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NEA releases its practice guide for teachers and district policy makers

Four days before the National RTI Summit, the National Education Association released a guide on local practices, which can lead to positive change and reduce the overrepresentation of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students in special education programs. The report, entitled "Truth in Labeling: Disproportionality in Special Education," developed jointly with the National Association of School Psychologists, is different from other guides, as it:

• Addresses the issue not only of overrepresentation of certain CLD students, such as black males in emotionally disturbed special education classes, but also of CLDs that are underrepresented in many special education programs, such as Hispanic students;
• Places a greater emphasis than other so-called guides on behavioral supports – such as positive behavior and culturally responsive teaching and assessment; and
• Targets non-special education teachers and reflects a clear recognition that response-to-intervention is a general education responsibility, not just a special education one as emphasized over and over during the recent RTI Summit.

The NEA guide cites a recent National Academy of Sciences report that found 7.4 percent and 9.9 percent of White and Asian students, respectively, are placed in gifted and talented programs, but that only 3.0 percent, 3.6 percent and 4.9 percent of African American, Hispanic, and American Indian students are identified as gifted. Of interest to firms that have designed and positioned instructional and support materials as appropriate under early intervening services (EIS) and which are used in RTI tiered models, are suggested practices that should be used by teachers and others at the district and classroom level.

In its discussion of early intervening services and RTI, the NEA Guide accepts the notion that a student should not be inappropriately placed in special education programs, but it argues that many CLD students are “exited” from English language learner programs because they have generally mastered conversation, but do not have an understanding of core content concepts and information used in academic environments.  It also notes that, at the secondary level, many CLD students need renewed assistance with academic vocabulary and access to curriculum material and text that have embedded vocabulary supports, such as digital text with electronic dictionaries or translations.

In its discussion of early intervening services, the NEA Guide emphasizes the need for professional development to enable teachers and other school staff to provide support activities, particularly including behavioral interventions and positive behavioral supports.  Based upon well-documented research, the Guide recommends strategies in the following areas:

• Classroom management skills;
• Collecting data to evaluate objectively behavioral progress and using problem-solving to address challenging behaviors.
• Culturally responsive teaching, including the use of skills to validate, affirm, facilitate, liberate and empower students and the use of unbiased organizers and mediators of social context.
• Culturally responsive assessments, including the use of non-verbal and alternative assessment strategies when using student progress monitoring data from RTI or problem-solving processes.

In addition to helping firms to position appropriate materials as instructional interventions, the Guide also suggests how to position support materials in districts in which school psychologists are taking a lead role in implementing the early intervening services provisions in IDEA. 

For a copy of the report go to: www.nea.org/specialed/images/truthinlabeling.pdf.

Questions, ideas, or in need of more information? Please contact Stacey Pusey at 302-295-8349.

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