The Evolving Context of Special Education Classification in the United States

ABSTRACTThe National Association of School Psychologists' Model for Comprehensive and Integrated School Psychological Services (2010a), often referred to as the National Association of School Psychologists' Practice Model, describes the comprehensive range of professional skills and competencies available from school psychologists across 10 domains. The Self-Assessment Tool for School Psychologists is a two-scale, 48-item self-report measure that is based on the Practice Model and designed to have practitioners assess the degree to which they engage in various professional activities (A scale), and the perceived level of importance of those activities to effective service delivery (B scale). The present study aimed to examine the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Self-Assessment Tool for School Psychologists and to evaluate the proposed interpretation regarding school psychologists' professional practices. Participants included a sample of 1,293 practicing school psychologists. Results of EFA and CFA, as well as reliability analyses, supported a seven- and five-factor model for the A and B scales, respectively. Collectively, this study suggests a varying factor structure between the Self-Assessment Tool for School Psychologists and the 10 domains of the Practice Model. Implications for conceptualization of school psychological practice in relation to the National Association of School Psychologists' Practice Model and future development of the Self-Assessment Tool for School Psychologists are discussed.

Superintendents, central office administrators, principals, school board members and students in the field of education will find this book to be useful in guiding their own professional development and practice. The authors cover a variety of useful topics in special education, ranging from finances, how to systematically monitor the assignment of paraprofessionals, and transportation, to legal considerations and methods of promoting parent engagement. Co-editors Bittel and Young invited seasoned educators and professionals to share their expertise in a wide range of important subjects that collectively promote an understanding of how to transform special education programs and service delivery in public school settings. Chapter topics were intentionally selected to address the common special education program challenges facing school superintendents; and the focus throughout this book was on providing practical suggestions to improve actual practice. As such, current and aspiring educational leaders and policy-makers who are interested in learning more about how to successfully tackle some of the more complex challenges in special education while find this book to be an invaluable resource.

This book will be written primarily for graduate students, advanced undergraduates, and professionals in the fields of school psychology, special education, and other areas of education, as well as the health professions. We see the book as being a viable textbook for courses in research design, applied statistics, applied behavioral analysis, and practicum, among others. We would not assume of the readers any prior knowledge about single subjects designs, nor any prior statistical experience. We will provide an introductory chapter devoted to basic statistical concepts, including measures of central tendency (e.g., mean, median, mode), measures of variation (e.g., variance, standard deviation, range, inter-quartile range), correlation, frequency distributions, and effect sizes. In addition, given that the book will rely heavily on R software, the introductory chapter will also devote attention to the basics of using the software for organizing data, conducting basic statistical analyses, and for graphics. The R commands used to carry out these analyses will be largely automated so that users will only need to define the range for their data, and then enter it into the R spreadsheet. We envision these tools being available on the book website, with instructions for using them available in the book itself.We envision the book as being useful either as a primary text for a course in educational research designs, school psychology practicum, applied behavioral analysis, special education, or applied statistics. We also anticipate that individuals working in schools, school districts, mental health facilities, hospitals, applied behavioral analysis clinics, and evaluation organizations, as well as faculty members needing a practical resource for single subject design research, will all serve as a market for the book. In short, the readership would include graduate students, faculty members, teachers, psychologists, social workers, counselors, medical professionals, applied behavioral analysis professionals, program evaluators, and others whose work focuses on monitoring changes in individuals, particularly as the result of specific treatment conditions.We believe that this book could be marketed through professional organizations such as the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the National Association of School Psychologists, the National Association of Special Education Teachers, the Association for Professional Behavior Analysis, the American Psychological Association (APA), the Association for Psychological Science, and the American Evaluation Association. Within AERA, the following special interest groups would have particular interest in this book: Action Research, Classroom Observation, Disability Studies in Education, Mixed Methods Research, Qualitative Research, and Special Education Research. The book could also be marketed to state departments of education and their special education and school psychology divisions. Currently, many state departments of education require documentation for Response to Intervention (RtI) and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) procedures for individual students. The method taught in this proposed book would allow educators and student support personnel to document the effectiveness of interventions systematically and accurately.

This book will be written primarily for graduate students, advanced undergraduates, and professionals in the fields of school psychology, special education, and other areas of education, as well as the health professions. We see the book as being a viable textbook for courses in research design, applied statistics, applied behavioral analysis, and practicum, among others. We would not assume of the readers any prior knowledge about single subjects designs, nor any prior statistical experience. We will provide an introductory chapter devoted to basic statistical concepts, including measures of central tendency (e.g., mean, median, mode), measures of variation (e.g., variance, standard deviation, range, inter-quartile range), correlation, frequency distributions, and effect sizes. In addition, given that the book will rely heavily on R software, the introductory chapter will also devote attention to the basics of using the software for organizing data, conducting basic statistical analyses, and for graphics. The R commands used to carry out these analyses will be largely automated so that users will only need to define the range for their data, and then enter it into the R spreadsheet. We envision these tools being available on the book website, with instructions for using them available in the book itself.We envision the book as being useful either as a primary text for a course in educational research designs, school psychology practicum, applied behavioral analysis, special education, or applied statistics. We also anticipate that individuals working in schools, school districts, mental health facilities, hospitals, applied behavioral analysis clinics, and evaluation organizations, as well as faculty members needing a practical resource for single subject design research, will all serve as a market for the book. In short, the readership would include graduate students, faculty members, teachers, psychologists, social workers, counselors, medical professionals, applied behavioral analysis professionals, program evaluators, and others whose work focuses on monitoring changes in individuals, particularly as the result of specific treatment conditions.We believe that this book could be marketed through professional organizations such as the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the National Association of School Psychologists, the National Association of Special Education Teachers, the Association for Professional Behavior Analysis, the American Psychological Association (APA), the Association for Psychological Science, and the American Evaluation Association. Within AERA, the following special interest groups would have particular interest in this book: Action Research, Classroom Observation, Disability Studies in Education, Mixed Methods Research, Qualitative Research, and Special Education Research. The book could also be marketed to state departments of education and their special education and school psychology divisions. Currently, many state departments of education require documentation for Response to Intervention (RtI) and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) procedures for individual students. The method taught in this proposed book would allow educators and student support personnel to document the effectiveness of interventions systematically and accurately.

Computers in the delivery of special education and related services: Developing collaborative and individualized learning environments

Computers in the delivery of special education and related services: Developing collaborative and individualized learning environments

Since March 2020, many school districts across the country have employed remote learning procedures in response to the COVID‐19 pandemic. During the pandemic, schools continued to provide special education services, yet little is known about how services were adapted for remote or hybrid learning during the height of the pandemic in the United States. In the current study, 332 respondents completed a web‐based survey that asked what special education services were provided remotely, whether services were deemed effective, and how remote learning has influenced their well‐being. Most respondents identified as White (79.5%), females (92.4%), and worked as special education teachers (52.9%) and school psychologists (35.4%). In compliance with federal guidelines, most respondents continued to hold individualized education plan meetings, conduct assessments, and provide interventions and related services. There was a significant decrease in respondents' reports of efficacy and sense of school connectedness during remote and hybrid learning. Respondents' identification as a person of color, along with reports of higher school connectedness and self‐efficacy were positive predictors of their perceived effectiveness of remote special education service delivery. Recommendations are made for school districts to inform decisions regarding their approach to special education services and staff support during remote or hybrid learning.

Audiologists Join SLPs at Schools Conference

JUE Insight: Desegregated but still separated? The impact of school integration on student suspensions and special education classification

This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study explored the experiences of eight urban school psychologists in the northeastern United States, identifying barriers or facilitators to the adoption in professional practice of the 2010 National Association of School Psychologists Practice Model for Comprehensive and Integrated School Psychological Services. The question guiding this study was: How do urban school psychologists make sense of their experiences while adopting the Practice Model? The literature review revealed three themes: the need for increased behavioral health services in schools, the role of school psychologists, and current implementation of the Practice Model, creating a conceptual framework for the study and illustrated the current practice of school psychology; and adopted Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation theory as a lens to analyze the data. The findings reveal that: (a) a clear role definition is needed for role expansion in practice, and that awareness of school psychologists' potential to be mental health providers needs to increase among stakeholders; (b) district barriers to adoption of the Practice Model exist due to insufficient staffing, high caseloads, and lack of district strategic planning for student services; (c) school psychologists require specialized supervision; (d) specialized professional development is needed to expand practice, increase awareness and training in the Practice Model, and in leadership development; and (e) increased knowledge of the Practice Model as a result of participation in professional organizations. The study concludes with recommendations for district change, increased outreach by the National Association of School Psychologists, and advocacy and coalition-building on the part of school psychologists.--Author's abstract

Chapter 5 - Precision Teaching: Applications in Education and Beyond

Purpose. To develop and test an index of disability severity in a heterogeneous population of preschoolers with disabilities.Method. Using a nationally representative sample of 3104 children receiving special education services in the US, questions from a parent interview were used to develop an index of disability severity consisting of domains of functioning defined by gradients of severity. Regressions were used to examine the association between 15 functional domains and 8 cognitive, social/behavioural, and functional outcomes. Full and abbreviated versions of this disability index were compared. Correlations with proxy measures of disability in this population were used to establish concurrent validity, and the predictive ability of this measure was compared with that of the federally defined disability categories.Results. Of the 15 domains examined, most were significant predictors of at least two outcomes. A shortened index of only six variables was found to be as effective as the longer version in characterising children's level of severity. The index was significantly correlated with intervention variables such as the age at which children began receiving special education or therapy service, r(2802) = −0.22, p ≤ 0.0001, the extent of modification of curriculum materials needed for the child, r(248) = 0.42, p ≤ 0.0001 and the number of services the child received in the school, r(2014) = 0.37, p ≤ 0.0001. Adding severity to special education category significantly increased the amount of variance in outcomes over special education category alone.Conclusions. These results provide evidence for the importance of the construct of severity of disability and its measurement, particularly when conducting research with very young children.

Schools rely heavily on paraeducators to support the delivery of special education services for students with disabilities (SWDs). However, paraeducators often lack formal training in implementing evidence-based practices. Traditional methods of professional development are not effective at producing long-term changes in classroom staff. Prior research shows that paraeducators can implement skills with high fidelity when provided experiential training or coaching; however, most research has included researcher-as-trainer for paraeducators. Training delivered by special education teachers (SETs) may be a more sustainable training framework. We conducted a systematic and quality review of research on SET-delivered training to improve paraeducators’ implementation of skills for supporting SWDs. We identified 11 studies with moderate or high methodological rigor and found behavioral skills training was the most common method used by SETs to train paraeducators. Contextual variables including participant characteristics, target skills, and procedural fidelity were synthesized to provide a summary of strengths and gaps in the research.

Examining school psychology trainees' perceptions regarding school psychologists' key role and function is important because inaccurate perceptions may lead to unmet professional expectations, reduced job satisfaction, and burnout. One hundred and eighty two first‐year school psychology graduate students enrolled in National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) approved and/or American Psychological Association accredited school psychology specialist and/or doctoral training programs were surveyed regarding their perceptions of how school psychologists spend their time. Responses were compared to results from the 2010 NASP survey of school psychologists, in which NASP members reported the percentage of time engaged in various school psychology functions. Respondents in the current sample underestimated time spent conducting special education evaluations t(399.54) = 12.2, p < 0.000, d = 0.76 and overestimated time spent providing individual student counseling, t(465.27) = 2.94, p < 0.001, d = 0.17 and student groups t(444.74) = 5.42, p < 0.001, d = 0.409, η2 = 0.04. A positive correlation between prior professional public school experience and time estimates for special education evaluations was found, r(175) = 0.14, p = 0.03. Implications for the field of school psychology are discussed, including the provision of updated information on key role and function to applicants along with screening to assess knowledge of the field.

Education is recognized as a fundamental right of citizens in the life of the nation. Every person has the right to receive educational services and guarantee for education of the country. Therefore, the State was required to meet the needs and education for its citizens including those with disabilities and disorders / disabilities. Policy on the Management and Operation of Education is one policy that can guarantee the implementation of special education for the disabled and functional abnormalities that provide educational services for students who have difficulty in following the learning process due to physical, emotional, mental, intellectual, and / or social . The objectives are to develop the potential of learners optimally within its capabilities. This study aims to determine the performance management policy and the implementation of special education for persons with disabilities and abnormalities in Semarang in accordance with Government Regulation no. 17 of 2010 with the wear indicators of evaluation: Input, Process and Output as well as the use of education as a national standard 8 operationalization of the concept under study. In addition, this study also aimed to describe the obstacles as well as solutions in the management of policy implementation and delivery of special education in the city of Semarang. The results showed that the management and operation of Semarang city still has many shortcomings which can be seen from: Standard contents are less rigid and less accommodating ABK special talents, Standards Educators and education personnel who still have not managed properly related to the existence and adequacy, Standard infrastructure is still below the minimum service standards for the types of special schools. Financing is still lacking in terms of financing physical, educational outcomes assessment standards are still only show the results of the students at this stage of cognition, as well as graduate competencies are still lacking in terms of skill. The jug is affected by the shortage of regulations is still not clear which affect the management and administration in the city of Semarang. Recommendations from this research is that the delegation of authority immediately held a special education management as a whole to the Provincial Government of Central Java, reviewing and preparing content standards are more adaptive and able to accommodate special talents ABK, manage and commercialize infrastructure better, perform mapping needs and shortages of teachers and and spreading, select and define the mechanisms, procedures and assessment instruments are able to describe the knowledge, attitudes and skills, and provide support for public order management and delivery of special education, especially parents of children with special needs such .