Domain IV — Foundations and Professional Roles and Responsibilities
The special education teacher understands the philosophical, historical and legal foundations of special education.
TEA, “Technical Assistance: Child Find Duty”: Texas SPED Support
The TEA is providing this guidance to assist LEAs in meeting their obligations under state and federal laws and regulations regarding the responsibility to identify, locate, and evaluate all children suspected of having a disability and who are in need of special education and related services, commonly referred to as the Child Find obligation. To ensure that all children who may need special education and related services are identified, it is important that LEAs establish and implement continuing efforts to seek out these children and inform the public of services available to children and families.
This 90-minute video reviews special education law, including updated U.S. Supreme Court decisions, maintenance of electronic record confidentiality, and additional issues that are developing in the field.
This course is part of a series covering the legal foundations of laws supporting students with disabilities.
Those who enroll in this interactive course will be able to do the following:
- Explain the difference between civil rights laws and funding laws.
- Identify where the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, fits within the continuum of federal laws.
- Identify other federal laws that have direct implications for students with disabilities.
- Understand how state laws may expand federal laws impacting students with disabilities.
The purpose of this brief is to summarize some of the past exclusionary practices that resulted from low expectations for students with disabilities and how those were addressed in policies related to standards-based reform.
This article reviews the Americans with Disabilities Act and gives several resources in reference from the most authoritative sources.
TEA, “MTSS Introduction Module”: Texas SPED Support
The TIER Introduction module comprises six pathways or trainings. These pathways provide a foundation for the implementation of a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework.
This website gives an extensive list of special education terminology and definitions.
considering the influence of language differences and disability on learning behaviors, developing an IEP for an English Learner with a disability (including a checklist of considerations), how to use data from the Office of Civil Rights' Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), and selecting appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities.
This document reviews the rights of parents to receive information from schools in their native language.
In Texas, students with disabilities, especially those from minority groups, are disproportionately represented in special education programs and face higher rates of suspension and expulsion. This overrepresentation is also evident in the use of physical restraints, where students with disabilities are often restrained far more frequently than their non-disabled peers. State Performance Plan Indicator (SPPI) 9 measures the percent of districts with disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in special education and related services that is a result of inappropriate identification.
In this webinar, Stacy Hirt and Joey Hunziker share findings from a series of focus groups with families and caregivers who had a child with an IEP during their school years and young adults who were supported with an IEP while in school. Educational planning successes, challenges, and recommendations from the lens of focus group participants will be highlighted.
Online resources for news and information on culturally responsible instruction including global resource networking.
This module highlights classroom considerations that promote access to the general education curriculum for students with disabilities (est. completion time: 1.5 hours
The special education teacher applies knowledge of professional roles and responsibilities and adheres to legal and ethical requirements of the profession.
Council for Exceptional Children
The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving the success of children and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents. CEC advocates for appropriate governmental policies, sets professional standards, provides professional development, and helps professionals obtain conditions and resources necessary for effective professional practice. CEC is known as THE source for information, resources, and professional development for special educators. CEC has local Units in all 50 states and Canada, as well as 18 optional Special Interest Divisions focused on a specific topic, specialty area, role, or exceptionality. There are also CEC Student Chapters at hundreds of colleges and universities.
The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) is a voluntary, nonprofit, nonpartisan, statewide educational association established in 1949 to serve local Texas school boards — the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state with more than 7,000 school board trustees. The initial focuses of TASB — advocacy, training, and information resources — are as important today as they were in the beginning. And as schools have had to respond to inevitable challenges, so has TASB responded with innovative solutions and services that seek to minimize the operational burdens of government and keep taxpayer resources for the benefit of local schools and their communities. Besides legal, policy, and human resources support, member school boards have access to risk management services, investment and insurance assistance, a purchasing cooperative, an energy cooperative, facility services, special population consulting, and more.
For any diagnosis, there are a large number of organizations here in Texas that help parents of children with any disability.
Texas Parent to Parent
TxP2P connects parents of children with disabilities, chronic illness, and/or special health care needs so they can support one another. They provide a variety of support groups, education and training opportunities across the state where peers can discuss the new responsibilities and emotions that families face in caring for a child with special health care needs.
Arc of Texas
Disability Rights of Texas provides direct legal assistance to people with disabilities whose rights are threatened or violated. DRT attorneys and advocates help individuals understand and exercise their rights under the law as well as educate policymakers about issues that impact the rights and services for people with disabilities.
NAMI Texas
Partners Resource Network operates the statewide network of Parent Training and Information Centers (PTI) which support parents of children with disabilities. PRN works with parents to help them understand their child’s disability and their rights and responsibilities for education, and obtain and evaluate resources and services for their children.
Easterseals supports children and adults with disabilities and their families through hundreds of home and community-based services. Their early childhood intervention program and outpatient rehabilitation facility gives children and adolescents with disabilities and their caregivers the services and support necessary to participate fully in life.
The Autism Society of Texas changes lives by connecting families and individuals to community resources and support throughout Texas. Offerings include support meetings, online networking opportunities, sensory-friendly films, and fun family activities.
TEA, “Technical Assistance: Individualized Education Program (IEP) Development”: Texas SPED Support
Before digging into the details of Individualized Education Program (IEP) development, take a minute to set your mind toward high expectations and rigorous goals for students with disabilities. Without this mindset, the IEP will fall short, and our students will not achieve all that they are capable of. TEA believes that there is shared responsibility across the state to ensure that all students, including students with disabilities, are held to rigorous academic standards and high expectations. The IEP must be individualized, based on the unique needs of that child, and designed to enable him or her to work towards grade-level content standards and achieve challenging goals. Proper provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) means that all students have access to the supports and services that will prepare them for success in college, careers, and independence.
TEA designed the Special Education Dispute Resolution Handbook to assist parents, school officials, and other interested parties with understanding TEA's special education dispute resolution system. The handbook contains information about the due process hearings program including FAQs. It is not intended to be legal advice. If you need legal advice about a special education matter you should contact a private attorney. TEA cannot provide legal advice. The Special Education Dispute Resolution Handbook is also available in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Arabic.
Outlines resources by title under the framework of federal, parent, state, and technical assistance categories. Additionally outlines all state and federal laws in an easy-to-access format with a glossary and search feature.
This website contains documents that outline each standard and articles on how they apply to improving practice.
This article discusses how implicit bias impacts children in education with embedded links tied to research and additional tools about Brown v Board of Education.
Texas Health and Human Services "Disability"
Description of services for students with disabilities and health care needs with embedded links for additional references related to specialization.
The special education teacher knows how to communicate and collaborate effectively in a variety of professional settings.
This state guidance document assists educators in taking full advantage of having a paraprofessional in their classroom. The information addresses both general and special education settings including educator/ paraprofessional roles and responsibilities.
This article discusses key elements in successful communication and collaborations, including building strong communication, collaborative relationships, classroom visits, and professional development for staff.
FERPA 101: For LEA's. This online training course was developed by PTAC as an introduction to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and its requirements relating to the privacy and security of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in student records. It does require a login but it should be free.
Outlines resources by title under the framework of federal, parent, state, and technical assistance categories. Additionally outlines all state and federal laws in an easy-to-access format with a glossary and search feature.
In this course, educators and staff will define the roles and responsibilities of paraprofessionals, teachers, and related service providers in collaborative settings. They will explore essential components for building strong communication systems and learn practical strategies to use clear expectations and cooperative relationships to enhance positive outcomes for all students.
This article outlines tips and strategies for effective communication skills that can be used to encourage solution-oriented conversations.
Definitions and articles related to placement decisions and questions to help support the education of children with disabilities in their least restrictive environments.
Texas Parent to Parent provides support, information, and education to families of children of all ages who have disabilities or chronic illnesses. "Having a child with special health care needs is a life-altering experience... but with the support of another parent we begin to see through the cracks and find joy in places we never could have imagined. Our journey continues, but this time we feel we will survive because we know another parent who has."
