Pennsylvania issues new rules on “least restrictive environment” for all teachers
The Centre Daily Times reports that the Pennsylvania State Board of Education (PBOE) has made sweeping changes to its rules governing the “least-restrictive environment” (LRE) approach toward special education. To ensure that approach is being followed, all newly certified teachers, regardless of whether they teach history, physics, art or elementary education, will be required to have extra training in special education. And those who do pursue special education certifications must have a second certification to achieve what is known as “highly qualified status” to be able to better assist other teachers. The push behind the changes in teacher certification initially came from “parents coming forward and saying our kids are not getting the services they need in general education classrooms,” said David McNaughton, an associate professor in Penn State’s department of educational and school psychology and special education. Part of the reason could be traced to the sheer volume of children now being identified with special needs. While total enrollment has remained flat both statewide and locally, the number of children in special education has risen significantly during the past 10 to 15 years. Autism, in particular, “has grown phenomenally,” said Deneen Keller, a Penns Valley special education teacher. Excluding gifted and pre-school-aged children, there were 272,255 students enrolled in special education statewide in 2006-07, up from 208,421 in 1990-91. That’s a 30.6% increase. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), three of every 20 students have a disability or are still learning English. In addition, 96% of students with a disability have at least some of their education provided by a regular education teacher. “All teachers have interaction with students in special education,” PDE spokeswoman Leah Harris said. “And even though they are not certified in special education, regular teachers still need to know the unique characteristics of special education so they are better able to instruct those students.”
Source: Centre Daily Times, 8/4/08, By Dena Pauling
[Editor’s Note: More details on the rules are at the first link below. The next links are to a chart from the National Education Association (NEA) and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) and a question-and-answer sheet by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), both detailing federal “highly qualified teacher” requirements as relate to special education teachers. A November Wall Street Journal article available from the next link reported that some parents of children with disabilities are ambivalent about IDEA’s LRE approach, feeling that mainstreaming sometimes can hinder the students it is intended to help. The Journal also reported last month on the development of new techniques to detect autism at a much younger age, allowing for earlier interventions.]
PDE guidelines on new requirements
NEA/NASDSE chart on highly qualified special education teachers
CEC Q&A on highly qualified special education teachers
NSBA School Law pages on misgivings about mainstreaming
Wall Street Journal, 7/8/08, By Jeremy Singer-Vine