Starting in January of this year, I have been applying for jobs (like assistant teacher and teacher aide jobs, where in my state, you don’t need to take any type of test or anything. You just need a high school degree and some experience working with kids) to help me get my foot in the door to a education career. My bachelors is not in an education-related field (mass communications), but I have been working part-time at a tutoring center working one on one with kids and in group settings as well for a little under three years after graduating from college in 2021. For context, I live in a blue state in the northeast United States.

These few things have happened to me during my job hunt : A: I apply and get ghosted. B: I apply, get an interview and then get ghosted until I have to reach out to them to see what’s going on. C: I apply, get an interview, but there is some stuff they leave out (like pay, having no benefits, etc.) that makes me back off.

I have the experience, and I keep hearing about how schools need aides, they need the help, etc.. Okay.. so why do schools take so long to reply to applicants, want to give them low pay and no benefits, or even never follow up with applicants after applying/after an interview and have to repost the same job posting over and over because schools cant find anyone! (I see this quite often!)

I always prepare before these interviews too, with flashcards and practicing with my parents, because I know with myself having ASD, my verbal skills aren’t the greatest, but I do work on improving my interviewing skills whenever I can.

This whole experience is just immensely frustrating. I’m grateful to have a my tutoring job in this crappy job market we have now, and I live at home, but this is just discouraging. I’d like to branch out beyond part time work, but that seems difficult.

Jesus Christ. Even writing this makes my heart pound. The TLDR, if you don't want to read further-- (I'm sure you're all very busy! And it's a rough read, I wouldn't blame you if you opted out!)-- is that I struggle with PTSD. It makes my college life a living hell. I probably need some sort of accommodation. But my PTSD makes me afraid to even ask for one.

Apologies for the incoming trauma dump, but I feel like it's a bit necessary to explain just how bad this past situation got. Trigger warning for multiple types of childhood trauma. (And before anybody here stresses out-- I have a therapist & medication, I promise!)

I'm not enrolled in college right now, but I hope to be within the next year or so. (Financials are rough.) I did my first semester earlier this year and while I kept up with most of the work as it was all online & did well on presentations, I kept having trouble actually going to school due to PTSD.

The issue is this: school itself is a PTSD trigger for me.

I was born disabled and had many bad experiences with SpEd over the course of years; primarily in grades 7 and under. And it wasn't like "Oh, a teacher was mean to me" or anything stupid like that, it was like... a lot of in-fighting and violence between my peers & I. Which I wasn't allowed to escape due to my school not wanting SpEd & General Ed kids to interact too often, even though I was never the type to make trouble or have too many social issues or anything. We were extremely isolated and I noticed it when I was still very young. (4 years old?)

!Teachers would often put us SpEd kids against each other & play favorites? Didn't model acceptance or understanding that well-- we were so bad that an Autistic non-speaking immigrant kid had to switch schools by Grade 4 for his safety. A lot of staff treated disability like it was too taboo to even be talked about or seen, and that definitely trickled down to us.!<

!Some adults specifically treated me like the golden child of the room, because I needed far less support than the other kids. They'd straight-up compare struggling kids to me, like, "Why can't you all be more like Jonah?!" Which only made my bullies even angrier with me

(Also made ME pretty anxious to ever slip up and lose my standing with them.) To make a long story short, the unchecked ableism and bullying escalated into sexual abuse by Grade 6. They harassed and assaulted me for almost a year straight. But because of the adults' previous misdeeds, I had 0 faith that telling any of them would help me.!<

!I've been forcefed foods I didn't wanna try by paras unnecessarily before, made to lie on school surveys so we would look better than we were, a para physically grabbed me the first time I ever had a panic attack even though I wasn't hurting anybody, etc. I was also almost ran to death by another student more than once. (I'm a severe Asthmatic; I can't run too much, but he was chasing me, so I had to. This was also in Grade 6, and given what my bullies were doing to me every day, let's just say I was absolutely terrified of what could happen if this boy-- who was from the SpEd class a year under me-- ever caught me. So I would just run and run around the halls coming up from Adapted Phys Ed with him in an attempt to confuse him about where I was headed, to the point where I collapsed multiple times and had to fumble for my inhaler. Sometimes, I genuinely feared that I would suffocate and die in those halls.) I reported him 4 times over the course of 10 months, but nothing was done. Eventually in October of grade 7, I felt forced to attack him outside of school on the streets myself.!<

This isn't everything that haunts me. But you get the point. That place genuinely made me feel like my life was in danger. I'm in my 20s now and still shocked I'm not dead. But they always said that SpEd was a place meant to help me, so... my brain learned to associate needing/getting "help or support" with being in danger. And while I transferred into General Ed from Grade 8 onwards, I started struggling with PTSD symptoms around March of that year. At first, it was only every once in a blue moon. But it followed me into high school and kinda just... eroded my ability to succeed.

I'd do well for a while. But if I didn't understand something or found a class going too fast for me, I just FROZE. I wouldn't turn things in because I knew that failing makes you wind up in the SpEd room, and I didn't want to put my best effort in just for that to happen anyway. I didn't dare ask for help because I couldn't shake the idea that doing so would get me isolated and hurt again. And doing literally anything that not everybody had to do (IE: tutoring) made me get embarrassed at best and fearful at worst. It got to the point where I even quit doing school for a while. I didn't drop out, I just... vanished. I just couldn't do it anymore.

My high school GPA is embarrassingly low because of all that, and while some teachers did try to help me, that just scared me even more. Even my friends noticed. And yeah, I felt bad because they weren't bad like my old ones, yet I was probably making their jobs difficult with no context on their end. But... I didn't wanna explain to them how afraid of teachers I was. Or the real reason needing help scared me. It just felt so stupid. And I didn't want somebody to put me through hell just because I needed help with stuff again. So I kept my mouth shut, and... they couldn't reach me that way. I graduated on time, but with some awful scores.

I don't want that to repeat further in college. But I can't just NOT go; I can't just let this disorder get in my way forever! I'm 21 already and only have one semester of college under my belt with atrocious attendance, and I know I'm better than that. But I struggle with math & science courses sometimes, and the image of a near-empty classroom + 2 teachers sends me back in time. And when I was met with those in my first semester... that old terror just came back. And it's not as strong as before, nowhere close. But it's still a lot. My college is a pretty safe place, but I still skipped a lot of days.

And I hate admitting this, but I don't think it's realistic for me to be held to all the same standards as everybody else under these conditions anymore. I'm doing my best, but I can't work like this. School really is harder for me than it is for other people. I'm gonna need extensions, or maybe extra time on tests for things like Statistics. And at least I'm at a place where I don't beat myself up for that anymore; it's not my fault those people messed my brain up so badly.

But enough rambling. Here's the thing I think I need you guys' help on.

1. How the hell am I supposed to ask for accommodations or "special help" when that's literally exactly what I'm afraid of? It's like no matter how much time passes, my brain is convinced that any form of SpEd is gonna put me through pain I can't handle. I know you're all here to help, but so were the people who educated me as a kid, you know? Even if college is different, I can't trust ANY school that easily, anymore.

2. Is there maybe some accomodation or even alternative form of education I should consider asking for/doing that I'm not thinking about? Like... online school WAS easier for me, to be honest. But I'm kinda worried I'll coop myself up like a hermit if I pursue that entirely. What would yall do for someone like this?

Thank you SO MUCH if you read this in full, let alone reply. You all have bigger impacts on students than you know. And I guess that's pretty grim in MY context, but I lurk in here a lot, actually. I know that at least some of you would've done a little better for me, or any of your current students than the people I got.

Basic story is my son hurt his dominant hand at school from his own acts, no neglect or caused by anyone else. However what we thought was a quick fix is turning into months long with the possibility of surgery making it even longer. Hes missing valuable time with penmanship and writing (first grade). He's getting tired easily trying to use his left and his teachers also help a ton.

I asked for him to be checked out with OT to see if they thought he'd benefit from some aid to strengthen his left hand and relearn essentially pencil holding and all of that. They said he was fine and he'd get PT out of school once healed (thanks for telling me 🙄).

I was just surprised that they said no, not even needing to be evaluated and wanted to know if they were required to or if I'm overthinking all of this. He won't be able to use his dominant hand until January and I'm just worried how much he may fall behind

I’m an Educational assistant at a high school and the one on one for this student with cerebral palsy and osteoporosis so they are very fragile. They are completely nonverbal and also has very little motor function. They can grab things but will drop them and they only do it if I put it in their hand. They won’t reach out to grab it if you put it there. They have an eye gaze device but they refuse to use it most of the time. The main problem is they were getting sick in their sign language class so we decided to leave her out of it. And keep them in class but I’m not their teacher and I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do during this period but I was told I would have to put something on for them and interact with them a lot but what do I put on? What do I try to teacher them. What interactions do I do with them. My main job is to assist with the teachers lessons for this student and to just watch them and make sure everything’s ok with this student. So what can I do during this period?

Services and policies vary so widely state to state and I'm curious!

Comment below with where you live, what your caseload is, and what the cap is!

I teach self-contained and have 13 students. All of my students have speech services in their IEPs. The speech therapist at my school has not pulled any of my students for speech in over a month. Every week since October she will send me an email saying she needs to cancel sessions this week with no explanation and no plan to make up these sessions. She does not cancel her sessions with general education students. What should I be doing as case manager/teacher?

I have a 4-year-old who's been getting OT/ST/Social Skills Group since he was 2 and is in the middle of his second year in an integrated preschool classroom with an IEP. He's absurdly bright, but also has a trauma history and expressive speech delay, coupled with some in-born hard-headedness.

He's got a hair-trigger and can be emotionally reactive with hitting, pushing, screaming, but as quick as it happens is as quick as it is over. He doesn't throw tantrums, he doesn't become dysregulated or out of control, but if he wants a thing and you say "no" - 75% of the time, he will do a one second scream, or do a punch/push/shove, and then move on. He's also not great at sitting in circle, waiting his turn, or doing non-preferred tasks independently.

We are doing everything we know at home to give him stability and predictability around boundaries and expectations. At home, he gets immediate, perfunctory corrections and consequences, as well as discussion around acceptable alternative behaviors/choices.

We don't yell/spank. We work on being incredibly non-reactive to his reactivity. It's actually really important that we don't get emotionally elevated, because he absolutely unravels when other people/kids/babies are screaming and crying - it makes his behavior so much worse.

He's getting better all the time, but it's slow and he backslides. I am the first to say that physical aggression is never okay and no student or teacher should be subjected to that behavior. To the extent that it matters at all, his "attacks" aren't at all vicious - there doesn't seem to be any actual intent to cause harm, it's just a immediate physical expression of upset - he does not "rage," and everything is pretty half-hearted/slo-mo.

We have our transition planning midyear IEP meeting this week and I know right now, he's not appropriate for unsupported full on GenEd participation, but I'm also terrified that he's going to get recommended for self-contained where there will be a lot of screaming/yelling/crying/hitting and I'm worried that he will regress dramatically and quickly, and if that happens, I don't think he'll ever get out of that environment - not at all to mention I think all of his strength areas, particularly in academics, will just be ignored because of his behaviors and he'll start to fall behind there too.

I feel like however he gets placed next year is going to be profoundly impactful for his whole life and I'm scared.

Hi, I run an SLC program and support a high-support student. At the start of the year, staff wanted the student moved to an outside placement because of their aggression, which had led to numerous staff injuries (including severe bites to me). While these safety concerns weren’t unwarranted at the time, the situation has completely transformed.

After an immense amount of work on my part—modeling AAC, teaching the student to communicate, and learning their needs—the student is now happy, calm, and excelling at school for the first time ever. They are: • No longer aggressive. • Consistently using AAC to express themselves. • Regulated and thriving with new routines.

Despite this progress, staff complaints have shifted to focus on perceived inequities in resources and my role. Recent anonymous feedback included comments like: • Criticizing us for walking in hallways, even though the student is calm, regulated, and secure in a stroller. These walks honor their AAC communication requests (a core part of FAPE) and are vital to maintaining their regulation. • Claiming the program takes “too many resources” and questioning whether I’m working as hard as other staff. • Suggesting that the program space should be repurposed for other students, despite the progress it has enabled for this one.

I am autistic, and during walks, I focus on the student and modeling AAC, which some staff have interpreted as disengagement because I don’t socialize. My principal is incredibly supportive, but staff have now directed their frustration toward her as well.

How do I: 1. Address resistance to inclusion and misunderstandings about FAPE? (At a recent leadership meeting I discovered many don’t even know what FAPE is) 2. Advocate for myself and the program while managing hostile feedback? 3. Protect myself emotionally and professionally in this environment?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated—thank you…

I am about to finish my Masters in SPED and I currently have a Bachelors in Math, which qualifies me to teach both from where I'm at. I know there's a heavy preference among teachers to work in general ed, which is why special ed is in such high demand.

This question is for the teachers who are licensed to teach their general content area along with special education, for the teachers who actually had a choice between the two and were not forced by their administration to teach one or the other: why special ed? Would you leave special ed to go back to teaching gen ed?

IF (I really wanna emphasize the if) the department of education is abolished by this next presidential administration what will happen? I’ve read that it will affect the poorer areas/schools and kids with disabilities. IF this does happen what will happen with specialized programs for kids with disabilities and what will happen to those aides and teachers who work in these programs? Will school districts have to cut these programs? Asking bc I work in a specialized program for autism and ID in my local school district

I haven’t seen my spEd teacher in a month because she’s been in depression. She is coming back soon. I feel like it’s my fault. I tried analyzing all of my behaviours since the beginning of the school year. I am trying to be a better student. I ask about past situations in the server and ask for point of views. But what truly makes your job difficult? I’ve been panicking for a week. I am scared that I will misbehave on this day, and I will redo the behaviour I did. I understand that you are all overworked and (severely) underpaid and I am sorry.

I am a high school special education teacher, and I am finding this is getting harder not easier.

It isn’t primarily to do with the kids or families - I do think there is so much more need, but it’s across the board. Staff included - everyone I feel like is so on edge. I think unresolved trauma from the pandemic/political climate/navigating this constantly “on” world of social media and the Internet is hard for everyone and the cracks are showing.

I feel like I do my best at my job with program building and “informal” or indirect teaching - with teachable moments and conversations. The actual lessons and formal teaching, though? I feel helpless.

I primarily teach Social Skills (I don’t like that term, but it’s what it’s called). I also teach Independent Living skills, a self-contained Language Arts class and study skills. I don’t have a curriculum for any of it - other than being guided by the goals and objectives. I constantly feel like I am building the airplane as I fly it.

Beyond that - I spend so, so much of my time and money looking for resources to support my instruction in these areas - and just to learn more about neurodiversity and disability. Social skills in particular - I am always aiming to teach this in a neurodiversity affirming way but it is really hard to do that when neurotypical kids aren’t also being taught how to respect neurodivergent communication. I am always so stressed that I am failing these kids because I am doing this all wrong. There are a lot of resources do these areas, but I a) don’t have them and b) I don’t think they’re always very good.

I am always so, so, so anxious going into work because some days I just don’t know what I’ll teach or what is the right thing or right way to teach it. I know what the goals and objectives are - but I wrote this too! What if I was barking up the wrong tree? Though - I will say there are some resources I want to look into there (the SpeechDude, for one) - but I don’t have the money to keep spending on this. I spent my own money on a curriculum (Social Stencil), but I don’t think I can go ahead and teach it without discussing it with my admin - and every time a meeting to discuss it gets scheduled, she’s unavailable because of some crisis.

I need like days to research and think about and plan this stuff - but across two days, I have 8 classes across those four subject areas and so I’m always just trying to have what I can ready on the fly. And all of that is on top of what you all know about - the meetings, the paperwork, the students who need support when I’m not scheduled to see them.

I don’t do a lot of work outside of school (I try to stay in the building if I have something to do to keep that boundary with home). I could probably do more - but, in a way, I am because it’s always on my mind. I’m always engaging with content to try to learn more. I just feel so anxious all of the time.

Is this relatable to anyone? I feel like, even in my school, my situation is a bit different because my focus isn’t so much the academic content areas where in resource you can support the curriculum.

I miss teaching sometimes but it was very stressful at the end. Staff turnover was high and there were too many kids for me. But when it was good, it was really good. We got a lot of work done.

Hi all,

I know my district is usually desperate for extended school year teachers, but tbh I’m not sure I want to do that. It’s my first year teaching and I’m exhausted already. Plus, my guide teacher last year (student teaching at the same school I’m at now) said “it’s a shitshow” every year which is not promising. I’m saving money from my paycheck every month to cover my unpaid summer, so I don’t need the job to have excellent pay. I’d rather it come with flexible hours and not be too stressful. What do all of you do over the summer for a little extra income/just to keep busy? Doesn’t have to be in the education/childcare field. Thanks ☺️

When I began this year, I was given my first class with kids previously in adapted curriculum courses. Although these kids are very low (7th and 8th graders at more of a 1st/2nd grade level), I’m expected to teach them the grade level curriculum and they will be taking the grade level state tests at the end of the year.

One girl is only in my class for about 20 (out of 90) minutes due to behaviors. She spends most of her time with the adapted curriculum teacher and is failing. Shes on a BIP, mom knows of the struggles with behavior, etc.

Her mom has asked that I put together work for her to do at home. No problem. BUT - mom also wants me to write out step by step instructions on the content so she can teach the girl grade level content and for her IEP goals. Mom is also a special education teacher (in elementary).

Am I crazy or is this way out of line?

Below is a letter I sent to our state education department. In it is an argument that students publicly placed into private schools are still covered by IDEA. The argument is based on case law. I thought some parents on this subreddit might benefit from the legal information in my letter.

Please note that I both redacted and removed parts of the letter that identifies the parties involved and/or personalizes my message to our state ed department.

---

RE: State Complaint Acknowledgment Letter

Dear Ms. J,,

First and foremost, I sincerely hope that you are doing well.

Second, I thought I would address some information in your acknowledgement letter to the complaint I filed against [our son’s school, ABC] in February 2024. I am doubtful I will re-file the complaint because I initiated a federal lawsuit against [our school district] and ABC [in] October 2024, partially around the themes stated in the complaint I sent to your office. Nevertheless, I am compelled to bring attention to what I believe is an error in your explanation for rejecting the complaint.

You wrote in your acknowledgement letter that:

“The allegations directed to ABC do not allege a public agency has violated a requirement of Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. ABC does not constitute a public agency because it is not a state or local educational agency, public charter school, or political subdivision responsible for providing education to children with disabilities.”

I respectfully argue that there is federal case law that concludes a nonpublic school is subject to the IDEA, especially when a student with a disability is placed into the school to satisfy a LEA’s responsibilities under the IDEA. Moreover, in the decision resulting from an administrative appeal I filed earlier this year, a [state review officer] (SRO) stated in no uncertain terms that ABC is subject to state and federal laws governing the education of students with a disability. Thus, I need not have alleged a public agency violated the IDEA and Section 504. I properly alleged that ABC violated these statues, and that is all I had to do. I summarize my arguments herein.

Earlier this year, I filed a request for review to “appeal from aspects of a decision of an impartial hearing officer (IHO) related to an order for respondent (the district) to fund the costs of an independent educational evaluation (IEE).” Interestingly, in his discussion of findings, the state review office offered that “[w]hile I find that the parent is not entitled to any relief on appeal, for the parties' consideration, I note that some of the disagreements between the parties appear to be based on the role of [the private school]. For both parties benefit, I note that [the school] is a State-approved nonpublic school and, therefore, must ‘conform[] with the requirements of Federal and State laws and regulations governing the education of students with disabilities’ [citations redacted], and, among those requirements, is the parents right to obtain an IEE (see 20 U.S.C. § 1415[b][l]; 34 CFR 300.502; [citation redacted]).”[1] This proposition alone seems to challenge the assertions in your acknowledgement letter.

But there is more to be said here. To begin, the IDEA imposes an affirmative obligation on participating states to identify, assess, and serve students with disabilities, irrespective of the severity of the child’s needs.[2]  Nevertheless, federal agencies, legal commentators, and the courts have paid little attention to the legal obligations owed to students with disabilities placed in private day or residential settings, especially in the context of publicly placed private school students with disabilities.[3]  

The Supreme Court has observed that state action exists when a private entity exercises authority that is traditionally and exclusively reserved by the state.[4] When it comes to educating students with disabilities this authority has long rested with the state. Indeed, prior to the IDEA’s enactment, the education of children with disabilities fell entirely within the province of the state: “[t]hrough most of the history of public schools in America, services to children with disabilities were minimal and were provided at the discretion of local school districts. Until the mid-1970s, laws in most states allowed school districts to refuse to enroll any student they considered ‘uneducable,’ a term generally defined by local school administrators.”[5] To address such exclusion, states began passing and enacting legislation to better protect students with disabilities.[6] Accordingly, the foregoing history supports the claim that the authority to control the provision of special educational services has been traditionally reserved to the state.

This line of reasoning is supported by the decision in Riester v. Riverside Community School,[7] where an Ohio federal district court analyzed whether private companies that operate charter schools function as state actors. The plaintiff in Riester, a former charter school teacher, brought a § 1983 action against the charter school and its attendant management companies on First Amendment grounds.[8] Under both the public function and entwinement tests, the district court found that the charter school and the management companies functioned as state actors.[9] Under the public function test, in particular, the court reasoned that the management companies operated as state actors given that “free, public education, whether provided by public or private actors, is a historical, exclusive, and traditional state function.”[10] Perhaps more critically, the court in Riester denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss. In rejecting the defendant’s claim the court distinguished the facts in Riester v. Riverside Community School from those at issue in Rendell-Baker partially on the grounds that the school was “subject to various rules and regulations to which private schools are not.”[11] Certainly, ABC is subject to [state education department] rules and regulations that truly private schools are not.

In Rendell-Baker, the Supreme Court held that, for a private school to be considered a state actor, the action at issue must be the “exclusive prerogative of the state.”[12] Providing students with disabilities a FAPE in the least restrictive environment is an authority “exclusively” reserved to the state.[13] Put another way, the provision of FAPE to students placed in a nonpublic setting  remains the exclusive responsibility of the SEA, and the SEA must guarantee that FAPE is delivered in a school or facility that aligns with both SEA and LEA standards during the student’s placement in a private setting.

One legal scholar recently argued that this exclusive state obligation cannot be outsourced to approved private programs, even if the state outsources the performance of this obligation. Indeed, in West v. Atkins, the Supreme Court found that a private physician that had contracted with a state prison system to provide medical services to its incarcerated population constituted state action within the meaning of § 1983.[14] The Court reasoned that the state could not immunize itself from its constitutional obligations by simply outsourcing those obligations to private actors:

[I]f this were the basis for delimiting § 1983 liability, the state will be free to contract out all services which it is constitutionally obligated to provide and leave it citizens with no means for vindication of those rights, whose protection has been delegated to private actors, when they have been denied.[15]

This implies that [the state education department] is responsible for addressing the issues I identified in my complaint.

In Smith v. Tobinworld, the court analyzed in detail the circumstances of a student publicly placed into a private school by the Antioch Unified School District. The court concluded that, when an approved private school provides a publicly placed student with services that the public school is obligated to provide under federal law, the private school becomes the “intended recipient of the federal financial assistance disbursed via the IDEA.”[16] Again, referring to SRO’s decision, ABC is a State-approved nonpublic school. Under these circumstances, the LEA is not delegating its responsibility to provide FAPE.[17] Instead, the LEA is merely outsourcing the performance or service aspect of its FAPE obligation to an approved private day or residential program. Because the outsourcing of the provision of FAPE is traditionally and exclusively provided by state actors, a private school that elects to enroll a publicly placed student with disabilities cannot escape liability when it violates a student’s rights. Otherwise, a publicly placed student would be left with no avenue to fully vindicate such rights, a result that would be in direct conflict with courts’ interpretation and application of the state action doctrine.[18] Following this logic, I respectfully submit that the assertions in your acknowledgement letter effectively helps to achieve this latter result; this is not OK.

Given what I have learned while researching my case, I am sufficiently convinced that you erred in response to the concerns I penned back in February. But our lawsuit – should it survive the volley of motions for dismissal – will certainly settle whether ABC must comply with the IDEA and other civil rights statutes.

[1] Citation redacted.

[2] 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(3).

[3] U.S. Dep’t of Educ., Questions and Answers on Serving Children with Disabilities Placed by Their Parents in Private Schools (Feb. 2022), https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/QA_on_Private_Schools_02-28-2022.pdf [https://perma.cc/5JD9-H4Y5].

[4] See, e.g., Nixon v. Condon, 286 U.S. 73 (1932); Terry v. Adams, 345 U.S. 461 (1953); Marsh v. Alabama, 326 U.S. 501 (1946); Evans v. Newton, 382 U.S. 296 (1966).

[5] Edwin Martin, Reed Martin & Donna L. Terman, The Legislative and Litigation History of Special Education, 6 The Future of Children, 25, 26 (1996).

[6] Id. at 27-28.

[7] Riester v. Riverside Community School, 257 F. Supp. 2d 968 (S.D. Ohio 2002).

[8] Id. at 969-70.

[9] Id. at 972.

[10] Id. Emphasis added.

[11] Id. at 972-73.

[12] Rendell-Baker, 457 U.S. at 842.

[13] See 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(5), P.L. 108-446 § 612(a)(5)(A)..

[14] West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42 (1988) at 57-58.

[15] Id. at 56 n.14 (quoting West v. Atkins, 815 F.2d 993, 998 (4th Cir. 1987) (Winter, J., concurring and dissenting)) (internal quotation marks omitted).

[16] Smith v. Tobinworld, No. 16-CV-01676-RS, 2016 WL 3519244, at *6 (N.D. Cal. June 28, 2016) (noting that the acceptance of IDEA funds renders private school providers subject to § 504).

[17] 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(10)(B)(ii).

[18] See Wilson R. Huhn, The State Action Doctrine and the Principle of Democratic Choice, 34 Hof. L. Rev. 1379, 1393 (2006) (“The Court’s reasoning in . . . Rendell-Baker was skewed towards protecting ‘individual freedom,’ yet a private nursing home does not have a constitutional right to change the level of medical care rendered to a patient without consulting the patient or the family, nor does a private school have a constitutional right to terminate the employment of teachers because of their criticism of the school’s administration.”).

1st year teacher of a 2nd grade self-contained classroom. I'm so ridiculously overwhelmed and I'm starting to think its not my fault.

Not only are my students not ready for inclusion, but according to my supervisor they aren't even capable of accessing a heavily modified version of the standard 2nd grade curriculum. This means that I'm supposed to make everything from scratch, which I have zero experience with but whatever.

The problem is that my supervisor and new teacher mentor want me to prepare (what feels like) a MASSIVE amount of work, with very little repetition of these materials. For example, for English we're supposed to read a new book EVERY SINGLE DAY, with a customized topic/communication board ready for each book, and then a fun little craft to go with each book, and then the assignment thats supposed to be aligned with their IEP goals/common core objective (again, made to match the book). Similar thing with math, social skills, independent work time, etc. This adds up to roughly 9 unique assignments per student per day, not counting how i need to "change up" my lessons to teach the same skill but in a visually different way.

When i was a paraprofessional in another school, we would usually repeat the same lesson/book all week, and then increase the difficulty of the work once the student mastered the original assignment. However, my supervisor claims that this will "bore" my students and not be helpful. But when I'm sacrificing weekends to only meet half the requirements they want, when they claim i should be able to complete all this during my planning periods, maybe the problem isnt me.

If this is actually a reasonable amount of work, do say so! But these past few months have mentally destroyed me and I want to know if the problem is me or them.

Edit: Thank you so much everyone. I can't stop crying because I finally feel validated after three months of pure hell. I'm finally going to put an end to this abuse, whether it means standing up for myself or walking away from a bad place. I wish I could give everyone a hug ♡

I NEED HELP!!!

I am a first year teacher in a self-contained behavior classroom (grades 3-5). My students are mostly with me all day. The expectation is for me to teach grade level curriculum, however we shorten our blocks to 30 min each. I’m having trouble figuring out how to condense this curriculum to teach in 30 min chunks. Does anyone have similar experiences? Any insight is so so helpful!!!

I’ve done this quite a few times. I am ban from doing this. Usually when really frustrated and I am about to run away so the second most logical thing I think of is calling my parents and crying on the phone with them. Then they request my spEd teacher and I hand it to her. Now that I think about it. It’s giving rich entitled brat. Especially the reason why I was crying for. I was allowed to be upset. But it didn’t do much. Thoughts on this? Would you be upset if a student did this?

Edit: Thank you for your tips and opinions!

I know this may only apply to US schools as we are on Thanksgiving break. Anybody else working? I MUST write an IEP, grade an online class I teach, and accommodate notes. I have barely begun. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ Why do I do these things to myself. The IEP should be almost finished, waiting on one teacher’s information. I guess it is just the life of a teacher.

I have been in public school three years now as a life skills/transition teacher. It’s clear to me that these programs (at least in the districts I’ve worked in) are never going to have the funding, resources, or staffing they need. I’m officially burnt out and fed up because I can’t do my job effectively. I absolutely love this field and the students I’ve taught over the years. I know I can go back to loving my job if I was in a better environment.

I started my career in private, therapeutic schools. While it wasn’t perfect, I miss the fact that there was adequate staff training and I felt everyone cared about the students and their wellbeing. I think I’d enjoy myself much more in this setting. I don’t mind dealing with behaviors and I feel it may be a strong suit of mine. However, I’d be taking a pay cut of 10k+ and lose my pension if I left public school.

Has anyone had this dilemma? I don’t want to kick myself later, but I’m not happy in my current position. I know I could always go back to public school later in life (still in my twenties) Should I keep looking for a better public school position? Or go elsewhere hoping the grass is greener on the other side?

I love the actress they picked for Melody- she does a fantastic job showing the emotions she’s going through. I’m glad they chose a person with CP as well. I hope I see her in more shows/movies, I think she’s awesome!

I was nervous this was going to be very inspirational- all disabled people can do everything! However, I think they did a great job showing the realities of special education 20 years ago and why inclusion is so important. I love that they showed that gen Ed teacher was horrible, as I think there’s a lot of that. When I was working with students in a gen Ed setting, I remember fighting to get those students into the “good teachers” classrooms. Overall, really enjoyed it! I’d love a similar movie about a student that uses AAC with an intellectual disability and how a self contained classroom can be helpful to them.

He has been under evaluation/assessments/testing etc. to determine his eligibility for special education. I don’t know exactly how to read these results. It seems concerning but I can’t wrap my head around it completely. Would anyone be willing to help me out?

Sorry if this isn’t allowed. He was first tested for hearing and speech which his results were within the average range for kids his age. So this is the psychological results from several different assessments and observations from different professionals as well as his teacher.

Hi there, I am working on a couple of assignments for my Master’s in special ed. I am writing two reports and need the perspective/opinions of someone who has used the Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement and/or the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children. What I need specifically is:

-perspective on the instruments -efficacy of the test -anything else you have to add about it

We are on Thanksgiving break of course and I don’t have access to people on my campus. Any opinions or perspectives would be super appreciated!!! Thank you!

My nephew's ETR shows average cognitive ability and academic ability except for reading skills, which are all below 1st%.

Gen Ed teacher is very nice and cares about the kids but has no idea what she's doing with him. Sped teacher is technically still a student but teaching on provisional license while she finishes her degree.

I teach middle and high school, so my recommendations for gen ed participation have fallen flat (mostly utilizing Chromebook and an extension like Read&Write for text to speech and speech to text for non-reading Intervention instruction).

We have the IEP meeting next week. Gen Ed teacher wants a separate learning classroom based on low test scores, which obviously isn't LRE, but If like to have some good 1st grade appropriate accommodations/modifications to offer in place of a separate learning environment.

I have a question about goals. At annual iep meetings, the goals are often increased to the next grade level, even when the goal has not been reached. For example, the fictional goal is “student will read 144 wpm in 1 minute 80% of the time at the 3rd grade level.” If progress reports show only 35% success, why is the goal advanced to 163 wpm at the 4th grade level?

I guess I'm considered a resource teacher (not self contained). My state has a limit of 24 on my caseload but I'm having a harder time finding out what the max amount of students can be in a pull out group? Supposed to be "small group" instruction. Think elementary school ages. Do your states have size limits? Are paras allowed to teach them? What is your typical size? Do they have similar skill levels?

I am a high school teacher and I teach students with multiple/significant disabilities. I've had this dream for a few years about transforming my classroom into a mini apartment and this year I've been blessed with the perfect classroom to make this happen! That's right, we've got the fridge, freezer, sink, dishwasher, oven, washer and dryer, we are SET. But now I keep thinking about ways to make it better and give opportunities for students to learn even more skills.

Here's some of the ideas I've already started: • personal grooming/hygiene station with products for each student to use • clothing closet with thrifted or donated clothes • cleaning cabinet to teach the different kinds of cleaners and when to use them • meal planning and nutrition labels (and cooking of course!) • budgeting and grocery shopping • leisure activities that ARENT scrolling aimlessly

What else can I incorporate into my classroom?? Share your ideas, wishlist, things you've tried, whatever! I'm so curious what other things I'm not thinking of yet. And a disclaimer, just because I know it needs to be said, anything I buy is going through the school's wallet, not mine :)

This is my first year at a school that uses iReady to monitor growth. My principal has placed emphasis on growth in iReady versus growth on the state test.

I'm very frustrated, my special education director is frustrated.

Every time I'm out for the day one of my kids gets sent home early or suspended. Every time. For doing things that we KNOW THEY WILL DO!

They don't give them breaks. They don't let them deescalate. They don't give them time. They don't let them talk. Or worse they try to physically move/redirect them and the general education staff is SHOCKED when the kids have a reaction (whether it's throwing things, hitting, cussing, etc)

And then when they tell me what happened and where my kids are they are mad at me for saying YOU CANT DO THAT!

I am lucky my boss has my back. But I'm beyond frustrated.

What do I do? How do I stop this from happening. It feels like I can never have an appointment or be sick. This is the 4th time this year this has happened.