1. Bridging the Gap: CTE and Special Education
Presented by: Brynn Biggs M.Ed.

2. Background Information

3. What is CTE and what is it’s purpose?
Career and Technical Education
The purpose of CTE programs is to enable students to gain entry- level employment in a high-skill, high-wage job and/or to continue their education
Students with special needs are often placed in CTE courses to give them the best chance of gainful employment or moving on to higher education

4. What does the law say about CTE and Special Populations
Laws require access for students with disabilities to all federally funded programs and prohibit discrimination based on disability in any aspect of public education programs
1998 Perkins Act:
Requires equal access for special populations, including students with disabilities, to ALL vocational programs, services, and activities and prohibits discrimination based on special population status.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Establishes the right of students with disabilities to a free appropriate public education
Including special education, related services, and transition services

5. What role does CTE play in Transition Planning
Transition must be addressed in the IEP by the time the students is 14 ( in Texas)
Following must be included
Abilities, needs, interests, preferences
Individual post secondary goals are created from the above
Instructional activities and accommodations/modifications, and supports must be identified
CTE teachers help the team to create student’s IEP plan
Play primary role in providing instruction through school
Provide instruction through school and work-based experiences and activities

6. Why is CTE beneficial for special populations
Students with disabilities enrolled in CTE programs are less likely to drop out
Students with disabilities enrolled in CTE programs are more likely to:
Be employed
Have paid competitive jobs
Work full time after high school
CTE provides or can assist in providing unpaid work experiences
High school students with paid/unpaid experiences in HS have higher wages, more hours, and continuous employment
Helps student’s make a connection between academics and “real life”
Why do I need to know grammar if I am going to be a mechanic?
Why do I need to know math if I am going to be air conditioner repair man?

7. Potential Characteristics of Students with Disabilities who will enter CTE courses
Immature
Poor Reading Skills
Poor Math Skills
Poor Language Sills
Poor Social Skills
Impulsive
Low Motivation
History of Failure
Low level of Aspiration
Behavior Problems
Short Attention Span
Frequent Absences
Frequent Tardiness
Resents Authority
Inability to work in a team situation
Difficulty following directions
No positive role models
Low work ethic
Poor Personal Hygiene
Problems with the law
Drug, Alcohol, Substance abuse
High level of personal care needs
Needs 1:1 assistance

8. Imagine being a new teacher with no background in teaching/classroom management….. How are you feeling after reading that list? Excited for new students?

9. How can we bridge the gap?

10. Strategies for Successful Collaboration
Have the tough conversations BEFORE the student shows up in their room
Be open to their concerns and questions
Understand that they are new to people with disabilities and have probably not dealt with them before
Know that most have not had any formal teacher training
Visit their classroom prior to meeting about specific students so you have an idea of what their class looks like
Provide suggestions and strategies for them in the classroom
Give them examples of ways they can accommodate or modify work
Set up bi monthly meetings to check on your students

11. Best practices to implement prior to any transition ARD
Transition plans for students are likely to include CTE courses that will provide the student with support for post secondary goals
Special Education Teachers should meet with CTE teachers to discuss course requirements and expectations
TEA States
Special Education Teacher, General Education Teacher, Parents/Students should collaborate with the CTE teacher PRIOR to transition ARD meetings
This facilitates creating a meaningful match between the student’s interests and school schedule
Special Ed Teacher and CTE teacher complete a profile on the students going into the CTE course and create IEP goals together

12. Form adapted from Texas CTE: Your Journey starts here, TEA
Writing IEP Goals for Students with Disabilities
CTE teacher and SPED teacher will collaborate to create CTE TEKS based goals for their specific CTE class. You must consider the student’s present level of performance and TEKS when writing each needed goal.
Goals should be measurable and observable. They should be written in a way that anyone could come into your classroom and observe whether the students is meeting the goal or not.
Examples of CTE Goals:
- By the end of 36 instructional weeks, with the use of a cooking app and within a 1 hour time frame, Joan will complete a 5 step recipe with 75% accuracy across 5 consecutive trials for mastery.
- By the end of 12 instructional weeks, given a picture supported directions chart , Tim will change the fluids and liquids using a can spout, and funnel, with 100% accuracy.
List non-negotiable TEKS objectives required for your class:
Student Profile (Student with disability coming into class)
Reading Level: ______ Written Expression:_______ Math Calculation:__________ Behavior (BIP): _______ Other Information:
Form adapted from Texas CTE: Your Journey starts here, TEA

13. Does the student need: ____ Accommodations _____ Modifications
Goals:
What goals do you have for all students in your classroom?
What goals would be appropriate for the student described on the previous page? 1. 2. 3.
Does the student need: ____ Accommodations _____ Modifications
Accommodations:
What accommodations might work best for this student?
Modifications:
What modifications might be most appropriate for this student?
Accommodations are used when students with disabilities are working on the same goals as ALL students in the class. Accommodations do NOT change what the student will be responsible for mastering.
Modifications are used to make changes to the content that a student with a disability may be responsible for learning. In other words, students may not be required to master the same objectives, or they may have a different level of instruction.
Examples:
Extra time on assignments
Oral exams
Small group instruction
Study guides
Graphic organizers
Copy of notes
Selected TEKS Objectives, some which may be at a different level
Alternative curriculum
Fewer TEKS objectives to be mastered
Simplified Vocabulary

14. Student Name:___________________________________
Student Name:___________________________________ Class:___________________________________
Accommodations
Modifications 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
10.
11. 12
12.
13.
14.

15. CTE teacher’s role in the ARD meeting
Things to discuss prior to the ARD
Teacher and CTE Teacher: go over videos of actual skills done in the class
Copies of assessments given in the classes
Student’s goals for the future
Helpful materials a CTE teacher can bring to the ARD or that can be housed in the ARD room
List of Career Clusters and their pathways
Syllabus for each Intro class/ pathway
Examples of Assessments for different pathways
Student Specific materials to bring
Work / Assessment Examples
Videos of the student doing hands on work

16. CTE Teacher’s role in Instruction and the flaws
CTE Teachers plan and provide school-based instructional activities that correspond with the goals and objectives of student’s IEPs, including classroom and lab activities to teach occupationally specific skills and work-related behaviors
Flaw: How often does the CTE teacher get a copy of the student’s IEP, present levels, or anything OTHER than the accommodations/modifications?
Collaborate with the special education teacher to ensure a positive experience for the student
Flaw: How many times a year does the special education teacher INTENTIONALLY meet with the CTE teacher
CTE teachers must provide work-based experiences (field trips, job shadowing, school-based enterprises, career-related camps, apprenticeships, internships, work-study, part-time job placement)
Flaw: Who is supporting the CTE teacher in finding appropriate and accepting job placements for students with disabilities? Who is helping them to identify the student’s individual needs?

17. Elephant in the room: Important conversation topic that MUST be had
Behaviors
Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders affect nearly 1 in 5 young people
For many of these children, school is the ONLY intervention and treatment they have
Students with emotional and behavioral disorders have difficulty building or maintaining relationships with teachers and peers
They will typically internalize or externalize behaviors
Internalize: depression, anxiety, anorexia, bulimia, panic attacks, low self-esteem, feeling of rejection etc.
Externalizing: aggression, impulsivity, noncompliance, tantrums, hyperactivity, ignore teacher’s directions, obsessive compulsive disorder, use or lewd or obscene gestures.

18. Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders…..
Have a hard time adjusting to changing expectations
Have the highest dropout rate
Are more likely to be suspended and expelled
Don’t have good social skills
Can lead to teacher and peer rejections as well as school failure
National Data shows students with emotional and behavioral disorders
Perform 1-2 year below grade level
Are more likely to be arrested once out of school
Are less likely to go to 2 or 4 year colleges
At risk for being homeless
Reported higher use of alcohol, illegal drugs, marijuana, and cigarettes

19. Common Mistake….
Secondary teachers neglect to explicitly teach their behavior expectations
“Telling is not teaching, and being told is not the same thing as being taught”
Examples:
Classroom rules:
“Respect one another”: what does respect look like to YOU as the teacher
In the beginning, acknowledge and praise students FREQUENTLY for desired behaviors

20. REMEMBER Most CTE teachers are coming straight from industry!
They do not have formal teacher training
Many times CTE courses will be the first time they interact with a person with more significant disabilities

21. What does Success REALLY look like for students with special needs?

22. Video

23. Questions

24. References