Running head: HAVING ACCESS

Having Access to the General Education Curriculum, Formulating Individualized IEPS

and Setting Evaluation procedures are the bases for Effective Inclusion
Martha McNeil
University of St. Thomas
COUN 6326
Spring 2015

HAVING ACCESS

Having Access to the General Education Curriculum, Formulating Individualized IEPS

and Setting Evaluation procedures are the bases for Effective Inclusion
Can you remember a time in which being in a class, place or group made you feel
different or uncomfortable from your other peers? What about having the plummeting feelings
of despair, hopelessness, depression or perhaps, lacking the motivation to even try because it
might bring about unwanted attention to you, such as, a sense of inferiority or embarrassment.
Ineffective inclusion can bring about these different emotional states of minds for Children with
Disabilities (CWD) when they are placed in a general education classroom with ineffective
planning towards the implementation of an Individual Education Plan (IEP). First, a student must
have access to the general education curriculum; next, a Special Education teacher should
formulate or draft meaningful and useful goals for each student that will meet the student where
they are at and provide linkage to future learning in the inclusive general education setting.
These goals often start with the parent expressing their long term wishes for their child to the
Annual Review and Dismissal Committee (ARD). Along with, decisions on what
accommodations and Supplementary Aids and Services and Related Services (SASRS), and
lastly, how the student will be evaluated on their goals and objectives, should help the student to
explore new horizons, in an inclusion setting.
Having Access to the General Curriculum
The regulations implemented in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA)'97, described the general curriculum as the same curriculum that is traditionally used for
students without disabilities ( No Child Left Behind, 2001). The general curriculum can be
thought of as "the overall plan for instruction adopted by a school or school system. Its purpose

HAVING ACCESS

is to guide instructional activities and provide consistency of expectations, content, methods, and
outcomes." (Hitchcock, Meyer, Rose, & Jackson, 2002) In recent years, the general curriculum
has come to be influenced more and more by the adoption of standards by many states, and local
school districts (Nolet & McLaughlin, 2000).
In 1997, Congress made a number of important changes to the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). One of the most significant changes is the requirement that
students with disabilities receive access to the general curriculum. Under the new law, students
with disabilities must have equal access to the general curriculum; be involved in the general
curriculum; and show progress in the general curriculum.
Having access before IDEA 97 was vastly different, from when the first national special
education law was first passed in 1975 by Congress. At the time, Congress estimated that one
million children with disabilities were being excluded from public schools. The purpose of the
1975 law was to give children with disabilities the right to a public education, individually
tailored to address disability-specific needs. This preliminary law focused mainly on providing
students with disabilities with access to special education services and physical access to school
buildings. This 1975 law did not pose any requirements on educating (CWD). During these
early years, the concepts of mainstreaming and inclusion also evolved, but tended to center on
the placement of students with disabilities in the regular education classroom without the need
for many necessary supplementary aids and services, accommodations, modifications, and
supports. Beginning in the 1990s, many enhancements and developments have been made in the
education of children with disabilities. More students with disabilities were graduating and
obtaining jobs, after leaving high school. (U.S. Department of Education, 1995). In addition,

HAVING ACCESS

children with very severe disabilities were attending public schools and had the opportunity to
interact and socialize with their peers (U.S. Department of Education, 1995).
Although, these positive changes are occurring, nevertheless, students with disabilities
still are facing many difficult challenges, for example, research showed that students with
challenges tended to fail classes and drop out of school at a higher rate than students without
disabilities (U.S. Department of Education, 1995).
Formulating Meaningful and Purposeful IEP Goals and Objectives

The IEP goals drive placement decisions at Annual Review Dismissal (ARD) meetings.
If a student is demonstrating the ability to make progress toward the goals in an inclusive
environment, the committee should not consider a more restrictive placement. It is important that
these goals be appropriate and achievable for the general education classroom. For example,
learning how to use public transportation would not be appropriate in a general education
inclusion classroom. When establishing long term goals for a student, the parent wishes and
desires should always be considered first. Parents should express to the committee their long
term realistic goals, for their child. It is critical that the committee sees the student's future
through both the parents' and the student's eyes. For example, some future goals to consider are
after high school expectations, such as, future employment, education, community involvement
and daily independent living. These goals should be specific. IEP goals should be individualized
to a students particular strengths and weaknesses. It should be explicit. An IEP goal should
clearly lay out what is expected of a student and how they can demonstrate their achievement of
the goal. An IEP goal should be clear and concise to anyone with a need to pick up the
document, including other service provides or collaborating teachers, parents, administrators, or

HAVING ACCESS

next years teachers. It should be ambitious. These goals should be present knowledge, coupled
with a connection to future goals. An IEP goal should require a significant amount of learning
and skills practice to take place before mastery occurs. This determines the overall growth in
which a student has made over a period of time.

Evaluating students that are taught in an inclusion classroom

Lastly, an effective IEP goal lays out specific criteria for how and when a student must
reach the accepted goal; these criteria should be measurable, using clear, plain and demonstrable
strategies. IEPs must show how progress toward the goals will be measured, either through
timed assessments, observation, performance assessment, portfolios, rubrics, or any other
valuable tool available to the teacher. When equal and fair access to the general curriculum is
provided, coupled with meaningful individualized goals, and along with a way to demonstrate
and evaluate success, inclusion should increase social positive interactions and success amongst
(CWD) while being educated in an inclusion classroom.

HAVING ACCESS

6
References

Hitchcock, C., Meyer, A., Rose, D., & Jackson, R. (2002). Providing new access to the general
curriculum: Universal Design for Learning. Teaching Exceptional Children, 35(2), 8-17.
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq. (2001).
Nolet, V. & McLaughlin, M.J. (2000). Accessing the general curriculum: Including students with
disabilities in standards-based reform. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
U.S. Department of Education (1995). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act amendments
of 1995: Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Washington, D.C.