Parental Assessment of Special Ed Programs

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There was a request to post this from another discussion, so here it is:

I'm so happy you asked for a suggestion on rating special ed programs. Here's my version of a questionnaire, to be filed with the district and posted on its' website for parents to access. And let me emphasize that the purpose of the questionnaire is to allow parents to rate their experiences and make them publicly accessible to other parents with children in special ed programs. As far as the rating scale, it could take its' cue from similar types of questionnaires that schools put out at year's end, or better yet, standardized testing (since public ed is SO in love with that.....) by a simple a) below the standards b) meets the standards c)exceeds the standards. Standards as in legal requirements set forth by the State and Federal government. I think to start there are 3 main areas (I encourage others on here to post additions at will), for evaluation by parents:

1. Proper, consistent and thorough implementation of IEP's and 504 plans.

2. Consistent communication between Special Ed (teacher, coordinator, specialist etc) and parents, with ongoing discussion of clearly defined goals and benchmarks relating to #1.

3. Quality of support and responsiveness to parents as relates to inquiries, suggestions and yes indeedy....constructive criticism.

I think those 3 areas are a good place to start, and whether your child fits one "type" or another has no bearing on how well the special ed services carry out their responsibilities since they are supposed to be educated and knowledgeable about all "types", and capable of addressing the needs of children who fall under the special ed umbrella. As Mike Myers said, "Discuss amongst yourselves".

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Parent Replies to "Parental Assessment of Special Ed Programs"

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I also think this is a wonderful idea! Having been a school based OT and a parent of a child with ADHD who is in the process of moving for the 3rd time to another state, this would be of great help to me. You might also add what kind of services the spec ed teacher provides...pull out, consultative, collaborative, total team teaching with reg ed.

I think this is a great idea. So much depends on this information and yet it's almost impossible to find.

Hey,Sonora, I think your idea is a great one and the categories are spot on. To demystify or should i say aid in the process of rating how the schools are handling kids with LD or Dyslexia or ADHD would be great for parents who are entering schools with diagnosed children and yet to be diagnosed children.Communication is key ,and awareness of how the child is learning and mastering material . With my daughter I have noticed a pattern of when she flips out over an assignment that may be initially overwhelming.Maybe another category of assignments that caused particular anxiety to occur with the child might be worth noting.That way the child and the parent can have more time before the due date to prepare.If the anxiety can be headed off then the child can have a much more soothing learning experience.Thanks again ,you are a bright bulb.

Those are good places to start. Thank you for your suggestions.

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