What Every Principal Should Know About Special Education Summary

As I was reading through the chapters in "What Every Principal Should Know About Special Education," I was pleased to see how much I already knew through my teaching experience. As I continued to read on, it help me to really think about what I should know as an aspiring school leader, for example, improving teachers' practices in special education settings and accountability. To me it is disturbing to see the number of students Hispanic and African American students who have IEPs in particular communities. In the first chapter, it discusses that research has proven that there is an overrepresentation of students who are classified based on "bias and digonastic evaluations," (McLaughlin, 18). Now this because a dilema for schools, espeically because of NCLB/Race to the Top

RCT exams no longer exist and now all students with IEPs have to pass the Regents exams in order to receive a local/regents dipolma. This is a challenge for many schools where students are not receiving proper education or services they are entitled to. As a school leader, you are responsible for ALL students, therefore, it is important for you to KNOW what evidence-base practicies are being implemented into classrooms to allow students full access to the curriculum. In order to build an effective program, special education can not be seen in isolation. Although, policies have transform how students are placed in different settings but it doesn't always mean that they are receiving equal access. Now, we all know that you have the DOE compliance paperwork world that makes it difficult for teachers to write effective/individualized IEPs, too often generic IEPs are written because there "isn't enough time" or teachers are not fully participating in providing detailed progress report updates for the IEP teachers. I mean, the list could go on and on but you get the