Special Education Teacher Certification in the States

Dona Meinders

California Comprehensive Center

State Certification SystemsState Notes - Education Commission of the States

Generalist29%

Categorical33%

Mild/Moderate - Severe/Profound

38%

Categorical

Generalist

Mild/Moderate -Severe/Profound

Generalist CertificateState Notes - Education Commission of the States

• Can teach any disability category

• Most states also have 2-3 disability specific categories in addition to the generalist certificate

• May also have a special education early education certificate

Categorical CertificateState Notes - Education Commission of the States

• Disability-specific training

• States differ on what disability-specific used

Mild/Moderate-Severe/ProfoundState Notes - Education Commission of the States

• Distinction between certificate for most special education children and for severely disabled children

• Not all states use this terminology but do make a severity distinction

Endorsements/CategoricalState Notes - Education Commission of the States

• Only 2 states have a single special education generalist certification

• Other states have from 2-15 additional endorsements or categorical certificates

Most common Endorsements State Notes - Education Commission of the States

• Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing (46 states)

• Early Childhood (45 states)

• Emotional (14 states)

• Specific Learning Disability (13 states)

Basis of Changes to Special Education Certification

• NCLB and IDEA requirements – defining highly qualified

• Recent Trends–increase in autism identification

–changing role of special educator

–retention of special education teachers

Illinois• Rather than focusing on any single disability

category, new special education teacher certified - Learning and Behavior Specialist I (entry level) or Learning and Behavior Specialist II (advanced study and specialization)

• Plus 3 categorical certificates – Blind/Visually Impaired, Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing Impaired, and Speech and Language Impaired

New York

• Requires special education teachers and special education administrators to be trained in the needs of autistic children

• Special certification for teachers and administrators in the area of children with autistic needs

California Model of Intensive Intervention California Model of Intensive Intervention A New Direction for Special EducationA New Direction for Special Education

Intensive

Tier III

Transitional Intervention to

Strategic

Benchmark

Tier II

Tier I

Intensive

Time ProgramGroup Size

SUPPORTS CORE TEXT

ANCILLARYMATERIALS

CORETEXT

(more time)

What are some of the Service Delivery Options for Special Education? Friend & Cook

1. Consultative Inclusion Programs

2. Collaborative Teaching models

3. Co-teaching or Team Teaching

4. Intensive Intervention Instruction

5. Learning Centers and Blended/Combined

Program

Consultative Inclusion Programs

• Student receives instruction in the general education classroom

• Student does not receive direct instruction from the special educator

• Special educator works with general education teacher– Provides resources, training and support

– Instructs the student and teacher on appropriate accommodations and assistive technology

– May not have frequent contact with the student

Collaborative Teaching Models

• Student receives core instruction in the general education classroom

• Student may receive some instruction from the special educator

• Special educator works with general education teacher– Proving support with materials and strategies

• Special educator may provide supplemental or other direct instruction to support the core in a variety of settings

Co-teaching or Team Teaching

• Special educator and general educator working together in the same classroom to deliver instruction to a blended group of students

• Both teachers provide instruction utilizing a variety of models– Take turns

– One monitors while the other instructs

– Station teaching

• Co-teaching does not need to occur everyday, but occurs regularly

Intensive Intervention Instruction• Multi-tiered interventions model• Usually part of school-wide reform

–All students placed in instructional groups based on needs

–Special education students included in these groups

–Special educator works with one of the intervention groups, usually containing students with IEPs and some general education students

–One example of a multi-tiered model is RtI

Learning Centers and Blended/Combined Programs

• Refers to settings that serve RS and SDC students in the same setting.

• May include “at risk” general education students

• Special educators and other specialist provide instruction in the learning center based upon student need