1. ACCESSing THE GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM
2013 Teacher Academy
Presentation by
Beth Randolph
And
Jennifer Spark

2. Accessing the general education curriculum
Engaging Students With Learning Differences
Early On

3. Accessing the general education curriculum Why?
Compliance required by law
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997 and Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) and No Child Left Behind Act of 2001(NCLB)
IDEA and NCLB require that all students with disabilities, including students with most significant cognitive disabilities, participate in state and district-wide assessment and have access to the general curriculum.
One of the most significant changes in the requirements is that students with disabilities receive access to the general education curriculum.

4. Accessing the general education curriculum Why?
Under the law, student with disabilities must:
Have access to the general education curriculum
Be involved in the general education curriculum
Progress in the general education curriculum

5. Accessing the general education curriculum Benefits
The Benefits of Access
Providing opportunities to access a challenging academic curriculum render positive educational benefits to students with significant disabilities (Towles-Reeves & Kleinert, 2006; Thurlow & Case, 2004)
Teachers who incorporated learning standards into their instruction cite unanticipated gains in students’ performance and understanding levels (Towles-Reeves & Kleinert, 2006; Thurlow & Case, 2004)

6. Accessing the general education curriculum Involvement
What does involvement in the general education curriculum mean? IDEA ’97 states that students with disabilities must be involved in the general curriculum, and the law includes several requirements that help explain this involvement.

7. Accessing the general education curriculum3 Involvement
(1) ensuring that the student’s IEP goals address how the student will be involved in the progress in the general curriculum
(2) specifying in the student’s IEP (individual educational plan) appropriate supplementary aids and services, accommodations, modifications, or supports that will help the student be involved in and progress in the general curriculum to the maximum extent appropriate
(3) explaining in the student’s IEP why he or she will not participate with children without disabilities in the regular classroom

8. Accessing the general education curriculum involvement
A student’s IEP must state how the student’s disability affects his or her involvement in and progress in the general curriculum and must contain measureable annual goals (including benchmarks or short-term objectives) that address how the student will be involved in and progress in the general curriculum. In order to help align IEP goals with the general education curriculum also requires that the student’s regular education teacher as well as representatives from the district who is knowledgeable about the general curriculum be a member of the IEP team.

9. Accessing the general education curriculum Involvement
Accommodation is a curricular, environmental, or testing adaptation that does not fundamentally alter the general curriculum, lower the standards, or change the construct being measured on a test.
The purpose of an accommodation is to level the playing field.
Modification is a substantial adaptation that results in a fundamental alteration.

10. Accessing the general education curriculum Involvement
Decisions as to which supplementary aids and services, accommodations, modifications, or supports are appropriate for a particular student are made on an individual basis by the IEP team.
It is important that these decisions do not substantially lower curriculum standards and thus deny students access to the general education curriculum.
The approach should be to create, from the beginning, a curriculum with built-in supports for diverse learners.

11. Accessing the general education curriculum Involvement
What does “progress” in the general curriculum mean?
It is not enough for students with disabilities to participate in the general curriculum. The law also requires that the IEP address progress in the general curriculum. This involves three parts:
(1) measuring the student’s progress in reaching IEP goals
(2) including students with disabilities in State and district- wide assessments, with appropriate accommodations, where necessary
(3) developing State performance goals and indicators and providing reports on progress toward meeting these goals and indicators

12. Accessing the general education curriculum Involvement
Autism NBC Interview JJ’s Journey

13. Accessing the general education curriculum Involvement
An IEP is a blueprint to specialized instruction that is aligned with the state standards-providing access to the general education curriculum with appropriate supports and services.
Starting point for all students: Grade level standards (TEKS)
Specialized instruction is DATA driven
S=Specific-based on the student’s Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)
M=Measurable-progress is objectively determined at frequent data points
A=Achievable-realistic, related to the most critical needs
R=Results-oriented-developed with a standards’ outcome in mind
T=Time Related-clearly defined beginning and ending dates

14. Accessing the general education curriculum Involvement
The Steps to Accessing the Curriculum
Identify the most basic concept that the content standard defines (the essence or the intent of the standard)
Define the outcome of Instruction
Identify prioritized outcome for your student.
Focus on what student needs to learn academically and functionally to be successful
Reduce the complexity level-student may be working on accessing the pre-requisite or entry-level skills related to the standard
Identify the supports needed
(Adapted from Clayton, Burdge, M., Denham, A., Kleinert, H., & Kearns, J. 2006)

15. Accessing the general education curriculum How?
Instructional Activities
Identify instructional activities that will:
Promote active participation and move student toward achieving prioritized outcomes
Build on student’s strengths
Remember to:
Be cognizant of student’s current skills and how they are demonstrated
Adapt the activity and instructional techniques
Select supports to facilitate meaningful participation
(Adapted from Clayton, Burdge, M., Denham, A., Kleinert, H., & Kearns, J. 2006)

16. Accessing the general education curriculum How?
Important Questions to Ask
What adaptations and supports are being provided to students with moderate to severe disabilities to access the general education curriculum?
How are the adaptations and supports designed to make them student-specific and activity-specific?
How are they implemented?
What techniques, tools, and technology are being used in the different content areas?

17. Accessing the general education curriculum How?
What Does IDEA Require?
According to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the use of supplementary aids and services to enable children with disabilities to be educated with non-disabled children to the maximum extent appropriate are required.
These include accommodations, assistive technology, electronic and information technology, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and curriculum modifications.

18. Accessing the general education curriculum How?
UDL Multiple Means of Representation
Information is presented in various formats, at different levels of complexity and to address different learning styles.
Examples: representational objects and picture symbols paired with text; simplified summary of a story or content passage; interactive documents created with multi-media tools; power- point presentations

19. Accessing the general education curriculum How?
UDL Multiple Means of Engagement
Various opportunities are provided to engage student’s interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation.
Examples include:
Using photos
Using video clips
Providing auditory, visual, and tactile cues
Providing simplified text
(Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)

20. Accessing the general education curriculum How?
Multiple Ways to Respond
Offer multiple ways for the students with the most significant disabilities to respond
Responses can be indicated through:
Eye gaze
Eye blinks
Vocalizations
Body orientation
Facial expressions
Fixation on or tracking an object
Acknowledge any and/or all of these ways

21. Accessing the general education curriculum How?
The Lesson Framework to Provide Access
Transform instruction using a structured process offered by the ‘Lesson Framework’ incorporating UDL principles
Be cognizant of student’s current skills and how they are demonstrated in designing instruction
What will the ‘Lesson Framework’ do?
Provide general education curriculum access
Promote active participation and move student toward achieving prioritized outcomes
Build on student’s current strengths instead of focusing on the student’s deficits and limitations

22. Accessing the general education curriculum How?
The Lesson Framework
Component Elements
1.Student Profile with current capabilities and needs
2.Materials(adapted) and supports needed 
3.Designing instructional activity(using UDL)
—Delivering instruction in multiple ways 
Creating multiple opportunities to engage student 
—Providing a variety of formats for student to respond
4.Systematic Instruction

23. Accessing the general education curriculum How?
5.Adaptations (teaching techniques )and supports 6.Multiple activities for generalization 7.Linking standards-based IEP objectives 8.Progress monitoring (Re-teach? Modify strategies?)

24. Accessing the general education curriculum How?
Standards-based IEP
Standards-based IEP is a newly emerging strategy in developing IEP goals and objectives.
—The general education standards provide the framework to build the individualized goals and objectives for students with disabilities.
—Standards-based IEP will facilitate meeting the legal mandates of access to general education curriculum and participation in state and district-wide assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities.

25. Accessing the general education curriculum How?
Pointers for Instruction and Assessment
Physically guiding a student through the task does not provide information on student learning
Intensive prompting may be important during early stages of learning new concepts
Phase out physical guidance gradually
Proceed from least to most intrusive prompting
Focus on student demonstrating independence and problem solving skills

26. Accessing the general education curriculum outcome
Monitoring Progress
Maintain regular documentation (data collected 2-3 times a week) showing evidence of progress with the lesson and the IEP progress data
Conducting a data probe(refer to book, pg.) will help to check for student’s understanding and learning of the targeted objective and if teaching has been effective
Data collection measures could be: Checklists or frequent data probes on individual skills, photos, video clips, and/or anecdotal records, etc
Correct and incorrect responses along with the level of prompts should be noted accurately and immediately

27. Accessing the general education curriculum outcome
I CAN SOAR: SEAN

28. Accessing the general education curriculum application
TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY

29. Accessing the general education curriculum application
Group Activity
Alan is a 2nd grade student who has been diagnosed as severely dyslexic. His current independent reading level is comparable to students at the sixth month of kindergarten. He has a cognitive processing deficit in the area of Auditory Processing. All other cognitive processing areas are within the average to above average range. In addition to severe delays in phonological awareness, he also has difficulty with speech-sound discrimination. He is easily distracted by noises in his environment. In the classroom, other students’ whispering affects his ability to concentrate. His difficulty with phonological awareness also affects his ability to spell words. Writing is very frustrating because he knows what he wants to say, but cannot figure out how to spell the words. Spell check device on the computer was tried, but he also has difficulty visual distortions. Letters do not always stay the same-They move around. His overall cognitive functioning is above average.
He just started receiving one-on-one and small group instruction from a reading specialist (45 minutes daily) to address his deficits in reading. The Neuhaus Reading/Language Arts Program is being used. He also participates in the general education grade level curriculum for reading/language arts for 1 hour daily. With the right accommodations and supports, he is able to comprehend information, as well as/ or better than his grade-level peers. He participates in oral discussions, displaying adequate vocabulary and retention of information presented, if visuals are used.

30. Accessing the general education curriculum application
Susie is an 8th grader with significant cognitive delays in all areas of cognitive processing. She is nonverbal and is learning to use an eight key communication device employing direct select access mode as part of her augmentative communication system. She currently has a picture symbol vocabulary of around 50 symbols. She is able recall information and answer questions, when provided picture choices using a communication board or eye gaze. She uses a wheelchair for mobility and has limited use of her upper extremities, but she is able to point, given enough time.

31. Accessing the general education curriculum application
Mark is a 10th grader with cerebral palsy. His speech is difficult to understand and his upper and lower extremities are affected. He uses a motorized wheelchair, with head buttons, for mobility. He uses a high tech communication system, through use of eye gazes, to talk to others and respond to questions. He can read grade level materials using an e-reader, but prefers for information to be read to him because of the amount of time it takes him to read longer selections (has uncontrollable body movements that affect his processing speed. Mark has average cognitive functioning in all areas, except processing speed. Until assistive technology was introduced, Mark’s parents and teachers thought he was intellectually delayed. His communication devices and other assistive devices have opened up a whole new world to him. He participates in the general education curriculum in all areas. During his P.E. time, he works with the physical therapist and occupational therapists on adapted physical activities, two days weekly. On the other three days, he participates by keeping scores for the games.

32. Accessing the general education curriculum application
Examples of IEP Objectives Aligned to Academic Standards
By the end of first 12 week period, when asked questions about the story or non-fiction text just read to him, Alan will answer correctly a minimum of 4 out of 5 questions for 5 stories/text passages as observed and recorded by staff.
By the end of the 3rd 12 week period, given an array of 3-4 pictures representing characters in a story and non-story related distracters, Susie will point to the picture of a story character related to the story/text just read for eight out of ten consecutive stories/text passages.
By the end of 36 instructional weeks, using his eye-gaze and activating an assistive technology device, when asked questions about the story or non-fiction text just read to him and given an array of 2-3 representational objects related to the passage along with non-related distracters, Mark will answer correctly a minimum of 4 out of 5 questions for 6 stories/text passages as observed and recorded by staff.

33. Accessing the general education curriculum application
Inclusive Schools

34. Access the general education curriculum
MAKING THINGS BETTER FOR ALL
Acceptance
Create environments of acceptance in the classroom. We may not be all the same, but we are all deserving of understanding and acknowledgement of our strengths.
Access
A curriculum that is accessible to all learners. Modifications, accommodations, and assessment are key components to giving out students with special needs access to the general curriculum.
High Expectations
Never assume that what we are teaching is over our student’s heads. We must always presume competence of our students and give them the support that the need in order to be successful. Shift your focus away from deficits to strengths. The focus is not on “in which” instructional activities the student will participate, but “how”.

35. Accessing the general education curriculum
Helpful Resources
ww.eduplace.com/kids