DEBORAH MARTINEZ: Special Education students under pressure
Comments 0October 06, 2010 3:28 PM
The Monitor
Of all the challenges parents and educators face, raising a child with special needs has to be one of the greatest.
Therefore, there is no question that of all the decisions lawmakers hand down from Austin and Washington, those that shape Special Education initiatives and affect classroom instruction spark some of the hottest debate and anxiety.
After No Child Left Behind passed in 2001 – when Special Education students and groups such as English Language Learners were included in federal accountability ratings – the debate over including Special Education students with even the most severe disabilities in the general classroom intensified. Discussion over whether all Special Education students could perform “at grade level” also arose.