At
no point in history have we, as a nation, taken such bold and noble measures
to mandate the educational rights of all children, including those with
disabilities and exceptionalities. Under the Individuals with Disabilities
Act and the guarantee for a free and appropriate public education, the
courts have repeatedly and consistently ruled that schools simply must
provide the necessary resources to teach all children, regardless of the
physical or mental handicaps they may manifest. If North Carolina
truly wants to lead the nation in education then there is no better place
to start than to address the needs of our exceptional children and their
teachers. The North Carolina Association of Educators contends that
it is both a moral and a legal obligation to make crucial investments in
the education of exceptional children so that we can honestly say that
“no child has been left behind.”
Resources
Exceptional Children’s teachers
in North Carolina are reporting all too often the hardships they face due
to the lack of available resources. During the nine Exceptional Children’s
Forums that NCAE held, including nearly 400 teachers representing all areas
of the state, inadequate resources were a major topic of discussion.
We heard repeated examples of E.C. teachers being given the “hand me downs”
of instructional materials, thereby being forced to beg, borrow, or write
their own grants in order to get what they truly need to best serve students.
Students with severe disabilities often require equipment that is said
to be too costly to place in every school. The options are to allow
the student to “do without” or to place students with similar disabilities
into a “central” school, thereby creating “E.C. Schools,” something that
we believe will ultimately lead to segregation by disabilities. Whenever
possible, we believe, and the law requires that children be allowed to
attend the school to which they are assigned AND receive the free and appropriate
education they are entitled. The state must do all within its means to
secure the necessary funding of exceptional children so that no child has
to use materials that are worn, out of date, or even worse, contain information
that is no longer current. In addition, we must give the educators
of exceptional children the respect they deserve by refusing to relegate
them and their students to the least desirable places within the school
facilities, as is frequently the case. If we truly believe that all
of North Carolina’s students are a priority then the funding must indicate
this. Surely, greater lobbying at the federal level is necessary
to secure the funding of exceptional children as promised under IDEA. It
is painfully obvious that state funds are insufficient to meet the needs
of North Carolina’s exceptional children by providing them the resources
that are required for a sound education.
Testing
Is there another single issue
that has generated more discussion, controversy, and outright confusion
than the testing of exceptional children under the state’s ABC’s plan?
Understanding the dilemma that the state of NC has faced with respect to
IDEA mandates and testing, NCAE believes that much more needs to be done
to ensure that assessments are fair, appropriate and accurate measures
of achievement. We firmly contend that tests are just one of multiple indicators
that can and should be used to assess achievement with any student, but
particularly with exceptional children. Even an all-star baseball
player with a batting average of .400 is certain to have off days where
he bats 0 for 4. We need to measure what students do in the long
term. Success must never be based on single test scores. The solution,
however, is not to overburden educators with overly time consuming measures
that only serve to create more paperwork and leave less time to do the
job of teaching. One step that can be taken to ensure that educators
have fewer reservations about assessing special populations of students
would be to reduce the number of domains assessed under the Alternative
Assessment Portfolio to only one domain per year, similar to what the state
of Vermont does. Furthermore, we firmly contend that if the state
should choose to give E.C. educators a voice in designing the assessments,
the controversy and confusion that has previously existed would be significantly
diminished. In fact, we assert that there are qualified E.C. teachers
who can design assessments that are both valid measures of student achievement
as well as being acceptable to the workload constraints of educators in
the E.C. classrooms. Regardless of how well educated and well intentioned,
NO ONE better understands the needs and realities of teaching exceptional
children than those who are in the school buildings working with exceptional
students day after day.
Paperwork
No other issue has raised more
concern with EC teachers than that of paperwork. In every forum that
NCAE sponsored for EC teachers around the state, this message came through
loudly and clearly. It boils down to this - they can either TEACH
or do the paperwork. Given the lack of necessary planning time and
the large numbers of students on their caseloads, it is unrealistic to
expect that E.C. teachers can do both AND do them well, without sacrificing
their own personal lives. Fortunately for students, we know that
most E.C. teachers are doing whatever it takes to get the job done.
However, the result is that they are the most likely of all teachers to
leave the field due to burn out and stress. As an association we are heartened
by the prospect of using federal funds to hire case managers to assist
with paperwork, including individualized educational plans. We believe
that this alone, would do wonders in boosting the morale of EC teachers
and returning the focus, as it should be, to educating the children, not
filling out form after form. In addition to case managers, the state
must provide schools with the access to the software that will allow them
to do paperwork in the most expedient and professional manner possible.
The unnecessary repetition of information, about which we have heard many
complaints, could be eliminated by the availability of software for this
purpose. Naturally, teachers will also need computers as well as
the necessary training in how to use the software. It is sad to think
that in the 21st century, with the richness of technology available, forms
of such length and importance are still being completed by hand. As an
exceptional children’s teacher aptly stated during one of our forums, “it
is NOT what is on paper that matters, it is what we DO for the students
that counts!” It is incumbent upon this state and its educational
leaders to assure that the focus is on educating students, not on filling
out forms.
Class Size and Caseloads
As the possibility of reduced
class sizes for teachers in the lower grades seems to be a growing focus
in our state, now is the time to also look at the sizes of the classes
and caseloads of our E.C. teachers. With the enormity of the responsibility
placed on these educators, it makes plain common sense that they are most
deserving of class sizes that allow them time for one on one interaction
with students. In addition, the paperwork,
collaboration, and planning
that each exceptional child requires warrants small and manageable numbers
for teachers to deliver optimal learning conditions. The state should
recognize the demands on E.C. teachers by providing them with the smallest
class sizes and caseloads that are financially possible. Again, doing
this would greatly improve the morale of teachers as well as improve the
educational opportunity of these students. NCAE also contends that
the recruitment and retention of qualified exceptional children’s teachers
would be strengthened when such working conditions are improved.
Representation
With the number of students
in each school, grade level, and classroom who are identified with exceptionalities,
it makes good common sense that at least one Exceptional Children’s teacher
be included on every School Improvement Team. The knowledge and expertise
of those teachers should be utilized in planning sound strategies for whole
school improvement. NCAE believes that both students and teachers
are better served when formal collaboration occurs between regular classroom
teachers and E.C. teachers. Placing E.C. educators on the School Improvement
Teams is a logical and productive means for such collaboration. During
our NCAE sponsored forums, teachers repeatedly reported confusion and anger
over the lack of consultation with them prior to designing and implementing
policies that directly affect them. It is clear that the state, as well
as local education agencies, should and must look for ways to include EC
teachers in shaping policy. We believe that greater representation
by E.C. teachers will result in improved morale for those educators as
well as policies that more adequately meet the needs of all students.
