ADAPTED EDUCATION:A SUPERVISORY BALANCE

PA APE Historical Background

December 2009-present:

~PDE formed the PA Council on Adapted Physical Education

*Survey to PDE conference attendees/ LEAs/ IUs*Penn*link*Training plan

PaTTAN ~Publication

~Educational Initiatives:www.pattan.net

Specific Physical Education Regulations in IDEA 2004

(b) Regular physical education. Each child with a disability must be afforded the opportunity to participate in the regular physical education program available to nondisabled children unless:

(1) The child is enrolled full time in a separate facility; or

(2) The child needs specially designed physical education, as prescribed on the child’s IEP.

Identifying Students for Adapted Physical Education Services

Adapted PE must be a part of the special education process.

How do students qualify for adapted physical education and how are levels of APE services

determined?~just like any other direct service:

assessment data collected and reviewed by IEP team.

Examples of Assessment ToolsPhysical Fitness Tests

Fitnessgram Physical Fitness TestBrockport Physical Fitness Test

Motor Development Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2) Peabody Developmental Motor Skills-2 (PDMS-2)

Motor PerformanceAdapted Physical Education Assessment ScaleBruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency

AquaticsRed Cross Skill Progression Aquatics Skills Checklist

Continuum of Student NeedsStudents who meet or exceed PA standardsStudents who are not meeting grade level standards

and in need of remediation.Students who need accommodations and remediation

due to health related issues under Section 504.Students who are not meeting grade level standards

and have been identified as students with disabilities under IDEA as needing adapted physical education service.

Physical Education is a Required Service, Not a Related Service A related service

may be needed for the student to successfully participate in required physical education (i.e., PT to assist with a balance apparatus while teaching bike riding in physical education)

Physical Education Specifics in IDEA 2004300.108 Physical education

The State must ensure that public agencies in the State comply with the following:

(a) General: Physical education services, specially designed if necessary, must be made available to every child with a disability receiving FAPE, unless the public agency enrolls children without disabilities and does not provide physical education to children without disabilities in the same grades (text in red is new as of IDEA 2004).

As Supervisors, Directors and Special

Education Leaders we are expected to

be decisive!

But we have the dubious honor of

being decisive, yet flexible.

Some disabilities are more obvious than others

Can you find the students with IEP’s ?

Before we consider Adapted Physical

Education, we need to discuss Adapted

Education in general.

APE is a microcosm of the world of

individual education!

SEPARATE

INCLUDED

SEPARATE

INCLUDED

Separate But EqualBrown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

But are we ever satisfied??By most measures, Monta Vista High here and Lynbrook High, in nearby San Jose, are among the nation's top public high schools. Both boast stellar test scores, an array of advanced—placement classes and a track record of sending graduates from the affluent suburbs of Silicon Valley to prestigious colleges.

But locally, they're also known for something else: white flight. Over the past 10 years, the proportion of white students at Lynbrook has fallen by nearly half, to 25% of the student body. At Monta Vista, white students make up less than one—third of the population, down from 45% —— this in a town that's half white. Some white Cupertino parents are instead sending their children to private schools or moving them to other, whiter public schools. More commonly, young white families in Silicon Valley say they are avoiding Cupertino altogether.

Whites aren't quitting the schools because the schools are failing academically. Quite the contrary: Many white parents say they're leaving because the schools are too academically driven and too narrowly invested in subjects such as math and science at the expense of liberal arts and extra-curriculars like sports and other personal interests.The two schools, put another way that parents rarely articulate so bluntly, are too Asian.

Our Special Education

Conundrum

Who’s Driving The Special Education Bus?

INCLUSIVE PRACTICES

GASKINS

INCREASED SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES

DUE PROCESS

Just to pick up our spirits, let’s look at some clips of students being included.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_A-lgWCfog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff_nSfBxihg

Enough commiseration. Let’s

look at some solutions!

What makes PE different from all

other content areas?

Are Adapted Physical Educators more adept

at evaluating and instructing students

with disabilities ?

Should we have Adapted Social

Studies, Adapted Art or Adapted Music….

Or do we already have them??

We need adapted instruction and assessment across every curricular and

co-curricular area and in every regular and special

learning environment.

Every member of the district instructional team must be prepared to work

with students having diverse learning needs.

What do we need to do in order to…

--Provide students with Special Needs the very best education?

What do we need to do in order to…--Provide students with Special Needs the very best education?--Assure the parents through DATA that their children’s needs are being regularly diagnosed, addressed through individualized instruction and assessed to document growth?

What do we need to do in order to…--Provide students with Special Needs the very best education?--Assure the parents through DATA that their children’s needs are being regularly diagnosed, addressed through individualized instruction and assessed to document growth?--Permit teachers to feel competent in their instructional strategies for ALL children?

What do we need to do in order to…--Provide students with Special Needs the very best education--Assure the parents through DATA that their children’s needs are being regularly diagnosed, addressed through individualized instruction and assessed to document growth.--Permit teachers to feel competent in their instructional strategies for ALL children--Create an environment of membership and acceptance?

How do we best determine the level and type of instruction the

child will receive…including Adapted

Physical Education ?

Special Education is no longer a Stand-Alone arm

of the district. Every building leader needs to be

accountable for the students with IEPs in their

building.

There is NO substitute for

KNOWING the child!

THE IEP IS THE KEY(I know it sounds like a

cliché…but it’s true) --and while I’m at it, the student’s entire instructional team must be

involved

IT STARTS WITH ASSESSMENT

Remember…assessment is done by all staff (regular and special) across all content areas, including PE. (let’s

validate Physical Education as a critical part of the curriculum)

DETERMINE READINESSAll teachers must use assessment DATA

to drive accommodations, differentiation, instruction and

evaluation. In PE, as in all areas of learning, the IEP team (starting with the

PE teacher) needs to follow the same process of consideration for

supplementary aids and services for the child to be successful.

PREPARE COMPETENT AND CONFIDENT EDUCATORSIn addition to the already required generic Special Education credits, Colleges and Universities must be

encouraged to provide specific major content instruction on assessment, data collection, strategic planning, scaffolding

and differentiated instruction.

PREPARE COMPETENT AND CONFIDENT EDUCATORS

School districts must emphasize, through targeted Professional Development, individualization, IEP awareness and

implementation, thorough assessment, and data-driven planning.

PREPARE COMPETENT AND CONFIDENT EDUCATORS

As instructional leaders, we must build value for each area of our curriculum, not just those assessed by the PSSA,

PASA. And we must hold every teacher, even in the elective and non-academic

courses, accountable for student growth.

PARENTS MUST BE ASSURED

That their child is viewed as an individual and that we KNOW their child.

PARENTS MUST BE ASSURED

That we have DATA to support our educational recommendations.

PARENTS MUST BE ASSURED

That we are prepared to offer the level and type of support that best meets the

child’s identified needs.

PARENTS MUST BE ASSURED

That our entire instructional team is knowledgeable and skilled in adapting

and accommodating the classroom content that will create a safe, positive and beneficial learning environment.

DO YOU WANT TO BUILD PARENT CONFIDENCE?

DO YOU WANT TO AVOID LEGAL COMPLAINTS?

DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A GENUINE IEP “TEAM”?

Then let’s eliminate the following IEP meeting

statements….

“ I have 28 other children, I have no time for Pedro”

“ I just wasn’t trained to deal with this type of child”

“ I don’t think public school is the place for Mary”

“ Carl won’t fail…I’ll adjust his grade at the end of the

marking period”

“ Sharon’s a pretty little girl and she does try. But she

has trouble with some things. She got a “D” this

quarter.”

Is there a place for Adapted Physical Education in the continuum of services?

Absolutely

Do we need effective adapted instruction across

the entire curriculum?

Definitely

Does APE or other adapted or replacement instruction

need to occur in a segregated setting?

That is a decision for the IEP team. But with the proper

training, data collection and professional development, it

should be needed less and less as we build truly inclusive

environments