The College of Education, through specialized minors such as thespecial education program, is keeping up with national educationlaws to ensure highly qualified teachers are in public schools.
By the 2005-2006 school year, the Individuals with DisabilitiesEducation Act will require teachers who are considered highlyqualified to have a bachelor’s degree, a full statecertification or licensure and proof that they are knowledgeableabout the subjects they teach, according to the U.S. Department ofEducation’s Web site.
To ensure University students are keeping up with theserequirements, the College of Education has instituted the specialeducation minor.
Faculty members have been meeting to redesign the specialeducation program prior to the formation of the minor. Before theminor, all special education classes only were considered extraclasses for existing degrees.
Ken Denny, an associate professor of special education, said tocomplete the special education program, students must take 15 extrahours of class that focus on working with academic and behavioralproblems.
Denny said students teach in conjunction with the last class inthe minor’s sequence – “Behavior in ClassroomManagement.” University students have about 180 hours ofcontact with children and primarily student teach classes ofchildren with mild to moderate disabilities in West Baton Rouge andAscension Parishes.
“We primarily focus on placing student teachers with thebest teachers in the parish,” Denny said.
Annie Gassen, a primary education junior minoring in the specialeducation program, said the program mostly focuses on assessing andrecording information about the students to decide if the lessonplans are effective.
“Every class taken for the minor requires a lab, whichgives student teachers hands-on experience with special needschildren,” Gassen said.
Gassen said a team of teachers, parents, therapists andadministrators work together to develop an Individual EducationPlan, which decides what the student’s performance level isand where the student should be placed in the school system.
To formulate a lesson plan and judge the students’performance levels, student teachers must gather information fromthe teacher and also look at the IEP’s individual goals forthe students, Gassen said.
Kary Bray, an elementary education senior minoring in thespecial education program, said teaching children with learningdisabilities can be a challenge, but she gained experience duringher previous semester student teaching.
Bray teaches a fourth grade class and said some kids getfrustrated because they are not progressing like otherstudents.
“They get so far behind, their frustrations get maxedout,” Bray said.
Denny said the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals withDisabilities Education Act both ensure students with disabilitiesare included in the education system.
The No Child Left Behind Act requires school systems to includestudents with disabilities in state testing, such as the LouisianaEducational Assessment Program, a test fourth graders must pass togo on to the fifth grade.
“To take a group of people and say, ‘Theydon’t count [because they have learning disabilities]’means teachers aren’t held accountable for thesestudents,” Denny said. “Most of the students withdisabilities in the English and language arts and math classes haveimproving scores because we’re paying attention and makingimprovements.”
Gassen said she does not see the benefits of requiring specialeducation students to take the same tests as regular educationstudents.
“I think it’s a very detrimental idea,” Gassensaid. “You’re going to hurt the special educationstudents as well as the regular education students in theclassroom.”