In Detroit, special education teachers, students thrown into regular classrooms

[proud2BlibKansan]

EM puts scores at risk
Published • Sun, Sep 25, 2011
Special education teachers, students thrown into regular classrooms


DETROIT — After a long summer involving layoff notices and late placements, Detroit Public School teachers are now faced with improper classroom assignments.

In addition to the previous assignment of special education students to general classrooms, Emergency Manager Roy Roberts has placed special needs teachers in general education classes, where they are forced to provide instruction in areas where they don’t have any experience.

The moves, according to educators, will erase the possibility of improvements demanded by state and federal guidelines.

“It’s a miscarriage of justice,” Teacher Crystal Bonner told the Michigan Citizen. “Not only are the special needs kids not being met, but general education kids have teachers with improper accreditation.”

Bonner was transferred from Finney High School to Coleman Young Elementary School this year against her wishes. She says there are special education instructors at Finney who are serving as placeholders in general education classes. At the same time, classrooms with special needs students are without properly certified teachers.

more . . . http://michigancitizen.com/em-puts-scores-at-risk-p10281-1.htm

This is a blatant violation of NCLB. The 'Highly Qualified Teacher' mandate in that law requires teachers to be fully certified in the areas they are assigned. If sped kids were also just moved into general ed, that is also a violation of sped law.

[madrchsod]

1. oh jeeze...someone unrec`d......

what a disaster for special ed/needs students and teachers.

"...all we want is life beyond the thunder dome.."

[msongs]

2. special ed is a federal program. If we had a DOJ that cared about that sort of thing....hmmm nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Actually they usually jump on this stuff

It's OCR that enforces these rules most often, not DOJ.

States can get around it by issuing emergency credentials. The article doesn't mention doing that in Detroit, however. So I'm assuming they did not.

[FarCenter]

3. There must be a blurring of special ed and regular classroom students

Regular classroom teachers now have to recommend for special ed all of the students that they expect not to be able to pass the standardized tests.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Where? How do they define passing?

What a waste of resources.

[FarCenter]

6. "Pass" in the sense of being "proficient" in the standardized reading and math tests per NCLB

If a student is at risk of turning in a "not proficient" test score, the teacher should refer the child to special ed to ensure that the child receives extra help and so that the adminstration is not "surprised" when they get the test results.

[ChandlerJr]

7. I thought this was called "mainstreaming"

Years ago when our kids were in school, 1980's, special needs were always in with the other kids along with their teachers and many times volunteer parents. I thought the idea was to allow them to adapt to real life situations.

When did that change?

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. Not if you don't convene the IEP team for each student

and change services. This is why it's called an INDIVIDUALIZED Education Plan. States and districts are not allowed to mandate program changes for groups of kids with disabilities. And that's exactly what they have done here.

[Starry Messenger]

9. recommend.

[theaocp]

10. k&r

It's like the old adage linked to husbands: if I do it right, I'll have to continue doing it. Fuck it up and I'll never have to do it again.

That's about it. These assholes don't want resource education to work. It probably would impact their fucking relatives in the private prison industry. You fill in the blanks. Key-righst.