Raven's Guide to
Special Education
Programs - 3
Most school districts face difficulties in trying to provide appropriate special education services while dealing with financial limitations and the availability of local resources. Annual reports submitted by the states to the federal government over the years have revealed a number of reoccurring areas of concern in school systems throughout the United States.
Personnel issues are the most important concern reported by the states. The shortage of qualified teachers, evaluators, and related services specialists has been a persistent problem. Additional teachers are needed to reduce class sizes, staff new programs, and serve bilingual and minority students. Most frequently cited by the states is a lack of qualified occupational and physical therapists to meet the increased demand for these services. Therapists are difficult to recruit because of competition with hospitals and mental health centers offering higher pay scales than those in school districts.
More school psychologists are needed for assessment, to reduce the psychologist/pupil ratio, and to decrease the time between referral and evaluation. More speech pathologists are needed to reduce caseloads and to make earlier intervention possible. Evaluators need better training and more appropriate tests for assessing bilingual, minority, preschool, and emotionally disabled students, as well as students with low incidence disabilities.
Additional school counselors are needed to help students with emotional disabilities and behavior disorders, to provide career counseling, to assist teachers and parents, and to respond to crisis situations. Work-study coordinators, job coaches, and transition specialists are needed to provide more intensive vocational programs and to coordinate services with adult service agencies. Meaningful staff development and training is needed to assist all school employees working with children with disabilities.
Special education programs need improved services, alternative curricula, and more classrooms to reduce overcrowding. Increased vocational and transition opportunities are especially needed for students who are emotionally disabled, mentally retarded, sensory impaired, and severely disabled. Many districts lack suitable methods to assess the quality and effectiveness of special education services and instruction, and to identify those students with disabilities who are at risk for dropping out of school. Many school systems have limited means to assist the parents of students with disabilities with parent awareness activities, parenting skills, counseling support, and assistance in obtaining available community services.
Early intervention and preschool education programs need more qualified personnel, staff training, appropriate assessment and diagnostic tools, and integrated services. Physical education programs often lack adaptive equipment, additional teachers, and training for physical education teachers, particularly in adaptive physical education. Vocational education and transition programs need to include more pre-vocational courses, career awareness, basic skills development, work-study options, and employment opportunities. Cooperative efforts need to improve between the schools and agencies providing counseling, social work, mental health, and transition services.
Rural special education programs have problems providing adequate special education services because of isolation, the small number of students with certain disabilities, long distances for transportation, shortages of teachers, and a scarcity of related services personnel. Vocational courses and employment opportunities are very limited in such settings. Many school districts report a need for more buses and bus drivers to reduce the length of routes, especially for rural students.