Special Education Teacher Certification in the States Dona

Special Education Teacher Certification in the States Dona Meinders California Comprehensive Center

State Certification Systems State Notes - Education Commission of the States

Generalist Certificate State Notes - Education Commission of the States • Can teach any disability category • Most states also have 2 -3 disability specific • categories in addition to the generalist certificate May also have a special education early education certificate

Categorical Certificate State Notes - Education Commission of the States • Disability-specific training • States differ on what disability-specific used

Mild/Moderate-Severe/Profound State Notes - Education Commission of the States • Distinction between certificate for most • special education children and for severely disabled children Not all states use this terminology but do make a severity distinction

Endorsements/Categorical State Notes - Education Commission of the States • Only 2 states have a single special education generalist certification • Other states have from 2 -15 additional endorsements or categorical certificates

Most common Endorsements State Notes - Education Commission of the States • Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing (46 states) • Early Childhood (45 states) • Emotional (14 states) • Specific Learning Disability (13 states)

Basis of Changes to Special Education Certification • NCLB and IDEA requirements – defining • highly qualified Recent Trends – increase in autism identification – changing role of special educator – retention of special education teachers

Illinois • • Rather than focusing on any single disability category, new special education teacher certified - Learning and Behavior Specialist I (entry level) or Learning and Behavior Specialist II (advanced study and specialization) Plus 3 categorical certificates – Blind/Visually Impaired, Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing Impaired, and Speech and Language Impaired

New York • Requires special education teachers and special education administrators to be trained in the needs of autistic children • Special certification for teachers and administrators in the area of children with autistic needs

California Model of Intensive Intervention A New Direction for Special Education Intensive Tier III Time Program. Group Size Intensive Tier II Transitional Intervention to ANCILLARY MATERIALS (more time) Strategic Tier I Benchmark SUPPORTS CORE TEXT

What are some of the Service Delivery Options for Special Education? Friend & Cook 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Consultative Inclusion Programs Collaborative Teaching models Co-teaching or Team Teaching Intensive Intervention Instruction Learning Centers and Blended/Combined Program

Consultative Inclusion Programs • • • Student receives instruction in the general education classroom Student does not receive direct instruction from the special educator Special educator works with general education teacher – Provides resources, training and support – Instructs the student and teacher on appropriate accommodations and assistive technology – May not have frequent contact with the student

Collaborative Teaching Models • • • Student receives core instruction in the general education classroom Student may receive some instruction from the special educator Special educator works with general education teacher – Proving support with materials and strategies • Special educator may provide supplemental or other direct instruction to support the core in a variety of settings

Co-teaching or Team Teaching • • Special educator and general educator working together in the same classroom to deliver instruction to a blended group of students Both teachers provide instruction utilizing a variety of models – Take turns – One monitors while the other instructs – Station teaching • Co-teaching does not need to occur everyday, but occurs regularly

Intensive Intervention Instruction • • Multi-tiered interventions model Usually part of school-wide reform – All students placed in instructional groups based on needs – Special education students included in these groups – Special educator works with one of the intervention groups, usually containing students with IEPs and some general education students – One example of a multi-tiered model is Rt. I

Learning Centers and Blended/Combined Programs • Refers to settings that serve RS and SDC • • students in the same setting. May include “at risk” general education students Special educators and other specialist provide instruction in the learning center based upon student need