FAQs »

Credits: Dr. Linda Parrish; Dr. Tracy Teaff; Dr. Jewel Lockridge; Dr. Lakshmi Mahadevan; Mr. Greg Shipp and Ms. Cheryl Grenwelge.

Note: Our experts are not attorneys and therefore our responses do not carry legal authority. We strongly recommend that educators check with their district’s attorneys for guidance on legal issues.

Topics

Definitions ARD/IEP Issues Accommodations/Modifications/Standards Instructional Strategies/Methodologies Placement Decisions Additional Concerns Resources Accommodations and Modifications in CTE Classroom Instruction Career Guidance - Tools for Practical Applications Building Successful Partnerships Best Practices: CTE Teachers Role in ARD Meetings Accommodations and Modifications III

 

Resources

• Are there FCS materials available for special needs students? Especially in Personal and Family Development and Nutrition and Food Science?
• How can I get the Walsh video explaining Section 504 for my district?
• How can I get the FAT CITY video regarding what it feels like to have a Learning Disability?
• Are there updated studies or innovative techniques for teaching TBI students?
• Why are SPED/Inclusion teachers only assisting in the academic courses and not in CTE?

Are there FCS materials available for special needs students? Especially in Personal and Family Development and Nutrition and Food Science?

I encourage you to contact the CTSP center to have them do a search for you. Also the The Curriculum Center for Family and Consumer Sciences is interested in providing material that is helpful to you in all areas of your teaching and if alerted to this need would respond. Having said that I should remind you to check in the definition section of this document for the definition of accommodations and modifications. If you are accommodating you can use simple arrangements to teach the same objectives, such as extended time, fewer number of assignments, etc.

How can I get the Walsh video explaining Section 504 for my district?

Walsh, Anderson, Brown, Schulze & Aldridge, P.C. (1997). Section 504: Legal Requirements for Educating Students with Disabilities available at - http://www.legaldigest.com/storelistitem.cfm?itemnumber=18

How can I get the FAT CITY video regarding what it feels like to have a Learning Disability?

The official title is : How Difficult Can This Be? FAT City. It is available for checkout from the center and for purchase at http://ldonline.learningstore.org/products/LD1001.html

Are there updated studies or innovative techniques for teaching TBI students?

There are various websites that I would point you to. Use a search engine and you will locate quite a few, but here are some you might try:

• http://www.neuroskills.com/
• http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/tbi_doc.htm
• http://www.teachersfirst.com/sped/prof/tbi/strategies.html
• http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/braininjury/default.shtm
• http://www.tbihelp.org/education_posttbi.htm

Why are SPED/Inclusion teachers only assisting in the academic courses and not in CTE?

I’ve heard this complaint so often that I know it must be a statewide problem. Go to the ARD meetings and request instructional support in order to provide “appropriate education” for students with disabilities. With the focus on TAKS I am confident that the Math, Writing, Science, and Reading courses get attention, but that assumes that these academic subjects are not taught in CTE, which we know is a false assumption. I contend that students may do better on the TAKS if they are taught academics in an integrated way with career and technology. I also know that students stay in school longer as a result of relevant programming for them. Be sure and document EVERY TIME you ask SPED for assistance. This will serve you well when you finally get “heard.”