAPE violation, applied back to 2012.	The court agreed with the parents’ contention, concluding that “autism was a ‘suspected disability’ beginning in 2012 because the undisputed facts of the record demonstrate that [the child] exhibited symptoms of autism beginning in 2012” and that this “undiagnosed, neglected, and improperly treated disability” resulted in IEPs that amounted to a substantive denial of FAPE.
The parents sought to extend the compensatory education award to the preceding 82 months, amounting—based on the hearing officer’s original calculus—to an additional $130,175 of services.	Instead, the court decided to “issue a separate order requiring the parties to submit supplemental briefing as to the appropriate remedy, including whether an additional assessment is required and, if not, what recommendations and frequency breakdown serves as the basis for Plaintiff’s request.”
The court decision is unusually parent-friendly for both the statute of limitations ruling and—in light of the Timothy O. precedent in its jurisdiction—the “all areas” ruling.  Stay tuned, because the district has appealed this decision to the Ninth Circuit.

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Consequences Don’t Change Behaviors, Relationships Do, However…..

By Matthew Tucker

Abstract

Managing a classroom is the single most important challenge teachers face today, and critical to the success of our students. Building strong relationships with students and their families can help prevent behavior issues before they even start (Davies, 2024) and that work begins before they even enter the classroom. In fact, Consequences don’t change behaviors, relationships do, however, when a teacher does need to impose a consequence, it must be measured, immediate, consistent and the teacher must assess the effectiveness of the consequence (MICAs rule). Here, we will focus on some strategies teachers can use, before the school year starts, to build positive relationships with their students and families, and to implement consequences that are impactful.

Building relationships before they come

Strategy number 1

Teachers must have a solid grasp of the characteristics their students will bring to the classroom, especially if they work with students who have disabilities. For example, if the teacher works with students on the autism spectrum, the teacher must understand the characteristics of this population. Teachers should research the behaviors they can expect the moment their students walk into the classroom. According to the “Handbook of Classroom Management”, to create an orderly, structured environment, those who work with children, must consider student characteristics such as age, developmental level, race, ethnicity, cultural background, socio-economic status and ableness (Evertson & Weinstein, 2006). With this knowledge, the behaviors that the students present with will not be surprising to the teacher, and will help to create classroom rules, classroom layout and classroom structure. Regardless of the population the teacher works with, the teacher should know the characteristics of the students. 

Strategy number 2

Teachers can begin the relationship building process by reaching out to the students and their families in late August or early September by sending a welcome email. This email should be addressed to both family and student and include an age appropriate warm welcome to the new school year and the teachers contact information. This is not the time to introduce curriculum. Rather, this is the time to get to know the student and family. Ask the student and the family a few questions, such as, who lives at your home, what language do you speak at home, what is your favorite subject and what is your favorite thing to do when you are home? In the letter, ask that the student and family to respond to all or as many questions as they like in the email. With this information, the teacher can begin to create their classroom community. For example, understanding the spoken language at home will allow the teacher the ability to have documents translated. If the teacher learns that many students like a particular television show, characters from the show can be used to help with student engagement. 

Strategy number 3

Review IEPs as early as possible and create cheat sheets for all students that go into a binder for quick reference. Accessing a student’s IEP requires the teacher log onto an online platform, look up the student, and scroll to the desired section. This takes time away from managing the classroom. The cheat sheets should include the following at minimum; accommodations, various modifications, related services and goals. This information should be easy to access during the school day.

Consequences

There is no one size fits all approach when managing a classroom and certainly when imposing a consequence to a student who breaks a rule. And although there are various types of consequences, here we will discuss MICAs rule, that consequences should be measured, immediate, consistent and assessed for effectiveness.

Strategy number 4

As a former special education teacher and principal, it was always disturbing to hear a teacher tell a child to “get out” when they presented with disruptive behavior. Kicking a child out of the class should never be the goal. The goal should always be to impose a consequence that will help the child realize the rule they broke, and to develop a replacement to the behavior. If a student continues to talk while the teacher is talking, and proximity didn’t work, perhaps a measured response would be to have a quick conference with the student. This is an opportunity to use the “money in the bank” the teacher has with the student, after all the work put into the relationship, and remind the student of the classroom rule(s).

Strategy number 5

When a consequence is necessary, it should be implemented as early as possible after the rule infraction. Immediate consequences ensure students remember why they got into trouble in the first place. If it’s delayed by a day or even a week, children are more likely to forget what rule they violated. Additionally, feeling the consequence right after the rule infraction can help motivate them to not repeat the same behavior (Morin, 2022).

Strategy number 6

Any time we as educators use a consequence to help a student learn new, appropriate behaviors, the consequence should be consistent. In fact, consistency is the key to ensuring our students learn new behaviors. If a teacher only removes a preferred activity two out of every three times a given student breaks a rule, that student is unlikely to learn not to break the same rule in the future (Morin, 2022). Similarly, if a student presents with the desired behavior, but the teacher does not provide positive reinforcement, the student is unlikely to repeat the desired behavior.

Strategy number 7

Finally, teachers should track challenging behavior before and after a consequence has been implemented to assess whether or not the consequence actually helped to change the behavior. Often, teachers will focus on the ABCs of behavior, or the antecedent, behavior and consequence. When we track the behavior, and we evaluate the consequent event, we can usually learn the cause or antecedent of the behavior. By creating a plan to extinguish the challenging behavior, we must assess if the plan helped the student to learn new behaviors. If the consequence, or plan has not helped the student learn new behaviors, the teacher must consider changes to the consequence or plan altogether.

Research on the importance of building positive student-teacher relationships has never been more clear. “Showing your students that you care enough to learn about something that they love and showing your students’ parents that you’re invested in their child’s success are two of the best ways to strengthen your classroom management and support home-school collaboration (Davies, 2024).” Moreover, when teachers implement consequences that are measured, immediate, consistent and assessed for effectiveness, students are more likely to learn replacement behaviors.

References

Davies, R. (2024). Why building relationships is the key to classroom management. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from Differentiated Teaching: www.differentiatedteaching.com/building-relationships-for-classroom-management/

Evertson, C., & Weinstein, C. (2006). Handbook of Classroom Management. New York: Routledge.

Morin, A. (2022, June 6). 7 Ways to Give Your Kids Consequences That Really Work.

About the Author

Dr. Matthew Tucker holds degrees in Behavioral Science, Education, Special Education, School Building Leadership, and Interdisciplinary Leadership from Mercy College and Creighton University, as well as an executive certificate in non-profit leadership from Fordham University. In his twenty-two years in education, he has been a Special Education teacher at both Southern Westchester BOCES and The Greenburgh Graham UFSD, Assistant Principal, Principal and Executive Director of The New LIFE School in New York City, a school for students with special needs and most recently he served as the principal of The Walden School at Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES.  Dr. Tucker has training in Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and RULER and is certified in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Schools (TCIS). Currently, Dr. Tucker is a full-time faculty member at Manhattanville College, in Purchase, NY. 

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State-by-State Breakdown of $1.2 Billion in SAVE Plan Forgiveness

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Myths and Facts Surrounding Assistive Technology Devices

 

This document is designed to increase understanding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s (IDEA’s) assistive technology (AT) requirements, dispel common misconceptions regarding AT, and provide examples of the use of AT devices and services for children with disabilities and to highlight the different requirements under Part C and Part B of IDEA.1

The document is intended for a wide range of individuals including parents, early intervention service providers, special educators, general educators, related services personnel, school and district administrators, technology specialists and directors, and employees at State lead agencies and educational agencies.

Contents

I. Assistive Technology Requirements Under Part B of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

 

II. Common Myths and Facts about Assistive Technology Devices and Services

 

III. Common Myths and Facts about Deploying Assistive Technology
Devices and Services

 

IV. Assistive Technology Requirements Under Part C of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

 

V. Common Myths and Facts about Assistive Technology Costs and Funding Sources

To read the entire document, click here:

https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/Myths-and-Facts-Surrounding-Assistive-Technology-Devices-01-22-2024.pdf

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Book Review: Stop Leading Start Building By Jordyn Romanski

The book being reviewed is Stop Leading Start Building written by Robyn R. Jackson. This is a leadership book about the negative impacts of being stuck in the cycle of the “hamster wheel” of educational leadership and what steps to take to escape this daunting reality that the majority of administrators face each new school year. The main thesis of this book as Robyn R. Jackson successfully explains is the relevance of using buildership in the place of leadership. She does this by explaining what buildership is, what aspects of leadership are within it, and how to successfully use this in schools. The main themes of this book include the purpose of using buildership, the people who buy into the idea of buildership, the pathway to tackle challenges, the plan to implement buildership, and putting all the ideas together to successfully make the change administrators constantly strive to see within their schools.

The author takes a strong stand at the beginning of the book by stating “Leadership was created by the institution, it’s designed to maintain the institution, not transform it,” (Jackson, 2021, pg. 1). She explains that leadership is more than simply making decisions that impact others. Jackson mentions that leaders typically lack clarity, cohesion, competence, and confidence; however, builders invite others to help create something extraordinary. The buildership model includes four specific parts: (1) clarify your purpose, (2) grow your people, (3) chart your pathway, and (4) execute your plan. When these four parts work in synchrony with each other, buildership becomes a powerful tool to make effective and impactful change.

 

The first step of jumping off the “hamster wheel” is clarifying your purpose by defining your vision, mission, and core values. Jackson explains that this step takes time to redefine these terms, allow staff to help create these non-negotiable values, and create buy-in from all staff and teachers. The role of the administrator is to explain the why and the what. What are we building? Why is it important? And what is my role? When the vision created by all staff is agreed upon, has purpose, has buy-in, and drives all school decisions, students and staff alike benefit.

 

The next step is using the people you already have to create master teachers with the right kind of support and practice. The author states “Builders know that we can help all of our students achieve our vision for them, but we can only do it if there is a master teacher in every classroom,” (Jackson, 2021, pg. 46). She continues by explaining that master teachers must have two things: skill ability and the will to want to make a positive impact on all students. For teachers to be masters, they must receive clear feedback, get support, have accountability, and help create a healthy school culture.

 

The third step is creating a clear pathway to allow change and growth within your school. Jackson explains that “Builders are both diagnostic and strategic in that they must figure out what is most important to do right now and which actions will best help them achieve each end they seek” (Jackson, 2021, pg. 96). This pathway must follow the decided upon vision, mission, and core values. This gives structure to the action plan and allows builders to focus on the important components of the change.

 

The fourth step is making a plan that is flexible and adaptable. “Builders know that the day-to-day demands of their jobs are real as to why they don’t settle for standard school improvement plans that are static” (Jackson, 2021, pg. 122). Jackson continues to explain how 90-day cycles are a smarter approach than planning large, year-long goals as they allow learning and adjustment throughout the year as needed.

 

The fifth and final step is putting everything together to begin writing your school’s success story. “Your purpose outlines the success story you want to tell for your school” (Jackson, 2021, pg. 157). Begin with purpose, build your people, chart a pathway for action, execute and refine the plan, create a blueprint, and make a transformation.

 

This book was a wealth of information on how to make change by being a builder, not just a leader. Just like any change method, there are both strengths and weaknesses found in this approach. One major strength was the explanation of the steps from start to finish. The author did a great job explaining the reason behind the buildership model. She made it clear what the purpose of the model was, how to create a sense of buy-in from staff, and how to change the paradigm from leadership to buildership. The author used lots of encouraging examples of real-life scenarios of administrators using these practices successfully with their staff. However, the book lacked any real method of how to consistently use these practices year after year to see successes as well as how to create buy-in for new staff that joins the school after the initial implementation. There were also few to no real-life scenarios of these practices not working. The author only gave examples of success instead of including both positive and negative stories. Therefore, she was not given the opportunity to prove her methods could be adapted to even the most stubborn and difficult schools and teachers.

 

This book was very similar to the practices explained by Fullan in his book Leading in a Culture of Change. Some similarities included the need for purpose, building relationships with the people already in place, and making coherent choices. However, Fullan’s book went into much more detail about how to run a school practically and effectively by creating change. Jackson’s book focused more on the coherence of team building before change could occur and how to build that team. Both books were excellent resources for learning more about leadership methods and how to effectively apply them as administrators.

 

References

Fullan, M. (2020). Leading in a culture of change. Jossey-Bass.

Jackson, R. R. (2021). Stop leading, start building: Turn your school into a success story with the people and resources you already have. Hawker Brownlow Education.

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Book Review: Special Education Leadership: A Personal Journey

By Sandra Juntunen

Book Purpose

“A student’s potential relies on the future of education.”

 

Ruth McLean Turner wrote Special Education: A Personal Journey to chronicle her 61 years journey in special education. Her challenges and experiences are highlighted to show how special education has revolved. Her journey was real. She faced challenges and successes in her personal life and career.

 

Ruth McLean Turner was the third child of seven children to a Louisiana Minister and an ex-educator mother.  Ruth McLean Turner did not want to be like her mother, a stay home mother, so she went to college, and became a teacher.  She married, had two children, was a stay-at-home mother, and was miserable. Her husband suggested she go back to the classroom. He contracted Polio and was hospitalized. While in the hospital, she noticed adults interacting with the children. The adults were special education teachers.

Book Purpose

“A student’s potential relies on the future of education.”

 

Ruth McLean Turner wrote Special Education: A Personal Journey to chronicle her 61 years journey in special education. Her challenges and experiences are highlighted to show how special education has revolved. Her journey was real. She faced challenges and successes in her personal life and career.

 

Ruth McLean Turner was the third child of seven children to a Louisiana Minister and an ex-educator mother.  Ruth McLean Turner did not want to be like her mother, a stay home mother, so she went to college, and became a teacher.  She married, had two children, was a stay-at-home mother, and was miserable. Her husband suggested she go back to the classroom. He contracted Polio and was hospitalized. While in the hospital, she noticed adults interacting with the children. The adults were special education teachers.

 

Dr Turner submitted her application, and indicated she was interested in teaching students with disabilities.  She was hired as a second-grade teacher. Her school offered her a special education teacher position in 1954. Her principal made the statement, “What a waste (13).”  Her husband passed away and two years later moved to Texas. While in Texas, Ruth McLean Turner attended university to take her teacher entrance exam. She met Bob Turner, who was the director of special education on television. He gave her name to the personnel director, and she was hired to teach visually impaired students. She did not have the credentials and had to return to college. She taught special education for six years before becoming a principal. 

 

Dr. Turner describes being a special education administrator as difficult and challenging; but she loved it.  An administrator has many hats to fill, must be flexible, patient, and innovative.  Dr. Turner exhibited these traits throughout her book.  Dr. Turner’s family supported her. She admitted she needed help to be successful at home and in her career. Dr. Turner had “mixed feelings” about her career (190). She did not feel she made a difference. Her book provides real life scenarios of success, frustration, and the multitude of change as an administrator in special education.                                             

                                                               

Thesis

Dr. Ruth McLean Turner, a special education specialist, was a strong advocate who worked in distinct positions (teacher, administrator, and consultant), wanted to make a difference for students of disabilities by ensuring they were treated fairly and humanly.                                                                  

 

Themes

Special Education Leadership as a Personal Journey provided information on what a special educator in a teacher and leader roles achieved and failed   The book details how a female in the south in an administrator career went through (1).  Dr. Turner was a mother, wife, educator, student, and a leader who believed everyone made a difference.  Dr. Turner feels she was blessed, her parents believed in education and supported her with no judgement.  Her husbands were supportive and gave her sound advice.

 

Dr. Turner started her career in 1948.  She had to overcome the “growing up female” as an administrator (5).  She was able to do this since she had heart and compassion.  She was open, outgoing, strong-willed, and determined to make a difference.  Dr. Turner acquired her master’s degree and her doctorate degree with the support of her family and superintendent. Dr. Turner was supportive, and willing to hear what others had to say. She delegated work duties to staff, gave them a voice, and made committees to ensure the best plans and resources were available. Dr. Turner was a well-rounded leader and individual and considered every aspect, so everyone benefited.  She facilitated, collaborated, modeled, delegated, and improved services with the help of the committees she formed.  She envisioned issues would arise, and the best way to deal with them was to have a team available to assist the school district in making the best decisions.  She gave credit to those who helped her.  She stated in her book (189-190), “my awesome staff helped students with special needs, designed initiatives that benefitted students with disabilities and their families, and collaborated with special education and general education.”  Dr. Turner hopes her, and others’ efforts, will pave the way for school system changes to help students prepare for life. (190)” Dr. Turner wanted what was best for her staff.  She had visions and her staff supported her decisions by working hard and ensuring success.

 

Dr. Turner saw how special education staff were treated differently and were not taken seriously in education.  Administrators and teachers have a myriad responsibilities and challenges that have increased due to the education system expectations, changing demographics, the student’s diversity and needs served in public schools, and shifts in meeting the requirements of the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) (Thomas, 2007; A. L. Thompson, 2011).

 

Dr. Turner knows she had room for improvement and in her book stated she was feisty, head strong, and argumentative. She talked about a situation where one of her bosses took her staff away telling her no one wanted to work with her.  Her successes with the programs, the students she worked with, the lobbying and research studies she was involved in, show she and staff were willing to go beyond to make a difference.  Dr. Turner ended her book with this quote which says it all, “I attempted to make a difference in my chosen profession, but my feelings of my results are mixed about education’s future (190). My knowledge is pessimistic, but my hoping and longing are optimistic (190).

 

Key Quotes

 “The continuation of the intense level of often horrific trends in special education that have been persisted over six decades is less tolerable and are more than a sad fact or a rationale for a grant when you can name the students and parents impacted by these trends (2).”  This quote by Dr. Turner mentioned concerns about the number of minority students placed in special education, zero tolerance, using special needs guidelines to enhance grades.

 

 “When parents, teachers, and others convey to the child that we want you, like you, would like to have you in this school and in this classroom, but there are certain things we expect of you, the response, if often miraculous (87).”  This quote in this book indicates that relationships can be maintained and built through recognition, respect, trust, acceptance, purpose, and confirmation which can have student buy in.

 

 “Leadership was an important factor in school effectiveness, and it is clear that many principals rarely felt the same ownership and responsibility for students with disabilities in their school as they felt for general education students (149).”  This quote implies that administrators do not accept ownership/responsibility on the students’ treatment.

 

 “Schools must replace the sorting paradigm with a talent development model that assumes that all students need a rich and challenging curriculum with appropriate assistance and support (157).”  This quote implies general education teachers believe students with disabilities were too much work since they need extra help and support to be successful and general education students do not need to be exposed to students with disabilities.

 

 “It is impossible to spend any prolonged time in America’s schools without being appalled by the ‘mutilation of spontaneity, of joy in learning, of pleasure in creating and of a sense of self (164-165).”  This quote implies students are being taught to take tests and are taking the fun out of school.  Schools are too rigid and do not allow students opportunities to be themselves.

 

“If we built our school systems on the cycle that provides feedback and directs our changes and see the hope and the need for fulfillment in all of our students, special education versus general education discussions would be irrelevant (186).”  This quote implies students with disabilities are allowed an opportunity to get an education without being stereotyped, discriminated against, excluded, and be treated with respect.

 

 “Schools need to help students learn more about what it means to be human, how to find their passion, and how to pursue their potential (189).”   This quote implies barriers exist for students with disabilities such as inappropriate placements, bias, lack of understanding, training, resources, teacher shortages, inclusion/exclusion, and people believing they are “do-gooders.” 

 

Strengths and Weaknesses

Dr. Turner realized students with disabilities needs are not a one size fits all. Inclusion benefits some students but not all. Teachers need to be trained and have a heart to be beneficial. This book highlights Dr. Turner’s advocacy attempts to help with special education. Dr. Turner made suggestions, created programs, was a voice for students and parents, and did make a difference. She was the voice to ensure students were not treated differently but fairly. She provided training, interpreted the laws, reforms and/or initiatives to use against students of special needs to ensure students were not taken advantage of.  Dr. Turner made a difference and relied on others to assist her.

 

The weak points of Special Education Leadership are seeing special education policies being used for the better of the school and not the student.  Laws, reforms, and initiatives have been initiated with little fidelity creating havoc for the special educators. The issues happening during Dr. Turner’s time are occurring today. Education needs to be revamped since it is biased.  It does not consider all the school population’s needs, creating more issues to address.

 

Compare and Contrast

Dr. Turner illustrated that she was leading in a culture of change. She was a special education administrator in the 1960’s who had many challenges from staff, schools, state, and federal governments. She proved she had moral purpose. She wanted the best for everyone. She had enthusiasm, energy, and hope like Fullan’s framework.  She implied that education needs to be changed since it does not meet all students’ needs and special education staff are not on the same level as other teachers. Dr. Turner wanted what was best for the students and to improve the school’s conditions. She worked tirelessly and chose people to assist her who would make a difference.  Dr. Turner trained, modelled, molded, delegated, and allowed staff, students, and parents to have a voice.

 

Dr. Turner dealt with many changes such as the Texas senate bill 230, lawsuits (Brown vs. Topeka, Mills vs. Board of Education District of Columbia), PL 94-142, IDEA, etc… Fullan (2020), stated change cannot be managed. It can be understood and led, but not controlled. Special education administrators revise, adjust, and adapt due to the many changes.  Fullan (2020) states schools have too many changes that are unwanted from upper echelons.

 

Dr. Turner quoted Fullan (2016), “cultural change is the prerequisite to effective reform to schooling.  Re-culturing occurs when the teaching/learning process changes and basic changes in what is taught, assessed, and how people work together.  We need to quit thinking about new ways to reform and commit to continuous improvement.  We need a different concept about people and what motivates them to do quality work.  A system that focuses on changing students’ needs is needed (Turner, 2022).   Education has issues that are old and do not meet the needs of students and staff.  Dr. Turner was innovative and motivated to enhance working skills and find resources/programs to ensure some sort of success.  Students and situations are not a one size fits all.  Many avenues can be explored and tried and not all will be successful.  A leader needs to lead by example with patience, determination, and a willingness to fail to get back up and try again with confidence.

     

 References

Bin Heli, H., Senin, M. S., Yunus, Y. B. M., Vellu, K., George, A. J. (2021). A Review of the Educational Leaderships Theory for Special Education Perspective.  Turkish Journal of  Computer and Mathematics Education; Trabzon Vol. 12, Iss. 11,  (2021): 5217-5223.         https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/review-educational-leaderships-theory-special/docview/2639744039/se-2

 

Fullan, M (2020). Leading in a Culture of Change. Jossey-Bass, ISBN13: 9781119595847.

 

Lipscombe, K., Tindall-Ford, S., and Lamanna, J. (2023).  School Middle Leadership: A systematic review.  Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 31(2), 270-      288.  doi: 10.1177/17411432209833328.

 

Luckner, J. L., and Movahedazarhouligh .S. (2019). Leadership in Special Education:Administrators’ Current Challenges in One Western State, 21:2. JSEL-32-02-06_1XO.

 

McLean-Turner, R (2022). Special Education Leadership as A Personal Journey: Challenging Parallel Systems of Education, ISBN: 13.979-8-3520-3823-9

 

Thomas, N. (2007). Collaboration is key to leadership. Journal of Special Education Leadership, 20(1), 44–45.

 

Thompson, A.L. (2011). Case in point: Illuminations for the future of special education leadership. Journal of Special Education Leadership, 24(2), 111–113

 

Turner, R. (1992). Education Reform: Past and Present (Conference Presentation).  Learning Disabilities Association of Texas 1992 Conference.  Austin, Texas.

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Acknowledgements

Portions of this or previous month’s NASET’s Special Educator e-Journal were excerpted from:

• Center for Parent Information and Resources
• Committee on Education and the Workforce
• FirstGov.gov-The Official U.S. Government Web Portal
• Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals (JAASEP)
• National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth
• National Institute of Health
• National Organization on Disability
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• U.S. Department of Education
• U.S. Department of Education-The Achiever
• U.S. Department of Education-The Education Innovator
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• U.S. Department of Labor
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• U.S. Office of Special Education

The National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) thanks all of the above for the information provided for this or prior editions of the Special Educator e-Journal

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