Clinical Field Experience A: Legal Responsibilities for Special Education Students

For your 20 hours of field experience in this course, you will spend time in a K-3 classroom where you can observe children with exceptionalities; interview the teacher; facilitate short, small group pre- and post-assessments; and, deliver a lesson. The classroom may be inclusive or a resource room. Directions for each field experience are provided across Topics 2, 3, 4 and 5.

For this topic’s field experience, you will observe the K-3 class you selected, noting students with exceptionalities and their behaviors and accommodations. Ask to review at least two IEPs and look at how the present levels of performance were reported. Observe the students with the IEPs and how they are doing on their goals. Please remember that you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of student records.

In addition, interview your mentor teacher and discuss the following:

• How information is gathered for writing a statement of present levels of performance from both formal and informal assessments.
• How information is interpreted and combined from a variety of sources to inform what is included in a statement of present levels of performance.
• How your mentor teacher uses the information in the present levels of performance to inform goals and instructional activities for students.
• The process of identifying students for special education from a teacher’s perspective.
• Legal responsibilities for referring, identifying, and enrolling special education students.
• The importance of being committed to the ethical use of various assessments and assessment data to identify learner strengths and needs to promote learner growth.
• Ask your mentor teacher for a copy of parents’ Procedural Safeguards as well as a blank copy of the Prior Written Notice document.

Allocate at least 5 hours in the field to support this assignment.

Write a 250-500 word reflection summarizing what you learned from your observations and interview, your conclusions from the experiences, and how you can apply what you learned toward your future practice as a teacher.