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Where can I find the
most current information on the Individuals with Disabilities
Improvement Act of 2004?
On December 3, 2004, the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 was enacted into law as
Public Law 108-446. The statute reauthorizes and makes significant
changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The newly amended IDEA is intended to help children with disabilities
achieve to high standards by promoting accountability for results,
enhancing parental involvement, and using proven practices and
materials; and, also, by providing more flexibility and reducing
paperwork burdens for teachers, States, and local school
districts. You can read the law in it's entirety at the Federal
Register's site.
Read
the OFFICIAL copy.
The Council of Administrators of Special Education
(CASE) web site offers a short summary of the 2004 Act, as well as a
summary of the major provisions of the act, and a side by side
comparison of IDEA 1997 and 2004.
Read
the short summary from CASE.
Read
the summary of major provisions.
Read
the side by side comparison.
(Back to Top)
How do I create a near
perfect IEP?
Susan Williamson created a booklet in February of
2004 entitled "How
to Write a Near Perfect IEP." This booklet
establishes guidelines for creating an IEP in accordance with
federal, state, and LEA policy.
(Back to Top)
How can I help my
students succeed in the general curriculum?
Providing accommodations and modifications in the general
curriculum helps teachers meet the intent of IDEA, to provide
instruction within the least restrictive environment and to educate
disabled students with their nondisabled peers to the maximum extent
appropriate. Recent changes in Tennessee's Gateway testing guidelines require assessment
accommodations to be consistent with the student's IEP and be used
in ongoing instruction. Dr. Sheldon H. Horowitz,
Director of Professional Services for the National Center on
Learning Disabilities, offers good advice on "Making
Wise Decisions About Educational Accommodations."
Disability awareness education can help nondisabled peers better
understand the disabled students in their classroom. The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services Center for Disease Control
offers a series of web quests designed to help students in grades
4-6 better understand disability related issues. Try
the Quests
(Back to Top)
What are the best strategies
and techniques to help my students meet their IEP goals?
Visit our Teacher's
Tool Kit for a collection of disability specific
resources on the web:
(Back to Top)
How do I write an
effective behavior plan?
The 2004 IDEA reauthorization includes changes in discipline
provisions aimed toward adding clarity and common sense to the discipline
provisions within IDEA. Visit Behavior Basics to learn about the changes
and view our collection of behavioral intervention resources. (Back to Top)
What are some ways I can promote
collaboration with regular classroom teachers?
The Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act
of 2004, together with No Child Left Behind, calls for greater
collaboration between regular and special education teachers. Power
of Two is a web site dedicated to harnessing the power of
collaboration to effectively include special needs students in the
general education classroom. (Back to Top)
How can I use assistive
technology to promote student achievement?
Assistive technology products are designed to provide additional
accessibility to individuals who have physical or cognitive difficulties,
impairments, and disabilities. Microsoft's
Accessibility web page identifies various types of assistive technology
compatible with Windows Operating System.
LD
OnLine has information on "Customizing Technology Solutions for
College Students with Learning Disabilities" that are applicable to high
school and middle school age children.
Assistive
Technology for Children with Autism contains strategies and examples
of assistive technology and includes links to Low, Mid, and High-Tech
solutions.
The Assistive
Technology Training Online Project (ATTO) provides information on
assistive technology applications that help students with disabilities learn in
elementary classrooms.
(Back to Top)
What do my students
need to know about self-advocacy?
The
411 On Disability Disclosure is a workbook aimed at teaching youth
with disabilities about their disability, as well as how, if and when, to
disclose their disability information to post-secondary schools, employers, and
others. The 99 page workbook, published in 2005 by the National
Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, includes units
on self-determination, informed choice, rights and responsibilities, and
accommodations.
NICHCY publishes "A
Student's Guide to the IEP" and an accompanying technical
assistance guide, "Helping
Students Develop Their IEP," to guide students through the
process of how the IEP is developed, to help students learn about their own
disability, individual strengths and weaknesses, and to promote personal
responsibility in determining what goals, objectives, and accommodations will
help them achieve their potential. (Back to
Top)
How can I help my
students transition to life after high school?
Transition planning is ordinarily associated with students
age 14 and older, but the process can begin much earlier. By addressing
pre-employment and independent living skills in the elementary years, students
will gain a sense of responsibility and establish positive attitudes toward
work. In the middle school years, interests, aptitudes, and occupational
preferences can be identified, and a course of study for transition planning can
be outlined. For detailed information on transition planning in
Tennessee, visit Tennessee
Connections.
The 2004
reauthorization of IDEA changed some provisions of transition. Read about
the changes in this Statute
Brief prepared by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services (OSERS) in the U.S. Department of Education.
For more information on transition planning, please see our
list of recommended links under Transition on our Teacher's
Tool Kit page. (Back to
Top)
Am I
"highly qualified"?.
The NEA web site has a chart for special
education professionals to assist in deciphering the "highly
qualified" provisions as stipulated by IDEA. See
the chart, or take their online
quiz that accompanies the chart. (Back to
Top)
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