1 Start Time: 6:45 Stop Time: 6:55 Objective: By the end of today’s class, students will be able to Overview of IDEA and NCLB Overview of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Understand “Access” Log onto and navigate the Electronic Learning Community. Set-up Directions

Access to the General Curriculum for Students With Disabilities: IDEA & NCLB Jeanne Dwyer Learning & Literacy: Screening, Evaluation, and Assessment of Young Children Fall 2007

3 Session Goals  Overview of IDEA and NCLB  Overview of UDL  Define “Access” for the general education curriculum  Explore how the three stages access, involvement, and progress apply to your students’ learning

4 How did we get to this point: The Legal Evolution of Access and AT?  EHA 1975 Access to schools  IDEA 1990 Access to classrooms  IDEA 1997 Access to general education curriculum  IDEA 2004 Access to instructional materials

5 Congressional Intent of IDEA 2004  Improved student performance  Increased accountability  Strong parental participation  High expectations for student achievement  Linked to the general education curriculum  Accessible instructional materials

6 Congressional Intent of IDEA 2004 IDEA 2004 affirms emphasis on AT as a means to support educational achievement  Requires consideration of AT in the IEP process  Places responsibility for decision-making with IEP Teams  Requires accessible instructional materials  UDL introduced

7 Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Concepts It is based on the belief that technology can provide a medium for more flexible, differentiated instruction.  Multiple means of presentation — providing flexible methods for representing information to learners  Multiple means of expression — providing flexible methods for learners to demonstrate knowledge  Multiple means of engagement — providing flexible ways to engage students based on their learning preferences and abilities

8 Why Apply Universal Design for Learning Principles?  The current classroom is more diverse than ever  Educators need to teach all learners to high standards  Classrooms may include students who struggle with: Learning Disabilities English Language Barriers Emotional or behavioral problems Lack of interest or engagement Sensory and physical disabilities  One-size-fits-all approach simply does not work

9 UDL Architecture Benefits All UDL mirrors the universal design movement in architecture and product development. Curb cuts, speaker phones, and closed-captioned television- all universally designed to accommodate a wide variety of users, including individuals with disabilities.

10 Digital Materials  UDI is the move toward greater use of digital materials. classroom materials like books and oral lectures are a one size fits all model new media such as digital text presented with the use of sound and images are better suited to meet the needs of diverse learners Internet resources offer more flexibility for diverse learners

11 Moving Beyond the “NOW”  We need to move beyond the limitations of a single medium (textbooks) and the fixed nature of text and speech  We need better media which is versatile, can be transformed, marked and networked

12 Moving toward UDL  consider the tools  one curriculum unit at a time  start with a manageable unit  determine goals of the unit  what do students need to do to show mastery  what are the barriers for student  what tools would help this  ask yourself how goals, methods and assessments can be adjusted

13 Access to General Education Curriculum Process  Requires 3 stages: 1. Access 2. Involvement 3. Progress Access Involvement Progress

14 Stage 1: Access  Students are placed in the Least Restrictive Environment  Teachers provide challenging content and achievement standards according to the curriculum  Placement does not equal involvement or achievement

15 Stage 2: Involvement  IDEA ’97 has 3 requirements to the IEP that address involvement in the general curriculum: IEP must state present level of performance by stating how disability affects involvement & progress IEP must include measurable annual goals IEP must include statement of related services, supplementary aids and services, modifications or supports that will be provided to child

16 Stage 3: Progress  Remember that access to general curriculum has 3 parts that form a cycle-access, involvement, progress  Progress can be measured in 3 ways: Progress toward IEP goals Participation in state and district assessments Establishment of state level performance goals and standards What other ways can teachers measure student progress?

17 Think About…  Where have you seen the cycle of access broken?  How can teachers facilitate each stage of the cycle so that all students have access to the curriculum?

18 Summary of IDEA  IDEA has specific obligations to ensure that students with disabilities have access to, are involved in and make progress in the general curriculum.  The IEP serves as the vehicle, both educationally and legally for ensuring access.

19 No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 (NCLB)  Purpose of NCLB Promote equal opportunity for all children to receive a high-quality education and attain proficiency on state assessments NCLB includes several mandates that have implications for students with disabilities in the general education curriculum

20 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)  Congress passed in 2002 for the purpose that all children have an opportunity to obtain a high quality education and reach a proficiency on state assessments  NCLB applies to all students, both IDEA and NCLB want to raise academic performance of students with disabilities and increase accountability for the educational results  IDEA and NCLB differ in the fact that IDEA allows parents to bring individual claims and seek a solution

21 NCLB Provides Access, Involvement and Progress in General Curriculum Too!  Access- by providing challenging content and achievement standards and high-quality curricula  Involvement- by teacher qualifications, professional development, special programs and services  Progress- assessments, reporting, accommodations, alternate assessments, alternate achievement standards, accountability

22 Let’s Explore the word “access”  What does “access” to the general curriculum mean? Access means a barrier free opportunity to learn and use materials, resource and events in natural settings. Barrier free opportunity does mean having the same chance as others, under natural circumstances

23 What does “access” to the general curriculum mean for students with disabilities?  Reminder: Federal laws including IDEA make it clear that students with disabilities cannot be denied access to the general education curriculum.  Example: a student with a print disability in reading written words may not be disabled in the area of science, social studies or math. If teacher only provides information in a text format, the method through which information is presented provides a barrier and interferes with the student having access to the content. (Student example—Joseph).

24 What might “access” look like  Materials that are being developed/shared to meet various levels of access: Cognitive  Scaffolding of activities with least to greatest support Physical  Single switch  Alternative keyboard Overlays  Keyboards and mice Sensory (Vision/hearing)  Speech  Text  Captioning  Alt tags  Animation/pictures

25 Why must we provide “access” to students with disabilities?  1. Federal law requires that students with disabilities have access to the general curriculum  2. It is necessary that all students be full members of our society. Research indicates that children with disabilities that are not given access to general education curriculum and progress- lead to poor performance in school and life. Students with disabilities have almost double the dropout rate, lower graduation rates and highest unemployment rates of any population subgroup.

26 Why…Continued  3. Professional and ethical requirement- teachers are trained to help children grow, learn and become thriving citizens  4. It makes sense-students taught in separate environments (away from the general education curriculum) actually compound the disability and push them further behind their peers

27 Why…It Works!  Students with disabilities who are educated using the general curriculum, do better academically and socially, retain information longer, and experience greater success in post secondary life. (Baker, 1994; Baker, Wang & Walberg, 1995; Carlberg & Kavale, 1980; Moll, 1996; Wang & Baker, 1986)

28 Team Activity  Considering the three stages (access, involvement, and progress), what does access look like, sound like, and feel like for students and teachers? How can your classroom mission statement incorporate each stage of access?  Record your responses and be prepared to share them with the whole group.

29 Class Standards: T~Chart T~Chart Class Standard: Listen actively to learn Looks Like Sounds LikeFeels Like Eyes on the speaker One person speaking at a time People respecting what you have to say Feet on the floor No calling outConfident that my ideas are being heard Hands not fidgeting

30 Top 10 ELC Features 1. Navigate between Themes 2. Locate New Content items since your last login 3. Save to your computer a file to view or edit 4. Post a reply with an attachment in the Discussion forum 5. Initiate a discussion by starting a new thread 6. Create a folder and post a file in the Resources section 7. Identify which ELC members are online in the Members area 8. Contact ELC members using instant message or 9. Update Settings Information 10. Search for ELC content

31 References  Moll, A., (2003). Differentiated Instruction Guide for Inclusive Teaching. National Press Resources, Port Chester, NY.  Karger, J., (2003). Access to the General Curriculum for Students with Disabilities: A Discussion of the Interrelationship between IDEA ’97 and NCLB. National Center on Access the General Curriculum.