What is Special Education:

March/April 2008

An Overview of the Special Education Laws and their Implications for Media Specialists

Jami Biles Jones and Alana M. Zambone

Approximately 6.8 million students receive special education services ( OSEP, 2007). Many of these students utilize the school library, many more would benefit from interaction with the media specialist. The purpose of this ongoing column is to help media specialists understand their role in meeting the laws and intent of special education and to provide information, strategies and resources to help serve this group of students.

There are two laws specifically addressing the education of children with special needs:

• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA (originally The Education of the Handicapped Act of 1976) confirms the right of children with disabilities to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and provides federal funding to help states provide special education services.
• Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act , a civil rights law, prohibits schools and other programs who receive federal funds from discriminating against individuals with disabilities.

Because media specialists are often in a position to form relationships with students and support their learning in creative and motivating ways, the laws can help them advocate for students with disabilities, and provide a rationale for doing things in a new or different ways to help students who otherwise might not succeed ( Jones & Zambone, 2008).

IDEA resulted from the advocacy of families whose children were excluded from school because of their disabilities. Along with FAPE, IDEA requires the following:

• Individualized Education Plans (IEP): The instruction and services each child will receive to meet their individual needs, with goals and benchmarks linked to the general education curriculum
• Rights of Due Process: The rights of parents or schools to a hearing if prescribed timelines or procedures for providing special education are violated or to resolve a disagreement of needed services. Parents must be informed and participate in the development of their child's programs.
• Related Services: Services deemed necessary to enable the student to participate in and benefit from their education, such as speech and language therapy and physical therapy
• Non-discriminatory Assessment: Assessments used to determine if the student has a disability must be standardized using individuals of the same racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and regional group as the child being tested and must be administered in the student's primary language.
• Least Restrictive Environment:  Education must be provided to the fullest extent possible in general education, unless schools can demonstrate that another setting is the least restrictive environment (LRE)
• Interdisciplinary Team:  Assessment and educational planning must be conducted by a team that includes the parent and general educators and others who can contribute to the student's education

A general education requirement of IDEA is the “pre-referral process.' Before testing a student to determine if he or she has a disability that is interfering with their success, the general educator must consult with families, specialists, and colleagues to attempt to resolve the behavioral or learning challenges by making changes in the classroom environment and instruction. Media specialists can play an important role in this process because of their knowledge of resources and technology, and because the school library often is a place where students who are not successful in the classroom feel welcome and can find materials that are meaningful and useful to them. If, after providing extra help and changing the way we educate and support the student, he or she is determined to have a disability that requires services to help them learn (not all students with disabilities require special education services to succeed), then the school develops the Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

The IEP is the contract the school makes with the student and family. It describes the services, accommodations, and supports the student will receive. The IEP also describes the goals and benchmarks the student will achieve during the year because of these services. For example, if a student is blind, his or her IEP goals may include reading Braille on grade level and the services and accommodations may include access to reading devices, computer software, and Braille materials in the media center. If the student has a behavioral or emotional disability, the IEP may specify that he or she can work in the media center when things are too stressful for the student in the classroom.

Because not all students with disabilities require special education services and because the disability criteria in Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act are more encompassing and broader than IDEA, students who might not be served by special education may have a 504 plan that describes the supports and accommodations they require, such as wheelchair ramps, special services, or untimed testing. Knowing which students have 504 plans and the kinds of accommodations they require are important if media specialists are to ensure that all students can benefit from the services they provide. For example, one student may require books on tape, while another requires a special joystick or keyboard on the computer.

Media specialists are responsible for providing the supports, accommodations, and specialized instruction mandated in students' IEP or 504 plans, as they relate to their use of the media center ( Jones & Zambone, 2008).  The media specialist may consult on a pre-referral team; offer inputs into the assessment process based on their knowledge of the student and how the student functions in the media center; and provide some of the educational services in the IEP. For example, a student may work in the media center shelving books or performing other services as part of their vocational goal.  The special education teacher, together with the media specialist is responsible for supporting the student's achievement of that goal. Research has repeatedly validated the positive impact of the school library and the media specialist on student achievement ( Lance, 2002; Lonsdale, 2003; & Todd & Kuhlthau, 2004). Although these studies did not specifically focus on students with disabilities, media specialists can have an equally positive impact on this group of students and are important members of their teams.

REFERENCES    

Jones, J. & Zambone, A. (2008). The power of the media specialist to improve academic achievement and strengthen at-risk youth. Worthington, OH: Linworth.    

Lance, K. (2002). Impact of school library media programs on academic achievement. Teacher Librarian, 29, (3). 29 – 34.

Lonsdale, M. (2003). Impact of school libraries on student achievement: A review of the research. Retrieved 1/14/09 www.asla.org.au/research/index.htm.

OSEP: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, & Office of Special Education Programs. (2007). 27th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Parts B&C. Retrieved 1/16/08 http://www.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/osep/2005/parts-b-c/index.html

Todd, R. & Kuhlthau, C. (2004). Student learning through Ohio school libraries: Background, methodology and report of findings. Retrieved 1/18/08 http://www.oelma.org/studentlearning.htm.

Jami Jones & Alana Zambone